Happy Pink Saturday......I'm So Glad You're Here....

Good morning Sweet Chickies!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be asleep, I'm sure, if you're a happy, early girlie. It's 2:15 right now and I'm totally rummy, so I'll be sleeeeeeeeeeeeping late tomorrow.

I'm soooo hoping this is going to make any sense at all. I've been struggling all night trying to re-do my header for Christmas....and then there was the music. Oh my gosh that was frustrating. I wanted to put a skin behind it, but darned if I could figure out how to do it. I had one on my old Playlist, but nada....nothin'........zip.......here today. Maybe I'll try to address that once I'm awake!

Ok.......'nuf complaining.

Our wonderful Beverly had a wonderful idea for the next few weeks for Pink Saturday to celebrate Christmas. We can post any color and each week she assigned a special subject...

This week:
Childhood Memories



I think most of you know that Barbie is 50 this year, right? Well, when I was 9 years old the ONLY thing I wanted for Christmas was a Barbie. At that time they were only $3......wow, what a deal! :-)......because I had watched this commercial over and over....


Click right here to watch...it's quite different from today's commercials, that's for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-avPUxyno

Yep, I spent at least 30 minutes trying to do the little link thing again to no avail. How the heck do you girlies do that?

Anyway, being the little scout that I was, I made a beeline for the tree on Christmas morning. I knew the exact size box my new Barbie would be in.

I looked, and I looked and I looked..........NOTHING. Surely my wonderful Mummy would never disappoint me on Christmas? I did have lots of presents....I kept opening them...and opening........and opening.....no Barbie. Finally, I was to the last gift.....near tears. Heartbroken.

The box was way too big to be my Barbie.....I opened it and there, in the center of that box?....Sure enough...my Barbie....part of a very large set. It was Mix and Match Barbie with a lovely wardrobe. I remember she had an orange twin set and gray skirt...I think it had pants too.......and maybe jammies and some other things, including several pairs of shoes. Now, that was a REALLY big deal.

Sooooo..........Fifty Years ago and I can still clearly remember where the tree was and how thrilled I was to open that gift. :-) Ahhhh.....my wunnerful Mummy. :-)

I so wish I still had that Barbie. I have no idea what ever became to 'ol Mix and Match Barbie....but she gave me hours of enjoyment as a kid.....and even then I was designing homes for her.......and furniture.

Now......I'm just certain there are some REALLY wonderful stories from our Wonderful Pinkies out there.....

Just zip on over to see Miss Beverly.

Her link is missing off my sidebar since I had that disaster, but her blog is:

www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com

I'll bet we're in for lots of fun today.


Thanks so much for coming and for hanging in there with me.

Lovies and Huggies!

A Really Pooped Spence

xoxoxoxo

Big News.....REALLY BIG News... :-)

Sweet Girlies!

Oh yes.......I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.......

You may have read about my Half-Husband and my sweet friend
here:

http://bellamerecottage.blogspot.com/2009/06/oh-my-gosh-its-love-story-yipppeee.html

Sorry....I tried to make it into a hidden link, but darned if I could figure that little gizmo out.

Well............This sweet couple came to dinner over the weekend.

And, here comes the HAPPY part....

THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED!

How exciting is that?

He's 63 and she's 59.......and ready to live "happily ever after"....

I remember when I got divorced, I was 41.....there were so many single gals out there that told me there just aren't any good guys left and just plan on being single....well, this gal's just not the single type. I'm a marrying kind of gal. Yeah, and I have PROOF.....I've done it THREE times. :-)

I got married when I was 20........again when I was 42 and yet again when I was 47.....ok....this is the LAST one....We've been married 12 years and going strong.

If you're single...
don't let them tell you there's no one out there for you. ;-)

So, no date's been set yet........but let me tell you.......they are walking on air.

Want to hear the romantic part?

Mr. Romantic gave Susan an empty box with a letter in it.

He said that this box is like my heart before I met you....empty.......you've filled my heart and I want to fill this box with memories of our life together.....or something close to that. I swear I want to post that little love letter. It said much more, but I can't remember all of it. He handed Susan the box, she opened it....realized there was a letter inside and handed it to him to read.....which he did, in between soft sobs.

Now, doesn't that make you want to cry? I sure teared up at that little story, but I squealed...........LOUDLY..........when they told us the big news.

I'm so excited for them. They both sooooo deserve the happy ending.

The most wonderful people you'd ever want to meet.


The End.

Huggies and Lovies!

