MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY BBF's!!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY BEST BLOGGING FRIENDS!!!!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to my best blog friends and share my front porch with you. We got  alittle bit of a White Christmas here in Michigan. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We did and tomorrow we have one more party with Sim's boys and family! And Caylee Roxanne!!! Looking forward to catching up with everyone this week!! Thanks for all your love and prayers!!!

XO Fran.

While I was sleeping!!!!

 Last Friday, I had surgery on my bladder and while I was sleeping on the couch, Sim put up our tree!! We have a faux tree and this year had bought new colored bulbs to put on it. In colors I love that match the living room. Brown and gold. Usually we have all the traditional colors but for a change decided to try this. I love it!

He even put up the stockings with green garland and gold beads. Our stockings are very important to us. And as we blended our family together we found out that the stockings are the most important to us and something that has stayed consistent with our kids no matter how old they are. We go from the top down Sim and I and then each one by their age. I am so blessed that I have a husband who knows how important this to us and that he is willing to help out!! Sims boys will be up for Christmas the day after Christmas. I can't wait as Caylee Roxanne will be here too. She is 20 months old now and so cute! She didn't like Santa she was so scared of him. Poor Santa he makes alot of little kids cry!! LOL 

And here is a rare moment with my girls!! I needed their picture together for a gift for my Mom. The girls of course had to be funny! I love it! I know everyone is busy getting ready for the holidays. I am  trying not to stress about it cuz the real meaning of it is Jesus birthday. And the most important too is gathering together as families. I am so looking forward to that. And also thankful. I have been loving looking at all of the decorations that are being posted. I love reading all the family traditions and seeing all the talent that goes in to many of the gifts and decorations. I think we all needed a break from the stress we have each day. And Christmas is the perfect time for that!!

XO Fran.



My newest little cuties and some more Christmas Baking!!

Here is my newest little cutie I've been making! I just love how these turned out!! I used old wooden spools from my jar. These only measure 2 1/2'. I even made the stick pins that I put in them. I still like the red and green colors. I have these two listed in my Etsy shoppe. I will be making one of these for myself. Maybe it's the 70's girl in me but I just love the mushroom!!  

I thought they looked so sweet with my grubby Snowman ornaments.



Here is my latest baking project! This is another pumpkin bread recipe and I got the bread baker from Etsy. I love it and it turns out so cute!! I splurged and bought this for me! Oops! But I have also wanted one of these for awhile! I plan on making regular bread in it all winter. We finally got a new furnace last night! YAY!! We were without heat for six days! Oh my goodness so cold in this Michigan weather! That is why I have been doing alot of baking and cooking in the oven! LOL But God blessed us with a family member who did everything he could for us. And in the end he had to change the whole big brain part! No duct work though!!! And he only charged us a very small amount but we know that he paid for the rest. Yes I have been praising God and thanking Him for the Angels He puts in our lives!!

I'm off to see my son at his group home, somehow he sprained his foot. I need to go and hug him, and Kaitlin is taking him some Mickey D's, his favorite!!! The rush is on!! But I am still loving it!!

XO Frannie

Can I get a Woot Woot!!

Yesterday and today I was at a craft show. This one was so much better than the last one! I met some new people and really enjoyed it. It is such hard work. I love it when God gives you surprises. I met another Etsy artist and of course I did alittle shopping. I took some pics to share with you of my table and some of my goodies I've been making and selling. 

These are just a few of my pin cushions I had left and my prim needful clothespins, and spools. In the background more of my Hot Chocolate Mix. I am selling that pretty good and my chocolate Nut Clusters were a big hit along with my chocolate cherry and orange slices.

Here is what is left of my prim grubby ornies. I love making these and I have them displayed in an old desk divided drawer with some faux greens. The bigger snowman faces are my ones made out of upcycled blankets. These are all hand sewed by me. My most favorite way to sew!! I sewed a couple of Snowman ornaments while I was there. I can't just sit there! LOL Anyways I guess this lady was watching and I didn't know it, and when I was done I put the first one done on the table for sale and she came over and bought it from me. She loved it! I sure got a hoot out that!! But was very flattered!!

Here are my Tomato Pin Cushions I put into an old canning funnel. These are so cute and I have listed these in my Etsy before and will be listing these little beauty's too this week. They are only five inches across. They look so cute and prim in this fruit basket and shredding. I added one of my handmade tags that says "Homemade".

This is also one of my upcycled "Nest" spoons I had left over from my Fall crafts. They turned out so cute. I had little battery operated tea lights sitting around on my table with my grubby coffee dyed doilies. And a couple of bigger red battery operated candles too. They look so sweet on there and are safe.

This is a pic of me being happy!! LOL Brooke took this of me after we got home from getting some supper. We were having fun and laughing cuz some of the pics were pretty funny!! I got a new headband that is so cool. It has fur on it and is a rosette. I just love it!! You can kinda see it in the picture. I love wearing these vests for the winter. You can wear them for dress up or just casual which is what I love about them. I so want a faux fur one!

This is the pic I took of Brooke. Funny story the craft show I was at just happened to be the same one that Brooke's Workshop was at also!! She volunteered to work on Saturday. So we hung out all day together. Well sorta she was at their table and I was at mine. I was so proud of her!! And we had a good day. We are both tired and were really hungry so went out to the Classic Coney Island up in town. Now we are both in our PJ's!! Our furnace broke down yesterday and needs a part but won't be able to get it until Monday. So we are both in our rooms cuddled up in our blankeys too!! Our house is pretty cold right now! Kaitlin left and went to her Aunts for the night! I guess we are troopers and will just stay bundled up!! LOL

XO Frannie.  



 

How cool is this!!!

I don't know if you guys are on Pinterest but you should be!! Oh my goodness the ideals are abundant and amazing!! Warning you will get hooked!! LOL



Kaitlin pinned this awesome ideal from Pinterest for our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange and Bingo party we have with our cuzins every year!! They turned out so cute and adorable!! Kaitlin actully named them "Reindeer got run over by Grandma" because on our way to the party we had a car accident BUT we are ok. It was a hit and run. My poor orange car is broken in the back!! Kaitlin has whiplash pretty bad and is on pain meds. But my Mom was with us and Brooke too. That is why Kaitlin named them that!! Now that it is over we can laugh about it. I know for sure that we have Gaurdian Angels watching over us.  Now back to more good stuff!! LOL

Thanksgiving night I went to Walmart and waited in line for over two hours for this little cutey!! I have wanted one so bad for the last five years! So this year I dived in on all the sales!! Oh mylanta I can't believe all the fighting that goes on!! And grown women!! I was only at the 8:00 pm and 12:00 sale!!! I got this for less than $20.00!! It is a Hamilton Beach!! I am keeping it out on my counter til after Christmas. This is my pumpkin bread I make every year for the Cookie Exchange! I make banana too!! Everyone makes such cute things!! And we just wrap them up real cute and exchange that way!! There is three generations of us!! We all bring about 3-4 Dollar Store gifts and play Bingo for a few hours and that is our prizes!! We get real cute stuff and have a blast!!! I got the cutest snow globe this year and some other cute ornaments. One is a snowman that I am gonna coffee dye. We bring food and draw names for Christmas Eve. I am excited next year Kaitlin and I will be hosting at our house!! We love to have parties! So we can use things like what we pin on Pinterest!!

Here is another ideal we got from pinning!! This was a recipe for Tortilla Soup made in a crock pot!! I have been wanting to cook in my crock pot for awhile now. Kaitlin found this one too and I just went for it!! It was so easy!!! I was so proud of myself!!! LOL

 This is the pot after Sim, Kaitlin and I had it for dinner last night!! It is super easy and I will share the recipe if you want!! We added tortilla chips, grated cheese, and sour cream to it like it called for!! Yummo!! I am so taking this to gatherings!!! LOL and I am going to for sure try more recipes in the crock pot!!! So that's what I've been up to besides working on more crafts for a show this weekend and trying to keep my Etsy up!! I also found out on Monday that I will be having surgery again for my bladder on December 16th. So I've got to get all my stuff done by then and all my fun in!! LOL Hey at least I can shop early and get some rest after that so I'll be able to go to our Christmas Eve family party. I haven't missed one since I was born a long time ago!! LOL We got some snow last night and it has really put me in the Christmas mood!! The sun is shining and the trees look so pretty!! I'm off to make some more goodies!! XO Frannie



  

The Bagg Ladies Day Out!!!!

Hello!!

Well our day out at the craft show was sorta a bust!! But still we had a good day out together!! This show was more of an Business Expo than a craft show. I believe this was probably the problem. Not enough traffic in the craft areas. I find this happens sometimes I try not to let it discourage me!!!

 The hustle and bustle of the holidays is starting!! We are going in many different directions around here! That's what happens with blended families!! LOL We will be seeing our little Caylee Roxanne tomorrow!! Can't wait for that! My sister-in-law is having dinner. My girls are off to spend time with their Dads. Danny will be coming home to see both of us and eating turkey at his Dads. I'm off to be a helper!! I am helping a lady I know get ready for out of town guests. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!! Love ya!! 

XO Frannie 

Here's what I am busy making and doing!!!

I have been busy making gift baskets and just thought I'd pop in and show you!! I have this little gift basket listed in my Etsy shoppe but wrapped it up pretty to take to the craft show with me tomorrow! Once again Sim will be there with me. I am happy about that! We have had one rough week here! Sim had 2 Aunts die within 9 hours of each other. And then on Monday Brooke found out her Grandma had died. So we had three relatives from this house up at our funeral home. The funerals were on Wednesday, Thursday, and today Friday was Brooke's Grandmas. We also found out that they are closing Sim's Kroger store he is Grocery Manager at this week too. He will be transferred to another store but does not know where yet. It is closing the first of the year. So crafting and getting ready for the craft show sure has been a blessing!! There are alot of blessings in life and I am holding on to them.

Here are a few more gift baskets I made up. I have more done and more to pack up. I will share pics of the show, we are going tonight to set up. It's in a town about a half hour from here. Kinda a cool town. Like I said I am excited to re-focus and spend some time with Sim and Kindred Spirits.  

Thanks for looking I'm off to make some candies and do some packing!!

XO Fran.



Today is this Beautiful Girls Birthday!!

This is my daughter Brooke and today is her 31st birthday!! In case you haven't noticed she does not look like me!! BUT she is my daughter!! LOL None of my kids look like me! Why is that I wonder? She is a ray of sunshine at times and I love the sound of her laughter. She works at a Workshop called Freedom Works and they help her to get jobs. She makes jewelry and right now she is making the coolest bracelets out of the pull tabs from pop cans and ribbon. They are so awesome. She also loves dogs and was working at a dog grooming place here in Mt. Morris but the job ended, so she is hoping to get one somewhere else.The workshop is helping her to look. She is also working towards Independent Living in an Apartment. As you can see she loves to talk on the phone all the time!! LOL Brooke had seizures as a little girl at the age of 2 1/2 and it damaged her brain. She can't drive a car but loves to go bye bye with me alot!! LOL She is a blessing and pretty much a rock star at the workshop and loves to help others. Just thought on this special day I'd introduce her to you!!! Brooke and Kaitlin are half sisters and that is why they don't look to much like each other either!! LOL We will be celebrating her special day with a baked potato bar here at the house and some special cupcakes!! God gives the best gifts and that is why I am sharing Brooke with you today!!

XO Fran.

Meet my Friend Amy!!!

Amy from www.lifeinpinkhitops.blogspot.com is so talented!! She can sew cook and remake just about everything!!! She is married with three children and she loves the Lord!! I have been blessed to be friends with Amy. We live in different states but I know she is always there! This is one of her new aprons! She upcycled this from a mans oxford shirt. She can crochet anything you can think of!!! Amy does wear  high tops all the time and they are pink!!! She doesn't like to have her picture taken but this is her in the picture!!! LOL I just love this picture!!

Here is another one of her new aprons! This and other items she makes are listed in her etsy shop www.lifeinpinkhitops.etsy.com.

Amy is also very giving. She is having a giveaway for this apron on her blog. Stop by and say Hi and sign up to win this beautiful apron. Check out her recipes she shares too. I feel very blessed to know Amy and I just wanted you to meet her too.

XO Fran.

Birdhouses, Snowmen, Tramp Art, Hot Chocolate and more!!!!!

Our Craft Show was on Saturday. These are some of the birdhouses Sim made. I couldn't get pictures til after almost all of his birdhouses were sold!! He was the man of the hour!! LOL These are his church birdhouses! I didn't get a picture of it but his Bluebird church has a communion glass insulator on the side of it. You can kinda see it if you click on the picture. Too cute!! He sold out of almost everything! and he is hooked now!! This is true barn wood he got from a 1800's barn.

This is a sample of his Tramp Art. This one is mine but he sold quite a few of these too. Also he made wind chimes from old vintage kitchen utensils and sold out of those too. He calls them wind clankers!!

Here are a few of my vintage chenille bedspreads. These smell so good I line dried them in the sun.

They would be great on a bed or used for crafts.

This is one of my new items this year. I made Hot Chocolate from scratch. I used to make "Spice Mocha Mix" all the time and everyone loved it and have asked me to make more!! I love putting them in recycled jars and fixing them up cute. I had to keep a jar of this for myself!! I almost sold out of it!!



This was a popular item also. My pumpkins are made from a upcycled vintage white chenille bedspread. I have one listed in my Etsy shoppe along with the two spoons I had left. I loved making these spoons!!



Some of my prim dress ornies!!



Here are some of my Snow People I made from my own designs. The two dolls are listed on my Etsy and the other ones I am listing soon. I love love making these kind of things!!



I sold Sweet Annie bunches and these were the stems I had left and I thought they looked so cute. So I made them in to some Prim Neeedfuls!! I used Christmas colors as I thought they might look sweet on the mantel or sitting on a shelf or table with other Prims. Oh the "Sweet Annie" smells so good. It helps with spiders they don't like it!! I also have a few of my small dried sunflowers.

I love doing these shows and have a few more coming up. I praise God for giving me the gift to create. And also the gift of a husband who is evenly yoked with me. Thanks for looking at my goodies!!

XO Fran.









Some Pumpkin love!!!!

I love how this pumpkin turned out!! I made it from an old vintage chenille bedspread I got at an auction this summer! It was damaged so I decided to upcycle it!! I used my special treasures I picked up from our trip to Lake Huron. I have this listed in my Etsy Shoppe and wanted to share what I have been doing lately! I am getting ready for a craft show like I said at my church! I realized how much I miss blogging and checking in with you guys!! The show is next Sat. so maybe I can get back to reality soon! But I love being in the craft show show too! It is great fellowship and good food!!

I'll be sure and take pictures to share. Sim is going to be in the craft show too. It is his first one and he is making Tramp Art, Barn wood Bird Houses and Wind chimes made from Vintage Kitchen items!! They are pretty cool. It's cold and gloomy here a good day to work on creating!!

Love ya, XO Fran. 



This is why I love Bartering, Swaping and Trading!!!

This is an awesome Match Box that Victoria at www.thingsIlearnfromBear.blogspot.com

made for me. I bartered with her for this awesome box! I had a new digital camera and she needed one and I wanted a matchbox with pumpkins and crows. Well Victoria out did herself. This is so beautiful for Fall. I love this saying it reminds me of the kids craving pumpkins when they were little and how much fun we always had.

Look how cute the ends are. She put little fruits as the pulls. She filled this up with so many sweet goodies!!

She also gave me this cool crow stamp and some orange pumpkin paper doilies also.

 We were also partners in Tee's Halloween ATC Swap. This is the ATC I made for Victoria. I think it turned out pretty cute. The EEK is a vase I made and put little purple wild flowers in it. I love all the Fall and Halloween items that are everywhere!

This is the awesome ATC Victoria made for me!! Victoria has made me feel so blessed! Check out her blog for her other awesome things she makes. She is a rock star at making cards too! And her dog Bear is so adorable!!!

Here is what else I have been up to making my Bird Nests from my treasures from Lake Huron! I used an old chenille bedspread for the pumpkin part, a twig for the stem and lot's of natures gifts from the beach and a cute little black and orange bird. I love making these and will be listing this one and more in my Etsy Shoppe!! Thanks for looking at my goodies and blessings!!

XO Fran.