Let the Monogramming Begin....

Yes, let the monogramming begin!  Scott finally let me buy an embroidery machine!   I did my research and decided on the brand and type I wanted.  Rachel and I went to the shop in Baton Rouge and I listened to the sales lady tell me all about getting started...I thought...lady, really, do you know me?  I grew up in a fabric shop I don't need to practice...this is going to come easy to me...WELL, let me tell you...it's NOT as easy as you think!  I had my dear friend and mentor come over to get me started and I've been practicing ever since..on burp cloths...so, Lily will have lots and lots of burp cloths because they are so cheap and believe me you do need to practice!  I don't think Lily will mind if some are crooked and if there's a hole cut in one....this is some of my best work so far....

Turquoise and brown with lots of dots!

This was my first...and I love the ric rack that matched perfectly.

This is my favorite...love the little face and this font..it's called "Raven".  I can't wait to do her in purple and gold for Lily's first game day outfit!

Gettin' fancy...and don't you love the zebra ribbon?

Embellishing to me is so much fun...I can spend more time deciding on ribbon trim than embroidering!

A tad crooked...

Must train her young to love leopard like her GrandZee...

Going to make her an outfit so I can make a hairbow like this...love it!


I am working on onesies and learning applique now...more to follow!

Creations for Lily



I covered some large letters with scrapbook paper, added some cute felt birds, tulle bows to hang on the nursery wall.



This is actually three canvases that will hang over Lily's crib.  Little fat birds perched on branches.  I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but they turned out super cute.  I'll snap a picture of them hanging on the wall.

I found this cute cross at Hobby Lobby that matched Lily's room.  I loved the verse, so I wanted it to really be special.  I painted a frame dark chocolate brown and put white dots.  Added "Lily" in the colors of the nursery..each letters is polka dotted.  Then I glued the cross to lime dotted paper that I modpodged to the board inside the frame.  Super cute!

I am know working on monogramming...blog to follow...I must admit...it's not easy and I've made plenty of boo-boos..Lily won't mind wearing some crooked onesies....anyway....later.

Cuteness for Lily

As most of you know I'm going to become a GranZee in May.   I have been busy making a quilt for my soon-to-be granddaughter, Lillian Mae Henry...Lily for short.  I had A LOT of fabric scraps left over and wanting to be green (cough cough) I pondered an idea for a use for the scraps.  Here's the results...

CUTENESS FOR LILY...





Left over scraps cut into strips about 9" long tied on a metal ring to make a rag wreath...



Now, I have always been a ribbon addict...I love the colors, textures, and patterns for ribbons.  I picked these up at Hobby Lobby on a 1/2 price ribbon sale in all the colors Rachel and Chris picked out for Lily's room...turquoise, lime, hot pink, and brown. 

 





Now, speaking of adding texture to a project....TUELLE!   You just gotta love tuelle...it just screams, "It's a Girl!"

Don't you agree?





I tied and knotted...knotted and and tied...tied and knotted...for hours!





Time to embellish...my favorite part!  Now, crafting is fun...but the best part to me is the finishing touches.  I have always loved to embellish things.  I found these little birds at Hobby Lobby (course!) on the 1/2 off Valentine aisle.  Knowing Lily's nursery theme is going to be birds I snatched up a couple of packs!







And there you go...!   Cute huh?  I thought it was so cute that Rachel might want to use it as her hospital wreath, so I had some letters that I had painted for another project (you'll see it soon) and I put them on temporarily to see what Rachel thinks....



LILY! 

The finished project! 
Can't wait to see what Rachel and Chris think. 

The Adventures of Scott, Gracie, and Four Red Firetrucks"

Scott really enjoys working in the yard.  Today he has raked and burned our leaves.

And now...the rest of the story.....

Raking and burning...

Scott to Gracie..."I think this is getting a little out of hand..."

The fire began to spread to our neighbor's yard...I imagine Ms. Stella's gonna pull Scott's ear!

So, Scott called in some help....one red firetruck...

two red firetrucks...

three red firetrucks...

Standing around and talking about the fire...thank goodness for Trevor...he was looking outside and said, "Hey Ms. Zee, why's our grass on fire?"  Ms Zee to Trevor, "I don't know."  So, Trevor grabbed some shoes and a rake and went to help. 

four red firetrucks....kinda reminded me of a Leesville parade...they really must not get many calls. 

P.S.  Scott to  Zandra, "Well, I'm glad I got the yard fertilized."  Zandra to Scott, "Really, when did you do that?"  Scott to Zandra, "When I let the fire burn the grass."  Zandra to Scott "Ya right!"

