I hope you don’t mind, but I have some random things that I’ve been wanting to share. The problem is that I haven’t really had the right posts for them to be included. I decided that I’m just going to put them all in one unconnected post. Okay?

First I’ll wrap up some Christmas gifts that I haven’t shared.

My friend Patty loves the beach and so when I was out shopping I saw a sea shell wreath that I thought would be great… until I saw the price. I love Patty, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay that kind of money for some sea shells glued onto a wreath form. Especially when I knew that I could easily glue sea shells onto a wreath form. You’ve heard me say in the past that often my ideas appear to be good ones… and then I try to execute them. *sigh* I gave Jay instructions that the next time I come up with a “great” idea he needs to just stop me cold in my tracks. It took two weeks, and some burns, but here’s the sea shell wreath that I made:

Luckily I have a very resourceful husband because I had no idea how I was going to hang this once I had finished gluing it together. Jay figured out the hanging part and we were all set. Patty claims that she loves it, too.

Christmas day I was very impressed when my mom gave this gift to me:

It’s a quilted wall hanging! Jay thought she had painted the scene, so I guess it wasn’t as impressive when I told him how these are really made. Oh, and it’s not uneven and wavy. I only had one place to hang it in order to take a picture and so it was kind of moving when this was snapped.

I think that my mom did a great job with her long arm. I can’t wait to display it next year!

It was also right around Christmas time when I discovered that my Dresses for Missions group at church was going to send a bunch of stuff for baby boxes down to Haiti. The birthing center was in need of the necessities to fill the boxes (receiving blankets, diapers, etc) so that they could give them out to the women who were taking the classes. And yes, the boxes are used for the babies to sleep in, too.

I decided that I could easily make receiving blankets as they are fairly simple. To get the most bang for my buck I went to Goodwill and Salvation Army where I purchased flannel sheets that were in really good condition. They were the thinner flannel so they shouldn’t make the babies too hot. Then I took the sheets up to my mom’s because she’s got a lot more room around her cutting board than what I have around mine.

I simply used a plate to round the corners and then I serged the edges. Easy as pie.

My mom gave me a few baby hats that she had knitted to send along with them.

I am working on an actual dress for my group, but it’s not quite done.

Finally, I just wanted to show you something that made me giggle. Take a look at this picture:

I was shopping late one night and in a hurry, but when I got to the ketchup and saw this I had to laugh. Most ketchup bottles are now made to stand on their caps so that you don’t have to shake them to get the ketchup to come out. Typically you see them displayed standing on their caps. I don’t know if it was just this store where they were displayed upside down or what. I probably looked goofy with my head turned so that I could attempt to read the labels. It’s not easy reading them upside down!