I don’t know if anyone’s missed me too much lately, but I’ve been very busy for the past few weeks. I’ve been trying to get all my blogs updated as it seems I’ve been neglecting them. But, I do have a good reason. I’ve been busy writing my little fingers to the bone. I’m trying to see just how much money I can earn simply from writing on my blogs and writing articles for other bloggers and other sites. It’s kind of an experiment in motion.

Anyway, since the last time I posted here, I’ve been to Chicago to see my son graduate from Navy boot camp. That was so cool, but the scary part is that being a country girl, those big cities don’t do much for me. And I’m here to attest to the fact that having a GPS in your vehicle doesn’t always mean you’ll get to where you’re going. LOL. We spent 3 days in Waukegan, Illinois and was never able to find Lake Michigan. (Stop laughing).

I’ve also been pursuing the Internet for new places to write. I love to find new places and check them out to see if they’re worth talking about or not. And I did find one place that I’ve really enjoyed writing for called Info Barrel. I’ve only been there for a couple of weeks, but so far they’ve been a great site.

This is a revenue sharing site for article writers. The main reason I love this site is because of the community behind it. The admins are super nice, the other writers go out of their way to help out, and everything about the site is designed to make the whole process fun.

Another thing I like about this site is that not just anyone can jump on and start pumping out articles. Well, they can but they don’t get published right away. Every writer goes through a short probation period. In order to get to a point where you can post articles without being pre-approved, you’ve got to have a minimum of 10 articles okayed by the admins and have been a member of the site for at least 14 days. You’ll know when you’ve made it because the admins will send you a letter telling you so. I’m almost there. Just a couple more articles and a couple more days to go. I’m not in a big hurry as the site is based in Canada and this is a long weekend for them. (Happy Victoria Day weekend to any Canadian readers out there).

I’ve also found a neat little site for promoting yourself called Red Gage. This is a site like I’ve never seen before. It’s not a blogging platform or anything of the sort. It’s a site that pays you for doing all the stuff you do online anyway. Upload your photos, add links to your articles or blog posts, add documents and/or blog posts. The more you add and the more you get seen, the more you make. It’s that easy. Well, easy may not be the right term as it does take a little getting used to. But, once you get it figured out, it’s pretty easy.

I’m still looking and probably will on a regular basis. I love being a writer and am going to do everything in my power to continue to do so. My little experiment may not make a millionaire, but if I can keep food on the table and soap/shampoo/laundry and dish soap on hand, I’ll feel as though I’ve accomplished quite a feat. And if I can get to a point where I can take over the cell phone payments from the hubby, I’ll be gloating about it for years to come. LOL

Have a great day!!!!!

I’ve been promising to show off some of my quilt “thingies”, but never seem to do so.  This is because I’m so worried that someone out there who knows WAY more about quilting than I do will come by and say, “Hey, that sucks”.  It would kill me and I’d probably never quilt again.  Yes, I’m speaking from experience (not quilts).  Anyway, here are a few of the things I’ve been working on.

First of all, I found a cute quilt block pattern that was supposed to be used as an edge.  I liked it very much, and gave it my own twist.  I call it Love Links.  Here’s the first one I ever did.

I totally dig the colors I used in this one.  The problem was that I had no idea what I was going to do with it once I finished.  It just kind of sat there staring at me, going “Don’t ignore me.  I thought you loved me”.  Then I got an idea to turn this into a purse pattern.  I had a cool idea and did what I could to put it together.  Here’s the finished product.

Laying flat

Upright position

Though it didn’t turn out exactly as I’d planned, I’m pretty happy with it.  I’m going to use it for my daughter’s Easter Basket.  She’s 16, and loves the little purse/bag thing.  I told her she could have it, but not till after Easter.  LOL.  She knows she’s getting it for Easter, so this post isn’t going to give anything away.  Besides, she never reads my posts anyway.  I’m just mom, I never do anything cool.

