A. Russ Original

I have never considered myself to be handy at the sewing machine. My Grandmother, bless her heart, tried to teach me… but I struggled with straight lines, so forget about anything fancy, like say a button hole! But the last few projects I’ve finished have inspired me to tackle a few more sewing projects, after all, I have had a pattern for a cute skirt for YEARS and just been to afraid to tackle it! We are going to a convention of sorts in a few weeks and I thought it would be nice to have cards to give my old friends I run into there, with the blog address and contact information on them… you know, in case they might want to get in touch with me later… so, I designed a super neat card and then got to thinking I’d need something to put them in! So, off to pintrest I went and found this post… The Crafty Cupboard is a cool blog with lots of neat projects! Her instructions are simple and even ‘Ang’ proof! In no time I had this little item cut and stitched up! I really like the star bu

Well, in the past few weeks the tomatoes have continued to go gang busters… (I must remember the name of these tomato plants for next year… and do a better job of placing them in the patch!) We are getting about 2 pints of little tomatoes every 3 to four days, which is nice since we eat a few salads a day and at 2 bucks a pint at the grocery store we are saving a little bit! You’ll notice that the cherry tomato TREES have taken over just about ever inch of the patch. The cucumbers are fighting for their space… not sure who is going to win the battle!    View Full Album                                                                  Then                                                                 Now Watermelon plants on May 31, 2012                  Watermelon plants on Jun 29, 2012 Our watermelon seeds are doing quite well. Having never grown watermelons in my life, I have to say I’m a little impressed! Of course the seed packet cautioned that it would take more that 80

Anyone that knows our kitties, knows that Nibbles has NEVER missed a meal! But she will still greet you at the top of the stairs and demand that she be feed before anything else is done when you get home from work… toilet over flowing… NO, feed her first, smoke alarm going off… NO, feed her first… weird slimy stuff on the floor… HECK NO, feed her first… Well, she managed to still still long enough for me to snap this picture of her (AFTER dinner of course!) It is one of my favorites! Hope you enjoy it, too.

Next week is my husbands birthday and to celebrate I created this card for him. Over the years we have  celebrated our birthdays in different ways, in different times zones (from each other) and on different continents. Now that he’s retired (from the Navy) he’s home all the time and I love it! So this year we are going to a Braves game to celebrate with friends! I thought this design was cute and will have to add it to my sketch book…

"I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself." Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, June 14,1914 spoke of what the flag had said to him that morning.   Flag Day can trace its history back as early as 1885 when BJ Cigrand a schoolteacher in Fredonia, Wisconsin had the students honor the 108th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as ‘Flag Birthday”.  Through the years the movement grew until on August 3rd, 1949 when President Truman signed an Act of Congress making June 14th of each year as National Flag Day. Today we honor the Flag that represents our great country. I have personally seen our nations flag fly over military bases, atop Navy ships, at national cemeteries, over national monuments, at federal buildings, local courthouses, school buildings and in front homes in every town that we have lived in, but the one that touches me more is the one that flies at our house!

Been a few weeks since we had a ‘garden update’ so I’ll try to catch up. We have finished up the lettuce and must say it was great! I cleared the lettuce plants out of the front of the patch and moved the peppers (both green and banana) to the front where the lettuce was… 3 of the banana plants wouldn’t fit in the front, so they moved into a large pot. The tomato TREES were blocking the peppers from getting any sun, so the move was necessary! Both peppers are doing MUCH better, now that they can get some sun! The cucumbers are going CRAZY! we have already picked 2 nice size ones, We use them in our salads and might have to come up with other options as there are more on the vines ready to be picked! Cherry tomatoes are doing really well and taste great, another salad staple for the Russ’ we have more than enough. We are picking about a pint of little ripe orbs every 3 or 4 days! The zucchini is doing ok… if you’ll remember he lives in a pot on the front porch… he gets lots of sun and

Here's this years Father's Day card. Hope all the dads out there enjoy their day in the spotlight!  

Today’s project included a new camera strap for my Olympus. The original strap is good … but this makes it even BETTER!  I found this project on Pintrest and with my limited sewing skills was doubtful that I could pull it off… But I must say that this is the best tutorial that I have ever used. She really knows her stuff, clear instructions with good pictures ! Not only did I have awesome luck making one strap… I made TWO! The first matches the camera bag insert that I made last month and the second fits more my style… It’s Red, White & Blue! I like that it has a built-in pocket for the lens cap… that I always set down somewhere and forget where I put it… no more lost cap now! With this much ‘sewing success’ I have a few other sewing projects I’d like to tackle… Wish me luck!