Dreams Can Come True

It's here!!!!

It's really here!!!

I dreamed!

I hoped!

And now, IT'S MINE!!!!!

No, I didn't win the lottery.  That is next on my list of accomplishments!

What??  Stop laughing .....  it could happen!

I have been searching for a copy of this book for a year.  It was published in 1982 and snagging a copy has been a challenge. There are a few on eBay but the asking price has been well out of my reach (over $30 in most instances).

And then there was Bev from Australia.

She had this wonderful, beautiful, almost new copy that she was selling on OZtion (it's like eBay but just in Australia as far as I can tell).

And how much, you ask.

$10 !!!!!

And those are Australian dollars -- even better as the Canadian dollar is worth a bit more.

It took two weeks to arrive and I swear I have been carrying it around like a kid who got the dolly she wanted for Christmas!!!

So far we have created these little goodies:

We put a brooch pin on the back of the bunny but I see all kinds of other options, too....

backpacks

keychains

magnets...

Oh, are you as excited as I am?

You can stop laughing at me now.

Welcome-to-the-World Gifts for Rebecca

My dear friend Julianne had a precious baby girl on January 29. 

She is a beautiful little miracle named Rebecca.

Baby gifts are always fun to buy but I made that handmade pledge to myself and have done pretty well so far sticking to it.

Also, Rebecca is baby no. 4 for this special family.  Really, what hasn't Julianne seen already?!

This is what Rachel and I thought might work.

It's a felt name banner that I suppose could hang on a door or on the wall in her room.

A little lamb made of terry cloth with no little parts.

Her face is hand-embroidered so no buttons or bits to worry about.

The pattern is from Bit of Whimsy.

Welcome to the world, Rebecca!

We love you already!

Recycling for Fashion

Do you ever regret teaching your kids something?

Once you tell them something, you can't "un-tell" it.

That's the lesson for today, Family

(and other readers -- are there really any readers out there in cyberland?).

My "pretty hoarding"  (see February 11  entry) and the lesson of the importance of recycling have come to haunt me.

Well, not haunt.  More like a project that didn't sound fun to me but was super-important to the princess-of-the-house (no, not Art, ha ha).

I couldn't part with the princess' tights from kindergarten and she felt great need to re-purpose them, so....

Can you guess what they became?

Isn't it obvious?

Kindergarten tights became preteen, fashion-savvy

ARM WARMERS!!!

version 1

version 2

Ta - da!

So much wishing, so little action

When you have plans of accomplishing so many things do you sometimes just end up accomplishing nothing?

This is that day for me.

I have an actual list of things I want to do.

Yet.....nothing!

Perhaps if I look at something I already did that was fun....

A little tooth fairy pillow for a dear little girl.

Oh, well.

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day!

I Am So Lucky

I have the greatest auntie ever.

My wonderful Aunt Phyllie.

Otherwise known as Nanny at our house.

She doesn't have to be so good to us but she is and we are so very thankful.

She has lots going on with all her kiddies and their kiddies, too.

But she and my equally super Uncle 'Den (known at our house as Grampy) have included us.

And that feels so good.

Nanny's birthday was a short while ago but her present only was received today (I know, I know -- but I swear I didn't forget).

I always want to do something special for her  --  but I made that handmade pledge to myself, so what to do?

Finally decided on these little goodies.

Got this idea from Made With Love and Glue.

We love you, Nanny!

Is It Recycling or Is It Hoarding?

Another of my latest obsessions is Hoarders on A&E.

I would watch it all day, every day.

I don't know if it's because I am interested to know why these people have such connection to seemingly unimportant items.  (In case you didn't know, I am fascinated with understanding why people do what they do even though it creates havoc in their lives.)

Perhaps I love this show because my anal retentive personality is chomping at the bit to gather up all the mess and put it all in perfectly labelled see-through totes.  (My heart feels giddy at that thought!  Sad, isn't it?)

And maybe I love this show because I , despite being 95% anal, can empathize. 

Just "getting rid" of stuff is sometimes really difficult. Stuff has memories attached; sometimes good, sometimes bad -- but memories nonetheless.

Maybe I am a hoarder, just like those people on the show.

Maybe my need to organize is just "pretty hoarding."

So, let me show you how I justified not getting rid of some of R's old jammies.

They were just so cute and I had such happy memories of her in them that I just had to come up with a way to hold on to them.

So I cut and pinned and sewed and.....

...new winter scarves!

Did I do a good thing, recycling?

Or is this just pretty hoarding?

We All Have Our Issues

As I mentioned on Monday, I am committed to handmade.

Maybe committed is the wrong word.

Can you say "addicted?"

That's me!

If I see something cute, then I find myself dreaming up a reason to give it a try. 

No real need to do it; just my ever-growing addiction requiring attention!

I saw little ballerina valentine cards at TinyPrints.com -- they were just so cute I talked Rachel into letting me make them for her to take to her Ballet class (apparently the last year for this --"I'm too old for this stuff, Mom.").

But aren't they cute?