Our herd of beef cows.

This is our herd of 11 beef cows. They are calves right now and we will breed 9 them in June then they will have calves of their own in March of 2010. They sure make it look cold out don't they with all the steam, it was the day I took this pic. They're so cute but I can't get attached, the cute one in the front with the black spot on it's eye will be hamburger and steak. I should be a vegetarian I am such an animal lover!
We have our Christmas party today for my husbands side of the family. We have 4 babies on that side of the family now so that should be fun to see how much they've grown. Some family members are flying in from New Hampshire and California. It will be great seeing them all.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families! We will all be more in the Christmas spirit now because we were waiting for important test results to come back for my sister and they came back negative yesterday so that was a relief. I hope all of you and yours are healthy and happy this Christmas and in the New Year too. It seems like so many of our loved ones are struggling with their health lately that it can be such a stain and stress, I hope all of you appreciate every single minute that you have with the ones you love. Isn't that what life is REALLY about! Hugs!

Finished these little cutie's up.

I finished these two little cutie's up today and got them in the mail for a great customer of mine. I think they turned out so cute, hope she loves them. That was the last of my holiday mailing so what a relief! I have a bunch of present wrapping to do yet, wish someone would do it for me, but that's not gonna happen. Wow, what a mess downtown St Cloud was today it was like a huge city traffic jam, the whole town, it took forever to get just a block! Lots of last minute shoppers I guess. We're supposed to get a bunch more snow starting tonight here we already have 5 1/2" on the ground right now so we'll be buried in the white crap, lol. I don't like snow very much can you tell. It's also really cold here way below zero, the kind of cold that your nose hairs freeze when you go outside.
Off now to wrap some presents, byeeeeee!

My 100th blog entry giveaway!

Can you believe it this is my 100th blog entry! In honor of that I am giving away this little zipper bag with some goodies in it, all handmade by me of course! Just leave a comment on my blog and you will have 1 entry into the giveaway. If you post this picture and the giveaway to your blog you will get 2 entries, just let me know. I will draw for the winner on January 5th so you will have to check back to see if you are the winner, I'll post the winner on my blog that day. Thanks to all of you that read my blog and keep up with what going on with little ole me, lol. It sure has been fun chatting with my blogger friends and hearing from so many of you that you LOVE reading my blog, who would have known you'd care, lol. Hugs!

It's a winter wonderland!

It's a winter wonderland here in Central MN! The roads are snow covered and the plows probably won't be out until it stops snowing so hopefully most people will stay home and off the roads today. We heard that some places in Sauk Rapids are out of power this morning. Hopefully they have had it restored by now. My relatives in New Hampshire called yesterday, they were out of power from a terrible ice storm they had there. I guess winter is now in full force across the US right now.

I'm gonna stay put in the house today and pack up things to send out and wrap presents.

This is my 99th post so look for a giveaway coming REAL soon! Be sure to check back!

I hope all of you are warm and cozy. Have a fantastic day!

Craft show season 2008 is over!

These are pictures from my craft show yesterday at St Cloud State University. It's a VERY small show, only about a dozen vendors. It was pretty slow but fun, good people watching and a short day, it only went from 10-4 and the entry fee was only $10. I brought a small display set up, not sure I liked it but it was easy and fast to set up and tear down and that's what I wanted so it worked good that way but was kinda cluttered looking and didn't show off my purses very well. It was a good way to end the season though. Now I have to start creating new things for next year's show season.

If anyone out there is interested I still have some wonderful gifts for people on your shopping list just email me and I'll send them out to you. Wouldn't it be GREAT if everyone bought at least 1 handmade gift this year for someone on their list even if it's not from me, as long as it's made in the USA. We could keep the $ here in the USA and help our economy!
Have a terrific weekend everybody OK!

New little zippered keeper bag.

This is a fun little zippered keeper bag that I finished up. 8" x 4" little cutie fits great into your purse for all your small essentials and also has a glasses pocket on the other side, cool huh! I may just have to keep it for myself if it doesn't sell on Thursday, lol.
My husband and I got most of our Christmas shopping done yesterday, yippee! Still have a few things to find yet though. I am getting more and more in the mood so that's good. It helps to have the tree up and snow on the ground I guess. We got snow yesterday and last night so we have a couple inches of the white stuff on the ground now. It looks pretty but I'm not a big fan.
Well I better get busy now have lots to finish up for my show on Thursday, so have a great day!

Going to a Christmas party!

This is Gordy and I last night before we left for a Christmas party. We had a great time, good food, fun socializing. The party was right next to the Civic Center where there's a dog show going on this weekend so there were lots of dogs at the hotel, it was neat to see all the different breeds coming in an out for potty breaks.

