Is it too early to "bribe" the teachers...

hahah.. As I said earlier Maddie started Kindergarten this year. One of the items they've asked parents to send in is hand sanitizer..I know I'm not the parent..but I am a YaYa so of course I want to send supplies in to help the class too.. I thought a good item would be sanitizer.. and not just any sanitizer.. a personalized one for both the teacher and the assistant. To sit on their desk.. for their own use... with hopes of it staying in their classroom.. you know how things have a way of walking off don't you?

I bought the sanitizer on sale for .79¢. Yea for a good deal! I peeled both the front and back labels off, used goo gone to remove the sticky left behind. YUCK ... Goo gone is good.. but I don't like the smell.. or the feel of it.. again, YUCK... I washed the remainder of goo gone off of the bottles and dried them. I didn't have a cricut cartridge with a circle on it so my DIL, Michelle, brought over 2 hole punches. With colorful vinyl as my paper of choice I used the large one as a background for the monogram and the small one to make pink and brown polka dots for decorations. I cut both teacher and assistant's last name initial using my cricut machine and the school house font cartridge *I think that's the name of the cartridge.. I'm too lazy to get up and check * I tied a bow and hot glued it to the front of the bottle once all the dots were in place. Not bad.. not perfect.. I'm thinking, just right for a welcome back to school gift...

Do as I say...

Not as I do... did your mom ever tell you that? Mine did.. did I listen.. probably not.. but, I'm telling you.. you'll regret it if you don't listen to this handy-dandy tip...
Do not, I repeat.. DO NOT... leave your vinyl paper on the sticky sheet of your cricut machine for longer than an hour.. okay, maybe 2.. but I doubt it.. I'd say an hour.. and, never, NEVER leave it for 2 weeks.. it will be stuck like glue.. such a mess.. oh holy night.. what a mess..

Hurricane Irene

hit land around 7:34 this morning. So far reports are saying just a lot of wind, rain, a few trees down. 2 Deaths were reported due to drowning yesterday before the hurricane hit. why oh why would you go swimming or surfing when an evacuation has been issued? Sending up prayers for these families as they deal with the loss.

so far here in Whitsett we're just experiencing lots of clouds and wind. No rain. I don't think we're supposed to have the hurricane hit this far inland .. just bands of storms.

today is Jace's birthday party.. something tells me it will be moved inside.. bless his heart!

today is also my son-in-law Spencer's birthday! What a day for celebration! Happy birthday Spencer! Enjoy your last year in your 20's!!

to my friends in the path of Irene, please be careful.. sending prayers up for safety!

Where has the time gone??

I can not believe Maddie is old enough for Kindergarten.. today begins a brand new phase in her life.. I hope she has a wonderful school year, makes great life long friends and enjoys learning.. Yaya loves you sweet girl! Happy First Day of school!!

You've heard the song...

How do you solve a problem Like maria?? Well.. we should be singing How do you solve a problem like Sophia.. that girl is a card.. you can see the very mischief in her eyes.. and in that smile.. and I wouldn't change one hair on her head.... she might beg to differ.. she came charging out of her room.. bare bottomed and with panties on her head yesterday.. who knows why.. All I know is she keeps us all on our toes.. and then some..
Do you think it's too early to bribe her way through school?? Beginning the week after Labor Day she will be attending St. Mark's Preschool. I'm thinking home baked goodies, stickers, goodie box prizes and fantastic Christmas and End of Year gifts might be in order............
I'm just sayin'...

KitchenAid Mixer and Cricut...

are they supposed to be pals? Do you think they can be? According to lots of folks in blogland yes, they can .. according to me and my attempts today.. Not so sure.. it's a work in progress.. Have I said that before? Umm.. yep.. pretty sure I have..
I want to put polka dots on my mixer.. I don't have a polka dot cartridge for my cricut.. nor do I have 2 different size polka dot punches.. so, I went with scroll work.. forgot to flip it when I was making them so they are all going the same way.. Good thing I can scrape this off and begin again.. Good thing the vinyl only cost 1.79 per 12x24 sheet. Good thing I didn't use an entire sheet of either color.. that might be a costly mistake.. I'll work on Take 2 later.. I have a Bridal Breakfast to get ready for tomorrow morning so I have other things to work on today.. NO MORE PLAYING.. seriously.. NO MORE.. I mean it.. NO. MORE. !!! bahahah.. we'll see..

Wedding Bell Blues..

Susie's step son, Tony is getting married this weekend. I was asked to make bows for the doors of the church.. pretty red doors.. old church with beautiful stain glass windows.. So, I made pretty white bows for those red doors. I hope they show up...
Congratulations to Tony and Austria! I hope they have a long, happy life together!

