Witchy Woman

Not much to blog about today. Still trying to get into a groove around here, because I have two boys in brick & mortar school and the oldest at home doing High School online. Add in a hubby that's working {somewhat} out of the house.

I had a few minutes of quiet time today. Not enough to sit and do the sewing that I really need to do, but I made up some word art/tags. Here they are for your snagging pleasure...

I'll post the September specials for The Angel Company soon. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Freebie Time!

They're not like the word art I've offered in the past, but I'm hoping you can use them. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Sale ends 31August - midnight (CST)

August Special - purchase "Spiders are Seen" ($19.95) & recieve Rockin Roxie Matchbook Album kit free

Only $14.95 with a purchase of $30 ($19.95 reg price) {NOTE: purchase of any Spooky Sets totaling $30 would qualify for this Stamp of the Month offer}

Please e-mail me if you're interested in any of these sets. Orders of $100 or more qualify for hostess offers as well.

Did some stitchin'

Hey there! I'm getting a jump on next week's Stashbusting September. I've had these patterns traced onto fabric for a while now just sitting inside my storage footstool in the ole she-cave, waiting for my "round-to-its" to come in...Saturday evening I decided not to wait for my "round-to-its" any longer. I just needed to sit down and get some stitching time.

The background fabric is a white on cream print, the embroidery pattern is called "Language of Love" from Tied with Heartstrings. I didn't use her recommended colors, because I wanted something a bit softer, so I chose ivory and a dusty rose.

I stitched it in French...

And English....
One the French side, I used two different laces layered up in the corner for a doily effect.
And on both sides of the pillow, I used a combination of true vintage and vintage-looking buttons (thanks, Lori and Sharron!) in cream, pearl, pale pinks, and clear dusty rose.Instead of filling the hearts with satin stitches, I filled them with French knots...I thought it was a pretty effect.
On the English side, I did an eyelet doily-style corner.
Now, I'm off to the next project...taking this 6'x9' canvas drop cloth from Lowe's (washed & softened up a bit)...
And turning it into curtains for 3 windows of my home like this one. They're a frustratingly horrible 48 inches wide and 22 1/2 inches high. I could dig it if they were in a basement, but...
this house doesn't HAVE a basement! *LOL* Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of your day!!

America needs this!

Our Country is in trouble...this isn't about Republican or Democrat (I'm neither - can't even really say I'm Independent). The Republican party left me about 8-10 years ago. It has become almost as progressive as the Democratic party, which at times, leaves me speechless. There are a few that are trying to redeem the Republican name, and I give them kudos, but it's going to take a LOT of work to get back to the days of my hero, Ronald Reagan. He wasn't perfect, but he called a spade a spade and stood behind his word.

This Saturday there is a special event being held at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial and I really wish I had the money to travel and attend. As it is, I'll have to be happy with listening to the radio broadcast on KNR news radio at 4pm EST. The next couple of clips will give you an idea of what to expect...

I'm not the only one that believes it...

Please understand, THIS IS NOT A TEA PARTY EVENT, as opponents have alleged. Glenn wants to restore the honor that our Country so desperately needs and he's being ATTACKED for it. Al Sharpton is planning a 'counter rally' against him on the same day (unbelieveable!).

The NIECE of Martin Luther King, Jr doesn't stand with Al Sharpton. I watched this the day of the show & although it's an unlikely mix of guests, it was the BEST way to understand what's happening here & how our history is being TWISTED for the benefit of others. I won't embed both parts of this show, but feel free to watch it on YouTube...it's extremely enlightening.

I've added a button...

in my left sidebar {see the sweet BWO crow?}. It's not for my blog (wish I could make one...I'd love to have one someday), but this blog post has been whispering in the back of my mind since I read it last week. I love what she said, even though she said it quite a while back, and the blogging without obligation idea should be one that we can all subscribe to for a long time to come.

How often do we apologize to our followers for not posting? If you don't apologize you're more special than you know. I know I've done it here SEVERAL times in the last two years since starting this amazing journey. Did I HAVE to apologize? No, not really. Everyone knows that life, especially life with children, can be crazy. Today's economy, health issues, and political atmosphere has a lot of lives spinning out of control and sometimes it's necessary to stop, step back a little, take a deep breath, and assess who and what is important in your life and how you're dealing with it all. A shift in your paradigm, if you will. Well, I've shifted my paradigm and that's why I'm writing to you now.

So, today, I'm committing to NOT apologizing to you. It's not that I've chosen to be rude, it's just that I shouldn't have to apologize for running my life (and my blog) the way I need to run it to keep sane. I'm doing this for me AND for you. I don't want what I enjoy the most to become a job that I'm chained and obligated to. I don't want to resent this OR any of you. I'll understand if you chose to not follow me any longer, that's YOUR choice, but I can't perform every day at peak levels for everyone everywhere, and that has been a very difficult thing for me to accept. You can't imagine how hard because I actually thrive on doing for others. I want you to enjoy visiting here. I want you to want to come back. I want you to tell your friends that I'm worthy of a visit or two. I enjoy your friendship and encouragement AND critiques.

