Fall is here and a few other notes...

This is a picture I took of the boys and I just LOVE it.  I adore the fact that there is a blur when looking at an arm or leg.  This is the way children are, always in motion and so precious.

I got a new copic marker chart from my FAVORITE stamp store, Buffalo Stamps & Stuff on Sheridan Drive.  It it perfect, except that I wished it was easier to match up my paper choices...then, about 2am I had one of those Ah ha moments!  (cuz that is the way I am)  I have a tool that creates holes for grommets and it works perfect!  Ta da !

Driving home I found a RAINBOW!

This lovely place was taken at Hurd Orchards while we were there for a centerpiece workshop...SO much fun!

My mom, Pretty Pat (as Cheri calls her) and her lovely arrangement, great job mom.  :)  I have to tweek mine and then I will add a picture soon.

My grandson James was baptized recently in my christening gown that I wore 51 years ago!  How awesome is that??  More pictures to come soon!  Have a lovely day !  Hug inserted here.

A fun and rainy, rainy weekend...

I attended my first class at Aurora Sewing Center Saturday.  What a treat !  It was a Hot Ribbon Quilting Class instructed by Lennie Honcoop from California.  She is amazing to say the least.  I was curious about the class as it includes copic markers to make these wonderful wall hangings.

 

Hot Ribbon Art is an iron-on, no sew, 1/8" wide ribbon that can be used to finish the raw edges of applique. Imported from Japan, Hot Ribbon is gaining in popularity with quilters who like to finish off their projects quickly and have a dramatic look.  This was the leaf that we appliqued in class on to black fabric and outlined with the hot ribbon.  After this process you color the ribbon to match the fabric and create the dramatic look below with Lennie's finished project.

This picture does not do this wall hanging quilt justice, it is JUST beautiful !

I went for a ride in the back 40 and found this fun bush of milk weeds.  When Peter was two we rubbed them together and tossed them up in the air.  He asked to go back the next day and play with the "cow feathers" his named version of milk weeds.  :)

Glorious, glorious SUNSHINE and a splashing of RED and YELLOW against the very BLUE sky.

How precious is this picture?  Peter and his new little brother James!  How full my heart is !

A fun rainy afternoon of coloring with My Big Girl Crayons !

Hey Deb (the most amazing copic artist who has taught me all the wonders of copic markers), this is for you.  I found a way to put a hole in each block of color so you can match up the paper!!!  whooo whoooo!  Two thumbs up?  :)

Moxy Monday Musings...

I made this card for a sweet friend and I just LOVE it !  I so enjoy inking Mo Manning's images.  I struggle at times with creating the actual card but I like the simple but sweet way this one turned out.  :)  I have several books and magazines that offer so many cards plastered with 3D flowers etc but I sometimes really enjoy the focus to be on the image and how they make me feel...happy.

I have a friend who likes to work with steampunk art and she gave me this really cool shadow box that she made for me.  It has computer parts, ceramic doll arm and other bits and pieces.

Now the interesting and fun part of this artwork is that the image in the middle is my actual cat scan.  No kidding.  How many people have their cat scan so artistically displayed?  :)

Just a little bit of sunshine to add to your day...enjoy !

Vibrant FALL is on the way !

Today was a day of SUNSHINE and FUN!  My mother and I met a few friends out at Hurd Orchards today. It was vibrant and lovely and a perfect way to spend the afternoon.  They created a wonderful cheese platter they served out by the zinnia garden.

The gift shop is loaded with jams, jellies, baked goods, soaps, stationary, kitchen towels and much more.  I purchased a peach bread loaf, black berries and pear almond jam.

A beautiful sunflower waved to us while the sun danced on our flesh.  Can you feel it?  What a enjoyable afternoon.  :)

Mom's lastest creation !

Mom and I have been taking classes at Buffalo Stamps & Stuff for just over a year learning some wonderful copic marker skills. The image is a Mo Manning and she colored the image with copic markers. This is mom's latest card and I HAD to share it with you...I am so proud of her !  How lucky is the person that gets this card?  Great job Mom!

Invitations, place cards, cake topper and some summer flowers

Jim and I were working together at the dining room table which is also used as a craft table, conference table and drafting board.  LOL  This day we were sharing the space.  Jim was doing calculations on blueprints and I was putting some invitations together.  These invitation were a great deal of fun to make.  I used a screen door die cut kit from  Buffalo Stamps & Stuff.

 I LOVE the way it turned out.  We have invited 10 of my mother's girlfriends from high school.  This group of lovely ladies have been gathering together on a regular basis for over 50 years!  I was lucky enough to join them for a few of there parties and I so enjoyed the spirit and joy of friendships that have lasted over the years.  They call themselves the Girls with the Grandmother faces.  Jim and I with the help of a few of my favorite girlfriends are going to have a dinner party for them next week.  I picked this image from Phindy's Place because she looks just like me.  :)  Also, one of my favorite parts of our home is my screen door and I added a thin wood welcome sign.  I hope they can tell just how thrilled we are to do this dinner party.

The wedding that I have been helping with asked if I could make one of my whimsical cake toppers.  Of course I said, sure!  They told me a bit about the characters they wanted and here they are.  A teacher and a Buffalo Bills fan.  They were made with polymer clay and baked as directed on the package.

The place cards were doubled as a thank you (on the back), and held up with wine corks.  I sanded a flat edge so that they would stand easily and cut a slit into the other side of the cork. The bride had someone make these lovely wine charms that we tied on.  I punched the corners with a fun edge punch and distressed the cards.

