Reason for no blog posts

 

If you don't want to read about a kitten you may want to skip this 'wordy' post.

In the first picture you'll see Little Bella. She was a tiny 4-week-old stray kitten who took up hiding in our car motors the first of July. This is after we took to the vet for a check-up and treatments for various problems. We tried to give her to an animal shelter but they wouldn't take her due to the large volume of kittens/cats/dogs received after the April tornado's came through our area. 

She fell asleep in my hands on the way back home and my husband and I decided to keep her and we are so glad we did. It's been an exciting journey to say the least. She was so frightened of every sound and of us. I think she loved our big cat, Mr. Whiskers, and clung to him, much to his dismay.

She was pretty sick and had a reaction to one of her shots and I thought she wouldn't make it, but she did as she is tough and strong. She's not scared of us anymore and is so much fun to watch everyday.

 In the second picture you can see she has been well loved and taken care of. She's so full of energy! She has grown like a fertilized weed and has taken to tearing down wallpaper in our bedroom. Geeze... I need to repaint it any way. She finally made it into this crock and she is just about too big for it but she is a determined kitty so she succeeded.
She went from weighing less than one pound in the beginning of July and weighed about 5-1/2 pounds at the beginning of September. She has six toes on each front paw and an extra claw on the side of one back leg. The extra claw doesn't touch the ground and doesn't seem to be hooked to a muscle. The vet said just to leave it if it didn't get hooked onto anything.
The front paws are a different story. Whew! Who knew that paws that look like little baseball gloves could do so much work. She uses her paws like hands and will stand up like a monkey and pick something up she is after. Very strong feet I must say.

In the last picture you'll see the kitties taking a nap together after a bathing session. They were so cute I had to grab my camera. They play together a lot until Mr. Whiskers (the big cat) gets tired of Little Bella and shoves her away.
What's this got to do with blogging? Well.... it may sound crazy to you but I didn't want to leave Little Bella alone when I got home from work to go outside to my Strawberry Studio that's in my backyard. I felt like I needed to spend time with her so we could 'bond". She was so frightened and sick and little I just couldn't leave her. I also didn't want to take her into my studio which would have been a whole new place for her to get used to. Silly  huh? I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with this kitty and she needed a lot of love and attention.
She's used to us now and follows us everywhere we go. To the bathroom, to make the bed, to do laundry to the ice dispenser on the fridge. She even comes running when we clean out the litter box. She must approve what we do and makes sure to 'mark' her spot when we get it clean. We should have named her "Tazmo" because she has been a Tasmanian devil of the wild kind. We enjoy her though and my husband and I call the furry friends "the children" now.
Little Bella will have an extended stay at the Vet's office this week as she is getting spayed. She won't be too pleased with that I'm sure and I'm worried she will think we abandoned her. We are sending a toy and her tuna treats with her, hopefully to remind her of her home.
Okay... now you know why I stayed away from my Strawberry Studio.
If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed my little Snippet of what I've been up to.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I really appreciate the time everyone takes to visit my little lazy blog.

Have a great day!
Debbie

My little helper

Our fur baby, Mr. Whiskers, loves to come into the Strawberry Studio if he knows I'm in there. He just checks things out then wants back outside.
He showed up at our doorstep about 1-1/2 years ago. We took him to the vet and had him fixed and got all the shots he needed and he's just the best pet. My husband wasn't too crazy about cats before Mr. Whiskers came along, but he loves this little fellow and Mr. Whiskers loves my husband. He chooses to sit with him most all the time and just sits with me if hubby isn't home. How funny!

I was going to share a bunch of cards with you today but my pictures are still in my camera. So... I'll share those pictures tomorrow hopefully.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Debbie

A puppy to make you smile

Meet my granddaughter's new puppy, Cody. He's a mixed breed Chihuahua/Poodle. Waaaay too cute. Her dad (my son) bought him for her yesterday. She just loves him and he seems to love her a lot too.

