Gathering Dust

Still Can't Shoot or Sew Straight

Last week I decided that I was going to "take the week off".  I was still going to my big girl job, but when I got home, I was going to do whatever I wanted.

(That's not as provocative as it sounds, mostly it meant I did some sewing, crafting and organizing)

I finally finished the cover for my Remains of the Day journal.  I may be the last person on earth who hasn't already taken this on-line class, but I've heard nothing but good things about it, so after three years of pondering, I decided to jump right in.

It's great because not only do you NOT have to sew straight, you're encouraged to stitch crazy- like I did with my wandering seam on the piece of brown tapestry.

(picture borrowed from Mary Ann Moss, creator of the class)

My next step will be to make pages- stacks and stacks of pages like these, hopefully using up many of those little scraps of paper that are too cool or pretty or interesting to throw away but seem to take over.

What I love about this class is that about the only thing you need is a sewing machine and paper- any paper.  And I do have plenty of paper (and other stuff).

Last week, on my "vacation", I sorted some of my paper, housed it in cigar boxes and made labels.

I've done the same thing with this cubby that I filled with cigar boxes. The labels help enormously.

I've never believed in being super organized- I want to be able to find things, but time spent organizing is time NOT spent crafting.  But I keep looking at these cigar boxes and their pitiful handwritten tags and wondering if I should make all new matching labels or tags. 

All printed in the same font, on the same size tag, all with a string, or NO string, but all the same; or all with red Dennison style labels.  It would take some time, but the uniformity might stear me onto more creativity.

I don't know, what do you think?  I know, I know, such problems...storage, scraps and sewing.

Sew Somerset magazine apparently was able to overlook my lack of sewing skills and published a mini quilt I made.  I got my preview copy in the mail yesterday, I believe it will be at the craft and book stores on Jun 1. I didn't know it was going to be published, so it was a nice surprise.

 

A Necklace, A Sampler and A Close But No Cigar (Box)

I think if you talk to anyone who's been to an art event, or even just spent a productive craft day with creative friends, you leave feeling re-energized, full of ideas and plans for new projects.

That's been the effect Bird Song had on me.  I finished Karla's necklace project and I think her idea of using a crochet medallion as the focal point was such a beautiful and unique touch.

This is my finished project for Lisa's Faire Theater class. 

This was her example.

I does look like I strayed a little off track- but I couldn't find a cigar box to use for my project.  I know that not everyone travels with a bunch of cigar boxes, but if I'm crafting or antiquing, I usually have at least one or two filled with supplies or things I'm selling. 

So, I improvised- I used a book cover and foam core to make a theater in the round. 

Lisa had beeswax to make fairy wings, but I used it to cover the back of my stage.  I'd never used wax before, and it was fun...I'd love to try more encaustic art.

Another project I finished last week was this sampler.  I've been wanting to do a sampler for a while, and with Memorial Day and 4th of July coming up, I went with red and blue on an oatmeal colored cloth. 

I picked out the alphabet from a book, and the border from another book- but I think it needs something else.

- vines around the letters?

-some kind of filler figure between the letters and the borders?

-something 3-d like sewing on lace or buttons?

-maybe a straight stitch border around the letters and another around the outside border?

Suggestions?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller? 

(A not so obscure reference to the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.)

 

Digital Bird Collages

Blue bird postcard on French script.

As part of Bird Song, I hosted a nature journal swap- everyone made six pages, I swapped them out, made covers and coerced the Other Karla into putting the books together for me.

Sparrow on the back of a cabinet card.

I used Picmonkey's overlay feature to create some simple digital collages for the covers.  I was happy with how easy it was to use and thought I'd share the images for you to use.

Bird on sheet music.

Singer Sewing Trade card on postcard.

To save a picture to your computer, click on the image, and it will open in a larger window.  Just right click and pick "Save as".

Birds on French Ledger paper.

Bird on an antique photo album mat.

Happy creating!

Bird Song Collage Elements Project

I was very flattered when Karla invited me to teach class at Bird Song.  I went with a project that could be simple or complicated depending on how much time the class wanted to spend on it. I had enough supplies that some gals were even able to make two collages.

