Boo Bunny

Sugie doing her pumpkin imitation. Such a cute boo bunny she is!
Wishing you all a very fun and festive Halloween! Don't be naughty bunnies!

Shell
p.s. Sugie said to tell you the hair under the pumpkin is from Razzy aka Mr. Fuzzy Pants.

Gabriella Stitchery

Well hello there. I would like to introduce you to Gabriella.
She's my latest stitchery pattern. She's elegant but sassy at the same time.

My inspiration came from my dress form Gabriella that hangs out in Bunnyville. The bunnies tell me she's loitering with the dust bunnies.
I love the scrolly metal and thought it would be fun to make a stitchery pattern.

I picked this Valdani Floss to stitch with. It's called Lime Sand. I loved the soft muted shades of the pink green and yellow. It would be cool to see a beach with that color sand!

So then I thought it would be fun to stitch her on a vintage doily and then put that on a scalloped quilt and then attach a scrolly wood piece painted white to the top! Yeah!

And then I thought about the pretty cream and yellow paisley fabric I had and how much I like to stitch on linen and I combined them to make this pillow. Fun!

Ok... so maybe I got a little carried away stitching it 3 times (can we say OCD) but it really was so much fun I just couldn't help myself.
The pattern and floss are available on my website if you'd like to stitch your own Gabriella and for those of you who need instant gratification, the wallhanging and the pillow are available too.

bunny hugs,
shell

Rococo Roses One and Two and Valdani Floss

So it only took me LIKE FOREVER to figure out my style. Geez.... Seems like I lost myself for so many years while working in construction. I was forever getting sucked into other people's styles, which I liked very much, but was not really me. So finally, finally.... I have listened to myself and realized that I love Rococo and Baroque styles, but on a simplified level. I love clean, uncluttered and handmade things. I love... well... simple. I've designed my stitchery patterns to reflect me.... Simple Handmade Elegance.

This is my first pattern in a series called "Rococo Roses." I love the ornate mill work in Rococo and Baroque styles, but I truly love the simple and "uncluttered" look. My designs are stitched onto linen using Valdani 3 strand floss. This floss is just so fabulous to work with!

Not only is it hand-dyed, but it is the only hand-dyed floss on the market that is colorfast! Then, their dying methods are environmentally friendly to boot! Win, win, win in my book! A company I'm proud to be a part of.

This is Rococo Roses Number 1.

I think the pattern looks so pretty framed. I've decided I'll stitch all of my designs and frame them then hang them as a group. (stay tuned for what I've done in my house. yikes!)

This is the floss I used for Rococo Roses Number 1. Isn't the variegation gorgeous! It's called Vintage Pastel. I get so excited over floss! Too bad I don't get excited about flossing my teeth.... urrrgggg

This is Rococo Roses Number 2. I used pearl beads to accent it. I looooove how it turned out.

I'll make this one to frame as well, but I decided I really wanted to make this into a pillow first.

It's for sale on my site.

This is the floss I used for Rococo Roses Number 2. It's called Tea-Dyed Stone.
The patterns, floss and finished pieces are all available on my SITE if you would like to try a little stitching for yourself or if you need instant gratification with a finished piece. Stitching really is soooooo much fun and addicting. You can stitch on a plane, on a train or even in the rain. Ooopos, sorry, gotta little carried away. The best part is that it doesn't cost very much money to create something beautiful. We can all appreciate that nowadays.

hugs and happy stitching,

shell

This week IGF getting these stitcheries finished and finally finding my style.

Sugar Bun in a Box

Sugie has decided that this toy box is her personal napping area. She lays down and rests her head on the side and takes a nice nap. Too precious!

Shell

Pink Friday at Make Mine Pink

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday October 23, 2009 as we present "Pumpkins and Spice"

Click photo to visit my site for this pattern or finished piece.

