A.........lphabet notecards!

When I purchased a package of paper that first was earmarked for scrap booking, I had no idea that a set of 26 note cards would pop into my head. But once I began, each card became more fun to do. Perhaps my teaching background and the fact that I have a daughter who is an elementary school teacher had something to do with it! Those who enjoy working with the English language in any capacity should be able to put these to good use. The stunning blacks, whites, grays and shiny silver cards are accented with a tiny red ribbon and are blank inside for messages. They're available for sale in my ESTY shop listed in the right hand column of this blog.

C.........amille invites Rosie to tea

When Camille heard that Rosie, one of 13 kangaroos visiting Eastern Star Chapters in the state of Wisconsin, had arrived in the Sheboygan area, she was so thrilled she extended an invitation for tea. First, she presented Rosie with a hand crocheted rose to wear and a rose bud for her joey to hold. Then they enjoyed tea and scones from her own 1940's tea set. Rosie explained to Camille that she had already visited many chapters and had made many new friends. She may be in Sheboygan a while or may be off visiting again soon. Enjoy your stay, Rosie! What a delightful afternoon!

B.........rand New Book!

How many times have you heard someone say, "I really should write a book!"? Thanks to easy desk-top publishing, and using Blurb through Flickr, I finally have taken the plunge and written Confessions from a Crazed Crafter! Dedicated to the wonderful women in my life, it features 10 chapters with titles such as, "My Mother Made Me Do It", "I Once Had a Fling With Feathers", and "There are too many PIGS in my House". Obviously it's written "tongue in cheek" and is autobiographical in nature. It's liberally sprinkled with more than 125 photos, many of them crafts that I have done. It also has a chapter devoted to the talents of several extraordinary friends. It was such fun to do and I would encourage anyone to try this scintillating project! Several interior pages are shown below.

T..........he pear tree

For many years early fall has given us the pear tree adventure. At the very end of August and through the month of September it gave us thousands, yes, thousands of pears, even though we did nothing to encourage the tree. How lucky, some of you are saying to yourselves! And to top it off, many of them were very good. However, one family can eat only so many pears and my canning days are over! Even with our giving them to neighbors, family and friends, there were always way too many. One year I threatened to put them on strangers' porches disguised as zucchinis! And, of course there were the thousands that fell from the tree and had to be picked up and disposed of, much to the chagrin of the garbage men. Also, the thousands of fallen pears were accompanied by thousands of wasps. In all the years I was only stung once!
However, this year there's been a change. One bright, early September day we heard a tremendous CRAAAAAAAAAK and a thump that actually shook the house! It turned out that the weight of the unripened pears actually cracked the tree in half and it had to be cut down. At first, I thought I'd be relieved to not have this extra work each year, but somehow it's made me a little sad! However, it did inspire me to make the pear scrubbies you see here to accompany the apples!


ps....the partridge was seen flying away with a strange smile on his face!

J.........ust one look

at these darling "monster" baby t-shirts will have you falling in love with the ETSY shop of http://joeyandaleethea.com The designer, creator and owner of the shop, a proud mom of a lively two-year-old toddler and his new baby sister, is also the "etsy blogger of the month". You can find her delightful blog at http://joeandaleethea.com/ning and read about her wide variety of interests and meet her precious family. Even though her new daughter was just born in June, she never wavered from her responsibilities as team leader of the etsybloggersteam! I suggest all new moms, dads, and grandparents (and anyone shopping for a new baby or who just wants a smile) visit the shop and the blog. Her designs are just perfect for the modern baby and his parents!

C.........amille and Oscar go to the craft show

Last Saturday and Sunday, Camille and Oscar hopped in the car to go to a wonderful craft show in Greendale, WI. It was held a Trimborn Farms, a Milwaukee County Park, and we were fortunate to have a booth in a fantastic old stone barn that was originally built to house draft horses. You can see them (Oscar and Camille, not the draft horses) with the pine needle baskets and the Christmas ornaments before the show started. Actually, there was a small separate booth for us besides where we set up greeting cards, scrubbies and my new book, "Confessions from a Crazed Crafter". It was a successful show and we met so many new and delightful folks from the Milwaukee and surrounding areas. With more than 150 artists and crafters, the show, in its 26th year drew several thousand people. The weather was delightful and a good time was had by all. We certainly want to thank our dear sister and brother-in-law, who live nearby, for being such great hosts to us Saturday night. Oscar and Camille returned home Sunday afternoon, tired, but happy!

S.........haring and Caring

At first, I was going to say that this was the last in a series about some fabulous friends, but I'm sure they'll all be appearing again! This lovely and courageous lady has been an inspiration to us all. The works of art she shared with us reflect the joy and pride she has in her family. The needlework carolers remind her of her four boys growing up. I recently got to meet them all and they are a delight. The three large wood cut pictures were done by her husband and now decorate his den. I can't even imagine cutting those intricate birds and I adore the colors of the glasses and balloons. Did you notice that the latter are tied to a dog's tail? What fun!

Flower Child

As regular readers to this blog may know, I belong to a very unique and creative group of ladies who get together twice a month for mah jongg and red hat fun. This is the next in a series of posts about those ladies, and I hope this very special gal will forgive the silly title to this post. She excels at flower arranging, to needlepoint, quilting and more. Delicate stencils are featured in her home including this whimsical basket of flowers which escape the frame. The intricate Christmas stocking was lovingly done for her first grandson, and the quilted pillows were gifts for her daughter. An avid gardener, she delights in arranging flowers, such as the sunflower bouquet, and delights each of us on our birthdays with an arrangement especially for us. A couple months ago, she presented me with a selection in a tea cup (did I mention she also gives fabulous teas?) which she called "Herbs and Edibles" because the whole arrangement could have been eaten! I chose to photo graph it instead, and enjoyed it for the longest time.