A Cold and Crisp January Day

(Downtown Tampa is just between those two trees)

Sorry I have been MIA for the past couple of weeks. I've been very busy trying to get so many things organized. I was on my way to sign up at a local gym this evening and made a quick pit stop for my camera. The gym is by the park so I took a couple of pictures at around five this evening. Yes this park is "Down By the Bay" like the kids song (hence the reason there is so much water in the pics)~;o) What an extremely frigid day it was today! My hands went numb after a couple of snapshots! I really enjoyed this quiet time to myself. Life can get rough at times. Then there are those truly magical moments where you run into familiar friendly faces. You know, when the room is busy with chatter, and your just stopping to take it all in, then a pair of eyes glance up and the chatter becomes faded until it comes to a full stop that lasts almost half a minute. And then this incredibly huge smile comes across their face that words can't even express. What joyous and rare moments to lose yourself in...

My First Handsewn Baby Blanket!

Practice makes perfect right? Well after practicing quite a few squares (which eventually became coasters) and place mats, I decided to kick things up a notch and sew a blanket. Today I sewed my first double-sided flannel baby blanket and I think I'm hooked! I am thinking about adding some satin trim to this receiving blanket too so we'll see~;o) Although I am clearly still amateur, I plan on making more of these. Stay tuned!

A Placemat and some fabric squares.

I tried to make a handmade mini tote out of the lovely fabric squares shown at the top, but it didn't turn out that well. Guess the next pair will be made into coasters~;o) I really love the way my double-sided placemat came out though, I think I'm going to make a whole set using Michael Miller fabric~:o) The pictures came out real light for some reason this time, I took these in the evening and will try and take them in natural lighting next time so that they come out better. I also sewed some practice squares using some baby flannel fabric, I made a little doll pillow using the same fabric, I'll try to list pictures soon. I LOVE SEWING!!!!! I love my new mania~;o) Stay tuned!

A Little Pin Cushion

(I think I'm addicted...this wasn't even the hint~;o)

I call her Betty.....

(Blackberry and Strawberry Tart)

No not the tart, that would be the sewing machine lol~;o) I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Day celebrating with family and friends! I spent the day cleaning shop to make room for one of my new best friends! So then today after waiting for a week, I went to Walmart and got my new sewing machine! Complete with how to cd and everything! I actually surprised myself at how quickly I was able to thread the bobbin and all that good stuff...I was able to even sew a couple of things! A tote strap and in the picture above, a little pouch with roses on it! Although both came out totally amateur, I was just thrilled to be able to work the thing! I have a couple of works in progress and I'll drop ya'll a hint soon~;o) For those of you wondering how the tart fits into this post I just thought I'd share with you what I recently baked for our company New Years Eve potluck. My blackberry and strawberry tart was a huge hit at our luncheon! Want the recipe? CLICK HERE. Until next time darlings~:o)

CRAFT SALE!

I am having a sale at my NEW etsy shop! Visit my Southern Bliss Etsy Store for some fantastic deals on all my destash items! Here are some of the items you can find there. Get em' while they're hot! http://www.southernbliss.etsy.com/

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings! I finally had my camera on me to take pictures of some Christmas lights! I still have a lot to learn about this camera though. I am in the process of purchasing another lens for my new camera. The new lens would allow me close ups for better detail in my photos. I am in search of the 55mm-200mm VR. Anyone know where I can find this one new at a cheap price? I'm all ears~;o) So we went to the new Wesley Chapel Mall in Pasco County to see their Musical Christmas Lights display. I am really impressed with this new Mall! The best way for me to describe it: a mix between International Plaza Mall and Ellington Outlet. Why you may ask? Well it has many of the same shops that International Mall has (Macys, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, etc.) but the outdoor shopping atmosphere and structure is similar to Ellington. Fantastic Mall! If your in the vicinity check it out~;o) In other "Winter Cleaning" news, I decided to clear out old inventory this weekend to make room for some more storage cases for my studio. I want to be able to have a clear table for my much anticipated new friend! After much thought, I have decided to finally purchase a sewing machine! More details in 2009~;o) Stay tuned!

Christmas Baking

A busy day of baking, baking, baking! I just finished seven jars of homemade caramel sauce. Now I am getting ready to make a pineapple cake! Fortunately I have only had to go into work this week for about a couple of hours a day. This has really helped me to catch up on things. I am certainly looking forward to some down time though so that I can relax and enjoy stitching a few new sets of cookies~;o) And finally, I did decide to have a quiet grand opening of my new etsy store last night. Please stop in for a visit when you get a chance: http://southernbliss.etsy.com I hope you all are enjoying the Holidays! Until next time!

More Cookies!

I'm getting good at this~;o) Time to change these up a bit. Perhaps some scallops, hearts, and other lovely embellishments? We'll see~;o) Stay tuned!

A Midnight Snack~;o)

It is way past my bedtime and I should be sleeping but I just couldn't resist! The creativity juices are kickin in at high speed and I just had to share! Although I'm sure that pretty much the rest of the southeast is in a lovely little slumber right now. (insert giggle) I saw a cute little pink felt sprinkle cookie on etsy and thought about purchasing it. Then I remembered the oodles of felt I bought during the summer and a light bulb went on in my head. Why let it go to waste right?! For those of you shaking your heads at me right now please realize I'm half awake~;o) What a time to get inspired huh!? Happens to me all the time. So anyways I plan on adding these into the new shop too.....yes that would be the one that I still haven't added anything into yet. I will most likely open it sometime in January after the holidays, until then stay tuned!