I follow and subscribe to a lot of blogs. I used to read and comment faithfully. Now, I read whenever I can, I post when I feel like commenting or if I have the time. Some days, I only have time to glance through a post and run off to the next crisis that my family finds itself in. If I don't comment, it doesn't mean that I haven't seen you or don't appreciate what you've done that day. I do. In fact, a lot of you reading this are the reason I started my blog and took the path in my crafting journey that led me to rep for The Angel Company. That part of my business is falling off and I do need to build it up, so you'll be seeing a few more posts geared toward increasing my sales. If you don't appreciate that, fine, but understand that I need to generate an income - three growing boys, bills that never go away, an other things in my life have shown me that my focus needs to shift just a bit.

And lastly, you may notice that while for the last couple of years, I've referenced the economy but kept this place for the most part 'political free.' I have deep political thoughts and viewpoints and may start sharing a few here. I'm not saying this to run you off. I'm saying this so you'll know that I welcome a good healthy educated debate on a subject that may be on my mind, but there will still be no flaming or cyber-bullying here...I want to keep my 'home' friendly and welcoming and the main focus will be my crafting and sharing time saving tips or good deals. I'll still share my word art with you. If you have a view that differs from mine, that's not only fine but expected...just know that if you're going to comment on these occasional political posts, give me good, solid reasons for your differing viewpoint that I can research and look into. I love doing research and I'm not above admitting when I'm wrong...IF you can show me in a reasonable fashion.

Thank you for reading my brain~droppings and if you decide to stick around, thanks for that, too. Hope you have a great rest of your day. I'll be back in a bit with some stitching that I finished last night.

They say that the 3rd time is a charm...

I hope it is! Eldest Child took a turn helping me pull my final attempt at a winner of the tote bag...

And the winner is......{drumroll}

Inger, you said you'd give it a good home, so please contact me in the next 48 hours & I'll ship this out to ya, Sweetie!!

I can do this...

I NEED to do this. Is your craft room/space in need of purging but you don't want to toss anything out? Have you thought of, I dunno, maybe CRAFTING with it? *LOL* Well, this is just what I needed to stumble across to get my initiative kicked into overdrive.

Beginning Wednesday, September 1st, I'm committing to using my crafting stash (NO NEW PURCHASES) to make up as many projects as possible. I'm going to be a Stashbuster (see the right sidebar).

Even though last October I purged and sold off a lot of my crafting stock so we could downsize (stinkin economy!) I still have loads of things I can do...pillow forms, papier mache, unpainted wood, fabric to stitch up, window curtains to be made...the list goes on and on. Is this something YOU can commit to? Give it a try!

Okay, so here's the deal...

I've drawn two names since my blog candy ended on Sunday. Neither follower has responded. My dilemma...do I draw another name or just let it go & do the candy another time? I really don't have a problem drawing a third name...I just don't want to establish what could become a disturbing pattern and get to a point where I'm whittling through my list of followers, know what I mean?

New winner chosen

*sigh* Well, I gave RachelF an extra 2 hrs, but still didn't have any contact, so we tossed the names back into the hat and we'll try this again...

Kirsten, if you can e-mail me in the next 48hrs with your address, I'll get that tote out to you.

Hmmmmm....

Still waiting to hear from RachelF...you have till noon Tuesday (MST the 17th), Hon. Please scroll to the bottom of the page & click on the picture of the girl at the mailbox.

SO Moving...

Reminds me of when I went to church with some friends of mine (they're my heart family), growing up in Oklahoma. {I wonder if Doc sang at church today...sure do miss hearing him sing.}

Anyway, just had to share. Hope you enjoy it, too.

Winner chosen!

With the help of, Devin, one of My Favorites...

We tossed the names of my followers into his new fedora...
He drew a name...and the winner is....

Congrats, Rachel F! You have until noon (MST) Tuesday 17August to e-mail me with your mailing address so I can get your prize in the mail to you. If I don't hear from Rachel by then, I'll have to choose another name.

Thanks so much to everyone that signed up to follow me. I hope you continue to follow and come back to visit me often.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Followers Candy

NOTE: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all that signed on to follow my blog - I hope you continue to visit me!

I'm hosting my first blog candy (been long enough, right?)!! Here's what I've got for ya ~ made by lil ole me....

And here's the entire project. I really had fun making this & now it needs a loving home.

Here's what I need you to do:

1) Become a follower of my blog (the button to follow is on the right sidebar - see 'My Stalkers' - you've got to follow, because I have no way of tracking subscribers). If you're already stalking, then your name is in the drawing!

2) Spread the word so others can join in by posting about it on your blog, FB, or twitter

I'll ship ANYWHERE. Winner's name will be drawn on 15August2010 at noon (MST) & you'll have 48 hours to contact me with your mailing address. Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

By request...

Hope she likes them. Do you?

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Word Art Freebies cont'd.

This is a long post because of all the word art I've made for you, so we're just going to jump right in. I'll have more for you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!