The idea was "collage elements"- make a number of small collages and then arrange them on a background made of different pieces of black and white text- German music, German text, a Kansas City grain report from 1925, and a book of math charts.

The picture above is some samples that I made, and one that Karla made.

I also made an extra large collage and velcroed the elements to it, so I could take the pieces off to show them around the class.

This one shows how I used stamping to make a frame.

This is an example of a contact paper transfer.  A contact paper transfer lets you create a transparent image so you can see the background paper through the image.

I had fun teaching the project and was just amazed with the finished projects that my "peeps" came up with.

Hope they had as much fun as I did!

Paper Cowgirls Teaching My First Class

(photo stolen from Kristi Knox Day)

Teaching at Paper Cowgirls was a blast, and even though my class was small- only 9 people, I was stressed. Even though I was comfortable with my project, I wanted to DO GOOD- and I sure didn't want to let anyone down.

The night before we left for Waxahachie, I had dreams about scissors that wouldn't cut, glue that wouldn't stick and lace that was wound into knotted tangles.

I couldn't get back to sleep because

1. any situation seems worse in the middle of the night

2. I hadn't done a "practice class".

One thing I learned from Karla about teaching a class is to do a practice class with friends to get the kinks out.

Luckily, Karla had the idea to do a practice class in our hotel room the night before I taught.  She made two samples and I made one- so I had a lot of examples to show.  We did find some kinks, but we worked them out- and it let me be a whole lot more confident when I started my class.

The gals in my class were just darling- Charlene, Lisa and Amy.

Linda Hahn and Betti Zucker.

The whole class with (almost) finished projects.  Thanks girls for making it so easy to teach my first class.

Close-ups of some in process projects- I love how they're using the same materials, but all look a little different.

I'll have class kits for sale in my Etsy shop- but first I want to revise my instructions to include all the ideas and tips that I got from teaching that first class.

On the Road to Paper Cowgirls

Tomorrow, Karla and I are on our way to Paper Cowgirls in Texas.  This will be the first time in years that I've been in Texas when the temperature is under 80 degrees.  I'm hoping we can see some blue bonnets.

Karla and I are both teaching classes.  It's my first time teaching a craft class and my first time putting together a craft kit.  It doesn't sound hard, counting buttons, cutting ribbon, but it is.  I mean, it's not hard work like mining coal or pouring concrete, but I didn't realize how much went into it.

I followed Karla's advice and made extra kits.  She said "It's just as easy to make thirty as it is twenty".   When I get home from Texas, I'll be listing the extras in my Etsy shop.

Thank goodness BOTH Karlas helped me put my kits together.  Karla the artist figured out my presentation- tieing the papers and cloth together, and Karla the accountant meticulously cut ribbon and counted buttons.

And what did I do?  Mostly I whined "this is hard......"

One think I've learned about craft classes from both Karla and Lisa is that it's fun to have extras supplies so everyone in the class has a chance to customize their project.

I was planning on packing my supplies in a vintage suitcase- something I usually have "in stock"- but I sold my last suitcase a couple weeks ago, so  I decided to substitute this artist's case.  It's kind of like a wooden brief case- made to hold an artist's paints, brushes and canvases.  But it was UGLY plywood, so I did a little decoupage on it, using some of my favorite old papers- dictionary pages, old magazine, catalog and ledger pages.

Inside, I have lace, scraps from a stained Quaker tablecloth, ribbon and buttons.

Underneath, I've stored my class samples, extra background papers and vintage wallpaper.

The last time I was at Karla's she had her class kits stacked all together and they were so pretty- I had to get a picture.  That is some vintage goodness!

 

Paper Cowgirls and Kitchen Re-do (no relationship)

Last summer, I had such a great time at Paper Cowgirls and I saw how much fun Karla and Lisa had teaching, so I was tickled when head Cowgirl Cindy invited me to teach at this year's event.

My class is based on an article I did for Sew Somerset magazine that featured an altered baby dress.  Cowgirls in the class will have their choice of two versions of the dress- or they can mix and match elements from both of them. 

