Cookie Sheets, Spatula, Oven Mitt - For the Sewing Room?

Some of my favorite sewing supplies are actually kitchen items, and I use them all the time. There are other odd things I've found around the house that I find helpful as well. Right now I'll discuss my three favorites.

Baking sheets: I bought the set that comes with three different sizes. These things are the most helpful for everything. I use them to separate fabric pieces for projects, to set on my lap while I'm watching a movie and doing some hand stitching or clipping jump threads from my embroidery projects. They are also great for organizing the various steps in smaller items like the gift card holders above. If you want to make those, there is a free tutorial right HERE on the blog. It's a great kids project. I made some that I hand stitched instead of gluing and painting.

Rubber spatula: I think of this one as my hand and finger saver. When I'm at the embroidery machine and I'm needing to hold something in place or move something out of the way, I use this instead of my fingers. As of this writing, I've never had a needle go through my fingers!

Super thick oven mitt: This item is invaluable for ironing in areas that can't be laid flat when pressing. I don't use this as much as the other items, but when I do need it, I'm happy to have it. 

And no, I don't use any of these items in the kitchen also. They are now my sewing supplies.

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There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week.  

Favorites - Sewing Machine Feet

Time for some more favorites! I probably have every sewing machine foot they make. I want to share with you my favorites and the ones I use regularly. I actually have more favorite feet to share later. Many years ago when I first started sewing (I was a teenager) it wasn't so easy to get the feet. You had to go to your dealer and order them from there. Then the wait for them to come in was forever! Now it's so easy. Who has the biggest selection? You guessed it, Amazon!

The walking foot: Great for using on your layered projects such as quilts and even mini quilts. It actually "walks" over the project so your layers don't shift. I like to do a lot of the strip quilting and quilt as you go projects and this is so helpful!

The narrow zipper foot: All zipper feet are not created equal! My last machine came with a zipper foot but it wasn't a narrow version. Of course I hopped on Amazon and ordered me the narrow zipper foot. The foot that came with my machine was a wider version. I remember trying one years ago and I could never get close to my zipper or piping while using it. If you're going to make a lot of zipper projects or use piping, you need to get the narrow version.

Open toe foot: This is my number one favorite sewing machine foot and I use it all the time. If you look at it, you'll see that there is a really wide cutout where the needle is. I do a lot of applique with my sewing machine and I can get a good look at the edge of my appliques during stitching so my stitching goes exactly where I want it.

So there you have it. My favorite and most used sewing machine feet.

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There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

Favorites - I Love These Machine Embroidery Supplies

Time for some more favorites! These are the four items that I use in my studio on a regular basis. 

Pre-wound bobbins are a massive time saver. I order a large box of white, and I also have them in several colors. The last thing I want to do when I need a bobbin is to stop and create some more. This way they are always on hand, and I don't have to stop what I'm doing.

Basting adhesive really makes stabilizing easy. I much prefer it over pins and tape. Sometimes, depending on what I'm stabilizing, I'll use it with pins. It makes such a difference when making things that require a layer of batting such as coasters, zipper bags, etc. I used to worry about it gumming up my needle, but after several years of use, it hasn't happened yet.

These snips make clipping threads neater. I don't use these for cutting away fabrics, but they are great when you need to clip that thread close to the stitching. They are so thin and lightweight. As for clipping away excess fabric for applique, I like to use my curved embroidery scissors.

Snag Nab-It Tool is probably the best thing ever invented for embroidery, sewing, and basic snag repair. It has a sharp point on one end, and a rough section on the other end. It's made to pull snags through to the back which turns a damaged sweater into like new. Have you ever finished a project, and everything looks beautiful except those one or two stiches in your silky satin stitches that the needle obviously missed? Of course you have! And it's not your fault. This tool is designed to make it look like it never happened. You just find the stitch that didn't stitch (or just sticking out in a weird way) and insert the pointed end right at that stitch on the top of the project. Then you gently push it completely through. The rough edges on the opposite end of the tool will catch that annoying thread and bring it right through to the backside. If you want you can put a tiny drop of Fray Check on the back where the stitch is but honestly, I've never worried about that. And you know these thread mishaps always happen at the end of your project after you've done all that work! TIP: Store it in the little plastic sleeve it came in and maybe put a dot of paint or nail polish on the plastic sleeve. This little thing is so easy to lose.

