A Few Things...

This month I've been working on some UFOs that have been hanging out in drawers and on worktables in my creative space.  The library has some display space on the second floor and they've asked me and a few other creative staff members to display some work in November and December.  I only need a few pieces, but most things have already been on display there in the FANE shows, so I wanted to choose a few things they haven't seen yet.  The above piece was made for a traveling SAQA exhibit a few years ago and I received it back recently.  It needed a frame or border, so I covered a stiff piece of interfacing with the upholstery fabric you see above.  Now it's suitable for display!

I also (finally!) finished the Thanksgiving-themed piece I created last year, below.  I had done all the embroidery but wasn't sure what to mount it on.  I found the plaid binding among my stash and decided the colors were just right.  Also now suitable for display.

Here's a close-up:

I've also revisited the "Summer Blues" piece I started in the summer.  I wanted to experiment with some other surface-design techniques on a few small (9"x9") pieces of fabric and the results are below.  I used acrylic paint to do some monoprinting, as well as using some stamps and stencils.  I wanted to keep the palate to the blues and white with a touch of yellow and green.  The results were okay, maybe a little busy or messy.

I decided to do a third when I came across this blue tie-dye look fabric in my stash.  Here, I simply stamped circles in a three sizes with white acrylic paint.

While handling the fabrics, I noticed the reverse of the first two were also kind of interesting, maybe even better than the front.

Finally, I cut the fabrics into strips of various widths and wove them together on top of some fusible webbing.  I used all three altered fabrics, plus some strips wrong-side-up of the first two.  This is what it looked like:

I like it much better than the each piece alone!  Some other FANE group members have been using this weaving technique for a years and I've always wanted to try it.  Now that I can see what the appeal is, I'd like to experiment with it some more.  But first I need to figure out what to put on top of this and how (or if) it fits into the larger "summer blues" piece.

Finally, I've been doing other fall things, like baking!  I recently came across a "candy corn cake" design somewhere on the web (maybe Pinterest?) and decided to try it myself.  Here' my version, made with pumpkin spice cake and cream cheese frosting. (See how each piece resembles a candy corn when sliced? Isn't that fun?)  And delicious! Yum!

Winter Solstice

I just finished this cozy read by Rosamunde Pilcher - Winter Solstice.  If you're looking for something to warm your heart this time of year, I highly recommend it.  It begins in London but the characters all end up on the grounds of an Estate-turned-hotel on the Scottish coast (a bit of a plus if you've been reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and are now interested in Scotland).  It's a bit predictable, but sweet and relaxing and heartwarming as well.  Enjoy!

Besides reading, I've been keeping busy with a bit of this and that to get ready for Christmas.  Yesterday I finished up some more felt birds from the patterns I printed at the Down East Thunder Farms website.  It's nice to simply print a pattern, cut and stitch it without having to invent something or figure it out.  Plus it's relaxing to do a little hand stitching, and the results are pretty cute!  Here are are some of the ornament gifts I made:

The eastern bluebird,

the snowy owl,

the ruby-throated hummingbied (with a toothpick beak)

the common crow,

and the chickadee!

 The chickadee is now adorning the rustic card holder I wrote about in the previous post, but most of the others have already gone to their new owners.


I've done a little baking as well.  One thing I decided to try is this recipe for homemade dog treats, one of the first things I ever pinned on Pinterest.  There are only 4 ingredients and the dough mixes up and rolls out very easily.  The neighbors on both sides of us are multiple-dog households, so I thought I'd share them.  I can't testify to how they taste, but they've got a nice cup of peanut butter in them and Cassie just loves them!

I also made a pan of this 5-ingredient Graham cracker toffee:

I topped it with chopped almonds and coconut and they are rich and scrumptious!  If you like toffee and need an easy-to-make party contribution or gift, they are perfect.  Try not to eat them all yourself!