He cried a lot for her to hold him. I told her that's the same thing babies do. He got a little car sick in my car yesterday but not too bad. I was afraid Scarlett was going to get sick too, but she was okay. Yay!

Don't you think he's cute?

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today!

Have a great day,

Debbie

Flowers for Me

My sweet hubby sent flowers to me for Valentine's Day. We also bought a new dishwasher after ours died. It was installed on the day of snow (Feb. 12) and was such a messy day. A pretty day...but messy. Hey the dishwasher is great. It's so quiet we had to go in the kitchen and listen to be sure it was running. Yep! It's that quiet.
Oh... and my hubby also bought me a harmonica. Yeah... I've always wanted to learn how to play one. After just a few days of practicing I could play 'Oh Suzanna'. How funny! I tried to learn from You Tube but there were so many different instructions I just bought a book. It has been the most helpful. My husband couldn't believe I could play something in just a few days. The bad thing is that if I practice in the house my cat will come up and bite me on the arm letting me know I sound like an ally cat or something. He bit me twice the first time I played around him. He doesn't like it at all. He runs after he bites me. It's true and I've tried it more than once. He is my coach letting me know I'm not ready to go public yet. So... I just go to my craft house and play to my heart (lips) content. You can get out of breath doing this ya know. I am following the book and must practice everyday.

The first snow picture is the view from my front porch. It had not been snowing for long and it piled up quickly. I thought it was beautiful but we don't get snow very often. You can see it didn't stick to the streets.

The second photo is the view from a window in my craft house right where the Pfaff sewing machine is sitting. What a beautiful sight. Yeah...the snow looked beautiful too!
Hope you enjoyed my treats today. I have been stamping cards but not made any pictures of them.
I have a new toy I may share in the next day or so... if you are interested.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a supah dupah day tomorrow!

Debbie

Our cat...Mr. Whiskers

Mr. Whiskers came to live with us in September. He dropped by one day and wouldn't leave. So, we decided to keep him and took him to the vet and spent a small fortune to get him healthy and neutered. Poor baby has a right front paw that had been broken at some time in his little life (he's about one-year-old) that causes him to hold that leg up when he walks or runs. The doctor said it would never be better, but gave him a cortisone shot. We have since moved him into the house. Not exactly what we wanted to do, but we've fallen in love with him and treat him like a little kid. He's got it made. He lets us know when he wants to go out and guard the yard. He just sits around looking at everything, then he comes back in.
He doesn't bother the tree...but I did leave off the ornaments from the very bottom of the tree just in case.
He's getting fat and has gotten very frisky since his surgery in October. We thought it'd slow him down, but geeze... he likes to play hard and sleep hard. He makes this chirping sound (for lack of knowing what to call this sound) instead of meowing. It's so funny! He only meows when he wants to come back in the house from being cold. Cracks me up.
I thought I'd share the picture I made this morning of him under the tree. He was smelling of the presents but so far hasn't had much interest in them or the tree. He'd rather play with a little stuffed toy or my granddaughter's dirty sock.
So if you come visit us, you may have to walk over a dirty sock or a playful cat. He will grab your feet if he's wanting to play.
Do you have any idea what the 'chirping' sound is? I don't know how to explain it, it's not a purr, but this little sound from the inside. Crazy...

Gotta go now.... thanks so much for dropping by. Hope you are enjoying my 12 tags of Christmas. I think I'm going to make a display board to put them on. I better get on that tomorrow. Maybe I'll share it here.

Have a great evening!

Debbie

A rose is a rose

This rose just bloomed overnight on a little bush Scarlett and I planted in the pouring rain the first week of August. We were soaking wet but had a wonderful day! I bought two rose bushes... 2 for $10 at Lowe's. I don't have a green thumb at all so I have no idea how these things will survive. We'll see how it goes. This particular rose bush hadn't been looking too good while the other one has had a lot of blooms on it. I can't think of the name of them right now, but I don't think they're suppose to grow tall.