With the return of autumn come the familiar feelings of comfort, happy childhood memories and hope for what the future will bring. Comfortable fires and cozy kitchens surrounded by the warmth of family and friends. Crunching leaves and laughing voices. A brisk walk in the cool air. With crackling leaves under foot, the sights and smells mingle and wrap you in memory like a warm blanket on a chilly evening. The smell of a fire burning in a neighbor's fireplace as you take your evening stroll, reminiscent of outdoor bonfires and arshmallow roasts, or a cool night warming by the fire with someone you love. Vibrant carved pumpkins or hand crafted velvet pumpkins, both have their place. Some gracing the front steps, others atop a dining room table or sideboard. Reminders of nights spent trick-or-treating, carving friendly pumpkin faces and toasting pumpkin seeds. All reminiscent of autumns gone by.

Click photo to visit Esprit de Joie

Cinnamon and clove potpourri simmering on the stovetop or in a kettle on the wood burning stove fill your home with the delicious scent of fall. Friends stop by for spiced cider and fresh pumpkin bread - right out of the oven. Laughter and conversation over a table set with a whimsical pumpkin fairy or an elegant pumpkin centerpiece, fills the the room.

Click photo to visit Patricia Rose

The autumn season evokes many happy memories of childhood mixed with anticipation of what's to come. Sunny crisp afternoons picking apples in the orchard, slicing apples for the secret recipe passed down from your grandmother. The aroma of baked apples and gingerbread spiced candles in vintage teacups and containers fill the room.

Click photo to visit Camellia Cottage

Autumn is the time for quilting and knitting in front of a crackling fire. Remembering grandma's hands, covering yours as you learned how to make your first stitches so long ago. The season bursts with memory. Memory of all of the senses.
Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink
Click HERE to visit with all my friends and their fabulous shops!

Almost Time for the Holiday Show

I can't believe how fast time is going!! The Down East Holiday Show in Greenville, NC will be here before I know it and I'm in a frantic rush to get everything finished in time. I've started laying out my booth display in my dining room (thus the chandelier) to get an idea how I want to set it up. I've marked the table on the floor with painters tape as I have put my dining room table in a consignment shop because I really, really want a trestle table from Ballard Designs. Yes, I'm nuts but hey it's fun in my world. hee,hee,hee.
Anyway, if you are around the area November 7,8 and 9, I would love to see you. Stop by and visit with me. It's at the Convention Center in Greenville.

Hugs,
shell

Twinkle Toes Tilly and an Award

Look what I got! My dear friend Mary Wadsworth from Blooming Ideas gave me this award! Mary is a very talented artist that makes the most whimsical and happy art. Every year I purchase a new ornament for my bunny tree. This year I just had to have Twinkle Toes Tilly from Mary! Isn't she fabulous!

Hop over and visit with Mary. She also has new creations in "The Land of Glee." I could live in the land of glee! Thanks so much Mary!

Ok, now I'm suppose to say 7 things about me. Hmmmm....you already know a lot about me. How about 7 things about bunnies instead??

Even though Razzy is considered a "mini lop" he is anything but mini. You should never ever pick a rabbit up by it's ears or by the back of the neck! Ouch! Always support their butt. They are fragile creatures and if held wrong, you could snap their back if they get to wiggling to hard to get away.

Bunnies are very clean animals. They groom themselves and each other all the time just like cats. However, bunnies cannot cough up a hairball or puke. Therefore, Timothy hay is very important to their digestive system. Razzy and Sugar get a lot of fresh hay daily. They also get a piece of Papaya at night. Something in the papaya helps the hair pass through their system.

Bunnies are prey animals and therefore feel comforted if they can hide in something. A cardboard box works great and they can chew it up and redecorate it as they see fit.

Like me, bunnies are vegetarians. They need fresh greens and herbs in their diet every day. Razzy and Sugar like green leaf lettuce, parsley, cilantro, kale, and dandelion greens. They get a sliver of carrot each day too as a treat. They only get a small amount of pellets as to many pellets as well as to much fruit can make them fat. Like people, bunnies can have a sweet tooth and will eat to many sweets if you let them.

