My Heart's Message

I wanted to share a cross stitch wedding sampler that I made for my niece.  (I wanted to wait until she received it  before I posted it on my blog).  This year I started cross stitching again after stopping several years ago.  I was having trouble seeing the intricate cross stitch patterns but decided to give it a try again and I'm so glad I did.  As you saw in my Christmas in July posts HERE and HERE I cross stitched a couple of small birdie pictures too.  So I guess my eyes aren't THAT old yet & I can still manage to do it.  PTL

(Note:  I'm blocking out their names and date to protect their privacy.)

If you remember............this is the Anniversary card I made for them.  You can read all about it HERE.

Thanks for joining me today & thanks so much for taking the time to leave me those sweet, sweet comments.  I love each & every one.  :)

Huggies & Sweet Blessings ~♥♥♥~

Christmas in July, part 6 of 6

Hi again!  Since this is the last day of July I thought I'd better bring my CIJ sharings to an end.  Can you believe that tomorrow is August 1st?  Oh my word.........where has this year gone?  Won't be long before it's Christmas in December.  I really need to get started on my Christmas cards.  Anywho..................last by not least..................

This is a sweet little tag I made for my swap partner Mary.  I used an image that I snagged from the internet.  I just love this vintage little girl.  She has the sweetest.....most innocent looking face.  I used embellies from my stash, seam binding & DP from Bo Bunny.  I then distressed all the edges with Distress Ink 'frayed burlap'.

This is the back of the tag.  See...........I told you that I always sign my name with a little 'heart' at the end♥. LOL

I also made a little cross stitch picture for our CIJ swap hostess, Cyndi & made the same tag for her.  (ooopsie....I forgot to take a picture of it so I snagged the one she shared on our board.)

Well......this is the end of my CIJ ramblings.  LOL  Thanks for bearing with me & I hope you've enjoyed looking.  We were all so excited about our gifts that we decided to draw names right away for our 2013 CIJ swap partners.  LOL  Now we have a whole year to make things & get some great Christmas deals this December. Yippee Skippee!  'course that also means that we have to keep a secret for a whole year.  That could be a challenge............LOL

I'm entering my little tag in these challenges:
Anything Goes Challenge Blog:  #72 Let's not be square!
Clear It Out Challenge:  CIJ using a red or green stash item (red seam binding)
Ribbon Carousel Blog:  RCC64 CIJ plus a spooled item (seam binding)
Top Tip Tuesday:  #82 Ribbon
Twisted Tuesday:  2TC17 ~ Anything Goes
Critter Sketch Challenge Blog:  #126 Anything Goes
Get Hippity with Ippity:  use a Tag
Incy Wincy Designs Challenge:  Anything but a card
Lexi's Creations:  #70 CIJ
Paper Playtime:  #80 Anything Goes
Tammy's Scrapin Corner:  #21 Anything Goes
Come & Get it Challenges:  Anything but a card
Hiding in My Craft Room:  #56 CIJ
Joyful Stamper:  #69 Anything Goes
The Poodles Parlour:  Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments Challenge Blog:  #59 Tag with sentiment
Pixie Dust Studio Pixie Challenge:  Christmas
Shelly's Images:  Christmas
Crafts and Me Challenges:  #94 Anything Goes
Simon Says:  Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges:  #132 Anything but a card
Ruby's Rainbow:  #34 Anything but a card
Bearly Mine Challenges:  #46 Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesdays:  #79 Anything Goes
Love To Create:  #26 Tag
Make It Monday:  #100 Anything Goes
Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog:  #130 Birthday or Any Special Day (CIJ)
Amusing Challenges:  Anything Goes


Thanks a bunch for joining me.

Huggies & Sweet Blessings ~♥♥♥~

Christmas in July, part 4

I'm baaaaack with more Christmas in July crafts to share with you.  :)  Today I wanted to share a little framed cross stitch picture I made for my swap partner Mary.

I love little birdies......especially little chubby birdies. When I saw this pattern of the three birdies chatting to one another I couldn't resist it since we chat a lot on our little message board every day. I also thought the sentiment......"Friendship is the essence of a happy life".....was so fitting. When we have meaningful friendships it truly brings happiness to our lives. Can I hear a big AMEN!  :)

The sweet little frame is from Hobby Lobby. I loved the heart blingy charm. I love hearts & always sign my name with a little heart at the end so I thought it would be fitting.

Thanks for indulging in my meanderings about CIJ. It truly is a happy time of year for those of us who share our lives on our little board. We may not be large in numbers but our hearts are large & filled with love for one another.

I have made some wonderful friends online throughout my crafting years. I count each one as precious as I do my IRL friends. How about you?

Thanks again for joining me in my CIJ celebration.  I'll be back tomorrow with another post for you.  Hope you're not getting tired of looking.  :)

Huggies & Sweet Blessings ~♥♥♥~

Christmas in July, part 2

Hello again! Part 2 of sharing the gifties I made for my swap partner, Mary.   I've been cross stitching for years and years and thought I would make some Christmas magnets for my swap partners fridge. I love to do needlework in the evenings while watching TV. It had been awhile since I had done any counted cross stitch & I found that I really missed it. It's so relaxing (until I miss a stitch & have to rip it out....LOL).

So I scoured the craft stores & my stash of cross stitch books & found some cute Christmas patterns that would work well together. A Santa, a Christmas tree & a sign pointing the way to Santa.  I glittered a bit here & there with Stardust Stickles & backed them with black self-adhesive felt & added a magnet.  I placed them inside a tin so the magnets would keep them in place (I found this pretty tin in the gift wrap section at Michael's.)

Here's a close up view.

Thanks for letting me share & I'll be back with another CIJ Show & Tell.

Huggies & Sweet Blessings ~♥♥♥~