Knitters' Coffee Swap Four

One of the requirements for the Knitters' Coffee Swap is to answer the following list of 14 questions - Kind of fun, actually!

1. Whole bean or ground?
Ground, please
2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
Fully-loaded, of course
3. Regular or flavored?
You know, I like both
4. How do you drink your coffee?
Black
5. Favorite coffee ever?
Boca Java's Hightide Hazelnut
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
I'm a little fussy
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
I like cookies! In the morning I usually have an English muffin with jelly.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
I like a mild blend, no French Vanilla or overly sweet flavors
9. Yarn/fiber you love?
Natural fibers
10. Yarn/fiber you hate?
I don't like acrylic yarns
11. What's on your needles?
Well, it's confession time! I have a scarf on one set of needles, a shawl on another set, and another shawl or wrap on yet another set of needles!
12. Favorite colors?
I love red and shades of blue
13. Allergies?
I don't think so
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
I really really don't like when it gets below 35 degrees in Florida!

The scarf pattern above is from Purl Soho. The yarn is Malabrigo from Yarnzilla, one of my favorite yarns - it has the nicest hand.

Looking forward to this swap!

Vintage Valentine Swap

Today the mailman brought me the most wonderful box of goodies from Denise, my swap partner in Heidi's Vintage Valentine Swap. It couldn't be more perfect and I couldn't be more pleased!

Denise is a master of presentation and packaging! She had everything arranged just as you see it in the picture above and still managed to package it so not only was nothing broken, nothing was out of place! I knew I loved it before I even took it out of the box.
A closer look - those are bath truffles inside that adorable little bowl. The silver heart is heavy - just right to use for a small paperweight - and so lovely! There's a tin of pink hot chocolate in the center - I love that! And a jar of specialty shop pomegranate jelly, which I will admit to tasting right away - Yummy! I'll add it to my list of favorite jellies. (Seriously Denise, how did you know I was a big fan of jelly?) Don't forget to check out the beautiful ceramic dish that's holding all these wonderful goodies! What's that on the other side you ask? Let me show you!
It's heart shaped, softly scented rose soap tucked inside one of the prettiest little boxes I've ever seen! I'm sure I'll find a use for the box.

And last, but certainly not least, look at this beautiful mug! I told my husband, who doesn't drink coffee, tea or hot chocolate, that I wanted a new mug. He totally didn't understand as I have several mugs and can only use one at a time after all. A new mug is like getting your haircut. A pretty new mug, like the one above, is like like getting the perfect haircut! You just can't help but smile!

Thank you Denise, for such an awesome gift! I'll swap with you anytime! A big thank you to Heidi for hosting amazing swaps and introducing me to such lovely people.

Ready for Spring

It has been very cold here. We had 3 or 4 nights with temperatures in the 20's for long periods of time. That may be normal for many places, but I live in Florida! And in an old drafty house! I'm so glad it's warmer now, so ready for Spring, so much so I bought these pretty hydrangeas to put on my front porch. (They are in an old enamel bucket I bought at my favorite antique/junque store, so if it freezes again, I can easily move them inside.)
When Bryn was in high school and driving himself to school, I used to make him muffins on cold winter mornings, put them in a lunch bag and hand them to him on his way out the door with a travel mug of hot chocolate. Bryn's long out of high school and far from home, but still, when I make muffins, I think of him.

These are from a recipe that StudioRose shared with me for pumpkin bread. It makes two loaves, but I learned you can also make a loaf and a dozen muffins just as easily. They are pumpkin muffins loaded with raisins and nuts - YUMMY!!
When it's cold outside, my cat, Ezra or Ez-Man, spends a lot more time inside. He still likes to keep an eye on what's going on outside - you know, a stray cat might try to come in our yard and Ezra will have none of that!

Earlier in the day there was sun streaming in the windows, so Brutus moved his bed right in the middle of it! He bunched it up and settled in. He's either too lazy to move it back or he's waiting for the sun to come back. Or maybe he knows I'll move it back eventually and save him the trouble.

I'm sure you can't tell from this photo, but Stella is wagging her tail to beat the band! I really don't let the dogs up on the furniture, but sometimes they just can't help themselves! It also doesn't help that I take a picture of them (because come on, aren't they cute?) and THEN make them get down! Oh well.

Cupcakes and Valentines

They opened a cupcake shop very close to my house, so close I could ride my bike there and back - if I had a bike that is! We stopped in over the weekend and since I couldn't make up my mind we got 2 Red Velvet, 2 Coconut, 2 Mounds Bar and 2 Peanut Butter Cup! Oh my gosh they are so good!

