Father's Day Car Show

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post!! No wonder no one reads my poor little blog! I guess I've just got too many things going on. We are still trying to sell our house & now we have the other house that was a rental to get cleaned up & we are going to sell it too. Add that to the other list of:
1) Hubby
2) Two kids
3) Three furry kids
4) normal house tasks
5) Cooking
6) Etsy Shop
7) Sneaking in time to read a book

No wonder I sleep so hard at night :0)

I think I will just post some pictures of the car show that we went to on Father's Day. Sorry if you don't like cars, but we love 'em around here!!





1969 Camaro


This one was my favorite. Lately, I have really been wanting an old truck & I loved the style of this one. It's a 1956 GMC.

I won't bore you with too many. Overall we have a wonderful day. And one last picture to share. On Friday, June 13th-yes Friday the 13th!-Charlie & I have our 6 year wedding anniversary!
He took the day off & we went to the park. You can't really see it too well, but I bought a t-shirt for him. It's a picture of a bride & groom and across the front it says "Game Over". He got a kick out of it!!

The Family Man

I'm trying to order something for Charlie for Father's Day, so with him being on my mind, I thought I'd share a few pictures.

Here he is working on the Camaro. This is the day he got it running-Yipee! There are still a few more things that need to be done, but he's been driving it back & forth to work. On Sunday, there are a few car shows in the area, so we are going to those.Have you ever heard of a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with potato chips? Well, it's a new one to me & this is how my hubby likes it- And he could eat this everyday!! He's even got Dane asking for them.
And I think I've posted this one before, but it's one of my favorites. This is from last summer when Krystin was here to visit. We all went to the park & took some pictures. Krystin always takes a good picture. So does Dane, so them must get it from Charlie, certainly not from me!!
Sorry for such a short post. Got alot going on right now. I really need to list some new items in my Etsy shop. I'll post once I get some things listed. And please keep us in your prayers. We still are trying to sell our house and the other house that we had as a rental. The people were unable to pay any rent for last month. And since we are trying to move back to Alabama, we decided to sell both of them. And we are going to try For Sale By Owner. So please send a little prayer our way. Thanks!!

Blackberries-Yummy!

We went blackberry pickin' yesterday.

I waited until Charlie was off work so he could wait in the car with Gracyn while Dane & I picked the berries. Which was fine with him. But he did grab the camera & took some pictures of us while we were picking.
Let me just say, I've picked blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries (my grandpapa called them "dewberries") off the roadside, but I've never picked blackberries grown like this before. The owner said that in a few weeks, he'll have some smaller plants that he can sell.

And poor guy. He got stung on the cheek by a small wasp. Thankfully, it didn't leave a stinger in. And afterwards, every time he saw something flying, he thought it was a wasp :0( But this morning, he woke up saying his cheek didn't hurt.


I couldn't believe the size of some of these. They are huge!!

My grandmother always made the best blackberry cobbler ( I think everybody thinks Their grandmother makes the bet Something!). I'm going to see if I can find her recipe. I wish I had paid more attention to some of the things that she made, since I can't ask her anymore. I still miss her so much.
Anyway, I'll let you guys know if I make anything. We might just eat them all first!

The Birds and the Bees... and Bugs and Dolphins...

Okay, I have a couple of different things to share with you today.

First, this sweet picture.
Hubby & I had to make a delivery for a lady & when we walked up her front sidewalk, I saw this bird's nest in a bush by her mailbox. She didn't even know it was there! Because the bush was waist height, I could lean over & get this picture without disturbing anything. I love bird eggs. I've noticed all the pretty template illustrations with different eggs. I think one day, I might start collecting those.


Next, is this: Have you ever seen one of these before?


See the eyes?
Give up? It's a Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar!!!! We are such chickens. Even when we found out what it was, neither one of us would touch it!!! I found it attached to the front door kickplate and called Dane to see it. Once we discovered what it was(note: whatsthatbug.com, we've looked up a lot of weird stuff!!), we moved it to a flower pot beside the door. I noticed yesterday that the cocoon was empty. He had flown away! Fly away Mr. Butterfly, fly away!




