How do I love thee....

Did I tell you how much I love a good quality vintage sheet??Oh yes, I 'm so smitten in love with this one sheet, so I made this simple ruffle shoulder bag out of it. Its a bit large, but i like the ruffle.
Here's a close up of the material I love so much,
And this is a vintage tablecloth I found at a local thrift store. I made these little crochet flowers to attach and are removable.
So im in a bit of a shoulder bag frenzy, so much so , that I forgot to put in pockets! Anyways lots to do, lists to make, beds to make, dishes to do & the garden to till . In an odd moment today I caught this beautiful glimpse of a shadow of our hummingbird feeder on the kitchen wall. It was really pretty. This next month will be crazy busy, as we are having a Japanese exchange student come to live with us for awhile. My older son is so pumped, because they are close in age, and have very similar interests!
Maybe one day Tyler could go to Japan in exchange, something I totally wanted to do as a teen, but my grades sucked too bad! Anyways, if I get through our VBS Jungle Jaunt, and my Mary Kay open house alive I will have lots to post about! Have a fabulous weekend ladies!

Camping

Oh my, I feel so refreshed! We had a afabulous Fathers Day weekend of fishing & camping, & it was exactly what I needed to get back on track mentally! So me a my best pal with her husband & daughter headed up to the boonies about an hour & a bit into the bushes around my house.(Yes we live already out in the bush). Im officially a bush woman...and I love it! Here is the view of the lake from our site. No one was around for miles & miles. We were the civilization around & the only boat on the whole lake, it was great!
Layne with his hammer he never puts down( dont mind the propane tank- I know LOL)
Our little messy set up. Actually it never got to messy, because my girlfriend was sweeping , cleaning & burning everything in sight the entire time!
Yeah, and Avery caught her first trout ever!!!!! She looks halarious, and her 2 front teeth just fell out proir! So funny! Well rememer how I said we would be out with the bears? Well Everyone saw one but me, I was so ticked! So no more whining about missing all the bear sightings.
So this morning I wake up & open the door to go get my daily newspaper, and here is this ginormous black thing laying in front of me eating all my garbage! AHHHHHH, I freaked out ran back in the house, & locked the door. Grabbed my camera, in in my hazy moment of fright I snapped this picture! Be careful what you wish for!

Thrifting Treasures

Well were back from a fabulous camping trip, full of sun, fishing , and alot of lounging! It was totally worth it & I feel so refreshed! Oh , yes, and there were bears everywhere! Im going to post some camping pics soon!
I got home & unloaded, and immediatly needed some thrifting. I was feeling some mega scavenger withdrawls. Check out these aprons!
This one is completely handstitched!
A bunch of vintage sewing notions,
and this fabulous crewel embroidery. (This from a proir trip) Its huge! Too bad it came with a metal hoop, because when I opened the package it left a ring of rust on the panel where the hoop was! Does anyone know how to get that off? I cant wait to get back to my blog reading & get busy on some new things for the shop. Now that girl guides is over, Im going to be super busy soon, as Im planning the "craft Cove" and decorations for the craft area, & projects for our church VBS program. Our theme is "Jungle Jaunt"so it should be pretty fun to work on! Only 15 kids craft projects to create...yikes! Hoping everyone had a fabulous weekend!

XOX

Summer To do List:

Go shopping for camping supplies, to make way for 5 crazy campers, *Bears-watch out we're coming*
Go thrifing in between of course! Who wants paper plates when you can eat off these??
Splashing & Cooling down in here in between.
Maybe have time to work on a few more of these flower purse accessories,
or make time to finish these. I finally have something new listed on the new website!

Hoping your enjoying the start of my favorite season!

~cheers~

Exploding Photo Box Pattern Papercraft Tutorial

Om my , you guys are soooo great! Thank you so much for stopping by the new shop & signing the guestbook!! Im so thankful, and even though I havent had time to thank everyone, Im so busy with yard work, I have browsed everyone's blogs, who left a comment & I promise I will be back! OK cute peoples, here ya go! Here are the instructions for the exploding photo box! These instructions are from a local class I took (Thanks Michelle!), but I have made some changes along the way to make it a bit easier & bigger for more than 24 cut/cropped photos. So here we go:

You need: 5 sheets double sided 12" x 12"cardstock, sharp paper scissors, glue stick, paper cutter with scoring blade, and a corner rounder (optional).

1. Take first piece cardstock(the one design you want to be on outside of box) and score lightly in 4" from each side, like a tictactoe board.

2. Next paper measure & cut 11 3/4 x 11 3/4" from edge. Score this paper 4" in on each side as well.

3.For the next 2 sheets cut one sheet 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" , and the other 11" x 11". Score both these sheets in 4" on all sides.

4. For last sheet cut out lid 6" x 6". Score this box aprox 1" on all sides. Cut lid sides as shown above in photo, just one slit on all sides.

5. Cut out other 4 corners on scored paper pieces as shown. Clear as mud? Layer in order of cuts.You will see how your color choices need to alternate if using different colors. Once you make one its a snap!

6. Corner punch or round edges if desired. Glue all bottoms together, as well as lid corners.

7. Ta da! Attach your lid and decorate! You may have to ajust your lid slightly, or cut edges of box to make fit. Maybe a good idea to make a rough copy on cheap paper first!

8. Decorate with left over peices however you like!(for photgraphing purposes here is a different one decorated, just waiting for photos)

Feel free to email me if my instructions aren't clear & please let me know if you try one so I can come take a peek!

~cheers~

Ang