Lollipop Ornaments

I've been looking forward to making a sweet shop themed Christmas tree for our dining room this year. Here are a couple of ornaments that I made to put on it. I made them when the kids were little but this time I slipped them in little bags and I like the effect. 

To make 6 lollipops, you will need:

1/4 yard of red (thin) striped fabric
6 - 6" lollipop sticks
6 - 3 3/4" x 6" clear treat bags
6 - 14" pieces of ribbon (red, green, or white)
6 - 5/8" to 1" buttons (red or white)
1 sheet of white card stock
Craft glue or a hot glue gun
Heavy or metallic thread for hanger
Red or white sewing thread

Misc items: needles, scissors, pencil, ruler

1. Iron your fabric. Cut out 6 - 6 1/4" circles from the red and white striped fabric and 6 - 2 3/4" circles from the card stock. You can make a pattern of these circle sizes or you can raid your kitchen cabinets and find a bowl or lid that will be the exact dimensions for you to trace around. Be sure to draw your tracings on the wrong side of the fabric.



2. Thread your needle with enough thread to go around your circle and make a knot. If you are using all purpose thread you will want to double it so it will have more strength when you gather. If you are using a heavy thread such as a button or craft thread, you won't need to double. Be sure to watch for knots as you stitch. Turn the outer edge of your fabric circle about 1/4" to the wrong side. Begin stitching and turning the edge under as you go. Make your stitches at least 1/4" long and that same distance apart. I found that if your stitches are too close together, your hole in the center will be too big. Stitch all the way around your circle. When you get to the end, begin gathering up your stitching. Slip your 2 3/4" piece of card stock inside then continue gathering until you have closed the "yo yo." Be gentle so you don't break your thread. You will have a tiny hole in the center. Tie off and clip threads.

 3. Make a tiny 1/4" slit in the bottom of your yo yo. I like to make mine so that the stripes on the back will be up and down when hanging. Drop a dab of glue in the center of your yo yo onto the card stock beneath. Slip your lollipop stick up through the little slit you just made until it reaches the glue, let dry. Run some glue along the gathered edge of the hole and place the button on top of that. This is the part where I hot glued a button onto my thumb. I would not recommend doing this. It hurts.

4. Slip the clear treat bag over your lollipop and tie in place with a piece of ribbon. Make a bow and then cut trim the tails at an angle.

5. Cut about 10" of heavy or metallic thread. Thread a large eyed needle. Bring the needle through along the upper edge of the lollipop (about 1/2" wide stitch). Be sure to go through the fabric and the plastic because the plastic will not be strong enough to hold the ornament and will eventually break through. Tie a knot in the string so that you have about a 3" hole to use for hanging. Trim excess thread close to know.

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Grandma Ashton

My grandma died in November of 1971 when I was only 10 years old. I wish I had more time with her because she was a remarkable woman. It is from her that I get the creative gene. She worked at the "craft store of the 60's." It was called the Palette Party Shop. That is where you went to buy your Styrofoam balls, sequins, glue, ribbon, etc. Back then the crafting consisted of Christmas ornaments, and shower favors and decorations. I remember spending the night at her house and she would set up a table in the middle of the living room and my sister and I would sit there with all her supplies and craft for hours! Some of the projects I remember most was little calendars we made for gifts and Christmas ornaments we made from Styrofoam balls, beads, ribbon, and sequins.

I also remember sitting outside of her house and smelling the Lilies of the Valley flowers. She had them running all along the side of her house. It was so long ago but the memories of her and our time together are so vivid as if it were yesterday. I have so many wonderful memories!

She was such a creative woman and I thank her for sharing the love of crafting with me. I know that if she were here today she would be encouraging me to follow my dream and be the best at creating that I could be! I still think about her often and I miss her terribly.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our house to yours! My little greeting card has images of my 3 black cats, past and present. Today is the final day of my 3 day weekend so I am going to make the best of it. I got so much accomplished this weekend with my crafting. Got some Christmas gifts made and created a new craft pattern.
Short and sweet post today. Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and I hope you all have a fabulous week!
Ghosts & witch grouping are a part of my Halloween & Fall Kit at Etsy.

Pet Day - Punkie

Since this is Halloween weekend, Punkie decided that she should be the pet of the week. We have two other black cats in the family but she insists that she is the Queen of black cats for a number of reasons. First, she lives with me, second, she's the oldest and has been around for 11 years, and third, because she's such a good girl. You'll meet the other two at a later time. One lives with my son and the other lives in Heaven now :(

On to Pumpkin! As you can tell by the photo, she goes by many names. For years I called her Kinnie Roonie but Brian (her Dad) likes to call her Chunkie Punkie and the kids call her Plumpkin. But to her defense, she has lost a few pounds and isn't so chunky or as plump anymore.

