The July Project :)

Hi everyone!

I just finished sending The Knit-A-Square Charity in South Africa the 9 Sun Squares that I showed you last week.

It is so much fun to open my yarn cabinet and pull out all the skeins to start each project. :)

My new favorite yarn to work with is the Hobby Lobby brand, I Love This Yarn!

When I first saw it I thought it was kind of a funny name for a brand, until I started working with it. I said to myself, "Wow! I love this yarn!" ~ and then started to laugh. OK, maybe the name works!

It is very affordable, soft, well made, has tons of colors. It comes in worsted and sport weights in acrylic, wool, cotton and some blends.

All of these projects are made from the worsted acrylic.


Life is so fun! As soon as I got home from sending the squares, I received the June Newsletter that featured the July Challenge asking for 255 baby blankets and 255 hats for abandoned newborn babies.

Here is the newsletter explaining that although they usually ask for just the squares, these blankets made from (12) 8 x 8 squares (approx 24 x 32 in when complete) are small enough for us to sew them together and send them complete.

It will save them alot of work as they are also still working in full swing to sew together the other hundreds of blankets that they make for older children and adults in the area too.

I hope to be able to complete 2 blankets and two matching hats for their cause. Here is the start of the first blanket. My plan is to crochet 3 strips of 4 blocks and then sew the strips together with a single crochet border.

Knit-A-Square's wish is to gift these blankets and hats to each baby for them to take them to their new homes to give them security and love throughout their whole lives.

What a beautiful keepsake for each little baby to always have.

I will keep you posted on my progress. Happily, I will have an opportuntiy to work on them this weekend since Melanie and I planned weeks ago to have a sister's craft weekend retreat to the high country.

Now that she has mastered the single crochet stitch making her first teddy bear, I am going to teach her double crochet stitches in the round making granny squares. She is going to sew her squares together to make her own baby blanket to send to South Africa too!

We are going to have so much fun and have lots of pictures to show you next week since it is also the weekend of the Steamboat Springs Hot Air Balloon Festival and Art Fair.

Please let me know if you join the challenge too. I would love to see your squares, blanket or hat!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cardinal Punchneedle ~ Complete!

I had so much fun completing my latest punchneedle project that I showed you last week.

I decided to sew my latest piece into an ornament.

It was so easy. I just pulled out some vintage fabric and a ribbon and some polyfil and a few stitches later...

Voila! Christmas in July :)

The punchneedle kits are so fun and easy to do. I like that they are small and can be turned into sachets, magents, bookmarks, ornaments or embellishment patches for larger projects you are creating.

Tomorrow I will show you the final sun squares I just shipped to Knit-A-Square and tell you about the next project they have asked for help on in July.

Cool Gadgets for Etsy & Facebook

Have you ever wondered if you made it to the Etsy featured gallery and missed it?

Well, I just found the coolest website that shows you if you have been featured on Etsy's home page when you were not looking! It is called Craft Cult and so fun to use!

Just type your username into the search box and it will give you all of your latest stats as well as let you know if you have been featured on Etsy's home page recently.

Another great thing that just rolled out for Facebook's personal pages and fan pages is customizable URLs! No more clunky links! Yay!

I would love to be your friend on FB. Please send me an invitation and join the Pug Notes fan page!

My personal page is http://www.facebook.com/pugnotes and

My Pug Notes Fan page is http://www.facebook.com/pugnotes.fan

Get yours today at http://www.facebook.com/username

I love when new fun things pop up on the internet that make it even more fun and easier to connect!

Do you have any new sites or gadgets that you think are fun and useful? I would love to check them out!

Meet our friend, Nancy Medina and her Pugs!

Emmitt and I have a wonderful & talented friend we want you to meet!

Her name is Nancy Medina.

She amuses and inspires us everyday with the help of her 3 puggy studio assistants, Howie Pee Pants, Annie and Java!

We love her work and follow both her art blog and her pug blog. She also has a gorgeous website, and Etsy shop.

Emmitt, Fred and I are so thrilled to have just purchased her newest painting, Centered.

Nancy Medina 2009

"Centered"

12 x 12

Oil on canvas

Isn't it just breath taking? I am so excited for it to arrive! It is still drying so we will receive it in about 2 weeks.

If you would like to make a wonderful new friend and smile everyday, please stop by and say hello! I know Nancy would love to meet you!

Nancy and Howie Pee

Emmitt and the Pea

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Emmitt here!

I am having the best day ever!

Today is pea harvest day from Dad's garden.

Look at all of the yummy peas!

nom nom nom

Yummy!

I hope your holiday is filled with cheer and peas too!

xoxoxox

Emmitt

Fred's Train - Tunnel and Trees

Today, I am excited to show you how Fred made his tunnel and the trees for his model train layout.

He created the skeleton of the cave with mat board strips and then layered it with plaster paper.

After it dried he put joint compound on the plaster paper for texture and then painted it.

Look how cool it came out!

Then he moved on to the tree kit to make a forest.

The kit comes with bendable tree forms, glue and 3 different shades of green clump material to make the foliage.

First, he bent the trees into natural shapes.

Then he added the special glue that needs to dry a bit before getting really tacky.

The next step is to put the tacky tree forms into the clump material and watch the trees just come to life!

Here is a video of how he made them.

Ta da!

Fred's forest!

I will keep you posted on all of the cool things he creates. I know he will be working on it this holiday weekend.

The next features will be a waterfall for the mountainside and rocks made from silicon forms and plaster!

How fun!

Have a Happy and safe Fourth!

Fred's Model Railroad

I am so excited for my husband, Fred. He has started the coolest hobby ever! He is building a model train and landscape from scratch!

It is so fun to watch him create not only the railway, but the scenery too! It involves engineering, math and my favorite... painting and gluing.

Here is the train set up on the very first day before he created the 4 x 8 foot platform he is building on now. I was so excited for him that I made this little video of the first run around the track.

Fred's train - Day 1 - March 2009

After lots of thinking, cutting and building, the track is now in its figure 8 configuration with bridges, tunnels and mountains!

The making of a mountain!

The model train world is fascinating. They have absolutely everything you can think of all made to scale to fit inside of your scenery. You can buy things already built or make them yourself.

Fred just got a kit to make a waterfall into the side of his mountain! I will show you that as soon as it is done.

He has come a long way in the last few weeks. Look at the tunnel he made. I love the realism he is achieving with grass and rocks on the tracks!

Tomorrow, I will show you the construction of this tunnel and the trees he just made!

Punchneedle ~ Cardinal In Aspen Trees

Happy July 1st!

I have been having so much fun with the new punchneedle kit I purchased at http://www.joanns.com/.

The design is a cardinal sitting in some aspen trees and is red, white and blue. :)

Please click here to see my first punchneedle project and the supplies I purchased to get started.

Here is the front side so far.

and this the the back.

You actually do the punching from the back side and the loops form on the front that you cannot see while working.

I will keep embroidering and show you the final piece when it is done. :)

What indoor & outdoor projects are you working on before the holiday weekend?

I would love to know!