A Day With My Mom and Sister

It has been a long time since I have been able to spend the day with both my mom and my sister---just us three girls :)  We decided to spend our time together at one of our favorite places Pittsburgh has to offer.  I have written about this place called The Strip District several times before but for those of you new to my blog I will briefly explain about this wonderful place.  The Strip District is an area just east of the city known for it's wholesalers, restaurants and fun funky shops. There are so many ethnic groups represented in the Strip and the street vendors are plenty as well selling everything from food to T-Shirts.  We woke early and arrived at one of my favorite places for breakfast --Raymond's.  I always order an amazing omelet filled with red onion, spinach, and feta cheese. 

After breakfast, we took our coffee to go and began to visit all of our favorite shops.  I couldn't wait to get through the doors of a shop called Roxanne's.  It is filled to the ceiling with floral arrangements and all things shabby but chic.  There is even an outside patio with a mix of antiques, living plants, and the most amazing garden accessories. 

 We were really excited to find the organic open air market.  This market is a perfect new addition to the Strip.  My sister is a wonderful cook---always trying new recipes with interesting ingredients.  She knew exactly what she was looking for and how to cook each item.   I am not that adventurous when it comes to cooking so while she shopped I snapped pictures. 

What a fun day we had enjoying the beautiful Autumn weather, the sites and smells of the Strip and eachother's company.  A perfect break from my craft room---a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

Craft Fair Projects

I don't like to describe myself as a procrastinator I prefer to say "I work best under pressure." I think it sounds just a little better---don't you? Anyway my first scheduled craft fair is November 5-6. Yikes that is just three short weeks away. I have so many ideas I just hope I have the time to create them all. I also didn't want my blog to suffer while I am busy working in my craft room. I thought I would write a quick post tonight to share just a peek at what I have been working on.

I created these sweet little nursery rhyme frames using my Cricut, the Nursery Rhyme cartridge, and vintage sheet music. I had such fun creating these single frames I thought I would try a larger triple frame. I added some of my favorite scrapbooking paper by October Afternoon.

Well I better get back to work. November 5 will be here before I know it.

Halloween Tag Swap Banner

Halloween will be here before we know it. My family looks forward each year to decorating the house for this festive day. My husband hand makes yarn spider webs that hang from our front porch and he and my son hang purple and orange lights to help welcome the little trick or treaters. I have never been one to like scary decorations, but I do love the cute ones. I was thrilled to be asked to participate in a Halloween Tag Swap hosted by the talented Elizabeth of Creative Breathing. There were nine ladies that participated--one for each letter in the word HALLOWEEN. We were to decorate nine tags with our assigned letter and return all the tags to Elizabeth. She put them together into one banner and returned the completed banner to each lady. I knew this Halloween decoration would be more then cute---boy was I right. First I will show you my tag and how I created it. Then I will show you close up photos of all of the amazing others. I was assigned to be one of the "L"s. That was the first step in my tag creating--designing the letter. Because I am having so much fun with my Cricut machine I decided to complete this project with her help :) Using the cartridge "A Child's Year" I cut three solid scalloped ovals--two from a patterned paper and one from a a thick piece of cardstock. The last scalloped oval is cut to include the chosen letter. Adhere the ovals together sandwich style using the plain piece of cardstock as a base. This will give the letter strength to stand without bending. Just a little tip**** When cutting the oval for the back flip the paper over with patterned side down on mat. This will allow the ovals to align properly. The next step was to cut all my little witches using the same cartridge.

Punch a border---add some stitching---

a little ribbon, some bling and there you have it .......

And now for a close up of the completed banner and the individual tags....

Elizabeth--Creative Breathing

Julie--A Vintage Chic

Lisa--Always Home

Sandy--521 Lake Street

Joyce--Scrap for Joy

Betty--She's so Pretty

Paula--Paula's Palace of Altered Art

Vivian--Viv out on a Whim

If you get a chance to stop by the blogs of these amazingly talented ladies I know you will not be disappointed. It is a privilege to have a piece of art created by each one of them.

The Candy Man Can

Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew
Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and delicious
Now you talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes

Oh, who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and delicious
Talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream

Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
Yes, the Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

*****A fun project created with my Cricut (mini monsters cartridge) for Drew's mommy. She is a teacher and will be using these candies in a classroom project :)

A Saturday in Autumn

A beautiful Saturday in October---sunshine, blue skies, chilly temperatures, and time spent with those I love. The day started early, no time for morning paper and coffee. I grabbed an X-large cup from the local Sheetz and headed off to cheer for Emma in her soccer game. I have not seen the girls in several weeks and I was sure missing them. Emma's birthday is today--she is 6 years old. Happy Birthday sweet girl!!! I pulled in the parking lot and Kate came running. After lots of hugs and kisses I realized how much she had grown. I am less than a head taller than her now. I have said it before and I will say it again--time sure has a way of flying by. Emma was great in her game. It was such fun to watch all of the kids. Both teams really played hard. After the game we headed for the little town where with girls live. It was Apple Fest Days. To me there is nothing like a small town Autumn festival. The girls are holding cookies that we bought from this most adorable bakery called the Sweet House. This bakery is filled the yummiest sweets and all of that vintage charm that I love. I wanted to take pictures of the inside but it was much to crowded. I will be visiting again real soon so I will have to take pictures then to share with you. How do I know that I will be returning soon you ask?........because I am addicted to the wonderful potato chip cookies that I purchased. My Grandmother used to make these for me when I was a little girl and it brought back so many memories. If you have never tried a potato chip cookie take my word for it they are delicious. There is nothing like festival food---hot dogs, hot sausage, chicken on a stick, steak hoagies and french fries dripping with ketchup.
On the way home from the festival I convinced my son that I needed to stop at Nancy's garage sale. "I will just be one minute. " I said as I hurried up the driveway. Nancy smiled when she saw me and said she had something that she knew I would love. My heart nearly skipped a beat when she opened an old heating pad box. This is not at all what I expected to find inside...
It seems that Nancy's mother used to make and sell jewelry when Nancy was a little girl. That box was filled with supplies and finished pieces. When she opened the lid I actually gasped. She said "I knew you would love it"
There are lots of little pieces just waiting to be completed with these beautiful crystals.

I have never tried my hand at jewelery making before, but I am so excited to give it a try. If any of you have any suggestions on what glue to use or any other tips I would love to hear from you.

After being gone for the majority of the day, the dogs were so excited when I finally arrived home. They were so full of energy they were getting themselves into trouble. The day was still so beautiful I decided to visit the local park and let Sassy and Mabel play in the off lead dog park.

The beauty of the day, surrounded by loved ones---what a perfect way to spend a Saturday in Autumn!!!