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There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

Buc-ee's! Don't Miss this Little Gem While Traveling

Have you ever been on a road trip and passed a sign with the cute beaver that says Buc-ee's? Well, my advice is to stop in for a quick (or not so quick) visit. Buc-ee's is not just a fancy rest stop off the highway, it's an entire experience!

We travel a lot! Two of the places we regularly travel to are Texas and Florida, and there are a lot of Buc-ee's between here and there. My first time there, I was in constant aww! They have so many things that will make your road trip extra fun. They have a lot of choices for lunch, dinner, or a quick snack. Everything is super fresh and worth every penny. On our last visit we picked up some cobb salads for lunch and they were fresh as can be. We sat in the car and enjoyed them. No wilted lettuce in our salads!

They are really known for their smoked beef brisket. And the smell when you are in there is amazing! Not a fan of brisket or beef in general, don't worry, they have a lot more. Everything from sandwiches, salads, yogart parfaits, fruits, nuts of every kind, fudge, candies, cookies, chips, and so much more! My personal favorite is chocolate covered cashews. Yep, it's the only place I've seen them, and they are sooooooo good!

They also have some cute stuff too. They have holiday items, souvenirs, pets’ stuff, kitchenware, games, coolers, gifts, kids' stuff, and every kind of soft drink you could imagine. They are also known for their 100 plus gas pumps at each location. If your car is a little dirty, they have the longest car wash you've ever seen.

This may sound funny, but they are also known for their restrooms. Yep, I said it, "RESTROOMS." They are super clean and quite pretty. It seems like every time we travel, we see where another one has popped up. 

If you are on a road trip and see a Buc-ee's you should stop on by. I'm sharing the link to their website so you can take a sneak peek. Did I mention how much I love the place?

Oh, and my son would never forgive me if I didn't mention their beef jerky. They also have a little thing called "beaver nuggets." Yep, they have things you've never seen elsewhere. Be sure the check it out for yourself.

https://buc-ees.com/about/

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There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

Some of My Favorite Sewing Supplies

This week I'm sharing some of my absolute favorite sewing supplies. I have been sewing for over 50 years. That's right, I started as a young child. When we were younger my sister and I made all our Barbie clothes and Barbie furniture. That was also the time when I made my first purse. I wish everyday photography were a thing then because I could share the pictures. I was quite proud of that one. I'm not sure which of my addictions began, the sewing or the purses. A girl cannot have too many purses! But that's a whole other blog post.

Let's get started on my favorite supplies. From left to right...

1. Anything from the Sewline brand. Their marking pencils are the best! I have the pencil with the three different colors (white, pink, dark gray). It's a mechanical type of pencil that works beautifully. You turn the bottom half of the pencil to the desired marking color. You can also adjust to let out more lead when you need it. I use it so much and I'm waiting on my refills to arrive any day now. I also love their eraser that is made to go with these pencils. Just like the marking pencil, you can extend it for more eraser. Since it's designed like a pencil, it's so easy to use. And there are also refills available for these too. Probably my favorite of all my tools.

2. Next is HeatnBond Lite. All the products with this name are the best in my opinion. The strong or ultra hold sticks very well and is easy to use. Most of the time I use the Lite. It's designed to hold things down so you can stitch on it. It never gums up your needle and holds very well. This is the only one I will use when making my fabric appliques for machine embroidery and hand embroidery.

3. Jean-a-ma-jig. There are other brands and styles of this that do the job, but this is the one that I have had for many, many years and it has served me well. Since I love to make tote bags, small wallets, and purses there are times when I'm trying to stitch over a bulky seam, and this is a huge help. It prevents my sewing machine foot from getting stuck at the beginning of that area, so the seam is nice and even. I just used it yesterday when making up a bunch of credit card wallets for a donation for the local women's shelter. I zipped right on through with ease!

