Monday, December 29, 2014

More Charity Bears

I made three more Charity Bears to give out to my girlfriends for the big University of Louisville vs University of Kentucky basketball game over the weekend. I think they turned out so cute! Now I just need to make a UofL bear for myself!

Making these bears has been a great way to get me some extra practice in on the machine and working with curves. These were made with team themed fleece I came across, felt for the muzzle and eyes and large black button beads for the eyeballs.  Photos of the girls with their bears are here.


Tuesday, December 23, 2014

"Hear Doggy" Dog Toy

This week my pups were lucky enough to receive a Hear Doggy "squeaky" toy...but the beauty is, they hear the squeak and we don't! At first I wasn't sure how well that would work, but sure enough when we squeak the toy we just hear a poof of air, but they tilt their heads like something very interesting is going on! We owe thanks to Go Pet Friendly for giving us the opportunity to try out the Hear Doggy. Lois Lane and L.B. are having some issues sharing so we may need to get another one (even though they will still want the same one).  We got the purple elephant, but there are several different animals to choose from and they are all very cute! Great toy for the dogs!


Hear Doggy Purple Elephant Toy

























L.B. likes trying to "kill" it

















Is that a smile, Lois Lane?


And the bickering begins...

























Buddy doesn't know what all the fuss is about (he doesn't know what to do with a toy).


Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Sewing a Charity Bear


Today I sewed my first stuffy, which will be a Christmas gift for Laila, my one year old granddaughter. I needed something simple for my first stuffy attempt, so I opted for the free Charity Bear pattern by Shiny Happy World.

Laila loves soft fleece so I cut the main body pieces from a tan fleece blanket I had laying around the house but never use. I used lavender felt for the belly and black felt for the nose. I also used black and lavender embroidery floss to applique the belly, nose and sew on the eyes and mouth.  ( If she was older I would have used button eyes, but didn't want to risk a choking hazard. )

This was my first time sewing with fleece so it was a little bit of a different experience for me, but I managed and it turned out so cute!  The bear is currently sitting under the Christmas tree waiting to be wrapped up for her to open in a couple of weeks

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Our New Camping Rig

Yesterday we finally got to pick up our new fifth wheel camper we purchased before the Thanksgiving holiday. We had to wait to bring it home until we were able to get the fifth wheel hitch installed in Big Nasty (our Ford F-350). So now it's home and in the driveway waiting to be leveled so I can start stocking it up for our spring camping adventures!

Here she is just after getting the hitch installed and awaiting our final walk through.















These are Derby City RV dealership's photos. I will be updating with my own once I get it stocked, decorated and personalized a bit.

Exterior w/ awning. The slide is on the other side.



















Superslide w/ dining room table & chairs and hidabed couch



















Full kitchen



















Entertainment center with tv (to be replaced with LCD) and surround sound speakers (installed in ceiling throughout) Hallway to bedroom & bathroom

























Hallway stepup to bedroom and bathroom


























Queen bed w/ nightstands on both sides


























Full stand up shower & sink

























Bedroom closet storage & tv shelf



















Water closet (literally!)



Monday, December 1, 2014

Brass to Bronze

When we bought our house over four years ago all the light fixtures were cheap, gaudy brass. Every. Single. One.  Shelling out money for new light fixtures when the ones we had worked flawlessly wasn't an option we wanted to choose. So, out came the DIY in us and we painted them! And while we were at it we also painted the floor vents, the wall intake vents, light switch covers and plug outlet covers. Now the house looks much more updated and modern for well under the price it would have cost to replace all of those things.  We used Universal All Surface Spray Paint by Rust-Oleum in the color of Oil Rubbed Bronze Metallic. This stuff is awesome. It stinks to high heaven, but it's awesome. Here is a small sample of our before and afters. We'll be working on the ceiling fans next.

Dining room chandelier:















Bathroom Fixtures:










Hallway Light: