Happy Halloween!!

Well, I have a really scary picture of myself from 1976 with a shag haircut that would've scared the pants right off of ya, but decided to share this one, circa 1972, instead! Wouldn't want to run off my faithful few (although this one could very well do it anyway).....





On the back of this, my mother wrote "Halloween! She's a lady from India - The "Hope" Diamond is a spare droplet from a chandelier"

First off, I love how she said "a" chandelier...did we have more than one chandelier to have said "a" and not "the"...that's just too funny...surely we must have. We were rich in chandeliers at that house. They matched that funky wallpaper that was oh so tres chic at the time.

Secondly...I didn't care that much about the droplet because HELLO I had on MAKEUP!!
At EIGHT years of age!!! LIPSTICK!! And a LOT of it!! I was HOT STUFF!!

Gosh, my face probably hasn't seen that much makeup in all of the years since then, put together! (on second thought, there was a slightly blurry time in my teenage years that may have seen a little lip gloss...it was shiny and drippy and smelled like bubble gum and I went through about a tube of it a week...but except for that, barely any at all)

Halloween is FUN! Oh Yes!

Hope you all have a day full of treats and doing something fun :)

me me'd and tagged

I have to admit that I am the world's worst at playing along when being tagged by another blogger. It just takes me forever, if ever, to get around to doing my part.
Thankfully,some nice peeps don't give up on me and brighten my day anyway.

SO...earlier in the month, Melissa, Michelle, and Carol gave me this award:



Thanks to you three, because you all make me smile and I love to read your blogs!
Now, I'm not sure how many people I'm supposed to tag with this, but since it's so late in the game, guess the rules don't matter anyway(and some of these people don't even know me, lol). So here are just some people who bring a smile to my face:

Nancy because she's always been so faithful to leave a nice comment on my posts and because she's got such a sweet spirit that comes through in everything she does.
Ree because she's just so funny and her recipes are to die for.
Suze because she's funny and she likes dragonflies!
Michelle she likes making yo-yo's, and also, because she's funny (do you see a pattern here?

Well, there are lots more, but I'm running short on time, so there it is.

Nancy tagged me for a "me me", which was to tell seven things about myself.

Golly, I hope you all can contain your excitement when you read these doozies: I tried to list things you may not already know (although I'm pretty transparent, so whatever)

1. I don't like cooked fruit but love peach cobbler and apple cobbler and will eat everything in them except the fruit. And especially if it's hot with a scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream on top.

2. I am a hand cream junkie (almost said whore, what's that all about?). I love hand creams and lotions and am always looking out for the next best one. Right now I'm stuck on L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream And also, their foot cream. Best stuff ever, trust me. Oh yes, I'm hopeless when it comes to most lotions.

3. This forty something, fluffy (ahem),white girl can totally enjoy herself some
Kayne
and some Shaggy
Yes, that's Rap and Reggae, respectively. Plus, I love Shaggy, I just do. He's just all that and more. I would marry him if it was possible to do it and not hurt my current husband's feelings, not to mention illegal. (Jeff, if you're reading this....Honey, you my #1).


4. I can curse like a sailor (some say better) and often do. (I can just hear the collective gasping that you all are doing right now). Well, it's just the truth and
I've always said, every curse word I know I learned from my mother. This doesn't mean we're not visions of lady-like loveliness, don't get me wrong. But under the right circumstances, a few choice curse words really get the job done!

5. I'm an ex-smoker. (is that more gasping I hear?)Most people I tell this to absolutely do not believe me because I don't "look like a smoker". Well, it's so true, I started smoking part time when I was thirteen (yep, thanks again Mom), full time at 16 and by the time I quit at age 23, was smoking two packs a day. I never do anything half-heartedly! But hey, it's been 20 years since I quit...the smoking and the cursing was just too much, lol!

6. I got married when I was 17 1/2 after knowing the man for a total of a month and a half prior to our wedding. And the first two weeks of that I wouldn't have anything to do with him. We celebrated 25 years of wedded bliss last February.

7. I like Pugs. A. Lot. The reason I'm telling you this, again, is because HELLO. We are cat people (without a cat)!!

Oh my gosh, I feel certain all of this is just TMI, but I'm going to hit the publish button anyway and will try and post again soon so this post will move down the page some.

Stay tuned for stitching progress pics and what was in the fryin' pan this week!

cold snap

Aww, finally having a cold spell here, feels so good! Bet it doesn't last, Texas weather doesn't stay one way or the other for very long. I enjoyed putting on my Pug socks someone had given me and my long pants to go to work, lol! Even though that is the best thing about summer (to me), just slipping on sandals and going!