Bunnies can use a litter box and it's very easy to train them. In fact, they practically train themselves. I use Carefresh litter (a recycled, biodegradable paper) in the bottom of the box. Then we put Timothy Hay on top. Bunnies like to eat and poop a the same time. I layer new hay on top in the morning and at night. I change the litter box every other day. Just dump it and rinse with vinegar and water. One nice thing about bunnies is they don't have stinky litter. Bunnyville pretty much smells like hay.

Well there are more or less 7 things. Now I would like to share this award with my following friends in blog land.

1. Potentially Nervous

2. The Bunny Lounge

3. The Qi Papers

4. Freckles and Deb

5. RASmataz

6. Swan of Dreamers

7. Joanne May Illustration

I enjoy visiting with each and every one of these friends. Hop over and visit with them!

bunny hugs,

shell

Bunny Kisses and an Irish Blessing

May the sun shine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true.

--Irish Blessing

Shell

Sleeping in Clouds or a Brown Paper Bag

So recently I've had many conversations with my girlfriends over the fact that we don't sleep very well. Is it our beds, our minds that don't stop, stress, hormones, or snoring, twitching husbands that smack their gums... David....????
What is it that happens to us in our, oh let's say 40 and over years that makes it so darn hard to get a good nights sleep?

I remember being 19 and I could sleep standing up against a wall at the bar I worked at getting a good 15 minute power nap and then be ready to go for another 6 hours! Now...??? Ridiculous.

My bed is perfect. It's fluffy with a feather bed mattress that supports the natural points of the body. I don't have a TV in the room. It's dark and I turn the A/C down so it's cold when my night sweats (yes I'm 41 and they've started) come on. Yet, as David sleeps like a darn log, I wake most of the night telling him to shut up, roll over, or wake myself up from shouting out the stresses of the day.

Sure wish I could be like a bunny. Razzy has found his perfect resting, sleeping, lounging area in a basic brown paper bag from the grocery store. Good thing there is still the paper or plastic choice around here. Good beds are hard to find, so is a good nights sleep.

Wishing you all the best sleep. Well all you girlfriends anyway. Men never seem to have an issue. Dorks.

hugs,
shell

Bunny Kisses and an Irish Toast

May the light always find you on a dreary day.
When you need to be home may you find your way.
May you always have courage to take a chance.
And never find frogs in your underpants.
--an Irish toast

I just love that toast.
Cheers and bunny kisses,
Shell

Gifts of White and a Bun

So you remember I don't do orange right? So you remember that I totally loooooooove white?
Well hello White Halloween!! Isn't this just so perfectly fabulous!!! I just had to have it. It was made by my very talented friend Carol Kujala of Esprit de Joie. She has beautiful things available on her site. The minute I saw this, I knew it would be mine!

Then... my friend Gaby, who is the sister of my friend, Lyd, gave me this gorgeous real pumpkin! It's so darn cool! Lyd and I are both crazy over whites and creams so Gaby got us both one. Luck us!!

Then my friend, Donna Lijegren from Byrnwood Needleworks, sent me this absolutely adorable bunny pincushion just for the heck of it!!! I loooooooove it! Donna is a big fan of the bunnies and said they inspired her to make this pincushion. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Oh how I just love presents!

Shell

Dust Bunnies

Razzy... I thought you said that Mama loves all kinds of bunnies.
She does Sugie.
Well how come she's always fussing about the Dust Bunnies and how come we have never met these Dust Bunnies? Is it because she brings out that noisy machine and sucks them up before we can meet them? Are they naughty bunnies?
Probably so Sugie.

I bet they're the one's that chewed the baseboard.

Sugie... I think you might be on to something. "wink, wink, wink."

bunny hugs,
shell
this week IGF dust bunnies being extricated from bunnyville

Got Milk? Nope, Got Lettuce

You've all heard and seen those great "Got Milk?" commercials as well as seen those fun ads in the magazines with celebrities sporting their "Milk Mustache's." Well here in Bunnyville, we don't have Milk, we have Lettuce and we don't have "Milk Mustache", we have.... "Lettuce Lips."
Cracks me up!
Shell