MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!

Hello everyone!

I mentioned in a previous post I was going to have a giveaway, well, that time has come! Actually, I was going to leave it until next week, but I looked out at the MORE SNOW and thought, no, I want to think 'spring' and I want some fun!

Whats the occasion, for the giveaway?
Well, I have had sooo much enjoyment, friendship and inspiration from I started blogging in December, that I wanted to say a big THANKS!- blogging has opened up a whole new world to me; so to those great friends who have followed my journey and to those new friends I look forward to meeting, I hope you enjoy and most of all, lets have some FUN:)

So, here goes... (heck, I'm nervous now:))
but lets run with it.......



(Click on pic to enlarge for clearer view)



Firstly is this prairie doll. She is carrying a little sack with a rusty pin attached. Her pillow has a little black sheep machine embroidered on it and is
stained for that old appearance. To add a little Irish culture, I made her bonnet from linen:))



Secondly, you will get this little spring sampler in a distressed frame- this is a Shelly Auen pattern.



Finally, we have some raggedy eggs- 5 small eggs and 2 large-duck? haha! I have used homespun flannels to cover and they come lightly stained.


The rules are simple, but please be informed, so that everyone enjoys,

~ You must be a follower of my blog to enter

~ all new followers are most welcome, so come on board:)

~ You need to leave a comment on this post

~ Drawing will take place, Friday 5th March

I would love it if you would put this giveaway on your blog and please say in your comment that you have done so-this will give you a second entry:)

Finally, I hope you like and please join in the fun!

Blessings, Shazy x

Painting projects!

Good Monday morning to you all. I hope you all had a good weekend. Our weekend revolved around our daughters 14th birthday. It was just a family time as she didn't want a party-I wasn't complaining! We often end up looking through old photos for some reason at birthday times-I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy it-I end up feeling sad at the days that will never return.

I was reading someones blog the other day and I could really relate to it. She had a stitchery that said something like, 'take time to smell the flowers.' Sometimes (and I am guilty) we are sooo busy just surviving, that we fail to enjoy every minute of our kids lives. That will be enough of the nostalgia for now, lets move on!

Below are some painting projects I have been working on. This is a new craft to me, so please view with kindness:)

I painted this window frame with cream over black and sanded, then put a matt varnish over as I didn't want it too dark (It is darker than the photo shows)
Click to enlarge if you wish.







Oh, sorry, excuse my toe:)







Just to show you where I hung the frame and one of the signs. I am not in love with this mantle, but it will have to do:( I figured if I displayed it nicely, it would detract from the mantle?



Another sign over this mantle.



Show and tell over for another time. I will sign off now and get the house cleaned after the weekend:(

Have a good weekend and don't forget to enjoy all those precious moments with family and friends,

Blessings,
Shazy x

Raggedy quilts!

Good morning to you all!

I hope your week has got off to a good start! Our kids are off school for half-term break, so we are trying to get out and about a bit. We had a few nice days that hinted 'spring' but we have also had a few damp days-better than snow, I suppose:)

Some time back, I decided I was going to discipline myself and try and finish up some projects that I had bought, so, this past weekend, I took into a kit I got on one of our holidays to America!

Firstly, there was a little bit of this......



A fair amount of this.........



Way too much of this-I ended up with a blister on my thumb and yes I'm left handed:)



After a cycle in the machine and tumble-dryer........



For now, it sits here......



If you are looking to make a quick quilt, raggedy quilts are the way to go-no binding required and they don't require perfection! (suits me!lol)
Here are a few pics of a couple of others I made a while back.







That's all for now; have a good week and don't forget to pop over to Christine at Preferably Prim, for her great giveaway-click on image on my sidebar to get there.

Blessings,
Shazy x

I said in my last post, I would give you the recipe for Boursin Chicken. This is a great family favourite of ours and it is also great for entertaining-easy and impressive!! Isn't that what we all want, when it comes to entertaining?

Confession is good for the soul:) I got this recipe from my very talented sister, who excels in the cooking/baking department-isn't that right sis? She is a non-blogger, but keeps a close eye on how I am doing! Her latest input was to tell me to have a giveaway:) I was one step ahead of her on that one as I was thinking of having a little fun to keep us ever looking for Spring-sooo keep posted!!

Anyway, here is the recipe;


Boursin Chicken

Ingredients
4 chicken breast (or 1 per person)
1 pkt Boursin cheese (this is a soft cheese, garlic and herb flavoured) or equivalent
1 pkt smoked bacon or parma ham
16 ounces chicken stock
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
approx 2tablespoons cornflour in small amount water (to thicken sauce at the end)
Small pouring cream (optional)

Method
1.Heat oven 160 degrees cent (325F) or gas mark 3
2.Cut pocket in chicken breast and stuff with flavoured cheese (good amount)
3.Stretch bacon and wrap around chicken breast to close
4.Put in casserole dish
5.Mix together chicken stock and red wine vinegar and pour into chicken dish
6.Cook in oven for approx 45-60 mins
7.When cooked-pour sauce into another pot and thicken with cornflour as above.
8.Add cream prior to serving if you like it creamier, it also lightens the colour

(Delicious served with roasted or steamed veg and new potatoes) Enjoy!

