and i think they're hooked.

Literally...Sheri hooked herself as she was sewing her pumpkin closed. 

I guess this so-called non-crafty neighbor loved crafting so much that she felt the need to sew herself to her pumpkin so she would forever be close to her crafts! 

 

We may not have been the speediest bunch of crafters -- but i think the first Centrennial Craft & Wine Night was a hit -- I am pleased to report that I successfully converted 3 non-crafters and by the end of the night they were so proud of their projects they were practically drinking the craftaholic kool aid right out of my hands!  oh wait..maybe that was wine.  Either way, I would wager that this will not be the last of the Centrennial Craft Nights. 
 
(btw...we call our neighborhood Centrennial because it is where Central Avenue meets Centennial Street.) 
 

(thanks for the photo Perk, I stole it from your blog.  Remember, the blog you promised us?  I think it expired over a year ago.)    :)

It was fun to see each crafter take on different roles last night as though we were at

Abby's Craft Academy:

Abby (me) -- Teacher & Hostess with the Mostess. (of course!) :)

Sheri -- Most Improved and Teacher's Assistant. (Sheri had never crafted before and by the end of the night she was teaching others how to make the stuffed pumpkins)

Miranda -- Chaperone. (We all tried to coax Miranda into starting a craft but she kept saying "I am just watching right now." She did, however prove to be very willing to trek through the backyard in the dark to find everyone sticks (or stems) for their pumpkins.  Thanks Miranda!

Suzanne -- Class Pyro. (she almost burned a hole through the table with her husband's industrial strength glue gun)

Alison -- Over Achiever.  (although Alison's crafting strategy was "slow and steady"...she did impress everyone by running out and purchasing her very own glue gun the day before so that she was prepared!  This might not be a big deal for most people, but I bet Alison never thought she would actually own such a thing! What's next Alice, a sewing machine?)

Christy -- Too Cool for School. (Christy's no beginner.  She brought her own crafts!  which, I guess is acceptable since she IS hosting a huge Tag Sale in her home next month -- where she will be selling all sorts of hand made & repurposed items, and refinished furniture. We wait all year for Christy's Tag Sale!) 

Becky -- Tardy Student but Fast Learner.  Becky double-booked our Centrennial Craft Night with another craft party.  The nerve!  We should call her Most Popular Crafter.  But she juggled her appointments well and was able to drop by late and still finish a pumpkin!

and the naughtiest crafter award goes to.......little Finner b. deRoo.

(The name Finner b. evolved from several versions of nicknames...his given name is Finnley, which we shortened to Finn and then Finn bo and Finner bo and then Finner bo Binner and then Finner b.  And Finner b. just stuck because we found ourselves having to discipline this naughty little puppy more than his older brother (York) and Finner b. conveniently turned into our common phrases of "Finner be good!"  and "Finner behave!")

These such scoldings were repeated frequently last night as Finner thought it was his job to "help" Christy with her crafts.  And by "help" I mean steal.  Finn was caught stealing items from Christy's basket of crafts at least 4 times!  He was also busted for stealing a potato (from our failed potato stamp craft) off the kitchen counter.

who me?

YES YOU!

Here is a look at some of our completed crafts!!  We were planning to carve our own potato stamps to decorate our stuffed pumpkins as seen here.  but, well, I didn't really account for having to carve our letters in reverse.  I'm no engineer, you see.  I was whittling away at my Z potato stamp.  (Z for Zeeland...obviously) when Taylor came in the room and pointed out that I needed to carve the letter in reverse.  Like a mirror image.  In order for it to stamp correctly.  That seemed like a lot of work and I am more of a "let's wing it" type of crafter.  (hey, don't judge!  If I got caught up in all of the little details I would never get anything done!)  So...I packed up my potatoes, put away my knife and we decided to just paint and stitch our message onto our pumpkins.  Sheri painted "120" on her pumpkin (her address) and Becky stitched on a "P" for Perkins (her last name.)  I borrowed Becky's P stencil and flipped it upside down to trace a lowercase "d" for deRoo.  Why reinvent the wheel, right?  Suzanne made a mini pumpkin which was basically the most precious thing you have ever seen...but I wasn't able to get a picture before she took it home.  (Suzanne moves very quickly so if you don't plan it quite right you will miss her altogether.  She's always power walking around the neighborhood -- I swear she moves faster than the cars!)

Curious little Finner b. sniffing the pumpkin.  Or...is he trying to steal the stick?

And here is a glimpse at our other little craft!  Suzanne, Alison and I made a felt birdie pin.  (Alison was in the process of making a felt owl pin too but didn't finish before she left...I wonder if she pulled an all-nighter trying to finish it??)  I think everyone was surprised to find out how addicting crafting can be! 

