Pincushion Swap

Lovebird Pincushion by feltmates
Red Zinnia by TheDailyPincushion

Red, Yellow and Teal Bottle Cap Pincushion by upthecreek

I've been collecting pincushions since I bought my very first one back when I discovered Etsy over three years ago. So far, I've only collected handmade ones, and frankly, it'll probably stay that way! I love the way that these essentially utilitarian objects are adorned and decorated so beautifully. There are such a variety of styles and looks. I could keep collecting them for years and not get bored!

To help grow my collection and, hopefully, add some variety to it, I'm hosting my very first Pretty, Pretty Pincushion swap over on Swap-Bot! I'll make a pincushion and send it off to my partner, and I'll be the lucky recipient of a handmade pincushion from my partner! If you're a pincushion lover, you're welcome to join us!

Winners!

It was a big weekend for my boys! Lil' Kay got to participate in his very first Cub Scout pinewood derby race on Saturday, and he totally rocked it! His shark car came in first place in the Tiger Cubs division AND it won Best of Show out of all of the Cub Scouts' cars!

Mr. Kay entered a car in the Outlaw Division which just means that anyone who isn't a Cub Scout can race. His car came in first place in HIS division! Mr. Kay felt a little guilty that we came home with three trophies, but I say, WHATEVER! Everyone got a chance to bring a car and race it, and it isn't like there were only three trophies! Other kids got trophies, too!

Lil' Kay was so pleased to get two trophies so that he could give one to his baby sister! Isn't that sweet? Sally now has a pinewood derby trophy in her bedroom.

Here are the winning cars:

Note: That is not a real $100 bill. It's a giant fake one that Lil' Kay got for the 100th day of school!

Next year, I want a really fast pink Hello Kitty car that I can race!

Crafty Materials

I'm a sucker for old board games. I love to see the little bits and pieces that come with them, and I'm always trying to think of fun ways to use them. I don't usually get around to actually doing anything with them, but I like to dream! If I had the space, I think it would be fun to cover an entire wall with the playing boards from vintage games.

When I was a kid, my sister and I "inherited" a bunch of old games and magazines and whatnot from one of our cousins. Most of the stuff was from the 70s, and most of it has not survived. However, we do still have The Bride Game! The idea is to collect all the "necessary" items to plan the perfect wedding. You know, bride, groom, attendants, cake, flowers, rings, something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. All of those components are printed on these little chipboard cards.

My mom dug this game out of the closet for me a few weeks back. The images on the cards are kind of charming, so I'm trying to come up with a good use for them. The gameboard was pretty beat up, but all but about three of the cards are still there.

So, what to do with these little cards? The small ones are about 2 1/2 inches square. The large ones are about 3 inches by 5 inches. They're all about 1/8 inch thick. They're quite sturdy, and I thought about using them for scrapbooking embellishments, but frankly, I don't have a lot of wedding pages to do these days!

I turned to my fellow Etsians for ideas, because, obviously, they're a creative bunch! Agentjane suggested incorporating them into table markers or centerpieces for weddings, and UpsideDownsideDark suggested making them into little boxes. I

love both of those ideas, but I'd like to hear more!

So, my dear, dear blog readers, what should I do with them? What should I make? You know, in between the umpteen other projects that I have floating around in my brain.

Label It!

I'm a wannabe organization nut. I love the idea of neatly labeled jars and boxes and what not all neatly lined up on a shelf. The fact is that I'm very good at organizing stuff. I'm very bad at maintaining that organization. But, yesterday I bought myself a handy dandy little Dymo LetraTag label maker. It's the cutest little printer and it makes all kinds of fancy tags in different fonts, and you can even put borders around your labels. I made one for Lil Kay that had a crocodile around his name! I spent a good chunk of last night labeling my ribbons, buttons, scrapbook supplies, cats. (I'm kidding about the cats. I ran out of time.)

A New Sickness

Yes, I bought this yarn with no particular project in mind. It's beginning. A new obsession. But, it was on CLEARANCE! And it's PRETTY! And I'm sure I can do SOMETHING with it!

Actually, I do have a plan. I want to make this scarf with it. I just didn't know that when I bought the yarn. (On sale. $1.79 a skein!) It's from the book Interweave Presents Crocheted Gifts: Irresistible Projects to Make & Give. Isn't it gorgeous!? Unfortunately, I don't think I have enough of the solid color for the border. So, if anyone has or comes across a spare skein of Sinfonia yarn in that pretty rust color, tell me! I'll buy it from you! And I'll be eternally grateful!

Reader Paradise

It arrived today, and I am totally in love! I ordered the Nook back in December from Barnes & Noble. It was scheduled to ship on January 15, but it shipped Monday and arrived today - the 14th! There were instructions on how to unpack it, for heaven's sack! And they were totally necessary, too! Getting it out of the package was really the hardest part. Everything else about it has been easy peasy, so far! In fact, I just bought a couple ebooks online, touched the screen where it said "check for new B&N content", and the books were there! Just had to touch "download", and I was able to start reading. Nothing to plug in, nothing to connect. How amazing is that? It's like magic! (Okay, I know there is a simple explanation involving WiFi and all that, but it's magic in my mind!)

Now, I can take my happy little Nook with me wherever I go and look totally hip and cool while I read. And it's much lighter than carrying around a full-fledged book. Now, I admit that I went into this purchase rather blindly, so I am still finding out all the details about this little gadget. Turns out I can put pictures and music on it, too! And pdf files. So, if I have a crochet pattern that's a pdf, I can load it on the Nook and carry it with me, too!

My next plan is to design a comfy little cozy for my new friend! Just gotta pick the perfect fabric!

Why Mess with Perfection???

Why, oh, why do they DO this to me? Over and over again they're taking my precious childhood memories and vamping them up! First it was Strawberry Shortcake, and now, it's Rainbow Brite! What's next?? Holly Hobby in a tube top?