State Teez

Hi Everyone,

Years ago while I was living in Chicago I was watching a Nebraska Husker game at a local Bar. A girl was wearing the coolest t-shirt with the state of Nebraska cut of out of awesome fabric appliqued to the front. I asked her where she got it and the next time I was in Lincoln I went and got one for myself!

The t-shirts are handmade by State Teez which is a Lincoln based company run by the very sweet Tiffany Olson.

She has an assortment of fabrics that she will cut the state out of and adhere to some really comfy tees. As you can see below she can also make a variety of other styles as well.

Tiffany had an open house a couple weeks ago and I purchased a long sleeve white t-shirt with wings and the state of Nebraska on the back, on the front it says BELIEVE. It was not appliqued, but painted and very different.

I also ordered a NE state tee that I am anxiously awaiting, I should have in time for the NE game next weekend, which I will watch in Chicago! Since I purchased two tees, she offered me my choice of a free one from her last year collection. This is the one I chose, it is a Peace sign with the word PLEASE underneath it:

If you are a College Footbal fan and you are looking for a unique and different t-shirt than all the ones you've seen before, check Tiffany's tees out!!

Rach

Slowly but surely preparing for Silver Bella

Hi Again,

I really need to get a MOVE on and actually complete something for my Recipe Pages Swap for Silver Bella! Starting Monday I am traveling like a mad woman for work, and won't have a lot of time to work on these. So I started really focusing on what will be on each page. I need to make 2 pages for each of the 8 participants. That is front and back for 2 different pages that will be 6x9. The colors the Swap Hostess choose are Chocolate, Creams, Golds, and touches of dark burgundy and dark greens.

I think I am pretty close to having everything I need, although I do need some paint or something to cover the chipboard that I am determined to cut tomorrow!

I thought I'd share my make-shift studio area in my room at my parents'. Since staying here in Nebraska with them while my Dad was going through his Bypass surgery, I have amassed some additional crafting supplies beyond what I came here with. Since I was tired of stepping over everything here in my room, I purchased this nifty organizer shelving from Target, along with the turquoise and red baskets. It is not quite organized completely, but it gets everything off the floor!!

My mom and I brought up a big table too so I have a work space for my actual WORK, and for crafting too.

Since I am putting my house in Denver on the market in the next week or two, I hope I don't have to move any of this stuff back there, but just to Omaha once I buy a new house there. Wish me luck!! I hope the market holds out long enough for me to sell my house at the lowest loss possible!!

Go economy GO!

Rach

A Nice Night for a Walk

Hello!!

I am so belated in updating my blog, my APOLOGIES! I am going to try and make up for it now. I was working a ton this week along with going to Las Vegas to visit a client's site so not much time to do much else but sit on a plane!

Tonight my parents and I took a walk over at our friends' golf course Grandpa's Woods. It was such a beautiful night, starting to feel a touch of fall in the air!!

Here are what we like to call the Bridges of Cass County :)

The moss over the little ponds was really cool.

Isn't this such a serene view?

After our walk we chatted with Rex and Donna the owners of Grandpa's Woods and enjoyed the evening.

Hoping everyone is having a great weekend!

Rach

SPARK!

Hello Ladies,

I am so excited to share with you the FUN event that I signed up for today. SPARK!

It is Nov 6-7th. I am really looking forward to visiting Salt Lake City, I've never been. The event looks like it'll be a great mix of activities, from photography, mixed media journal/book class, a jewelry class, and a fabric sewing class!! There will be goodies both days and the following speaker that I copied over from the SPARK website!

Amazing Keynote Speaker:

Cassandra Barney. a woman artist who speaks to our creative souls! We are sure she will Spark our creative spirits!

Let me know if anyone else wants to go!! I know that it is just the weekend before Silver Bella, but hey, there is nothing that says more creativity is a bad thing!!

Ciao,

Rach

Blueberry Pancake Goodness

I'm trying to use up every last minute of the weekend! Another Monday, and a busy week to come.

I have yet to leave my parents since my Dad's Bypass surgery, but this week begins a few months of travel nearly every week for work. This week a day in Vegas with a day of travel back and forth to get there. Luckily my boys are going to hang out here in Nebraska with my parents and terrorize the plants.

Today my Dad decided it was a good day for a PANCAKE LUNCH. Does anyone else have Pancakes for lunch, or better yet Dinner?? Also who says Dinner for Lunch and Supper for the evening meal?? I say Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. My parents say Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper. I'll tell you it has caused some confusion and missed meals because of it!! Now I know to distinguish and confirm!!

Anyhoo, we mixed up a batch with the new Heart Healthy Bisquick mix, along with some VERY tasty Blueberries, which are sooooo good for you.

We used a little PAM on the griddle, and let them bubble up.