 I only did a little real baking this year because I've finally gotten out of the mindless eating habit and I don't want to get back into it over the next two weeks.  But I had to bake at least a few cookies and I chose these:

They are the classic Jewel brooch cookies, gingerbread (from a box mix), white chocolate-dipped pretzels, and coconut macaroons.  We have enough to pick on ourselves and some to give away, so I think that'll be it for me as far as holiday baking goes (except for maybe a cheesecake for dessert Christmas day). 

Most of the shopping and even wrapping are done, so now all I have to do is the Christmas cards.  They're going out a little late this year, but better late than never!

Here & There, This & That

The last couple of weeks I've managed to squeeze in some creative time here and there, making this and that.  I recently discovered this recipe for Pumpkin Bran Muffins on the Women's Day website.  I altered the recipe slightly by adding a half-teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cloves as well as about 1/3 cup each of raisins and chopped walnuts.  They are delish!  They taste more like cupcakes, but between the pumpkin and wheat bran, are pretty healthy treats (you don't even know the bran is in there!).  They are perfect in the morning with a smear of cream cheese!

I've also been adding to my little flock of fabric birds.  Below is another Christmas-y bird made of that cheerful flannel print, with a plaid beak:

And here are two more - a sort-of blue jay (without the crest), and my favorite so far: this autumn print bird.  I continue to tweak the pattern with each one and they are getting better and better.  These two are a bit smaller than the first few I made because I think they'll look daintier on a Christmas tree.  I've also found a smaller beak works better than a larger one.  I'm having fun playing with different fabric combinations.

 Finally, here are the last two swap squares I received at the last FANE meeting. 

The one on the left was made with the materials I put in the bag (here's a shot of the fabric and miscellaneous embellishments I threw together):

 I think she must've supplemented them with a lot of her own stuff because I'm not sure any of the stuff I put in the bag is actually on this piece (oh well).   My friend Vivien's piece is on the right.   She also found it very challenging to work with the materials she received.  One of the supplies in her bag were little cupcake liners in a variety of colors and you can see a portion of one that she flattened and stitched on with various threads.

The overriding sentiment of the group was that it was very challenging to work with another person's materials!  I think I was one of the few that didn't have a lot of trouble with that (I got my supplies from Vivien!)

I finally started (and almost finished) a new piece inspired by our beach vacation on Cape Cod this year, so stay tuned!

Winter Fun

What do you do for fun in the winter?  This morning we had a beautiful, heavy snowfall, the kind when every little twig is outlined in white.  Everything was hushed and quiet.   Since I was out with the dog anyway, I decided to try to capture the snowy scenery.

 

Here is my garden covered in snow with snow falling on the lake in the background.  It's a beautiful place to be, even in the winter. 

Of course, Cassie was really the reason I ventured outside this morning.  I probably would have been just as happy to enjoy the view from the window!  But she couldn't contain her joy and energy and just had to get out and run and roll and lay in the snow.  She is still such a puppy!

 Another thing I like to do on a snowy day is bake.  I'm not sure why.  But it makes the house feel really cozy to come in from the snow and smell fresh baked banana bread!

Later in the afternoon I was inspired to make cupcakes as well.  I've been buying fewer cookies and treats, but since it's the weekend and we're indoors, I thought it would be nice to have a little indulgence!  I tried using Godiva chocolate liquer instead of vanilla in the frosting, just for a slightly different flavor, and dusted some cocoa powder on top.  Yum!

Of course, one of the best things to do on a snowy day is cuddle up with a warm blanket and a good book!  Today I finished reading The Girls Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate.  I really enjoyed it - it was light and fun and would make a good movie, along the lines of "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

Finally, I did a little bit of artwork today.  I managed to get my new Epson printer up and running all by myself yesterday.  I relocated that little plastic shelf unit from my daughter's bedroom where it was no longer being used and was simply gathering dust.  It makes a nice place to put the printer as well as conveniently eliminating some of the clutter from my work table.  Connecting the printer to my laptop was easier than I thought, although I did have to run to Radio Shack for a different USB cable.  But in no time at all, I was printing - and directly on fabric!