Punkie, as I like to call her, is the Purrrfect cat (sorry, couldn't help myself). She really is. She doesn't get into anything, she doesn't knock things off tables, she doesn't jump onto anything or go where she doesn't belong.

She has never gone potty outside the litter box. Not once in 11 years! When I take Bubba outside, she will stand by the door but doesn't attempt to go outside. She's also a love-bug. She has a few select people that she will snuggle with. She's so soft too!

She really is the best cat anyone could ever have.

Teapot graphic above can be found in my Tea Time Scrap Set at Etsy.

The Hazards of Gardening?

My body hurts, the backs of my thighs feel like someone is sticking me with pins. I have come to the conclusion that gardening is hazardous to my health!

Or maybe I'm out of shape?

Photo Above: My garden during the summer months.

Productive Day & Bragbook Freebie!

I've had a full and productive day. It started when we went out for breakfast which we usually do on Sundays. When I came home I did everything from working on Christmas ornaments (for my sweet shop themed tree) to working in the yard. Did some crafting, house stuff, bookwork, and I got in my 10 minute clean out for today. I'm hoping to condense that filing cabinet at least to half.

I also made a free brag book quick page for anyone who wants it. The photo in the page above is from years ago when my son was little and we were carving pumpkins. I miss those days but I can still scrap them! I've gotten so many compliments on my banner here that I thought I'd make a Halloween quick page like it to share. It's a 300 DPI, 4" x 6" printout, PNG format. All you have to do is put your photo behind, the place for the picture is transparant. Hope you enjoy it!

You can pick it up here.

The images in the scrap page are from my Halloween & Fall Kit.

10 Minute Clean-out

I've been struggling with balance a lot lately and I'm determined to come out on top. Don't we all do that? Don't we all try to find balance? Why does it have to be so hard? Well, I'm on the quest to find it! I have the type of personality where when I find something that peaks my interest, I obsess over it. I can start a big craft project on a Saturday morning and find myself working on it all day long. That is nice if you are trying to get something accomplished but not if you have other things in your life that needs attention as well.

One thing I hate is clutter! I think a cluttered home creates a cluttered mind. Since I do feel that way, I don't have a lot of stuff laying around that I don't need, but I can also say that there is always stuff you can get rid of. I now begin the task of the 10 minute clean out. I am taking 10 minutes a day to clean and rid myself of unused and unneeded items. I'm beginning with my filing cabinets. There are many places that will follow, my purses (yes, lots of them), my clothes, kitchen stuff, etc...

So do you find it difficult to create balance? I think that creative people probably would. Because like me, I'm sure there are many others out there that get on a creative streak and can't stop.

Photo Above: Just a little fall decorating!

Husbands and Glass Tables

Warning: Do not let your 260 pound husband sit on a glass coffee table. It will break!

My lips had just begun to form the words, "Do you really think you should be sitting on that?"  CRUNCH! Need I say more?

My husband has been such a good sport about allowing me to put this incident on my blog. He subscribes via email so he will see this post first thing tomorrow morning. Besides, I'm sure he doesn't want this to happen to another coffee table.

Pet Day - Meet Patches

Today I'm going to introduce you to Patches. This is my son's cat who lives with him in his apartment. He came to us in the middle of the deep freeze. About 7 years ago we noticed that something was living under our deck. We didn't know what it was at the time. Elyse finally discovered that it was a kitten. It took us a couple of weeks of feeding him before he would trust us. As soon as we got close enough we grabbed him and took him to the vet. Poor little thing had an upper respiratory infection, eye injury, and was  underweight. The doctor was surprised that he even survived the sub zero temperatures considering how sick he was. We got him some medicine and he turned out to be a great pet and family member for us all. Isn't he handsome?

My New Friend

I went out to grill my fish a few nights ago and was greeted by a stick bug. I've seen him around before, if it's even the same one. Last year he would go from one place to another. One day he'd be on the light outside the back door, the next day he'd be on the thermometer, and the next day on the gas meter. I just think he's so cool looking!

I did some research and found a few interesting facts about them. So here are three that I think are totally cool:

1. They don't bite but they can put up a great fight when they are approached by a predator. And they can even win! They can inflict pain with their legs and they regurgitate an awful smelling and tasting substance into their predator's mouth.

2. They hold the world's record as the longest insect. The biggest one on record measured 14 inches, but with legs fully extended it measured 22 inches. That's quite an insect!

3. When all else fails, they play dead. Yep, they just drop and they can be super still. Many times their predator can't find them once they hit the ground.