 Just for the joy of looking at at rose I have include this wonderful scented rose. 

This Gerber daisy was given to me by Rox and was planted in a special place to greet you when you come to visit.

A summer wedding and a puppy tooth !

One of the weddings that we are invited to this summer, the theme is wine and the centerpieces are wine bottles.  I created some wine labels with a list of the couple's favorite wines.  I used a wine stamp with Distress Ink, bundled sage and put them through the printer for the words.

I discovered a neat idea while I was distressing another project (the favors...pictures coming soon), instead of distressing on scrap paper, I used a sheet of acetate from an old report of Jim's.  It works WONDERFUL.  Now, some of you may think...duh, use your craft sheet from Ranger...but, I am one of those crazy gals that create and have fun in every room of the house and currently my craft sheet is buried alive.  LOL

Putting together a new image from Mo Manning...to be continued.  Really.   :)

While Peter visited last weekend we found one of Bella's teeth and we made a booklet for Peter to take it to school for show n' tell.  Someone else has a missing tooth.  :)

Jim suggested he take it to school in an old fashioned film container...I came up with this idea.  LOL
Gotta love those old film containers.  Have an idea of what to do with them?

NEW graphic 45 paper, a spin on Wizard of OZ...loving it !

Graphic 45 came out with a NEW collection of papers and I just had to make a 3D project.  This picture was the first step of deciding what areas to cut and pop.  Buffalo Stamps & Stuff has the collection so go and check it out.

It is hard to see the 3D effect but if you right click you can make this image bigger.  Then you can back arrow to return to the blog if you want.  Have a GREAT day and keep being creative !

YIKES, where is the dining room table? LOL

Well, I decided to "play" at the dining room table and it sort of exploded?  LOL  My goodness it does get out of hand quickly.  But, it is sooo much fun.

While taking another class at Buffalo Stamps Stuff, Sheridan Road I found some AWESOME Penny Black stamps.  (with the exception of the bride & groom)  Now, the images are nearly finished and I MUST create the cards.  I know, I know...I just LOVE inking the images and I promise to follow through on the cards and update here.  Ok, so the pressure is ON now.  :)  Have a wonderful day !

Sunshine has arrived and decided to stay for a bit !

Just took a wee bit of time and HAD to ink this image to match this Melissa Frances paper.  It reminds me of summer and fun dresses.  :)

Bella and I went to the farm and we went for an RTV ride with Mom and Peter.  We stopped in at Matt & Molly's to check out the new stables for the horses.  Amazing, just amazing.

Mom finished another beautiful piece of stained glass, you just have to LOVE the vibrant colors.

Today we had some SUNSHINE !

Although it was 3pm before it showed up...the most amazing thing happened today, the SUN showed up.  It has been raining for weeks and the SUN has surely been missed.  My goodness, even the ducks have been pissed!  LOL  It was glorious, fabulous, vibrant, warm, welcomed, desired, craved, needed, wanted and oh, SO happy it made us!  Please come and stay a bit...warm the ground (oh heck, DRY the ground.  Our lawn now needs to be harvested, mowing will no longer do), dance upon the garden, soak into our souls, lighten our hearts and PLEASE stay for a visit, as long as you like, PLEASE.
Maybe, I should tell you how I really feel?  LOL  Bella and I headed up north to visit my parents and pick up my grandson, Peter.  We had a wonderful time and you can see the sunlight glowing on Bella & Peter...ahhhh.  The SUN is my muse today and I OH SO hope it is tomorrow too.  :)

Sleeping angel, bracelet and paper roses

My grandson, Peter came and spent a few days with us over Easter break and last night I was so lucky to curl up next to him while he fell asleep.  A precious moment that I hope to carry with me for a very long time.  It is a rare moment to see him so still.  At the age of 6 he is full of energy and fun.

With all this crafting around he caught the bug and wanted to make his mom a bracelet for Mother's Day.  He picked out all the beads and charm.  He carefully added each bead in the order he wanted for the perfect gift for Sarah. 

I bought some of Melissa Frances 1962 Crepe Paper Collection and decided to make some paper roses.  I wasn't sure of how to make them but I dusted off an old memory of ribbon flowers that I used to make when I did silk ribbon embroidery.  Not too shabby I think.

I also included a free style circle flower that took some cutting of circles and just glued together.  I tried to use my punches to cut the circles but the crepe paper didn't like them.  So I cut the circles by hand, I won't be making them unless necessary.  :)  For the roses I cut an 11 x 1 inch strip of crepe paper and just kept folding and twisting.  They are all a bit different depending on how tired I got or what else was going on in the room.  LOL

I purchased the paper at my favorite store Buffalo Stamps & Stuff  last Wednesday after a class.

I added a leaf or two to each rose and then put glitter on a few of them.  Now I have to decide how to use them.

Jim is in the other room jumping between Axe Men and Iron Chef, so I am keeping busy with a bunch of butterflies...and this is a sneak peek of what I am up to next.  To be continued...

Birthday cake for Madeleine

It is Madeleine's 6th Birthday and Peter helped me decorate her Barbie cake.  He placed the flowers and made a heart with her initial in the center.   Check out the pasties he placed perfectly...LOL
Mathka said her hands are in the air because she is shouting wooo hooo it is Madeleine's Birthday!

Just a perfect yellow rose to enjoy.