4. These little fabric clips. I have the Clover brand. I got them when they first came out and I believe that Clover was the only brand at that time. Now you can easily find them, and you can find them at a better price. Sometimes I feel a pin is needed but for the most part, I use these.

So, there you have it. These are my top four sewing tools. I have many tools and I'll be sharing more of them with you at another time. All the tools listed above are very easy to find.

 

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There's a free machine embroidery design in every issue (unless I'm running a sale). You'll also find links to free sewing tutorials and articles too. The newsletter goes out once a week. 

How Do You Organize Your Time?

After trying so many different ways and things to organize my time and my life, I've finally figured out what works for me. If you search for tools or information for time organization, you'll find hundreds of apps, spreadsheets, digital planners, paper planners, list makers and more. It can be overwhelming! And I think I've probably tried them all at one point or another in the past several years.

When looking for a time management or notes tool, at least for me, it had to fit the following criteria:

Must be fast

Must be easy

Must sync seamlessly between my tablet, computer, and phone

Must be capable of handling a lot of information but yet be simple

I'm going to share with you what I have finally found that works for me. Believe me when I say that I have tried almost everything out there. My system may not work for you, but if you are still on the lookout for a great way to organize your time, give these a try. And the best part.....they are FREE!

First, Google Calendar with Keep Notes. If you have an Android device, you probably already have the Google calendar and Keep Notes. If not, you can download it from your apps store. These work well together in fact, you can open your Google Keep Notes right there in your calendar app while on the computer. There are so many ways to keep your calendar organized with events and tasks. You can also share your calendar with your work group or family, or you can just share a part of it. Seriously, it does so much! I like to keep my Keep Notes up with my calendar because that is where I keep my weekly checklist, grocery list, and a couple other items that I use on a daily basis. It's all right there and ready for me when I need them. And of course, I can access them from all my devices. I also have my Google Assistant (awesome app) set up so that when I ask it to take a note, it stores it in my Google Keep so I will see it right away when I get back to my tablet or computer. I also like that I can view my calendar in different modes such as monthly, weekly, daily, and agenda. On my phone and tablet, I like to use agenda (or schedule), and on my computer I like to look at the whole month.

For other notes such as long lists, project planning, recipes, etc, I use Samsung Notes. It's only available for Samsung tablets, computers, and phones but it's a powerful little app. I love that I can import PDF documents and annotate. This is especially handy when I'm proofreading my patterns. It allows you to organize in folders and even folders in folders. I call it my second brain. You can't use it in your computer, but if you download the "Link Phone to Windows" app, you can use it by connecting through your phone with Windows 10 or 11.

Now you see how I organize my life; how do you organize yours?

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Some of My Favorite Apps

Since I've been blogging (lots of years), every now and then I make a post about my favorite apps. Of course these tend to change as more apps become available and more apps are updated. As of this writing, the following are my favorite apps:

1. Google Calendar - I suppose this will always remain on my list of favorites because it keeps my time so organized. I love the fact that along with the "events," it allows you to create tasks. I use the task feature as my daily to do list. The way I like to look at it is to go into the schedule and you have a nice list. I love that you can even add details to your tasks. You can even make recurring appointments for your events such as birthdays, bill payments, etc...

2. Readly - For around $12 a month, I can read unlimited magazines and even back issues. Every magazine I like, they have it. Each family member can have their own sign-in as well. I sure do get my moneys worth out of that one. And they have all the popular magazines and more!

3. Samsung Notes - This is my second brain! I used to pay for another note-taking app but since I discovered Samsung Notes, I like it even better. This app can only be used on Samsung devices and computers with Windows operating system. It syncs seamlessly among my devices. I love that I can annotate and create PDF documents on it. Between this and my calendar app, my life is so orgainzed! I might be obsessed over this one. And it's free!

