Paisley's Pals...

Because I obviously have too much time on my hands, Jaina and I have started a new project. We've opened a new Etsy shop, Paisley's Pals, with a critter theme and ALL the proceeds are going to the shelter where we got our (not-so) Baby Puppy Paisley. Right now we've added Bark-tique puppy cookies in yummy flavors:



and a fun vintage feed sack purse all foofed up and ready to go!



There are a few more items we've planning on adding, including some new teeny chenille purses and fun squeaker toys. I'm thinking I may need to adopt a 3 day work week with a 4 day weekend in order to get everything done...

Not to mention I could really use the sleep...

~Beth

Mockingbush...

Well, looks like this is it for the Forsythia blooms again this year. I KNEW it. I get my hopes up and then THIS:



It's laughing at me...

~Beth

New Neighbors...

A couple of years ago we bought this cute little birdhouse. Mostly it was just supposed to be decorative, but we soon had a cute little birdie family move in. Each year since we've always had a family set up house.



This year Daddy Bird has been sitting on the roof looking for a wife. (David and I have had a bit of fun joking about Daddy Bird not being pretty enough for the girls.) We wondered if there was a new nest inside yet. I politely "knocked" on the roof and then took a peek inside. There were several sweet little feathers near the front door. I didn't think the Birdie family would mind if I "borrowed" a couple. Soooooo, I grabbed one and gave it a tug. Next thing I know there's some serious fluttering inside and a fairly angry-looking birdie eyeball staring out at me. It appears those feathers may still have been attached to its previous owner...oops.


And they thought this was a nice neighborhood...

~Beth

More Smiles...

I got a few more squares done yesterday.

Smile 9: A fluffy ball of yarn.



Smile 10: I love seeing the little summer-time flutter-bys.



Smile 11: Stepping on crunchy acorns is one of my all-time favorite smiles.



Smile 12: This week there was an itty-bitty white feather that floated on by. Made me smile.



Unfortunately, I had all this time to stitch yesterday because Jaina was having her wisdom teeth out. Things are really rough for her right now. She can't open her mouth enough to even get a spoon in and her pain seems to still be pretty severe. I'm in high "Mommy mode"...

~Beth

Shopping by cell phone...

Of course I had to work today, there was a pretty nice auction happening. I convinced David it would be a good idea for him to go early to the auction and check out some of the things I thought I might like. So he went and sent me pictures! I couldn't wait to get out of the office. By the time I got there, the fun was almost over but I still scored a few goodies like:

A couple of cutter chenille bedspreads.



Two cutter table clothes with pretty colors.



A pretty square blue glass bowl and a pair of candle holders. I haven't decided yet how I feel about the candle holders. I really just wanted the bowl but I wound up with lots of unnecessary bits and bobs. David calls that stuff "yard sale fodder".



My impulse purchase of two sweet Frozen Charlotte dolls. I love them! They're my first ones and I'm thrilled. One has such a worried look on her face and the other is more "WHAT-ever". I hadn't seen them during my initial peek-through; it was strictly lucky timing as I was passing the table when they came up. Took them both home for $5! (Although after looking at the pictures, they're more "Dirty Charlottes" than "Frozen Charlottes")



And then my beauty! A three-tiered sweets stand with a fabulous Chintz pattern. yum. LOVE IT! This was another if-you-want-this-you-have-to-buy-a-bunch-o-crap-to-get-it purchase. Yep, "yard sale fodder" part II.





We also brought home a beautiful vintage etched mirror and a treadle Singer sewing machine. I mentioned last night that I thought I should get a treadle machine so that in case some Apocalyptic event occurred, we could still be clothed (no doubt using all my chenille and tablecloth fabrics!) and here David grabs this all by himself! I hope it works!

It's been a long day. I'm sleeping in a little tomorrow...See ya!

~Beth

Stitching Smiles...

Well, I haven't caught up as much as I would like. It's been busy at work so I'm getting home late and not wanting to stitch when it's dark. But I did manage a few more squares and have several planned out.

Here's what's done so far...

Smile 4: Give me a thunderstorm any night!



Smile 5: Piggy-tails! Especially if they're attached to chubby little cheeks that are skipping down the street.



Smile 6: Sweet little Ladybug



Smile 7: Our Forsythia Bush...each Spring it promises to burst forth with a torrent of golden beauty and each Spring there's nothing more than a misty drizzle of...bud. It mocks me...



Let's see if I can get on track next week. I have a couple of days off since Lucky Jaina gets to have all four of her wisdom teeth out. woo-woo...

~Beth

I'm stiching along...

but I'm still behind. When I saw Amy's post about stitching a square a day, I thought "What a great idea! I should do it!" and then I thought "Gee, I can't do that." I filled up with self-doubt. So I thought on it for a week and decided to just jump in. Jaina thought I should do 48 squares because well, there wasn't enough creative pressure at 39 squares.

I'm calling my sampler Worth A Smile. 48 snippets of things that make me smile. That seems manageable. So here's my first 3 squares...

Smile 1: Heart of my heart- (that's for 22 years of smiles from my favorite daughter)




Smile 2: Nest with 3 pretty blue eggs




Smile 3: A bit of vintage tatting embellished with a few glass beads




I've learned a few things from this project so far...
1. Free spiriting scares me!(I'm paper-trained. I need patterns.)
2. I'm waaaay slower than I thought I would be.
3. My eyesight just ain't what it used to be therefore see #2.
4. These things really do make me smile!
5. I'm having fun!




I'm hoping I can really catch up Friday when I have a half day off from work. And more daylight. I can really use the extra smiles...

~Beth