Spence

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo


Oh.......and PS.........I don't know how it happened, but someone's blog appeared on my sidebar. Not on my list, but above it. It was really weird. I had never been to their blog and certainly didn't want it on mine. I tried several different times to remove it, but it wouldn't LEAVE....when I finally got it to go lots of my favorite girlies disappeared too....I'll re-add all of you as I remember......darn it all.

Hi Girlies....Just Checkin' In!

Good Morning!

Yep, it's a treasure........I know, doesn't look like much does it? My Uncle bought this little box for my Grandma many, many years ago...When she passed away it was given to my Mum.....It's one of those things that was ALWAYS on the coffee table.

My Mum gave it to me in one of her "From My Home To Yours" boxes at Christmas several years ago. She'd walk around the house and pick sentimental things and wrap them up. It was always my favorite pressie... It's worth nothing monetarily, but means so much to me. I would do the big, ugly, sappy cry each time I opened one of these precious gifts.....you know the one.....when your face all shrivels up? Yeah, it sure doesn't look like the movies!

I lost my wonderful Mum the day after Christmas last year. This will be my first Christmas without her. I'm pretty weepy. She was just the best Mum and I miss her soooo much.

My sweet friend, Sheila (The Quintessential Magpie) suggested buying myself a special gift from her for holidays. I'm still shopping......

And, the scripture verse? I can't tell you SWEETEST little chickies how often I think of it. I've always had super thick hair.....the kind that would take hours to dry......and sooooo much is falling out.......I find them everywhere.....and imagine....God STILL knows the count. Isn't He amazing?


Still trying to get things decorated. I'd be way too embarrassed to take a picture to show you the chaos I create in the process. Do you decorate for Christmas in an organized way? How? I have to spread everything out all over and then pick from the piles. It's just not pretty at the cottage right now. :-)

I'm hoping nobody pops in for a visit!

And..........I'm SICK AGAIN. How can this be? This is the third round of the crud since September or so. Sore throat, cough, headache and that nasty stuffed up nose.

And, I've been carrying anti-bacterial wipes in my car so I could wash my hands all the time.


Well dear and wonderful girlies......I'm off to continue on the decorating. I was hoping to be finished by now, but everything always takes longer than I plan.

I'm hoping to show you a few pictures soon.

Wishing you a perfectly wonderful day!


Hugs and Blessings,
Spencer

xoxoxo

Please Pray For The Families Of These Police Officers.......

It's been a horrifying day in Western Washington today.

These police officers were all killed this morning while having coffee and planning their day. They all had their laptops open doing what it is officers do to start their shift.

They were gunned down by a lone shooter whose target was these officers.

There were two baristas in the coffee shop and a few other customers who were all unharmed......thankfully.

Nine children lost their parents in that shooting.

Many, many families and friends lives will be forever changed.

My heart is breaking for them. They are such hero's. They put their lives on the line every day to protect the people and keep the peace.

A single person shattered all of those lives.

I'm soooo sorry for these families. May God bless them and give them comfort.

Please pray for all of them.

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer

Happy Sunday! Have You Finished The Turkey Yet? :-)

Good morning Girlies!!!

I'm going to be making a nice pot of soup today while I decorate for Christmas....

I'm so ready to get things going around here. I still don't have a single gift wrapped to put under the tree and the tree skirt I've planned to make for two years is still an idea in my mind. Not much good for decorating that way, is it?



We usually go to Bend, Oregon every year. It's one of our favorite places to be.

Several years ago they completed this fabulous building there. It takes up a full square block with businesses on the corners and these LOVELY condos along the sides.

Ahhhh......look, there's my cute little car parked out front. Isn't it BEE-U-TI-FULL??........ok, just kidding...........it's NOT the BMW. :-) It would be that little Honda. Now, I've said before, we have NOTHING fancy at the cottage, but I'm tellin' ya.......that thing is the handiest for hauling "stuff".....and I haul a LOT of "stuff".

Do you think they sort of look like they've been modeled after old brownstones? I wouldn't really know that for sure as I've never seen one up close and personal...but I HAVE seen them on HGTV, does that count?

All of the units face the street which leaves the center portion open. They've used the middle for parking. Now, while I understand parking is pretty darn important, I wished they would have made it a park like area. Who wants to look out their back windows at cars? Or maybe they could have made underground parking and a park on top? The BEST of both worlds. It would be such a great spot for kids to play, wouldn't it? Right outside your window in a nice safe spot?

These are very close to the Old Mill District......easily within walking distance of lots of shopping and some great restaurants. Every time we drive by I say "I could live there".....

It's fun to imagine what they may look like inside and how I would decorate them.


