Scary huh?

As promised...

Imagine THIS staring you in the face when stripping off wallpaper! This is what we came across when we did my daughters guest room. Can't say as I like this guest...

...as a permanent wall fixture.   I hope he doesn't mind the newest shade of gray because he's wearing it now.  I can't decide if it's a pretty boy, or a 'she' with a goatee?  Let's refer to it as Pat. 

Bonnie

Déja Vu

Wallpaper is not my friend.

It seems like only yesterday I was scrapping off 5 or so layers of the vintage stuff in the upstairs bathroom. (Oh, I need to make some corrections here... it was about 20 years ago; not yesterday, it wasn't just me doing the scrapping; Bonnie was helping me, and it wasn't a bathroom at the time; it was a kitchen and soon to be a playroom.)

When we bought our century home 23 years ago, it was a duplex. One family had lived upstairs and one had lived on the main floor. We decided we didn't need 2 kitchens (hey, sometimes I wonder if I even need one- I don't spend much time in there!) so we thought it would be great to have a playroom for the kids to keep all their "stuff" in one spot.

When the time came to take off the layers of old wallpaper, Bonnie offered to give me a hand. When you have the extra help, the job really does go that much faster... especially when you have some interesting discussions along the way. Bonnie- remember our little debate about the temperature of the water to use in the spray bottle for wetting the paper? I was using hot water every time I filled mine, thinking it would work that much faster. Right? Well, Bonnie insisted it didn't matter what the original temperature of the water was because when it came out in the spray form it would be cold. I'm still up in the air on that one :^)

Needless to say, we got the job done and 11 years ago, the playroom changed again... this time into a bathroom. The whole room was gutted, so down came the old plaster and up went the new drywall. But guess what?? Instead of painting I decided to put up the dreaded wallpaper... again!!

So what you see here is what I'm working on at the present. No more wallpaper for me!! I have the paint already bought, so I can't change my mind.

Well, enough of a break. ( It was definitely time for one: I couldn't figure out why the paper on the upper part of the ceiling was drying so fast after I had sprayed it. Duh! Shut off the ceiling fan Tracey!!)

After having my (some what) healthy snack, it's time to pick up my scrapper and get back to work. I'll re-fill my spray bottle with hot water (sorry Bonnie- old habits die hard!) and add a little vinegar to it too! (Vinegar!...so that's why I keep craving french fries! LOL!)

Tracey

Hurry! Only Three Days Left...

...to enter our give-away!!

We've had so much fun our first year of blogging!! We've "met" so many wonderful fellow bloggers, learned so much, yet still have so much to learn! :^)

So come and celebrate with the four of us and enter before time runs out. Find out all the info here.

Oh, and don't be intimidated by those extra questions we asked. They are mainly added just for fun- and some extra chances :^)

It's A Boy!

Now that got your attention, didn't it? :^)

Wanted to share the latest progress on my Winter stitch. What a fun stitch it is! Happy to have the little boy and his puppy done.

I hope to have it done soon, so I can have it out on display before Valentine's Day. Never sure if it's proper decorating "etiquette" to have the 2 overlap... Winter & Valentine's??

Tracey

Have A Heart

What a fun, quick crochet project this was! Thanks to Hillery over at 22 Threads for the link to the instructions. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and I had it stitched up from start to finish in just one evening. Bonus!!

I got the yarn from the very limited selection at our Dollar Store (I would have preferred the yarn to be less bulky), so then if I messed up I wouldn't be out a lot of cash. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I normally don't have much luck with a pattern that is done in "rounds" :^)

Now, my Valentine decor usually doesn't go up until the first of Feb., so that's why you don't see anything else in celebration of that day. I just wanted to share a picture now so that way all you crocheters out there could get a head start on your own heart garland.

Oh, and just a reminder, you still have time to get in on the draw we are having to celebrate our very 1st Bloggiversary! You can find out all of the details here along with a peek at all of the goodies you could win. We hope you will join in the fun!

Tracey

It's Time For A Give-Away!

We hope you'll all join in the fun, because our give-away is open to everyone!!

Our 1st Bloggiversary is January 31st, 2011, and we'd love to share some treats (stitching and otherwise... maybe even some chocolate thrown in!).

There are a few simple rules to follow, and you may get up to 7 separate chances to win! Here's the scoop:

1. Comment on this post only, telling us why you'd like to win. (1 entry)

2. Comment on this post only, telling us that you are currently a follower. (1 entry)

3. Comment on this post only, telling us that you are a new follower. (1 entry)

Answer as many of the following questions that you'd like (all the answers are somewhere in our blog.) Receive 1 extra entry for each correct answer. Your answers can be grouped together in one comment if you'd like, but it has to be on this post only :

#1. This month is our cross-stitch group anniversary. How many years will it be?

#2. What did Anita design without a pattern?

#3. What costume did Bonnie sew?

#4. How many boys does Jody have?

#5. Why did Tracey bend her knife?

The deadline to enter is midnight, Sunday January 30, 2011, with the draw being made on Monday the 31st. Don't forget to leave an email addy, or some way for us to get in contact with you if you happen to be the lucky winner! Feel free to pass on the word :^)

Good Luck!!

Need a Giggle??

This short video clip makes me giggle every single time I watch it.  What makes it even funnier to me is that I know someone whose voice is very similar to Marcel. 