We are using Smart Balance butter spread now since my Dad's Cardiac Arrest, and we melted it with some maple syrup which made a nice drizzle on top of the pancakes. Mmmmm goodness.

Here's to a good week!

Rach

Taz hits the MOTHER LOAD

Visited the kittens again tonight. Again TAZ was the only one to get near me, he was a little hesitant at first.

First I put a little food right in front of where he was hiding. He came out to eat a little, here he looks like he is sticking his tongue out at me!!!

Then he was curious and hungry enough to hit the MOTHER LOAD of cat food.

It is always fun to see a kitten crawl inside a bag of food and go to town.

It was a nice cool evening here, felt like FALL, which I love. Football weather!

Goodnight!

Rach

Quilts are Cat Magnets

Have you ever noticed that Quilts are Cat Magnets? You just lay one down and in two seconds your cat is ON it! My mom has to keep my boys away while she quilts her customer quilts, or they'd be on them all the time. The perils of having us stay for awhile!

I bought this lovely bow tie feedsack quilt off of ebay a couple weeks ago. It looks so much like one that I made while I was in high school that I love, so I had to get it. It is in fabulous condition, and the colors and fabrics are amazing. The bow ties are set a little differently than the one I made, and there is a polka dot border on this one that I adore.

Harley decided to lay all over it this morning while I was working on my bed...unmade, oops...he was loving the quilted comfort!

In other cat-related news, MaGraw has found a new favorite spot on the ironing board...now if I could just get him to work on my skirts and shirts.....

Happy Weekend,

Rach

What's Been Keeping Me??

I didn't have a successful blogging week. HOWEVER I do have a good excuse. Check out this little guy! One of my parent's mama cats had kittens, well a couple of them did. But these kitties are small enough we can try and catch them to tame them down a bit so we can find them homes perhaps.

We took food down to the barn where the kittens are hiding, they are actually under it. If you look close you can see his eyes and white fur......

This little guy was the bravest of the bunch, and was coaxed out with a wire string, then went nuts over the pan of CatChow we provided.

I didn't have a camera the first night which was a bummer. We named this guy TAZ, when he sat in the pan of food eating his siblings tried to eat too and the growling noises and frantic moves he made to "claim" all the food were hilarious and it reminded me of the Tazmanian Devil.

I was able to hold Taz about each night this week after luring him out with a string or food. He has a muddy nose, and a voracious appetite! He actually likes being petted, and even rolled over for a tummy rub after he understood what a nice deal that is!

How can anyone not fall in love with a kitten??

Hug your pets or GO ADOPT A HOMELESS ONE!!

Rach

Year of Tags Swap continued...

Hi there -

Hope everyone had a fun weekend and now ready for the week!

My niece Allie and I ran some Year of Tags Swap errands today. A quick trip to Office Depot for some binder rings, SUCH a better deal than the "craft" binder rings from Michael's or Mangelsons for sure!! Then we stopped at Michael's for a punch to make these cute little guys. I won't say what these will be used for so as not to ruin any Silver Bella surprises!

Did everyone see the announcement for the Mary Engelbreit Spring Workshops in St Louis next April?? Anyone in?? I would love love love to go!

Happy Week,

Rach

The Rebecca Sower Journal Has ARRIVED!

Hi Everyone,

I was so excited to open this package the other day! I won the Handcrafted ART Journal from Recebba Sower's Blog last week and was thrilled. Take a look out how cool this is!!

Today I stopped at Hobby Lobby with my niece Allie. I had to pick up some more tags to finish my front and back covers for my Year of Tags swap for Silver Bella. I have three steps done on all of the covers, so now just need to decide what more I'd like to add. I MUST get these done so I can move onto the Recipe Swap I am in!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I'll post photos of the cool tee I bought today for tomorrow's post.

Night

Rach

The First Tooth is OUT!

Allie just turned 8 and her first tooth FINALLY came out!
She is loving using straws right now so she can fit it through the new opening where her front tooth once was!!

And another tooth is loose! Oh my!

Happy Weekend!

Rach

Happy Birthday Dad!

We celebrated my Dad's birthday, which was yesterday, Tuesday evening with a Coca-Cola Cake I made by request. Little did we know it'd be like eating a stick 'o' butter. We fed a lot of it to my Dad's two friends last night that came to mow the acreage for my parents. A little goes a long way I should say!

My brother Travis and niece Allie came out to enjoy a piece of cake with us. Allie enjoyed eating the candy letters and helping light the candles. The candles were something new I hadn't seen before, the flames were the color of the candle. The blue flames were cool.

It was great to have my Dad home from the hospital in time for his birthday! What a thing to celebrate now that he is on his way to a great recovery!

Hugs,

Rach

Winner of My Giveaway!!