Paper Cowgirls is March 14 and 15 in Waxahachie Texas- which is just a darling little city with a real downtown with one of those grand old courthouses and  great shopping- gift shops, antique malls and a fantastic scrapbooking store- The Crafty Scrapper, where the classes will be held.

You can get more details on the Paper Cowgirls website and class sign-ups are here.

And onto something completely different.  Do you know what the best way to redo your kitchen is?

Have your friends do it for you....

On Friday, Karla and Karla painted my kitchen cabinets.  I wish I had a "before" picture, but imagine the cabinets looked like the door in the first picture.

I'm lovin' the clean light look.  I would have been scared to death to attempt it myself, but I trust Karla with paint like I trust my hairdresser with scissors.  I know everything will turn out just great.

The kitchen looks a little bare and spare, but I think that since so much of my house seems to filled with "stuff"- stuff to sell, stuff to sort, stuff to make other stuff out of, it's refreshing to have a room that looks like it could be in anyone's house.

Karla took quite a few close-up pictures and I think she's going to do a how to on her blog- but one of the best ideas she had was spattering.

She took some dark glaze, put it on a toothbrush, and then ran her fingers along the bristles so the paint spattered into little spots on the cupboards.

It's very similiar to what happens when a wet dirty dog shakes in your kitchen- so when that DOES happen, well, I won't have to grab a rag and clean up- (not that I would have anyway)- but now it will just fit right in.

I'm pretty lucky to have a friend that's a talented painter and can't resist a make-over challenge and another friend that just likes to paint.

Chirp with Us: Birdsong II

Last year, one of the most fun times I had was the weekend I spent at Karla's Birdsong art retreat. Laughing, crafts, great weather, great decor, great scenery, old and new friends- it was wonderful. I wrote about it here.

Karla is doing it again and this year and I'm excited (and nervous) to be teaching a class.  This a peek at my project.

If you'd like to attend, there are still a handful of places open.  You can find more information here.

Lisa will also be teaching a class and Karla will be teaching two classes.  Here's a look at one of Karla's projects.

Karla's other project most likely will be jewelry- the last time I saw Karla, she was playing with beads- she has a plan for a beautiful and one of a kind piece.

If you're on the fence about attending or haven't been to an art event, feel free to email me and I'll try to answer your questions.  I think those last few places will sell out fast.

Her Life in Stitches- Karla's Page

This month my page in Her Life in Stitches round robin is for Karla's book. Karla's book is inspired by her mother, who was a great seamstress, upholsterer and quilt maker.

I started with a picture of Karla's mom printed on fabric..

Then  I added a fabric flower, some millenary flowers and a rhinestone button because I know Karla likes them- and embroidered a heart with Karla's mom's name "Marty Jo".

The bottom of the page is part of a sampler that came from a box lot of linens.  I thought the saying was perfect:

"Mother's love is like a fragrent rose with sweetness in every fold."

I added some bits of pink embroidery stitches to give the page just a little bit of color.

The back of the page is simpler- just some lace, stitching and a mannequin borrowed from The Graphics Fairy.  At first I thought it might be too simple, but the back of a book is never as elaborate as the front.

This is my third page, and I've loved doing all of them- partially because vintage sewing is one of my favorite subjects, but also because collaborating with such talented people ( Lisa, Karla and Sandra) makes me want to do my best.

Little Quilts and Stitching Projects

I've been working on quite a few stitching projects all at the same time, too.  Today, I'm taking a break from stitching and knitting because I have some kind of repetative motion injury.

Ok, it's probably not really an injury...it's just a little ache, but I think I need a break from the needles...and it's driving me crazy- I want to MAKE (and possibly finish) something.

This just needs some lace on the edges and a hanger and I'm calling it done.

One of my favorite parts of this little quilt is the rhinestone studded leaf applique.  I found a handful of them at an estate sale and they work so well with "low colors".

This one has one of my favorite images- the bird from Mary's Logomachy collection.

Another needle project- working my way through this book of 100 embroidery stitches.  I started doing some on counted cross stitch fabric because it's easier to keep them straight and the same size.

I've probably worked four or five stitches on this little sampler alone- only 90+ to go!  I better get to rehabbing my arm.