Monday Chop Suey

This post is chock-full of unrelated bits and bobs. Hence the title, chop suey.

I hope you all had a great weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day.

Here's my Mother's Day bling. Flowers from my wonderful hubby, son & his girlfriend. Notice the sweet little bear. Son's girlfriend hand sewed this little cutie just for me. She knows how much I appreciate handmade items. I have been truly blessed with a wonderful and caring family.


My diet is still going nowhere. I know that it is my fault as I am definately not making good choices. My weight is at a standstill at the moment. The only good thing is that I haven't gained any more weight this week. That's a blessing in itself! LOL

I'm sure that most of you have wondered about the winner's of my last giveaway and whether they have received their items by now. I have heard from 4 of the 5 winners. Emy, who lives in Italy and doesn't have a blog, is the only person that I am waiting to hear from. I have heard that the Italian customs are quite strict so I'm thinking that it will be a while longer until she receives her handbag. So, before way too much time passes, here is a list of the winner's and their blogs. I am certain that you will find each of their blogs very entertaining and full of beautiful eye candy. Don't forget to check their current projects as there are some really spectacular works going on with each of these fine ladies. I know you will not be disappointed!

Connie W. of Cootie Bug 2.

Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works.

Tudy of Tudy's Craft Cupboard.

SG of Flores 'as cores.

I will post Emy's reaction as soon as I hear from her.

I have been busy, hopping from one project to another. I'm currently working on a new bunch of 7/8" hexagons. Although they are very small, they are still quite easy to work with.


They make the cutest 2-5/8" flowers. I do have a project in mind for these, but like everything else that I am currently working on, it will take a bit of time to produce.


My nephew is graduating with his Masters Degree in Education and for his party he asked me to make his card box. He teaches Hawaiian language and his party will have a Hawaiian theme. I am creating faux lauhala by using brown wrapping paper. Here is an example of some wonderful lauhala products. I have no affiliation with this company but thought that this would give you a really good idea of how lovely real woven lauhala is.

I love cutting paper with my rotary cutter. When old blades aren't good for cutting fabric any longer, I use them for cutting paper. They are still sharp enough to slice through paper and makes the job so much faster and easier.


Here they are after being cut into 2" strips.


Each strip is folded twice until no raw edges are visible and they measure 5/8" in width. I then iron each strip to flatten and make weaving easier.


This is the weaving process. Lot's of work but very rewarding. I will show you the completed project by next week.


This is my first attempt at fabric applique. I tried my hand at attaching a flower onto another piece of fabric to see what it would look like. I have never done applique before so my stitches are a bit uneven. I really don't know the proper way to do this but for my first try, it think it turned out okay.


On a totally different subject...Have an extra fifty bucks to spend? How about these rubber slippers? My son recently returned from a trip to Maui and this is the souvenier that he brought back with him. An expensive one at that. But, they have something quite unique about them.


After spending a long hot day at the beach and developing a craving for an iced cold bottle of beer and then discovering that you don't have a way to open the bottle... well, you're in luck! How about using the bottle opener's built into the bottom of each of your slippers. Yup, that's right. These slippers are a beer drinking young man's dream. Of course, this left me shaking my head in amazement and at the same time, wondering what will they think of next?!?!


Sorry for being so long winded today. This is what happens when you don't post for a while.

Have a great day!

Aloha!