A Win for Me, A Win for You, A Bird Bug & A Dodo Bird

I had to show this off first! It's a gorgeous, beautifully designed and crafted pillow that I won by spinning the Make Mine Pink slot machine! The pillow is from Janets Creative Pillows! It soo reminds me of the beautiful florals and dresses in Hawaii. I just love it and appreciate all the work that went into every stitch! Many thanks to Make Mine Pink and to Janets Creative Pillows!

Speaking of Hawaii (did you like that segway?), I was in a mood the other day to do something creatively different, something with an underwater theme, something with melted WAX...and came up with this strange looking can. You know how you start out with something obscure and know what you want to do but have no idea what you want it to look like or how you're going to do it or what you're going to do with it once you've done whatever it is that you kind of had in mind?

Well, this is one of those projects. I think I accomplished the underwater theme and it definitely used a lot of melted wax. And, I actually like it. I'm not too sure what I'll do with it or where I'll put it. But, I really like that I found the cute little plastic fish with the big eyeball during my gathering process.

Last week was an exceptionally busy week. Ever notice that, during an exceptionally busy time, something major happens in your household that has to take priority over everything else? Our cockatoo, Bailey, got sick. He stopped eating, stopped playing, stopped talking and his stool droppings were discolored. This was reminding me too much of years ago when my children were little. He was definitely one sick birdy and if you don't know much about birds, rest assured that it doesn't take a long time for them to perish from dehydration or lack of nutrition.

Our feisty, strong-willed cockatoo had become relatively docile; he generally doesn't hold still for his checkups but didn't argue much about having a cold stethoscope pressed against his body and barely flinched when our vet, Gina Robinson, checked his nasal cavities and throat (...say "ahh-h-h-h...").

Blood and stool samples were taken. Thank Goodness he didn't have anything immediately life threatening, but he did have a nasty staph infection that we are treating with antibiotics and now he's back to his noisy, raucous, playful self.

This next picture probably looks very boring. Big deal, sheets on a clothesline, right? Wrong! It only took me a few short years of begging before Hubby finally got around to finding some laundry poles (that part happened early last summer) and getting them cemented into the ground (this happened last week). I celebrated by annointing the lines with just-washed bedding. Yaaaay! I've said it before, I'll say it again - It's the little things, Girls...

You've seen my win, my bird with his bug and now to reveal the dodo bird part of this post. Maybe I should call it dodo bird brain. See this cute little clothespin bag I made? Isn't it sweet? This is the front side...

(BTW, if you know me at all, you'll know the only time I use a pattern for anything is when I'm making clothes for myself or the grandkids.) ...and here's the reverse side...

Notice anything strange? Here's a hint: Do you see an opening for the clothespins? *sigh* Me, neither. An easy fix, but I still can't believe that I did that! Or, didn't do that, whichever way you want to look at it.

And finally, what you've REALLY been waiting to find out - the WINNER for my March Blog Giftaway is: MICHELE of Country Vintage! Michele is a great gal and a loyal commenter, just several of you and this is the first time she's won one of my Giftaways! So, congratulations, Michele and as for the rest of you, keep reading (I miss you when you don't come around) and commenting (I love to hear from you!).

Hugs and blessings,

Sher

A New Do, More Pillows and More Babies!

As I sit here typing today's entry, I am much happier than my husband is. Why? One word - haircut. What is it about men, that they almost always prefer that their wives or girlfriends have long(ish) hair? Before I left yesterday for my appointment he insisted on taking a picture of me. It was like, "Let me have something to remember what you looked like before this terrible, irreversible atrocity is done..." LOL. Men! Anyway, here is his "before" picture and here is the after

It feels so much better to be able to lean forward and perform closeup tasks (like thread a sewing machine or paint tiny details on a piece) without my hair falling forward. But it feels great to not have to worry about a sweaty mass of it falling into my eyes while I'm outside in the garden or hand sanding delicate detail on an antique chair.

And still another new do: I've switched pictures around (again) on my banner. Yep, I'm still playing!

It's time for another reminder! Don't forget that tomorrow is the last day for entering this month's Giftaway. The name drawing is Monday! For any of you who may be new to this blog, all you have to do to qualify is leave a comment! I have a monthly Giftaway so make sure you return again with another comment!

When I gave the tip on stuffing pillow corners the other day, I failed to show you the reverse side of the pillow I was working on: This is just the cutest toile. Don't you just love these sketches of happy kids?

I finished this one, too - here's the front and back.

The vintage button in the middle is shaped like a little flower. I'm working on some door pillows now for the holidays. You know that at least one will end up in a Giftaway!

Finally, I had to share this picture that Hubby snapped this morning: (Snap on the photo and you can see the open mouthed baby!)

This birdhouse is above our smokehouse shed. We don't know how many babies are in the nest; it's too high to peer into. We do know that this particular duplex birdhouse is probably the busiest that we've had this year. Both upper and lower units have been occupied all year and we've watched at least five different families of babies learn to fly the short distance from each "doorway" to a nearby Maple tree.