Weekend Wanderings!

We had a beautiful weekend for getting out, so we took advantage of the weather and the lower tide. We spent a few hours at the beach on Saturday and of course I was happy I found more glass this time. There were other collectors who had gotten there earlier, but they tend to look for glass that is at the shore, I went for the rock piles and found a lot, hidden under the pebble beds.

And while we were there, we spotted about 100 sailboats coming toward us. I found out that it is an annual charity event, that was started after 911. They do it every year and the money goes to local charities, one is for sailing lessons, for wounded warriors and a kid's sailing program.

On Sunday, I was still feeling sick, but the boys wanted to go out, how could I say no. The plan was to take them to the park for a short walk and some time at the playground. But, Bill went by the exit and we ended up at the beach. I am glad he messed up, the weather was so warm, I wished I had put on my suit. But, we still got wet with the crashing waves. Nick enjoyed playing in the sand an all Alex wanted to do was stand in the water and have the waves hit him, I loved seeing him playing and laughing so much.

We finished the day with a trip back to the playground and then we took them to the farm for some ice cream. They have a play area for the kids with a giant sand pile for them to play on. They also had great displays outside and in a barn, for picture taking. Of course no one could sit still long enough for a nice porttrait photo.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I seem to have over done it, so I crashed today. Some housework got done and lots of sewing on my quilt.

Friday Finishes!

This week I wanted to try something new and fun to decorate with. Also, my walls are a mess, so anything I can cover them with, is a bonus.

The first piece I made was a vintage halloween game board. I found the design on the internet and printed it out on card stock. I usually do that at night, to give the ink, time to set. Then I painted a board and antiqued that. I used antique decoupage to put it onto the board, and then more on top. Another good reason to let the ink set, you will have to press out any bubbles that form under the paper. An old credit card is great for smoothing it out.

I sprayed it with matte spray, once it was dry, then added jute for a hanger. You can also find nice boards at the craft stores now. I love how it came out, something I saw in a store, but for me it was cost free, since I had all the supplies.

Then I made two more with vintage postcards. I love the look of old postcards and there are a lot of sites that share them.

And this is where they went, behind my halloween tree. I also found some fun pumpkin bells and more vintage tags to add to the tree. Not the best photo, looks much better in person.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have another nice one, so I am hoping to get to the beach and lower tides. Last week the kids were all sick and I guess we all got it at the same time, since I got the same thing. But, I still got out and enjoyed some time at the bay, a beautiful view of the bridge and sailboats, from a new spot that we found.

Friday Finish!

This week I wanted to make a pillow for the chest. I enjoy making larger things to put around the house, and less little means, less clutter and less dusting. I chose a design by Cheri Saffiote, offered on the Facebook group, Quilts by Cheri. She is another person who will never be forgotten and sorely missed.

I added some halloween scraps to make a border and antiqued it, to give it a grungy look. It was fun to make and I like how it looks with my halloween cat, which is sitting on the other side. It measures about 14".

I also needed something to decorate my halloween tree. I have fall leaf, lights and I wanted something more prim, but easy. I found some fun vintage designs online and I printed them on card stock, then threaded a piece of pearl cotton to make a hanger. I also found a fun owl for a topper, I reduced the size to fit the tree and printed that on card stock, as well. I threaded through a small area, so I could tie it to the top and it won't fall over. I think I need some more decorations, so I will have to see if the store has any mini ones.

Ignore the horrible wall, I know it needs to be repainted. We finally painted the walls with a grayed down white and I love the color, but it was too flat and peels off with the rug tape, so we need to get a better finish, that stays put.

Here is a place where you can get a lot of vintage designs, to print out, for free.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have some hot days coming up, so it looks like beach days for us.

Weekend Wanderings and freebie fun!

This weekend we spent some time at the beach and I got a few pieces of glass, but not as much as in the spring. The next day was a day with the boys.

We took them to the orchard so I could stock up on apples and I let the boys pick the apples and get their own bag to take home.  Nick checked each apple for bad spots, before he picked them and Alex had to check with Grandpa first, before we put it in the bag.

They loved the tractor ride, but Alex was a bit nervous at first,  with the bumpy ride. We let them pick out their own pumpkin to take home and Alex had to get in to make sure he got the right one.

We ended the day with time at Pachaug state park. The day had warmed up so the boys got to go for a swim and play in the water. The highlight for me was when Nick told me, he was having the best day today. The low point was when it was time to go, Alex threw a fit and was carried away, kicking and screaming, and it ended up with him spitting at Bill. I think he was over tired since he didn't get a nap.

