Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 41

 


Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 41 – October 28, 2012

 

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

 

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, and, www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:



Last weekend a dear friend of ours passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack.  He was only 60 years old.  This week I’ve learned that my dear Aunt Philo is in poor health.  It is that time where life stops giving and start taking.

I know there is a season for all things but I don’t like to be sad.  It seems to me that if you let sadness into your life, it can become all consuming.  Besides, sadness is not going to make things better.  Of course, you don’t want to appear heartless, either.  Usually when things are sad around the house I try to come up with something uniquely humorous.  There used to be a game where you put your head in a picture frame and the first in the audience to laugh lost the game.  We have played that game many times in our family.

Do you remember the Laverne and Shirley show from back in the 1970’s?  There was one show where Shirley was trying to cheer up Laverne and drew an upside down face on her forehead, then bent over backwards on the sofa so it would look like a right side up drawing.  You’d have to see it to get the humor.  Yes, I did that once.  In fact, I was playing around with the kids and did that.  We all laughed and the game was over but I forgot to wash my forehead.  The doorbell rang.  The visitor kept staring at me for sometime before he asked what was on my forehead.  I rushed off to wash my face. 

Then there was the time that I ran into the room with a scarf tied around my head and I was a ninja.  That caused a real belly laugh.  I’ve done backbends, splits and various other acrobatics to get a laugh when the family is blue.  The laughter usually comes when I realize that I cannot get myself out of the position in which I just put my body.  Most of the time, I just use laughter.  How can anyone stay sad when someone around them is laughing?  It is not possible.

A friend of mine loves goose down pillows.  Well, we weren’t that fancy when I was growing up.  Mama had chicken feather pillows.  Each morning there would be feathers littered all over my bed because the hard ends would poke through the ticking and I would pull them out in my sleep.  Mama would gather them up and save them.  Ever so often Mama would make new pillows and we would spend the day pouring the chicken feathers into the new ticking.  Feathers would be all over the place.  The pillow topic is pertinent because I am washing my bedroom pillows.  They don’t get washed as often as they should but I am washing them.  They will be all clean and fluffed tonight; although these pillows aren’t even chicken feathers but rather polyester fiber.

Last night many of the girls got together at a friend’s home on the beach.  We were officially going over to visit our friend who just lost her significant other and was spending a few days on the beach.  Unofficially, we were planning a belated birthday party for the hostess.  Oh what fun we had!  Our birthday girl did not see this one coming.  Since I am the official gift hander outer, she received gifts that were placed on the sofa next to her.  One after another she unwrapped beautiful and fabulous gifts.  She finished opening the gifts on the sofa and was picking up the tissue paper and bows when I told her to hold on, there was another stack of gifts right behind her.  The gifts just kept coming.  Then we had the birthday cake.  OMG!  This cake was peanut butter and nothing less than a slice of heaven.  I’m sure it did not contain any calories at all.  It was so light and fluffy and tasted so good.

Tomorrow night the Krewe of Wrecks first meeting for 2013 Mardi Gras Season.  Oh my goodness, how times flies. 

This past week Cajun Stitchery’s Etsy store began stocking its Christmas items.  We have less than two months until Christmas.  Drop by when you get a chance and browse a bit.  In the meantime, I will be listed the items in the attached photos soon.

Have a wonderful week.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 

No time to read Cajun Corner?  Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

With Christmas right around the corner, here is a simple DIY project that would make a nice and useful Christmas gift for anyone.  Found this at http://familycrafts.about.com/od/indoordecorationscrafts/ss/Chalkboard-Cupboard-Door-Craft.htm

Learn how you can make a fun and unique chalkboard out of an old cupboard door. Search through second hand stores or yard sales to find unwanted doors, or you can even buy an inexpensive, unfinished one at your local home improvement store. This chalkboard is fun to use in a kitchen, an office, or any other room.

Instead of using an old cupboard door, why not paint the doors that are on your cupboards!?! I think this would be a fun way to decorate a toy room, office, or craft room.

·                        Age Guideline: 8 Years and Up

·                        Time Required: 60 minutes (Does not include drying time)

The above age and time guidelines are estimates. This project can be modified to suit other ages and may take more or less time depending on your circumstances.

Materials Needed:

·                        Cupboard Door (I got mine at a home improvement store)

·                        Spray Paint Primer (compare prices)

·                        Chalkboard Brush-On Paint (compare prices)

·                        Paint

·                        Small Piece of Felt (to use as an eraser)

·                        Chalk (compare prices)

·                        Masking Tape

·                        Paint Brush

·                        Newspaper

Instructions to Make Chalkboard Cupboard Door:

I used a spray paint primer and a brush on chalkboard and latex paint. You can use either brush on paint or spray paint. It really doesn't make a different, it is just a matter of personal preference.

