~ Wooden letter blocks ~

Another easy craft I made for Fall were these lettered wooden blocks.

The wood blocks cost $ 2.29 for a package of 6.

I painted the blocks burgandy red. then

I cut patterned paper squares and glued them to the blocks.

I cut smaller squares out of scrap linen material and raveled the edges a bit.

Glued those on...

then printed large - font letters on tan colored paper, using the computer...
cut them out, glued, finished !

On the reverse side, I chose the word " WINTER "

SPRING and SUMMER are also 6 letters, so you could do any combination!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Listen ...

The wind is rising

and the air is wild with leaves.

Winter is an etching,

spring a watercolor,

summer an oil painting,

and autumn ...a mosaic of them all.

STANLEY HOROWITZ

I'm just sayin'...

A couple years ago, Jack bought me a good digital camera, and he always says that it's the best investment he ever made. He knows that there is nothing I like better than to spend a day taking pictures. He'll take a vacation day to go with me so that I can get a snapshot of this:

He will travel miles chasing sunsets for me, never complaining, to get this:

and even backtrack so that I can get that picture I missed...

Next week he's taking me to the mountains just so I can take photos of a couple of these:

uhhmmm...well maybe...about a MILLION of those,

He knows how much I like taking pictures so he does it to make me happy.

I love that about him...and a whole lot more.

~ Saturday photo hunt ~

This week's theme is : BOOKS

Some women like to buy shoes.....I buy books !
Why so many? I can afford to... I never pay more than 3.00 a book

And then there's my cookbook collection...when I retire, I'm going to read them all !
For more ~ Saturday photo hunt ~.....click here !

Finally......

a new family has taken up residence in one of the birdhouses that Alex and Jack made for me last Spring ! I had a hard time getting a photo so that I could determine what kind of bird it is. I believe it’s a Tufted Titmouse. Look at the two photos below and see if you agree:

computer search photo

My photo

Now let's see if she tells a friend about the other available birdhouse...
You would think that a nice apartment, located in a treed area, would go quickly. And did I mention that there is no rental fee ?

Houses of Shiller Park

Shiller Park is located in Columbus, Ohio. It's a large square park lined by beautiful houses.
Several are very elegant...

Many have large porches...

fancy roofs and chimneys...

Some with smaller, cozy porches and patios

But all of them were very well groomed and taken care of...

In the center there are beautiful flower gardens and fountains.

I really enjoyed spending time there taking photos!

Enjoy your weekend !!

Suzy

~ Quilt Barns ~

" A Patchwork Path Through the Farmland. "

When we were in Ohio last summer…I found the four below:

COAL MINER'S BLOCK

The quilt barn phenomenon is sweeping across rural America. It started in Ohio. The concept began as a tribute by Donna Sue Groves to her mother as a painted quilt square on the family barn in 2001.

 

THE FOREST BLOCK

Groves never imagined her idea would lead to colorful quilt patterns with names such as friendship star, bowtie and brown goose appearing on over 900 barns in 16 states.

OHIO STAR BLOCK

Today Ohio, Iowa and Kentucky have over 250 in each state, and the project continues to spread. West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee also have joined in.

THE BOWTIE BLOCK

There are several reasons for the popularity of quilt square barns. Volunteers see them as an opportunity to contribute to the community in a fun, unique and visible way. Farmers see them as a way to get people into the countryside, share their love of the land, and honor someone in their own family.

To view some of these barns… just google….quilt barns in Ohio

There is, however, one barn quilt square that will never be seen by the public. This past summer Groves was very ill for several weeks. When she came home from the hospital, her mother had a surprise waiting. Groves' favorite quilt square had been painted on their barn where it cannot be seen from the road. "It is just for the two of us," Groves says.

I've enjoyed every minute of my time off!

I've cleaned everything top to bottom, even closets and drawers, cleaned out the file cabinet in our computer room, made new curtains for the spare bedroom using the fabric below:

sewed scrubs for the new job, helped my Mom make her Strawberry-rhubarb jelly (yummm), took four day trips for photography, put all my photos on CD's, downloaded lots of music, watched numerous movies, started exercising every other day...slept in and stayed up late!

For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to be anywhere !

This week I made some pinecone bird feeders.....

Just take a large pinecone and wrap wire or string around the top,

spread bacon grease onto the cone with a butter knife.

Pour birdseed onto newspaper and roll the cone on the seed.

I also use a spoon to pour it on and pat into the crevices.

You can find different recipes on the internet. My Mom uses bacon grease, peanut butter, oats and corn meal.

