Baby~Take A Bow~

Hmmmm..

Don't you love words that

can be pronounced two ways?
Like sewer (she sews)
and sewer
(the toilet drain)...;>)

Am I saying

BOW or BOW?

Give up?

Well, I don't want y'all

BOWING down

so I guess I will show

you how to make a

SweetCheeks

BOW.

I think I am going to have

to do two little "how-to's"

cuz there are different kinds

of bows.

I'll start with a simple one..

and you gals that love your glue guns

will like this one.

I usually sew my own onto the

clip but you can hot glue them too.

I am just not the greatest with

a hot glue gun.

I have burned myself so badly,
so many times,

that I am surprised the skin grew back...

but that's just me.

You glue-gunners go for it.

Sometimes I let the kids

pick the colors..

When I am feeling all

Nana-ish and jovial.

Sometimes I just grab the

ribbon basket and go for it..
and hope they likes what
they gets~

For this bow

you will need two co-ordinating ribbons

(or not !;>)

You simply cut a the first piece of
ribbon twice as long as you want each
side to be -plus add an inch for overlap.
This one is about 11-1/2" long
(I use the edge of a piece of copier paper
as a rough guide)
Then you simply fold the sides in

and it will form two loops
and overlap the back about an inch.
If you are a perfectionist you can measure
to make sure you have them equal.

You are overlapping now
and will hide the raw edges under the bottom.

I thread a needle and take

good sturdy string and

sew two or three running stitches

right through the middle.

Then pull the thread tight so it

gathers the ribbon a bit

and wrap the thread around

two or three times.

Put a stitch up and down through

the layers so it holds and

cut the thread.

Cut the next piece of ribbon

about 2" longer.

Repeat the above process.

You will now have two

looped pieces.
(total of 4 loops)

Layer them one on top of the

other and take your threaded

needle from the bottom

of the first "bow" up

through the center of the

second "bow". 

Wrap the thread around them

three or four times

together to secure them.

Take a stitch thru the center

to secure it and tie it off.

Snip thread.
(or you can glue gun them
together but it is kind of a mess
to hold it till it catches and then
you have those stinking glue
"strings" flitting all over)

Cut a piece of ribbon

about 4" long.

Sometimes I cut a 4" piece of

each ribbon and tie them together.

Tie a loose knot.

Just one hand-over-hand tie.

Don't pull it too tight..
you want it to look like the one below.

Lay the tied piece over the

center of the bow.

Turn it over and cut it so

it just fits around the middle.

At this point you can sew

the ends together

on the backside of the bow

or..

you can HOT GLUE IT.

From that point you can

HOT GLUE it onto

the spring clip backing.
Ta-dah-
That's it.
The first one will make you
feel really clumsy.
By the third or fourth one you will
find a rhythm and have it
down in no time.

You can buy the barrette backings

at any craft store.

I'll post a picture of the ones I use

tomorrow-I forgot to take that shot

tonight.

They have small, medium & large ones.

Buy the medium ones unless

the kid has horse hair!;>)
OR
unless you live in the
SOUTH
Cuz SweetTea told me in
the comments yesterday that
they wear them as big as their
heads down South..
I say - SHOW ME!

The small ones are too skimpy-

unless it's for a baby-

and the heavy duty ones are

too long and you have to make

a huge bow to cover it.
(Perfect if you live down South, I guess)

That's it...just a few stitches.

Now-if you are very good

and promise not to tie ribbons

on your cat's tail

tomorrow I will show you how to

make

THIS KIND OF BOW!

That is REAL ribbon-

Not curly ribbon from the gift wrap

department.

I'll show you HOW to make

your very own ribbon curl!

Get your baking sheets ready~

WH-AT?

Bow Hunting-For Deer-er I Mean Dears~

Where are the bows?

Are there any bows left, Nana?

I make bows!

Every year before school starts,

I make bows...

Lots of bows...

By the end of the school year,

the bows

(those that we can still find)

are looking pretty dismal.

It is August.

Soon-

All too soon-

It will be September.

My granddaughters have been

known at school

as

The Girls With The Bows.