Yeah, well now I'd better be imagining what the little cottage HERE would look like decorated for Christmas so I'd better go and start unpacking all of that jolly stuff.


Have a wonderful Sunday dearhearts.

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer
xoxoxo

Have You Met Sweet Rebecca???

Sweet Girlies!

Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving?

Whew..........we sure did, and I think I'm full.........well, not too full for leftovers. I cannot lie. Don't you just love the "day after"? All that yummy stuff and it's already all whipped up? I've shared before, that I'm really not a "cookie girl".....I'd rather do anything than to cook. That is unless I get the urge and go on a cooking spree. Doesn't happen very often.


I hope your Thanksgiving was Delish............AND BLESSED.

Both in your eating treats and spending time with Family....and Friends.

Now, about our sweet little bloggie girlie........REBECCA.

I've talked about this wonderful gal before, but you may have missed it?

You must go see her. You will LOVE her......and she's having a GIVEAWAY. Now, that should be encouragement enough.

Yep, that pillow above.

Can you believe it? What a LOT of work.

So, you'll find her at:

agatheringof thoughts.blogspot.com

Just click on her link on my sidebar.

Have a wonderful Friday.

I will NOT be out shopping. Not for this girl.


Huggies and Lovies....
Spence

Gobble, Gobble Sweet Chickies!!!!!

Sweet and Dear Girlies....

I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you little chickies!


I hope you have a wonderful day enjoying your family and friends.

I'll be spending my day with my little family....and being grateful for every moment.

My birthday was in July and my wish for my birthday was that my sweet daughter and wonderful little grandson would spend the whole day with us for Thanksgiving......so it's the day! I'm thrilled and I've been looking forward to this for months.

God is so good!

Count your blessings!

Oh my....that's going to take me a LONG, LONG time. I am ever so blessed.

And, each one of you have been such a blessing to me. You'll never know how much each one of you have helped me.......and I've learned to much from you.

Huggies and Lovies to all!

xoxoxox

Spencer, Muffin, My girl and My Boy...

Oh How I LOVED My Auntie Frannie.... :-)

My parents moved from Michigan to the Northwest before I was born. Several years later my uncle (my dad's brother) and Auntie Frannie moved out here too. Neither family knew anyone here so we were a tight knit little group.

My Auntie Frannie and Uncle Karl had five kids and money was VERY, VERY tight.

Christmas came and the only thing I really wanted was a Barbie wedding dress.

My sweet Auntie with allllll of those little kids made me the wedding dress on the right that Christmas.

I can still remember how thrilled I was and that was FIFTY years ago. I have treasured it all of these years......even then I knew how much love had gone into it and I tear up just writing about it.

One year my Mum was in the hospital on my birthday. All six of the little pack were outside playing and my Auntie wouldn't let me come into the house. I couldn't figure out why I was banned, but I was. Several hours later she surprised me with the sweetest little birthday party and a yummy cake.

I always felt welcome and loved at their house. It was almost like another set of parents.

She was such a treasure and I loved her so much.

She passed away from Cancer about ten years ago.........about ten years after my uncle. Their sweet daughter (my favorite cousin) passed away about three years ago. All from Cancer. Cancer killed my dad as well. That's a lot of cancer for one little family, I think.


I hope you have an Auntie that you love and who loves YOU!


Bless your little pea-pickin' hearts.

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer

xoxoxoxox

Ahhhhh.......Now THIS Is Really Silly Stuff!......

Happy Pink Turkey Saturday!!!

I hope all of you sweet little chickies had a wonderful week. :-)

I got a few errands done....now, one of things I dislike doing more than ANYTHING is to run errands. I used to love to do that kind of thing when I was a spring chicken....that was a LONG time ago!

But there are Thanksgiving preparations to tend to.

Isn't this Turkey Painting just lovely? Now, personally, I think turkeys are not among God's most glorious creatures, but Robyn Rognstad did an awesome job making this little fella cute, didn't she?

Ok...........I'm reallllly wondering how they managed this little guy?

I wonder.....do you think he'll be tastier? Surely so....being pink and all.

Whew.........when I did the Pink Turkey Google search there is sure a lot of information about not eating pink turkey.

No point in making yourself sick on the big feast day!

I forgot to make a note of the gal's store where these cute little gal t's can be purchased. Wouldn't this be a cute little outfit for Thanksgiving?

I remember when I was a little girl.........(absolutely no laughing...I DID used to be a little girl.............yep, a LONG time ago smarty pants).