Isn't it just beautiful! I took the picture early this morning as I headed to the craft house with my cup of coffee.

I don't know what the other bush with red leaves is. We bought it when we got the rose bushes. It's beautiful but didn't have a tag on it and the checkout clerk at Lowe's didn't know what it was. It was coming a rainstorm while we were there so I didn't wait around to find someone that may know what it is. Do you have any idea what it may be?

Enjoy the view. (Hey... I've been stamping a lot... but my mojo has been on vacation and my ideas aren't flowing like I want them to.) geeze... sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Right now I have a roast with potatoes in the crockpot and I made homemade chicken noodle soup last night. It was wonderful. I hope the roast will be as good. Oh... I better go pop some green beans on the stove to cook while I try to find my mojo.

Don't you just love food! (And... I made homemade chocolate pudding a couple of hours ago. Over-cooked it I think but it's still good.)

Have a great Sunday evening and thank you so much for stopping by. Let me know if you're enjoying my blog.

take care,

Debbie

New family member

We never expected to have any pets at our home. We used to be away from home most of the day and my husband isn't crazy about cats. But... we have a cat now. It took up at our house last weekend and decided to stay with us. He's a cutie and I think he's young but I'm not sure.

My granddaughter fell in love with him and immediately wanted us to go buy cat food and a flea collar, so we did. He's a very laid-back kitty and just lays around sleeping or looking through the door wanting some attention.

We've decided it he wants to stay he'll be well cared for. I won't let him in the house though so I know he may decide to run away. Who knows? So far he's hanging around our home for now.

Let me know what you think about Mr. Whiskers. He's a super sweet kitty. My husband even talks to him and feeds him. (This is what I should have made pictures of... cuz I never figured it would happen in my lifetime.)

Take care and thanks so much for stopping by.

Debbie

My First Column

Talk about nervous! That's how I felt when asked to join in on the new 'crafty' column for the newspaper I work for (http://www.annistonstar.com/). Just type in my name in the search box and it'll take you right to it. I love crafting so I thought I'd give it a try. My love of crafting tools was the source for my first column and I hope you enjoy it. I've included a picture of the lap quilt and the "gizmo" at the end of the article.

Haute Homemade: The gizmo queen's favorite gadget
by Debbie Reaves Community Editor
12 hrs ago 23 views 0 0
Once upon a time, my friends called me the "Gizmo Queen." That's because I have an undying love for gizmos. Not the kitchen kind (even though I have a few), but the crafty kind.Some of my gizmos collect a little dust, but others are always within reach of my crafting zone. The new AccuQuilt Go! Fabric Cutter is one of the ones I keep handy.I first came across an ad for the fabric cutter while thumbing through the fall issue of Quilts and More magazine. There it was! A gizmo I had never seen before!The ad stated it was a revolutionary way to cut fabric fast, accurately and easily. No mistakes.I needed more information, so I ran to my computer and went to the Web site. Oh no … it was the last day of a special sale they were running on the fabric cutter. I had to grab my purse and close the deal. (I mean, they were giving away things for free with the purchase of the fabric cutter … I just had to go for it, right?)It was a good thing I'd been saving money for awhile, as it cost $349.I had a tiny bit of buyer's remorse, but I got over it. I do love gizmos, you know.A week later I had my newest toy. It turned out to be the nicest thing for cutting out fabric shapes to use in quilting.I don't claim to be a quilter; I made my first one last year. I am fascinated by the art of quilting. But I found it very hard, and cutting out the fabric was time consuming.This new gizmo makes the cutting easy. Pick a die with the shapes you want, place the fabric on the die — up to six layers at once — place the plastic mat on top and roll it through the cutter. In a matter of seconds you have your pieces cut and ready to use.It was wonderful! I starched and ironed my fabric scraps ahead of time, and then starting rolling them through the fabric cutter. In less than an hour, I had 90 4 ½-inch squares and 90 2 ½-inch squares.It was easier for me to cut four layers of fabric at a time. The crank got a little tough to turn with six. But it's worth it.I made a lap quilt with 90 squares in about two hours after cutting the fabric pieces. It was fun, and I can't wait to get more dies.A die with three different shapes came with the fabric cutter. My special also included eight free quilt patterns for different projects. Other dies are available at http://www.accuquilt.com/.You can shop around on the Internet and find bargains on the cutter with free shipping. That will come in handy as it weighs about 20 pounds. It's a sturdy piece of equipment that even came with a dust cover.Now that's my kind of gizmo.