Anyway, there’s a couple of the things I’ve been working on.  I have a whole crap-load of other things, but not nearly enough room here.  Let me know what you think, but please be kind.  I don’t take rejection well at all.  LOLOLOL!!!

I know I said I’d be back in just a few days, but you should see what I’ve been doing.  I’ve been so busy with my quilting projects and reading all my new crafters’ magazines that I’ve completely lost track of time.  What felt like a couple of days has turned into a few weeks.  LOL.  Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Anyway, my wonderful mother-in-law was kind enough to give me a whole tote full of fabrics, 2 boxes of ribbons, and a huge bag of lace.  But the biggest prize in my new lot was the whole box full of crafting books and magazines she gave me.  My mother-in-law is as craft crazy as I am, maybe more.  And though she has 3 daughters of her own, none of them are really into the whole crafting thing.  So, I get all her crafting hand-me-downs.  Whoo Hoo for me.  LOL

As I began going through this box full of books, I was shocked to see just exactly what I had in my hands.  She gave me books and magazines that go back to the late 40’s-early 50’s.  Here are a few pics I took just to prove how cool my mother-in-law really is.  She’s awesome!!!!!

Craft Works, Pack O’ Fun, and Family Circle magazines

As you can see, this one was issued in 1969 and only cost 20 cents

This is a huge pile of Crafting Traditions magazines from 1996-2003

2 books published in the 60’s on how to recycle things you already have around the house.  And you thought the whole Reuse/Recycle thing was a new idea.  LOL

A massive needlework book from McCall’s-Fall/Winter issue for 1964-1965-it cost a whole 60 cents.

And now for my favorite

This is a book that my mother-in-law put together herself when she was in college.  It’s full of little character drawings from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.  It’s so cool.

From food and drinks

To scenes of various emotions.

Needless to say, I’ve had a ball the past couple of weeks.  I’ve found a ton of ideas to work with, some of which came from days gone by and I’ve come up with ways to give them a modern twist.  Now, if I could just finish one whole project, I’d be doing great.  LOL

Holy cow, where in the Sam Hill have I been????? Well, it’s been a crazy month so far. As most of you know, my son entered the United States Navy the first of the month. Since then, I’ve done everything in my power to keep my mind occupied so I wouldn’t spend all my time in tears. The result is that I’m in the process of creating some really cute items and will soon be re-opening my online store. Not sure which one I want to focus on just yet, but that’s not important right now.

Because of all the cool giveaways I’ve been entering, and all the wonderful people I’ve had the honor to meet, I’ve really gotten into making my quilting stuff. I don’t just make quilts, I make things like purses, clutch purses, and aprons with quilt patterns. I’m also working on a cool design for some place mats, but they’re turning out to be a little tougher than I’d imagined. Hopefully that means they’ll be really awesome when they’re done. LOL

As soon as I get a few more finished, or any of them finished, I’ll be sure to upload pictures. I’m pretty happy with the results so far, but almost everything is still in not-quite-done mode. LOL. My daughter keeps telling me that I need to finish up one project before I start another, but I’m one of those people who thinks to themselves, “I wonder what that would look like”, then can’t move on until I find out. LOL

So, as soon as I get a few more things done, I’ll show them off. I hope you’ll all stop by and tell me what you think, but please be kind as I don’t take criticism well. Ok, back to work. I’ll never get finished with anything unless I get off the computer and do some actual work. LOL

Time once again for Friday Follow. This is my second week and from what I witnessed last week, this is the coolest idea of the century. When I posted my Friday Follow last week, I was blessed with my first follower within minutes of adding my name to the list.

You can follow as many blogs as you want, and can do so all week long. However, you can only add your blog/site on Friday. As of tomorrow, you can’t add your site until next Friday. Then, we start all over again. It’s so much fun. But my favorite part of the whole thing isn’t in finding new blogs, it’s in meeting new people.

Say thanks to the girls who put this little shin-dig on: