You Can Call Me Gwen

I got a PlayStation for Christmas!

 

 

Actually, I made a play station for Christmas.

Because, at this time of year, it's not enough to have a six foot play table in my studio.  

Nope, its not enough.

So the old card table is currently full of colorful paper scraps...

 

 

...and more colorful paper scraps.

 

 

Or is the old card table/new play station actually a construction site?

And are those just scraps?

Might they be houses and windows and roofs and doors?

 

 

Oh, my!

And now I am going to add "home builder" to my resume.

Because I can if I want.

So there.

A Word on Help, Rilke, and The Mad Hatter

 

I received some help from my chiropractor today.

That statement is a LOT bigger than it looks.

That help meant I was able to spend a couple of hours seated in my studio this afternoon with Alice and The Mad Hatter without being distracted by pain.

We had a tea party.

 

 

Well, they had a tea party, anyway.

This was my first time doing a paper-cut piece using silhouette paper: it cuts easily, which is lovely when one has to make a lot of curved cuts with an Xacto knife, but it also curls easily, so I had to be very careful not to bend all the vines and flowers once they were set free.

I think the last (and only other time) I attempted this piece, I was using a very heavy white paper; definitely easier on the silhouette paper.

Anyway, I now have this lovely paper cutting and wish I had...

...mad framing skills.

 

---------

 

I've also recently been getting some help learning how to live more peaceably and fruitfully with my broken body, and one of the helpful things that has floated back to the surface of my mind in this process is a poem I have loved by Rainer Maria Rilke.

 

                        Brother Body

(in the sanitarium, in Rilke's final illness)

Brother body is poor...that means we must be rich for him.

He was often the rich one; so may he be forgiven

for the meanness of his wretched moments.

Then, when he acts as though he barely knows us,

may he be gently reminded of all that has been shared.

 

Of course, we are not one but two solitaries:

our consciousness and he.

But how much we have to thank each other for,

as friends do! And illness reminds us:

friendship demands a lot.

                            Uncollected Poems

 

What a blessed way he had of living with his failing body!

Today, I spent a few minutes during my walk thinking about just some of the wonderful things my body has afforded my life - from jumping rope to bearing children - and I thanked it.

Gratitude is a game changer.

 

 

Cast your optics (and fire away).

 

Dear Reader,

I was just minding my own business this morning; savoring that luxurious second cup of coffee and working the daily crossword.

 

Yes, in ink.  Yes, (yes!) in red ink; it's February!

 

I guess I was pondering a more difficult clue when it happened.

The insert from today's paper arrested my attention.

 

 

I opened it.

 

 

Would you just cast your optics on those?!

Do you see them?

 

 

What do you see?

If you said "scented paper roses", my work here is done.

If you said "perfume ads", please stay tuned for more training.

Put down your red pen and pick up your scissors.

 

 

And give yourself a bouquet of beautifully scented roses.

 

 

You deserve it.

Love, Gwen 

 

P.S. In other news (and I'm fairly certain this is the best thing I'm going to tell you today), Prince Charming sent me a text while these roses were happening and this is all it said:

     "I dreamed you shot down the Devon tower with a missile and I didn't stop you."

Say what???

I've Got Joy

 

In January, I had the blessing of being added to the already-full class roster of a ten week recovery program for blocked artists, just days before it started.

So far, it's been a wonderful, terrible, exhilarating, exhausting, helpful, painful experience.

And this is week four.

Since the group is larger than she normally has, our facilitator has us sitting in a rather large 'circle' made up of eight six-foot tables.

Last week she realized that name tags were necessary in such a large group, but when she mentioned it, a hand shot up and one of the participants suggested place cards for the table.

She liked that idea and we were tasked with bringing a place card for ourselves to this week's class.

Dear Reader, you know how much I love paper, and cutting, and making place cards by now, don't you?

In the following few days, I noticed my morning writing was ending with little drawings, instead of words.

 

 

Ideas will make their way out of the head, if you let them, and mine seemed to be all about having my name card include a visual representation of some of my creative interests.

It seemed fitting for this group.

Yesterday, I finally sat down to firm up a design and begin executing it.

It was delicious to be sketching again, to be slicing through paper with a frighteningly sharp Xacto blade, to be scoring, inking, shading.

It has been too long since I opened my pencil box.

 

 

(Old friend, I want us to be close again!)

When I picked up the Xacto knife... the pencil... the tortillon, I entered that strange time-warp again; three hours (which included the one for dinner-making) went by downstairs while only fifteen minutes passed in my studio.

When I was finished, I was truly pleased with the result; so happy that I was able to execute the idea which had come to me.

I was actually joyful.

For. One. Split. Second.

And then Fang started to speak...

"Are you kidding?! Look at that thing! She didn't say to do anything creative, just to bring a place card."

"Oh my gosh! That thing is huge!"

"What a big show off!"

"You are just way over the top."