While I was there a little girl got a frosting shot! Can you imagine?

I joined a couple Valentine Swap's and have been busy putting them together - if I'm your partner in a Valentine Swap - Fair Warning! Stop reading now if you want to be surprised!
I actually made this composition book for a swap. The binding cover is vintage wallpaper trim. The tag on the cover came from One Bright Spot, an etsy shop. I guess you've probably noticed I'm really into using a little bling on everything I put together these days. I can't seem to help myself. I bought a good sized lot of vintage rhinestone buttons a while ago and am having such fun with them. After I had the composition book covered, I thumbed through the pages to make sure I hadn't glued any of them together and discovered I had journaled in this book! Breaks my heart to think I have to keep this pretty journal!
I think this one is every bit as nice, and hopefully my swap partner will like it as much. I had a roll of netting (is that what that's called?) on my table and thought it made a pretty closure. It can easily be snipped off if it isn't to her liking. (I checked for previous journaling BEFORE I covered this one - always a good plan!)
I enjoy putting together swap packages, you have to love the shopping! I always pick up a couple of things for myself and find a thing or two for my girlfriends, too, and to tuck in boxes for Bryn. Keeps me from waiting until the last minute, too.
After stitching together the mittens for the calendar pages I decided to try my hand at some other things, including these hearts. I've tucked a bit of Lavender in each one, just a little, as it can be overwhelming. I've also ordered an embroidery book so perhaps I can learn another stitch!

About those cupcakes - if I bought a bicycle, rode to the shop, had a cupcake and a cup of coffee, then had Murph come pick me up in the truck (who am I kidding, I can't ride a bike that far!) - would I use enough calories to make up for the cupcake?

January 2010 Calendar Pages

Last year my goal was to create next years calendar pages in the month they were to represent. I managed to do half of the year, which was better than doing all of them at once. I think the pages I was able to do ahead of time came out better as I had more time and didn't feel any pressure to finish them. Today I finished January 2010 - my goal this year is to better than last year!
I've had this vintage postcard for a long time, but it wasn't my turn to do January until now. I love the soft pinks mixed with the deeper rose. The background paper is actually a fabric, the patterned paper is old Anna Griffin I had in my stash.

I can't remember every using a patterned paper for the calendar grid before. If we haven't then I think it's high time we did!

And now for a Brutus fix ~
It's been quite cold here, especially for Florida. Brutus is not fond of chilly weather. As a puppy he would lay by the vent and make 'Brutus Noises' until it came on. He still does that today, without the noises, just with a pleading look! This is his other trick - if you can't find him just look on the bed!
I had already turned the bed down, but hadn't gone to bed. I guess he decided to make himself at home! Look how he's burrowed under the covers! He also looks somewhat annoyed that I'm disturbing him.

Once he realizes I'm taking pictures and not making him get down he snuggles right back to how I found him. Silly dog!

August 2009 Calendar Pages

The last pages for 2009! It feels good to have them finished - such an accomplishment. And I still have time to put together pages for January before Lisa and I get together, which gets me off to a good start for 2010.
A close up of the top of the calendar. The patterned papers are Jenni Bowlin. I use a lot of her products, they lend themselves to my vintage style very nicely. (Did you know she has a class at Big Picture Scrapbooking later this year? I'm looking forward to that!)

I aged alphabet image with a combination of inks and walnut ink crystals, spritzed with water.
The calendar is printed on coffee stained paper - I used a vanilla flavored instant coffee so it smells yummy, too!

Can't wait to start January! I've got an idea in mind.

December 2009 Calendar Pages

Have you ever had an image in your mind of what you want to create and then somewhere during the process of creation, the project totally changes? That's what happened with the December pages. I had a couple of vintage images I've been looking forward to using on these pages, I even printed them. But the thought of mittens came to me while I was looking through papers and the next thing I knew I was looking for my felt, embroidery floss and tiny buttons!

While I had hoped to finish the pages yesterday, all I managed to finish were the mittens! If your hands were tiny enough, you could actually wear these!
The trim is vintage seam binding that I hand stitched into a ruffle pattern, it looks a lot harder than it is. I really enjoy hand stitching.

I didn't have two of of either the blue foil rectangles or the white lace rectangles, so these two pages are a little different. I think that's fine. I'd be hard pressed to choose a favorite.

The center of the blue pieces by the calendar are little rhinestones to 'match' the button holding the mittens in place on the top page.

What do you think the white lace . . . . .
Or the blue metallic?

Tomorrow maybe I can finish August or at least get a good start on it!