We're putting up the Christmas tree today so maybe I'll have pictures of it tomorrow to share. I have lots to do today we're also hosting the family Sunday dinner here tonight, I think we'll have meatloaf. Every Sunday the family gets together at one of our houses, something we've been doing for almost a year now and it's nice to look forward to every week. So I best get busy now, have a great Sunday!

New slouchy bag

Just finished up this new slouchy bag. It is 23" wide x 11" tall not including the handles. I made it out of this really cool fabric that looks and feels like wool but can be machine washed. It has 2 large pockets inside one has a divider for your cell phone and the other has a flap with a Velcro closure. I used a super old cool button for the outside closure. You can fit tons of stuff in this, it would be GREAT for traveling or a day out where you need to bring a bunch of stuff. Now I need to go sew mittens so hope your having a good day. Byeeee...

Vintage shell button necklaces.

I've always loved vintage shell buttons so I found this unique way to show them off. I made these super cute necklaces out of them. I wear mine on a silver chain. I put these on brown or black leather string necklaces but they can be taken off and put on a silver chain if you would like. Cool stocking stuffers for only $18!
It was snowing here this morning, we have a trace on the ground right now and it is very cold out in the teens with single digit windchill, brrrrrrrrrr. The sun is shining now though so that always helps.
My brother and I started making more of the recycled wool mittens yesterday for our show next week so I'll post pics when they are done. I also am finishing up a new purse so I'll show that to you when it's done too. Have a fantastic day!

Two of the people I'm thankful for!

This was taken on Thanksgiving day. From left to right me, my sister Renee and my niece Chandra and then me. I'm so happy that they live here in MN now and we can spend the holidays together. I'm very thankful for that!
As you can see in the picture I am trying to grow my hair out, YICKS, it is SO hard! I am not having good hair days this week! I called my hair dresser yesterday and I'm waiting for a call back from her because I need to have her do something to it or else I'm gonna get it cut off short again I swear!!! I've had my hair really short for a long time now and wanted to grow it out just a little to keep my ears warm for the winter. Whenever I do try to do this I usually just can't stand it and get it cut short again so we'll see..... Renee is doing the same thing trying to grow her hair out too and she's having a hard time too.
Have a great hump day everyone!

Recycled wool Mittens and hats

These are two of the recycled wool hats and mitten sets that I have to sell. Hopefully I will get some more made up this week for my show on Dec. 11th. I made myself a pair of these mittens and they are SO warm and cozy. They were a big hit at my last show. I'm selling the hats and mittens separate or as a pair so we have only two pairs of mittens left and 5 hats. Some of these would come in handy this week in MN it is really cold here, brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

For some reason I'm not in the Christmas mood yet this year. I have NO idea why. We're planning to get our Christmas tree on Friday so maybe that will work to get me in the mood, Bah Humbug! Hope so! Have a Merry Monday!

Fun Day!

Yesterday (my hubby Gordy) and I had a fun day together. The weather was beautiful in the low 40's and sunny so we went to the Como zoo and Conservatory in St Paul MN. They have a baby Orangutan at the zoo right now that is SOOOOOOOO adorable and really enjoyable to watch. I love to go to zoo's and can look at the animals forever, my husband on the other hand moves rather quickly through, so I never get to stay as long as I would like to.

One of my favorite place to go, most especially in the winter months, is the Conservatory that is on the same grounds as the zoo. That's where both of these pictures were taken. The top on is of the beautiful palms. This is what it says about them:

…fills this 64 foot tall crystal dome. There are over 150 tropical palm and cycad species displayed here, and some specimens are more than a century old. The Palm Dome is also home to an “orchid nook” which features flowering orchids, drawn from the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s extensive collection of orchid plants. Bromeliads are also displayed in the Palm Dome while in their peak of color.

There were lots of blooming orchids to smell and I did try to smell each and everyone, OH some of them smelled so heavenly! I love the humid warm air in there I could stay for hours, but not with Gordy there he walks through so fast, I kept telling him to smell the flowers and enjoy it sit here with me and just relax. I did manage to get him to stay for a little longer that way, hehe. It's probably a good thing he doesn't like it as much as I do or we would have never left the place, lol. I can't wait to go back again soon! On December 6th the room in the bottom picture that is fall now will turn into a Christmas theme.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! This was our delicious 20 lb. turkey that I made today. It was so tender and moist, YUMMY!!! I wanted to take it out of this ugly aluminum pan to take the picture but it was too hard without it falling apart. We had 9 people for dinner, all the food turned out perfect if I do say so myself, lol, we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes w/gravy, squash, corn, broccoli, homemade oatmeal bread and of course pumpkin, apple and chocolate pie. It's a good thing Thanksgiving only comes around once a year or we would all weigh a lot more. After sending home leftovers with everyone that was here we still have enough to be eating leftovers for days. I am so thankful for my great family, friends and all of you blog buddies. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving too and that you have a lot to be thankful for. Hugs to you!

