Gift card holders

I had some friends over and we made several gift card holders.  Here are a couple of them. The one with the cow has a coin holder inside which we made with decorated background paper.

Dec 7, 2009 Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day

I arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day and stayed for the week at Hickam Air Force Base.  From what I hear, it was a good week NOT to be in Michigan!  The family I stayed with is related to my niece and they were really fun & wonderful to me.  Every day I trekked off to Waikiki Beach for a conference.  It seemed funny to see Christmas decorations up mingled with palm trees.  I've lived in Michigan all my life and Christmas = snow and cold weather!

ATC swap and weekend at Puff's

Friday, Dec. 4, I got off work and came home to pack. Off to Gallery 237 in Toledo to trade ATCs and the theme was Metal Mania. Of course, we met at Spaghetti Warehouse first and amazingly Puff & Teri and I arrived at the same time. On my way I realized I forgot bread for Saturday so I stopped in Ann Arbor and got Whole Wheat bread from Zingerman's. Yes, it was a hit! ...back to the ATC thing...Probably about 20 ladies attended this event. I must say the level of artistry was great and it was really hard to select the atcs. After that we went to Pop Up which is a new gallery just down the street. Teri was so lucky to get one really cool necklace. Santa came to town for sure! It is in my slideshow after this post. Many things having to do with sewing and she is a quilter so it fits her to a T.

Teri was a saint and helped me finish my Christmas cards. My niece stayed two nights and worked on them and I send out about 80 so we made 100! Glad to get them in the mail before I go to Hawaii.

Saturday we did the cookie cutter idea that was in the Nov/Dec issue of Somerset Studio. Mine are in the slideshow after this post. Let me know what you think!

Cynthia showed us how to make some angels and they are just too cute!!!

New do!

I got a perm!

December 1, 2009

WOW! Today my younger son is celebrating his birthday. He has now been alive 1/2 of my life!

Here's a link to Lisa Volrath's Christmas countdown freebies.

Trying to get some Christmas cards made. I leave for Hawaii in one week!!!

More Metal ATCs

Here are just a few more metal ATCs to trade this Friday in Toledo OH.

Puzzle swap

I'm in a puzzle swap and the theme is things with wings. They are double sided and have a hanger.
Enjoy them!

Thanksgiving recipe

Here's a recipe I make every year for Thanksgiving. My mom used to make it.

Cranberry-Orange relish
4 cups cranberries chopped
2 oranges (peeled, quartered and seeded)
1 1/2 cups sugar
Mix and chill. Makes 1 qt. I add walnuts.

I think it is better if made a couple of days in advance.

Metal ATCs

Dec. 4 we are trading metal ATCs in Toledo, OH. Here are a few I've made in preparation.

Retro lamp repair

My sister goes to a lot of auctions and picks up things on the curb. She got this lamp and gave it to me but it didn't work. I went to Lowe's and an employee was showing me where the kits were to rewire the lamp (because I asked for that). However, he told me it is usually just the socket. He then told me how to determine if it is just the socket and how to repair it. So, I purchased the stuff and fixed it myself for $3!!! I had another lamp I got at an auction that did work but my grand puppy chewed the plug off. I fixed that myself, too, since I've waited many months for my husband to do it. Really makes me mad to see how quick and easy the repair is and I've waited so long for help. I'm just so happy with myself I could explode!

I'm showing two images...one with the light on so you can see it works and one with the light off so you can see the cool shade. It's that old fashioned gold speckled stuff.

sunflower table runner

I obtained this pattern at the quilt store and just finished quilting it today!

Frieda Kahlo/Day of the Dead Swap

Eli, Puff & I were in a swap and got these dolls back.

Weekend Challenge

Linda & I drove down to Puff's on Friday and we are always excited to see what books she has. I was interested in Stitch Alchemy and Image Transfer Workshop. There was another book by Interweave about making purses from paper. I loved the techniques on the paper!!! Saturday Teri, Chantal, Eli and Sue joined us and we had a challenge. We each brought something and we altered it with what we brought. Why is it when you go away, no matter what you take it is NEVER the right stuff? Enjoy the photos! Hope Vicki can join in next time.