Start out by making sure your cupboard door is clean and dust free. If possible, remove the handle. If you cannot remove the handle, cover it completely with masking tape.

Cover your work surface with newspaper (I also use wax paper sometimes). Make sure you work in a well ventilated area. Set your cupboard door on the work surface and grab your primer. Use thin layers of the primer to cover it. Wait until one layer is dry to the touch before adding another. When you are done with the primer, let it set to completely dry (follow the directions on your paint can).

Once the primer is dry, you are ready to paint the border of the door. I chose a red paint. You can tape off the center area of the cupboard door if you like, but I was just careful when I painted around the edges. Use as many layers as you need to get the shade you want. Like with the primer, when you are done painting the border, let it set to completely dry (follow the directions on your paint can).

Now, you are ready for the chalkboard paint. Use a quality paint brush to apply a few layers, allowing each one to dry between coats. Let the chalkboard paint cure for as long as the paint can says. My chalkboard paint can also suggested I condition the chalkboard paint by rubbing the side of the chalk over it and then wiping it off. Don't skip this step, I did with another project and I could not totally erase the lines.

Now you can use your new cupboard door chalkboard and enjoy! If you want to hang it, you can screw it directly to the wall and paint the screw heads. You can also use eye hooks screwed to the top or buy picture hanging hardware to attach to the back of the cupboard door.

I hope you enjoy making this craft. If you do make it, make sure you send in a photo so it can be posted here. You can also get your own crafts published. You can be one of the first to know when new craft projects are posted by taking a few moments to sign up for the Family Crafts Newsletter and you can also chat about crafts with others in the Family Crafts Forum.

 
 
C’est tout, mes amis
Peggy Henshall
Cajun Stitchery
(850) 261-2462
P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 43





Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 43 – October 28, 2011



Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.



ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:



We had several orders last week for bags with the Cajun saying and Teaching is a Work of Heart.  All orders have been filled and shipped.

Last Monday I met my friend from MADD for lunch at The Coffee House to give her the table runner that I made.  As we were standing at the counter placing our order, we were commenting on the beautiful antique photographs on the wall of a turn of the century wedding.  The photos were family photos of the owner.  My friend and I were both commenting on our own weddings and each of us wished we had more and better photographs.  The young lady who was waiting on us mentioned that she is getting married on November 6th.  My friend and I clicked into motherly mode and began asking questions.  The young waitress is from a small town outside of Boston and her family cannot attend the wedding.  She has been living with her husband-to-be for 7 years and they have decided to get married in their little church in Foley, Alabama.  They have nothing to speak of and are living with her in-laws to be.  We asked if she had a wedding gown and she said, no, they are just going to stay after church that day and get married.  She was still saving her money to get him a wedding band.  At that point, we began serious meddling.  We didn’t want her to be our age and regretting not having enough pictures or having the wedding of her dreams.  We began speculating that certainly someone has a wedding gown they could loan her.  You only wear those gowns once.

Thus began the search.  When I got home, I put out a message on Facebook with my WBL group about the situation and that we are looking for a wedding gown in a size 6-8 for this young lady.  Before the day was out, my sweet peep and business consultant contacted me and was having her wedding gown shipped here from her mother for the bride. 

The Facebook message took on a life of its own and I put the message out for all of my Facebook friends.  Another friend messaged that WBL has a Pay it Forward Wedding Program where girls put all of their wedding décor and the like in the program and whoever needs it can help themselves.  Down the road they help someone else.

We had offers of deals on wedding bands and all sorts of things.  My friend got in touch with the pastor of the church who said that the congregation was planning a surprise reception after the wedding.

Another friend, a hairdresser, has both the bride and groom coming in that morning to have her hair done and he gets a hair cut.

It seemed like everything was falling into place but if the bride is going to wear this gorgeous gown (we now have the gown), then we don’t want the groom showing up in jeans.  So, we got some measurements from the bride for the groom’s size and began trying to find a tux for him.  I must say that the generosity was overwhelming.  No one seemed to have his size in a tux.  Facebook friends began saying that if we could get a deal from one of the local tuxedo rentals, then whoever would like, could call the tuxedo rental company and charge whatever amount they could on their credit cards for this young man’s tux.  The problem with that offer is that you don’t know how much of a bill will be remaining for the groom to pay. 

Today, I have spoken with both the bride and groom.  I should be meeting with her today to give her the gown.  They keep telling me that he is more of a suit jacket and jeans guy.  That simply will not do; not with this gown. 