In an earlier post, I mentioned letterboxing. One of the few things you need is a stamp. And it's nice to have a handmade one. So began my journey of how to make a stamp. After researching the internet, I headed to the craft store. The salesperson wasn't even aware they sold anything like this. I just felt that the material would be in the artist section (where the calligraphy pens & such are sold). Sure enough, I found it. Then it was back home & start cutting. It's not really cutting, more like carving. After about a hour, a cramped hand and back, I had this.

I thought I did pretty good for my first handmade stamp! I found the dolphin image on the internet but added the tribal markings myself. I then added the letters. Although they are for Dane's initial's , I realized they could also stand for Dolphin Lover!!
Next, I'm going to make a stamp for myself & then we should be ready. Oh, and we stopped at the dollar store & bought a fat little notebook for him to use as his journal. Once he discovers a box, he will stamp his journal with the stamp that he finds & then using his own stamp, stamp the journal found in the box. I might need to purchase a Marvy marker for his stamp. It's a little too big for a stamp pad. I used a marker for the picture above, but I don't think he needs to use pink!!

School Treats

Thought I would share some projects I had been working on the last few weeks.
I wanted to make something special for each of Dane's classmates & his teacher, but with a limited budget, things were going to have to be very creative. I lucked out & found some cute little summer buckets at Dollar General-3 for $1.00. There are 10 kids in his class counting him (I knew if I made something & took it to class & didn't have one for him, it would really hurt his feelings). I then found some pinwheels at Dollar Tree. Again, 3 for $1.00. Then I found various kinds of candy -a bag of Blowpops, Mike & Ike for a quarter each. And to really top it off, a bag of Crabby Patties at Dollar Tree! I filled the buckets with some shredded paper & printed a tag that read: Thanks for being my friend ~Dane Celebration 2008.

For his teacher, I bought a larger bucket from Dollar General, some lotions, a book, some of the candies & I made her a journal to write in. I lucked up & found the cover image in Mary Engelbreit's magazine. I then used various other papers & printed out a few more quotes.

The journal was really fun to make. I'm going to make another one for my "Musings" and one to keep track of all the books I've read & a brief recap of the story.
"No man ever really finds out what he believes in until he begins to instruct his children" ~Ephesians 6:4

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of anyone else" ~ Romans 15:1,2
I found the Live Well stickers at Dollar Tree!

I loved the colors of the buckets. Each three pack came in a red, mint green, & turquoise color. Great summer picnic colors. And they had a whole isle dedicated to the whole theme.

Some new looks

I've been playing around this morning. Added my shelf from Shelfari so you can see what I've been reading. And I've added a beautiful new picture at the very bottom of the page. Now I'm off to find some more goodies to list in the shop (need to update that too. I need to write a shop description-and I hate doing that).

My DH is off work today & he has a delivery to make so I'm hoping to make a day out of it & stop to eat somewhere new. I still need to add two more independent restaurants to fulfill my goal of eating at 12. You can see my whole list here.And can't forget the camera. You never know when you can find a good shot.

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day. And hope the rest of your week is just as good :0)

Happy Memorial Day

Hello all my beautiful friends! Yeap, it's been awhile since I updated-sorry. But ya'll missed me, right? LOL!!
After the long weekend last week, I'm just now feeling like I've caught up on everything. And Dane's last day of school was this past Friday, so I had some stuff to do for that. But now school is over and I plan on getting A LOT of stuff accomplished!! I have some fun stuff planned that I would like to do with Dane (and Gracyn :0) this summer. First thing I would like to start is letterboxing.
"Letterboxing is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites. However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. Individual letterboxes usually contain a log book, an often hand-carved rubber stamp and may contain an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal log book, and leave an imprint of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook ."

(I'm excited about doing it, I hope Dane enjoys it too.) Also, I would like to have a "dinner party" night once a week. Just an excuse to decorate the dinner table and have some fun. I thought that he could help me with this too. He loves to get the paint, scissors & glue out to make things. Plus it would give me an excuse to try out new recipes.
Speaking of food, we had our Memorial Day cookout yesterday because sweet hubby has to work today. But they close early at 5 pm so we can still enjoy the day. We grilled steaks and kabobs and corn ( my two men could eat their weight in corn-Dane having two ears yesterday! And it was so sweet-the corn that is :0)

Along with all of this, I've got to get working on my little business. I started selling some stuff on Etsy ( and some odd things on Ebay that don't fit into the Etsy categories). But to really make this work, I have got to dedicate more time to it. My brain gets so full of ideas, now I just need to put them into something tangible. And I feel that I need to have some kind of "style". I think I might have finally found it-Bohemian. A care-free, lots of layers, mixed up kind of style. Yeap, that's me. A style that uses various things from all kinds of different styles and periods. And a style that doesn't mind scratches and chips and nicks and dog hair! (I've added some pictures of Bohemian style throughout this post)

I hope all of you have a Safe & Happy Memorial Day! Ciao for now!

