Happy Holiday Season!

Hello,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was good. We had part of the family here for dinner and it was nice, though a little hectic with commotion, (but isn't that normal when family gets together?).
The past month I have been busy with craft sales. It has been fun but I haven't made much money, only making a little bit of a profit after the table fee. It has been that way for a lot of people, a lot of lookers but not too many buying, but then there were a few vendors that said they did pretty well. Maybe next year if the economy picks up it will be better, but I'm not sure if that is the reason or if people are just buying different stuff. Anyway I don't have any more scheduled this year, so maybe I can be one of the shoppers at a couple that are still coming up, that will be fun, and I always get inspired when I see what others do.
Now it is time to work on Christmas gifts that I want to make, do some planning and shopping, decorating and hopefully do a little more baking this year. And we will probably get the tree next weekend and set up our village. I am ready to get in the spirit of Christmas.
Until later......

Carrie

HAPPY FALL!! Has it really been almost six months since I wrote on here? It doesn't seem that long ago, but then in someways it seems like it's been forever.
Jenn and her family have moved back here and it has been so nice to have her "home" and have the family together again. We went and helped to move her back at the end of June. She was able to transfer in her job and Brett also was able to continue with his job temporarily so it has worked out well for them.
It has been great to see Brody and watch him, he is growing so fast. He and Abby are adjusting to sharing as they learn to play together.
Being fall we have visited a couple of pumpkin patches. And of course I have decorated everywhere with fall decorations. We will be having our "Scarecrow Party" again this year, it is just a fun time to visit and eat and I really look forward to it.
Of course fall means getting ready for all the craft fairs. I have participated in one so far and have 4 more coming up. It would be great to actually make a profit. I have some new project ideas that I have been working on so I am hopeful.
The rains are supposed to be starting tomorrow, we haven't had any long periods of rain yet but I think that is about to change with the forcast of a week of rain. The leaves are falling and the changing colors are beautiful.
This was a quick visit with you, I hope I can post more often (months is way too long) and update you on what's happening. Til later......

Carrie

What happened to Spring??

It is raining and cold, so what happened to spring? I think it took a detour! It is supposed to rain all week I think. You know, I really don't mind the rain but it is windy and cold and I am ready to work in the yard. I have bought a few flower plants that need to get planted, and am anxious to get the planting done. I know the rain is good for all the flowers and trees but I don't think they like the cold and wind so much.
Well, Mark and the family are in CA for a disneyland vacation so Abby is spending the week with us. She is having fun I think, except the weather isn't making it possible to go to the park or spend time outside. We are going to have to think of someplace else to go.
I don't have my chair finished yet. I needed to go to one more class but wasn't able to. I worked on it at home and have the sides almost finished, then the welting around the wood on the arms and the dust cover and then I am done except for the cushion. So, I still need to make arrangements to go to a class and work on how to do the cushion. Maybe next week I can finalize it. Then I will post a picture. (Now to keep the cats away from it!)
I'll be back...

Carrie

I think Spring may be here!

Happy Spring! Yes, I think spring may actually be here, the sun has been shining a lot and it has been warm. A few april showers still, but that's okay, it will help the grass and flowers grow.
I did go to Mark's and help the kids color eggs for easter. It went well and I think they had fun. Then on Easter sunday we went to church and then gave the kids their easter baskets. In the afternoon we went to the mountains to find snow. We had to go pretty far but we did find it and the kids got to play and slide and hunt for eggs in the snow.
I went to Jenn's and was gone for 8 days. Nancy went with me and we had four days of total quiet and just scrapbooked and read and relaxed. And Badger was a good boy. I don't think he minded the situation as long as he knew he would get fed. Time went quickly however and I didn't get as much done as I would have liked (I think I was enjoying relaxing). But, back at home now and back to the things I need to get done.
I hope to have my chair done this week so I can post you a finished picture.
We put out grass seed and fertilizer in the back yard to make one more attempt to get some more grass to grow. Sure hope it works this time. And hopefully this week we can get some of the plants and the bark dust, and get the pond running again.
Enjoy the sun!
Carrie

April Showers.....