To the left of this photo is the camp we were thinking of going seasonal at, now I wish I had. I had forgotten how beautiful it is there and there is a long river to paddle on.

Sometimes I like to make something simple and fun for the holidays. A friend gave me some old bottles and I decided to decorate them with fun labels. There are lots of places that offer free ones. I just printed them out on copy paper, let them dry overnight, then I put them on with antique decoupage. This way I can wash them off, after the holidays and add other antique medicine labels.

Here are a few places with labels, but you can find more by searching on the internet.

My Two Cents

Kitty Baby Love

New Pattern Winner and a freebie for all!

I was able to finish the new pattern this week, though it took longer than usual. The last fall landed me on my elbows, so my arm is still recovering from that. I made it larger, which actually makes it harder for me, I am better with smaller designs and detail.

The punching is not the best and I wish I had gone out and gotten new floss, but I love the design and how it is a bit of history and a bit of whimsey.

The lighthouse is the Ledge Lighthouse which is off the coast of Connecticut, which is reported to be haunted. The perfect place for the ghostly sailor to sail by.

And to add to the fun, guess what number the generator picked? Lucky number 13, lol! So, the winner is Rugs and Pugs! Please send me an email and I will attach the pattern to the return mail.

The finished piece is 6" x 7". I have added a button to the side bar that links to my selling site. For some reason, PayPal is not letting me use their code for a link, so this way you can see the pattern and link to that, to purchase one, if you would like to make your own. This would be fun as a rug, or applique, which I may try myself.

The colors are better in person, I needed to keep it light for the pattern and printing.

And for those who want to make something fun for Halloween, I have gotten permission to share this older pattern. I did the piece and the write up for the magazine, Mercantile Gatherings, from Tiffany's design. I miss her website, lots of freebies and wonderful prim designs.

Have fun and remember to give credit to the designer, when posting a photo. You can use Primitive Blessings, which is her old store name.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finish and Giveaway!

First I want to say, I hope all of you in the storm's path are safe and stay safe, clean up is where a lot of accidents happen. I am posting early, just in case our power goes out. We are at the end of the storm, but it only takes one power line to hit the whole area.

Another thing I was wanting to ask, are any of you having a hard time posting in the comment section. I cannot comment on a lot of posts, unless they have a security button, so I do read the blogs and keep up, but cannot comment.

So, what I am wondering, for you that have a problem, what computer are you using and what browser. Trying to find a common denominator and hopefully we can fix the problem. I am on a Mac book pro with safari.

This week I have been dragging, camping and the boys wore me out, lol. I decided to do some simple stitcheries from Kathy Schmitz's monthly club. I reduced the designs and some of the stitches and made a little sachet and Christmas ornament. I have two more to do, but I got distracted this week.

My distraction is a new design, I got inspired finally!  A fun new design for Halloween with a nautical theme.

So, now for the giveaway. Please leave a comment if you can, if not, email me with the answers to my question and I will put the names from the comments and emails into a drawing. The winner will get a copy of my new design, which is a Pdf file, so open to everyone. I will pick a name next Friday and announce the winner, that night.

Camping has ended!

We came home yesterday earlier since we had the boys and I was tired, easier to pack up before it got dark. It was a week of good and bad, the bad was our new neighbors, they were a group of families that were around us and their kids were non stop noisy when they were at camp. Quiet hours meant nothing, was awoken by them screaming by our trailer at six in the morning.

The good was the quiet time, paddles and time with the boys. It seems the birds finally arrived and each day they flew around the trees at our camp. They never set still, so hard to see what they were and get shots, but I was able to get a decent shot of this Downy Woodpecker.

On one of our walks, we spotted this deer, at dusk, so not the best shot.

The last day, we had the boys. It was not the best day to have them since we were leaving, but we had fun and they were picked up in time for us to start packing up. On the way back to camp, we stopped at a farm that we had spotted on the way up. I knew the boys would love it.

They had a large penned in area with lots of animals and a variety of fowl. This guy liked making faces at me.

And so did this one. And he got photo bombed by the cow.

And if that was not bad enough, the kids were doing it too. I wanted a nice shot of them in the flower garden. Not only do they make faces at me, Bill had to stand there and hold them still.

And then it was back to camp for rock painting. Nick wanted to paint, so he had fun painting a few rocks. His method was to mix as many colors as he could, to see what new colors he could make.

And of course, I cannot take my eyes off of any of the boys, for a minute. While Nick was painting, I spotted what these guys were up to, playing in the turtle tank.

Even though it was a little cooler the boys wanted to swim. Alex loves being in the water now and they both love playing with Bean and Bean loves playing with them.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and making your own memories. And prayers for those in the hurricane's path.