Day 342 - Christmas gift tags

I finished cutting up that big stack of free Christmas cards into gift labels.

I am continuing to inventory all of Michaels

Yellowstone National Park collection.  I have been

meaning to do this for years and with the possible

redecorating of our family room and having to take

most of them down off the walls it seems like a good time

to get to it.  Here are just a couple.

A cedar box, china plate, and guest soap from the hotel in the 1970's.

Day 320 - Happy New Year.

Well, this New Year has come in very interesting and different for me.  I will share more about that later...
I have had to set the counted cross stitch aside for a bit as my carpel tunnel has flared up.  So close to finishing too! But tonight I did a fun paper craft for about 3 hours.  At market in November I acquired a huge box of Christmas cards.

I picked them up for free and here is why- besides not having any envelopes

each one had a huge, non-removable sticker on the back.

After about 3 hours of cutting (wearing my wrist support)

 I have the

pile down to about an inch and a half.

  I now have made about 125

Christmas gift tags from those cards!!!

A fun way to repurpose something that was free!

Only 45 days left to go to reach 365!

Day 217 - 1st birdhouse

Completed the first birdhouse for the chuch Christmas bazaar tonight.  Just needs to be decoupaged on the bottom.

Day 210 - Little birdhouses

Finished the paperwork on the 3rd little birdhouse. Just need to modge podge them.

Day 209 - Summer storms

I am writing my blog this morning as last night we had a major thunder/lightening/rain storm that made the computer impossible to access.  At one time all of the power went out in the house but came back on a couple of seconds later.  Our rain amounted to     in our rain gauge!  I was able to mow the back yard in the morning before we got our first round of 1/2 inch.  This little guy was on our front railing this morning.

Sewed 2 strips more of the strip blocks together and now have to take the paper back off.  Ironed the strips that I found in the bottom of the church box.

Sewed up the rest of the precut blocks from the church box. 

This is going to be a "fringed" quilt.  Here is a block sewn- see the 3 layers?

Worked some more on the 3rd birdhouse (this one is a challenge!).

The little chimney and the little awning over the window,

the window itself- challenging to paper over/around.

Not done with the front yet but part way there!

Day 207 - Mini birdhouses and strip quilt

I laid out the strip quilt on the livingroom floor

and then forgot to take a photo!

I sewed 3 of the strips together

 and while I was peeling off the back paper,

Pete was not happy with me as there wasn't enough room

to work and sleep-thus her back was to me.

Here is the first row of  blocks as I am taking the paper off.

I was able to sew 3 of the 10 rows together-

 they need ironing.

I also started working on the 3rd and last mini birdhouse.

Pete enjoyed a new nap spot today:

 on a Dunwoody computer case.

Day 206 - Little birdhouses

I finished the little round blue birdhouse.  I might do some more on it but will surely do at least a coat of modge podge to hold everything on better.

Worked on another of the little birdhouses and this one has a Mary Engelbriet theme.

Here are the start photos:

And then where I quit for the night. 

 I will do some more to the front side of the house.

I also got another coat of black spray paint on the red metal stars

but I forgot to get a photo of them....

Day 203 - Mini Birdhouse

Micaela said that she thought this birdhouse was full size.  Actually, it is only about 5" tall.  I spent a bunch of time trying to figure out how to cover this middle part and get around the perch.

I also was trying to make a pattern for the roof covering...I want the edges scalloped and to hang slightly over the edge of the wood.  Can't get the pattern to fit yet...  Will have to cut the bird hole next.

Day 201 - Felt and Paper Crafting

Finished the major stitching on Easter candle mat number 3!

Wanted a little change so started working on covering a (Christmas gift) little wood birdhouse with some lovely scrapbook papers.  Kind of challenging as this is a round birdhouse.

Got the edge of the base covered and then tried to figure out what to do next.

Did the edge under the roof, around the hole and the perch.

Cut a circle to cover the bottom and decided to call it a night.