"Those women are going to hate you for showing off like that."

"You aren't really going to take that big, showy thing, are you?"

And on, and on, and on.

I felt my joy slipping away.

Until today.

Today I reached out to "Jesus with skin on": I showed my place card and I shared my battle with some people I trust.

And their answers came back.

"So lovely!  'Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.'" (C.S.Lewis quote)

"Wow! That is VERY cool!!! It would be a real shame to let the thought of other people's reactions stop you."

"You will inspire them."

So, tomorrow, Dear Reader, I am taking this "huge, show-offy, over-the-top" place card, which is actually just a visual representation of some of my creative joy, to group with me, because when Fang was turning up the heat to steal my joy and I was stumbling around trying to fend off the lies with the truth...

 

 

...I had help.

 

 

 

Down by the River

 

Do you hear anything when you look at this?

 

 

It's faint, but I hear the slap of the rope, the tap of shoes and my little girl self singing a jump rope chant.

 

    Down by the river, down by the sea,

    Johnny broke a bottle and he blamed it on me.

    I told ma, ma told pa,

    Johnny got a lickin' and a ha ha ha.

    How many lickin's did Johnny get?

    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ....

 

It's the closest I've felt to that little girl in a long, long time.

Whimsy

 

I got a wee bit weary of cold and gray today and I got tired of taking my 10,000 steps indoors .

Today required whimsy.

And I discovered Whimsy is a girl.

 

 

She's innocent and carefree and she appears to be outdoors.

I feel better now.

 

There Will Come a Day

 

If your Seester sends you a beautiful calendar every year with all of your very large family's special days artfully noted...

And if you save all of those calendars...

And if you inherit some from your Darlin' Mither, who also saved all of them...

There will come a day when way too many days have been taking up room on your studio shelf for way too long.

What will you do?

Will you cut some of the pages into circles and then cut the circles into spirals?

 

 

Will you roll all the spirals up real tight...

 

 

...and turn them into roses?

 

 

Maybe you'll take all those roses and make a wreath and mail it to the Calendar Girl for Valentine's Day...

 

 

...because everyone knows Valentine's day is so importantly fun that we must celebrate with pink and red, hearts and flowers and punny little greeting cards (I'm not lion).

Hey, even my eye shadow is preparing for Valentines Day.

 

 

Are you, Dear Reader?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Valentiny Party!

 

Every once in awhile, I look at these shelves in my studio...

 

 

...or more specifically, all of the things inside of them...

 

 

... and begin accusing myself of being a useless hoarder (and worse) and start mumbling about giving it all away.

Usually, my family hears these mumblings, begs me to reconsider, reminds me of the many times "having everything" in my studio has blessed others, and just generally backs me away from the cliff (and the thought of hiring a dumpster, building a chute to it from my second-story window and sliding everything into it) (yes, it gets that bad).

I'm so grateful for their interventions.

This week, as I was getting ready to host an American Girl Valentiny Party for a group of my young friends and their dolls, I pulled the matchboxes off the shelf... ...

 

 

...to make tiny invitations.

 

 

 

 

...with a surprise hidden inside.

 

 

I got down the red paint and the small wooden hearts ...

 

 

...to begin making place card holders.

 

 

When I needed something to hold the two hearts apart so the cards could be slipped in, I pulled down the toothpicks, and had an "Aha!" moment.

 

 

The wooden game pieces...

 

 

...were added to wooden spools, some empty tins and lids I stole (!) from the storage jars...

 

 

...to create mini cake stands (shown here with a naked cake during the test fitting).

 

 

The red binder clips...

 

 

...came down and were taken apart to serve as menu holders.

I made seven matching doll dresses as gifts for the girls...

 

  

...and I was very much over it by the time I finished!

I dumped out the contents of my "random heart charms" container and got out some beads to make dolly-sized necklaces as take-home favors.

 

 

(I also took some really bad photos.)

My friend, Able Baker Dana, came over on Friday to help with the little cakes and all the heart-shaped food preparation.

We had some fun...

 

 

...and did some work...

 

 

...which included cutting little tiny tortilla hearts... 

 

 

...to make into tortilla chips.

 

 

We cut the world's tiniest carrot sticks...

 

 

...and we made menus...

 

 

...and small paper placemats, bingo cards, and hearts for "Musical Hearts".

When the big day came, I set the table using the tiny plastic 'silverware' I found at the dollar tree...

 

 

...6" dessert plates, votive cups for drinking glasses, and tiny cloth napkins made from the excess length I cut from the (free!) tablecloth.

 

 

 

 

 

And, finally, seven precious girls arrived, bringing their dolls with them.

They had lunch...

 

 

 

...waiting patiently for their special orders to be served.

 

 

They played Pin the Heart on the American Girl.

 

 

 

They played a (very intense!) game of "Musical Hearts"...

 

 

...but were great sports when they lost their place.