4. Canva - I just discovered this one. I love it for creating ads. It's so quick to make them and I can do them from my computer or my tablet. I still use my drawing program but this is so handy.

5. Sketchbook - This is a nice drawing app. I no longer sell my artwork or clipart but I love to relax by doing some drawings.

That's my list for today. If you'd like to check any of these out, you can get them from the place where you get your apps.

Photo above: A picture of my sweet cat, Punkie. She lived to be almost nineteen and I still miss her every day.

Favorites - This Pet Stain Remover!

In the earlier days of my blog I did a feature called "Favorites." I simply shared the love of a product that I have used. No paid promotions, just my personal opinion from my experience. I thought it would be fun to start that up again!

As some of you know, I have a beautiful little rescue pup (photo above) who has been a nightmare to housebreak. There is a reason for this. She is a rescue from an Amish puppy mill. If you've never heard of them, I suggest you google it so you can see what my poor baby had to live through for the first three years of her life. Long story short, she was used for breeding and lived in horrendous conditions until she was of no use for them anymore. Fortunately, there is a rescue group that is close in location to the Amish community and takes their "throwaways" and finds them homes. Living three years in a dirty cage, you can probably understand why we struggled with housebreaking. Fortunately, she has come a long way in the two years we've had her but still has accidents on the carpeting.

I have a very long list of items I've tried to get the smell and the staining out of the carpeting and they just didn't get the job done. But this product, right here, is my hero in a bottle! I purchased mine from Amazon, but I'm sure you can find it locally as well. I wish I would have taken a before picture but to be completely honest, I was embarrassed to do so! Her favorite place to pee was near the front door. There must have been 30 or more round spots that I just couldn't keep up with. It was embarrassing when someone would visit. Someday we may rip up the carpeting and put in different flooring, but for now I'm happy to have found this.

NOTE: I do not get paid by anyone for sharing my favorites. They are just things, places, food, etc that I truly love.

Favorite - Italian Cheeses, The REAL Stuff!

I thought it would be fun for a new "favorites" post. I share with you my thoughts on Italian cheeses. I'm not talking about the powdery stuff in the tall, green cans either. I'm talking about the fresh stuff you find in the refrigerated area. I like to buy it in the plastic tub but you can also buy it in the zipper bags. I love each one of these (Parmesan, Asiago, Romano) but I love them even more mixed together. I have been putting this stuff on everything! It's especially good on a salad. I even use it on other things that are more simple in taste such as plain veggies, or chicken, and even baked potatoes.

The thing about this deliciously fresh cheese is that you don't need to add a lot for such a huge punch of flavor. A little bit, even a teaspoon, goes a long way. If you are watching calories, this is the best cheese to use because don't use a whole lot of it, a light sprinkling will do you. For the past several months, it has become a staple in my home!

More Favorite Apps

Anyone who knows me, knows I like to stay organized. I keep lists, I like everything neat and tidy, and when I want something, I expect to know right where it is. I have found some new Android apps to help keep me organized. They can all be accessed on my computer, cellphone, and Nexus tablet. Have I mentioned before how much I love my Nexus tablet? Well, I do!

You might have seen my previous post on favorite apps HERE. Well, I've found a couple more:

Pepper Plate Recipe Keeper
I love this app! I can even access all my recipes offline so I can check needed ingredients that I need to pick up after work. I love that I can pull the recipe up, set the Nexus up on my kitchen counter, and cook away! I can't tell you how much paper I would waste before when I printed out all my favorites.
https://www.pepperplate.com

Inkpad Notepad
I think I mentioned this one before, but it's worth repeating. This little notepad is too handy for words! I can keep my Christmas list on it, my "need list" for my sewing room, my vacation packing list, etc.  You get the idea. 
http://inkpadnotepad.appspot.com 

Astrid Task Manager
This is the perfect "to do" list. I have several different task lists in this one. It keeps my personal tasks and business tasks neat and organized.
http://astrid.com

Check them out! Maybe you'll find one of  them you like. If you have any favorites, I'd love to check them out so please share!

Oh Yah...I couldn't resist including a photo of my new sewing table/desk, which I LOVE!