Here is the first photo I tried printing.  It's about a fourth of a photo I took in Italy, and blown up to 8 x 10 and printed on fabric, the colors look very washed out.  I printed it again, and this time boosted the color a bit, but meanwhile I thought I might experiment with this one.  I got out my Inktense pencils and added some color to the sky and some of the trees.  You can really see this in the foreground.  I like the control you get with the Inktense pencils, but even in a set of 24, the colors seem very limited.  There are only 3 or 4 shades of green, and it's challenging to get enough variety from that few.  

Here is the photo printed again, with the color boosted and another portion of the photo printed below it (I wanted to print one long 11x14-inch photo, but this small printer is a little limited.  I had to print two 81/2x11 pieces and I'll have to sew them together and hide the seam.)  As you can see, the colors still look washed out, so I think I will use the Inktense pencils on these as well.  I want the photos to be what's seen through a window in my next project.  I thought it would be a fun way to use a photo of the Tuscan scenery, as well as the new printer.  (Yes, the color of the sky definitely needs some vamping up, don't you think?)

 More about this project and my 2014 goals in the next post...

Mindful on Monday

Last week I brought eight mixed-media charm bracelets over to the Putnam Arts Council for their annual holiday sale.  I'm thrilled that I'm able to participate, and hoping many of them sell.  The bracelets I brought over had various themes, including Christmas, winter, and what I call my "Bohemian Blue," one of my favorites (see them all by clicking here).  I pretty much sent over my entire inventory (I do have a few still at home) but it's in the back of my mind that they'll call me in a couple of weeks asking if I have anything else (wishful thinking, I know, but I want to be prepared!).  So I've been back in my craft space again, trying to knock out some additional bracelets of various themes, and hence the mess pictured above!  I also have a sewing project not quite completed, and some presents that need to be wrapped and shipped, so I feel a bit like one of Santa's elves at this time of year:  busy, busy, busy!

Even so, I took advantage of the milder weather yestereday and hung the pine garland and lights around our door and down the wrought iron railing.  I was glad to have that much accomplished, and felt pretty chilled afterwards (even though temps were in the 40s rather than the 20s)...

,,, so I rewarded myself and warmed up by finishing off the last piece of cheesecake left over from Thanksgiving!

I used my mother-in-law's "killer cheesecake" recipe, which was scrumptious - creamy and rich!  The springform pan I have is 13", so it takes a lot of cream cheese to fill, and this recipe didn't let me down (it calls for 16 oz of sour cream and a cup of heavy cream as well - no wonder she calls it "killer"!).

So on this "cyber Monday," I'm mindful once again of balance - keeping busy but not overdoing it, enjoying guilty pleasures after some outdoor activity, taking things one day at a time and trying to stay in the moment...

What are you mindful of today?

Indoor Pursuits

Although we had some nice spring weather earlier in the week, today has been wet, windy, and just plain unpleasant - a perfect day for satisfying indoor tasks like baking, finishing up old projects, tidying up all around, and maybe starting some new projects!

After doing a bit of cleaning upstairs, I headed downstairs to make the final stitches and adjustments to my kimono.  Both sleeves are done as you can see, and I added the final embellishments, like the carved tree frog and shiny fish tail, below.  It's bright, colorful, and interesting to look at, so I hope we can find a suitable spot to hang it after the display the first weekend in May (see previous post).

Before I did all that, I got it in my head to do a little baking.  Before Easter, I bought some hot cross buns in the grocery store that looked delicious but were sadly dry and stale (I actually brought them back, they were so bad!).  Every once in a while, I love a fresh baked sweet roll, so I decided to try a recipe I found in the back of the 7th Yada Yada Prayer Group book.  This recipe calls for raisins and cinnamon and they smelled delicious every step of the way.  Here they are fresh out of the oven:

They went nicely with my light lunch!  The recipe calls for a light glaze, which I didn't put on, but the buns could actually use a bit more sweetness, so maybe I'll mix up the glaze and put it on the remaining buns in the traditional cross shape.

