Card-Making, It's Been Awhile...

It has been quite a long time since I have done any paper crafting.  I have really missed it....... so I joined some card swap groups, again :0)  Here are some cards that I made in the past couple weeks:

These cards are for swaps at the groups I have joined.

I really, really enjoyed making them:)

I also made some ATCs to swap with my dear sister-in-law.  An ATC is a Artist Trading Card. They are 3 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches in size, kind of like a mini card.  Some people make them and collect them like sports trading cards, but we make them trade them, and then use them for card fronts or embellishments for scrap book pages.

This what I have been up to this past week.  Hope to get some more cards made and

get some sewing done.  Thanks for visiting.  See you again soon :)

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

Unexpected Mail :)

I am hosting a signature block swap on one of the Yahoo groups that

 I belong to, and one of the very sweet ladies sent me this wonderful block

as a "Thank You".  She did an Awesome job!  It is just so pretty.

This past week I also received this beautiful postcard from my Secret Pal.

It is called Amish Spring...she said it made her think of me:)  She

is just too kind to me!  Love the postcard:)

New International Siggy

This siggy is from Marij in the Nederlands.

I love the picture she put in the center:)

She said she collects sewing tools and

notions, and that is why she chose this picture.

Too Cute:)

Hugs,

Terry

~*~PIF Update ~*~

Yippee!!!!!

I now have my 3 PIF people:)

Thank you to Sharm, Pat, and Angela.

I will be getting to work on those gifts

and get them mailed out to you very soon:)

Have fun with your PIFs on your Blogs:)

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

"Pay It Forward" Time :)

Yes, Yes, Yes, It is Pay It Forward time.

I signed up over at Terry's Treasures for her PIF,

so now it is my turn to host a Pay It Forward here on my Blog.

In case you have never done a Pay It Forward, or have forgotten the

rules, here they are:

1.  The first 3 people to visit my blog and leave a comment saying they want to

participate will receive a handmade gift from me, within the next year, actually it will be within the next few weeks, but you are suppose give everyone a year.

2.  You MUST have a blog of your own to to participate in the PIF.

3.  You must post about the PIF on your blog & offer the PIF challenge on your blog.

By accepting my Pay It Forward challenge, YOU agree to host a Pay It Forward

to the first 3 people who sign up on your blog...you will then carry on the PIF by sending them a homemade gift within a year's time, and so it goes :)

So sign up, Join in the fun, Spread a few smiles, and Pay It Forward!!!

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry 

"Come, Take a Walk With Me"

Spring has finally completely arrived here in Indiana,
well almost...we are under a freeze warning tonight and
tomorrow night, go figure, it's Indiana!!!!!!
But anyway, I took a walk around my yard earlier, and thought

you might want to come with me...


Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal flew in for a dining treat at my
backyard diner.  Very cool thing that I saw, he
was feeding her.  She stayed perched on the top of the pole, and he took seeds up to her, and put them in her mouth ... How cool is that???? I'm thinking maybe it's not Mr. & Mrs... they must be courting :)  (LOL)

Now my next visitor was this very skiddsh red-bellied woodpecker.  I wasn't sure I was going to get his picture, but I'm pretty stubborn and not one that easily gives up *grin*   (Now you know how I get all those little quilt blocks made!)                                       

Around the corner from this bird diner is my Bleeding Heart Plant.  I really Love this plant, it was of my grandmother's favorites.  Guess it's a nostalia thing for me :)  Won't be long before my Lily of the Valley will be blooming...which was one of my other grandmother's favorites,  she even wore a perfume by that name :)

   Next stop is the suet cage feeder.  Where there is always a woodpecker of some type to be found.  I'm not sure of the name of this particular one, but he is pretty:)  The ladder looking thing in the background is one of my new grape arbors.  We started two of these last year, one has Concord grapes and the other has Niagra White grapes.  Hopefully in the next year or two we will begin to reap a harvest from them:)  I can already picture and smell the jellies & juices!

Now moving on into the front yard, we find my Flowering Crab tree.  This tree has the sweetest smell :)  And you don't have to be near it to be able to smell the sweetness.  The flowers are a beautiful pink.  It has very few leaves while the flowers are on, then the flowers fall off and it's full of dark green shiney leaves.  A close up of the flowers has become my blog picture, at least for the time being!

Now on to the side of the house and we find this small lavender colored ground cover plant...that I can't remember the name of :(  But it is pretty and it is finally taking off and spreading, just like I hoped for!

And that brings back where we started, only to find the good old Blue Jay.

And of course his mouth is open and he is squawking about something!!!!  Last year we several pairs of Blue Jays... and let me tell you they are the noisest birds I have ever heard, and smart too.  They could open the suet cage I had, so I bought a new one with a lock on it that they couldn't open.  Because once they got it opened, the suet was gone in a day.  Well I hope you enjoyed our walk.  Maybe we will do it again when summer arrives, and the scenery changes again:)

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry 

P.S.  Don't forget you can click on the pictures to enlarge them for a better view:) 

Today's Accomplishment...

Today I was able to get the "Quilts For Kids" top sewn together.  WOW!!!! It went together Fast:)  I was shocked at how quickly I got it done.  For anyone who doesn't know Quilts For Kids is an organization that sends quilts to children in many different hospitals.  Just a nice way to give the kids a little something of their own and spread some cheer:)  The organization will send you a kit for free and/or accept quilts you have made from your own fabrics.  There are some specifications, you can find those at their website.  http://quiltsforkids.org/   I am hoping to get this sandwiched and quilted this week.  I will make one or two from my fabrics and then get them all mailed out together:)  This one is from the free kit they sent me.  Here is a close up:

I am looking forward to make many more of these :)  OH,  I forgot to tell you that the kit includes everything you need to make the quilt except the batting & thread!  Nice, huh?

