Jared is DRIVING!

The mommy was a little nervous...I admit...

But not the Teenager....He was Ready!

And, the instructor said that he was "exceptional".

I am still not going to RELAX though...

She's Here!!

I have been looking all summer,

along with my dear daughter,

at Blythe Dolls.

As you can see, I finally bit the bullet...

I haven't named her yet,

or washed & styled her hair...

But, we did have a photo shoot

& play a little Dress-Up!

Crostata

...Probably my all time FAVORITE recipe from my BFF Elena (& her mom) is the always beautiful & tasty Italian Crostata... our usual version has always been made with apricot jam, but any tart jam with this wonderful dough make a great dessert (or breakfast - which is my preferred time to enjoy it) I've had this jar of natural Sour Cherry Jam, just burning a hole in the cupboard, and it's finally cool enough today to turn on an oven in my kitchen! ...not an appealing activity when it's over 100 degrees outside... but today is the 2nd day in a row with temps in the 80's....

So, I fired it up....anyone ready for Dessert?

Stamped Tags Swap

My Scrapping Message board friend (Mellie) & I are doing a "Stamped Tag Swap". Here's what I made... I hope she going to like them!

Back to School

Audra's 1st Day of 5th Grade!

Teacher's Survival Kit Gift

Thanks to SUZELLE...my friend-fellow scrapbooker-Girl scout leader-internet blogger-crafter-elementary aide- & mommy EXTRAORDINAIRE... I had this little project to "throw together" for my daughter's teacher. Believe it or not, I had almost everything on the suggested list of items, But, I will confess to some serious digging to rummage it all up... It includes a Scroll (attached at the top of the paint tin) that explains the contents: things like...Rick Rack for a school year filled with ups & downs and a Wiggly Eye for when you wish you really did have eyes in the back of your head and a Battery for you to keep going, going, going and a Star to remind you to shine and a Clothespin to help you "hang in there" and a Rubber Glove to lend a helping hand and a Flower Pot to remind you that you are here to plant seeds for the future and a Snowflake for when all else fails, Pray for a snow day. and a Penny because as a teacher...you're priceless. I hope my daughter's teacher gets as much of a kick out of this as I did putting it together for her!!!

Daughter's Dramatic "DO & DONATION"

My dear Daughter wanted to donate her hair to "Pantene Beautiful Lengths"

for wigs to be made for those who've lost their hair due to treatments for cancer.

I'm so proud of her for wanting to do this....

and the bonus is her new hair-do is DARLING!!!

Jewelry Making

I've had several BRACELETS on my crafting to-do list since before LAST summer

and I've finally finished them......WooHoo!!!

The felt bead cutie is my most recent project...and I am going to be seen about town in it a lot this winter....it was a distraction project from watching the Olympics 24/7.....

And the clear & silver glass beaded numbers have already been worn numerous times...They are just what I wanted for my summer wardrobe.

Felted Soaps

Yesterday, instead of knitting, with my "knotty knitter" girlfriends

...we still decided to play with wool, But in a Different Way.

We felted bars of soap!!!

It was fun & easy.....and we've all got cute little bars of "scrubby soap" to decorate our sinks or showers....or maybe even give as gifts....

Having a Teenager...

...means sooner or later your house just may get decorated in TP!!!

I've heard plans are afoot to payback the attackers....

I sure hope a war isn't being started.

More Bottle Cap Crafts??? Am I crazy???

I don't seem to have the bottle cap obsession out of my system yet.

I found a belt made with a simple lobster claw clasp, links, and caps....while searching out shops & crafts on Etsy....& then I HAD TO COPY THE IDEA!

The only problem is....(and this is why my photo shows only a partially completed belt)....that

#1-I ran out of the little split rings that I needed to attach the links onto the caps, which required I go to several stores to find the correct metal & size ring also...

#2-My hands can only take so much hole punching before they are too weak to continue, which is stretching this project out well over a week (I admit that I have whimpy hands)

My daughter would appreciate it if I'd finish sooner rather than later....since she's "Ready to Wear it" now, please.

Felt Decorated Canvas Sneakers

I've wanted to do this little craft for a while now, but wasn't able to find the plain canvas sneakers...well, Sunday, while at Michael's Arts & Crafts for another project, my sweet daughter & I ran across them....ON SALE, even....so home we came & whipped these little darlings out in a matter of minutes.

The self stick felt stuff was already in my scrapping supplies, so all we had to do was clip out the parts we wanted to use, peel off the backing & rub it onto the sneakers..........TA-DA!!

She LOVES them!!

And now she can't decide if she wants to wear them or save them for the 1st day of school next month...

Homemade Soap

My Aunt inspired me to make my own homemade soap....(although I think she does the harder to make version)....I figured MELT & POUR was a good place for me to start.

So, I purchased some quality ingredients from an internet souce, glycerine & goat milk soap base, grapefruit fragrance, and 2 different shaped soap bar molds, and off I go......

Chop soap base, microwave it, stir in fragrance, pour into molds, and spray with a little rubbing alcohol (to get rid of unsightly air bubbles), let set....then chop for next layer, microwave, spray again, pour, spray again & let set overnight....unmold & package.

All Just For A Little Fun!!!

Left over Photos make a nice little Mini Book

When I discovered I had WAY too many photos from our beach trip to scrap in the kid's albums I decided to make a little mini book for my livingroom....

I had these clear overlays hanging around in my scrap supplies, along with some ribbons & rub-ons...and,

PRESTO...it's done!

Cutest Little Baby Burgers

To Begin with I must say that I am not a hamburger kinda gal....
But if I were, these little cuties would be my choice.
"Sliders" are all the rage in restaurants these days,
(but I am not really interested since they are just tiny hamburgers)
Until I happened upon Blue Cheese stuffed teeny tiny patties (ready for the grill), at my neighborhood Whole Foods Market last night. So, 8 patties purchased along with
THE most wonderful Brioche (French Eggy Rolls for a Hamburger???--HEAVEN!!)
And, of course the organic tomato & lettuce to top it all off....

Note, the plates are "salad" size plates, so these burgers are indeed small

Summer Berries

My Scrapping Friends from all around the country are talking about picking fresh berries!

And it's making me drool....so here's what I did....a Costco shopping trip to buy (not pick) a huge box of blueberries....6 cups worth....and now for my favorite way to serve them for dessert!

It's a Crisp....and the thing for me is that it makes the FRUIT the star (with a little oat-y topping), whereas a cobbler or buckle make the cake/dough the star....and See, I am a oat girl! I'd pick an oatmeal cookie over a regular chocolate chip cookie most any day....and to be really happy....I'd make an oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie (maybe with a few butterscotch chips thrown in there too)

That's the thing with me & desserts....
Homemade is always Best....and I can't wait for dinner time now,
just so I can serve this to my family!!!

Our 4th of July Holiday

Here's some fun on our Ventura Beach Trip for the 4th of July
at Aunty Lynn & Uncle Richard's Place!
And a detour on our way back home to Hollywood's Walk of Stars
and a showing of WICKED in the Historic Pantages Theatre.