Enjoy the Journey and a Little Giveaway

Hello Friends:

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a day between Saturday and Sunday? It just seems like two day weekends are never enough. I had such a laid back weekend that I managed to finish not 1 but 2 books on my Nook E-Reader. I love Mysteries and I really enjoy the kind that has some Romance mixed in.

I purchased this book on my e-reader for .99. It was the best .99 I spent this weekend. This book was so good in fact that I went and purchased the 2nd in the series for $5.99 and finished that one today.

Quick Review: The series is based on a small town 30 year old mortician/county coroner named Dr. J.J. Graves who was forced to move back to her hometown in Virginia to take over the family funeral business after both her parents died in an accident. She works with her best friend, the handsome and single, town sheriff named Jack Lawson to solve the murders going on in their town. In the midst of everything, the two realize their true feelings for each other, although that mostly comes out in the 2nd book, A Dirty Shame.We also learn that J.J's family has a bad history and unfortunately she uncovers many hidden secrets about her family that she didn't know about before.

Both books were fantastic. They had a story line that just made you keep on reading to see what happened next. There were definitely no boring parts. I honestly think my favorite aspect of these books is how they are set in a small town. I'm talking a town of less than 3,000 people. The kind where everyone knows everybody and everyone is just all up in everyone's business. I personally don't know what that's like since I live in the big city so it was fun to read about it.

If you have an E-Reader, I highly recommend you sign up for this site: www.bookbub.com. At sign up, its asks what kind of E-Reader device you have and every day they send you e-mails about books available for free up to $3.99 for your particular device. Its a very convenient way to build up your little library.

The summer heat is definitely kicking into high gear down here in Miami. The rain visits us everyday and leaves behind a humidity that makes it miserable to be outside in the afternoon. I really do feel bad for the summer visitors. I know they come down to enjoy our beaches so I'm sure its quite disappointing to travel all this way and not enjoy the beaches because of the rain. If you are considering a vacation to Miami, plan it for either March, April, Oct or Nov for perfect beach weather. Just some local insider info!

Despite the rain, it has been an exciting week down here in Miami. Our Miami Heat Basketball Team became the World Champions for the 2nd year in a row. I don't normally watch sports on TV but this series against the San Antonia Spurs was exciting. Both teams played an amazing series. Thursday night got loud in Miami after the last game ended. People were out in the streets honking their horns, banging pots and pans in the streets, letting off fireworks...it was chaotic. I was smart and stayed home. Tomorrow is supposed to be a huge celebratory parade in Downtown Miami. It's going to be crowd crazy!

I didn't do much stitching the last couple weeks for any good pictures, but I did make a card. One of my co-workers resigned from her position of 9 years with the company. She decided it was time to return to school and complete her Masters Degree in Accounting. We took her to lunch and gave her a gift card along with this card I made. All of the girls signed it. Excuse the picture. I had to take a picture on my cell phone in my car and crop out the steering wheel behind it.

I wanted to make her something bright and cheerful. I used papers and embellishments from a card kit I bought from Cupcards to Go. I used some stickles glitter glue to give it some glitz on the flowers and around the edges. Everybody loved how it turned out including her. The greeting couldn't have been more perfect considering she was embarking on a new journey in her life. I sincerely hopes she enjoys the journey.

That is all for today. I hope you all have a fabulous week. A big thank you to those who read my blog and leave me a little note. It always brightens my day to read the comments from my readers.

With that in mind, I have decided to do a little give-away. It has been 3 years since I started my blog so I think its time to celebrate that. I've decided to give one winner a $25 gift certificate to 123 Stitch.com or to The Fat Quarter Shop if fabric is your thing. :-)

Please leave a comment here if you would like to be included. You don't have to a be a follower to win, but it would be nice to make some new friends. Only one entry per comment. I will draw a winner using Random.Org on July 4th.

**Hugs from Rainy Miami**
Jen

Welcome to The Ghastlie Blog Hop!