Three new purses!

These are three of my new purses I've made. This is my favorite style that I make so far. I made a purse with this style for me and my daughter. It is the perfect size to carry all of our everyday essentials in. I LOVE the two outside pockets, they work GREAT for your keys. They're all machine washable and are sprayed with Scotch Guard, does it get any better than that! Very cute inside too with a cell phone pocket and another pocket inside.

I spent the whole day cleaning today! It felt so good to do that. Boy did my house need it! As all of you crafter's know it is so hard to keep up when you are in the rush of crafting for the season. Maybe now I will get caught up, NOT! That will never happen!

My brother Al and I will be making more recycled mittens starting Wednesday for our show on December 11th. They are so warm, cozy and cute! I will post some pics when we get some done.

Hope you all had a good start to your week.........

Show success!

Thank you to all the GREAT ladies that came to the North Branch craft show for making it a big success! What fun it was to see all of my returning customers, and meet the new customers. Such nice ladies! It was so neat to hear all of the compliments and appreciation. That's what I work so hard for, and of course because it is my passion! The space there is really small it is only 10 x 6, YICKS. That is way smaller than any other space we set up in so it is a challenge to display things to look good. I was happy with the way it looked though. My new display (the turquoise painted doors) made everything so much brighter looking. One of the show organizers asked me if I would like a bigger space next year, double the size. She told me if I did want a bigger space they would give it to me next year, I think I will take her up on that. It would make it a lot easier to set up. Stupid me knew I was forgetting something, couldn't think of what it was, it was my camera, oh NO. Crappy blogger right!
The biggest hits of the day were my dollies, and the recycled wool mittens to name a few things. My purses didn't sell well there, not sure why because so many ladies were looking at them. Last year purses didn't sell good there either though so I don't feel so bad. Now I have lots of wonderful choices for my show at St Cloud State University on Dec. 11th in the Atwood building so PLEASE come see me there if you are looking for a super cute purse!
Have a terrific Sunday everyone!

Luke's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Luke! Today is my youngest son's birthday, he's 25 yrs old. We celebrated last night with the family. This is a Dairy Queen cake he is holding, I didn't have many designs to choose from so he ended up with this hot rod, he said it was cool though. He is a GREAT guy, a man with few words but when he does talk people listen. We are VERY proud of him.
I am going to lunch with one of my best friends that I haven't seen for a while so I am excited! We're going to an Italian restaurant that has the most amazing salad ever, grilled apples, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, candied pecans, oh it's so yummy! Hope you all have a good day!

Two more new purses for my show!

These are my newest creations for my show coming up next weekend. Both purses are a great size if you like a smaller purse or to use for a day out shopping or nighttime. The fabric I used on the top purse is so pretty and yet neutral, it has a zipper closure , silky lining and an inside cell phone pocket. The second purse is made out of girly fabric, I just LOVE these colors! It has silky fuchsia color lining and a cell phone pocket inside. The outside pocket is great on this one for glasses, keys or whatever.

Tonight we are having a birthday party for my youngest son, my baby! It is SO hard to believe he will be 25 tomorrow. Time sure flies! I am getting so old! I'm making lasagna, homemade bread, and salad. Dairy Queen cake for dessert. Whenever it is someone's birthday in the family they get to chose the menu and that is what he chose. So looks like I'll be busy today.

I am working on 3 new purses too. Have a TERRIFIC Sunday everyone!

Look at this new purse I made!

This is my newest creation! I think it turned out so cute! The pocket on the front is neat for keys. The inside is black silky material and it has a small pocket for cell phone or whatever you want. This style handle is so nice I have a purse with this style and it's so comfy to carry.

Another cold gloomy day here in central MN. November is the gloomiest month after all, YUCK! It is amazing how much it helps to have the sun shinning to get you motivated. I guess it's a GREAT day for working though right. It's easier for me to go downstairs to my sewing room when the weather is gloomy rather than when it's sunny. I have to decide now what to start making next. I'm thinking more purses. So I'm gonna go get busy now then, byeeeeee!

The last bunch of dollies are done!