Etching... part 2...

a big fat fail! I cut my letter from the contact paper.. placed it in the exact spot I wanted on my bottle.. put the etching cream on.. and waited.. 10 minutes... When I rinsed the cream off to reveal my monogram.. there... was... NOTHING... there.. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. !! dang.. fail.. I don't like to fail.. LOL.. so, I'll be monogramming these cute bottles with vinyl.. when it arrives.. IF it arrives.. I ordered several colors over the weekend and was told via email "they would contact me about my order".. what does that mean? Scary isn't it? I mean, the company now has my credit card info.. and I'm not sure my order is going to be processed. I'll give them today.. after that.. I'm cancelling.. I don't feel comfortable ... hmm..

Glass etching...

I had forgotten just how easy this is using Armor Etch Cream.. years ago.. I'm thinking around 10 years ago... I discovered this cream and made glasses for my high school reunion.. 1.00 store wine glasses.. etching cream... a sign shop made my stencil.. easy peasy.. put it all away and forgot about it until this week when my niece, Susie, asked if I could help her out with a gift for her Step son to give his groomsmen.. THIS COMING WEEK.. nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh? Anyway, back to etching.. I searched my cabinets... lo and behold there is the very same bottle I have had for years.. I wasn't sure if it was still good.. but dug it out anyway. Guess what? It was!!
I pulled out my trusty crucit expression *mind you I've hardly used it in the year I've owned it* found a tut online about contact paper and stencils.. and set to work. The hardest thing was choosing the right font and size. The 2nd hardest thing is getting the contact paper on the round bottle or glass... it's tricky but do-able.. Make sure you have your edges sealed completely as the cream will seep under any edges that aren't... I used a 1 inch sponge brush and dabbed the cream all over the opening of the letter. Lay the object flat so the cream won't run and wait 5 minutes .. at least.. a bit longer won't hurt.. however, it was all I could do to wait the 5 minutes. My suggestion is to work in cycles unless you have a lot of patience waiting.. Rinse the cream off, pull off the stencil and dry .. as the water dries you'll see your etching come through. I love this.. I will be doing everything glass that will accept the cream. I have found some items won't etch with it.. such as a couple of bottles and a pickle jar.. they'll be used in a different craft.. in a few days.. I will NOT be defeated in my attempts to monogram everything I see.. haha

Would you believe...

That I made a wreath? Would you believe it only cost around $10.00.. I'm figuring it higher rather than lower? Would you believe they sell for upwards of $40.00?
Here is the breakdown... Dollar Tree Noodle, 6 toothpicks, E6000 glue, Duct tape, Ribbon, Geo Mesh, wire, wired ribbon.
Using 6 tooth picks and the E6000 glue put the noodle together into a circle, tape with duct tape to secure. Let it dry. Cover the now Wreath form with ribbon *or not.. it's your choice*, using Geo Mesh of your favorite color combination make loops that fit the size of your form, wrap wire around 5 or 6 times, make another loop and continue wrapping, looping, wrapping until you have the wreath as full as you like. I used 2/3 roll of the large geo mesh and 2/3 of a spool of ribbon. Leave about a 2 or 3 inch space on the form so a bow can fit in nicely. I made my bow using 1.5 inch wide wired ribbon. Fluff the mesh as needed to fill out the form. Hang and enjoy!
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So... Jace is walking...

and I don't mean baby steps.. I mean, flat out, full run, walking.. all day.. from room to room.. non-stop unless he's napping.. which means, Yaya better be walking, flat out, full run, walking.. all day.. from room to room.. which also means, YaYa is t.i.r.e.d.! But.. it's so cute.. and so much fun...

Happy Birthday Sweet boy!!

Today is Zeke's 3rd birthday.. I can't believe it! Time sure does fly.. he's such a sweet boy.. Happy Birthday Zeke.. YaYa loves you!

So.. after going back and reading my very

first posts in blogland I'm encouraged to get back into my exercise routine.. I'm down about 10 lbs more since Wed due to being sick... certainly not as much as I had hoped when I begin this quest 2 years ago.. no one's fault but my own.. so, as of last week.. Walk away the pounds has been my friend.. this week Wii fit will become my best friend ...again.... I'm accountable to no one except myself.. I have to do this.. for me.. and my family.. I want to be around a long time to enjoy them all...

I consider it a success!!!

Jace was "camping out" with YaYa and PawPaw yesterday.. when the girls came by I asked on the spur of the moment if they wanted to stay too.. of course they did!! then I thought.. what the heck did I just do? LOL..
It was a great night! Everyone slept great.. and they were all up before 7:00 this morning.. we've had a fantastic day... do I dare attempt all 5 at one time?? Only time will tell...

It all began with...

a simple wipes case... and ended with a modified wipes case... minus the name I had made to be added.. because I lost the ribbon it was on. I'm sure I'll find it eventually!

I also made Liam a soft and cozy blanket... 1½ yards of printed fleece, 1½ yards of co-ordinating solid fleece for the back... place material on top of each other, trim to make all sides even...



Cut a 4" square from each corner




cut 1" strips all around



Tie each solid piece to a patterned piece until all sides are knotted. I used a double knot to insure it wouldn't come untied.



Enjoy!!