Anyway.....my parents didn't have a lot of money and getting a new outfit for Thanksgiving wasn't something that happened. But one year, when I was about 7 or so I got up on Thanksgiving morning with my doll laying next to me in bed with a little white blouse, brown skirt and orange ribbon around her neck......and when my Mum told me to get dressed I had the exact outfit hanging in the closet. I can remember being soooo excited. That was so sweet. My Mum sewed a LOT, but had never made me a matching dolly outfit. It was a BIG day.

It seemed like I was sick on Thanksgiving when I was growing up more than I was healthy. Usually strep throat. That can really take some of the fun out of Turkey Day.

We always spent Thanksgiving with my Dad's brother and his family....They had five kids and it was so much fun to be with them. I adored my cousins and Aunt and Uncle.

My Auntie could cook like a dream..........but one year she made Pumpkin Pie from the Halloween Pumpkins....it was TERRIBLE. I was so disappointed. It was my favorite part of the holiday. AND she baked another pie too....CHERRY.....I realllly HATE cherry pie.

Too bad that wasn't one of the years I had strep throat.



So dear and sweet girlies.....I want to wish you and your families a wonderful, safe and tasty Thanksgiving.

God bless you!

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer


Be sure to visit Beverly over at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com
for lots more pink fun!

Thank you, Beverly for hosting our Pink Party!

Today I'm Dreaming Of........

Sweet, sweet girlie friends.....

I'm so glad you're here!


Have I told you lately how special you are to me?

Well, YOU are. :-)


Today I'm dreaming that.....

• My car doesn't have mud splatters covering one entire side.
• My Christmas shopping was finished.
• It would stop raining for maybe two days?
• I could find my e-mail contacts and my missing e-mail.
• Someone would water the plants on my front porch.
• I didn't have anywhere to go today.

Hmmmmmmmm........Ok.....I reviewed my list........it's pretty silly on second thought.


Today I am remembering how blessed I am and how grateful I am that I have a relationship with Jesus.


My sweet wonderful friend Sheila (aka Mrs. Magpie) sent me the MOST wonderful message....it uplifted me and gave me a whole new perspective.



In a nutshell....

I LOVE Jesus. I know He's with me ALL the time...


But this really impacted me. You know how you can KNOW something, but not really KNOW it?


Am I making sense?


Anway, my friend Sheila said that God's her BFF.....that she talks to Him all day.......oh how I wish I could explain this better. I TALK to God all day....and praise HIM alllll day....but this is different. Say you're driving along in the car and you're chatting with God exactly like you would if your Mum were there. Say you're picking out a new pair of shoes and you were to confer with God...."say....what do you think of these?.....Do you like the red ones better"? Hmmmmm...."thinking of dinner tonite....what do you think.....lasagna or roast"?....

Oh what a difference that made to me. I had just never quite thought of it like that before. A DIFFERENT kind of a closeness. What joy that brought to my heart.

I can't wait to take God shopping!

I am having an awesome day.....just God and Me...

Sooooo.......just disregard my list of dreams....THIS is my big dream after all.

God and I have things to do today, so we've gotta run!

I love you all.

God said "I love all of you too".

xoxoxoxo

Spencer and God

Oh and PS....another snippet of wisdom from the WONDERFUL Mrs. Magpie?

When I said how much I was missing my Mum she told me that God is just like having a Mum only BETTER and a DAD tooo.......and that I should buy a gift for MYSELF from my MUM for each holiday. Something she would have bought for me if she were here....with NO guilt. Isn't that soooo sweet? My MUM would LOVE that. And, she'd tell me to do it too....... :-)

Oh and PSSSSS........have you been over to see my sweet Sheila?

You really must go meet her. What a wonderful gal.

www.thequintessentialmagpie@blogspot.com

And.....I'm so happy to be OLDER THAN DIRT!!! More on that later.

Hey Sweet Chickies!!! Random Pinks for Pink Saturday!!!

Happy Pink Saturday Sweet little Chickies....

I often find gobs of lovely things when I'm poking around the net....and I can't resist saving them....Do you do that too?

Soooo....When I was trying to decide what I'd do for Pink Saturday this week I thought I'd share some of these wonderful pix with you.

They make me smile!

Which is just great about now. The new 'puter arrived. Oh how shiny and new! And, fast. But, sadly, not without problems. You know how you get all of your favorite things loaded up? Yeah, welllllll...........I don't know where some of those things went, but they're gone for sure.

