Last minute busyness!

Good evening to all who may follow my simple little blog. I have lots and lots of pictures for this update, from me and from friends who have helped, so I'll just be getting to it fairly quickly! :) I love this time of year, and it seems that Christmas~time has snuck up on me this year, I am SO NOT PREPARED!!! :/ Time just seems to move faster the older I get LOL. I think I must try to prepare a little better for 2014! Well, we all know that isn't going to happen because someone I care about will have a baby or get married or have a birthday or something ;) and that's more than fine because I SOOOOOOOOOOO enjoy doing what I do and giving them something made with so much love! I guess I should get to the updates before I start yammering on and on and then crying.. (such an emotional crybaby I am, I wear my heart on my sleeve)

These Journey Journals were made by my friend Jen and her sister. I LOVE them! So creative and they had a lot of fun making them I think!! It is such fun to have someone to share creating with because you share laughter, ideas and spending quality time with each other! Now there are two pictures but a total of 12 journals! I'm so grateful for every one's help, I can never ever say thank you enough!!! <3

 

The next four pictures are of hats that my sister Lulu created on her loom. Now I'm thinking this little loom thing she has is pretty great, and my Baby Girl (she's 23) is wanting one so she can help make hats! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEAL!!! That makes my heart swell with pride, she is and has such a beautiful soul! <3

The pink one has little flowers in it, and the green one has little jingle bells at the top! Aren't they adorable? :) Now, I was busy also, I promise!! LOL  I made a ladies Boysenberry Cloche embellished with a bead gathering that was a "pinspiration" only, no pattern at all just looking at a picture. I like to challenge myself creatively and this did it for sure! ;)  I also made a Melting Snowman hat (as I like to call him) and I found this pattern over at Repeat Crafter Me. Some have said he looks a little drunk, but I just say he is starting to melt, because here in AZ the days are a little warmish for snow!

Now the next several pictures are of the Journey Journals that my sister and I created this weekend. 16 of them to be exact!! LOL We were very busy! We then sat down hole punched these little business cards my honey created for me, threaded ribbon through them and wrote the name of who made the hat on each card. Then my sister, my daughter and I attached a card to each hat, so the patients can at least put a name to the person that cared so much! No last names were used just first names only!

I still have one more man's hat to make, and I'm disappointed that I didn't make my 80 hat goal, but I did make 60 and that is 20 more than I made last year! So overall, I'm pleased with where I am and how far this journey has and is taking me! I try every day to be a better person than I was the day before. Some days are better than others, after all I am human and I fall down so much, but I know that I can always count on my hubby, kids, sister's, or friends to help me back up to try again tomorrow! My gratitude knows no bounds, I feel gratitude in the depths of my soul for EVERYONE who has helped in the past, those who are helping now, those who have donated something (whether it was time, money, supplies, hats, journals, inspiration or just a shoulder to lean on) and those who continue to support me in my never ending quest to give something back and give sunshine to those who so desperately need it in their lives! <3 Go to my contact me page if you wish to join us on our journey!! Until my next update may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within...<3

Preparing for our donation.

Good evening all! It always seems to me that after Halloween, the holidays just sneak up and whacks me in the head, to state unequivocally that I am OUT OF TIME!!! Seriously though, time seems to move faster through that hour glass every year that I get older. It calls to mind a song by Kenny Chesney "Don't Blink" and all the lyrics that go along with it. When you are young, time seems to move slowly and you "can't wait" to turn a certain age, to do certain things and before you know it, your babies are grown and moved away and perhaps having babies of their own. Yes, I sit and think of how quickly time is moving and I look back on my life and ask myself (as I am sure we all do), Where did the time go? I hope and pray that my children take the time to appreciate life and all it has to offer and truly enjoy the little moment's that all too soon become a memory in the pages of Life's scrapbook.

The time is fast approaching in which I donate our hats and journals to MD Anderson and Cardon Children's Hospital, and I am busily trying to get as many hats and journals made as possible before that time. I have made three hats this weekend, but still have not completed any journals yet. I'm hoping to cover the notebooks that I have next weekend and hopefully(fingers crossed), my sister can come for a weekend of Journey Journaling creation in the next couple of weekends. So on with the pictures of the latest additions. This ladies Silver Sparkle beret, was the never ~ ending beret!  LOL I thought I was going to be working on it forever, and it did take me a week to finish! The pattern can be found over at Yarnspirations.

I did make a few adjustments to the pattern, but I always seem to do that anyway. :) The next hat is a man's fall themed striped beanie. I found this pattern over at The Laughing Willow and the stitch is called a camel stitch. It was very easy to make and I love just the touch of fall color mixed with the chocolate brown of the hat.

And lastly is the cutest hat EVER!! Prepare to have cuteness overload, because this hat is that! This is a "pinspiration" only, so a picture and my own imagination. Now when I got the basic hat made, I feared it would not meet my standards because I put the "icing" too far down on the hat, but it turned out WAY better than my expectations! A little girl's gingerbread hat....What do you think?

I am working on another hat, and tried really hard to get it finished for this update, but the hands and wrists said enough and I put it down for the evening. I only have a top hat to make for it, but I cannot see black yarn in the evenings at all, so must wait to make his top hat for another day.

Oh my goodness, I almost totally forgot to put this in here! I have these cards that I will be attaching to each hat with a ribbon before donating them. I will be putting the person's first name on it that created the hat to let the patient's know who made it. My wonderful hubby created these for me after I only mentioned I was playing with the idea in my head (he is so good to me)! The printing of these cards was donated by someone he used to work for, a kindness that does NOT go unnoticed (a thank you card will be making it's way to him soon).  They are very simple, but I don't want to take away from the beauty of the hat or act of kindness itself.

I hope this finds you all in good health, wonderful spirits and preparing for Thanksgiving with much anticipation of good food and good times with family and friends. Until my next update, may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within..... <3