These are the last of the dollies that I have made for my next show. The top two pictures are Emily Annie she is 9" tall. They are SO sweet kinda look like the original version of Annie. The bottom 2 pictures are of Madison Annie she is 12" tall, and the next one is Bailey Annie she is also 12" tall. They all have their own unique little personalities going on don't they. Hopefully all of my dollie ladies will like the new batch of Annie's they have to choose from. PLEASE come to my North Branch show to see them all in person they are much cuter in person!

I have a new purse to show ya tomorrow that I made too so be sure to check back tomorrow to see it. Have a fantastic day!

Three more dollies done!

I finished up three more dollies yesterday. This is "Tori Annie" she is 14" tall. I used material for their dresses that has cherries on it on the two outside dolls and strawberries and cherries on the one in the middle. I'm almost done with 9 other style dolls I just have their hair to put on they're bald right now, yikes. Can you stand more doll pics tomorrow???
OMG, it's snowing out right now, really hard and it is sticking to the ground so it's getting white! I am NOT ready for this! WINTER IS HERE!!! Mom and Dad you are SO lucky!
Have a wonderful Veterans Day!

More dollies done!

The top picture is of Kelsie Annie, she is 14" tall. The material I used for the dresses is so cute it has antique toys on it. The next picture is of Merrie Annie, she is also 14" tall. Her dress is Christmas material, and I found this cute antique Christmas ornament she's holding in Tenn. at an antique store. I LOVE the way they turned out!

I'll be finishing up more dollies today so I better get busy. Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Some new dollies finished up!

I finished up some new dollies yesterday! The top picture is of "Baby Molly", she is 8" tall. The next picture is of "Lori Annie", she is 11" tall. Didn't they turn out cute! I have a bunch more different sizes to finish up today, I'm giving them their personalities, lol. I've also finished up a some sets of recycled wool mittens and hats too. I'll post pictures of them this week.
The weather sure has turned winter like here the last few days. November is usually known as the least sunniest month here in MN and is living up to that today being another cloudy day. Looks like the sun is supposed to show again tomorrow though, yeah!
My next craft show is coming up on November 22nd in North Branch MN at the high school. Hope some of you will be able to make it there. Well better get busy now!

I got roses from my sweetie!

Aren't these roses pretty! My husband brought me roses the other day for no special reason other than he love me. Well the rotary club sells them once a year at his school, but still how sweet! They are all different colors my favorite kind, it's way to hard to choose which color I like best so I like the mixed colors.
Working at the polls as an election judge went great the other night. We had 90 something percent turnout, amazing. We were there until after midnight finishing up so it was a long day. We may end up having to do a recount since the senate race was so close they are calling for a recount. I wonder if I will get called to work?
It's a dreary rainy day here today so I guess it's a good day to get busy working on my dolls. I have them done to the point of there faces and hair. So I better get that done so they come alive,lol. I have been side tracked for a few days so now I best get back to work.

Don't forget to VOTE!

Can you believe it there's only one more day until we vote! I am working as an election judge tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about it but excited at the same time. There is supposed to be a record turnout across America this year. I'm not sure how many registered voters we have in our township but I'm thinking it's 1000-2000, that's a big spread right, lol. Hopefully we won't be there all night after the polls close.

I went to the movie The Secret Life of Bees yesterday with my sister. I read the book and LOVED it so I was worried the movie wouldn't be as good but it was WONDERFUL! OMG, they did such a great job. I really recommend it and GREAT chick flick girl movie, go see it!

So don't forget to vote everyone exercise your right, women haven't always been so lucky!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you have a spooktacular day! These are some of the pumpkins my husband Gordy made for our Sept craft show. Again this year we sold all of them. What a big hit they have been!
I'm still working on a bunch of new dollies. Today is going to be in the 60's and sunny so I am going to coffee stain them and put (sounds too sad to say hang) them on the line to dry. That works so much better than having to dry them inside. So coming soon 24 new dollies!
I wonder if we will get any trick or treaters here tonight? Last year we only had about 8 or so. When our kids were little all the other kids in the neighborhood were little to so we used to go through TONS of candy. Sometimes people from the city come out here so you never know how many we will have from year to year. So I am prepared.
Have a safe and happy day!

I'm here!

Hi, I'm still here! Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, not much to talk about. That's good though I like my life to be calm and quiet. I've been busy making dolls. I have the bodies all stuffed, today I will be painting there legs and making there clothes. I may be in a little over my head, I have 24 dolls started, whew. I don't usually make such large numbers at one time. I'm making 6 different styles though. I'll hopefully have pictures of the new little cutie's on here this week. We had our first site of snow here yesterday, luckily none of it stuck, it melted right when it hit the ground, yeah! Today it's really windy and cold but it's supposed to warm up again towards the weekend. I have lots to do outside yet to get my yard ready for winter so the warmer weather will be welcome. My husband and I adopted the road we live on so we also need to pick up the ditches before it gets too cold. We usually clean them in the spring and fall. Well I best get busy doll making!

