When I looked at this picture taken a few weeks ago I realized that what was left after the flower fell off was just as beautiful as the flower itself...a five pointed star!  Now I look to see if that's the case with all the flowers and sadly, it is not.

Another sunny, blue sky but this time with a few white clouds drifting by.  About the same as yesterday but with a bit more wind.  In the sun, it's nice until the wind picks up, then it's cool enough to want a light weight jacket over my sweatshirt.

Wednesday...middle of the week...I see that one of my favorite tv ads for insurance is back on.  This one is a camel going through an office asking folks to say what day it is...finally someone says 'It's Hump Day'!  I know, crazy to like an ad but it does make me smile!

Today's craft day is easy but has several parts.  Kids of all ages play a lot of games on their phones to pass time. I thought it might be nice to try a simple, physical game between two physically present people...tic tac toe!  Make several and introduce a game play-off at Thankgiving!  

Supplies needed:  Fabric (not a lot), batting (optional), thread, heavy paper like card stock or magazine covers, scissors, glue, markers or crayons and sewing machine.

To make the base, cut two pieces of fabric and a piece of thin batting (if desired) about 8 inches square.  Cut 4 strips of fabric about 3/4 inch wide and 8 inches long.  Using stick glue, place the strips on one piece of the 8 inch square fabric in a tic tac toe pattern.  Using a zig zag stitch, sew the strips to the fabric on both sides of the strips...

Next place the two pieces of fabric, right sides together, and batting.  Using a straight stitch on the sewing machine, stitch around three sides leaving about 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Turn so right sides are out and pin all around turning the edges under of the fourth side...

Stitch around the edges using either a zig zag or straight stitch.  Iron flat and the base is finished.

To make the symbols/marks for each side you can use buttons (two different colors), pennies and nickels, or images cut out of card stock which is what I did.  One image was a green leaf and one was a brown acorn...

You need at least five for each player.  I cut out five thicknesses of cardstock for each piece, glued them together and then colored them with markers but you could use crayons or paint...

To keep the base and game pieces together I made a very simple drawstring bag out of a piece of fabric about 10 inches by 12 inches.  First, on one 12 inch side, fold down the top about 1 1/2 inches and stitch down.  Fold in half, right sides together, the 12 inch side so the sewn seam is at the top of the fold.  Stitch the bottom and one side together leaving the top (where the fold was stitched) open.  Turn right sides out.  Carefully open the side seam only where the folded seam was stitched.  With yarn, string or a strip of fabric either plain or folded (and stitched so no raw edges are shown) attached to a safety pin, thread through the seam allowance around the opening of the bag.  Draw to close.

These actually do not take a lot of time to make but I'll share another inexpensive way to make tic tac toe game pieces tomorrow...

Enjoy your day...

Talk with you tomorrow...