 

 

They played a game of reverse "Conversation Heart Bingo", eating the candies as the sayings were called.

 

 

 

Then we let them eat cake...

 

 

...and make the world's tiniest ice-cream sudaes.

 

 

 

They exchanged Valentines.

 

 

...had their photographs taken...

 

 

 

...and then they just played and played and played with their dolls and with each other.

It was a wonderful Valentiny day.

 

My Inner Child...

 

  

...still plays with dolls.

When my dear Daughter-in-Love recently shared this pin with me, I stopped smack dab in the middle of a building project (more on that later) to go up to my studio and MAKE.

I started with some simple little designs (which I saw on another site and am so sorry I can't find to credit here).

 

 

The fun is in opening those little matchboxes to see the magic!

 

 

Those legs reminded me of ballet dancers, so I tried to put the dolly in an appropriate pose and...

 

 

...I used my trusty Sharpie to give her some ballet shoes.

 

 

Then I thought, "Well, if a girl can have shoes...why not grab the white gel pen and give her some socks?" 

 

 

I am so disgusted with myself for having failed to mark where I saw these "faeries in a matchbox" so I could give credit to the source.  I loved them so much.

I love this little faerie's...

 

 

...fancy leggings!

 

 

Since the inside surprise is so much fun, I thought "Why not give this birthday girl...

 

 

...a birthday gift?"

 

 

And, since this girl...

 

 

...isn't celebrating a birthday, why not give her a puppy for a surprise?"

 

 

You see how it goes.

Of course, I always think of my own little girls - now so grown-up - when I am playing with dollies, so I made a little Matchbox Mary, complete with her little "polka dot" mole...

 

 

...and her beloved Jack.

  

 

Now I must work out how to draw a teeny, tiny hedgehog.

 And buy more matchboxes. 

Be Mine

 

Before February breathes its last, cold breath, let me show and tell you what happens when you take...

• scraps and paint from your garage and scraps and paint from your partner's garage
• felt hearts and paper roses from Valentine's days gone by
• wooden skewers from your kitchen drawer
• a long mirror, sans frame, snatched from the neighbors curb
• tealights found in your stash and wrapped with washi tape from your studio
• pens from the kitchen drawer and white feathers and red shipping tags from your studio
• dishes and linens from your kitchen and dishes and linens from your partner's kitchen
• toilet paper rolls from u-know-where and paint and beads from your studio
• the paper cones you made as Valentines 

...and then mix in great friends who bring readings and music on the theme of love and add more delicious food and drink to the table.

You get a party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The night was so lovely...

 

 

 

 

  

 

...and it's such a great blessing to have friends...

 

 

...and hosts like these...

 

 

...who welcome us into their home, make these great photo props, and are still enjoying each other after thirty plus years of marriage.

It was great fun to read the quotes on the back of our place cards and try to name the sources...

 

 

...and it was nice to send everyone home with a Valentine...

 

 

...or two.

 

But, the nicest thing of all is having a Valentine of my very own.

 

 

I love him like a fat kid loves cake.

I Heart Valentines

 

Now that they've all been delivered, I can tell you about my Valentines.

This week, I got out every pink, red, heart-shaped or glittery thing I have in my studio, put it on my work desk, cut it into pieces, added in some wire and feathers and mixed it all up with some hot glue.

See what I made?

 

 

A really big, scary mess!

Oh, and these:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, I heart Valentines.

And, even though I had to give these away already, I am going to love tomorrow.

Because tomorrow is Valentine's Day - which is just about my favoritest day of the whole entire year - and tomorrow is a party.

I can hardly wait to go and then come home and tell you about it..

 

Sewing, Cutting and Grieving

 

I've been sewing.

I made banner-decorated tote bags for the Hope Pregnancy Center, using a curtain panel purchased at the thrift store and leftovers from another binge,...

 

 

...and I made a sweet little dolly for a young friend of mine (free PDF here).

 

 

I've also been cutting.

I used a free template from the generous CindyMindyPindy at Scherenschnitte and a new-in-the-box (and perfectly sized!) frame I found at the thrift store.

 

 

But, mostly?

Mostly, I've been missing Me Darlin' Mither.

She was full of grace and she loved my little dolls, and bunting appliqued totes, and whimsical papercuts...

...and me.

Hey, kids, it's time to cut things!

 

Today's 'make' is brought to you by the power of full-strength coffee.

Yessir, I've been drinking full-strength coffee for several days now and going to the gym, so there's no telling when this bus will stop.

Just warning ya.

Going through my Pinterest boards when she was here the other day, Able Baker Dana pointed out yet another Christmas project I'd pinned last year.

My hair caught fire (the time was right) and we hopped up right then and started making.

 

 

Pretty soon there was a sweet little paper forest growing under the chalkboard.

 

 

But, the real reason my hair caught fire was because another special little forest had started growing on the shelf under the Mickey Mouse Christmas puzzle (which, until this month, had been waiting for a frame for two or three years).