Three more little party purses!

I finished these 3 little party purses up today. Two of them are fancy and one is more casual. I like the way they all turned out, I hope my customers do too. I am now working on lots and lots of dollies. I'm making about 6 different sizes and styles so I'll have lots of new dolls for my next show which is November 22nd in North Branch MN. Nothing else is new and exciting today to write about so I guess I'll go curl up on the couch and watch some TV, have a great night!

Little party purses.

I got these two little party purses finished up today and I'm working on three more, they're all a little different. They are so much cuter in person! I made myself one like this last year for dress up and love it so I thought I would make some to sell. They all have pretty silk lining in them and the outsides are decorated with lots of cool trims. They're so light and easy to carry and they are just the right size for necessities for a night out, I even put a cell phone pocket in each one.
My husband started up our wood stove tonight to get the chill off. Can you believe it is that time already! It's supposed to be cool, and rainy until the weekend now here. I guess it's a good time to stay inside and work on my crafts right!

They're Off!

My husband took this picture this morning, can't really see my Mom in the passenger seat though. My parents left this morning to winter in Arizona. It was sad having them go but I'm happy for them that they are able to do what they love to do. My Dad LOVES getting out on the road. They have a place here for the summer from April until the middle of Oct. but then go south for the winter. Our relationship is very close so it will be hard not having them close by until next spring. I'm going to go to Arizona sometime this winter to break up the 6 months. I hope they have tons of fun, warm sunshine and stay healthy.

Check out this beautiful quilt giveaway!

Elizabeth Cranmer from Pigtails and Snails: Quilt Giveaway is giving this beautiful quilt away so pop on over to her blog to sign up to win it. I would LOVE to win it, such pretty colors isn't it.

Men's glasses case

I thought these would be nice inexpensive Christmas gifts or stocking staffer's for the guys on your list. My son asked for one when he saw the ladies glasses cases but said it had to be in manly material so I made these out of camo material. The only thing is they will be hard to find since they are made out of camo, lol. I am selling them for $8 each so let me know if you want to order any. I gotta get busy now so have a great day!

New wool purse!

I made this neat little purse yesterday out of recycled old wool sweater scraps. I love the way it turned out, these are some of my favorite color combinations. It's a fun size for just carrying a few necessities for shopping or night life. I am gonna make some other style purses with recycled wool now since this one turned out so cute. The possibilities are endless for new ideas and styles in purse making, I LOVE it!!! I'm going to start making dolls this week. I need to stock up on some new dollies for my next show for all of the lovely ladies that are such fans of my dolls. It is so nice to be appreciated!
Hope you are all having a good week so far.

I LOVE my new purse!

Thought I'd share a picture of the purse I made myself on Friday. The picture doesn't do it justice though. I bought an old table runner at an antique store about a year and a half ago and wasn't sure what I would use it for but loved the colors and texture, the design sticks out and is velvety like. I've been wanting to make myself a new purse for a while now so on Friday I started looking through my stash and found this old table runner. It turned out perfect I think. I got tons of compliments on it yesterday at the Woman's Showcase that my sister and I went to yesterday. Now a bunch of other people want one like it but it's a one of a kind. I guess I would sell it if the price was right, lol. I'll have to search for other cool table runners to make purses with now I guess.
We have a gloomy, drizzly day here in central MN, hope it's sunny where you are. Have a great day.

I finished up a bunch of glasses cases

I made a bunch more glasses cases since they were such a big hit at my last show. I am selling them for $8 each. I made them in a bunch of fun colorful material, some of them have Flamingo's on them, so cute. They are great gifts for people on your Christmas list don't you think, hehe. They can be machine washed and line dried. I have one in my purse and LOVE it for my sunglasses. Let me know if you want to buy some.
My brother and I are going out to my Mom and Dad's today to help them pack up their motor home so they can head south for the winter, lucky them! I am gonna miss them terribly! I sure wish I could go south before winter hits, as most of you know I HATE winter! I am going to enjoy the nice day today though it is supposed to be sunny and high 60's. Bye now.

It's my little sister's birthday today!

Happy Birthday Renee! Today is my baby sister Renee's birthday! She has been through a lot in the last year and has come out stronger and better for it, I am VERY proud of her. She moved here to MN a year ago from Colorado with her daughter and they are both doing amazing, they are two strong women! You go girls!!! I'm so happy to have them living here in MN. Have a GREAT birthday Renee and many, many more!