My Ruffler Foot

 
Tomorrow I will be working on a project where I will be ruffling over 500 inches of fabric. So what's a girl to do? She digs out the ruffler foot she bought about 25 years ago and has never used.

Why oh why have I not even tried to use this little gem before? I put it on my machine, did a little tweaking, made a few adjustments, and did a little practicing. I don't even want to think of how long it would take me to ruffle all that fabric without it. If you do a lot of sewing where you make ruffles, you really need to pick one up. It's well worth the thirty bucks!

What am I making? I'm not telling you yet. You'll have to wait and see!

One hint: it's something for my sewing room.

Spray N Bond - My New Favorite

I just discovered "Spray N Bond!" My days of pinning or hand basting with stitching are long gone. All the quilts I design are small so I've never used this on anything large. I first saw it on a youtube video while I was watching a quilting project and I thought I'd give it a try. So glad I did! It's a nice sized can and it runs about 12 or 13 bucks but it's well worth it, especially if you hit a JoAnn's quilting sale, or have a 50% off coupon. I used it on my last three mug rugs to hold my backing in place while I stitched my binding down. Nothing shifted at all.

There are a couple of brands available but I chose this one because I'm a big fan of their other products. I couldn't live without my Heat N Bond Lite! OK, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I love the stuff for my many applique projects.

It's been a while since I posted about a favorite so I figured this would be a perfect opportunity.

The mug rug in the photo is my latest pattern that I just listed at my Etsy Shop & Craftsy Shop.

Favorite: Goo Gone

It's been a while since I've posted about a favorite. This time I've chosen Goo Gone. It's a product I've been using for many years and it works like a charm every time! Everyone knows that it removes sticky labels from items but it does a whole lot more.

Back when the kids were little my son lost his favorite coat on the little league field. It was a cute coat too. It was blue with red accents. We did find that coat a few weeks later back behind the fenced in field. Unfortunately someone had taken a gigantic wad of purple bubble gum and ground it into the coat. I don't know why I decided to try Goo Gone to remove it, but I did. After I chipped away the big sections, I poured some on the gum area and let it sit. I went back about an hour later and wiped. I repeated this process throughout an entire evening. By the time I was finished (several trips later) there was NO TRACE of the ground in bubble gum.

Last week, after trying everything I could think of to clean my oil bottle, I decided to get out my trusty Goo Gone. Why oh why didn't I do that to begin with? If anyone has ever tried to clean an oil bottle, you know what a job it is. I even googled it and found tons of things people tried, but nothing worked until I got out my Goo Gone. See how sparkly clean it is!

The stuff is cheap, and it doesn't hurt to have some on hand. So pick up a bottle!

Swiffer Favorite - Revised

 A while back I wrote a post about one of my favorites as a do every now and then. In this post I wrote about my Swiffer 360 Duster. I got a lot of comments from people loving them, to people who thought they were a bit costly to use all the time. I knew that if I googled "homemade swiffer refills" I'd find the happy medium.

I actually found several tutorials, images, and even people selling them on Etsy. I came across one tutorial which jumped out at me so I thought I'd give it a try. I made two of them and I love them! Not only will it save me money in the long run, but it is so much better for the environment because you wash and reuse, instead of throwing away and replacing.

And if you've never used a Swiffer Duster, you are spending way too much time dusting!

Here's the link to the tutorial, Swiffer Duster Refills. You're going to love her blog too! Her duster also came out so much prettier than mine.

NOTE: You will notice in the picture below, there are two different handles. The one on the right is the newer version. I found that it slipped out very easily so I simply stitched a seam up the center over the first seam. This stitched all 8 layers together, which made two separate casings instead of one, which gave a more snug fit.

Favorite Mobile Apps

I am loving my new smartphone! The only thing it doesn't do is wash the dishes. I can't believe that it took me this long to finally get one. I've had it about a month now and I'm still learning it. What else do I love about it? I love the many apps you can download free to keep your life organized and at times, entertained. I'll share with you my favorite apps and what I like about them. If you have any favorite apps, I'd love to hear about them. I didn't include the links because there are different phones out there. If you are interested in one of them, just google the name and the type of app you want and you'll be sure to find if whether you want Iphone, Android, Ipad, or whatever you need.