I had finally gotten my hands on some bottle-brush trees (love them!) and added them to some little trees we'd made last year (which had never seen the light of day); I knew adding the paper trees to the growing forest would make me very happy.

 

 

Actually, I was already very happy, but the little trees do make me smile.

You can see the original source of this delightful idea, and get the original pattern and instructions (for the large tree), from the generous Katja at http://shiftctrlart.com/Blogpost/umti.

When we started our fevered cutting, I decided pretty quickly that I wanted several sizes, so I've made some of my own patterns and you can download them here.

The pattern is for letter-size paper, and you need to cut two pieces for each tree.

To assemble, just cut a slit down the center of one tree from the top half way to the bottom, cut the other tree up the center from the bottom half way to the top , and then slide them into each other; a little finessing is all you'll need to make them stand up.

A couple of suggestions:

    If you're going to make a forest or two, just print the pattern out on copy paper to use as a master and then run your letter size colored cardstock through the printer; no tracing necessary.

    If you're going to make just a few trees: first, please tell me how you exercise that kind of restraint and, second, print your pattern on cardstock and cut out the trees to use as patterns for tracing.

And remember, kids, never, ever run with scissors.

You might drop them and hurt them.

Coming Soon

 

I have an entire room dedicated to creative pursuits.

It has wonderful storage for all the paper, fabric, scissors, cutters, glue, paint, glitter and various other supplies I could ever use.

It has a place for paper-crafting, drawing, painting, or beading.

It has a place to cut fabric and a place to sew fabric.

It has a place to sit and dream, imagine or read.

And yet...

My kitchen table looked like this last night:

 

 

Our family has a big occasion coming up this summer.

We will need boutonierres...

 

 

...fancy little dresses...

 

 

...elegant invitations...

 

 

...and envelopes to mail them.

 

 

We will need to work on all these things in the little spaces between the other business of our lives.

We will need to keep these project trays handy.

We will be placing orders, cutting and gluing paper, wrapping floral stems and hand stitching.

We will be having fun and looking forward to August.

But will we be sitting down to dinner?

100 Tweets

 

I don't tweet or twitter.

Neither do my 100 newest friends.

They just sit here looking cheerful...

 

 

...and making my studio feel like spring as they grow in numbers...

 

 

...until there are almost enough of them...

 

 

...to see us through to next spring.

I wasn't actually planning to have a bird hatchery this spring, but one day last week, as I was browsing in the eye-candy store called The Paper Crown, I spied a small pad of paper and thought I heard it chirping as I walked by.

So, I brought it home, got out the scissors and glue, and now maybe we can fill this perilously-close-to-empty jar.

 

 

It's the jar that visitors to my studio use to fill their take-home bags.

Zero calorie treat bags are the best.

Or are those tweet bags?

Brrrrrr. It's February.

 

It's February, it's really cold outside (and snowy), and it's time for hearts and roses.

I kind of love that.

The hearts and roses bit, anyway.

The bit about being stuck indoors has been a bit more challenging.

Luckily, we discovered BBC's "Foyle's War" on Netflix and have been watching, well, a LOT of it.

 

 

 

You know I've always got to have a work-tray next to me while I'm 'watching' TV and, this week, the tray included all the paper roses I made last year.

 

Last year passed before I got around to creating a wreath with them.

How nice to be alive when another season, appropriate for this work tray...

 

 

...came around, along with stay-indoors cold weather!

And how nice that episodes of "Foyle's War" are long enough to get some significant work done, too!

I finished my wreath of paper roses.

It's hanging, temporarily, on my studio closet door.

 

 

 

 

I like it very much.

And I like you, too, Dear Reader.

So, here is some love from my studio for you today.

A kiss from the little girl who oversees my sewing area.

 

 

A smile from Me Darlin' Mother (or at least from my Modigliani-style portrait of her), who oversees my work desk.

 

 

And a whole basketful of love from Lola!

 

 

Muah!

 

Snow Days

 

Just a week ago...

Thanksgiving was lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty-five people came, ate hearty, played games, and took the annual walk-around-the-block-before-pie.

Today, that walk would be a challenge.

Today, the front yard looks like this:

 

 

And I'm wondering what walked across the neighbors roof.

 

 

Today, Miss Helping Hands is in the kitchen with her bestie, making anise-flavored sugar cookies...

 

 

...under the careful watch of the new ballerina snowflakes.

 

 

Today, I am working on the favors for our annual Christmas dinner party...

 

 

...and feeling just the tiniest bit stir crazy.

Necklace and Neck-less

Because it makes me feel so cheerful, I use this close-up photo of my big bowl of paper beads as my screen saver, even though it means I can't find my icons.

It's one of a few spots in my life where I allow beauty to trump utility.

 

 

The close up is misleading; there aren't as many beads in the bowl as there once were.

