Christmas Gift Exchange

Linda over at CraftAholics Anonymous hosts a gift exchange.  I stumbled upon it by accident last year and was so bummed that I missed the cut off date.  I was determined to participate this year so when I received the email with the information I was so excited.  I promptly signed up and was matched with a Monica from Miami :)  Linda uses a great little site called Elfster which allows you to ask your person question and see some of the things they like.  I found out Monica is a very busy mom and also working and going to school....so I wanted to put together a little gift with a theme.  Here is what I came up with.....

   This is the bag I sent for Monica.... It's one of my pillow case bags.  I thought this bag would come in handy for quick stops at the store or carrying books from the library or hauling her kiddo's things.....

She also told me she liked green so I tried to have some green in the items I sent.... I also made a special bird which could be a reminder to keep soaring towards her dreams....hence why I sent a washer necklace with "dream" on it.  I also sent her a bookmark that had an "M" in the fabric (so cool)....Maybe reading school books won't seem so boring if you use a fun bookmark that was made just for you :)

I hope she is blessed!  I enjoyed making this special gift pack for her :)

Be sure to check out Linda's site too!!!  Here is the link:

   http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/

~ Merry Christmas Everyone ~

Wreaths

  Here are a few of the wreaths I made this year to sell out at the Little Farmer

Here is a fall wreath

I really liked how this one turned out.....very vibrant!  A very fun Christmas wreath.

I called this one the "Jingle Bell Wreath" .  I love the red on the grapevine with the holly berries.  Country but not dated.

 

Here I am loading up to take the goods!  :)

I have a different Christmas wreath on top but forgot to take a picture of it all by itself....bad me!!! :)

I also made some baskets, wreaths and crosses that I took undecorated.

I think grapevine looks great either decorated or undecorated.  I have it hanging both ways at my home.

What is your favorite?

Blessings,

Linda 

linking up: http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I have mentioned before that we host a Life group at our home on Sunday nights.  One of the things we do besides pray and study the Bible together is we eat together.  I needed to make a quick and easy dessert and found a recipe for an angel food cake and lemon pie filling.  It was light and good but it left me with almost a 1/2 can of lemon pie filling left over.  So I pondered what to do and  thought of my blueberry muffins.  I thought I would make the recipe and add a lemon surprise in the middle of the muffins....

I filled my muffin tin about 1/2 full than added my lemon surprise......

All ready for the top layer.....

I baked according the recipe's directions

No one even suspected my little surprise until they bit in :)

They turned out delish!!

This would be fun to try with other recipes but for now I like the blueberry/lemon combo.

I believe I have the recipe on an earlier post but to make it easy for you I took a picture of it again :)  Yeah I'm lazy smart like that!

Blessings,

Linda

Felted Sweater Bag

One of my favorite crafts to do is make bags out of old sweaters.  The best sweater to use is a high wool blend so it felts and looks beautiful ~ the more wool the better it felts. 

I make each of my bags free style....meaning I don't have a pattern.  I get an idea and go with it.  Each bag is 100% unique which is fun because you know your not going to see anyone else with it. 

I line most of the bags and make the lining slightly smaller than the outer bag to keep it from stretching out and thus it keeps it's shape.  I also add pockets to the liners to help make it easier to find things like keys, cell phones, lip gloss, etc....

Here are a few of the sweater bags I have made.....

I love the button on this bag.

This one has a great pattern.  I love the vibrant orange color.  I really like how the pattern is on the handle and the bottom of the bag.  I added a pocket to the front of the bag out of a sleeve.

I love the cable knit pattern on this bag.  It is a beautiful dark green.  The button adds a great detail to the bag.  I try to find the right button that fits the bag.  Sometimes it is hard to part with my buttons because I LOVE buttons but when I know it adds to the finished product I can let go!  :)

The last two bags are available out at the Little Farmer for only $25.00 each.  I have shopped around and know this is a great deal.  I want to make my bags affordable and I hope the person who ends up with them enjoy using them as much as I enjoy making them :)

If your interested in your own bag let me know and I will see what I can do for you :)

Blessings,

Linda

Lemon Herb Zucchini Penne Alfredo

So I saw this recipe over at cityfarmhouse.blogspot  for 

Lemon Herb Zucchini Penne Alfredo

and thought I have zucchini to use up....sounds good I think I am going to try this....