This is the perfect fall accessory for your favorite cardigan, scarf, wool hat, pea coat or jean jacket!!  It's even cute on a throw pillow or lamp shade.  I think my next phase of crafting will include making these little cuties in multiples and sewing a little yarn loop on them and hanging them from my Christmas tree.  A merry folk art Christmas to me! 

I am headed to Chicagoland this weekend with Emily to visit Megan and Bethany.  Check back for reports on our mindless gossip, shopping extravaganzas and crafting attempts.  Top of the list...Stella and Dot look alike (knock off) necklaces.  See the original below.  Stay tuned to see ours this weekend...

Linked to:

Blue Cricket design.net/

I beg your pardon.

Please allow me to beg your pardon.  It has been just shy of a year since I last blogged.  Inappropriate.  I know.  But, it's never too soon (or too late) to claim a New Year's Resolution, right?  So, Happy New Blog Year!!   Let's try this whole blog thing again and see if this time we can get it to stick...

Sometimes I might write this blog as though we're the closest of friends, and I will often make assumptions you know who & what I am talking about.  And other times I might write as though we're strangers and spend too much time describing people and places -- so just bare with me, please.  If you expect me to blog often you can't be too critical of my blogging style.  Deal?.

To Recap: Last year's blog was an account of the transformation and journey of our little old Zeeland (farm)house.  (We don't live on a farm.  We live in the city.  (a cute little city, called Zeeland, actually.)  But I tend to refer to our house as a farm house because, well, back in 1865  people lived on farms.  And, well, our style mimics that of an old farm house.  We're not so much country, not so much primitive, not so much vintage.  Just eclectic.  (that's the polite way to say "random") but somehow, it all seems to work.  Or at least I am hopeful that it works.  Updated Farmhouse.  That's us.

If you want the whole story on our new old little farmhouse, you can dig back deeper in this blog.  I think it's back there.  But here's the short version: the house was built in 1865.  It's the second oldest standing house in Zeeland (or so we've been told.)  Most recently the house has been a two family rental for 40+ years.  We bought it December 23, 2008 and started working on it January 2009. 

312 East Central BEFORE:

312 East Central: DURING

More DURING (poor thing!)

Ta Da!!  312 E. Central: AFTER

We moved in May 2009 and have been living happily ever after ever since. 

So who is the US behind this blog?  We're the deRoo's.  Taylor & Abby (mostly Abby...Taylor doesn't blog.  But you will hear about him a lot because he's great.)

We're just two young kids, pretending to act like grown ups when all we really want to do is play with our 'dales.  (Airedale Terriers: meet Finn & York.) 

Yorkshire deRoo - turns 4 yrs old January 2011

alias': Yorker Porker, Buster, Buster Brown Dog, Yorkerboy, Yorkchop

Finnley deRoo - turns 2 January 2011

alias': Finner, Finner bo, Finner b., Finner b. Good, Finner Finner Chicken Dinner, Skinny Finny

So this blog will vary on topics but you can mostly count on: crafts, decorating, fashion, airedales, and commentary on our little deRoo life.  But please understand that I am both obsessive and lazy at the same time.  I go in very sporadic streaks when it comes to follow through on my hobbies, which now includes blogging.  For example, this summer I read like 20 novels -- I couldn't get enough.  But now it's October and I haven't picked up a book since August.  My other hobbies follow similar patterns: cooking, running, visiting friends....and when it comes to crafts it's the same way.  Lately I have been making every craft I see -- but I make no promises that I will actually keep this up for an extended period of time.  Decorating is more of an ongoing hobby -- but of course this one relies on money and time.  (two things that us Zeelanders are pretty stingy about.)  !!  But regardless of my varying levels of ambition to create new projects...I am quite the self proclaimed blog stalker. I am very good at stealing style & craft ideas and combining them so it all fits together like a style dream!   

So...now that I have talked myself up :) .... let's see what kind of entertainment we can come up with.

This evening I am hosting a craft and wine night with my neighbor friends.  A couple are crafty and a couple, are, well....not so crafty. (girls, you know who you are.) Since I am hosting and taking on the roll of Martha Stewart for the night, I got to pick the crafts.  Here are the projects we are going to work on:

      My Book Page Wreath                        



You can find a how-to tutorial at here at Living with Lindsay.

Linked up at the Jones Design Company Link Party!



My Felt Birdie Pin

You can find a tutorial here at Lemon Tree Creations.

Corn Husk Wreath (I have made 3 but haven't taken pictures yet)

Picture and tutorial found here at House of Hepworths.

...and finally Potato Stamped Pumpkins

pictures and tutorial found here at Lemon Tree Creations.

I went craft binge shopping last night at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn's to gather all of our supplies.  I just need to track down some extra large potatoes to carve my {FALL} stamps.  Not entirely sure how that is going to go...

wish us luck! 

um...by the way.  I am playing around with this new blog makeover...so don't be surprised if the look -- or the title changes as I go.  Just warning ya..