My sweet computer fella came to help AGAIN tonite. We couldn't retrieve my e-mail from my main account. Yeah, I'm a little bit behind in the reading department and there were over 900 e-mails in my box..........NOT my blog account....I read every single one of those and LOVE them all! Promise. Shhhhh...........don't tell anyone I was soooo far behind. (Lots of them were ads and such...so it's really not as bad as it sounds.) I had some serious reading to do. Note: HAD. Empty mailbox now. YIKES.

And, no contacts either.

This is a little too small for me.........oh how I LOVE thrifting. How much could I jam inside this little pink cutie?


Would it be nearly as cute with all of my goodies tied on top? :-)


It makes me smile though, and I suspect I'd sing a lot driving it around. Yes, I WOULD keep the windows rolled allllll of the way up.

Dang.........I've been searching high and low for one of these! Do you think it might be a dual purpose item?

My daughter and I gave a bridal shower a couple of years ago.....we made this party hat for the bride to wear.


Pink and glitter.....oh yes.......I think I need one of these.

No, no more marriages for this girl. :-)

You KNOW they say three is a charm......I'm stickin' with that.

I'm crazy about vintage postcards....isn't this one a cutie?

I think I got many of these from Flickr....but if I got them from YOU....thank you very much. And, if you'll let me know, I'd be happy to give you credit. :-)

Now, I know you'd really love to see more great pinks!

As always, Beverly is hosting this Pink Party.

Isn't she just a peach?

You can see more over at:

www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com


I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend.

May the Lord bless you ABUNDANTLY!!!


I love alllll of you.



You're just the BEST!


Huggies and Lovies,

Spence

xoxoxox

She's On Her Way! I'm So Excited!

Oh Girlies......This is thrilling news around my house! My computer's probably five years old or so and has been upgraded many times....still, the old girl's super slow and has a meltdown about 10 times every day....yeah, it really doesn't matter if I'm in the middle of something. She's pooped out...and I can't take it anymore. She's gotta go. :-)


I've been waiting for Windows 7 to make it's debut....and I didn't want to have to switch from Vista or another program to upgrade so I was VERY patient.

Enter......THE NEW GIRL ON THE BLOCK....

I'm going to have flames coming from my new system it's going to be so zippy...

Intel Core TWO Quad processor

EIGHT GB Memory

and

1 TB Hard drive

I can't even imagine! My WONDERFUL computer fella said this is about ten times my current computer.

I'm thrilled....and waiting.

I'll be a VERY happy blogger, and I'll be able to actually get around much easier, without the incessant crashing. Whew.....is that ever frustrating. Did I mention patience isn't my strong suit?


Hugs and kisses,
Spencer


xoxoxox

Remembering......

I couldn't let this day go by without thanking our military for their service......both past and PRESENT.

We are very fortunate to live near a military base, so the opportunities to thank our troops are plentiful. What a blessing to me...........I often wish I'd hit a big financial windfall so I could go around doing "Random Acts of Kindness" for our military personnel. We are so blessed that so many willingly put their lives on the line for US.


I'd also like to thank their families. They too, sacrifice so much. I can't imagine having my loved one in harm's way, raising the kids alone, and missing important occasions with my beloved.

Thank you so very much.

God bless you!

And, God Bless AMERICA!

With tremendous respect, gratitude and admiration.....

Spencer and Family

Thank You Lord For Protecting My Family.....

This adorable little fixture used to be in my daughter's hallway.....As you can probably tell....not so much anymore.

My girl was in the bathroom.....just a few feet from this fixture.....doing her hair and getting ready for work this morning when flames came shooting out of this little light.

She managed to blow it out....I know....she should have called the fire department, but she was in a panic.....she realized that after she calmed down. She's a lot like I am....I don't handle panic very well either.

Fortunately they were not sleeping.

God is soooo good. Thank you Father for your protection......AGAIN.

She considered getting it repaired, but decided to just go buy a NEW fixture. Maybe she can just use this one with candles or something. She actually bought this darling little thing on eBay and had it all rewired. I don't know what caused the problem.

I'm just more than grateful that my girl and my little guy are OK....


On the colonoscopy/endoscopy front.........Glad that's over!

Here's a hot tip.......just in case one of these delightful tests is in your future...

CRYSTAL LIGHT!

My Dr. said I could mix some into that nasty GoLytely....I'd double check with your Dr. to be sure, but it helped quite a bit. It's not going to be my bevvie of choice anytime soon, but it did help.

Colonoscopy: Perfect

Endoscopy: It seems I have a little bit of narrowing in my esophagus so he stretched it a little bit. My throat's a tiny bit sore, but no big deal.

And, there were some inflamed spots in my tummy so he sent them off to be biopsied, but he's quite sure it's nothing to worry about. Best to be safe though.

