Monday Musings... Cats

"Time spent with cats is never wasted."

~Sigmund Freud

"Women and cats will do as they please,

men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."

~Robert A. Heinlein

"Cats are magical... the more you pet them,

the longer you both live"

~Author Unknown

"A little drowsing cat is the perfect beatitude."

~Jules Champfluery

"I love cats because I love my home;

 and little by little they become its visible soul."

~Jean Cocteau

I'd like you to meet Izzy

and Bella.

These two sweethearts were adopted from Smart Petz Animal Rescue. They are about six months old and the sweetest babies ever! We brought them home yesterday and they are already queens of this castle.

Izzy is extremely playful and curious, but the minute you touch her and pick her up, she settles right into your chest like she belongs there and sets to purring like a motor boat.

Bella seemed so docile at the adoption site, but don't let that snoozing face fool you! She also loves to play and explore. We caught her trying to steal a loaf (yes, I said a loaf) of bread from the kitchen counter last night! Little stinker! She also loves to be held and cuddled. She is the spitting image of a cat my late Mama owned and every time I look at her, I can't help but remember my Mom.

After saying goodbye to Gizmo and Gadget earlier this year, our house has not been the same. It was time to bring some sweet kitty love back into the house.

I miss you Giz and Gadge.

Welcome home Izzy and Bella!

Friday Favorites (Nov. 27, 2009)

Whew! We are back from visiting family and I am trying to keep up on this blog on a daily basis. Friday certainly wouldn't be Friday without Friday Favorites now would it?

Michelle at Paper Glue Etc. made an inspiring post about Someone's Last Christmas. Read it and see if you aren't inspired to do something special for someone else. I was!

Linda at Craftholics Anonymous posted how to make a No Sew Fabric Birthday Banner. Very cute and I am all about the "no sew". :)

Lovin' all the beautiful handmade advent calendars I have seen this month. Check this 25 Days of Christmas Countdown out by Rebecca at Blue Cricket Design.

Finding Joy in My Kitchen shares a recipe for Dark Chocolate Cherry Cobbler. Can you say YUM!!!

Until next Friday...

What is your favorite quote?

I am going to be getting back into some calligraphy and hand lettering in the

coming weeks and I need your help...

What is your favorite quote?

Monday Musings (November 23, 2009)

** Edited to add that the beautiful heart artwork needs credit.

 It was made on a whim by my 6 year old daughter Katie**

Been busy stocking the Creations by Lanie Etsy Shop

I hope you will stop by for a visit! :)

Friday Favorites...(11/20/09)

Robin made these cute Christmas trees from fabric scraps

on All Things Heart and Home.

Check out Jane's fun gift idea for an empty wine bottle

at Finding Fabulous. Very clever!

Lynn at Lynn's Kitchen Adventures shares a recipe for an Omelet Roll. YUM!

Oh, and check out these Mint Chocolate Brownies, I think they will be to die for!

Amy at Mod Podge Rocks shows us how to

 screen print with Mod Podge. I would so totally LOVE to try this!

Bee Wise Bags (a fellow crafter from the P.E.A.R. Project)

shared an Ugly Mirror Makeover. The result is gorgeous. Check it out!

P.E.A.R Comment Love Project

If you have a crafty blog, you may be interested in this. Earlier this week Marie-Jolie commented on my recipe binder and let me know about the P.E.A.R. Comment Love Project. You will find it at French Picnic.

If you are a crafty blogger and agree to share comment love with other crafters, go get yourself a button and get on their blog roll. Nice ladies and great crafters and artists!

Tear Soup

With the recent loss of my mother, the book Tear Soup was recommended to me. I must say what a moving story it is and the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. It is written by Pat Schwiebert who has been working in the area of bereavement for over thirty years.

The main character is Grandy. The story is about how Grandy has suffered a loss and makes her tear soup to get through it. The loss she suffered is left to our imagination, but grief can be caused by any loss. Not just the loss of a loved one, but a divorce, miscarraige, job loss or the loss of a lifelong dream. We all make tear soup at one time or another, but not everyone wants to share our tear soup. Sometimes the pot is bigger than other times, but it is important we all use our own recipe to make it and take our sweet time consuming it.