To top off the generosity, a dear friend of mine who is literally at her ailing mother’s bedside in Idaho, called to say she knows the owner of a local tuxedo rental store and is going to place a call and have the owner call me to make the arrangements for the tux.  My friend, who owns an entertainment/DJ business, told me that if she was here, she would provide the music and entertainment.

I love people.  Given an opportunity, people always rise to the occasion.  This week’s kindness and generosity has been pretty overwhelming.

As if that wasn’t enough human kindness for one week, there was more.  I knew that one of our neighborhood friends was having a birthday this week.  His wife emailed me and wanted to give him a surprise party, but, as it turned out, another neighbor had a birthday this week, too.  The plan was that we would get the neighborhood together at my house and hide them in the back yard.  When our birthday boy walks by (via a devious plan between his wife and mother-in-law), I would call him over to show him something.  Once he was on my deck, everyone would jump out and say “Surprise.”  This plan worked perfectly.

The second part of the plan was that when we bring out the birthday cake, we would sing “Happy Birthday” to both birthday boys.  The cake had both names on it.  Thus, we had the second birthday surprise.  Again, the plan worked perfectly.

We had appetizers, lasagna, salad, garlic bread, birthday cake and lots and lots of wine.  Not only was the first birthday boy surprised, but neither of them expected the second surprise.  They both received birthday cards and gifts and our neighbor that plays guitar played as we all sang songs.  We had a fire in the chiminea.  We ended up with about 12 people at the party.  It was an absolutely perfect evening.

Before I forget, I still have the box for non-perishable food for the homeless shelters.  If you are in the area, drop off some non-perishables.  The food drive is going on to December.

All cell phone holders in our Etsy store are half price ($5.00), so stop by www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com and get some cute cell phone holders as gifts for Christmas.

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 
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Thank you Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Father Murphy walks into a bar on Bourbon Street,

and asks the first man he meets, “Do you want to go to heaven?”

The man said, “I do, Father.”

The priest said, “Then stand over there against

the wall.”

Then the priest asked the second man, “Do you want

to go to heaven?”

“Certainly, Father,” the man replied.

“Then stand over there against the wall,” said the

priest.

Then Father Murphy walked up to Thibodaux and

asked, “Do you want to go to heaven?”

Thibodaux said, “No, I don't Father.”

The priest said, “I don't believe this. You mean

to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?”

Thibodaux said, “Oh, when I die, yes. I thought

you were getting a bunch together to go right now.”

=================================================================

C’est tout, mes amis



Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462




P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Cajun Corner - Vol. 2, No. 28

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 28 – July 23, 2010


Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.

This week George has been embroidering caps, visors, and more caps for the upcoming Mystic Krewe of Nereids Splash Party on August 21st at Paradise Bar & Grill, beginning at 3 p.m. We have found one type of visor that our machine simply does not want to embroider on and will, therefore, have to replace those visors. When we first started learning about cap embroidery, one of the articles that we read said that different machines had different quirks and to find the caps that your machine handles well and avoid the ones that your machine just doesn’t want to embroider. The only way you know is to try. These visors are anti-Boudreaux.

Aside from caps, caps and more caps, we did an Etsy blitz this week. One day we listed several items, one right after another. Then two days later we listed a couple more items. We got visitors. We got hearts. This morning I found that 3 of our items were used in 3 different treasuries on Etsy. Those are all good things. Two of the treasuries listed red lips smiley hankies in the pin stripe which was very encouraging to me. I’ve been noticing that I’m seeing more pin striped, ticking type designs lately. Maybe that is coming into vogue.

A surprise with the red lips design is that the zipper lips don’t get as many visitors as the smiles. And I think that’s exactly the reason. The zipper lips are not smiling. Just goes to prove that smiles attract people and frowns repel people.

Last night I changed the prices on several of our Etsy items. It’s our Christmas in July sale. Maybe this is the wrong way to go about doing it but I didn’t specify which items are for sale. Once you click on the item, it says it’s on sale but you have to click on the item first. I was thinking about having some sort of contest but I haven’t quite figured that one out yet.

After our last Cajun Corner, I received an order for 2 of the duffle bags. The customer said she was giving them to her children for back to school. Oh my! Is it that time already? Yes, it is. Start thinking about everything you need to purchase for your children for school. Do your children lose things? Mine sure did. Have their names embroidered on the items. You know that Cajun Stitchery can do patches. Get several patches with your child’s name embroidered and glue the patches onto their items.

Mama used to make us book covers for all of our books. They were not only handy because we could stick papers and pens in the slot the book cover created but there was no mistaking whose book that was. If Mama had had an embroidery machine, I’m sure our names would have been on each of those book covers. The problem with this is that each book is a different size, so there is no OSFA (one size fits all) and therefore, each book cover would have to be customized. But a name patch would work just fine.