Marcel is a friendly and outgoing mollusk shell with one eye and two pink shoes.

 

Click here to watch the video clip.

This stop motion animated short film was made by Dean Fleischer-Camp and comedian/actress Jenny Slate.  Jenny was a cast member on Saturday Night Live 2009-2010.  The film premiered theatrically at AFI FEST 2010 where it was awarded Best Animated Short

Take a moment to watch, I think you will be tickled pink… just like the shoes.
Bonnie

Stay Tuned...

... for all of the details about the give-away we are having in celebration of our 1st Bloggiversary!

It's coming up at the end of this month, but this Monday you will get a sneak peek at all of the goodies plus you'll find out all the fun ways you can enter to increase your odds of winning!

Tracey

More Snow And More Of My Snowman

We've had more snow this week as you read in Bonnie's last post. Perfect weather to sit inside and stitch, so I've made some progress on my snowman. Here he is:

Even with all of this snow, it was beautiful and sunny today with little wind. Perfect weather to go outside and take Willow for a walk. Took my camera along.

As much as we complain about these winter months, I really think I would miss the sparkling beauty of this winter wonderland if I lived somewhere else.

Tracey

Another Snow Day ...

Well it was another snow day for some of us in Southern Ontario again today, and a lazy one at that. So one of my minor tasks was to download the pictures off my camera.

Last week Anita hosted Cross-Stitch. For those of you followers who know the story about how well we have taught our kids not to eat any food they see in the fridge on Cross-Stitch nights... here's an example. When I saw this dish on Anita's counter I started to laugh and grabbed my camera.

While browsing through the photos, I remembered when the next two were taken and again, it made me laugh. We walked out into the living room to open our gifts on Christmas morning to find this...

After the gift wrapping was over, we were all just sitting, relaxing by the fire... (- well sort of - ) and enjoying the moment, I looked over and l giggled and said to the kids, 'shhhh, everybody look over at the TV"...

And just the other day... soaking up the sun that was streaming in the window...

I think I want to be a cat!

Bonnie

Elvis, Elvis, Let Me Be...

... keep that pelvis far from me! (Don't you just LOVE the movie Grease?!) Believe you me, if I lived back when Elvis was in his prime, you would never have heard that phrase cross my lips!!

If you've been following our blog for a while now, you know that I'm a huge Elvis fan along with my Mom and my 26 year old daughter. The 3 of us took a trip to Memphis back in 2007, and we had the time of our lives.

Today we want to remember the King of Rock & Roll on which would have been his 76th birthday. I'd like to share some of the memorabilia Mom and I have collected over the years, some of which we brought back from our trip to Graceland.

The first is a metal 'perpetual' calendar that Mom and I both purchased at a great souvenir shop not too far from our hotel. Things were really reasonably priced here since it wasn't as close to Graceland as some of the other shops.

All 3 of us bought this black and white poster (I think for about $3.00) and got them framed when we came back home. Love the metal sign above it too!

My Mom got this picture (unframed) at the second last concert that Elvis gave (before he died) which took place in Detroit, Michigan. (Actually it was she and Jody's Mom who went together!) They told us they almost didn't buy the pictures because money was tight and the cost was pretty high. Looking back now, they are sure glad they did!

When my Mom retired a few years ago, she had a party with an Elvis theme. This lamp was one of the gifts she received. He even dances and swivels his hips! :^)

This mini guitar also sits in the bar area at my Mom's. We jokingly refer to this area as the 'Elvis Shrine.'

My brother bought my Mom both of these bottles of wine. One when we were on a trip to Arizona together, and the other when he was coming home from Florida. When we get together we (especially my brothers!) like to trick my Mom into thinking that we have opened a bottle when she has stepped of the room. She falls for it every time! LOL

Last but not least, is this cross stitch piece that I made for Mom a couple of years ago. I think it is such a cool picture!

Even though the King is no longer with us physically, he will live on forever in our hearts through his unforgettable music and through all of the fun treasures we've collected.

Thanks Elvis!!

Tracey

A Snowman Start

In January I quite often feel like starting something new. Something wintery but not necessarily Christmas. This year I picked this cute snowman pattern adapted from a vintage postcard. It is from a book called Christmas Keepsakes; Book 2 in the Leisure Arts Christmas Remembered Series.

I

I am not going to stitch it into a bag like shown, but will frame it. The design size is 5"x7" so I'm hoping a store bought 8"x10" frame will do the trick. I had the fabric on hand, (28 ct. Jobelan, Sage/Summer Khaki) and all the floss, so a pretty thrifty project indeed. This is always a bonus, especially right after the holidays! :^)

Notice the cute pillow in the picture? Jody stitched this pattern by Bent Creek 10 years ago, (and 4 of them to boot!) and presented them to us at our Christmas get-together. They were unfinished, which gave us all the opportunity to get creative and do with them what we liked.

Have fun stitching up all of those wintery projects you have on your to do list. If it's anything like mine, you will have lots to choose from!

Tracey

TUSAL- Post # 1

The beginning of a new year... the start of a new challenge.

Today is the first posting in 2011 of my TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long) hosted on Daffycat's blog. I started to fill my empty container when Bonnie and I had a stitching day together at her house on Jan. 2... hence the empty candy wrapper :^) You can't have a stitching day without snacks!

It's still not too late to join in the fun (see our sidebar), so take a picture of your own TUSAL and get stitching!!

Tracey