New Zoo Memory Book

Greetings Blogger Friends,

I have another scrapping project to share with you.  This is another accordion book that I made for Denis' brother and his wife.  They live in Iron Mountain, MI and came down to Suamico (NW of Green Bay) for a one day bus trip last summer to the New Zoo (follow this link to see their website).  Denis and I met them there and spent a few hours visiting with them and the animals.  My favorite thing was the Albino Alligator and Bev's was feeding the giraffes.

This book is an accordion book, which means the front and back cover and inner pages are all attached.  It is the 9" x 9" size and is sold by Close to My Heart (now retired, but you can still find them occasionally on eBay).  There are a total of 8 pages to the book, including the front and back cover.

Here are some of the pages from the book:

 Front cover.

 

 When I make a small theme book like this, I like to use the same paper packet throughout.  This paper packet is called Miracle (retired) from Close to My Heart.

 

 

I also used the coordinating sticker sheets to the Miracle Paper Packet.  Add a few sparkle brads, and the page is done!

 

Here's Bev feeding the giraffes.

My favorite, the Albino Alligator.  His name is Lucky, but I think it should be "Whitey".

My favorite page of the entire album is also the back cover. 

Overall, I'm very happy with how this book turned out.  Gordon and Bev liked it too.  It is a nice memento of a pleasant afternoon.

More show and tell next time...See you then and thanks for looking!!

Pinewood Derby Memory Book

Welcome Back Blog Friends!

In addition to some sewing projects for Christmas 2013, I also made several scrapbooking gifts.

This book is an accordion book, which means the front and back cover and inner pages are all attached.  It is the 9" x 9" size and is sold by Close to My Heart (now retired, but you can still find them occasionally on eBay).

I made this book for my oldest Grandson, Conner, who is in Cub Scouts and participates each year in the Pinewood Derby.  Conner won first place in his age group in 2012 (I made him a book last year for Christmas too), and repeated that achievement this year.  Since I made him a book to commemorate the day last year, it was a "given" that I would make one this year too.  Here are some of select pages from the book:

Conner has the glasses, the other young man is his brother Corey (who took 3rd in his age group).

Conner's car is the 3 musketeers bar in the middle.

 I got some great action shots of the cars crossing the finish line.  Conner's car ran in 6 races and won each one!

 

Here is Conner with his book on Family Christmas Day.

 

 

I made another one of these accordion books as a Christmas gift for Denis' brother and his wife.  More on that one next time.  Thanks for stopping by!

Cutest Little Purses Ever!!

Hello again Blog Friends!

Here is another Christmas gift that I made this year.  Earlier this fall, Mom and I attended a quilt show in Marshfield, WI.  There, I saw the cutest little purse ever...bought the pattern and hardware...and some fabric.  I made these for my two little granddaughters.  They loved them!

 The fabrics for both purses have gold accents.  I also added a yo-yo with a gold button center to each purse. 

Here's Granddaughters Hailey and Bridget with their purses.  Of course, Grandma also put some fun stuff inside...like crayons, notebook, pens.


The pattern is Marissa's Bag by Sewphisiti-Cat Designs. (follow this link for this purse and more).  Dims: 11" wide, 7" high, 3.5" deep.  You make the entire purse, then gather it onto removable rods which attach to the purse handle.  You can actually make one of these purses for each month, holiday, or season.  With an easy changeover, you'd be ready for any occasion. 

More Christmas crafts next post!

Antique Golf Club Display

Hello Bloggers!

This year Denis hand made an antique golf club display for my brother, Dave.  Denis had some old golf clubs and Dave is an avid golfer...a perfect combination.

Denis acquired the set of golf clubs in 1969, when he was 16 years old.  A friend of his did some odd jobs for a wealthy family in town.  One of those odd jobs was to clean out a garage packed full of stuff.  One of the things was an old golf bags with clubs in it.  Anything the family didn't want was up for grabs, so Denis' friend took them.  Denis bought them from him for $5.  These golf clubs were made in Scotland by the Andrews Golf Co (under the George Nicoll brand name) and came out about the time the transition from hickory to steel shafts was happening (we figure circa 1940's).  These are steel shafted clubs, but painted to look like wood.  Denis chose the three most interesting clubs for the display...the Mashie, the Spade Mashie, and the Mashie Niblic.  Denis crafted the display out of hardwood, stained and poly coated the pieces, and added a nice green felt backing.  Here's the finished product:

We gave it to Dave today.  He loved it.

Good Job, Denis!   More on my holiday handiwork next post.

Merry Christmas!

Hello Blog Friends and Merry Christmas to you all!

The festivities here at our house have ceased, and all but a few gifts have been given.  We have yet to travel this coming weekend to Iron Mountain, MI for Christmas with Denis' brother and his family.

We live in split level home.  We have a living room upstairs, just off the dining room and kitchen, and a living room in our lower level also.  We have a large 6 ft. tree upstairs, and a 4 ft. tree downstairs.  Here is a picture of our upstairs tree:

And our downstairs tree:

Although you can't see the detail very well, our smaller tree is decorated with ornaments hand made by Denis' late mother, Stella.  She loved to do plastic canvas needlepoint in her later years.  We added some round balls in various colors to fill it in.  It is a very special tree, especially for Denis, as it keeps the spirit of his mother alive for him each year.

My dad loved jigsaw puzzles.  One of our holiday traditions when I was growing up was to have a jigsaw puzzle working over the holidays.  He always set up the card table and we'd all work on it over the course of the holiday season.  A number of years ago, I resurrected this tradition, and now we work a puzzle at Christmastime in memory and in honor of my Dad.  And, it is still done on his original card table.  It just wouldn't be right any other way.  Here is a picture of this year's puzzle: 

It was begun and completed on our family Christmas day held this past Saturday.

Although both Denis and I were busy with holiday shopping, baking and wrapping, we still found time to work on some holiday gifts.  More on those next post.





Again, Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

 

Candle Cradles

Hello Blog Friends,

Well, I've been busy this week, writing and editing my holiday newsletter, and getting the house decorated for the holidays.  Decorations are now all done, so it's time to sit back and relax, right?  Wrong!  I still have several sewing projects (small, thank goodness) to finish.

I thought I'd share a cute little candle mat idea with you.  My mom and I came across the pattern for this on our travels in Kewaunee County last year when we stopped in at Fabric Creations in Manitowoc.   Mom has made these as gifts for friends of hers and she's made me a couple too.  Each mat is easy to make, and uses prairie points to gently "cradle" the candle that sits in the center.

I've made these and several others as gifts this year.

Aren't they just too cute!

'Til next time...

Cardinal Hex Table Topper

Hello Blog Friends,

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.  We held our family Thanksgiving celebration on the Saturday before (the 23rd).  Here is a photo of the grandkids "playing pool". 

 

On Thanksgiving Day, we traveled to Stevens Point and spent the day with my Mom.  We did things the easy way, and went out to a local supper club for dinner with all the trimmings.  My brother and his wife also joined us.  It was a lovely day.

Although it's been a hectic week, I haven't exactly been sitting idle.  Here is a picture of a Cardinal Hex Table Topper that I made last week and gave to my Mom.  These hex toppers are so easy to make!  4 or 5 fat quarters, 1/2 yard of backing, some batting, and that's it!

I've also been making some "Candle Cradles" to give as gifts to friends.  I'm just in the finishing stages of those, and I'll share those next time.

Until then...