31 Days of ... ?

As long as I've had this here little ol' blog, I've NEVER posted consecutively for 31 days straight. Much less on the same subject. Well, see, there's this thing going on here and here and here and here...etc, etc, etc. For 31 Days. Each woman is blogging about one subject for 31 days straight. Reading all about it and hearing the invitation to join in and all really sounded fun...but I thought I didn't have anything to offer, PLUS, have I mentioned the fact that I've never posted for 31 days straight?

But the Lord...He put this little thought in my head. And wouldn't let me shake it out. The conversation went something like this...

"But I can't write about THAT! I'm nowhere near where I need to be in that area!"

"So let Me teach you as you write."

"But I don't think I can write for 31 days straight!"

"So ask your friends and others to write some for you."

"But what if people think I think I'm ALL THAT in that area?"

"Did I ask you to worry about what people think?"

"I'm scared!"

"When have you not been when I've asked you to do something you've never done before? And haven't I ALWAYS been right?"

*crickets chirping*

"Okay...I'll do it."

So...with that conversation being behind me, I'm jumping onto the "31 Days" bandwagon. So, what was the subject I was (am) scared to death of?

Well, it's something I do know a little (and I am sooooo not being sarcastic when I say that) about.

Worship.

Let the freaking out begin.

Tassel Tuesday - Ooh-La-La Pumpkin

I giggle some when I think about this tassel. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of those nightgown sets that women wore in the movies of the 50's and 60's...you know what I'm talking about, right? The filmy, feather trimmed robes and the high heeled, feather-pouf topped slippers? Why, you ask? Oh, I don't know...Ooh-La-La Pumpkin TasselSee what I mean? I think of Doris Day in Pillow Talk and Eva Gabor in "Green Acres." Not that I remember either of those ladies wearing those sets in either of those shows...but they could have!

I digress...Regardless of its ability to make me think of retro nightgowns, this pretty tassel really is a great addition to your Halloween/Harvest/Autumn/Fall/Thanksgiving/Just-because-you-want-to decorations. It's not spooky in the least, but would fit right in with Halloween stuff, just because of the pumpkin and black and white color scheme. It's pretty enough to keep out all through the fall, right up to Thanksgiving.I mean, who doesn't love toile? Okay, maybe I might love it just a bit much, but it really is so pretty! And the black feather trim just says, "Look at me! Here I am! Love me..." (But try not to hear it in the voice of Luigi, m'kay? 'Cause that would just be weird.)If you'd like more info on this tassel (or any others in my Etsy shop), just leave me a comment here, email me at butterflygenes(at)yahoo(dot)com, or leave me a convo (that's Etsy-speak for message) on Etsy.

But do it quick! These pumpkin tassels are ripe for the pickin'! ; )

Dolphin Tale - GO SEE IT!

A few weeks ago I told you about a new movie that premiered yesterday...Dolphin Tale. Kiddo and I went to see it; I have to say it was the most heartwarming movie I've seen in a long, long, LONG time.
I'm not kidding when I say, "I laughed, I cried, it moved me!" It really did. It's not just the story of Winter the Dolphin...it's also the story of how she helped one boy find his passion in life. I don't know if there is a real Sawyer, but I do know from scenes at the end of the movie that Winter has helped real people with prosthetic limbs and other disabilities.

Go see this movie. Support it. Not one curse word in it (well, my son told me there was one at the beginning of a song, but I missed it. He's usually pretty good at picking up on that, though) and of course no scenes I would have been embarrassed to see with my 11 year old son. I want it to do well, just like I want Courageous to do well next week to tell Hollywood that conservatives DO have wallets and spend their money on GOOD movies.

Now, from an 11 year-old's perspective, I'll tell you what Kiddo said about this movie.

"That movie ROCKED!"

"That was the best movie I've seen in a LONG time!"

"We are BUYING that movie when it comes out on DVD!"

(All this while walking from the theater to the car. I think he liked it. You will, too.)

Tassel Tuesday on a Thursday - Funky Crow 2

Oops. I thought I had already posted this. I hadn't. Sorry. Better late than never! This Tassel Tuesday's (that's on a Thursday) Tassel is one of my favorite fall tassels. Don't I say that about every one of them? Well, seriously, he is.

Funky Crow Tassel 2

I LOVE this guy's expression. It's kind of, "Who, me?" Mixed with a little, "Did anyone see that?" His face combined with the candy corn ribbon, and he is the quintessential Halloween, harvest, fall, autumn, whatever-you-want-to-call-him decoration.The black patterned ribbon just adds to the whimsy. If you'd like to purchase him, just head over to the Etsy Shop, where you can find several other fall tassels, with more being added (almost) daily.