 

 

Prince Charming would say that this is because I wrecklessly let the grandshoots string 'em and fling 'em, but I know those little losses for love and good memories' sake don't count.

The real reason I need to make more beads is because I finally made a necklace like the one that first made me swoon over paper beads (though, try as I might, I couldn't get a good photo of it).

 

 

I really, really like this necklace and I really, really wish I had a neck to wear it around.

Alas, I think I'm part koala.

(Almost) Free Christmas Centerpiece and Ornaments

 

 

Hello, kids.

Remember those almost-free festive chair decorations I was working on Friday?

 

 

They were for the dinner party we had last night.

So....

Yesterday morning I finished making the almost-free centerpiece for the table.

It had the same elements as the chair decor: little pinecones picked up by my good friend, big pinecones picked up on a walk by moi to the local drug store, boughs lopped from the bottom of Chrismas trees and free-for-the-taking from Home Depot, and (larger) paper stars made from the pages of an old hymnal.

 

It was lovely last night, with just the candle light and the twinking lights in the centerpiece and nearby Christmas tree.

Every year I ask God for inspiration for the decorations for this little dinner party, and He always answers my prayers.

I like to use a handmade ornament, representative of each year's decor theme, as both place marker and take-home favor.

So, yesterday morning found me pulling things out of my Christmas craft box and experimenting at the kitchen counter while the white chocolate mousse was chilling in prep for whipping into dessert.

I found a bundle (just enough pieces!!) of wired greenery stems in the stash and thought I would make some little wreaths.

This is what I started with:

 

 

The iPad in the background isn't essential equipment, but it was wonderful to listen to some LifeChurch TV sermons while I worked.

I made a slew of little paper stars to start off with.

I threaded some stars onto the surgical wire (cast offs from the clinic where I work) and formed it into a wreath.

I put dots of glitter glue at each side of the stars to hold them in place...

 

 

...because I was too lazy to mess with other glues thought I would put this little wreath inside a wreath made from one of the wired greenery stems...

 

 

...and then hang a pine cone in the center and put a bow at the top.

But.

It was really too big and I didn't care for the way it looked ("...like a Cadillac emblem", according to The Prince).

Experiment #2 was more to size and taste.

I just wrapped the wired greenery around the starred wreath.

 

 

With a pine cone in the center and a little bow and name banner at the top, it made the cut for the finished ornament favor/place marker.

 

It was the last decorative detail, fallen into place just in time.

By 6:30, all the candles were lit, the twinkle lights were on, the music was playing, the fresh bread was out of the oven, the beautiful lasagna (The Prince made it this year!) was in the oven, dessert was in the refrigerator, the salad was tossed and the wine was uncorked.

The guests arrived.

We began to talk, to laugh, to pray, to eat.

We were having a wonderful time at this table.

 

 

But see that little round ornament hanging from the chandelier?

It has a story to tell.

It was made Friday during a play-time meeting of my D'Art group.

I contemplated making six of them to use as this year's favors, but decided they were too big.

So, I just hung that little ol' single bulb from the chandelier.

And, sometime between the main course and dessert, I looked up and noticed it wasn't looking too round any more.

We had used clear plastic bulbs for this ornament.

We had used real candles, with real fire burning the wicks, on this table.

And we all had a real laugh when we looked up...

 

 

...and saw what those two facts meant to one another.

You just never know where the fun will be.

But it's usually where your friends are.

 

Making Lingerie

  Can you guess what this is?

 

 

It is about the third step in the process of making lingerie (I forgot about my camera until we were settled into the rhythm of repetiton).

If you'll forgive my poor photos (the natural light was gone and I dropped out of my photography class), I'll show what the rest of the steps were.

First, "we" did some design work and drafted patterns, and then we choose "fabrics" and trim.

We did some tracing and cutting and then used a glue stick to adhere our pieces to the strip of black "fabric".

Next, we cut the strip down the middle...

 

 

...and then cut each piece loose at its sides.

 

We used one of my favorite decorative shears to trim the "lace"; the postal edge scissors were perfect for this.

 

 

Of course, the top needed a little trimming, too, so we repeated the whole process with the pieces upside down.

 

 

Next, I did a little work with a fine-tip black Sharpie, and started making tiny bows from eighth inch black satin ribbon.

 

 

I have to cut the ribbon longer than I need for a bow, because my fingers are just too big to manipulate a short length.

I had a bunch of little bits leftover.

 

 

They were perfect for making straps.

 

 

Now, while was at one workdesk making these little nighties, Miss Helping Hands was at the other making some that are a little, um, spicier.

 

 

I don't know if you can tell yet, but soon you'll see.

She put lace at the tops and hems of hers as well, but she used the small scallop shears.

 

 

And now we skip all the steps that took place while the Grandshoots were here and we were working downstairs, sporadically, and not quite as serenely (which made me forget the camera again).

Those steps included a little more work with the Sharpie marker, and the addition of another "garment".