It is April , that means April showers and yes we are having plenty of rain showers. I hope that means we will have beautiful flowers in May. I am ready to see flowers and sunshine.
We went to go see the tulip fields but decided to wait for midweek so it would be cheaper and less crowded. I hope the tulips will still be pretty by the time we go, with all the rain and wind I am sure they have been battered, but I still see them around town looking beautiful so I will be hopeful.
Well, last tuesday was supposed to be my final night for the upholstery class but I could not get it finished so I will be going at least one more week. I would have just finished it at home but I am down to the finishing parts that I need to learn how to do. It is exciting though, both learning these steps and that I almost have a finished project. I decided that this chair is going to be in the living room for now so I can show it off (and it will look good in the corner by the fireplace). Anyway I won't be able to do my last class until after I get back from Jenn's so it will be a couple of weeks. Then I will post you a picture of the final results!
Speaking of Jenn's... Nancy and I will be leaving on tuesday and I am getting kind of excited. I am looking forward to seeing my "baby boy" who is getting so big that I am anxious to see him and spend time with him. (Oh, hurry up and move back so I can see you anytime.) And of course I want to spend time with Jenn (and Brett too). And I am looking forward to having a few days to just relax and scrapbook and watch movies. (Nancy is excited too.) I better get busy packing!!
I think we are going to color eggs tonight with the grandkids and probably have dinner.

Talk to you soon.

Carrie

Spring is here?

Hello,
Happy Monday!
It is officially spring (for a week now) although you cannot tell by looking outside. It is rainy and wet and windy. I did see the sun peak through for about ten seconds but it got chased away by the rain. I heard that the rain would remain with us all week-ugh! I hope that means some sunny weather soon.
Last week was busy, I spent time with the grandkids. I did craft projects with both Racheal and Mikeal on different days, and one day took Racheal and Abby for lunch and to the park while Mikeal went with grandpa and Mark to the air museum. It was fun, I think they enjoyed the crafts the most. I need to do crafts with them more often, maybe during the summer.
Last week at my upholstery class I got quite a bit done. Putting on that tufted back was a challenge. I guess this week is our last class, I don't know how I can finish it in only one more class but we will see. Maybe I can get it to the point of finishing touches that I can do at home or maybe I will just have to do one more week. I could go on and do another session but I really can't afford it right now. I have the basics so we'll see how well I do if I start a project at home on my own.
A busy week ahead, I will try to get back in a few days and let you know what I'm doing.

Carrie

Catching up.....again....

Hello,
As you can see it has been almost a month since I wrote, I guess I am not doing so good at getting better about posting, but don't give up yet.
I have been busy with mostly the same things. Bible study, upholstering, watching Abby, and scrapbooking. However I did go to the coast a couple of weeks ago with Nancy and Tina, and we spent the weekend scrapbooking, watching movies and going to the beach. And of course we had to go to the scrapbooking store there. I picked up a few papers and accessories that I 'had' to have. We had a good time, it was nice to get away. And we are ready to go again.
Here are a few pictures to bring you up to date with my chair project. It certainly has been a challenging one for my first project. Not that it is hard, it just has a lot of steps and it is taking a long time. But it is fun. So see what I have done so far, and soon (maybe 4-5 more classes) and I should have a finished project. (Yeah!)

Carrie

Here are a few pictures - before and during.... tearing apart.....

restaining the woodwork.....

adding new burlap and cotton.........

and finally fabric........

Hello....

Well, it has been almost a month now since I wrote last. I know I have good intentions of writing more but sometimes I am not sure what to say and just don't write. I have been keeping busy but not a lot is new, so maybe that is why I don't know what to write.

I still have been working on my scrapbooking every week and have gotten so much done, I now have our whole second trip pictures on pages and the only thing left is to go back and do the individual page journaling and reprint the actual journal pages that go in the front. Yeah!! I will probably go ahead and start on the first trip so I can get those pictures on pages and work on the page journaling intermittently. I am excited that I am actually getting it done.
I have planned a weekend at the coast coming up soon with some friends and I hope to get some more scrapbooking done as well as just relax, shop, walk on the beach or whatever.
I will be visiting Jenn soon, in April, and Nanc is going with me. We are going to stay there while they take a trip and we are planning four days of scrapbooking and just enjoying the chance to get away. Then spend a day with Jenn when they return. It should be fun.

My upholstery class is going okay. I am getting ready to start the padding and then comes the fabric. I am getting excited to see how it will look. I will post pictures still, I promise, but some of them are still on the camera and I need to download them to the computer.

We made a trip up to see Michelle again, our first trip this year. And Abby went and had fun playing with Mackenna. They have fun together and have already figured out how to blame each other when they get into mischief. We need to make another trip soon and get Michelle busy on more cards.

