she's back...and she's got the pictures to prove it!

happy new year's eve! i had such a fun time with my family and friends over the christmas break in tejas!

christmas eve was spent doing our annual gift card exchange amongst my family, followed by an early christmas gift to my precious little cousins!

meet wilbur...

on christmas morning, my mom, aunt and cousins were tickled to receive their sanibel tote bags i stitched!

 i hope everyone has a great time welcoming 2013 tonight, and i can't wait for all that the year has in store for me!

mail time!

this week i received the third installment in the princess and me nativity club by what's the point? and he is precious! i think i'm going to pack a few of these guys for the car ride over the holidays...just in case i overdose on belt basketweave. they're a great travel size and everything is already laid out in the stitch guide!

magi #1

i hate to beat a dead horse...but join this club! it's so much fun!

petei santas!

remember when i obsessively stalked ebay for 32 hours won these adorable petei santas? i even went a step further and ordered one more, the whirling dervish santa. 

i gave the french knot a ring to order diana bosworth's precious stitch guides for them, and got the best package in the mail this week!

no stitch guide for celestial santa, but i have some ideas for him! my whirling dervish canvas just came last night, so these are both kitted up and ready to go! now the hard part will be, which to start first? 

more finishing!

i apologize for not including this little guy with the tote bags, but i didn't want him to have to compete for the spotlight. 

meet sir saint, back from the finishers!

this was a custom order that our local painter annie did for me, and he is just too cute!

i used mostly stash threads, with the addition of the beads. 

i just love him!

FAB finishing!

i received the fateful call from my lns this weekend telling me that my stitched holiday gifts were back from the finishers! 

cut to me...waiting promptly outside the shop at exactly 9:59 am to see my beauties!

i love LOVE (did i mention love?) these! special shout out to my homegirl vicky de angelis for introducing me to brenda hart's ribbon technique for the strap handles. girlfriend recently got some tote bag finishes back, found here and here. 

i might have gone a little overboard with the photo sesh...but tis the season right? here's round 2!

i'm so glad i stitched 2 of these for myself, there's no way i could part with all of them! i'm also glad that i forced myself to use different background stitches for each...it gives them their own personality and that extra special touch 

(especially those beaded crustaceans!)

if you haven't already stitched a million one of these for yourself or a loved one, do so immediately! 

you can see my journey with these cuties from start to finish here. 

diy inspiration

in my spare time when i'm not needlepointing, i like to search for creative and chic home decor ideas. one such project i've been gathering ideas on is a plate wall. 

via

via

via

i love all things vintage and antique, and dream of having an assortment of dishes splashed across a wall. i'm always on the lookout for little treasures, and found this beauty at an estate sale last weekend for $2. i love the delicate roses around the border, and that it has a story behind it. 

what do you do in your spare time (when you're not stitching)?

oops i did it again...

i didn't mean to, it was harmless really!

i was innocently minding my own business on ebay when these two fellows hopped into my cart...

celestial santa by petei

north pole santa by petei

example of stitched celestial santa 

source 

i've cut back significantly on purchasing new canvases, but with the petei line's future uncertain i just couldn't resist!  

evil, thy name is ebay.

a thanksgiving tablescape

belt work still continues, thank you for the encouragement! i'm learning to love this project more and more as i see progress. 

wanted to share a few pics of my thanksgiving tablescape!

my new little shabby chic turkey...love him!

i could not resist these precious salt and pepper shakers from pottery barn. me + pigs = lurve. 

my ceramic dinnerware by juliska in the berry and thread pattern. and a festive nod to new orleans with the napkin holders. 

enjoy your thanksgiving holiday! there is so much to be thankful for!

the collection is complete!

yesterday's mail brought me the final piece to my mackenzie-child stash collection, the third mini stocking!

as previously stated, these are the pride and joy of my stash, which almost makes me scared to stitch them! no pressure right?

have a fantastic weekend!

mail time!

look at this little lady that came in the mail this week!

these little canvases will be nice distractions from the eternal basketweave of the belt.

i just love all the fun colors on these!

a weekend finish!

remember this guy?

after ripping out both the thread and my hair, it was time to start over. 

the stage was set, and my batteries were re-charged. 

so this weekend i sat down and did it!

and i love it! the olive green memory thread was the perfect addition (thanks diana) and the beaded stars make it complete.

i really love how primitive it looks with the irregularly shaped stars. it's not the fanciest ornament ever, but it's a perfect representation of our historic water meters. and let's face it: a water meter isn't the most beautiful thing to behold anyways, so it should be a little primitive and gritty. 

i love starting off the week with a finish!

and because she looked so beautiful in her bow from the groomer's...

princess peanut!

a small finish!

after working on the stocking for so long, it's nice to once again start and finish a project all in the same week!

this is jbw designs' christmas bells.

again i apologize for the crappy lighting! the linen is white white i promise. 

back to the water meter ornament! 

look what came in the mail!

my santa that i ordered during pfos' brenda stofft trunk show arrived this week! complete with stitch suggestions and threads!

it is so precious and i can't wait to get started once i start on the 5 million other precious projects that are calling my name in le stash. i was also pleasantly surprised to learn that i have been enrolled in their stitchers anonymous program due to my frequent orders with the shop. with my membership, i received this gorgeous project bag!

it is the perfect size! i feel like a stitchy celebrity or something!

...or maybe it's just this grande-salted-caramel-hot-chocolate that i'm drinking. 

she's ba-ack...

we are back from sunny florida and trying to get back into our normal routine! the wedding was gorgeous and there were so many fun activities in palm beach...once i organize my pictures i will show you!

i had a small victory this weekend with the progress on my jbw christmas bells piece.

if you recall, it looked like this on thursday night...

i am loving this project and hope to have it finished up this week! 

a new start

here is my tiny new start that only has a few strands in so far, but hopefully after some serious plane time this weekend it will grow!

sorry for the craptastic picture, the linen is white white i promise! stitching this with the called-for WDW threads.

have a great weekend! i'll be in sunny florida if you need me!