Thanks to Colleen, for hosting recipe swap, why not go visit
http://www.andbabymakesfive-colleen.blogspot.com

(Sorry, Colleen I couldn't get your site to go live!)


Have a good weekend, Shazy x

Out of my comfort zone.

Hope you are all having a good Monday!

I have just finished putting my groceries away, which hubs took me to get (it was a days work!) Our little one is up for her afternoon nap, so I thought I would do a little post-not sure if I'm wise or not, but sure we all can make fools of ourselves and anyway I'm unlikely to see you anyway soon and by that stage it'll have been forgotten about:)

What am I talking about, you ask! Well, I have admired greatly all your prim dolls over the last while and thought I would attempt my own, but as my title suggests, I was greatly out of my comfort zone-I found it really difficult to make the simple look and I confess now and hope this does not cause offense; no matter how hard I try, I cannot do extreme prim YET! There, I have said it! So my attempt is supposed to be middle of the road.

Still not sure why they are not quite right-I didn't get a prim pattern, I just tried to adapt a dolls pattern-maybe thats the problem? Am I trying to make them too pretty?

Anyway, I shall take constructive criticism like a grown girl should, in order to improve next time, but I don't think there will be a next for dolls, as I can honestly say, I did not enjoy making them:(

Ok, ready for a laugh?.........






Sorry, the light is shining a bit bright-it's difficult to see, but they do have two different print dresses-the next pic might show them better.




The bigger one has a sac tied round her with some twigs and moss. The little one just has a rusty pin on her apron.

The next pics show where they sit meantime.





Think I should just stick to my quilting and stitcheries:)

I was reading a book over the last while and didn't get much sewing done. I don't know if any of you have read it or not, but I don't think I shall forget it for a while!

The book is entitled 'Gone in a heartbeat' and is the story of David and Marie Works, who lost TWO of their daughters in a shooting in their church grounds in Colorado Springs.It was a very challenging, disturbing yet encouraging read and reminded me that we are only on a short journey here and to let each day count for the things that are important.

On that note, I'm off to prepare for tonights dinner-Boursin chicken. I must post the recipe soon as it is a very easy but effective meal.

Have a great week, Shazy x

Some yummy goodies!

Hello blogging friends!
I thought I would just pop in with a little post to keep in touch:)

Reading through your blogs over the last week or so, has brought such pleasure to say the least and I feel I know so many people now!lol

What have I been doing? Well, last week most times I didn't feel like much so I spent it lying about and catching up on some DVDs and flicking magazines and of course some blogging!

Granny and Granda had taken our youngest to their 2nd home at the north coast, to let me recover quicker and easier-to say the place was like a morgue would be an understatement; we all missed her soooo much but it was good for everyone and more than sacrificial of my MIL and FIL. She is home now and we are all enjoying normal family life again (with me in the corner giving the orders, my oldest daughter would tell you!!)

It is really only this week that I have felt like doing a bit of stitching, which I will show you in a minute, but first I want to show you a photo of some yummy goodies:)

My birthday (42nd) that is so difficult to look at, as well as to say (I still feel young and I still feel like a child when its Christmas or when I get new fabric!) Well, my birthday was in January and hubby was going to buy me some clothes; after informing him that I didn't need any more clothes, I took the opportunity to tell him what I did need-some patterns from USA and some yummy fabrics??? I will show you one photo-I did get some more but in case dear hubs reads this?? Seeing his credit card account will be soon enough to find out, what you all think?



Remember I told you I was going to do some redword stitcheries? Well, I did some but I'm afraid they are Christmas! They were all I had at hand and when a girl has gota sew, a girl has gota sew! You see, my sewing room is two flights of stairs up and I had to be careful:)

The second stitchery is one of the free patterns from The Painted Quilt. I think I will stitch them to a red background and frame them-after they get a splash of coffee stain of course:)

The next two pics were meant to be redwork also, but I thought I would do them in flannel and wool applique and make them into a wall-hanging-they are an adaptation of the free seasons sew along from, Quilt happy, quilt often. The watering can block is a freebie from Primitive Blessings and obviously there has to be a willow tree in it somewhere-that's a Shazy special! I still have winter and spring to do. I'm not sure what colour of border to do-one colour or two, any ideas?

I also started a little pillow and I'm just looking at my pics-I seem to have a thing for baskets in this post. The blue wool is actually darker than the photo shows.

That's all for show and tell time today; hope you all have a good week and thank you all once again for all your lovely comments and best wishes and for all those that have chose to keep in touch through my blog, I thank you most sincerely:)

Blessings, Shazy x