We are getting geared up for the Arts & Wine Festival this year. The Cajun Stitchery staff has had meetings lately on what we plan to bring to the Festival. Ooooh, I’m excited.

The camellia napkins were a great hit. My friend is bringing them to her friends tomorrow. We did order the fingertip towels but haven’t received them yet.

I contacted a new wholesaler this week. During my telephone conversation with the nice lady at the company, she mentioned that she didn’t understand why customers didn’t use their free website option more. What they do is Cajun Stitchery gets a free website with the company’s catalog. This allows the customer to browse the catalog and see what is in stock and the prices. The customer can actually purchase items right there. It’s connected to PayPal. Our website is www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery. It is very new and I’m sure there are glitches to it, but try it out and browse around and see if you like it. Let me know what does not work, what you like, what you do not like, and I’ll try to tweak the site.

Christmas is coming and customers are starting to do their Christmas shopping at Cajun Stitchery. Get this out of the way as soon as you can.

We are still getting the bell peppers and green beans from the garden. Yummy. It’s time to start planning the fall garden.

This week was not all fun and games. One of the original krewe members passed away. I had only met her once or twice but liked her immediately. She had battled brain cancer for ten years and it finally won. It is sad that she is gone but good that she no longer has to endure a painful battle.

On another sad note, one of my most precious friends has found that she has breast cancer. The good thing is that it was detected very early and although she requires treatment, she should come through without any problems.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From Marshall Larrivere:

One day, Boudreaux was walking down Main Street when he saw his buddy Thibodeaux driving a brand new pickup.

Boudreaux pulled up to him with a wide grin.

"Thibodeaux", where'd you git that truck?'

'Tammie give it to me.' Thibodeaux replied.

'She give it to ya?

I know'd she wuz kinda sweet on ya, but a new truck?'

'Well, Boudreaux, let me tell you what happened.

We wuz drivin' out on County Road 6, in the middle of nowheres.

Tammie pulled off the road, put the truck in 4-wheel drive, and headed into the woods.

She parked the truck, got out, threw off all her clothes and said,

"Thibodeaux", take whatever you want.'

So I took the truck!'

"Thibodeaux", you a smart man! Them clothes woulda never fit you!'

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: Je crois qu'ils vont se fiancer pour Noël. (I think they're going to get engaged at Christmas.)

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From: http://www.all4naturalhealth.com/herbs-for-cancer.html

Often underestimated because it is common, garlic is the number one anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitical herb. If something in the body needs killing, garlic is the herb for the job. Garlic is so powerful that people have killed their cancer from eating garlic alone.

If you have cancer, you need to be eating a minimum of 3-5 cloves of raw garlic per day. Eight cloves per day is a minimum if you are deathly ill.

Garlic is an herb that you cannot take too much of. Dr Richard Schulze, the master herbalist and successful natural healer, strongly advocates the liberal use of garlic to aid and strengthen the body. He has even gone as far as to say that if he is to use only one program or food for healing, it would be garlic. That’s how powerful garlic can be as an herbal remedy for cancer.

Garlic is truly one of the most powerful herbs for cancer fighting, as well as battling other diseases. When you are seriously ill, then the more garlic you are eating, the better. If you have cancer, you are best off eating 8, 12, 16, 20, or even more cloves per day. Having reeking garlic breath is a small price to pay for beating cancer.

It is critical you use high quality organic garlic which is potent and raw. Organically grown garlic usually has stronger health properties.

Quality garlic is hard, and its cloves are white. A good quality bulb of garlic will have around 12, large cloves, with each clove being around an inch long and as thick as an adult’s thumb. Garlic which has many small cloves (as many as 30 to 50) as well as being yellowish in color is usually of inferior quality.

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.

C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, July 29, 2010)

Sale: Multi Color Tie Dye Adult Tee + name or initials = $21.00 + tax/shipping

Hanes - #T1001

Multi Color Tie Dye Adult Tee

Colors: blue jerry, blue ocean, eclipse, eternity, evening sky, flag, fluorescent swirl, galaxy, moondance, neon rainbow, rasta blue, reactive rainbow, Saturn, spiral blue/lavender, spiral pink/lt pink, spiral royal/red, spiral purple/lt purple, spiral yellow/blue, spiral yellow/orange, wild spider, Woodstock,

5.2 oz. 100% ComfortSoft� cotton. Double-needle coverseamed neck. Taped shoulder-to-shoulder. Double-needle sleeve & bottom hem.