SparkPeople: This is my favorite of all! I'm using it to record my food and my exercise. I find that if I have to log it, I won't cheat. It's keeping me on track. My favorite part about this app is that it has every kind of food in it's database that you can imagine, including name brands. I can also add my own and keep them in my favorites. It only takes a minute or two to log food, weight, and exercise.

AnyDo: This is a simple To Do list. It has 4 sections from top to bottom are Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, and Later. Very simple.

InkPad: This is a handy little note keeper. You can have as few or as many notes as you want. Great for keeping track of your Christmas gift list, clothing sizes, medications you're on, etc.

WeeklyAds: This is the ultimate! You just scroll to your state, then city, then pick a store. It has all the weekly ads for your area. Great for anyone who likes to see what's on sale and where.

Love my banking apps! I can check my balance, pay bills, transfer funds, and everything. It's also much quicker than using my computer.

PayPal has a great app too! You can do all of the above right from your phone.

JoAnn's, Amazon, & Michael's: Great for shopping. JoAnn's and Michael's have electronic coupons. Just show the phone to your cashier and she'll enter your number into the register for your discount. Used my 40% one today! JoAnn's also has their ad that you can browse.

YellowBook: Great one if you need to find a phone number quick.

SugarSync: This is wonderful! I can store all my downloads for my graphic & pattern business at their site. Then I can send them the file right from my phone. This will be especially helpful for those times that we go out of town. I'll have the laptop if I need it, but this will be much easier because I won't have to boot up the laptop. Plus, we go places (Northern Michigan) where we don't have Internet access all the time.

The Weather Channel: This is another good one. I can keep an eye on the weather when we have storms coming. I can also bring up the radar quickly.

JuiceDefender: This is a great battery saver. It turns off your Internet when the phone is in the lock position among other things. These phones can suck up the battery if you don't take certain steps to save some power.

YouTube: This is just fun. I don't use it too much. It is nice to have though for those times that you are stuck waiting for something or someone. Nice time killer when you can't do anything else.

Direct TV: This is helpful because this is our TV service. I can look up anything quickly that I might want to watch and get information. Plus, when you have so many channels,  you can never remember what is on what number.

Various Recipe Apps: These are great when you are trying to find something different for dinner. Even greater when you aren't home and have to stop at the store to pick up ingredients.

GoogleMaps: This is great! I'll never get lost again. We have a GPS in my husband's car but now I'll always have mine. I did buy a car charger because this thing is a major battery hog.

GoogleReader: I did forget to mention it above, but this is a great one too. I love the way the blogs appear on the phone.

So that's my list of favorites. Do you have any?

Favorite - Swiffer Dusters 360

It dawned on me today that it's been a long time since I've posted about one of my favorites. No, it's not cleaning the house, but I do love the Swiffer Dusters! I first bought this box a few months back but never really used it until recently. When I realized the fact that by the time my craft & sewing room is finished, I will have 30 shelves to dust! That's a lot of shelves! I decided to give this duster and try and I swear it cut my cleaning time by half. It's great for dusting the shelves and the items on them because it gets into the little creases and around the curves. I plan to pick up one more that will strictly used for dusting the tops of the fabric and on my drapes.

So housecleaning isn't fun or a favorite unless I find something that cuts down the work and the time.

Silly Little Things

First and foremost, what makes me happiest in life are my family and my pets. There are lots of little and fun things that always make me smile. These things are also important because if it brings a smile to your face or brings you some enjoyment, it adds a positive glow to your being and can also lower your blood pressure. Here are just a couple of my silly and simple little things:

1. A refreshing glass of freshly brewed iced tea with a slice of fresh lemon. It's an "Ahhhh" moment!

2. Wearing my fun jewelry like these cinnamon bun earrings I just bought from ScrumptiousDoodle. How does she make them look so real?