Hello Everyone,

As I posted yesterday, here is the finished product of my stichy notecard! And drumroll please..........drumdrumdrumdrum......The Winner is Sheila!! Sheila, please send me your address and I will write a little note and send this card along to you! Thanks for all your comments!

I thought I would also share how my little guys assist with my blogging, and also my day job! They are big helpers!!

Happy Crafting/Blogging!

Rach

I am a WINNER!!! So exciting!

Hello!

I was so surprised and excited when I saw my inbox, and there was a note from Rebecca Sower! Yes, the Rebecca Sower, the one I have blogged about here. The one and only that I took my embroidery class from at Silver Bella last fall! I had signed up for her latest Giveaway of a beautiful handmade ART JOURNAL, and I WON!! I can't believe I was so fortunate out of 309 entries, I was selected!

I can't wait to get my hot little hands on that journal! You know I've been trying to get one started after purchasing a little one from evalicious at etsy, putting together one with art paper, and even buying a make your own book kit from Dick Blick's! I apparently need more inspiration, and I am guessing the journal from Rebecca will do the trick!

In other Giveaway news! I am two stiches away from drawing for my giveaway of the cute stiched greeting card to be sent to one lucky winner. You'll see it and the winner tomorrow!!

Happy Crafting,

Rach

Go Big Red!

Where did the weekend go??  I can't believe tomorrow is Monday.  I need more weekend!!

No crafting today.  I ran into Lincoln and did some errands today, one of which was stopping at Barnes and Noble to pick up the new Somerset Life edition, the Artful Blogging, and a couple other mags to inspire me.

I had to post the above PEZ picture to inspire Fall to get here!!  I can't wait for Nebraska Husker Football, and the cooler weather it brings.  I also love PEZ, so I couldn't resist picking this dispenser up!  

What are you most looking forward to with Fall?

Have a great week,

Rach

Saturday Creations

Hey Y'all -

Today I hung out with my dad watching some of his birthday DVD's.  James Taylor, a couple Simon and Garfunkel, and a Crossroads with Eric Clapton.  We also watch Hotel for Dogs, which is such a cute, albeit predictable, movie.  

During our music/movie-athon, I created a few fun felt and yo-yo goodies.  I decided to try a pattern of my own for the flowers.  

I love using felt, and wanted to incorporate yo-yo's made from some feedsacks.  Also, my mom brought out her box of fun buttons, and I have used some of those too!

Then I decided that I wanted to make a yo-yo brooch to wear with plain tee's and tank tops.  Again I used some of my feedsacks that I just got from etsy and ebay.  The below 3 yo-yo brooch is attached together and mounted on a piece of felt to hold it together.

I started making a few more things, but I didn't finish them....so that'll be for tomorrow!

Happy Crafting,

Rach

Pretty Packaging!

Happy Hump day,

The week seems like it has lasted forever, but also chugging along.  Today we spent the day again at the hospital with my Dad.  His improvement is always great to see when we walk into the room in the morning and he is looking better and better.  We hope he is ready to come home on Friday.  He will be wearing his LifeVest probably at least another month, to protect him if he'd have another cardiac arrest, which is very unlikely, but SAFETY FIRST!!  His heart needs to recover, heal and get stronger.  I know it will in time.

More packages arrived today due to my etsy binge last weekend.  I haven't had a chance to take pics of the wonderful feedsack fabrics I purchased, but do have a pic from the Monday arrivals to share.

I ordered this cute little pocket mirror that says "Keep Calm and Carry On."  It is very appropriate for our lives right now.  The mirror is cute, but what adds to the charm is the adorable packaging from Oh, Hello friend.  Her etsy shop is  HERE.

Happy Crafting!

Rach

White, Chocolate, or Angel Food?

Hi Everyone,

Tonight I thought I'd share another one of my etsy finds!!  This magnificent vintage Cake Carrier!!  Isn't is super cool??  I can't wait to make a cake and carry it around the kitchen in it ;)

My Dad's 58th birthday is next week and he should be resting at home from the hospital by then so we'll use it then to help celebrate his birthday and recovery!!

I found this carrier at a very cool shop jenfurmishel at etsy.  Sorry I don't have the link, Etsy is down right now, and I HAVE to get some sleep!

What was so nice about the packaging that Jen put together was she had a fun purple material under the clear tape on the outside of the package on four sides.  So not only was it a colorful package, once opened I have some fun pieces of fabric to play with!!  Also she included a nice handwritten thank you for purchasing from her store! 

 Aren't handwritten notes the best??  Even better getting one for SHOPPING!!  I have received notes a few times from Nordstroms too, they are such a stellar store for great customer service!

Hope everyone had a good day.  My Dad is improving,  very happy to be on the otherside of this surgery and working towards coming home hopefully this weekend.

Hugs,

Rach

Blogging for Bliss

Hi Everyone! 

