Christmas Blessings!

May your heart be filled with hope and joy.

Thanksgiving!

 
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guess Whooooo is Having a Big Birthday!

My little sister.  Happy Birthday Linda!  I made her this little birthday book for the special occasion and whipped up this cute little little owl.   The back is from an old polka dot chenille bedspread.  The front fabric is some retro fabric I had in my stash... just her style!

Sew Happy!

This little table runner is for, Laura, the newest member of my family.  I fused the ribbon on to keep them from shifting.   Whew, I was not sure this would come together okay.   On to the next project.

Treasure Hunt

Years ago a relative was giving away some china left to them by another relative.  I took them home and they got tucked in the most obscure corner of an old addition on the back of my house.    This morning, I crawled under there on hand an knee (yuck) and drug out the boxes to peek inside.  It had been a long time and I did not vaguely remember what they looked like.

Each piece is wrapped in brown and brittle old newspaper, but the dishes inside look like new.  I have not uncovered all the pieces, but there is a little bit of about everything!  The back of the dishes are stamped Royal Joci, and hand decorated with 23k gold.   They wouldn't get big money on Pawn Stars, but they sure are fun.

Back to My Craft Roots

Sew!  As usual, there are just too many fabulous things on my list to make lately.  My first project was a long overdue pillow in a quilt for my daughter.

Today I finished my first rag quilt ever.  It is for someone at work.  I will definitely be making more rag quilts in the future.  Cut, cut, cut...snip, snip, snip!!!

Hope Lights the Way

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all -Emily Dickinson

  

BCS 4 years and counting! 

ATC Time

The past few months I have given my paper crafts a bit break and have been sewing.  My mom taught me to sew when I was a young girl.   Over the years no matter what new craft or hobby I obsess with  engage in, I always kept my sewing machine in a ready state.

My favorite local store has a July ATC swap.  It gave me the perfect opportunity to use one of my new favorite pictures found somewhere on the web.  My roller skates were my second love, but very close behind my brother's wonder horse!

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

A sweet cyber friend who was my first craft swap partner ever invited me to participate in a fun swap. Of course I said yes!  I headed to my craft cave,  dusted off my supplies, and was paired up with a very nice gal... Nan from Bubbles of Joy. 

Above is a picture of the fabulous canvas Nan made for me.  The colors are just perfect.  My new favorite color lately is any shade of aqua blue.  The canvas is a dreamy cream with a touch of pink.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Vintage bluebirds, butterflies and a sweet little girl.... what's not to love?  Thank you Nan!

For Nan, I tried to use colors to match her craft room...teal and red.   I painted my little canvas red and loaded it with things I hoped Nan would enjoy along with some of her favorite memories.  The queen in the middle is an old childhood friend... Midge.  The cute little butterfly is her mother.  Nan is on there too wearing a party hat.  I sure had fun making this for her.

A big hug and thank you to Joyce for putting this swap together.

Smile!

My new favorite little girl photo. What a hoot!

Happy Easter!

My Finest Vinyl Linen

Today I took a big step. While looking through a wooden chest to find tablecloths to use for my bunko group tomorrow night, I realized what a large collection of vinyl table covers I have collected over the years. The ones in the picture are only the tip of the iceberg.

It is not as if I don't have some very nice cloth ones to use. If fact, I have quite a few very lovely ones. So why am I not using them?? Am I afraid of getting a little spot or two on them? Yikes!! This oddly makes me feel like a little old lady. Is there is such a person as a vinyl hoarder?

Worse yet, I am having trouble parting with my plastic ones. It is time to let go!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Buttons!

While surfing some favorite websites, I stumbled across a button ornament swap over at Button Floozies. I have not participated in a swap in a very long time but there was something about ornaments with buttons that I could not pass up. Looking through my craft stash I found some chipboard dress forms purchased at Red Lead where I always buy my favorite supplies.

Here are the ornaments I made to trade:


Along with this tag:

In return I receive these three special ornaments:



The cute little burlap stocking on the left was from Terri. It is adorable. The lace and buttons she sewed on are just perfect!

The little round ornament in the middle was made by Wendy. It is very sweet and hand sewn with vintage buttons.

The ornament on the right was sent by Joni. Isn't it fabulous and creative? I just love the little muff the girl is holding.

BCS Three Years and Counting!

Three has always been my lucky number.

The New Mr. & Mrs. Phil Alles Jr.

Welcome to the family Laura!

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley!

A longtime friend had this Thomas Merton quote hanging in her office. I loved it the moment I read it.  I thought it was a perfect fit for this picture I took of a trolly station in Memphis.

"You do not need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope."

Happy Birthday America!

Baubles Bracelet

This bracelet sure was fun to make. It is a bit different than my usual bead stringing. Copper and silver colored buttons were glued into bezels and connected with copper rings. In the center bezel is a piece of cut crystal for a bit of glitz.

Getting Closer

Soon after learning about the fun of antique mall shopping I began looking for a special kind of bowl that belonged to my grandmother. My mom cherished it until it was sadly broken long ago. A couple weeks back I stumbled across this pretty little etched pink depression glass bowl very much like it (if not identical) only much smaller. The minute I picked it up I could not set it down and knew it was coming home with me. It even has a couple little character chips to add to its charm.