If you or someone you know has suffered a loss lately I highly recommend this book. It is perfect for all ages.

Make a personalized recipe binder...

I have noticed in the past couple of weeks in my effort to catch up (do we really ever actually do that?), that making a grocery list is really tedious when all of your recipes are in 10 different books and printed slips of paper all over the kitchen desk.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine said she kept hers in a binder. So I decided I would start collecting the ones I use the most and put them in a binder also. But I didn't want just any old binder, so the other night, I came up with this...

It was very easy to do. All you need is a basic white binder from the office supply store (the kind you can slip your paper into the plastic sleeve), pretty scrapbook paper, card stock, ribbon, a hole punch and your computer, printer.

Simply cut your scrapbook paper to size, you will need a piece for the front, back and the binding side.

Print your title on white cardstock (or whatever color you choose) and tape or glue it into place on the front scrap paper piece. I also printed the word recipes for the binding side (not shown very good in my photo). Slip your finished paper into the binder.

I used a hole punch through the plastic and the paper to make holes to tie my ribbon into.

For the interior pages, Simply fill your binder with plastic sleeves, buy some matching cardstock in different colors for your different sections (teal for dessert, pink for main dishes and so on) and print your recipes to paste on your card stock. The plastic sleeves will protect the paper from splashes and spatters while you cook.

These would make pretty Christmas gifts don't you think?

For a more detailed look at how to create one of these binders... head over to my tutorial

Personalized Clipboard

(Posted originally on one of my other blogs that I am getting ready to delete so I am moving my favorite posts over here. This one was featured on One Pretty Thing!)

A quick creation for a little girl's birthday party that K is going to in a couple of weeks. This cute little clipboard will be filled with some sweet scrapbook paper, embellishements, maybe a pair of scalloped scissors and such.

To create this clipboard, you will need the following:

Plastic clipboard that opens (I got mine at Hobby Lobby, but I have seen them at Walmart.)

Paint pens

Misc. matching ribbon

That's all!

Simply write the child's name and draw a cute design. I was thinking a red clipboard with a transportation or sports theme would be cute for a boy.

Cut ribbon in about 4 inch increments and tie around clip.

Simple and the finished product makes a great gift for an aspiring little artist!

Scrapbook Baby Announcement

(Posted originally on one of my other blogs that I am getting ready to delete so I am moving my favorite posts over here.)

A very sweet friend of mine had a baby early in the summer. I have yet to give her a baby gift! Sad isn't it? So tired, and when I am not, I am too busy with other priorities than to craft. Anyhoo, I finally got this done and can deliver it tomorrow. YAY! Originally, I was going to do just a framed calligraphy piece, but changed to a framed scrapbook page instead. That way, my friend can  take it out of the frame and put it in Jacob's scrapbook when she changes the decor of his room or he outgrows having it on his wall.

Such a sweet, beautiful and good baby. He makes me want another!

Monday Musings on Control (11/16/09)

"Control is never achieved when sought after directly.

It is the surprising outcome of letting go.” 

~James Aurther Ray

“The one who loves the least,

controls the relationship.”

~Dr. Robert Anthony

“You can not always control circumstances,

but you can control your own thoughts.”

 ~Charles Popplestown

“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live,

it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.”

~Oscar Wilde

“The closest to being in control we will ever be

is in that moment that we realize we're not.”
 ~Brian Kessler

Friday Favorites (11/13/09)

Lovin' Lacie's Christmas Cups at Creative Attempts. Great small gift idea!

In need of a cute advent calendar like I am? Check out Jill's tutorial at Controlling My Chaos.

Fish Mama at Life as Mom has an awesome Avocado Salsa Recipe. YUM!

If you love marshmallows as much as I do, you will love Robin's recipe for Mississippi Mud Cookies at All Things Heart and Home.

Check out this Easy Holiday Potpourri at Buzzings of a Queen Bee.

Clip Boards and Coasters...

I have finally been able to do a little crafting lately. These lovelies are headed for the Etsy shop soon and hopefully there will be more to come shortly. I will take custom orders. Sorry, I do not ship outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE Mod Podge?