Kristalized

So I've really been trying to make a job out of selling on Etsy. I've been going through closets and boxes, finding treasures that I've had FOREVER and for some reason or another, put off selling them (it all goes back to my goal of one day opening up my own shop). So now I have the resources to have an on-line shop and I'm really excited about turning it into a little part-time job - full-time if you count the others hours devoted to taking care of the kids and hubby (don't tell him that I have to take care of him-he thinks he does that all on his own) and don't forget the dogs. I really have to add this one because I spend over an hour driving all over our neighborhood last night around 10:30pm looking for the two big ones. I finally found them a block up the road. Sasha had jumped into someone's swimming pool!! I had to let her get into my car all wet and I had JUST vacuumed and cleaned it yesterday! Indy had taken off again & I had to drive a little further up the road to get him. Sometimes, I wonder about those two. They will be so good for months & then BAM!

So back to my Etsy. I finally put a link to my shop here on the blog (Thank You Jennifer). And I listed a few things today. One of them was a sweet little vintage night light that I picked up at an Estate sale. It is a lady in a pretty pink dress with ruffles. As I was cleaning it yesterday, I realized that the ruffles were made of real fabric. But it looked like they had at one time been gold but had discolored. So after debating about it, I got out a paint brush & some antique gold paint & touched up the ruffles. Wow, did it really make a difference. So I posted it on Etsy today & then some more items on Ebay (if you need a pair of Petite Juicy Couture terry cloth capris, or parts for your Camaro, let me know :0) Then went back to Etsy to figure out how to upload the Etsy button to put on the blog & the little night light had already sold! In about an hour!! Oh, if I could just do that Everyday!!!!

Top part of dress is before painting, bottom is after I "Kristalized" it!

I took this one last night in the bedroom to show how it would look.

Now it's Bragging Time!!!

Isn't she too cute?!?

Graduation Time

This coming Friday, the 16th, Dane will graduate from Pre-K! I can't believe the year has gone by so quickly. I am truly blessed that the director, Patti Kilgore, hired me as a substitute. I had such a wonderful time & really wanted to go back but since they can't take babies younger than 6 months, I didn't have anywhere to put Gracyn.
And on Sunday, the 18th, my step-daughter will be graduating from high school! One graduating from Pre-K & one from high school, one in diapers- we really know how to spread them apart! I guess we'll have something to keep us busy for about the next 18 years or so LOL

I want to give a big Shout Out to my lovely Peep Heidi! She ordered one of my lightswitch covers off of Etsy. I know they don't seem like much, but for me personally, it makes me smile each time I see one of my covers in a room. Just so much nicer than that plain ole' white cover.
And I have lots more stuff to add today-some vintage clothing, a few cute vintage knick-knacks and my newest creations-crosses! I LOVE making these crosses. It has taken me awhile to get the whole look down that I wanted. But I'm happy with the way these turned out. And for a few of you reading this, act surprised when you get one this Christmas!!!

On the backs I've placed quotes that relate to Bible scriptures. This one reads: To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge, to find the will of God is the greatest discovery, and to do the will of God is the greatest achievement. ~John 12:26
I've used a mixture of vintage & new beads for the hangers. And different painting techniques on each one. I have another batch that I'm hoping to finish today if the weather allows.

Hope you all have a great Saturday & an early "Happy Mother's Day"!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

One Tequila
Two tequila
Three tequila
FLOOR!!!

That would so be me right now. I just can't drink like I use to. I did have a craving for a Corona the other day. And it tasted so good. But just one for me. But we still love to look at the drink menus when we go out. There are always such pretty drinks with such exotic names.