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

New Siggy:)

Received this very pretty siggy this week from Nicola in Germany.
She chose the mushroom because it brings good luck, so this way
she says she can send a little piece of good luck to all her siggy-swap
friends all over the world.  Such a very sweet thought :)

My International Siggy count is now 57 received.

~*~A Special Heart for a Special Person~*~

This is a heart block that I made for a very special and dear friend:)

She is a wonderful person with a heart of gold. 

My thoughts, prayers, and love go out to her. 

God's grace will see you through.

Much Love,

Terry 

Dear Jane Siggy Swap 2010

Yes, it is that time of year again, and Yes I signed up again!!!!

Even after I said I wasn't going to until I got all my siggy swap

quilts together (No laughing or snickering Rosa).  I just couldn't help myself.

There were so many "newbies" and quite honestly not very many "oldbies".

Now what fun would it have been if only 30-40 people signed up????

So I did my part and signed up...ended up with 67 people signing up. 

So my siggys are sewn, signed, heat set, packaged, & mailed:)

As a matter of fact, debgiggles has probably received them by now.

So here is a sneak peek of mine...

I went through my fabrics this year and used up left over Fat Quarters to make the siggys:)  And of course in keeping with tradition there is one

"Special Siggy" :)  The person who recieves it will win a special little giftee, when they let me know that they have it *grin*  Here is a peek at the Special Siggy:

  Looking forward to this years swap, hope everyone else is too!!!

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

2nd "Good Eggs" Prize Arrives :)

These are all the goodies that I received from Kaye at "Nana B follows Nana T".  She was also a Giver from the "Good Eggs Give Away.  My number was drawn, and my wonderful package arrived this week:)  There is one item that doesn't show up well in the picture...it is a threaded needle, no explanation, but I think it is to remind me to "keep on sewing" or "get busy on the next project".  (LOL)
On second thought, maybe it is a reminder that I have many projects I need to finish *grin*  Thank you very much Kaye, you are most definately a "Very Good Egg"  OH!!!  I hate to admit this, but see that little travel sewing kit...as much sewing as I do and I did not have one of those, BUT I do now!!!!! And it is safely tucked away in my purse:)

Hugs & Blessings to All.  And I hope everyone gets to sews a few stitches today:)
Terry

New Siggies :)

More new siggies have arrived in the past week:)

They are all so very very pretty...so I am once

again sharing pictures of them:)

               This lovely one is from Dorine in the Nederland.  She wrote that she used the "Fleur de Lis", French lilly, because her town is Lelystad.

This little beauty is from Eva in Hessen, Germany.

She belongs to a patchwork group, and I believe she has been quilting for about 15 years.  Love the little appliqued hexagon in the center.

This wonderful little kitty came from Carolyn in Iowa:)  Absolutely adore the calico kitty...too cute.  Oops the cat lover is showing again, hehehe.

And last, but certainly not least is this beautiful one from Alessandra in Italy.  She lives about an hour and half from Venice, in a small village in the country.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my newest siggies. 

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

TOO CUTE

As most of you know I am a cat lover:)

Well I am doing my best to

convert my grandchildren into cat lovers too:)

This is one of my Grandsons with

Mr. Sassy.  Out for the night !!!

Notice the cat has the pillow... (LOL)

And here is one of granddaughters with Samson.

Samson is my kitty.  My 22 pound sewing buddy kitty:)

And in this picture the cat has the blanket!!!

Ummmmm, I'm thinking my conversion plans are working:)

Too cute, not to share:)

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

April Secret Pal Gifts:)

My Dear Secret Pal some how knows me very, very well???

Her gifts are always things that I would pick out for myself...

truly amazing to me!!!

This month I received a wonderful Easter kitchen towel, lovely dish rags, one of which a friend of hers crocheted, a tea infusion strawberry and a tin of Jasmine Green Tea.

The cute little notepad, felt Easter Basket and of course some Easter chocolate...

ummmm, there was actually a few more pieces of chocolate, but they didn't quite make it to the picture *grin*   Can't wait to find out who this year's Pal is????  Thank you so very much for everything:)

Hugs, Prayers & Blessings

Terry

Good Egg Give Away Prize Arrives!!!!

My wonderful prize arrived, that I won at Gene Black's Blog:)  He was one of the "Good Eggs" that participated in that great Easter Blog Hop.  Gene is quite an artist as well as quilter:)

So as promised here is the prize package:

He contacted me after reading my blog, and offered to make me a siggy for my collection, too:)  Very nice of him.  You can see a better picture of the siggy in my next post.  Gene, Thank you so very much for the prizes and the for the wonderful siggy.

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry

Super Siggy Week:)

Unbelievable Siggy Week!!!!!

I received all these siggys in the last week:)

I was amazed when all these siggys started arrriving over the past week...but aren't they all so beautiful:)

Everyone on the International List is responding so quickly.

My official siggy count is now 52.

Oh I have one more...My dear Sister-in-law gave me 2, because I couldn't make up my mind which one I liked best (LOL)

I guessI better get busy sewing up some more little siggy

darlings to get mailed

this month:) 

Hugs & Blessings,

Terry