However I knew I would have to modify it a little in order for my husband to eat it....I added chicken to it :)  (meat = happy husband)

I also added peppers to it because I love peppers.  If I make this again I would peel the zucchini first.  Melissa and I liked it....Jim not so much....I guess I didn't realize he only likes zucchini in baked goods.   Sorry honey!  He was a good sport and ate everything but the zucchini.  It had really good flavor and smelled wonderful!  Oh I left out the rosemary because I didn't think I had any....but found it a few days later....oh well :)

I also served it on spaghetti since I didn't have penne pasta

Doesn't that look good....lots of yummy cheese and fresh basil.  

I served it with green beans from our garden and fresh and delish sundried tomato focaccia bread.  We love a good loaf of bread!

If you want to try a flavorful and healthy recipe this is a great one to try!

I loved all the lemon!

Blessings,

Linda

Super Hero Cape

Melissa was cleaning out clothes and had some old t-shirts she was parting with.  Like any good daughter she offered them to me and my crafty mind :)

This is one she had from her youth group....not really sure what the theme was since there was no writing just a guy that looked like a super hero....

So I thought this shirt would be a great super hero cape.  So I cut off the front and fashioned it into a cape.  The dude is in the back and I thought some little one would have a blast flying around and letting their imagination go wild....leaping over tall buildings, saving the world from evil villains, etc... I also made a pouch to store the cape in from the front part of the t-shirt.  That way their "super" identity can remain hidden until needed :)

It was fun to make something I knew a "little" would enjoy :)

I posted this on whoopdwhoop and in less than 24 hours it was requested.  It is now happily in another state being enjoyed :)

Hope you enjoyed by fun little cape!

Have a Super day!!!

Linda

p.s.

If you don't know what whoopdwhoop is...go check it out...you can swap your crafts with other crafters at no charge....you "buy" things with whoops...and earn whoops for your items.

My Little Red Bike

For those of you who know me....you know I love to ride my bike. 

I had this bike in the garage for almost 20 years....I bought it new...it was a FUJI! (that was cool in the 80's!) it was a treasure to me.  But over time it became discarded as I got a new bike that fit me better - the frame on this was too small ( I am 5'11" you know!).

I tried at one time to sell it...when it wasn't this old!  I tried giving it away....but it just sat....it moved with me a bunch of times but now it was in poor shape...the chain was rusted, the rubber part on the handle bars melted from being in hot garages/sheds...

What to do with a piece of my history......

So anyways I had this idea.....
I love seeing old bikes as part of a garden/yard display.  I actually ran across 2 really old bikes at a rummage sale.  So I ask the man how much he wants for the bikes...$150.00..EACH..ummmmm right!
No thanks.....I think I will go with my idea :)
so I got out the red spray paint and set to work
on my own garden art.....

Tarp - check
spray paint - check
great day - check

and I am loving the result!!!!  A pop of color agains the shed!  I know it is kind of boring right now as summer is dwindling down....but just imagin it in the middle of a bunch of day lilies, white daisys and other assorted flowers....how cool will she look!!!

Once again she is in her glory! 

A bike that brings joy....isn't that the true purpose of a bike anyways?

Blessings,

Linda

linking up at:
http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com 

Little Farmer Crafts

I took my crafts out to the Little Farmer in Malone the end of July.  I love getting ready for the craft barn and thought I would share some of the fun things I took out to sell.........

I made grapevine wreaths....some decorated....some plain.....I will post them later so you can see what I did :)  I like the cheerfulness of this one!

Some adorable candle holders....I love how these turned out!!!

I also made some of the larger ones that I had made last year too.  These have a washer that is stamped with different words on them.

Some cute little birds.... I love how these turned out.  These would be great as home decorations, in a tree, a Christmas ornament, a mobile.... I've seen them different ways and LOVE THEM!!! 

I love the fun materials....think how cut these would be in a nursery too!!!

Sweet hair bobby pins....don't you love the fun packaging......yahoo for bakers twine!  I shopped around and the cheapest twine I found was on Amazon in case your obsessed like I am :)

 I think little girls are going to like these :)

I made a couple of bags from sweaters - I'll post more about them later.... and I also took out my pillowcase totes..... I love those bags for the farmers market, grocery store, etc....  I love that they are washable too!

