Bella Michele Jewelry

My crazy cousin has a new website to sell her jewelry. I thought I would give it a plug her on my blog. It's at
www.bellamichelejewelry.com/

The name is Bella Michele Jewelry, and her website looks great!

The snow is finally melting around here. I'm hoping it will almost be gone tomorrow. I did make it to the store today to purchase something for me - a new CD. I have to say it's his best one yet!

Rachel finished punching her first project. Here's the front and the back. I'll have to have her decide on how to finish the project - a mini pillow, framed, other??

Finishing touches

I just added the finishing touches to the two pinkeeps. On the peacock, I added a stained cording and string of buttons. On the bunny, a removable wool strip hanger with a string of buttons. I finished my listings, so I'm all set for a couple Ebay auctions. :)

More finishes!

I just finished 2 little pinkeeps to list on EBay tonight (if I can get the listings done). The first is a punchneedle 1857 bunny. It was punched using Valdani and backed with black wool. The edging is black ribbon, and it's stuffed with snippets of rags/fabric for a heavy feel.


The second finish is a peacock pinkeep using historical elements. I had found the peacock pattern, and added letters, crown, heart and borders using various historical Pennsylvania samplers.


It was after I finished this that I found a challenge to do something with the peacock. For anyone else wanting to enter, here's the link:

http://gloryriverprimitives-robby.blogspot.com/

http://gloryriverprimitives-robby.blogspot.com/





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We woke up this morning to a white landscape! It was really coming down at about 7am, so decided to stay home from church. The plow didn't come by until 9am. It took a while to clear the driveway, since the snow was so wet and heavy. Once the plow came by, it sure was deep at the end of the driveway! I'm hoping not to use the snowblowers until next year.

Tomorrow it's back to school for the kids. It sure was nice to have a week to sleep in and not deal with homework!

What I'm working on Thursday

Here's my two kids that look cute, but caused me much stress at the dentist earlier in the week. Not that I needed more, since I was having a crown worked on. :(



On a brighter note, I started another punch needle project. I've done this pattern before ,but am changing the colors and making this bunny chocolate brown.
I also started a cross stitch pinkeep with a peacock. I took this adorable peacock from a historic sampler, and added the other elements using historic charts. Now that it's dry from coffee staining , I'll have to iron and stitch it up!


James and Andrew went to to the police department this afternoon for Cub Scouts. Matt was napping. I taught Rachel how to punch needle this afternoon. I drew an easy design and she picked the floss colors from my stash. She's been at it for the last several hours, and she likes it! I'm leaving the loops a bit longer for her to help cover any areas that she might miss. I haven't given her my Cameo needle - yet. (I'm afraid I'll find it missing!)

Another finish!

I just finished the bunny punch needle and it's scheduled to hit ebay later tonight! I mounted the finished needlework onto a stained, painted and distressed board. I used some chalkboard paint on the bottom. I have been wanting to experiment with the chalkboard paint since the fall, and am just getting around to it. I can't believe how easily the chalk glides over the surface. I might have to make some items for my house with it! :)

This afternoon it's a trip to Kohls with Andrew. He handed me a stack of t-shirts and sweatshirts on Friday that he's outgrown. I'm thinking he should start a new fad and wear belly button shirts for guys! He won't go for that, so it's officially the young men's department for him. Hopefully we'll find some Tony Hawk or Vans items he'll like that are on sale.

Vacation plans

I've officially made our vacation plans for this summer! We're going to Grand Lake, Colorado in July. It's the quieter side of Rock Mountain National Park. Since it's difficult to find hotels that will accommodate 6 people (without booking 2 rooms), I found a NICE cabin (in the photo above) that will easily fit all of us. It has lots of beds, so no one has to share, plus 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities. The woman that works at the rental place said in the summer lots of moose roam around this area. Cool! Will Andrew be scared of the moose, as he was scared of the buffalo in South Dakota?

It's officially spring break this week. I had a huge phone project for the marketing firm I do work for. Rachel had 3 big school projects due this week. She worked SO many hours on homework. We need a few days of doing nothing.

I'm working on a cross stitch pinkeep order that I got. It's drying out in the sun on the deck. I'm also working on the finishing of a punch needle bunny. I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some more weaver's cloth so that I can punch more this week. I'll have to sort through some patterns and see what the next project is!

More punched bunnies!

Once I finished the last set of bunnies, I still have lots of thread leftover. So, I drew up a bunny, and started on this last night. The punching goes quickly, it's the edge finishing that takes a while. I still need to punch a border for this one, but am undecided on which color.