Happy Blogging for Bliss Day!  I hope everyone enjoys their stop by my blog.  I just want to share a few thoughts on why I began a blog, why I continue to update my blog, and what I've accomplished through blogging and one more thing...what I want to accomplish in the future!!

I was introduced to blogging when I attending the Silver Bella event in Omaha last fall.  I met some wonderful girls; Ali, Kara, and Sheila. (Pictured above Kara, me, Sheila and Ali!) Each had their own blog, and wow! how can you not be inspired by women like this??  Women I am fortunate to now call my friends.  So I didn't jump into the blog world right away....no no no, I waited, and waited until I had FREE TIME!! Yea Right, like that ever happens!  I just decided to do it finally this summer after I took my house off the market.  I decided to pull out all my crafting supplies and put together a studio room, and what better way to document it than a blog, and thus Rach-ology was created.

I continue to blog, because it motivates me, inspires me, reminds me to take a little bit of time to be creative and use my hands to create something of beauty to me each and everyday if possible :)

I've been able to accomplish a number of finished projects, check out my archives to see them!  One thing I didn't necessarily realize starting this blog is that the blog world is a large but small tight knit group!  We all are drawn into other bloggers' blogs that share similar interests.  Being able to bond, if only over blogging is such a gift.  Where else can you go and find so many amazing people that have the same interests??  And that are all so supportive of not only your crafts, projects, and etsy purchases, but all else in your life that you choose to share!  It often reaffirms my faith in people, it shows they really do care for the happiness of others, even those they've never met.   

And finally what do I want to accomplish in the future??  The million dollar question!  I want to continue to work on projects, gathering inspiration from all those bloggers out there, and hone in on my style and what projects interest me the most.  Right now I am trying a little bit of everything, from felt flowers, to paper crafts, to art journals, to soldering, stichery, etc.  I love having the variety, but want to develop something that is just me, just Rach-ology!  Until then....my random off the wall projects and blogging will continue!!

Thanks for stopping by!  Please leave a comment on what inspires you the most to blog!

Happy Blogging!!

Rach

etsy Purchases and LONG DAY!

Hi Everyone,

First and foremost, THANK YOU for all your thoughts and prayers.  Today was a very long day full of anxiety for everyone, but we all made it through.  My Dad had a 6-bypass surgery, and did great through the surgery, and was resting as comfortably as possible after a surgery of that magnitude when we came home to sleep tonight, which I should be doing NOW!  However, I need a little unwinding time, so thought I would update my blog.

A nice treat when I got home were some packages!!  I purchased the most adorable Toothman from Kimberly at her shop ChezSucreChez HERE.  I also picked up a cute zippy pouch, and another one on the way.  I'll share those together when I get the other one!!  The Toothman will be a birthday gift to my niece Allie who turns 8 on Thursday!  She hasn't lost a tooth yet!!

I also received a couple other things in the mail too but I will wait to share later this week.  I have to update with my blogging for bliss entry....

Have a wonderful week,

Rach

Yo-yo Flowers & Tomorrow

Today I decided to make up a couple little yo-yo flowers without a pattern.  I have a lot of feedsack scraps that will be great for some of the smaller yo-yo's, and I used a new reproduction feedsack fabric for the largest yo-yo.  I wonder how people create reproduction lines of feedsack fabric, that really intrigues me!

Any-hoo, I hope you like these two little guys.

I am thinking of decorating the cover of my Art Journal with some of these yo-yo flowers.  I worked a little on the Art Journal today just Gesso'ing the front cover so it is ready for action once I am inspired on what to do with it.

I did have a fun idea for using some feedsack scraps in the journal, but you'll have to wait to see what it is.

Tomorrow morning bright and early we are going with my Dad to the hospital to have his open heart surgery bypasses performed.  We are incredibly anxious for him to have a successful surgery and be home on the mend.  All your positive thoughts and prayers will be appreciated tomorrow and the coming weeks!  I am so thankful to all you've been sending our way the last month + since his cardiac arrest.  It really puts in perspective a lot when these sorts of things happen.  Life is precious, take time to enjoy everyday.

Take Good Care,

Rach

Another HB Flower

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I decided to try another Heather Bailey Flower since the first one was so fun and easy to make!

I was inspired to use more of my feedsack fabric since I just had a little etsy binge today and picked up some more along with some other goodies I'll share when the packages slowly begin arriving this week!

For this flower I decided to throw in the little vintage fruit steam for extra color.  I used a vintage feedsack green polka dot fabric made into a yo-yo too.  The little fruit and orange button I picked up at Wanda's lovely etsy shop  The Cat's Pajama's .  The felt was again swiped from my mom's stockpile.  This to me has a little bit of a circus-y feel.  I love primary colors!

What are your favorite color combinations??

Happy Crafting!

Rach