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