And, I got to sleep LOTS yesterday without guilt. YIPPPEE!

Thank you so much for all of your kind words and prayers. Not to mention some REALLY funny comments.

What wonderful gals you are!


Have a wonderful, fabulous, terrific day!

Huggies and Lovies,
Spence

And, The ParTEEEE Begins.....

Yipppeeeee.............. I am so excited!

I get to drink this wonderful beverage this evening....

I'm so looking forward to it.

Have you ever had a colonoscopy?

Yeah, the procedure is a piece of cake, the prep......

NOT so much.


Why do they call it GO LYTELY? Seriously? Who actually named this stuff?

I opted for Half Lytely....Do you think it tastes TWICE as bad?


Yeah, and NOTHING to eat today. And, my procedure isn't until 1:30 tomorrow. I feel a big case of grumpiness coming on.

Colonoscopy AND Endoscopy.

When the gal called to confirm she said "you're scheduled for a turn around on the ninth........"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? She did NOT just say that?

So....I'll be off now....preparing to enjoy my Half Lytely for my Turn AROUND............


You know where you can find me.


I hope YOU'RE all enjoying YOUR day!


Huggies and Lovies,
Spence

xoxoxox


***
Edited to add.....I have such hilarious bloggie girlfriends.........I've loved your little bun puns...keep 'em coming...I need the laughs. :-)

xoxoxox

Pink Saturday At Bellamere Cottage

Today I'm sharing pictures of a few little vignettes around the Cottage...

That's my newest tole tray peeking out there. :-)

It actually has lots of pink.......naturally that didn't show up in the picture.

I wanted that little glass basket vase for YEARS. My darling daughter bought it for me. Gosh I love her.

I have little lamps EVERYWHERE....they all have teensie little bulbs in them, but they make things look so cozy, don't you think? This one is next to my kitchen sink. The DH wants to know if there will be any counter space left. HAHAHAHA!

That little plant? Wirevine. I thought maybe I could root it like ivy. Yeah, not so much. I called the local greenhouse to ask how to propagate it....you just stick a snip into the soil. I want to make a topiary with it. I'll try that next spring.

That dome-ish do-hickey? Goodwill. Oh how I do LOVE the GW. I think it was about five dollars. I've had it years.

Doesn't gingham photograph strangely? It always looks like op-art to me.

Little thrift store chair....beauty make-over. I found the needlepoint at a garage sale and I was determined to find a chair to use it on.....my kitchen is robin egg blue with bits of black.

The round topiary? Yep, coat hanger. Just bend it into a circle and add ivy.


For more DELISH Pink Posts please go see Miss Beverly at:

www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Be safe.

God bless you.

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer

Hi Sweeties! It's The Pillow Tutorial For You!.....FINALLY.

Ok sweet little chickie-doos....I'm going to give this another try.....Hopefully I can actually launch this little tutorial. Getting this whole shin-dig together was 10 times harder than making the pillow! :-)

Thank you so much for all of your tips with the whole Blogger thing.....Sometimes it can just up and give one fits, can't it?

Let me start by saying.....I NOT an expert seamstress. I'll share with you what I've learned through years and years of sewing. I've figured out what works best for me.......and causes me the FEWEST headaches!

Many of you are Little Suzy Seamstresses......and can probably teach me a thing or two....and won't gain anything from this little lesson, but lots of you gals expressed a desire to learn to sew and don' t know where to begin....a pillow's a great place to start. A small, simple and inexpensive project. Gotta love that.

I hope you'll go out and buy yourself a little snip of fabric and give it a go....it's not difficult and after a pillow or two you'll be a pro.

Start with whatever you'd like for the front of your pillow........a piece of quilt, one of your little one's shirts or something sentimental. I've printed a copy of a postcard that my dad actually sent to my Mum in their very early courting days. It's just so sweet, isn't it?

I'm a super thrifter and this delicious linen was actually a stitched down pleated skirt that I bought at the Goodwill for just a couple of dollars. I sat and picked out all of the pleats and hem to get a nice bit of fabric. Don't overlook anything when you're out and about....it could be a diamond in the rough.

Most of the pillows I make are vintage floral barkcloth with ruffles, so this style is a departure for me. These little numbers are for my den re-do.....simple and actually easier than ruffles.

I have a standard sewing machine. No serger or anything fancy. You'll love having a rotary cutter, ruler and mat.....well worth the investment if you don't have them, but you can do it without. They used to in the old days, right?

I'm going to call the inside of the edging cording and the finished bit trim....just to make the whole explanation easier.

