Hot...Hot... Summer!

   It has been a hot summer this year. Last year we put central air in our home, and am I glad we did.  Except I do kinda miss having the windows open with fresh air flowing in. I open the windows first thing in the morning, but as the hot air begins we close them. 

  Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons. Then I can keep windows open and hear the birds tweeting from outside. It's August so I guess we still have some hot warm days ahead.

  We took our granddaughters for an afternoon of mini-golf. They really enjoyed learning how to hit the ball. They had some great shots.

 I was pretty happy with my game, too. I was able to on at least two hole hit it in to the hole in two putts. Proud, I am. I have not golfed for years. Putting was my favorite part of golfing anyway. 

  Izzy did a great job this time. Last year she was not impressed with golf, but this year she seemed to really want to finish the course. 

 Evy really tries to follow form and get the ball in. It was a hot day so I was surprised the girls lasted the whole course. It was a little busy but we did not have to hurry at all.

Mini-golf training

 
 The ice cream at the end of the day was the best part. We watched as other families were playing at each hole. But the ice cream really cooled us off under the umbrella shade.

 It was a lovely day with the granddaughters. Love this memory. We might be able to try another mini golf course before the summer is over. Hoping it won't be so hot, too.

/The front

It took me forever to make my granddaughter's 5th birthday card for her. She is into cheetahs right now so I wanted to make one with a cheetah on it. I  used my Cricut to find just the right cheetah . Most of them looked like they would eat you. This cheetah looked the friendliest of them all. 

  I found a tutorial on how to make this center fold card. Perfect for the images and sentiment I wanted to use. 

  I love my Cricut. I used it to draw the sentiment you see on either side of the center.

The back

      I didn't want the back to be blank so I used a running cheetah in the jungle to finish the theme.

I hope she likes it. I also hope she doesn't see it before her birthday at the end of the month.  Five years has gone so fast. 

  This doll that was made my Christina Ruigulles is on our Etsy store now. It is a vintage doll since I bought back in the 1980's, I think.

  She is in good shape as she has only been on display all these years. I really love the detail that she put into her face. She does an awesome job. I am not sure if she is still making these dolls, though. 

  I have a link to our store: Cooksistersdesigns on Etsy. Be sure and check  it out. 

  Well it is going to be another really not day her in Yarmouth. The weatherman is say the humidity will be high as well at tempertures reaching 90 degrees.

  I think we will be staying inside today  in our central air conditioning. I would really like to spend some time outdoors but I do not like the humidity.

  I hope your day is cool and comfortable. 

Been Too Long!!

   I cannot believe I have not posted anything for so long. I feel ashamed and yet I have been really busy. I am going to try and make a commitment to posting more often and more regularly. I must set a routine to remember to post. 

  This summer has flown by. I worked on doing the crafts for our chuches VBS (Vacation Bible School) for most of the spring. We had over 50 kids come around the end of June. I enjoyed working with students again. They were so interested in the crafts I had set up for them. 

  I have been working on fewer crafts of my own because our inventory is so high right now. We are doing The Italian Heritage Craft Fair in December , but we have plenty of projects ready. 

This is a decorated cigar box .

This cigar box is one example of what we have available for sale. We backed out of Cole's Corner because we did not do well there. We believe it is the state of our economy that are keeping people from buying right now. 

 I don't blame them with gas and food prices so high. Crafts would be way down on my list of things that you have to have. So we are just working on fun things that we enjoy making. 

  I

  I have been working on cards mostly because August is a big month for birthdays in my family. The top card is for my brother-in-law, Tom. He turns 70 next month.

I used my Cricut to cut out the images on golf. The number 70 is a die cut I have on hand. I have Cricut Access so that I can find all the images I need to make a unique card. 

  I got the sentiment off the computer looking up on Pinterest. I is wicked cute. I think Tom will like it since he is an avid golfer. The gof cart is from Cricut also. 

  Love using the black and white for vivid contrast. Easy to read and enjoy the pictures.

Mike's Card

 The other card is for Mike who is our daughter's partner. We hope to see them soon as they live out in Colorado.  Flying right now does not sound too good, though.

 The running man is from Cricut Access too. Mike is a runner and helps to set up races in Colorado. I think he will enjoy this card.

This item is for sale on Etsy.

  This flattened tin can flower holder is on sale now on our new Etsy Store. My sisters' and I decided to try online sales. 

  We are hoping that we will do well and therefore do less craft fairs. So far it has been slow. The economy is not much better.

 Anyway if you are interest in checking out Cooksistersdesigns on Etsy just put our name in the search or use this link.

Cooksistersdesigns

 You will find our crafts are upscaling items, new ways to use old items , and a few items that someone else crafted and we are ready to part with them.

 Hopefully you will see something that you like or will inspire you to put something of your own together. 

  We went on a trip to Boston in June. We went with the our son and his family, our grandchildren. It was fun. My sister, Adrianne, let us stay with them as they are in Rockland, Mass. She went with us to the Boston Aquarium, too. The kids loved The Science Museum and the Aquarium. 

 Adrianne and Lenny have an awesome pool that is heated. It was a lovely time. The weather was perfect.

Here are a few pictures from our trip. I made an album for each girl to be able to look back and remember what fun we had with family. 

We are going to Disney World this year and I plan on making an album for each of them to put their pictures in to remember the time spent together. 

When they are in high school/college I love the idea that these photos will be a way to look back and think about their awesome chldhood. 

 Well, I am getting my Sunday School lesson ready for this week. So I will sign off and hope that I will be on again soon. 

 Hope everyone is having a great summer. It will be gone before we know it.