Not a bad thing to be

known for, I guess.

Better than

the girls with dirty socks,

or the girls that don't brush their

teeth-

They have been

The Girls With The Bows.

Lulu has worn them..

Ria has worn them...

And SweetCheeks started

wearing them

early on.

And wears them resting...

or taking a lesson..

or playing on the beach..

I love to see them with

their bows..

but know that the day

will come when the older

girls probably won't wear

them anymore.

I hope that doesn't happen yet.

There is just something

sweet and innocent about a

girl with a bow.

I will show you what I made

the other day after work.

It took about 3 hours to

put this many together..

but I putzed a bit..

I could have made them faster.

Now..

Here's the deal...

Tomorrow I will give you

a short tutorial on

bow making.

Even if you can't sew a stitch

you can make a bow.

I promise.

Here's a little

preview~

Whaddya mean it's a mess?

Better?

Abracadabra

Roll Rewound..

Y'all come back now, you hear?

You'll be bow hunting in no time!

All you late comers have through the weekend

to sign up for my little giveaway.

Why? 

Well, because the

Princess That Draws Names

won't be here until Monday.

You do remember HER

don't you?

Sign up HERE.

A Landscaping Solution

Those that follow my blog

know that I live on the

Bay of Green Bay..

-where the

Fox River feeds into

Lake Michigan.

We live right where the words

Green Bay are printed on the map.

When I talk about driving

across the Peninsula

I am talking about driving to Algoma.

Anyway-that is where we live

and rehabbed this house.

We have a big lot,

and have been slowly

landscaping it.

The first thing we did was

build a berm to give our

back yard some privacy..

and we put up fencing.

Please ignore the weeds..

It has been a hot, busy summer..

and child labor laws

prevent me from making the

grandkids pull weeds.

(I checked)

One side has huge old

pine trees that I love...

and we have three

trees stationed like soldiers

along the waterfront.

But it needs

SOMETHING...

and I've been pouring over

books and magazines since

we moved in.

Would you believe there is

not much out there on landscaping

a waterfront property?

One of the

"problems"

(if living on the waterfront

can really BE a problem)

is that when you

landscape you want

it to be beautiful to look at

but it has to be low

enough so that it doesn't

interfere with the view from

the house and upper yard.

No easy feat!

Just when I was ready to

give up-I found it!

Something that is do-able

and won't cost a fortune.

Ready?

Look at this beauty..

Now I will say that our house

looks NOTHING like this one.

Ours is much more

Midwestern looking-

a tad more traditional..

but this landscape..

Oh My!

Wait- what is that noise?

Oh- It is MyHero reading over

my shoulder and groaning...

Buck up, buddy-

Get busy and it will be done

before you know it.

What do you mean

that is

MY JOB?

Hmmm...maybe I should have

married a landscaper?

just sayin......

Don't forget to sign up
for my
GIVEAWAY HERE



A Walk In The Park-Or Somethng~

I left work on time

for a change.

We have to park in an

outlot and catch a

transport bus in to work
and back to our car after work.

After braving the heat
of late mid day ,
and leaving the
big red bus
(yes we ride to our cars
in a big red bus)
I got in my car,

plugged my cell phone

into its holder and

it rang.

Whut arhe yohu doin', Nana?

Hmmm...

This may be a trick...

Uh...Why?

Wehll, we arhe going to the

parhk if you wanna go.

Meet you there!

Oh- Look-

It's a hanger..

And if this one is down..

Then this one MUST be up...

Hey- Where are YOU going?

I gonna go up hehre, Nana

an' I gonna siht in the middle..

Shoffve ovah guys!

And look at those feet!!!!

We hear SweetCheeks

calling for a push on the swings.

What we don't know is

WHO is actually pushing her..

Hmmmm..

this won't last long.

We have something else to occupy our time.

We have discovered the joy of spitting.

Hey-Ria-Thiss iss fuhn..

Trhy it..

Trhy spitthing..

Great-

How lady-like and cute.

Seriously,

Did she say

 THANK YOHU

for that comment?

(eye rolling)

Time to go..

Wait a minute..

Wait a minute..

