Wednesday, March 11, 2009

New things for Sale

I've been cleaning out again. Here is Ali's first book in excellent condition. SOLD to Powell's Books.

Digital Scrapbooking from Scrapbooks, Etc. In good condition from 2007. SOLD on eBay.


Free Style Book from Autumn Leaves. In excellent condition. $10.00 shipped media mail.


And last, but not least, the 3 tier shelf from Target last Easter. I used it to store lots of things, but had to make room for new stuff. In excellent condition. $10.00 plus shipping. It is large and semi-heavy.

So I Tried It!

And it worked this time much better than last. I did have a few issues with thread getting stuck in the bobbin compartment, but I cleaned it all out and re-threaded the needle. And it worked. Tell me how you think I did....

I did a zig-zag stitch around the flower paper and a straight stitch around the gingham part.



I also got a few other LO done this week. All for challenges I do on 2 Peas and Studio Calico.
This one is about how the twins decided that they should try artwork on the walls of their playroom when they were two.



This one is of the twins when they were first born and how they would cuddle together when they slept.



An the final one is a LO of their "Loveys". They have had them since they were born. A little worn now.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Stitching on your Layout

I found a great tutorial today for stitching with your sewing machine on paper. I have had less than success with this before because my tension was not set correctly.

Sewing Link

I think I will try it again!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Scrapbook Goodies for Sale

I have been cleaning out my scrapbook area since I have entirely too much stuff. I made up these embellishment kits based on themes.

1.) Valentine's Embellishments
Most of the items fit either the theme or the colors of the holiday. There are lots of items here, some of them vintage (the cupid, tickets, cigar bands, etc.) and other items I have too many of.
Cost :$10 + Shipping



2.) St. Patty's Day Embellishment Kit
Again, items that are related or the color palette of the holiday. Metals, vintage tickets, and various embellies.
Cost : $5.00 + shipping



3.) Easter Embellishment Kit
Various Spring and Easter -related embellies. Some vintage items and other embellishments.
Cost: $ 5.00 + shipping


Contact me with your zip code for shipping costs. I will try to send the cheapest way. Email me :
cskuse@gmail.com

I accept payment through PAYPAL ONLY.

Each kit is packaged like this:

I will be putting together more kits in the coming days of both embellishments and paper. I will have some books for sale too.

What I have been working on for the past 4 years...

This is what we have been working on for the past 4 years. These are the BEFORE photos. I am going to be adding photos every couple of days -- since I have a lot. The house was built around 1905. We have found boards labeled with Sears shipping labels, but I don't think that it was a Sears house.


This is a photo of what the house used to look like. Pretty bland. Ugly front porch that had been enclosed somewhere along the way. Front doors that don't open. Old aluminum siding. Overgrown vegetation. And it hadn't been lived in for years by humans (but had been by animals).

A shot of the garage (still looks about the same today). That red building had an unknown purpose. It was pretty gross on the inside. Smelled. Held old bags of dog food and miss-matched office furniture. Needless to say we tore it down and also removed that nasty black walnut tree (they must be the dirtiest tree on earth).



Shot of the front yard looking to the right side. There is a creek down there in the weeds. On the other side is land that used to be a pasture for cows. It is pretty flat, but can stay wet.


This is the view to the left of the house. Quite a steep hill that used to be a pasture for sheep. The hill is pretty overgrown with brambles and scrub trees. I need a DR Brush Mower for cheap!



This is a shot of the backyard behind the house. To the right is the back porch that had no real foundation so it had sunk. We removed that and put on an addition. We also added a deck off of that.
To the left is an old screened in porch (attached to the garage) that was no longer screened in. It was used as a place to store firewood by the previous owner. The squirrels used it as a storehouse for their food. We tore this down. It is now just a cement pad that we plan on tiling with slate. The hot tub currently resides here.


This is the view up the back from the house. There used to be a barn on the right and the red building up there used to house the farm equipment. Now it is just falling down. It will be burnt down sometime in the future.
The area is not as grown over now. I have trimmed it back, but there is still plenty more to do. Behind the building, to the right is another pasture.
Over the hill to the right of the building is a mine of some sort, closed off by a previous owner, and a spring that runs most of the year.


This is the view from the top of the hill to the left of the house. Quite a hike. We plan on building a new log home here in the future....the far off future! We currently own 22 acres. There is another piece for sale at the back of our property that we would like to buy. It would add another 20 acres.


This is the view in the opposite direction on top of the hill.


Ok, one more. This is the view from where the barn used to be. This is the creek and the pasture on the other side. It is not as over-grown now, but I need a bigger tractor to keep all this cut!
The pasture is to be the future place of a dirt bike track. I'm sure the neighbors will love that.



Stay tuned for new photos in the next week. I will take you on a tour of the house before we started work.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

It's Been a LOOONNNNG Time

I have been a very bad blogger.

Same old same old going on here.

The weather has been crazy. 70 degrees in January? Nuts.

I think I have been fighting off a double ear infection for a couple of weeks. I think it has won. Time to go to the Doctor.

Taking down the Christmas tree today. I hate that job. Got all the other stuff put back yesterday. Much easier to do when it is not freezing out (since I store all of the stuff in the garage).

Max has been a really bad dog recently. Not listening at all and getting into no end of trouble. Let's hope he wises up.