So, is anybody planning anything special~other than having tacos for dinner?! :0) We like soft tacos so I buy a large pack of flour tortillas and a can of refried beans. And I've just discovered the local grocery store brand of Spanish rice. It calls for a can of tomatoes, but since dear hubby doesn't like them, I omit the can. The rice still comes out yum-O!! I might throw out some decorations, we'll see.

Remember the Camaro we bought a while back? Well, Charlie has been so busy with work over the Holidays and such, he just didn't have the energy or heart to get working on it again. But this week, he's been doing a little each night after he gets home. And on Friday, he got all of the motor up back together & cranked up. And boy does it sound good! Wish I could put audio on here. So I was asking him what else needed to be done. He said he needed to take the seats out so he could take the carpet out to cut the center console for the shifter. So in an effort to surprise him, guess what I did...took the seats out myself!! He laughed & said he wishes he had a picture of that!! I told hime I could take something apart, it was just putting it all back together was the problem.
I took some pictures of him working on the car. I'll try to post them later.
Right now it's about time for me to get Dane up for school. He graduates from Pre-K a week from Friday on May 16th & their last day of school is the 23rd. And my step-daughter, Krystin, graduates from high school on the 18th. We're hoping we can drive up to see her, but Charlie has to see if he can get that weekend off first.

Hope everyone has a safe & happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Etsy Stuff

Here are a few things I've been working on lately. Been trying to get some goodies listed in my Etsy shop.

I have no idea what happened to the picture below. I was my first time using the scanner on the new printer. Our old HP printer kicked the bucket awhile back & we got an Epson. Not very happy with the quality. But for now, it will have to do :0)
I love making these bookmarkers. They are so much fun. And they are big, fat ones too, so you can use them to swat mosquitoes!!
I have some vintage clothing listed (I must confess-I have a closets full of winter coats that I should have listed a long time ago) The blouse below was one of mine that I purchased brand new about 10-12 years ago, so that makes it vintage, right? It's still beautiful, but I just don't wear it.
I still have a ton more that I need to list. I made a journal yesterday so that I have somewhere to write down all the ideas that keep popping into my head!! And it actually turned into something I might make more of & sell :0)

It looks like it might rain which always makes me want to curl up with a book & read. I'm reading a very nice book right now called 'Milk Glass Moon' by Adriana Trigiani. It is the third in her 'Big Stone Gap' series. And they are Very Good! Also, have I mentioned my favorite new hang out on the web? It's a book site called "Shelfari". A little like MySpace, but only for book lovers. You can go check out my bookshelf & see all the books that I've read or want to read. And there are tons of forums. For any genre you can think of. I'm in one group called "Play Book Tag" where each month a member picks a tag describing a book and then we have to read a book that falls in that category. April was fantasy & I read a new book for me, 'Dead Witch Walking' by Kim Harrison. And I am totally hooked! It is a series & I just got the next two. But for May, our tag is 19th century. And I am going to read 'Gone With The Wind'. Sad to say, that I have never read this classic before. And it's a big book. It might take me the whole month!!

Off to fix another pot of coffee. Hope you have a Happy-Blue Monday :0)
~Kristal

For Gracyn

It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money.

~Elinor Goulding Smith

A Tattoo~Oh My!

My stepdaughter, Krystin, turned 18 last November. A few weeks after that, she moved out of her house with her mom & step-dad and moved in with her boyfriend, Chris. Since then, she has seemed so much happier. We've kept in contact with her a lot more, just to make sure she is doing alright and to see if she ever needs anything.
She called us the other night to tell us...GASP...yep...she got a tattoo! But after I saw what it was, I couldn't help but smile.
Her mother re-married and had two girls, Haleigh & Madison. And her dad re-married (ME!!) and we have two, Dane & Gracyn. So she had all four written within stars on her back. Not sure if she will like it when she turns forty, but for now, I think it was very cool for Big Sis' to do this.


And speaking of birthdays, I missed posting pictures of Danes' birthday back in February. He turned a whole 5 years old!! And to think that exactly one week after that, Gracyn was born. And nine days BEFORE that, Charlie turned 37. Such an old man :0)


He had a great time opening his presents.





All of this is making me think about next year, what a busy time February will be.

I saw a show on t.v. that showed you how to make a fabric banner, I think I'm going to start a "Birthday" one now for next year!!