We printed off our invitations, drew a little clothesline at the top, "pinned" our lingerie on the line, and then backed the whole thing with some red cardstock.

Voila! Miss Helping Hands has completed another task as the maid-of-honor for an upcoming Christmas season wedding.

 

 

And I can add "maker of fine lingerie" to my resume.

Can't I?

Un-dones, all-dones, and do-overs.

 

It occurs to me this morning that I usually have many projects in each of these categories.

I've got at least one from each list on my mind today.

In the un-done category, I passed my growing collection of yardsticks this morning...

...and thought, again, of how very kewl it will be when there are enough to actually lay the entry floor with them.

Oh, yes.

Very kewl.

But, for now...

 Undone.

------

A project I completed just yesterday is already on the do-over list.

I cut some new paper birdies.

I liked their modern look, and I wanted a mobile for my studio, but I combined two looks that I like, quite unsuccessfully.

I like the idea of the branch looking like it's growing out of the wall, but I think these particular birds need a sleeker hanger.

I'll have to do the branch thing elsewhere in the studio, with birds of a different feather.

How shall I do the do-over, Dear Readers?

Do tell.

------

I took a loooong time to finish this all-done project, but I'm so pleased with the results that I've made peace with the time span.

My seester (of the Blue-Bar-of Happiness) gifted me this wonderful set of kids furniture (she has a set just like it that we have all lusted after liked for a very long time).

When I recieved this fab gift, I took forever to decide what color to paint it (it started to be red once).

Then I took the rest of eternity to find the perfect fabric to cover the top (I put clear vinyl over the fabric to protect it).

But, don't I just love it?

It's bright and cheerful, without being childish, which I appreciate, because this set sits in my family room.

 

I keep looking at this fabric and thinking how much I would enjoy taking a yard of it to play on - with free-motion stitching, felt flowers, beads, and other embellishments - and then making a bag/purse from it.

But I'm not going to buy the fabric until I am ready to play.

I can't add anything else to the undone list right now. 

I just can't.

Simple Gifts Artist Sale

Hello, Dear Readers.

If you're in the area, drop in tomorrow (November 12).

I'm hosting a gift market with a few friends.

Here's the e-vite:

And here are some of the things we'll have for sale:

Some of Gwen's Dollies

They have 'real' names and personalities.

Some hand-painted fabric coaster sets.

Some reversible fabric coasters.

Some of the kewlest pincushions you'll ever see.

I seeee you.

Some 'aperns'.

 

 

Lots of book thongs.

Made with hand-rolled paper beads.

Some with a little tongue-in-cheek humor.

The elves will be here.

Fabric keychain wallets.

Hooded towels for the kids.

Very kewl zipper bracelets.

And more!

 

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the beautiful note cards and gift tags that were made by Miss B.

And I don't have photos of the scrumptious homemade cinnamon rolls, macaroons, oven-baked caramel corn, and cookies which were baked up at Blue-Bar-of-Happiness by my two Seesters.

They'll have them here to sell, with some free samples, too!

So...

If you want to buy some handmade, lovely gifts for those you love (including yourself), drop on in tomorrow between nine and three.

We'll be taking names for a door-prize drawing, too.

And last, but not least, Phoebe will be here!

She's the cutest thing you'll ever see...

...so don't miss visiting with her in person.

 

 

You guys rock.

 

Seriously.

Your recycling suggestions on the last post were great.

I've tried most of them out, too!

I don't think I have photos of them all (I was giving them away as fast as I was making them at first), but I do have some to share.

Dear Reader sarahrosevancamp suggested using maps or trail guides as book covers, and letting the young campers use their books as journals.

I made some covers from both.

I really liked the maps.

I was trying to get the national forests and parks in the ones I made for the lovely VanCampers.

 

 

And, of course, I had to get our fair city on the cover of one of them.

 

 

When you have to cut from a large paper like a map, overlay an 8 1/2" x 11' sheet of transparent paper and move it around (until you can see that the images you want will be on the front cover) before cutting.  

 

 

I love using the paper beads on these - picking through that growing pile of color to find just the right bead - but it does mean they can't be mailed as easily (read: inexpensively).

The trail guides were published on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, with landscape orientation, so I just reversed the folds and made these books wider than they are long.

The photos were perfectly placed for the covers that way.

 

 

I'll probably go back and add beads, even though I am mailing these, because, well, I just have to.

Dear Reader mAuRa suggested recycling a catalog or magazine cover.

I used the cover of a September 1952 Better Homes and Gardens magazine to make her little giftlet.

 

 

 

 

That lead, of course, to leafing through the magazine, and I decided to make a few book covers from some of the ads featured therein.

 

 
Since Dear Reader Kristen suggested using food magazines or cookbooks to make the cover (and filling it with recipes for a wedding shower), I thought one of these might do the trick.

