Monkey Business

This quilt square is going to a little girl named Jillian over at Cole's Quilts. It's sewn on 14 count aida. I added the leaf border.

Pooh Bookmark

Well, it's hard to believe that the year has flown by so fast & that it's September & this is my first cross stitch finish of the year but in fact it is. This little bookmark is going to Crafters4Charity in Australia.

Cake & Cookie Ornaments

Who would have thought that old newspapers could have turned into such an adorable ornament for a Christmas tree?? I got this idea from the Martha Stewart show & I loved how they turned out. Take a few pages of newspaper, shred them & put them in the blender with it about 1/3 filled with warm water. It'll make about 1 cup of mushy mixture. Drain the water & add 5 tsp. of Elmer's glue & 2 tsp. of salt. Mix together & press into any mold you want to use. Allow to dry by putting it in the oven @ 200 degrees for a couple of hours. Paint and decorate with spackle, throw on a berry & viola, you have an adorable ornament. The final step is adding polyurethane. I brushed some vanilla pecan oil on after it was finished. Everyone loved them. Even had a few that thought they looked good enough to eat :-)

Beary Christmas

This was originally a Dimensions banner kit but I decided to make an ornament. It was the final ornament for Christmas 2007. I added the jingle bell, beads on the tree & the metallic thread for the belt buckle. Took a bit longer to sew than I had anticipated but I really like the way it turned out.

Smores Mitten

Here's another freebie from The Cricket Collection - Smores Mitten 2007. Stitching this one made me think of the gooey marshmallow, creamy melted chocolate & the toasted graham cracker being cooked on a campfire. Yum, I could almost go out & cook one now.

Jury Duty Part Deux

I served as a juror again this week. Of course, another d.u.i. case. Actually after sitting thru this one I believe the guy did drink only 1 beer & wasn't intoxicated. The police officer had an attitude even on the stand. The guy testified that the police officer had an attitude & that's why he refused the blood alcohol test. Personally, I think I would have refused too. The defendant said he completed 4 tests & was under the impression that he passed them all. My favorite quote this time was - Defendant "I could have stood on my head and stacked b.b.s and I knew I was still going to jail."

Cup of Cocoa Mitten

This was a freebie from The Cricket Collection Inc. I sewed this while baking a hot fudge cake so it was almost like I could smell the cup of cocoa as it was being stitched. Good food, good times :-)

Believe Santa

I got this 73183 Dimensions kit for my birthday last month & I loved how it turned out. It can be used as an ornament or it can stand alone. It was designed by Brian Jackins. The pic on the right side is the unfinished version.

Movie Marathon

Finally got the time this week to watch several movies that I've set aside for just the occasion. The Guardian is the first that comes to mind. Two thumbs up! Ashton Kutcher & Kevin Costner were great in this one. Our Coast Guards do awesome work. Kudos to them! I also watched a couple of thrillers - Vacancy & The Hitcher remake. Both pretty much kept you on the edge of your seat. Also watched a movie called The Abandoned - two thumbs down. I was totally lost thru most of it & the gore was too gory. Think it's time to hunt for some comedies.

Santa's Flight

Here are 2 more ornaments finished for the 2007 Christmas season. This came from a Leisure Arts leaflet called Santa's Flight. It was designed by Vicky Howard.