A cute little song by Me and Jayden!

The past couple of weeks have been a bit busy for me: Our youngest son is working long hours almost daily so I am picking up chores that he normally does for me; also my hubby has been pretty ill with a severe case of strep throat. So with my own household chores, my son's chores and lately my husband's chores, I am running around like the proverbial "chicken with it's head cut off."

But I am certainly not complaining because I'll tell you, I feel great! I have been doing my physical therapy to keep my back from getting me down and I have been eating right, drinking plenty of water, and I've managed to ward off any germs that my poor sick hubby has. With the added responsibilities I have managed to also lose a few pounds! Yay me!

One of the things I did this past week was to pressure clean the used play set that we bought for our grandson's birthday. Since he spends a lot of time here at Mamaw and Papaw's house, we decided to keep the play set here.

I learned that I really do love using the pressure washer. I find it to be therapeutic in nature! The results are amazing too. I decided that since I had the pressure washer at my disposal, I would wash everything that was in my path: the sidewalks, stepping stones, patio and driveway all got a thorough cleaning too and it feels so good when things are crisp and clean!  I cut the grass, pulled weeds and raked so now I know one 5 year old little boy who is going to be really happy!

I also want to share with you a cute little song that Jayden and I wrote. He was spending the weekend with us and Jayden said "I'm going cuckoo cachoo." I asked him where he had heard that before (I didn't think he'd heard any "Mrs. Robinson" lately and he said that the turtle on Finding Nemo says it. I thought it was cute and we came up with this cute little ditty:

Cuckoo Cachoo

Let’s all go Cuckoo Cachoo

Sounds like a really fun thing to do.

Let’s let our feet go Kooky wild;

Like a willy-nilly silly child!

Let’s throw our hands up in the air,

Like we truly have no cares.

Let’s all dance around the room.

And let’s all go cuckoo cachoo!

Shake yourself like a bowl of jelly,

Tap your nose and rub your belly.

It’s a great day when me and you,

Get on our feet and do the cuckoo cachoo!

Lyrics written by:

Jayden LaDuke

Michelle Laduke aka Mamaw

©2013

Crafty Storage

My son found a spice rack in his new place as they were cleaning and he brought it to me, knowing how much I loved to "repurpose!" So I scrubbed what seemed like years worth of grease and dirt from each piece and now I have awesome storage for my buttons and notions!

I love that it spins!

It looks good with my little vignette too!

Remember my "ribbon board" project? I like it on my wall!

Close up of my lid I covered. I store my paint chips in here that I use for scrapbooking!

I have been extremely busy lately so I'll have lots of great pictures and a couple of tutorials coming soon!

Until then,

May your troubles be few and your blessings be many!

Mel

Mumble Jumble and Another Mug Insert.

Today is one of those days when I just can't seem to focus on any one particular thing so I thought I would write for a while. Writing sooths my soul - extremely therapeutic.

I had one of those phone calls this morning that was two fold in the outcome: I got some not-so-good news that is weighing heavy on my mind and heart; but on the other hand, I had an amazing heart felt conversation with my third born son! I am thankful for the latter.

I am also thankful for my awesome hubby and last born son who are outside cleaning windows and screens; thankful that I don't have that tedious project to do! You go guys! I guess I better bake a yummy dessert for them this evening. Hmm, what to make? Yesterday, I chose a cake made with a boxed Angel food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple, you can see one here. I added a little dollop of whipped topping to mine while the cake was fresh out of the oven and I must say it was delicious. For me it is one of those desserts best eaten warm.

I'm hoping to self motivate into my crafting studio to finish up a couple more of those mug insert organizers. I finished my first set but then while cutting up some old jeans for crafting, I decided to create a couple of the organizers using the denim. I really like the way they are coming along. You can see them here.

I'll be starting the next project tomorrow which are some cute little carry-all bags for walkers or wheel chairs. As I mentioned before, I am trying to use up all the inventory I have on hand so I really have a lot of sewing to do - because I have a ton of fabric to use up!

My goal is to finally have that yard sale I've been wanting to have and then on to trying my hat at a craft fair. I have been slowly but steadily, working on all this. Maybe that's why my thoughts are scurried: I just have "too many pans on the fire" as my grandma used to say. Oh well, I'll get it all done - eventually.

But for now, it has started to rain and my hubby wants me to sit and watch a recorded episode of CSI; I suppose I can watch that and THEN go into the studio

So until further adieu,

May your blessings be many and your troubles be few.

Mug Insert Organizer

About a year ago (yes, a year ago) I bought a pattern to make these cute little fabric inserts for coffee mugs that are perfect for organizing pens and crafting tools. My sister in law brought me a truck load (yes, a truck load of crafting materials that had belonged to her deceased mother in law. I was going through some of this stuff and found about a dozen of those quilted double sided placemats we used to make. And voila, a project done!! Yay me! I am getting better at finishing what I start.

So this is my hubby's favorite mug, I will be scoping some of those quarter mugs I see at yard sales next time I go yard saling!

And this is the mug cover organizer I made using that old placemat. I wouldn't have chosen those patterns together but that's what was in the box, so I put it to use.

This is what it looks like on the mug and with a few of my crafting tools in it.

I actually made several of these using up most of those placemats.

Here is an inside view.

Now on to the next project!

May your troubles be few and your blessings be many! Mel

NOTE:
I just had to show you the mug inserts I made using some old denim jeans and scrap fabric!

I left the edges raw, I just sewed around the edges to stop the fabric from fraying but I really like the way they turned out. So far I've made two of these and I'm working on a couple more using pink floral print fabric on the denim. I'll post pics when they're finished.

Necklace Display for LeeLee's Jewelry

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my friend Lisa has been creating some really beautiful jewelry. I kind of confiscated a piece of particle board from her during a little visit one day last week; and came up with this display for her necklaces.

This is the back, I prettied it up just to for the fun of it. The whole display was made using only components that I had in my craft room or my husband had in his work shed.

Here is a shot with one of my necklaces on it. I can't wait to see it with one of Lisa's new creations!!

I hope she likes it; I sure do!

You can check out Lisa's jewelry at jewelrybyleelee.blogspot.com

I know you'll love it as much as I do.

Happy Easter everyone. May your troubles be few and your blessings be many.

MEL

Reflections

For several months now I have been in a state of anxiety or unease about turning fifty. It isn't the number per say that I have an issue with so much as what the past fifty years have held for me. As I've been reflecting on this it came to me that it isn't the past fifty years that I'm caught up in but the next fifty or however many God sees fit to give me. Taking stock in my life: where I've been and what I've done; where I'm going and what I still want to do - this has taken a lot of mental energy, but I finally have a grasp on reality: I can't change the past and I can't control the future so I'll just live in the "here and now."

I am truly a very blessed woman. God has been gracious to me, to say the least. He has given me more chances in my life to "get it right" then I can count so I'll go on each day making sure I keep it right!! I have the most amazing man in the world who loves me completely and a hundred percent without condition. I have 6 absolutely beautiful children who have taught me so much about who I am, grandchildren who keep me young and a best friend who really "gets me."

When I was a little girl my mother often listened to a song by Doris Day and I can't help but hear those words now:


When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I grew up, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

So until the next time folks: May your troubles be few and your blessings be many.

Que Sera, Sera.
Mel