Today was warm - I think it reached in the 60's. It's SO nice to be able to go to Sam's Club without battling snow. I took James to the library this afternoon. It was their grand re-opening open house. The remodeling was completed in January, but are just having the open house now. We picked up some refreshments and entered a drawing.

Tomorrow it's back to school and work. On top of working at school, I have a big phone project to be done this week. Guess the yard clean up will have to wait!

I finished the bunnies!

I just finished this punch needle bunny set! I backed them with some green wool to match the carrot tops and green sleeves on the girl bunny. I think I'll list these on ebay tomorrow evening, and then start on a set for me.

New Threads

I have new threads! No, not new clothes, new Valdani thread. On Monday I received this adorable pattern by Primitives by the Light of the Moon that I had ordered. (thank you Ginger!) I managed a trip to the local stitchery store yesterday to purchase thread. I decided to give Valdani a try. I have Mr. Beans already punched, and will start Miss Sophie next. I like working with Valdani - a lot. Since it's on a spool, no need to stop and re-thread. I like the texture, too.

This morning was Bible study. Instead of doing our scheduled lesson, we watched "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" since we're studying Joseph. This afternoon it's a little laundry and hopefully some more punching!

New Ebay listings!

I finally finished bunch of projects and just listed them tonight on Ebay. Now to wait for the pattern I ordered from Primitive Under the Light of the Moon. I ordered a punch needle bunny and carrot bowl filler set. Now that I officially have a Cameo Ultrapunch Needle, I'm all set to go. I was using a cheaper brand, and having a hard time adjusting the length of the loops. I sat at experimented last night with the new needle. I have to say I really like it! I could almost have a couple of them threaded with different colors. It would make some projects quicker, as I wouldn't have to stop and re-thread with another color. I've found Weeks Dye Works floss, too. I love the slight variations in shading. It gives depth to the finished product. Now to try some Valdani thread.....

It was a busy weekend around here. I took James for a movie night at school on Friday. The gym floor sure gets hard after sitting there for a couple hours watching Madagascar 2. Last night Rachel and Matt went with a birthday party to Medieval Times. They hadn't been there before, and really enjoyed the show. Today was a Cub Scout bowling event at Brunswick XL. Although the place is nice and new, it's a little too loud for me. Even after we requested the music be turned down, we still left with our ears ringing. You couldn't even hear the pins crashing!

Tomorrow it's back to school.

More stitching

Here's a spring stitching sampler that I finished stitching last night. I aged it in coffee and vanilla this morning and left it to dry all day. Now to decide how to finish it. I have some green wool that I found earlier this week. I'm thinking a small pinkeep.

I can finish baking the stitching now that our oven is working again. Here's what the old ignitor looks like.

Tomorrow is the last day of ISATs for the kids. I've enjoyed having no homework for James this week. The others still have homework, though. Two more weeks until spring break....

Punchneedle bunny

I just finished this bunny punchneedle pinkeep! I cut the loops on the bunny and tail to give it a textured furry look. Now that I've found Weeks Dye Works floss, I'll be punching a lot more. I just love the slightly variegated muted colors. It works great for backgrounds. I used it for the green and blue in this project.

I started a cross stitch spring pillow for my next project. I found some green wool fabric at a local shop that I'll be using for the backing. What's after that, I'm not sure.

Captain Sig

Here's a photo of James at his school music program. He's between a friend from his Cub Scout den and a girl who shares the same birthday as him (we even combine birthday treats and get one really good treat!). He wasn't thrilled about doing the program, but he did sing a little - I think.



I was at Walmart on Friday, and was walking past the freezer isle. This section of frozen fish jumped out at me. We're going to have dinner with Captain Sig!!! For those who don't know Captain Sig, he's the captain of the Northwestern on Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch". We got hooked on that show last year, and were glad to see some endorsements for the guys. James thinks these are the actual fish that he caught. Maybe it is, or maybe it's caught by Captain Phil of the Cornelia Marie. We can't cook them yet, though. I was ready to pop some homemade pizzas in the oven last night, and the oven didn't heat up. I ended up putting the pizzas on the grill. It didn't turn out too badly, but would adjust the temperature down a bit next time so the bottoms don't get as dark. Tomorrow I'll try to find a new igniter, and save the money for a service call.


The kids have ISATs this week at school. I'll have to make sure they get to bed early.