Welcome to "Haute Handmade," a new column for crafters. Our two main columnists: Deirdre Long, the Star's Escapes editor, has been sewing for about 15 years, since she was 10 years old. She also knits, crochets and upcycles old items by redesigning them into new creations. Debbie Reaves, the Star's Community editor, has been sewing for 40 years. She was also a sign-painter for 18 years, and crafts with all things paper, from rubber stamps to scrapbooking.










This last photo is the die as it goes through the AccuQuilt GO!
I hope you like my first column and I hope you'll leave a comment here or on the newspaper Web site directly under the column.

As always... I appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog.

Have a great day!

Debbie

Cricut Craziness

The whole reason I started my blog was because I fell in love with the Cricut Expression. Crazy huh? Just go back to the beginning and see my posts about this cool contraption! It does some pretty neat things. Mine has been lonesome lately with me playing with other toys. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! I'll be back with my Cricut any day now. Cuz... I've got ideas that need to be put to the test. You'll see.....

Any hoooo.... Cricut is celebrating having 100 cartridges available by giving away 100 cartridges over the next five weeks. (20 per week.) This information is from their newsletter that I receive and always read. Naturally I did what I had to do to get in on the action. One of the things to get my name in the hat twice was add this link on my blog. How easy is that? So... here it it. It goes back to the cartridge product page at Cricut. Whoo-Hoo! If you're wondering just what the Cricut is all about... have a visit on their Web site. Cool machine! Did I tell ya I just love mine?


http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Have a great evening!

OH... I did make something this weekend. No pic yet. It was a patchwork lap blanket. I'll share it with you later and tell you what toy I used to help speed the process along.

Nite now!

Debbie

Snippets of the present

Now... take a look at my sweet little "old craft room." This is a view from the door. As you can see.. the walls don't have much on them. I can't bring myself to make new nail holes. Scarlett and I did hang a painting she made just for the room. It's hanging to the left above the side of the bed. She was so sweet and enjoyed painting it so much!
The antique Singer sewing machine (circa 1927) is a precious gift my mother gave me last year. My father refinished it back in the '70s. He had it sewing like a dream. It still has the belt on it that my dad bought for it. It's just stretched out and I haven't taken the time to buy another one. The machine is in beautiful shape and would sew (I think) if I just replaced the belt. (Project for another day.) Just to the right in the photo is a side view of another treasure my mother gave me. It was my grandmother's dresser/make-up stand. My mother has had it for only a few years and she knew I loved it. She surprised me by giving it to me last year. Both items hold a special place in my heart and now in my home.
I was looking for a peaceful design. I usually go for 'real country' but this time it's a mild version of something... I don't really know what it is.

The sweet dresser has a very heavy slab of marble on the top. It's not attached... it just sits there. It's just beautiful. The mirror has cardboard on the back and is still in pretty good shape. My mother thinks it's from the 1950's but she's not sure.

The bed is new and sure looks dark in the photo. It is a sleigh bed with an Espresso color finish on it. The bedding is dark brown micro suede type fabric. I just love to touch it. geeze.... The sheets have a khaki, light and dark tan and blue design it them. They look so good with the brown comforter. I found the blue pillow at Wal-Mart and it matched the design on the sheets. The curtains match better in person than they do in the picture but I guess that's life. I didn't make them. They were cute and I was tired. (That's life too!)

