Valentine's Parties

I'm getting ready to host a couple of Valentine's parties this week.  The 1st one will be with my quilting friends tomorrow evening.  We usually get together the 1st and 3rd Tuesday evening of every month to sew/crochet/gab (with a heavy emphisis on the gab part...smile).  Last get together I asked if they'd like to do a potluck and they thought it was a fine idea soooo we're going to do a Mexican dinner of tacos, rice and chips w/salsa.  I can't decide if I want to bake or just pick up a quick dessert to finish off the evening.  Guess I'll see what they have at the grocery store tonight.  I found the cutest plates and napkins at Joanns a couple of weeks ago.  They have a heart on them that looks like it's crazy quilted...AND I found matching goodie boxes!  I'd tell you what's going in them but will wait until after the dinner.

On Saturday I'm hosting an American Girl tea party for the 2 granddaughters that live here and a couple of their little friends.  I'll get some pictures taken of a few of the things I have in store then post them...hopefully tonight!  It's gonna be sooo much fun!

 

What I've been working on

I've been busy lately working on a quilt.  The pattern is called "So Many Squares".  I now have the blocks and triangles done!  I put them all up on the design wall just to make sure I made enough...and I did!  Please excuse the lighting, it was night and I only have 3 lamps in the room.  The yellow is much lighter in real life and the dark triangles are a navy blue...oh and the wave at the bottom is where the lamps are plugged in under the design wall and makes a bump!  I've got most of it taken back down now and the blocks trimmed...sure hope I didn't mess it up doing that!  I like how it's turning out but I don't think I'll ever be making it again...sooo much work!!!

Valentine Necklace and Bracelet

I decided that me and the girls need to make Valentine necklaces and bracelets for our AG dolls.  I went shopping at Hobby Lobby in Visalia on Saturday and found some really cute Valentine ornaments that look like those candy hearts that are so popular with the kiddos.  I bought 1 package and on Sunday we pulled out all of my old beads (I had a huge box full) and we set to work...and quickly got frustrated...the holes in the beads were too small for the elastic thread!  Back to the drawing board I went.  On Monday I went to Joann's and found some really cute beads that had bigger holes.  The only problem I had with them was deciding which ones to get because they were all so pretty!  I ended up getting 5 tubes of purple and pink beads.  Last night I decided to try making a necklace to see if it worked better before getting the girls involved again.  Here is a picture of the finished product.  I think it turned out nicely (and it went so quickly that I decided to make a bracelet too!)  The little flower on her finger is a nail art sticker.  We thought it made cute "rings".

I'm back!

Hello there!  I know I've been gone for quite some time but plan to start blogging again.  We bought 2 of the grandgirls American Girl dolls for their birthdays in November.  For Christmas we gave them doll trunks loaded with clothes and accessories...some store bought and some made by me.  Brianna is the oldest and plays with hers much more than the younger one but they both really like them.  Their dolls are enjoying coming over for our almost weekly sleepovers and visiting with MY American Girl doll that Andy got me for Christmas.  He said I made so many outfits and enjoyed doing it that I needed my own doll...isn't that sweet?  Sooo, I've decided that this will be the year of AG dolls.  I plan on having craft nights with the girls each month for us to make something for our dolls.  I haven't got the months planned yet but am working on a Valentine's tea party.  I contacted a friend and her little granddaughter has an AG doll and she said she'd love to help me plan the party...yea!  If you've never gone over to see Cheryl at cheryl-comfort.blogspot.com.  You are in for a real treat!  I'm getting ready for a class on my new iMac laptop (hubby was very generous at Christmas).  I'll take some pics of things I found for the AG dolls at the Dollar store and post them later!