I Amazed Myself with this One!

I truly amazed myself with this one!  So simple, so stinkin' cute, and SO delicious!  I must first confess that I stole this creative idea from a friend. Thanks Karen for the fabulous idea!

Caramel Sauce

Eagle Brand Condensed Milk ...your only ingredient.  Cover with water and boil for 2-3 hours.  I checked back every 20 minutes or so to make sure the cans were covered in water.  I boiled mine 3 hours.  I found out that the longer you boil it...the thicker the sauce.  So, 2 hours for a pourable sauce and 3 hours for a dipping sauce.

I used black and white polka dot paper to cover the can and printed a label.
"From the Kitchen of...Zandra Grady"
I added a Valentine clipart this time.
Valentine's Day 2011

Wrapped up and ready to give with an apple to my BFFs!  I took them to my friends still warm with a big fat juicy apple!  
Scott and I decided we better taste it before I gave them as gifts...oh boy!
Yummy!

I can tell you that the BFFs were impressed!  It truly was the simpliest thing I've done in a long time with such wonderful results!   I plan on taking some to school tomorrow for my principal and vice principal as Valentine gifts.  Gotta keep the bosses buttered up ya know!  Well, that's it for this blog...I really have to thank Karen for all her wonderful ideas!  Blogging is a great way to share creative ideas with friends..LOVE it!

Love to all on Valentine's Day!

Long Time No Blog...

Yes, it's been a while.  Either my life is boring and I have nothing to blog about OR I've been very busy.  So, if you know me...you know I'm NOT boring..right?  So, here's a few tidbits on the last month....

Dear Sweet Cindy was my Secret Pal for the past year in Pink Flamingos! 

Extra!  Extra!  Read All About It!  Producing a school newspaper...LJHS Keeping Track of the Wampus Cats! 
I won a grant back in December from the Louisiana Council for Exceptional Children.  This is the presentation board I had to create and I went to Lafayette to receive the $$.  I won $500 for the technology to produce a school newspaper.  I teach gifted 7th and 8th graders and the board shows pictures of them hard at work on the newspaper.  The paper went on sale February 1...we sold 150 copies so far.  The kids are amazing and I'm so proud of them.

This is Mike Artell in MY classroom working with my 7th grade gifted class.  What???  You don't know who that is???
Well, he is the author of "The Three Little Cajun Pigs"  "Petite Rouge" and "Jacques and the Beanstalk"

Drawing a cartoon for our school newpaper!  I'm going to have it framed for my classroom!

Talking to my students about thinking outside the box!  Oh boy!  Do we do that on a daily basis!
Gotta love the gifted!

My daughter, Rachel, and husband Chris...and baby girl Henry!

Hey Baby Girl Henry....Lily??

Sarah bought me a giant cupcake maker!  Whoot Whoot!
I made a birthday cake for Rachel...so cute...don't know what happened to the pictures!  Boo!

Cuteness with a capital C!
I made this cute creation with my Cricut!  My bestie saw one back in October at a craft show and said, Friend, make me one.
SO, I did!  One for her...and one for me!

Z for Zandra!

M for Melissa!

See, I told you I wasn't boring...just busy!

Trash to Treasure

One of the things I love to do is look for treasures at garage sales or flea markets.  I found this little table several years ago at a garage table for $3.  I painted it white and it sat in front of my porch swing for year at my old house.  It was a great place to sit a book or glass of sweet tea or lemonade as you would swing.  When I remarried and moved and I didn't have a place for it so it sat in a barn until I had a vision! Yes, I get visions...

I decided to mosiac the top.   I've been working on my front porch which has a fleus de lis flair so I had this tile I found at Hobby Lobby and I glued it in the middle.  I use Dap Acrylic Latex Caulk Silicone in the almond color.  I used TONS of stain glass, river rocks, glass pebbles, and tiles all from ...where else...Hobby Lobby.  I used a mixtures of greens, golds, beiges, blacks, and reds.  I worked from the middle out just squirting the silicone and squishing in the stones and tiles.

It ended up taking more supplies than I thought, so I stopped at this point and headed to Hobby Lobby.

When doing large areas it's cheaper to buy large sheets of stain glass and breaking it up with a little hammer.  I also break the small squares into small chunks to fill in tiny spaces.  It's so much fun to mosaic....and I don't like puzzles...but I do like finding just the right piece to fit.



Finished product and I love it!



This table again sits in front of my porch swing.  I put a wrought iron candle accent.  Scott and I sit outside all the time and visit...it's so peaceful and relaxing.  I really think this $3 was well spent!
Trash to treasure!