He's waiting for you to take him home. It's kind of boring hanging out with the pumpkins. "What? What'd I say?"

O and M Woodworks

I have a new favorite Etsy shop. Oh, I have a LOT of favorite Etsy shops, but, see, this one's different.

Not only does it offer cute little birdhouses...But it's run by two of the most handsome men I know.

My husband and son now have their own Etsy shop! They call it O and M Woodworks. If you're in the need for a sweet, rustic bird house, they are your guys!

As of right now, they only have three houses in the shop, but as they have time they will add more and more, especially the closer to Christmas it gets.

And if you'd like a custom order, just ask! Go check them out!

Forsaking All Others - A Tyndale Review

In case you didn't know, I'm a reviewer for the Tyndale Blog Network. I receive free products to review in exchange for an honest opinion about the product. To see the other reviews I've done, click here.This time it was a work of fiction called Forsaking All Others, by Allison Pittman. I didn't feel like I had missed too much by not reading the first book in the series, For Time and Eternity.

Pittman's heroine is a young woman named Camilla Deardon Fox, who has turned her back on her Christian family and upbringing to build a life with Nathan Fox, a charming, handsome young Mormon who stole her heart completely. What she didn't realize in all the promises he made was that she would eventually have to share her husband with another woman...a sister wife. After facing two crises in her life, Camilla turns back to Christ and the faith she had left behind. She comes to the conclusion that she must escape the lifestyle of the Mormon church, even if that means leaving her daughters behind until she is able to come back for them.

From the back cover of Forsaking All Others...

"Camilla Fox is alive, having been rescued from a near-fatal snowstorm...Under the personal care of United States Army Colonel Charles Brandon, thoughts of the two children she left behind flood her mind, threatening to break her heart. (She) is desperate to reunite with her daughters and does not want them to grow up under Mormon teachings, but she cannot provide a home for them on her own, and she will not share her husband with a sister wife. As spring arrives, Camilla returns to Salt Lake City to fight...and she won't back down until she's brought her children safely to the other side."

Crafting a novel that stays true to history and connects the reader emotionally to the characters, Pittman kept me turning page after page. I could hardly put it down, wanting to know how Camilla was going to face each hardship in her way as well as how she was going to deal with her ever-growing friendship with Colonel Brandon. She puts her trust in the One true God, knowing He will not forsake her as she seeks to bring her daughters up in the Truth.

I look forward to any sequels Pittman might write after this book (she certainly could after the ending, but the book concludes without the need for one).

I was compensated for this review by receiving a free copy of the book from Tyndale Publishing. The review is my own opinion.

R.I.P. Gertrude

No, it's not another one of my pets. It's my glue gun. Poor thing. She was just worn out.I was getting more and more mad every time I used her. Which has been a lot of late. Sigh...I will miss you Gertru....



Wait a minute....



Well, hello there....I think I'll call her Glenda. ; )

(My husband picked her up at Wal-mart last night. Doesn't he rock?)

Sending My Baby Off...

I'm not talking about my Kiddo. He's safe and sound in the office/playroom/all-purpose room semi-practicing piano.

No, I'm talking about these.My Gingher shears. As I mentioned in one of my craft room posts, I've had these scissors for 23 years, ever since my freshman year of college. They are my craft, sewing, tassel, decorating, everything scissors. I lurve them. I even still have the beat-up box they came in. Not that when they came it was beat-up, but you know what I'm sayin'.

When I found out several weeks ago that Gingher will repair their scissors and shears AND return them to you for $7.50, I was ecstatic. See, in 23 years of having these wonderful scissors...they've never been sharpened. They really haven't needed to be until now. I guess, just like the demise of my glue gun, Gertrude (that's another post), I've just worked them to death and now they aren't any sharper than my plain ol' Walmart scissors in the junk drawer.

But...and here's the catch...I would have to send them away from me AND be without them for 3 to 4 weeks. Could I do that? I debated...and debated...and debated. I knew that a guy came to Hancock's each Tuesday to sharpen scissors, but did I trust him with my Ginghers? Plus I also found out that he took them off site to do the work. It was cheaper, but would I just be delaying sending them to Gingher next year?

So...with much fear and trepidation, I put them in the mail.And now I'm wondering if I made the right decision. Is it silly for me to worry about a pair of scissors?

Well, considering they are by my side any time I'm in the craft room, working on tassels, or just crafting for the fun of it,
they are like my crafting baby.

Please come home to me, scissors of mine!

Tassel Tuesday - Moss Green Pumpkin

Moss Green Pumpkin Tassel on Etsy
It's Tassel Tuesday again!