 Welcome Ghastlie Fans!

Are you all having fun yet? Silly question, I know you are cause I surely am. We are only on Day 3 out of 10 on our Blog Hop and I for one am totally blown away by the projects my Ghastlie Sistahs have made! I am just as surprised as all of you. Our dear Madame Samm wouldn't let us have a peak at what each other made. Such a clever lady she is. I too would like to give her a shout out and a big thank you for all her work in making this blog hop happen. There are so many talented ladies on this blog hop my friends, you definitely will not want to miss a day of it. Have you seen the prize giveaways so far on Madame Samm's blog? Those are some serious prizes. Keep those fingers crossed. You might just be a lucky winner!

Onto my Ghastlie projects! I made three projects for today. None are original designs of mine. I used a pattern I bought from the local fabric store. It is Simplicity Pattern #3776 - Sewing Accessories. All of the projects are made using fat quarters, cotton broadcloth and fleece.

A forewarning...I hope you like Spiders. I personally hate the creepy crawlers, but for Halloween props, they are perfect.

My first project was made using what the pattern called a "Container", but I call it a Bag. A most perfect bag to store my knitting or crochet project in. Gotta love those three knitting sisters, even if they are giving you the evil eye.

Front of the Bag

 

Back of Bag

My Second Project is a Project Organizer. It has many pockets that are conveniently kept together with Velcro Dots. I thought this project was perfect to showcase the different Grey Ghastlie Fabrics.  The spiders just love to crawl all over it and hide in the pockets. Eeekkk!

Organizer Front

Inside of One Side

Pockets on Other Side

Back of Organizer

My Last Project is a Table Top Container featuring Sebastian the Cat. I don't know about you all, but when I sew I accumulate a lot of trash on my table. My seam ripper tends to make an appearance too often sometimes.

One Side

Other Side

Before you continue hopping along, I have one more surprise for you all. As a thank you for participating in the hop, I am offering up a GIVEAWAY to one lucky hopper who comments on my blog during the hop. Here is what I am giving away (spiders excluded!):

My giveaway includes:

~ 4 Fat Quarters of Ghastlie Fabric

~ 1 Fat Quarter of Pink Kona Cotton Fabric

~ 1 Spool of Grey Coats and Clark All Purpose Sewing Thread

~ 1 100 Pin Package of Dritz Straight Pins

~ 1 Package of Schmetz Universal Sewing Machine Needles (These should fit all Machine Brands)

~ 1 Hand Exercise Ball...for those days when nothing you sew seems to be coming out right...The saying on the ball says: " When Life Throws You Scraps, Make a Quilt!"

RULES: To have a chance to win MY GIVEAWAY, you have to indicate in your comment that you are interested. Please put... "Please enter me in your Giveaway" or "Please include me in the drawing for your giveaway"...etc. If you don't mention you are interested in my giveaway, I will not count your name in the final drawing. I want to be able to only count those who are interested. :) My giveaway will be open until the last day of the HOP which is Friday, November 4th. This way, any late hoppers to the party can have a chance too. I will use Random.Org to draw a name and will announce the winner on Saturday, November 5th. 

You DO NOT have to become a follower of my blog to qualify for the drawing. All I ask is that you leave me a way to contact you should you win...an e-mail would be PERFECT. If I can't get a hold of the winner, I will use Random.Org to choose another winner.

**NOTE: Any and all comments to this post will count for Madame Samm's Grand Prize drawing of the day. If you comment, you are entered.**

Thank you for hopping by my friends and I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop. Here is the list of my Ghastlie Sistahs who are showcasing their creations today:

Mrs. Barb Ghastlie

Miss Karen Ghastlie

Ms. Loralynn Ghastlie

 Ms. Jen Ghastlie. **You are Here!**

Ms Penny Ghastlie

Mrs Rhonda Ghastlie

Have a Wonderfully Ghastlie Day!