Busy! Busy! Busy!

Most of you that know me know I can't sit still for long and I love to try new things! When we were engaged my Dad told Dustin he had a "Tiger by the Tail" and Dustin is always bringing that up when I'm on the prowl for a good project! I thought it would be fun to make note of the things I've been trying out...maybe it's something you'd like to try out too. Some of them have been flops, some really fun, some very time consuming and tedious, but it's kept us busy this summer...here's what we've been up to! I finally did it! Dehydrated peaches that actually taste good! I have to give credit where credit it due here... Dustin's Mom let me in on the secret to making really good dehydrated peaches. Cut them up, boil them in sugar water for 3 min. before putting them on the dryer and don't them them dry too long! Soooo yummy! I actually want to do more of these...anyone getting rid of excess peaches? Send them my way!
Super hero capes! Last year I got the pattern from Melissa and made some of these reversible capes for a boutique and for the boys for Christmas. They loved them! I've had people asking for them so I thought I would get a jump on having some on hand to sell and I made 20 of them! Whew! They are tedious and I am sick of it, but I am glad to have a stock pile of them. So fun! My kids play with theirs all the time. It make it worth the work!
Dustin's Mom came down for a few days to bring Kristi and DeniAnn back to School. She is an empty nester now...Sad. We love her pickled beats and we are constantly begging her for them all year long. So she brought a whole box down for us to can and she even helped Dustin bottle them all while I was at work Saturday morning! He was proud, and I am happy to have a stock pile of them. Yummy! Thanks Mom!



I have been experimenting with recipes that would be good for treat plates come Christmastime. These take the cake! Dipped pretzels and homemade turtles! Sooo good! We worked out a lot of the kinks and the caramel was to die for! Next time they will look prettier, but I was pretty proud of these babies! VERY GOOD, but not good for you! LOL!
Now that Dustin is working a few nights a week I have been catching up on my crocheted blankets. I keep bringing fabric home from work and figured I should use some of it. I love crocheting. Something relaxing about it. Totally grandma I know, but oh well! I took one up to Dustin's Mom's to work on while we were there and she asked if she could take it and give it to one of the ladies she visit teaches that had just had a baby. I was so excited to give it to her. She's the one who taught me how to crochet in the first place and if she thinks it's good enough to give away then it means I'm getting better! There is so much to learn with this art...love it!
I have had this purse design floating around in my head for months now. I see all these cute handmade bags at work and I like different things about all of them so I decided to try and put them all together and this is what I came up with. There is some flaws...it's not perfect, but it was way fun making it! I still haven't put it to use though...it took so long to make I don't want to use it and get it dirty! LOL! I can't take credit for the wallet either, DeniAnn made that for me with the extra fabric! So cute!