I have many items to share with you today

Just before I started

all of those pincushions - I had been

cross stitching my brains out. Here are all of the items that

I was able to finish. As you can see I didnt stitch

the snowman exactly like the photo. I added beaded eyes

along with beads for buttons. I messed up on his belt. Its still cute.

I didnt care for the words that came with the Tea ornament as I

dont have any plans to hang it on that little plastic hanger. I might make it

into a scissor fob or something like that. I havent decided yet what

to do with it. Also if you look at the picture it is really busy. Too busy

for me so I changed the colors a little. A neighbor gave

me 'Cowabunga' by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I will gladly swap that stitched piece if anyone is interested in it.

The basket of strawberries is finally finished. That pattern

was borrowed so if you like it you will have to copy it as you see

it. I cannot remember the name for

the basket of strawberries either . I didnt have the pattern for

'The Old Well' either so

I cannot enter it on this blog. It worked up really quick though - quicker than the

ornaments. The rose is just a rose that I copied from a library book & stitched.

I really like things that are quick & easy. It is then when I feel that I

have accomplished something. UFO's are done! Enjoy

by Hopblogger

Here are the rest of

the 60 pincushions. I absolutely adore chocolate and cannot have any

of it due to my caffeine allergy. My venture with these pincushions

began when I came across

this Whitman's Sampler Tin. Inside were the chocolate papers. At

first I thought it would be nice to make some little chocolates. But

as you will see none of them turned out like chocolate. However

they do resemble little cupcakes. There are a few chocolate

cupcakes that I did not decorate. A few cupcakes look like their

icing in the middle is oozing out. At least this is what I was aiming

for even though it doesnt resemble it. I think my blanket stitch is getting better.

After I started the first one these little guys it got so addictive that I

couldnt stop making them. I was hoping to use up alot of leftover

laces, ribbons and little odds n ends. That didnt happen. There

is one pincushion that looks like the white didnt go around correctly.

Well I wanted it to look like that. I wanted it to look like I didnt

have enough fondant to cover it. That's one of my fav's. But my

favorite is the little pincushion second to the last. I made it the same

way. This little pincushion is just a little bit bigger than a toothpaste

cap. I would like more of those but I cannot remember where that

cap came from. The last pincushion is suppose to be some striped

candy on top - (from beads). One pincushion sports a little strawberry

on the side. Another pincushion has little pink jewelry beads on top

to resemble rock sugar. I will be making more of these pincushions.

Just be sneaking them in here and there. Really folks - make you

some of these pincushions. You wont be sorry.

by Hopblogger

It took me 3 weeks to...

make about 60 bottle cap pincushions. They were alot of fun to

make. These were made from different objects. 2 were made

from the bottoms of a tide pen. A few were made from soda pop

caps (I like these the best because they are deeper). Some were made from

shallow plastic water bottle caps. These caps are smaller

than soda pop caps. And then

a couple are made from pill bottle caps. The first picture

shows the first 13 that I made.

The red tall pincushion with the baby blue one

beside it were made from the

bottoms of the tide pens. As you can see my stitches were

not so good. The red one is made from felt while the baby blue

one is made from flannel. I like the softness of the flannel verses

the felt. I like the rounded top of the red felt one but I love the beads

& the flat soft top of the baby blue one.

The pretty pink one with lace around it is one of my favorites.

Its a simple plastic water bottle cap. This one uses fleece. Again

this fabric is so soft. The one beside it is made the same way except

it has the lace sewn on top to give a different effect.

A peek under this pink lace cap shows my way of wrapping

the bottle cap. Its bottom is smooth. The lacy bottlecap

shows the difficulty that I had again while trying to sew the

cap together like the other bottlecaps are made. It just didnt

work for me.

The next 3 uses toile. I thought it would be fun to try & combine

fabric with felt & flannel. They didnt turn out too bad.

You can tell when you turn over the larger toile pincushion

that it is a pill bottle. But its okay its hardly noticeable.

The floral one is not really decorated yet. I cant decide on how to

finish it. In fact nothing has come to mind.

I tried to make a double wedding cake. It uses a soda pop cap for the smaller

cake layer. The black is thin leather strips.

It turned out so pretty!

If you havent done these yet - you should. They are quick & easy.

When I started I was aiming for chocolates. It looks like I missed.

Anyway try it - you'll like it. These little things really are

addictive!

by Hopblogger

HOW TO EAT A THORNY KING CRAB!!

As you can see King Crabs are expensive if more than

one person are eating them. But today it doesnt matter

because it is my birthday meal bought for me

by my daughter Pep. I was born with seafood

already flowing in my veins.
Anyone that has ever went to a restaurant or bought these crabs

to eat at home know that the thorns on them can hurt you.

Dont that crab just look yummy! Look at the close up of those thorns.

Yikes! that hurts!

To start - cook those crabs for at least 30 to 45 minutes.

If you cook them for at least 45 minutes they taste much

better and any crab taste better when cooked this long.

Take a pair of good sharp scissors & cut off one of those long legs.

There I did it. Now it is easier to hold.

Start at one end of the leg & cut with the scissors to the other end.

A little ways away from your first cut - cut again the same way

that you just did. Do this with each piece of the leg.

Now remove the shell piece that you just cut - Voila!

Just lift it up with your fork or knife.

So easy & tasty!

by Hopblogger