Stitching wise, I haven't gotten much done, just all over the place because of problems with my shoulder and hands and not being able to stitch for very long. Working on a couple of different things, will show some progress pics later in the week when I have time to get out the camera.

Here's something for you to look at though ;)




It's an old Twisted Threads design, appropriately named Strawberries, if I recall correctly. Stitched over one on 32 ct. I just recently put it in this hanging tuck pillow that I'd bought from Tobie and it's now hanging off of a knob on my china cabinet in the dining room.

All of the prizes from my drawing went out last week, so hopefully everyone has gotten them by now, or will very soon. I have heard from KsMaryLou that hers arrived, which is a good thing! Thanks for letting me know ML!

We have new living room furniture arriving on Wednesday, I'm so excited! The tables have display space in them, if that makes sense. The tops are glass and then you can open up the area below to put things in that you want to display. Guess what's going in most of them? LOL! I told DH he gets ONE of the end tables for his stuff and the other two tables are for me!
That's fair, right? Once I get them loaded up and arranged, I'll post some pics.

a prize, or three

Thank you all so much for the Happy Blogiversary wishes! You are all just too sweet!

The big hairy arm you see below belongs to my DH. I asked him to draw the name for me. He's a good person to draw because he's very fair and impartial! He thought the basket was too small, so he put all of the names into another bowl first, to shake them all up, put them back into the basket to draw.



So the first name he took out of the basket was: Teresa! Congratulations Teresa, you get first pick! (I think that would be the black cat ornament if I read your comment right).

And I saw "first name" because....I'm a big ol' softie and just decided to give away all three of the ornaments because you all are so nice and I hate for anyone to feel left out! I just wish there were more than three to give away!

The second name out of the basket was KsMaryLou, who doesn't have a blog so I can't make a link for her, but she gets to chose between the jack-o-lantern and the witch.

And the third name drawn was Monique!



If you gals will email me (deepfriedcupcake at hotmail dot com), and give me your mailing address, I will get these in the mail right away! I had fun stitching these and hope you will enjoy them too.

Thanks to everyone for playing along! I had fun doing this and enjoyed hearing from you all!

one year (and a prize!)

So now it's been one whole year since starting this version of my blog. It's really not easy sometimes to keep it going because blogging just goes against my nature, generally speaking. I'm not *that* into sharing very much of my personal stuff, I do however, have an only child syndrome of wanting to always say, "look at what I did or made"..kinda like show and tell. And then of course (since I'm this freak), I feel silly, exposed and vulnerable! I know, it's just a silly blog you say. It's true.
So! Thanks for putting up with me, is all I'm sayin'. Thanks for checking me out, looking at my pretties and saying nice things.

To celebrate being here one whole year I'm having giving someone a prize! From now through Sunday, Oct. 14, everyone that leaves a comment on this post will have their name put in a basket for a drawing for one of these:



YOU GET TO PICK!! Whichever one you want :) I will draw the name on Monday morning and post the winner then, and that person can tell me which one they would like to have.

These are from the Birds of a Feather chart pack called Halloween Icons. It was an older chart, but they re-released it not too long ago, as a kit with fabric. I stitched them up this past week and just today, sewed them into ornaments.

Now, keep in mind, I am not an "excellent" sewer. Still getting to know my sewing machine and learning the basics. So these are not "perfect" but like me, they have character, lol! Hopefully whoever ends up with one will not even notice little imperfections and just love it anyway.

Maybe this spooky kitty tickles you:



or this frightful jack-o-lantern:



or maybe you like this green faced wicked witch:



I did my best on all of these and backed them with colorful fabric and used black rick-rack for the hanging cord. The first two I did show the most "imperfections" in the finishing ahem but by the last one, I had it figured out, so it's the best looking one (the jack-o-lantern).

So if you'd like to celebrate with me, please leave a comment and I will enter you into the drawing. It doesn't matter if you've never commented before, or if you're close by in the States or far, far away, across the pond or the continent, you can participate! Let me hear from you now, don't wait until it's too late! I'm drawing on Monday :)

Thanks again everyone, and here's to another year of good friends, great designs to stitch, cupcakes to bake and Pugs to love.

monday monday

Well, I am back. It's Monday...not one of my most favorite of days, although it's always been Tuesday's that are the worst to me personally. Anyway, as is the norm for me, I now have a song stuck in my head....thanks to growing up listening to the Mamas and the Papas...

Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how could you leave and not take me.


So anyway. I posted this the other day but didn't care for the picture and was going to try and get another one, but the weekend and the weather didn't cooperate so it never happened. And so here's the same picture, which to me, is washed out because the sun was so bright when I took it...