Fabric book students pages

Check out the slideshow of some of the pages we did this weekend. I demoed, shiva paintstiks on Canyon river rubbing plates, Angelina fibers, dying using the Canyon river rubbing plates and screen printing, dying lace and other techniques using Tsukineko All-Purpose Inks and how to use a fantastic to appy them to your fabric. I explained printing on acetate and doing transfers and printing on muslin. We also stamped on fabric. I showed how to apply a napkin using Perfect Paper Adhesive. Teri demoed stenciling with Shiva paintstiks. We met from 10 am to 5 pm and some left to grab a bite and brought it back. I took a book to work on, but of course, never did one thing on it. We had a lot of fun and it was relaxing, even for me as the teacher!!! Blessings to everyone.

Quilties - Wool bracelets

If you look up the Sept issue of Rug Hooking Magazine you will see an article about these. On Thursday, Mary Lou & I went to Charlotte and took this class. Here are photos of everyone's bracelets.

Wool Sunflowers and bracelet

On Saturday, Oct. 10, Puff & I trekked to Charlotte, MI to The Hen House. Nancy, the owner, has primitive quilt supplies and taught us how to make these wonderful sunflowers. I promptly dyed some wool in bright yellow and orange and made another sunflower. This is a rug hooking technique. It was so fun I returned on Thursday and made this wool bracelet! Just what I needed...another craft to add to my addiction! The sunflower I made was put on a fabric book.

fabric teacups to use as pockets in fabric books

Here are some more teacups I made to use as pockets in my fabric books. I made two of each of them for a total of 8. It was really fun to create a pattern that works for me. I did look at a book to get an idea .

Lil T and Me

As you can see from the photo. Lil T is now taller than I....so I shouldn't call her Lil T anymore, perhaps? The date on the photo is wrong...it was just taken in late September.

fabric teacup

This weekend is the annual Home Tour in Marshall. It was a weekend full of activities. On Sunday I went to the Quilt Show which had many nice quilts and vendors with some very unique items. This is a pattern I purchased and tried right away. It has a pocket to hold a teabag. I'm excited to try this on a fabric book page.

Another Fabric book

Here's my most recent fabric book I made for a friend, Nora Bussell.

Stampaway Friends

You may scroll down to see us with our shirts when they were "in progress"

Stampaway August 2009

I had a really great time at Stampaway with my group of friends. Mary Jo McGraw taught an awesome class on Copic Markers. I did some other classes as well. Joanie at Artful Illusions had so much cool stuff and also was doing fantastic demos.

Zaragosa (Brownie) & Lupe Aguilar & Carmen Saucedo 1955

I went to a cousin's birthday party and was given these old photos from the 50's. Hope you enjoy
them!



Roland Gene Amsler & Diamantina Ramirez 56










Amparo Ramirez, Zaragosa Aguilar Diamantina Ramirez all in 1955!

Fabric Art Book

I am showing how to make this book on Saturday, October 17, starting at 10 am. This is for my friends so I am not charging, but the store is charging for use of their space. It is a very comfortable area with lots of space for our stuff and cutting areas and ironing areas and outlets easily accessible.
Hope you enjoy the book!

Fabric Art Book

I'm teaching this book at a local quilt store for some of my MIABA friends. This post is so they can preview it and get some ideas of embellishments to bring. Kristin Steiner showed me how to do this in a class I took from her.

Where have I been?

Wow, it has really been a long time since I posted. Well, I went to Ohio and had a really great time with my friends crafting and making these shirts I will show. When I got home I found out Grandma died. She was 99 and a really big part of my life. I visited her daily for 4 years an hour per day and then she was moved to another town and I went twice a week to visit. So, now I am trying to get back to normal life...whatever that is! For me, crafting, reading, and being with friends. Oh yeah, working, too...