It is raining again, after having a few days of sunshine. I guess that is good because it was really starting to feel like spring was here and it's still a little early, so may as well not forget that we still have more winter left. But, I am ready to plant flowers and see their beauty so I look forward to spring.

Okay, I gotta go, but I will try to come back and post some pics. Have a great day!

Carrie

A New Week

Well, it is Monday and the start of a new week. Not much to update. But I did get quite a bit done on the scrapbook pages of our trip. I have pictures layed out all the way to Ohio and stuck down where I want them. Now I just need to go back and accessorize the pages and do the journaling and labeling. That will take a while.

I thought I would share a few of the pics that I took so you can enjoy them.

There were so many different kinds of barns, it was so neat to see, I just wish it would have been possible to get out and get a closer look. The first river (the bottom)is the Missouri and the second one is the Mississippi.

I will post some more pics again later.

Tomorrow is the upholstery class again, I will update you and maybe even post a picture of the chair so far. (maybe)

Carrie

hello

Hello, today is wednesday and I have been keeping busy. Bible study, watching Abby, working in my craft room, scrapbooking, reading and beginning upholstering.
I had my first upholstering class last night. Tom went with me just to see the beginning process and help get the chair started. It was really interesting tearing down the chair, removing the upholstery and padding. There must have been a thousand staples and tacks. And there were quite a few steps to removing everything so I am sure doing the new stuff will be quite an accomplishment. The framework was a little shaky and cracked in a couple of places so we patched them with wood glue. I am not sure what the next step is, maybe stripping the finish off the legs and wood trim. But I will let you know.
I found an antique sitting chair today at a thrift store. It has upholstering on the seat, back, and a strip on each arm but otherwise is all open wood frame. It is a straight back sitting chair. It was a good deal so I had to get it, if nothing else it will be fun and easy to do.
We met for scrapbooking again and I got more done on my travel pages. Yeah! And we will meet again this week so I will make some more progress.
I am going to hang out with Abby tomorrow. And scrapbook on friday.
Talk to you soon,
Carrie

Getting Started

It is saturday evening, nothing much is happening.
We had our scrapbooking get together last night and I got started on pages for our trip we took last summer. It will be slow going for a bit until I get the pics separated and decide which ones I want to use. So I have started with the page titles for each state we went through.
I have decided to take a class in upholstering. I found someone who teaches it in his home and I figured instead of paying someone else to cover my chair I would do it myself. And this will give me the ability to redo other furniture in the future if I want. I have always thought it wouldn't be too difficult but didn't want to take the chance to start something I couldn't finish. Guess I will see if it is as easy as I think. Now I just need to figure out what type and design of material to use.
I will keep you posted, and maybe even post before, during, and after pics.

Happy New Year!

Wow, can you believe that it is 2010. We are entering a new decade and I'm not sure I was finished with the last one. There always seems to be so much that we don't get done and wish that there was more time. But I will look forward to this new year as I always try to do, with hopes and ideas and a few plans to make it a great year. Of course that means I need to get busy!!

Just an update from my last post, I did participate in three craft fairs and made a few dollars. Not much but it was fun and better a few than none at all. I just hope to be more prepared for sales next year, I have many ideas to create and maybe they will boost my sales if I get them done, if not they will still be fun to do (I just hope I can sell them and not have to store them).

Anyway then we moved on into Thanksgiving, followed by a trip to celebrate Brody's second birthday. What a big boy! It is so much fun watching him grow and learn! We took him to the San Francisco Zoo and that was fun, he loved the animals.

Once we got back home it was time to get started on Christmas preparations. We got our tree, pulled out all the decorations, and set up our village. We put the village in a different location this year and it was much better, more enjoyable because it wasn't up so high. It was fun as usual setting out all the snowmen and other decorations (I think I need a bigger house!) But I love all of it. It turned out to be a good Christmas season.
I watched Abby for three days starting on New Years Eve, it was Mark and Hopes anniversary. It was a lot of fun. She is getting so big and smart and it is getting to be fun trying to have a conversation with her. You can actually understand most of what she says now.

And that is a quick update without a lot of detail. But here is hopes that the new year will be better. I have made lists, not resolutions. A list of house stuff that needs to be done (painting, fixing, yardwork, etc.), lists of projects, crafts, etc., and working on a list of places to go this year (camping, drives, etc.). I like lists better than resolutions, you don't have to vow to do something that will take all year, and once you finish something you get to cross it off your list. And you actually have the potential to accomplish something. Yea!

Anyway until next time... have a great start to the new year!