Quick someone hand me the smelling salts......

for I feel as though I am about to pass out! I searched my brain (OK, it really wasn't a long search) for an idea of what to do with my neighborhood. I wanted a town, no a village, no a city, no, no, no....at this point I had to sit down and get a root beer...oh the stress. But I have it now. First I have to say a real big Thank You to Lisa B for her idea of a "Basketful of Houses". That was just so unique that it opened my mind to a new way of looking at all this. I must admit, I struggled with just what to do. Should it be a hill side, a flat land, should I make spaces on a large piece of fabric and fill them in like an advent calendar type thing? Should I make a table runner (also a very clever idea from Shannon)...there have been so many clever and inspiring ideas that truly have opened my eyes to what I could do. Thank you to everyone for all the clever ideas. So after sitting here, among a few empty root beer cans and the what use to be graph paper now turned into hieroglyphic interpretations....Eureka! I have it. I am going to do....sorry had to sip some more root beer, a tissue box village. Oh, don't for a second think it's gonna be one of those small up right four sided little guys...no. It's gonna be the big daddy one, you know the 8 1/2 by 5. That way I have two sides of about 4 1/2 by 5 then I have two sides of 8 1/2 by 5 and a top....not the entire top mind you, we still want this to be a functioning tissue box, but a space on top for something. I know there will be a church, maybe a barn, probably a hill side scene, and various houses. I plan to use designs from Cross Country Stitching Magazine, but I might also slip a few others in as well. I don't sew, so this is going to be interesting. The idea of sewing together the material for this is well.....can't talk now, must go to the store to get more root beer! :)