While I was eating, I took a few moments to admire the little "fairy garden" I started yesterday.  I had that shallow wooden container lying around and have been meaning to fill it with some moss, tiny plants, interesting rocks, and whatever else I could come up with.  While I was out in the backyard with Cassie yesterday, I came across a patch of those cute little wild violets already in bloom.  I dug up a couple and nestled them in with some moss and another low-growing plant.  I'll have to see if I have time to make some cute mushrooms or a little gnome out of polymer clay, or maybe some little garden structures out of bark or craft sticks.  If you want to see some other great fairy garden ideas, just type those words into google images - there are many wonderful, creative, inspiring, fun samples posted on the web!

 After lunch, I went back downstairs and completely cleaned up my worktable!  I was able to put away all the fabrics I used for the kimono, cleaned and oiled my sewing machine, wiped my sewing table clean of loose threads, dust, and cat dander, and vacuumed everything completely!  It felt great to get it all tidied up and ready for the next project.

Speaking of the next project, I received my next bracelet in the round-robin swap.  This is the final bracelet with a bird theme (it is getting a little boring), and the colors for this one are blue and pearl with silver findings.  It will go back to Peggy Krzyzewski, one of the co-authors of Making Mixed-Media Art Charms and Jewelry  and leaders of the yahoo artcharms group.  Through the group, I've come to know Peggy is extremely talented, experienced, knowledgeable, and generous with her time and talents, so I want this charm to be special for her.

I've worked within a bird theme before, so I already had a few things in my stash that I could play around with, and one of them was the silver-tone wing on the right below.  For some reason, the phrase "a wing and a prayer" kept going through my head, so I decided to try making a small charm with a prayer on it.  I took a page from an old church missalette I swiped years ago and mod-podged it onto a piece of heavy weight watercolor paper, then layered tissue paper over that.  I stamped with a music stamp and silver ink on that, then cut it out, added the eyelet, and coated the whole thing with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, which protects it and gives it that nice shine.  Together with the wing and the little egg-shaped pearl, it will make a nice addition to her bracelet.  But I also had some shrink-film birds I had printed with our inkject printer, so I decided to coat that with the Dimensional Magic as well, and see which charm I like better.  The reverse side says "bluebird of happiness," as you can see below.  Maybe I'll add a little beaded dangle to it and send them both...

I haven't been swapping charms as much since last summer - too many other things going on I guess, but when the latest swap theme came up, I thought I'd join in again - it's "the mermaid and her treasures" - right up my alley!  I have lots of stuff in my stash already that would work for this theme, but I remembered early this morning that I saved these old stamps from a kit the girls had.  I thought I remembered a mermaid in there, and I was right!  This swap requires 26 charms, so I always look for ways to make them inexpensively and repetitively.  A stamp would be a good way to go.  She looks a little bit childlike (or childish), definitely styled for kids, so I'm not sure if I'll use them, but here are the charms I made, below.  These do not have to be finished until the first week in May, so I have time to play around with some other ideas before I decide.  I can even make several different designs if I want, all 26 don't have to be the same.

The rain has almost stopped so maybe I'll run out to the mailbox and see if the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors is here - it's supposed to have a bird theme this month!  Have a nice weekend, everyone!

In the Midst of Many Projects...

... and trying to get some of them finished!  I haven't blogged that much about the various projects going on in the house right now, partly because I've been so busy going from one to the other, and partly because I haven't stopped to clear a space to photograph anything!  Time to catch you up a little on what's been going on around here.