As for the size of the cording.....it's about 1/4" if you're looking at it from the top. I never noticed the size on the box, I just buy the size I like. Use whatever size makes you happy.

Ok....making the bias strips to cover the cording. You'll need a square of fabric...so if you're using 54" fabric, you'll need a piece of fabric that is 54" long. That will make a TON of cording. You can use a smaller square for a small pillow. As I've said before, I often buy all cotton sheets at the thrift store for my trim.........you'll get a HUGE square out of full size sheet and won't have as many seams. Fold that square of fabric in half, corner to corner, and cut along the fold. Now, you're going to cut parallel to that cut, so lay it on your cutting mat folded up with that edge ready to zip off. I cut my strips 1 1/2"...that seems to work perfectly for me.

*If you're only going to be doing straight seams you can just cut your strips on the straight of grain. I still think cutting it on the bias is easier, but it's a shame to have to buy a big piece of fabric to cut a bit from the center.

All lined up and ready to snip.

Connecting the pieces. The little ears sticking out are about 1/4".

And, when you flip it over it will look like this. Just snip those little ears right off.

Piece as many lengths of fabric together as you'll need to go around your project........then press, press, press! I think that makes such a difference in the quality of your work.....so fire up that iron and don't be afraid to use it. A. LOT.

Now it's sandwich time. Just slip that little bit of cording inside your strip of fabric like a little hot dog and sew fairly closely to the cording inside. I have a cording foot for my machine. It's AWESOME, but you can use a zipper foot if you don't have one. I think this makes it lots easier though.

If you look very closely at this picture you can see the edges of my fabric are zig-zagged. I put a piece of quilt batting under my pillow top/front piece, pinned all around it so it was perfectly flat and zig zagged all around the edge. I ALWAYS put the quilt batting underneath. I think it gives the finished project a more finished look and makes the stuffing bit look neater too.

Ok.....the bottom layer is the quilt batting.......then the pillow front piece. I match up the edge of my trim to the edge of the pillow top edge. Always start on the bottom of the pillow top....(meaning that when the pillow is all finished that start/end will be at the bottom and will be less noticeable if it's not on the side or top). My quilt batting is sticking out a bit....that doesn't matter at all. I'm not using that as a guide....and it will be trimmed later.

Leave the first 2 inches or so free when you begin stitching. You'll see why that's helpful in just a minute here....

Now, stitch right over the line on your trim....You know....where you stitched the little hot dog together. Got that? :-)

Corners.....yep, they can be a bit testy........but you're going to give them a little snip so they'll cooperate. You'll be glad you did!

Keep going...............and stop when you're about two inches away from your beginning bit.

Ok.......you've rounded all of those bends and you're to the ending business. I don't know where I learned this little trick, but believe me........it makes for a really nice join.

See that little bit of trim on the bottom? That's the bit that you left loose when you started.

Now, the piece where you've just left off? Snip the little stitches to free that cording that's inside....don't clip the fabric, just the seam to open it up.

Now snip the inside cording so that it exactly matches up with the beginning piece....not the fabric JUST the cording.

Just a little bit of finesse here.........and you're nearly finished with this part!


See that little bit on the left folded to the inside?

You're going to tuck it around your beginning piece and stitch on your stitch line on the trim to finish it up.


Yippppppeeeeeeeeee.........Look.....that wasn't so hard, was it?

We're on the home stretch.

Yep........that little bit of fiberfill's still poking out there.....


No worries.........

Ok.........from bottom to top: The bottom layer is a piece of quilt batting. Then comes the back of the pillow.. (right side facing up).....next, your piece that you've stitched to cording onto..(right side facing down). Carefully pin all of those layers together so they're nice and neat. You're going to leave about a 6-8" opening on the bottom for the stuffing so note where the bottom of your front piece is........and stitch all around the little pile.......on THAT SAME LINE again......Can you see the pin sticking right into that line?

When you stitch exactly on that line everything's going to line up perfectly....

Ok.........you've stitched clear 'round and left your little opening...........

Now trim it all up nice and neat.

Turn it right side out and stuff.

Don't just take bits from the bag of fiberfill and stuff it into the pillow. You'll take a chunk and sort of "shread" it in between your hands to loosen it up. It makes your finished pillow look MUCH better.....You'll be glad you did that extra step.

Ahhhhhhhhhh...........look at that.......aren't you excited now?

Carefully hand stitch the opening closed and you've got a pillow.



Pat yourself on the back and show everyone you know.



See.........it's really not hard. You can do it.........

Go forth and stitch.


I hope this has helped you and allayed some of your sewing fears.