3. Watching the fawns lounge around in my backyard. This picture was taken yesterday. Now that the crab apple trees are producing apples, they are always in my yard.

4. Sitting on top of a sand dune and looking down at the Lake. So relaxing.

5. Coming home from work to find that my husband has cleaned the entire house and my kitchen actually sparkles!

So those are my silly little things. What are yours?

Playing with Textures & Layers

 I was as looking through all my photos and decided it was time to share some of my favorites with you again. I'll be doing that from time to time. Once again I'm in the mood to play with textures and layers. I still have so much to learn in this department but I'll get there.

This first photo is an owl statue we saw at Brookfield Zoo. As many of you know, I love owls, so naturally this is one of my favorites. For those of you who don't know how I started with my owl fascination, just click HERE or you can scroll to the bottom of the page and see the little video I have of our rehab owl Howard.

This next picture is the lighthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan. Brian and I like to take the 30 minute drive there a few times a year. It's a great place to get out and walk around. There's a charming little downtown with old and new buildings, and the lakefront is just beautiful! I really like the layer I used in this picture. I think it's my favorite.

Below is a hiking trail at Ludington State Park. Brian has family near there and we like to stop for some exercise when we are there. I just loved this trail with the dried up pine needles on the ground and the tree roots exposed. Just beautiful!

If anyone knows their way around PhotoShop, I suggest stopping by this great blog I just found! It's called ShadowHouse Creations and this guy is so talented and so generous to share his work with us. He also has some super helpful tutorials so you can learn how to turn your photos into artwork.

My Pan Digital Novel

Time to post another favorite and this time I chose my Pan Digital Novel. Man do I love this thing! It has WiFi so I can access the Internet with a pretty nice browser anywhere I can get a connection. It's nice for in the house because if I'm reading and I get an email or want to look up a word or information, I can just hop on-line. It's great for when I'm on the elliptical because I can adjust my text nice and big and I can actually read a book without putting on my reading glasses. You can also download some pretty cool apps from Android. They have an app for everything from notepads to party planning apps!

My favorite three things about this reader are:

1. The ability to download and read e-books which are organized the way I like them. Duh! Isn't that what you buy an e-reader for?

2. The ability to read and edit word documents. This is so cool because I keep my favorite recipes in word documents so that I can access them on this, make the text nice and big, and read the recipe straight from this on my counter top. No more printing them out and wasting paper.

3. My photos and favorite scrap pages! I can organize them (on my SD card) into folders and they can be with me anywhere I go. Right now I have about 1200 images and since I can organize them I can find what I'm looking for quickly. They are viewed on a decent sized screen which makes them nice when I want to see them or show them off.

This particular reader has a 7 inch screen which is nice for viewing reading material and photos (video too) and fits nicely in my purse on those occasions I want to take it with me. I store all my personal stuff on an SD card (which is backed up on my computer) so if this thing ever broke, my stuff is still nice and safe.

Do you have an e-reader that you just love?

Pumpkin's Favorite Cat Toy

For some people the rubber hairbands are to be used to put one's hair up into a ponytail. For my Pumpkin, it's her favorite cat toy. We have a ritual every morning. She waits for me right outside the shower. When I'm finished I turn on the water faucet for a slow stream so she can take a drink. She likes that too. Then I go to the doorknob where I have about a half dozen hanging and I give her one to play with. She plays all morning with that until I leave for work and I put it away. The reason I don't leave her with it is because she likes to eat weird things like rubber bands and plastic grocery bags. She's never tried to eat the hair bands but you just never know when you have a strange little cat.

Back when I had three cats living with me I went out and bought a kitty condo. You've seen them, they are covered with carpet and have little "rooms" inside for them to go in and out of and are in a tubular shape. Well, that thing sat there untouched until I sold it at a garage sale a couple years later. But that said, if I was to empty a case of pop or a paper grocery bag (you remember those, I know you do), they'd play and go in and out for hours!

Cats are so entertaining!