Living Life Beautifully

 The other day we were looking online for pajamas for our chihuahua because he's always so cold and thought it might help if we could find something that totally covered him. We found some that were really cute and reminded me of a pair of pj's that Alex wore when he was a baby. Alex asked me if I still have them.  So I went hunting for his pumpkin pajamas in one of the baby clothes totes I have in my closet.  We spent about 30 minutes going through all of Alex's baby clothes.  Alex was amazed at how tiny everything was.  Then he asked me if I would save them for when he has a child. I said, "of course.  That's what I kept them for." Actually I kept them so I could go through the tote every once in a while and see how tiny he was. :)  I love mismatched pillow cases.  When I shop thrift stores and find the old ones with the embroidery on them, I'm thrilled.  I don't just fold them up and put them in the linen closet for special occ...

Here is Santa number 3.  He's probably the biggest out of all of them. His coat is cut from a new unused quilt. One of the hardest things is having to cut the quilts.  I have so many quilts.  I'll cut one that is fallingapart or I will cut a new quilt, as long as it's not expensive.  I will not cut a handmade family quilt in good condition unless someone wants a Santa from it and I have their permission.  Because I make quilts, I know what goes into putting them together and quilting them.  I'll drive by a home and see someone covering their outdoor plants with an old quilt and I want to scream.  Bruce's aunt used to do that so I went to her house and traded her the old quilt for a blanket.  The quilt was in horrible shape but it ended up making some beautiful crafts.  I have a Santa that is made from a ragedy quilt, a pair of one of the boys jeans with holes in the knees and a pair of the boys b...

 This is Santa number 2.  He has a little ball of a nose. He looks kinda like a brainy smart Santa. His coat is from a tied quilt that was given to me, with a couple of other quilts, in exchange for a Santa made from this same quilt. When I gave her Santa to her, made from her family's quilt, she started to tear up and said it would be passed down for many years.  That was truly my favorite Santa doll story.        Here is a better picture of Santa number 1. Here is a better picture of the little Santa with his bag. I love the eyes. And this is all three together.  I pinned a star painted like a flag on Santa 1's hat just for fun.  I was thinking of making him a bag with a patriotic theme. Well, that's all for today.  I'm pooped.  Each Santa takes about two days to make.  I kinda want to make an Angel tomorrow, but they take even more time to make because of the hair.  Not sure I'll...

 This is the first large Santa of the season.  He's so cute!  The one next to him is one that someone else worked up and he had been badly mistreated.  So I gave him a fresh new look.  Kinda felt like I was doing one of those Oprah makeovers on him.  :) He has a belly button.  I'm not sure why. He has hand painted eyes. The Santa bag goes with him. My craft room is busy messy.  I have 5 large bodies sewn and ready to assemble for more Santa's or angel dolls, depending on my mood. I have lots of little rag doll bodies ready to go.  Most are bunnies that will end up angels.  The Santa's will go to a nearby shop in Gruene.  If you see one you like, let me know before I take it to the shop.  I sell them to her for anywhere from 60- 75 depending on what is used to assemble them.  I'm not sure what she sells them for. OK.... I'm off to work up another. I'll post more pictures as I go. Hugs Shannon

I'm not in a good mood today.  I had a bad day yesterday and ended up getting groceries, just to get out of the house.  I woke up in a good mood yesterday, but the day went down hill.  This morning I woke up in an ok mood, I guess, but I was bombarded by every needy animal I own.  I took my oatmeal and my bible out on the back porch for some peace, only to have Lilly come talk to me, non stop.  Lilly is our tortoise shell outdoor cat.  She has a tendency to talk from when she realizes your outside, while she's walking over to you, and the entire time she's walking on your bible and trying to headbutt your face to get kitty boogers and drool on you.  I had to take her from the table three times and put her on the ground. I really need to stop looking at the world as it is.  It feels like all I see is greed and selfishness.  I'm tired of seeing people who aren't responsible for their own actions and think they have the right to take adva...

I made 4 new purses.  This one happens to be my favorite of the 4. I think I have most of these at Maldonados Nursery, if your interested in any of them. I'm having fun working with the heavier fabric.  They look so elegant. I keep wanting to embellish everything and have to stop myself, because not everyone wants a bunch of stuff hanging on their purse. :) I ran these to my cousins place as soon as I was done with them.  I didn't want to take a chance of keeping any.  Occupational hazard. This one is a deeper style.  I don't make any patterns, so everything turns out, the way it turns out. I had it finished and my husband said it needed the tassels.  :) Gotta love husbands. Second favorite. I was telling someone, the other day, about how I have so many purses. When I need a new one or one that is a certain color to match my outfit for a big evening, I just go to my box, and pick one out.  It's kinda nice, but nothing beats getting...

Tuesday November 1st 2011 Wow, it's that month of Christmas decorating and I almost want to start tomorrow. Although I don't like the idea of the animals, peeing on the tree and curling up next to the nativity scene to the point that one of the camels looses a leg. It has been a trying day. I woke up in a good mood, but then I got the traditional bank text telling me my account is below 100.  Sigh. Not the best way to wake up in the morning. I walked into the kitchen to find there were three totes of dishes and a full dishwasher. Blah. Not very encouraging. After dumping the dishwasher and cleaning a few dishes, I decided to take a nap and see if I could get into a mood that was less demanding of my patience. The nap was incredibly successful, until....... my husband got a phone call, that a good friend who had bailed on ANOTHER job, leaving Bruce to scramble to find a replacement, has suddenly decided he wants to do the job, leaving someone to call the person who was ...