That first pumpkin sold so quickly after I got it in the shop, I figured pumpkins might be a good topic to cover again this week. I call this one, and stay with me here because this is so original, Moss Green Pumpkin Tassel. I'm such a forward thinker.

It's definitely not your normal orange pumpkin, but a mossy green with tiny beads all over it that makes it look like it's been sugared. The ivory and green ribbon has patterns that go well together...stripes and toile. So pretty! Brown Yarn helps make sure the ribbons stay fluffy underneath the pumpkin. Milk chocolate velvet ribbon is so pretty against that green fringe and pumpkin.
Speaking of fringe, the brush fringe is full of greens, golds, and browns. Which just happen to be the same colors in the cute little charm hanging from the front of the tassel.
It's so subtle...it doesn't scream "I'M A FALL TASSEL!" or "HANG ME UP FOR HALLOWEEN!" Even though you could leave it up just for fall or hang it up for Halloween...or through Thanksgiving, for that matter. But you could just as easily leave it out all year to enjoy.

Like it? Then head over to my Etsy shop, where you'll see a few more tassels falling in over the next few days. Get it? Falling? I crack myself up.

Tassel Tuesday - New Fall Tassels!

Edited 9/7/11 - Autumn Pumpkin Tassel SOLD! Wow! That was FAST! Don't worry, more pumpkins are being loaded daily!

I am SO excited for today's Tassel Tuesday! I haven't added many new tassels to the Etsy shop in a while, but now that fall is here I'll be loading a new one every day! Not only have I been working on the Keychain Tassels (if you'd like one in a different color, I will be happy to oblige!), but I've been working on new fall tassels as well. I can't wait to get all of them loaded into the shop. I'll add one a day until they're all in, and I'll be highlighting a new one each week.

If you'd like a custom fall (or any kind!) tassel, please let me know. I have a gajillion pumpkins of several shapes and colors, a blackbird (like this one), and finials that can be colored any way you'd like.

Now, onto the first fall tassel!
This little Autumn Pumpkin Tassel started life as another tassel. One that I hated. From the moment I finished it I hated it. But I was too afraid to do anything about it. Had I listened to my tassel mentor, The Nester, I would have known it was okay to tear it up and redo it. Hot glue is amazing stuff but it's not as permanent as my mind thinks it is.

So, because I had nothing to lose (it sure wasn't selling in Etsy and everytime I looked at it I cringed), I to' it up. Down to nothing but the pumpkin and the multicolored fringe, which I DID and DO love. I knew I could make something prettier than what it had been.
And I was right! Now when I look at this, it makes me smile. Oh, so pretty, and oh, so fall.

How appropriate that the temps plummeted yesterday and won't recover to the high 80's until next week. Last night we had our window open for the first time in months! I think it's the perfect time to get these sweet autumn tassels in to celebrate!
Remember, if you're a returning customer, you do not pay shipping!

If you have any questions about this or any other tassel, please email me at the above address. I'd love to work with you!

Dolphin Tale Homeschool Day!

September is turning out to be THE month for truly family oriented movies. Courageous opens September 30, one that I am SO excited about but will post about later.


Dolphin Tale opens in theaters September 23. Not only is this movie family friendly, it's also homeschool friendly! So much so that Homeschool Movie Club is organizing a Homeschool Movie Day!
Not only am I excited about the movie (Hello? Harry Connick, Jr. is in it! *wink* I love you Sound Man! hee hee), but Homeschool Movie Club also has curriculum to go with the movie! Written by marine biologist Sherri Seligson, Apologia's Marine Biology curriculum author, this curriculum takes you through five lessons that are about ocean wildlife, not just dolphins. Seeing as how Kiddo wants to be a marine biologist, this is right up our alley. Can you see why I'm giddy?

I was already excited, but then when I read Sally Clarkson's glowing endorsement of the movie (not that having her son, Nathan, as a consultant on the movie had anything to do with that...hee hee), I did a happy dance! To help spread the word, Sally is giving away four Dolphin Tale Fun Packs!

Head over to her post to read more about the giveaway, and please go to Homeschool Movie Club and become a member. It's free! Plus, you'll get info on this movie as well as the others they endorse. You can sign up for their newsletter, as well as like them on Facebook for updates about the Homeschool Movie Day.

I can't WAIT for September 23rd! I hope our homeschool group will catch the excitement and support this movie on opening day. That's Sally's wish as well, as you'll read in her post. We want to send a message to Hollywood that we as Christians DO have a voice!

It's been a long time since I've been this excited about a movie premiere! I just counted and I say a form of the word "excited" six times in this post. Maybe I need to cut back on the caffeine.