This is the Birds of a Feather Peace Sampler that I finished a few months ago...back from the framer. At the time I took it in to be framed, the funky green frame was just soooo perfect for it, but now I'm not so sure. Oh well, a hundred dollars later, I'm not having it redone.

Oh, I have a "blog-iversary" (is that how you spell that?) coming up on Oct. 11, it will be one year since I started this version of my blog. SO...since that's pretty amazing for me, I'm thinking about having a little give away to celebrate...what do you think? Tune in on the 11th if you're interested.

hot fingers

That's what I had after ironing all of these prairie points for my quilt the other night. These little puppies are small and using a huge steam iron on tiny squares of fabric can be quite tricksy!



They are going around the outside edges of the quilt. You can see most of the Peas and Carrots line of fabrics here, although it will all show up better when you see the quilt top.



Well anyway, here's my finished Mermaid....finally got her all filled in!




This is an old Barrick Samplers design. I stitched it on 36 ct. Creme Brulee over two with one strand of DMC thread. She's headed to the framer today to get framed, and with glass, since she's going in the hall bath, which has a mermaid theme going on in it. Usually I don't add glass to my framed pieces, unless they're going in the kitchen or a bathroom.



That's all from here for now! I'll be back tomorrow with the sampler that I'm picking up from the framers today. You've seen it before, but not framed.
Have a good one!

for melissa

Almost titled this post "sweet Melissa", like the Allman Brothers song...(do you get that a lot Melissa, surely you do)? I am singing it now..."Lord, in his deepest dreams the gypsy flies....with sweet Melissa".....

Anyway, you'd posted on your blog about this sunflower sampler in a magazine you just got from a friend. Since I stitched it all those years ago, I about busted a gut to tell you about it and to show you.

So here it is, as promised! (click on image for eye popping larger version!)



Hey it's FRAMED too, just because that's how I roll, lol! Just kidding. It's one of the first things I ever had framed the right way, right before I went to work at the LNS that framed it. The owner was the best framer ever!



Anyway, guess it was completed in 1995 since that's the date on it. Pretty sure it was framed in 97. It hangs in our hallway, on the other side of the bathroom doorway and it's one of my all time favorites! I remember it contained some over one parts, in the middle of the sunflowers, my very first over one....I also recall that at the time, I didn't care for it but loved the look it gave the flowers.

So now that you've seen it up close and personal, you neeeeed to stitch it, (sweet Melissa) ;)

PS. Hi Leigh! I didn't know you'd found me, how have you been?...you need to email me!

PPS. Thank you all for your thoughts on deleting. I'm a big goofy boob most days but don't think I'll delete it like before (yes Sharon, you have a good memory...)

oh dear

To be honest, sometimes I think about deleting this blog. Not sure why I feel the need to tell ya'll that, but like Ree says, "just keepin' it real". Told my husband that (again, as it's an ongoing thought of mine) last night and he told me that he loves to look at it from work, makes him feel like he's home, when he's wishing he was but instead has to work to bring home the bacon.

And since we love the bacon here at Chez Cupcake, guess I'd better just leave it alone...keep the bacon maker happy and all that.

Melissa, your comment on my last post made me laugh, because I've often thought the very same thing....I need to spend less time looking at blogs (and flickr) and stitch more! Seeing so many beautiful finishes makes me want to work on a million things at once and then nothing gets done.

So I guess it's no help to post this finish then, ha. It's not a new one but it came back from Tobie last month after she made it into a pillow for me and I just forgot to post it then.



This is Shepherd's Bush "Hive" and I stitched it on the recommended fabric with the threads and buttons it called for. It was a joy to stitch!



Thanks so much (again) for my few sweet peeps that leave me nice comments. Sometimes I'm discouraged with this blogging business, so it's nice to hear a kind word sometimes!

daisy sampler

All of my life daisies have been one of my favorite flowers.

Here is my Daisy Sampler, pictured here with it's fabric and pom-pom trim that will all come together as a pillow soon.



This little design by Country Cottage Needleworks was a lot of fun to stitch. I used 30 ct. Hog Wild Blue linen by R&R and only changed one of the colors, the daisies were supposed to be DMC white, but instead I used GA Oatmeal.



While I was sorting through some fabric for a quilt I'm making, one of the sqaures (from the charm pack), was this blue daisy fabric. I thought it was perfect for this piece. And I knew I wanted a pom-poms for the trim and found the perfect cream (not white) trim at Hancocks in the home decorating department where the trims, tassels, etc. are. They only had the white in the sewing trims area.



It's going to look perfect on top of my quilt, which is all from the Peas & Carrots line by Moda American Jane, such fun colors...can hardly wait to show you!