Let's start with the charm bracelets.  I've been trying to craft a decent variety and quantity so I can submit them to sell at the Putnam Arts Council's annual holiday craft sale.  I've made at least two with a red and green Christmas theme, two with a pale blue and white winter/snow theme, and two of the retro 70s Bohemian denim and copper style.  I also have one with a spring "flowers and birds" theme and one of the ocean themed turquoise and silver.  I'd like to make one more of each of those and then take some great photos of everything, which I'll post.  Meanwhile, here's a group shot of some of the jewelry on a display rack with two cluster necklaces (which you can't see in the photo - I'll rephotograph them all individually soon!)

In addition to my ongoing projects, my daughters have also been taking their turns at the craft table.  One recently finished a large batik project using Elmer's glue gel and acrylic inks, but she gave it away before I had the chance to photograph it!  My younger daughter painted the black t-shirt below with the symbol of her zodiac sign, Libra.  We used freezer paper as a stencil and sponge-painted on acrylic paints.  It looks great and she's so proud to have made it herself!  She also created a cool sculpture of a dragon head using paper clay, and designed felt horns for a sweatshirt hood, which I stitched in place.  I'm so glad the girls see the value and pride in making things with your own two hands!

Friday after school they had a friend over for a pumpkin carving session.  Our town hosted a Pumpkin Fest this weekend and gave free pumpkins to any school-age child who promised to carve or decorate it and bring it back to the town park for display.  I'll post pictures of those another time, but meanwhile, here are the pumpkin spice cupcakes I baked in honor of the occasion.  The recipe is very simple:  pretty much just stir a whole can of pumpkin into a carrot or spice cake mix.   Add 3 eggs and 1/4 cup each of water and oil.  Mix and bake for 16-20 minutes, then frost with cream cheese frosting.  Delish!

Last Thursday, my FANE group met and we started a second round of Renga fabric exchanges.  This time, we each altered a half-yard of white fabric, then cut it into two fat quarters which each went to two different people.  Below are the two pieces of cloth I received:

 One group member added a design to her fabric using shapes cut from artist tissue paper, which bleeds when wet.  I decided I liked the blurry pastel colors that it produced and thought I'd give it a try.  I picked up this package of art tissue and went to work!

 I stuck with the raspberry and lemon color palette for the first piece of fabric.  I didn't want the shapes to be too angular and geometric, to match the tie-dye effect that's already there.  I went with irregular trapezoid shapes and scattered them around on the fabric like this:

 Then I spritzed the whole thing very well with water.  Sometimes air bubbles got trapped underneath the tissue, so I had to smooth everything down and make sure it was in contact with the fabric.

 Here's the finished product:   (I shot this in a different light than the photo above and it looks kind of washed out.  It really has more of a pale yellow color than this almost white).

 With the second piece of fabric, I chose to go with wavy lines in a teal green shade.  I like the look of this one (I really have some obsession with fabric that looks like water, don't I...?)

I managed to get the worktable cleaned off just in time for my DH to begin building a new wall in order to enlarge my daughter's bedroom.  Here are the studs going up...

 ... and here is the shelf I had to clear of stuff, which is now all over the worktable!  These cubbies will be turned on end and move against the second new wall, ...

 ... which will be several feet out from where this wall (with the door) currently is.  This room was originally his home office and he graciously gave it to her for a bedroom, but it had no closet.  When it's all done, she'll have a larger space as well as a closet.  This way, her room will be that much neater and more organized, right?  Right! (LOL!  I'll believe it when I see it!).  It better be worth all this effort!

Now all that is going on indoors, of course there are all the outdoor chores coming up.  I just cleared off this deck on Saturday, but the winds from approaching hurricane Sandy have already shaken enough oak leaves down to cover it up again!  If that's the worst we get from the storm, I'll take it!

Of course, we are all preparing for the worst but hoping for the best.  I stocked up on everything I could think of and made great efforts to keep up with the laundry and housecleaning this weekend.  I learned a lot from the two big storms we had last year and I know how to prepare now!  Since the brunt of the storm seems to be headed well south of here, I'm hoping we'll only get some heavy winds and rains - enough to close the schools but not enough to take down power lines!  (From my lips to God's ears...)
Have a safe week and see you on the other side!