My sewing machine is begging for mercy

The poor thing has been idle for so long and now it's been cranking for 3 days!
Let's see, I'm working on some patriotic garland for the deck

I also finished a lunch tote that I had cut out back in April


You should all run over www.sewmamasew.com and buy up some oilcloth for $5.00/yd!!! It's being discontinued and now's the time to buy it if you ever wanted to give it a try. Some of the ladies at work have been eyeing my lunch bag so I think I will make a bunch and let them pick what they want.
I must go get ready for a baseball game/graduation party that I will tell you all about tomorrow.... really it will be somewhat interesting!

on a little crafty roll

This was fun!
Remember the Martha Towels I bought last Friday? Well, now the lemon one is a cute little tote bag


lined with a yellow plaid tablecloth type fabric

It's a perfect little bag to get dirty and toss right in the wash with the towels!

yippee, yahoo, woohoo, I made something finally!

....and I finally found a use for this lovely piece of fabric from the remnant bin too...... and it just so happens to match Julia's brand new bikini! The stars, moon and sun have all lined up just for me today, I am sure of it! This is a little back pack for Miss Julia to use for camp on Monday, it even has a matching zipper pouch for ice cream/field trip money.
Two more views:


Now I am off to strip beds and do laundry with a lot less resentment than I normally would have. Who knows, I may be back with something else later on!
la la la la la la*** twirl twirl twirl***** la la la la la *** twirl twirl... dizzy now

I can almost breathe!

• teachers gift's made- check




• graduation obligations complete- check




• school is out- check




• dance recital is finally over- check




• all softball leagues have ended- check




• I have a 5 day weekend ahead of me- check..... after an all day jaunt to the mall with kids

Martha on the brain

Ever since I painted my kitchen the most lovely shade of green

I haven't been able to find dishes that I love for a price that I can afford... until yesterday, that is. We were on our way to NYC to see a Mets game with some friends and I had the Bumble pull off the highway so we could shop at a K-Mart.

(The lighting doesn't show how well they match in the 2 photos but trust me, they do.)
The woman just gets me. I mean, she lives right inside my head pulls together the jumbled mess of thoughts and ideas, and produces, markets and then sells them to me. It's somehow unfair. Anyway, I found more towels than I could afford to buy and had to settle on 2 packages

Those bandana towels will make cute tote bags for Julia when she starts camp next week.
Today is dress rehearsal for dance followed by another graduation party followed by fireworks followed by the recital tomorrow......
it's almost over

Check this out

Thanks for the warm welcome back. I really missed my blog community!
So, I was drying dishes after my birthday dinner with my parents on Sunday and mom hands me this really nice dishtowel

I am shocked because usually mom has those really crappy synthetic-y towels that don't absorb anything. Then I look at the tag and it's a Martha towel

I am even more shocked because the nearest K-Mart is 30 minutes away on the highway and my mama don't drive on the highway!
me: Mom, where'd you get this great towel?
mom: You'd never believe me
me: You did not go all the way to K-Mart and buy Martha Stewart dishtowels!
mom: *looks at me like I'm crazy* No! Are they Martha Stewart? We got them for a dollar at the automotive store.

Needless to say, they went back the next day and bought all they had left in the store for me!
What? There are worse things to have addictions to! Maybe if you guys are lucky, I'll embroider something on them.

Anybody miss me?

Well, I miss all of you!!!!
Please, tell me that June is almost over. I won't bore you with details... too much... but I have been out of my mind, crazy, throw yourself out of a window, swear you'll never volunteer to do another thing ever again busy. Ugh!
It's almost over.
Yesterday was the last day of school. Yay...sort of! I make scrapbooks for the kids teachers grades 3 thru 6. Why those grades? Because they can't cooperate before or after those grades, I've found. I have the kids send me a few pictures and messages for the teachers and then I create pages for them based on their personalities. Some girls made their own, bless them! I had the deadline marked as APRIL 25th.......... I received most of them last week. grrrrrrrrr. My kitchen table has been dedicated to scrapbook stuff for 2 weeks, what a mess! Anyway, it turned out great and the teacher just loved it (this is her 2nd one). Here are some pages to peek at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbcyr/sets/72157600408369298/
I also whipped up this quick tote for the 2nd grade teacher:


In typical Carol fashion, I was embroidering at the kitchen table minutes before wrapping it up.
I just wanted to let you know that I am still around, in case anyone was wondering. Hopefully I will back soon :)

trouble on deck

See that missing board?

My chubby little leg was stuck in it yesterday. When we got the new pool put in they had to cut away some of the deck. The Bumble secured it temporarily until the guy comes to fix the support beam. Guess who forgot that she shouldn't stand on the end of that board with allllllll of her weight on one foot? Um, yeah that would be me. I am bruised and a little scraped and getting too old for these injuries but thank God I didn't break anything but the deck! I am relieved that no one was there to witness it because I may have died from embarrassment!

So, in a few more weeks my life will let up a bit. Until then it's still all about those kids, especially the big one. I shed the start of my "first born is growing up" tears when the graduate silhouettes went up in the school window last week.

On Friday they had the "Pinning Ceremony". Each eighth grade student picks a seventh grade student and gives them a school pin for their uniform making them the new eighth grade students (aka rulers of all the universe). The seventh grade students give them an autograph book and they all proceed to the cafe-gym-atorium for a party

and the reading of the class will. Fun times. This week I have a 6th grade trip to NYC, Class Night and Graduation. Note to self: buy waterproof mascara, you big sap!

Hey everyone- head over to Hancock's of Paducah and see if they have any more of these charm packs on sale: They were even cheaper than marked on the packs. http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/ItemList--Specialty-Items-(Sample-Packs,-Tins,-etc.)--m-02_15.html