 

 

I didn't get a photo, but it just happened to work out that the back sides of these have recipes from the magazine on them.

Dear Reader Auntie Chickie suggested using a Farmers Almanac or a beloved PeeChee folder (any of you remember those?), but I didn't have either of those on hand.

Since my supply of vintage magazines came from her, I think I will have to send her one of these, instead.

Dear Reader Fran suggested old photos, greeting cards, or paperback book covers, but I didn't have anything along those lines that was large enough.

Instead, I used a page from my old handwriting workbook to make her cover.

 

 

 

Dear Reader Annski suggested using old calendar covers, but then she came to play in Gwen's studio, and she brought me one she'd made for me before I could get around to doing it myself.

Isn't this a most cheerful little book?

 

 

Dear Reader Jenny suggested grocery sacks or coffee bags.

I think if I had coffee bags big enough to make myself a book cover, I would be sniffing it all the time, instead of writing in it.

Grocery sacks I do have, and I love things made from the humble brown 'poke'.

I'm sorry I don't have any photos of that, but Dear Reader Jenny will have her own soon.

Thanks again, for all your suggestions.

And a big thank you, too, to each of you who have asked me to please hurry up and post again.

I have been unbelievably busy these past few months and, since I have missed writing, it's nice to know that I've been missed as well.

Now, in the 'totally unrelated' column of today's post, I want to show you this photo:

 

 

I call it "Little Man's Trail".

He was visiting last Sunday, and having a little afternoon snack of iced coffee and popcorn.

He knows he can't take food out of the kitchen, but something was pulling his attention elsewhere.

He abandoned the coffee first.

Then the popcorn.

And the shoes must've been slowing him down.

I love it.

And I love this:

 

That Big Man on the right used to play with these same Legos when he was the size of the Little Man on the left.

But I think I gave him too much to eat, because he got, like, really big and tall and stopped playing with Legos.

And now...

...I will sign off with this little teaser photo of what's coming next:

 

 

I'm making something(s) from my growing collection of paper beads and Scrabble tiles.

And this is the clean part of my kitchen table.

Rubberband Books

 

 

I have a little book-making tutorial for you, courtesy of the lovely Miss B (of Zentangle fame).

When our D'Art group got together to play on the 8th of July, we got to make paper beads with Able Baker Dana and rubberband books with Miss B.

Definitely an inchie moment (hour? day?).

 

 

 

It was so easy-peasy to make these books, and they make such lovely little gifts, that I thought I'd just share the how-to with all of you Dear Readers.

Here are the supplies you will need:

 - One sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper for the cover (you can use cardstock, scrapbook paper, even something from your recycling bin...the possibilities are endless)

 - One or two sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" copy-weight paper

 - One #19 rubberband

 - A bone folder (you can use  a tongue depressor)

 - A scissors or a paper cutter

 - A bit of glue (or some glue dots or double stick tape)

Ready?

It's nice if you can start with a piece of paper for the cover that you think is...

  

 

 

Since my paper was 12" x 12", I had to do a little trimming to make it the correct size.

Of course, I didn't just make a straight cut to trim that extra inch off one edge...

 

 
 

...because I'm still in a manic paper-bead-making phase, with no end in sight.

Once the paper was the correct size, I just followed these instructions:

Step 1. Fold your cover paper in a 'hot dog' fold (long edges together) with the front side facing out and make a nice crease with your bone folder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, you might notice that my paper is upside down here, and that's important.

I made these next important creases all wrong (several times) when I was using paper which had text (or a design needing a particular orientation).

If you stick with me, you'll see that you need to be careful at this point if you are using paper like this for your cover.

Step 2.  Open your paper and fold the bottom two corners in to meet the middle crease (I don't know why I had to confuse you by turning my paper upside down so that I had to fold the top two corners)....

 

 

 

...and press with your bone folder.

Step 3. Now fold the paper in a 'hamburger' fold, bringing the point to the center of the top edge like this...

 

 

 

...and press that bottom crease with your bone folder. 

Step 4.  Place glue dots or a small piece of double-stick tape (or a bit of glue) to hold the inner pockets closed...

 

 

 

 

...and fold your book closed along the original hot dog fold.

Your cover is almost finished!

Step 5.  To make inner pages, hamburger fold a piece of copy weight paper, and crease along the fold.

 

 

 

Step 6. Now cut 1/4" off the folded edge like this...

 



 

...and a generous 1/4" off one short edge like this:







Step 6. Fold your pages (short edge to short edge) and crease.



 



You can make pages from any copy weight paper, and the beauty of this little notebook is that the pages can be replaced any time.

If you happen to have a friend who loves graph paper every bit as much as you do, and you happen to be planning to give her a little notebook next time you see her, you might want to add some pages made from graph paper.







Step 7.  You're going to snip a little bit off the cover at the folded corners, so the rubberband can meet and hold the inside pages in place.

I center my inner pages along the outside of the cover and hold them in place while I snip off the corners...