I also made some fun book marks this year!!!I love how they turned out...I also was able to use fun buttons and beads to embellish them :)

 I kept a couple for myself and my cats thinks they are new play toys!

I also took out some washer necklaces and a few other items that I didn't take pictures of.  So now you know what I have been busy working on.  Hopefully others will like the items as much as I do.  I try to only do crafts that I would like myself and have fun making :)

Blessings,

Linda

Summer Shed

We don't have a garage at our house.  We have a "shed".  Our next house will have a garage..  especially if we live somewhere where it snows!

But for now we work with what we have :)

I usually hang plain grapevine wreaths that I make on the doors.  

This year I wanted some color so I made these little wreaths.

I first wrapped the wreaths with burlap but it still was a little to plain for me.

So I picked up some flowers and got out the hot glue gun.

I choose to use yellow because it is so cheery and pops against the white of the door.  I had picked up two little bird houses at the dollar store and painted them yellow and orange and just set them in the middle of the wreath. 

I also had seen so many pendants floating around on the internet so I had an idea to make one to hang over the door. 

I used burlap and cut out triangles and then stenciled "WELCOME" using black paint.  I also wanted to see what would happen if I stamped on the burlap and how well it would hold up to the elements.

   I cut apart old jeans and used the material to frame the triangles so the triangles wouldn't unravel.  I left the edges unfinished on the jeans thinking if they unravel it might add to the look.  I then sewed the individual pieces onto a piece of pre-made bias tape for hanging.

I made this in the spring and it has been hanging up all summer - it has weathered very well.

I don't know what the candle holder originally had in it but I added a mason jar and filled it with sand and added the candle.  I picked up the old chair at a rummage sale (for free!).  I put one of my grapevine baskets on it and filled it with flowers for color.

I thought I would add a side shot of the shed also :)

And that's my little shed :)

Blessings,

Linda

Linking up:

http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com 

Wheeler Summer Update.....

It's been a little while since I've shared anything.  

I would craft all day if I could but there is this little thing that gets in the way called life~ yes real life must be dealt with....you know ~ the job, ministry, cooking, cleaning, laundry, keeping my head above the water!

So here is a brief update of what we have been up to.....

Melissa graduated in May from the UW-LaCrosse. 

Then Jim and I graduated from the MIP (Minister Interim Program) the end of June.  We are thankful for the opportunity we had to attend and truly enjoyed it but will not miss traveling to the Chicago-land area once a month (approx. 3.5-4 hours one way).  We know are excited about all that the Lord has for us in our future.  We have no plans other than to keep serving at our local church ~ Jim is on the praise and worship team, is doing follow up, we both lead the Wednesday night Bible Study/Midweek service and I do the Children's ministry....plus a few other things as needed :)

Later in the day after graduation we drove into the city of Chicago....

 

to pick up Mel's blessing.... God blessed her with a car!  It's a great testimony....God's timing is incredible.  The girl who was an answer to prayer had the car in Indiana and her parents just happened to come to Chicago the same weekend we were graduating.  So we were able to work it out and pick it up that weekend.  If you know Mel ask her to share the story...it's encouraging!!!  God is good even if Chicago traffic isn't!! lol....okay it wasn't too bad but I had to look like it was horrible!!!

Then of course we have had a few birthday's to celebrate...

Jim and I have birthday's 15 days apart

 For my birthday, we spent the day at Kohler Andre and went hiking and walking in Lake MI. 

It was FREEZING!!!  But it felt good in 90 degree weather.

For dinner we went to a yummy Mexican restaurant in Sheboygan.  

Will definitely be heading back there!!!

and of course there must be cake!!! DQ is always a winner.

Beautiful flowers from Jim were a nice surprise too!!!

 For Jim's birthday we went to Gino's and had deep dish pizza...yummy!  

We came home and had one of his favorites....chocolate eclair torte. (He has a camel on his torte with candles...don't ask it's a Wheeler thing!!! lol)

(p.s. don't look at the mess behind him please!!!!)

Here's Mel chilling out :)  I love it when she plays on here or the piano....

Since I haven't shared any craft projects with you I thought I would share 2 the cats did.....

The girls are so talented!!! 

We are so proud of them!!!

Hope you enjoyed our update.....

More craft projects to come...I promise :)

Hugs,

Linda