Tie the cone to a tree branch.....and wait.....

Bingo...I have a taker!

~Wordless Wednesday ~

Please read the 1st comment...
For more W.W. entries....click here!

Moma, she's lookin' at me...

There's nothing that I like better to do on my day off than grab my camera and find an out of the way country road. A place where there's plenty of old barns, grazing cattle and abandon buildings!

As I came around the bend, I saw a calf standing by the fence, near the road. What a find!

So I pulled off and grabbed my camera.

As I approached the fence, a smaller calf ran behind it's mother. Now feeling secure at her side and being curious as most youngsters are, it turned around to see if I was still there.

The other calf, wanting to prove it was the braver one, never moved one step!

Houses for Wrent....

Pappy and Alex had made plans to build birdhouses last Saturday after the soccer game. Two of them, one for me and one for Alex's yard. On the way home, Alex informed Pappy that he had told his teacher that he would make her one too!
So they made a quick stop at the home center for more wood.
They did a great job!
So we added some paint and up they went...

Alex's teacher told him that she will be hanging the birdhouse in the school habitat for everyone to enjoy!
He was thrilled.
Were keeping our fingers-crossed in hopes that new tenants will move in soon!!

Recently...

I joined a group of photographers at JPG magazine!

It's published 6 times a year by and distributed nationally. You can pick up a subscription or find it in US bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble.

JPG is a website. Here any photographer can join and upload photos and stories to their member page. You can also submit your work for consideration in the magazine.

So if you take lots of photos...check it out!

~ Show and Tell Friday ~

I started collecting teacups several years ago, then added teapots and now I'm on to plates!
Here are a few of my favorites:

The blue one was my Grandmother's and the white one with the heart cut-outs is fairly new.
The strawberry saucer and cherry bowl are very old.

The three below were very inexpensive. I collect what catches my eye and not for it's value!
For more "Show and Tell "stop over at kelli's house!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today is the one year anniversary for "Suzy's Bloomers" !!

Time has gone so quickly and I have enjoyed every blogging minute of it. I've met so many new friends this past year, each one showing me a different outlook on life!

I thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit with me...your comments always bring a smile.

Suzy

~ Show and Tell ~

Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Kelli, over at "There is no place like home "is our host.

When I was decorating a few weeks ago, I pulled this little handmade ornament out of the box and immediately thought of Kelli. She loves acorns! So Kelli, here's an idea for a project for you and the kids.
Isn't he cute?

His head is an acorn...I love how the top looks like a tossle cap!...and his body is a walnut. He has Popsicle sticks (cut 2 inches long) for skis and toothpicks for the poles.His arms are just strips of red felt, about a half inch wide. Add another strip of felt for his scarf and your done!

Why don't you join us...
Since this is Christmas week, do you have a favorite ornament that you made or one that has a special memory to go with it?

Today's theme is : I LOVE _______!

And my photo for today is Teapots!....I love teapots!

For more photo hunt fun, head on over here!

You're soooo talented...

Over the weekend, I met a several interesting people at a local craft and vendor show!

Beverly is a very talented lady that loves to create handcrafted cards and gift tags. Her blog is full to the brim with plenty of unique papercrafts. It includes lots of photos and clever designs to inspire you. She has a wonderful blog over at "Country Frog Creations". So hop on over there and give her a look!...Tell her Suzy sent ya!

*****

I also met Bob and Christine from Patterson Images. They're a husband and wife team and the wildlife photography is outstanding ... Of course, the shots of flowers are my favorite! I know that you'll enjoy browsing through their website as much as I did ... so why not stop by?

Hobby turned small business venture.....

Last week, when I posted for Skittles' "heads of tails" meme, I talked about a hobby that turned out to be a " out of our home" business venture.

It all started about 10 years ago, when I bought a heat in the microwave bag at a local craft show. It was just a bag filled with field corn, that would hold the heat for an extended period of time and the bag could be applied anywhere on the body to relieve pain. I brought it home and it worked!



















I thought what a great gift this would be!..... But I soon found out that the little lady that I bought it from had retired and was no longer making them.
One day Hubby came home with a tension headache and I told him that I had just the thing for it. He tried it and said that we should make them for family Christmas gifts. The following Christmas we did, and they were a big success. Soon family members were ordering them for their friends. The next year, Hubby suggested renting a spot at a craft show. Again we did well, and even had follow-up orders from people that had received them as gifts!




























To make a long story short, 10 years and many, many bags later, we are still goin' strong!! Our handmade bags have gone to 5 countries and over 18 states!

And it all started in our family room . . . . . .