Please let me know when you post your project. I want to see it!

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer

Oh For Pete's Sake.....I Messed Up The Pillow Tutorial....Can Somebody Help Me???

Grrrrrrrrrr..........

I've hit a snag on the Pillow Tutorial I promised you dear girlies....yes, I do know I promised it on Sunday. I'm a bit late. :-) Oooops.

I've been sitting here for a LONG time getting it all together....got to the last two steps and backspaced to delete my text and deleted the last two photos. Now, here's my question. I uploaded the two missing pictures, but of course they appeared at the top of the post. How do I get them to the bottom where they belong? I've tried, in the past, to copy and paste to a new post..........yeah, that doesn't work. I hate to totally start over.....it's a VERY long post....

Right now I have to go to bed. I'm a bit rummy and nothing's making any sense to me.

Any help would be soooo appreciated.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer


xoxoxoxox

Let's Take A Trip To My Beautiful Daughter's For Pink Saturday.....You'll LOVE This!

Oh my sweet and dear girlies....

I hope you've been having a wonderful week.

Lots going on here at the cottage. I'm actually making some progress on the den. It's small stuff, but any progress is great in my book.....so I'm THRILLED....

I think you're going to LOVE this little tour. My precious daughter has such a way of setting up her little vignettes.........she loves to do it and it shows! She is such a special girl....totally delightful, and funny....oh my.....she's REALLY funny........hilarious, in fact. :-)

She sort of takes after me in the collecting department. Yeah, she's not a minimalist either....empty spots? Oh heavens no! :-)

There's a little picture of my dad.....see him in his uniform??......Quite a long time ago I shared a picture of this darling girl with my dad. She was CRAZY about her grandpa and he was totally taken with her. It was wonderful to see........so sweet.

After my Mum's funeral we went to the graveside.....just my girl and I....My Mum is buried next to my dad. Those dice were on his grave. We have no idea how they got there. How strange. Anyway......we saved them....

We both collect these pictures..........they're called "The Light Of The World" by C. Bosseron Chambers. We both realize that one is probably enough, but we both have LOADS of them...

They're so precious, aren't they?

My girl adds a little do-dad to nearly everything....a flower, ribbon, bow....tassel, whatever. She loves adornments. Me too! :-) She's MUCH better at it than I am.

My daughter's house is quite old....I think it was built in the 20's. It's DELISH!

She has this little faux fireplace.....original to the house........it had one of those little niches where the mirror is. For years I suggested a mantle there and something large to cover the hole. She wasn't too keen on the idea, but one day she relented. I built it for her and it's one of her favorite things to decorate. I don't think she could fit another thing on it. I LOVE all of her pretties and look at them every time I visit.

The little banner is hard to see, but it says F.L.O.W.E.R.S

Several years ago Pottery Barn had a vintage wooden folding yardstick fashioned into a crown. We were all over that and both did one....see it standing up behind the crown picture? Yes...crowns are the theme....and she IS a princess. The cranberry glass belonged to my Mum and that's her in the tiny, round frame in front of it.

You can see the reflection of her old light fixture in the mirror. It belonged to her husband's grandmother.

This shelf looks much brighter than it is...it's actually a very pale robin's egg blue....I made it for them when they bought the house.

Her little pup is a Westie (Trixie Belle), so she collects vintage Westie things.......

I hope you've enjoyed the little tour. I'll take more pix so I can show you more. Doesn't she have a knack for display?


From the time she was just a little girl I put YMLY on EVERYTHING for her...her lunch sacks, notes, handmade items.........it means "Your Mama loves you"....

So............Sweet girl............YMLY!
I am so blessed and couldn't have asked for more.


Now, I know you're just itchin' to see more lovely pinks, right?


Beverly is hosting this fabulous event and you can visit her at:

www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com

She's asked that we actually link to the Pink Saturday post, but I can't figure out how to do it. I'm sorry. :-(


Have a wonderful weekend darling girlies!

God bless you!

Huggies and Lovies,
Spencer


xoxoxox

Catching A Few Rays!

Ahhhhh.......my sweet little Ruby. She LOVES a bit of sunshine...and will look everywhere for a snippet of it.



"Rise above the storm and you will find sunshine".
Mario Fernandez



I'm working on a pillow tutorial for you sweet little chickies.

I know many of you have pillows down pat...but for those of you who are learning your way around the 'ol sewing machine.....this one's for you!

I think I should have it together on Sunday or so...

Love to all!

You're such a blessing to me.


May your day be filled with loads of sunshine!

Huggies and Lovies,
S