Newest Project

This is my latest project. My good friend is having a little girl in May, so I thought a rag doll would be a really great handmade gift for her. And gee, having 2 boys, I really had to twist my own arm to do some "girly" crafts for her! The project itself actually was really easy. I had a Raggedy Ann from when I was a child, that I used somewhat as a guide, since I hate using patterns so much! So, I just sat down, thought it through and started sewing! It is a little more "gardeny" than I would have liked, but I was trying to use up some old fabric scraps rather than go by new! I am thinking about making another one for another friend, and if I do it again, I think I will use more modern colors. Maybe black, hotpink and purple! I also really want to try doing some brown or yellow pig tails on the next one instead of the traditional red hair. And I won't miss tying all that hair on there, that was the biggest pain in the butt of it all!

All in all, she turned out really cute. I hope my friend new daughter loves it. I made sure it was 100% baby safe, no buttons, ties, etc. So she will actually be able to play with it when she is a bit older!

It's been sooooo long!

So, it has been forever since I have posted anything. So since my last post in February, here are the highlights:

1. The hubby lost his job.
2. Planned and executed my mom's surprise 60th birthday party. We had family fly in from all over the country and had about 40 of my mom's friends (some from 30+ years ago) all there...let me just say, it was a major "to-do" and I was exhuasted after that!
3. A friend turned 30 and we had a 70's themed party for her, which was a total blast.
4. I am now planning my best friends baby shower, and we have 2 weeks to go.
5. After 6 weeks off, the hubby found a new job. He is now a "garbage man". I use quotes, becuase actually he does residential recycling. Today was his first day out of training and actually on a truck...he is hurting in muscles he didn't know he had.
6. Had a "girls" weekend in Galena with my mom which was totally fabulous. We stayed at the Eagle Ridge Resort and went to a fancy dinner and shopped until we pretty much dropped. I loved looking through the art galleries and the used book store there.
7. I am painting again. I have tried working with oils...but I still hate them, so I am doing mostly watercolor work ( I think I will post a totally seperate blog with a bunch of pics).
8. I am in the middle of painting my living room (it's half done), my kitchen cabinets (half done), my kitchen walls (half done) and my bedroom (all but one wall done). I really need to work on finishing one project before starting another.
9. We had to get rid of our cat. As much as we love him, he began randomly attacking people & animals...go figure. We couldn't figure out why, so we had to take him back to the shelter we adopted him from.
10. Incidently, we have adopted a second dog. Our neighbors who moved a few months ago, had a small puggle who the boys just adored. Well, they decided she was just too energetic and they weren't home enough to walk her and care for her, so we took her in. She immediately fit into our family like she belonged, and the boys love walking her! So, Ruca (think short for Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka) became the newest member of our family.
11. I am trying to start thinking about new landscaping for the yard and also what I plan to put into the garden this year, just haven't ordered any seeds yet, but I do need to do it soon!

Ok, in a nutshell, I think that is what has been going on over the last couple of months for us. I know there is more, but I think the other stuff is pretty small potatoes and I've hit the basics! ; )