WAIT A MINUTE!

Where's my Starbucks

cup of iced latte?

Ahhhhh~

Don't forget to sign up
for my
GIVEAWAY HERE

Remember Mikey and LIFE cereal?

Well this is NOT

that MIKEY!

This Mikey has a

whole different sense of

taste!

I just got my

Romantic Homes magazine

and LOOK WHO is

hiding in the pages..

with a nod on the front cover too.

Here's just a bit of the

article they did on him.

You need to go get the

magazine and/or

better yet...

Go visit Mikey Fuller at

Shabby French Cottage.

He has a great blog

and you will love seeing

everything he has accomplished.

There was another blog

that got a

little promo too.

I love her blog and

have followed it for a long time.

Look at this-

Amy & Maison Decor

does just a beautiful job

with everything she touches.

You can find her here!

Now go visit-'kay?

Welll...

That WAS your personal

invitation- Scat!

ps...don't forget about
my giveaway..
you can sign up here...

The Truth-The Whole Truth- (Painful As It Is)

I have learned that

I need to have my

camera with me at

ALL TIMES

if I want to catch

SweetCheeks' "tricks".

Even in the bathroom.

Even in the bathtub area.

When the girls stay overnight

I get up early and make

them

Three Bears Cereal 

make them brush their teeth,

and have them get dressed.

Then,

and only then,

I go to the bathroom

to take my shower,

brush my teeth and run

a brush through this mop

I call hair.

Stepping out and drying off,

I spot this...

I ask-

Who's there?

The door cracks open

a bit wider.

Guess who?

What are you doing?

I want to know.

I'm juss' whatching yohu, Nana..

I seen yohu like thaht

 beforah, yohu know!

Yes! I know!

Nana?

Yes, honey?

You knhow whut?

What?

Yohu luuk a lot bettah

wiffth yohurh clothes on.

Thank you!(sarcastically)

Yohr'er wehlcome (sincerely)

Lord, I think I am finally getting it.

Remember the generation that

said kids were to be seen

and not heard?

Yeah...

NOW I get it!

So....How did YOUR day start?

Don't forget about my giveaway..
You can find it here~
5 days left.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

That was a song...

Anyone remember it?

I think I heard

Kris Kristofferson sing it

-back in the day-

Anyway...

My Sunday morning started

out quiet.

I had the house to myself

and took my self across

the Peninsula to ride

the lakeshore,

It was hot here and

hot there.

But the clouds were spectacular.

The cell phone means

that I am never too far away

from work....

or family....

Dast I answer it?

Can we cohme to yohu house, Nana?

Never mind that I am 40 miles from home

I'm a sucker for that little voice.

Yep...I have to stop at the grocery

store and then you can come to

my house.

Remember the

mini-kiddy-pool

in the backyard?

I fill it with cold, cold water.

The temps are high 80's here.

We don't get a lot of these days.

Jump in and cool off!

SweetCheeks has a woe-be-gone

look on her face.

Whatever is the matter,

SweetCheeks?

I cahn't swhim there.

Why not?

Cuz there is

NO LIFEGUHARD

on duty.

Seriously, who is raising this

kid?  Where DOES she

come up with this stuff?

At four years old I don't think

I knew there WAS such a thing

as a "swimming pool"

if you wanna call this a

"swimming pool"..

and this kid knows about

life guards?

Jump in-kiddo-

If your face goes under

I'll save you.

Hey, Nanny,

(everyone else calls me Nana-

not SweetCheeks-I am

Nanny all the way)

Can you make us

octopus on the rocks

for dinner?

My pleasure.

It starts here...

And involves some cutting.

(that is SweetCheeks finger there

holding a chip in her hand-

I do NOT have 6" fingernails)

And ends here

with ketchup dots for eyes and mouth.

Now what's the matter?

I dohn't like thiss onhe cuz

hims tohnge iss stickhing out.

Oh my Lord in Heaven,

please protect this child

from her other

"normal" grandparents-

 I think that's where she

is headed tomorrow.

I just have a couple words

for them...

Good Luck  & God Bless

Amen.

Hey- Don't forget about my
little giveaway~