ATC's, Apples & Shrinky Dink

I'm participating in an ATC sawp on Splitcoast .Even though we rae in the middle of a July heatwave, we are thinking ahead to Fall and the Apple harvest. Here is my finished ATC.

The little apple "charm" on the right is made from Shrinky Dink. Remember that from the 70's! Well, it's back and so much fun to use. Check out the before & after size on the apples. The stamped images are SU Tart & Tangy stamp set. I colored with SU markers being careful not to touch the colored image as it does rub off easily. I hole punched (remember, the hole will shrink too) and then cut out the shapes. Just a minute in the oven and lots of cute little charms.

Crafty Catch up

Just wanted to share some lovely yo-yo flowers that my sister sent me. How pretty are these? She repurposes all kinds of fabric (old curtains, lace tablecloth) when she makes these yo-yo flowers which are 3 or 4 inches across. They are embelished with trims and buttons and attached to dowels as "stalks"
Can you imagine these all clustered in a big Mason jar?

Eat, Pray, Create.

Loved the book and it's so interesting to hear from the author herself on this subject. Did you read the book? What was your favorite country?

My first attempt at bookbinding

After watching oodles of tutorials I finally created my first hand bound art journal. I purchased a spiral bound watercolor pad and of course, there it sat. For weeks. And then I realized that it was just the wrong size and shape for me. It didn't make me want to fill it's pages. So....I cut the wire spiral binding and took apart the book. I scored and folded the pages in half and grouped them into "bundles" of 4 to create the signatures. I then distressed the edges of the pages and punched holes along the folds. The back of the original book was nice heavy card stock so that, cut in half,  became the front & back. The "spine" is actually a piece of black felt that was then glued to the inside front & back covers after I hand bound it and the signatures. This worked well, flexible enough to be a spine but had some body to it also. The covers have a thin layer of batting and some of my favorite fabric. And so we have it-my first hand crafted art journal.

By His Grace

Just wanted to share about an awesome event I attended this weekend at Elim Gospel Church in Lima, NY
It was this year's spring conference presented by byGrace Ministries. What a blessing of teaching, fellowship & worship. Please do check out the byGrace web-site to see what Sherrie and the team have in store and sign up to receive their e-mail updates-you won't be dissapointed. I have attended several of her events and am always impressed with how well organized they are and how relevant the teaching is.
Many of you know that I love to see women together, whether it be crafting, going to conferences, whatever. I believe that the comunity of women is what binds our cultures and societies together. Isn't it awesome that we are able to take time out of our lives to spend time in the Word and to be encouraged by one another. So many times this weekend I heard.."yes, that's exactly what i was thinking" or "I'm so glad we talked about this". What a blessing we can be to each other! This weekend's theme was "Revive" and how we all, women, church, nation & world need to be revived. How we need the very breath of life so that we can be resusitated! Ezekiel 37:1-11 was Sherrie's inroduction to our weekend.
My bones were dry when I arrived, but not when I left!

I have been praying on some issues over the last few weeks, some are new, some long standing, but the Lord gave me a scripture that I have taken to heart. I would like to share it with you.
Jeremiah 17: 7-8
7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out it's roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes: it's leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
There will be times of drought, of dry bones, but if we stay close to the source of life, can draw from that and continue to florish. I think the optimal word here is IF.

Dolly Make Over

I'm still making the Comfort Dolls but have been trying different styles of body, dress & hair. Here is new one that I just finished. Her dress is actually closed at the bottom and lightly stuffed. I'm think about adding a little Lavender to these. Also, her hair was trimmed and "styled" although once in a while I imagine I will create one of my original "wild girls" These dolls do not have legs which to be honest makes them much easier to stuff/turn and I believe are finshed better. The original ones had a slit cut in the back to turn them right side out and once stuffed you would sew up the slit but it looked like they'd had major back surgery.! And perhaps I will add a little buton where her dress gathers at the front.
Hope you like her.

Crafty Update (lots to talk about!)