Tampa Bay Brewing Company

I chose a Burger and Fries.....

I should have chosen Shepherds Pie.

( Practicing my amateur skills with Miss Lilac)

Snugglebear and I met up for dinner with My Brother (The Smiler) and his Wife (AJ) at Tampa Bay Brewing Company this evening. This was our small way of celebrating Christmas together~:o) Because it is so hard to try and visit everyone on Christmas day, we meet a couple of weeks sooner. This was also another great excuse for me to bring along my new slr digital and test my skills~;o) I am most pleased with the results. Snugglebear surprised me with a Camera Bag complete with a CD video on how to use my new Nikon! This video saved me the hassle and struggle of trying to figure out the directions in the manuel. I am a hands on learner when it comes to electronics people~;o) The video made my practice this evening easy as pie! The last picture shown I took yesterday evening and is a random one of Lilac, a.k.a. "The Pterodactyl." She is a feisty little Amazon Parrot in these parts, but to my surprise, she is quite "The Ham" in front of the camera.

My New Camera!

(Photo Courtesy of: Ken Rockwell)

I took this from across the street.

This camera even lets me get close ups of these little guys~;o)

I love this new camera!

I am so excited! My new camera finally came in the mail! As you can see I didn't waste anytime trying it out~;o) So I drove to Hyde Park this afternoon and decided to put my amateur skills to use~;o) I probably took about a total of around 40 pictures. As you can see I have alot more practicing that needs to be done! I am thinking about taking a couple of photography classes too, I need all the pointers I can get! In the mean time here are a couple of my first attempts with this new camera. Until next time darlings!

Retro Flourish Tags

Good evening Friends! Just checking in to say hello and also share my newest tags with you! I REALLY LOVE the way these turned out! They remind me of a kitschy kitchen~;o) These are great for scrapbooking and embellishing gifts with! I will be adding them to the Southern Bliss etsy store soon! Yes the same store I have been mentioning for the past two month but not listed anything in yet~;o) I miss working my old part-time hours *insert sigh* I am hoping to create and post some more fun color scheme layered tags soon! Stay tuned!

Chic and Chenille~;o)

Okay so now I am hooked on Chenille Pipe Cleaners! Aren't these chic little handmade {ornaments} just darling?!?! I had so much fun making them! The Candy Canes are so easy to make. Just take two 12 inch pipe cleaners and twist them together, then trim each end till the stick is about 9 inches and bend one side to a crook, and you have a sweet little candy cane! The Snow Flakes are a little bit more involved than the Candy Canes. Here are my instructions on how to make them:

1. Take three 12 inch white pipe cleaners and trim them all to about 6 1/2 inches.
2. Hold all three trimmed 6 1/2 inch pipe cleaners together and give them one to three good twists in the middle. (This will hold them together)
3. Now spread each stem apart.
4. Add 5 to 7 clear plastic beads on each stem. Be sure to curl each end with needle nose pliers or the tip of a pencil will work.
5. Add string or yarn to one of the snowflake tips by curling the tip of the pipe cleaner end around the string or yarn. Enjoy your snowflake ornament!

The Christmas Wreaths are the most time consuming ornaments to make so I will leave it for Martha to explain to you. To make them go here: Martha How to video These ornaments are so easy to make and are great for decorating the Christmas tree, gifts, and so much more.....enjoy!

Dinner on a Trolley

I wonder how they got it into the restaurant??

We ate in here~:o)

This was our appetizer.....

( I had Fettuccine Alfredo~;o)

I guess we can say that I have become somewhat of a camera fanatic these days.....in a recent post I mentioned that I was in search of an upgrade. After much research and the help of a good friend (Thank you Aimee~;o) I have decided on the Nikon D40. <----- Go here if you want to learn more about this camera. Because I use my camera so much I have decided to kick it up a notch for more professional results. Yes, I think I'm ready for an SLR! (Key word here friends, "She Thinks") With that being said, I will be looking into purchasing one within the next couple of weeks. So today we decided to go to one of snugglebear's favorite restaurants. Now "The Spaghetti Warehouse" is a franchise Restaurant.....but does yours have a Trolley in it?? The one in my neck of the woods does. We went around late afternoon and to my surprise it was quite empty. I insisted upon sitting in the trolley to dine, and to snugglebear's delight, it was empty. Usually he doesn't like to sit in the trolley because he complains that it is too stuffy and crowded with people. He was in a rather cranky mood so for us to have the trolley to ourselves was a plus for both of us. He concluded that most people were out shopping this weekend, so we enjoyed a nice quiet lunch in the old wooden streetcar~;o)

This is Upper Tampa Bay Park located just outside of Oldsmar.

This is the canoe launch in the park.

These beauties were lit throughout the entire park.

Much happier after eating, he posed for a picture, unusual for him~;o)

This is all salt water!

After a delicious afternoon meal, we headed into Town and Country where snugglebear had recently learned of a nearby National State Park and Wildlife nature trail. We love these because they are free, they are great for exploring and for taking pictures~;o) We stumbled across a bonus....they were having a "Holiday in the Park" event for families, the festivities included Christmas lights throughout the park, cookies, games, and a hayride~:o) To my knowledge the Christmas Lights display will be going on till the end of December. If your in the vicinity I recommend a visit, you'll certainly be glad you did~:o)