I did just make the curtains for the closet. Made them too short so I went back and added a dark brown fabric panel to the bottom. I also did this cool zig-zag stitch across both panels that mimics what is on the comforter. It sorta goes in a wave shape but you can't tell it in the photo. Geeze... (that's life too!)

Okay... hubby is hungry for lunch so I guess that's my call to 'feed my man.' He's good to this old gal... guess I better throw some burgers on the grill.

Hope you enjoyed the snippets of the past and present. How do you think I did on the walls?

Thanks again for hanging in there with me on such a long post.

have a great day too!

Debbie

Snippets of the past

I thought I'd share some pictures of the craft room that I loved and enjoyed for the last five years and the transformation that I gave to it after moving into my new little yellow craft house.
This may be more than you wanted to know about my craft rooms.. but some folks wanted to see it.

The first photo was made from standing just inside the door. I really had a lot packed into this 10x12 bedroom. Now that I've moved out of it I realize I was a queen at organization because I had things packed away in all sorts of places. The television (lower right in photo) was sitting on top of a night stand that had four drawers full of stuff. geeze...

In the second photo I stood on something to make a view from above of the table that Scarlett and I shared as we stamped. She sat at one paper tablet and I sat at the other. I eventually removed the work station (at left on table in photo). It was a great thing to use but it was taking up table space. So I tucked it away for a long time and recently gave it to a dear friend who is making her own craft room. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did. (Hey Jo!)
Photo 3 just shows the table skirt and the chair covers that I threw together using my serger for the most part. I didn't even hem the skirts, just serged the edges. It worked wonderfully and I did the same process in my new craft house too. Quick... and easy. I stored (and still do) a lot of rolling carts behind those curtains. Believe it or not I even know what's behind the curtains.

Next photo shows a little closer shot of the work table. I just recently covered the paper holder (right hand side of table.. looking pitiful) with Mary Engelbreit fabric and it looks so cute! The little green cabinet in the corner was painted green with "milk paint". It was kinda weird but looked rustic like I wanted it too. I painted the sunflowers (one of my favorite) on the front for a little decoration. I still love to paint... but I flip-flop around with doing different things. Mostly stamping though.

Last photo is just another view from the door. You can see the shelves on the walls that I loved and they held a lot of stuff. It was hard to put them up since I used a lag bolt type thingie that was recommended to use with the shelf system. Needless to say, after I got the bolts into the wall studs they didn't want to come out. Oh me.... it was a nightmare. I had to cut the heads off the bolts, then cut the bolts off at the wall surface to get the things down. Then I had to use Sheetrock compound to resurface the walls. Four walls had shelves. It took me two months because it was a horrible job. I only put two sets of the shelves back into my new craft house because it was so bad before. PHEW... I'm through whining now...

I hope you've enjoyed this little snippet of the past. It's been fun to look back on it because it was also a dream come true to me. Many happy hours were spent in that room.

Stay tuned to the next blog post for a look at the makeover this room recently went through.

If you've read this far, I just want to says thanks so much!

I hope you have a great Labor Day!

Take care!

Debbie

Happy 4th of July

I've been having so much fun in my new Craft House. I can't focus too well because I'm still in shock and awe that I have it.

We're having an easy, laid-back kind of day today. We cooked on the grill last night with Scarlett helping. Today... we'll eat leftovers.

Today turned out to be a great day to me. I bumped into some friends at Wal-Mart that I used to work with. (Hey Waneda and Bruce!) I could have talked to them all day. They had wandered into my neck of the woods and I just couldn't believe it when I saw Waneda. She was always a joy to work with. That's the sad part of leaving a company that you spent 26 years at. Your friends. Cherished memories...Sharing our lives with each other. Waneda and I shared a lot of crafty things together. She's a fabulous painter and can create some cool things. (Girl.... I sure do miss our chats about crafts!)

Bruce.... helped me to create this hugh stash of paper that I have. (Thanks Bruce for being there when I wanted paper cut to size.) I still have a ton of paper from the old days. A stamper can never have too much paper.

As always, thanks so much for visiting.

Take care,
Debbie