Lots of things to share with you! I have been busy.
I particpated in 3 swaps over the winter. I try not to over schedule the swaps and typically do not sign up for one until the previous one is done and mailed out.
Here is a picture of some of the Scripture rolodex cards that I received. These are fun to make because of their size and I invested in the "address card" die from Stampin' Up. Made it much easier.
These are pictures of the altered dominos that I made into pins for another swap. These took me about 2 months to make and although I love altered dominoes, they were a real challenge. Not sure if I will do that one again!

Back at the end of November I participated in an Advent Journaling challenge. Each day we had an advent devotional and "thoughts to ponder" I was able to keep up with the devotional but am still embellishing the pages! I created my journal using manila folders. The devotional/study is on the left page and then my notes, prayers etc are on the right page that is embellished.

Here is the Advent cover

My latest (and greatest!) craze is Junque Journals. Google that one and tell me you can't get addicted! Crunchy, chunky, touchy, feely journals. This one is made from a composition notebook and what fun these are. I have used junk mail, envelopes, postcards, gift wrap, candy wrappers (not mine of course!) Water color crayons, stamps, stickers, you name it.

And I made a "trinket" out of found items.
And here is my first piece of mail art. No reason why mail has to be boring.....

This piece has a tea bag holder, calendar page, old sheet music, stickers,and a Suzi Blu stamp.


Hm, let's see..... Oh, books read this year so far:

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo-Steig Larrson very good story, just a bit "gritty"
Tried to read the second one but found it again too rough.

Shadows on the Coast Of Maine. Lea Wait. Easy mystery with an "antique hunting" theme

Labyrinth-Kate Mosse. Interesting twist on the Grail theme.

Fall Of Giants-Ken Follett. His first book in a trilogy. Cannot wait for books 2 & 3!


The Help-Kathryn Stockett- Gotta read it! Couldn't put it down!

So, now you know why you haven't seen me in a while!
Happy Crafting!

Patchwork Purse

Just finished a patchwork purse, It is quite big so more like an over size purse/tote. I pieced the front & back and used a pattern for the construction. The special button came with me from the UK last year and I finally found a use for it!

Art Journaling

As if there are not enough ways to create, I have now stumbled upon the world of Art Journals & Junque Journals.Don't go there unless you want to see the most amazing expressions of art in all it's forms & of journaling! Trust me, just Google it, YouTube it, get comfortable and enjoy.
Here is my very first Art Journal page. (Using materials that I already had on hand no less!)
This is a very different act of creating, not as structured as my sewing or my crochet & knitting and a new process for me.
If I don't draw or paint ("realistically") am I still an artist?
Absolutely!
There are many types of books you can use as your journal. I'm using a composition note-book. I found that idea when looking at Junque Journals. Large sketchbooks seem to be the fave but i like the sturdiness of the comp. so am good with that for my first book. I've gone through and gesso's many pages prior to creating a page, other pages have scrapbook papers adhered to them. This adds some weight to the pages. This particular page has a cut up Manila folder with a tab on it.That is the base. (Oh, and that "doodle thingy" in the middle? That's a Zentangle.(Google that one too!) Another page has a paper bag on it. No idea how that one will evolve but I have no doubt that inspiration will hit! (probably at 2 in the morning!)

Fall Catch Up

Nope, didn't fall off the face of the earth, busy making a mess in the Pink Room! (AKA Creative mayhem!) So, here are a just a few pix to show you what's been goin' on. (Oh, and this is just a fraction)

Finally finished an afghan for The Linus Project-took me ages because I seem to get distracted by other projects-imagine that.

Quickie weekend project, book bag for a friend. So much prettier than a zip-loc don't you think!

Sweet book written by my friend Chris. Knowing the author added something special to this read for me. It can be found HERE

Altered tags for the Comfort Dolls using tea dyed paper. (Below)

Look what a difference a couple of hours drowning in tea will do for you!

ROLODEX SWAP at Splitcoast. These are the ones I sent, can't wait to get the swapper's back!