Whatcha Working On Wednesday

A friend of mine called me and told me she was wanting to change her son, Adam's room. She was going with the Sports theme but, of course, couldn't find anything primitive in that style. She had found a bedspread that she liked but needed pillows, curtains, wall hangings, etc. We started brainstorming and she told me what she was looking for and the ideas were flowing! She just wanted a valance so that there was plenty of light still coming into the room. She gave me the measurements needed and I was off to work!

I used muslin and then tea stained it. It was such a large window so it took a bit to get it stained and dried like I wanted. I then drew out several different sports items on paper. . . Bats, balls. . . I have never been much at drawing so I wanted to try it. Once I had them the size I needed, I traced them onto different fabrics. Of course, those pieces had to be stained too. I stitched each of the items onto the curtain leaving a little space between them. I had a bat, baseball, basketball, football, and a jersey. I stitched his name on the jersey with the number 4 (His favorite number). I then stitched his name again above the bat. I went back and handstiched little burgundy stars all over the curtain! When I was finished with the front, I lined the back with another piece of muslin. After all of the handstitching, the back wasn't very neat!

Once I finished it, I couldn't wait for my friend to see it! I called her and had to take it over to house right then! (I am a little impatient that way!) She LOVED it! I asked her to send me a picture once it was hung up in his room. I am now working on a matching wall hanging that looks like a jersey. I think we are going to make a few pillows shaped like some of the items on the curtain too!

She went ahead and placed an order for curtains for her laundry room and loft! I will be sure to post pictures of them in the weeks ahead!

Our crazy dog!

Well, yesterday I told you how my sister in law raises English Bulldogs right? My husband had a favorite from the first litter right from the start. He was a little brown puppy with a white chest and a little white on his face. Everytime we went over to see them, he played with that one more than the rest. When they got up to 6 weeks, we were a little sad because we knew the puppies would be going to their new homes. My husband and I stopped by to see them one night and there comes that little brown puppy walking towards us, with the cutest little bow tied to his collar. His sister decided to give my husband that puppy because it was his "pick".

My husband was so excited! He played with that puppy and couldn't believe he got to go home with us. It took a little bit of an adjustment . . . after all, we didn't know we were getting a dog so we didn't have anything ready. We named him "Cane" - after a few more weeks of "Hey you" and it was official . . . He was ours! He was so wrinkled! People thought he was a Sharpei! He stayed in our laps and got so spoiled! My husband took him everywhere - to work, to the store. He is even known in our small town - cashiers at the stores send him Beef Jerky whenever we stop in!

Well, now that precious little puppy has grown up. He is now about 60 pounds and thinks he is still a lap dog. You can not sit in the recliner or the sofa without him sitting ON you! We created a spoiled moster! We are expected to bring him to the shop anytime there is an event in town! People have actually just stopped in wanting to know if Cane was with me today! I never knew that sweet puppy would bring us so much joy! As you can see from the picture, he is a chunk and we have learned to share our home, our hearts, and our recliner with him!

I just wanted to share this sweet story with all of you. A little something to remind myself that I still like him . . . (we came home tonight from dinner to find that he had gotten into the trash in the laundry room!)

Take care!

Doggie Cake

My sister in law raises English Bulldogs and she has a female that will soon be having puppies.

Her dog "Chopper" was going to have to have a C-section so we knew when the pups would be here. We were all so excited and since we had that day off anyway, my husband and I went with his sister to the vets office. (They mentioned they may need a few extra hands to "rub" the pups after delivery so we tagged along). We met them at the vets office and I felt like I should bring something with us. I have always gotten "roped" into making diaper cakes and towel cakes for everyone's showers so I decided to make a funny spin on it . . .

I made a "Puppy Training Pad Cake". I just bought a pack of training pads and rolled them up, one after another. I went to a local pet store in town, Furry Godmother, and bought lots of different flavored treats (they sell them individually in all shapes, sizes, and flavors!). I included chew toys, baby shampoo, bones, and rawhides. I wrapped it all in cellophane and topped it off with matching ribbon. It was so cute!

We carried it to the vets office and we got a ton of laughs about it! She brought it home and believe me, she used those training pads FAST! We made smaller ones and gave them to the new owners of the puppies! It was so fun to make and really brought everyone a lot of laughs!

I had to share it with you guys!

Another great blog giveaway!

I wanted to let everyone know that Tammy over at Country Girl At Home is having her first blog giveaway! Her and her husband created an adorable set of shutters and are giving them away on her blog! They also just opened their Etsy store and have some amazing items listed! Be sure to check it out!

Finally, the website is up and running!

Well, my oh my! It has taken a few hundred hours and many sleepless nights but we finally have our website up and running! YEAH! We have started getting our products listed as fast as possible but most of our handmade items are on there!
I tell you, there were so many nights that I couldn't sleep because I had html codes running through my brain! What is the code for yellow? How can I center that? Jeez - it almost drove me nuts . . . BUT . . . I finished it. It took some help from my 15 year old daughter (which really makes you feel silly) but . . . it's out there!
Please check it out and tell me what you think. I have gotten into the whole bee and bee skep thing lately so, of course, that is the theme I went with on my website!
So . . . (drumroll please) http://www.shopbackintheday.com is ready and available 24/7 for you to browse and see some of the items we have available.
I will be taking pictures of the shop and will list them on there in the upcoming weeks. There is a link for our guestbook - please sign it and let us know you stopped by!
Thanks so much!

Happy 4th!

We had our parade here in Waxhaw this morning (it started at 10 am) and let me tell you, it was so much fun! We had all of the town board, Parkwood High band, clowns, hillbillies, and . . . Uncle Sam himself! He came by in a new Mustang (just to show ya where I tax dollars are going! ha! ha!)
There were so many kids out and about and they were so tickled everytime a clown came by or candy was given out to them from the floats! I had just as much fun watching the kids this year as I did the parade!
I wanted to get some pictures to post but . . . you guessed it. . . the batteries went dead in the camera as soon as the first Fire Engine came by!
So, to all you out there . . . I hope you have a Happy and Safe 4th of July! I am waiting patiently for this evening when the fireworks come out!

A special thanks to the town of Waxhaw for the great parade and the fireworks show later this evening!