 







...like this:



 

 

 




Step 8.  Now just line the center creases of your inner pages up with the center crease of your inside book cover and slip a #19 rubberband into place like this:







Et voila!







You have a nice little refillable notebook!

You can tuck a few index cards inside the pockets, too.







Do you love it?







Now, when we made these in 'class', we also made one which was not refillable.

We used a needle and thread to sew the 'signature' of inner pages into the notebook.

I loved the fact that we could dress up the book by adding paper beads to the tails of the thread on the outside of the book.

In fact, I loved it so much that I decided I couldn't do without it, even though I wanted this book to be refillable. 

So, I just removed the pages, sewed the book cover together so I could add the beads, and then put the pages and rubberband back in place.

Now I really love it!

 







( If you notice that I clipped the outer edges of my book cover, even though it wasn't necessary from a functional standpoint, well...it's just because I've got this problem with symmetry.)

Another wonderful thing about these little notebooks is that they fit perfectly into a standard A2 envelope so you can mail them (minus the beads, of course).

I made several for Me Darlin' Mither to mail to her friends (in a lot less time than it took me to write this post).

Think of the potential uses for a nifty little book design like this (Thank you, Miss B!).

What a kewl thing to make with kids the first day of a vacation or a week at camp so they could use it as a journal or an autograph book.

I'm really wanting to make some of these using old phone book or atlas covers for cover paper.

I think there is a lot of paper floating in and out of our lives which could be recycled with this project.

I'm going to send one of these to you if you give me a suggestion for a recycled book cover for which I actually have the material on hand.   offer expired 8/1/2011

Okay?

Okay.

A Book Themed Wedding Shower

 

And now...

Back by popular demand...

The Inchies, ladies and gentlemen!

Actually, there hasn't been any demand, popular or otherwise, but I do have two and a half month's worth of unposted inchies...along with all their back stories.

Seems like I should know how this happened, but I really can't remember much, except that I had my gears in overdrive for a lot of May and June.

So, anywho...

Because this little blog really does serve as a log for me, I'm going to round up some of those inchies and kind of bounce back and forth from past to present for awhile in my posts.

Today I'm looking back on part of May...

Someone I love is getting married, and I had the privilege of being one of the hosts of a wedding shower for he and his bride in May.

On and off during the month, I worked on decorative details for the shower.

I already showed you the invitations...

 

 

 

...though I don't know if they were complete at the time.

Once the invitations were in the mail, I got serious about making decorations for the shower.

Because we were trying for a casual and comfortable atmosphere, but wanted to have something pretty for the tradition-embracing bride, we decided on sack lunches for dinner, but something beyond the brown bag.

Imagine how thrilled I was to discover the perfect napkins to do the job for us!

 

 

 

This little business of having sack lunches (croissant sandwiches, fruit, chips) prepared - along with help-yourself drinks on ice and tiered trays of pretty cupcakes - really left all the hostesses free to enjoy the evening, and the guests free to eat whenever they wished.

It was perfect.

And finding the napkins and being inspired with the design was my perfect inchie moment for the day.

 

  

 

After that was figured out, I turned my attention to Phase II of the paper dogwood blossoms.

For the shower, I wanted to use book pages for some of the blossoms, along with the 'natural white' paper, so I scouted the thrift stores and made a couple of great finds.

One book was titled, "Flowers for You", and was a collection of scriptures and stories for the various seasons of life.

 

 

I considered it a bonus that this book was printed with brown ink; highly unusual, and so much 'gentler' for the blossoms.

The other book was titled, "I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah" ; a scriptural look at love and marriage by one of my favorite speaker/authors, Ravi Zacharias (it was difficult to cut that one up, but I knew my "adopted" son would appreciate the details; which he did).

I left the leaves off one of the branches and used it as a guest book at the shower; letting each of the guests sign a leaf as they came in, and then attaching them to the branch with glue dots (I love me some glue dots).

 

 

 

 

 

  

Also at the entry table were the name tags which were made using the leftover paper from the invitations (the bride was meeting many of the guests for the first time).

Because we were using books (one of the bride and groom's great common interests) and flowers to decorate for this shower, I was really happy to find I had the perfect rubber stamp on my shelf for the name tags.

 



 

Completing this pretty little detail was the inchie moment for May 13.





 

The night before the shower (gasp!) I remembered I was planning to make a wreath for the front door using an idea from this great book. 

I am so glad I remembered and had the time to make it - with Miss Helping Hands' help - because I loved it.

We used every page from this book...

  

 

...along with a few sheets of green patterned paper (which previously served as placemats on the tea table) to make the wreath. 

I started by running my ink pad (and I'm totally loving this color and it's name - Pear Tart, dig it) along all the edges of the book.







 

Then we took all the pages out of the book and starting rolling them into cones.

Since I was behind the eight ball on this project, I completely forgot to stop and take pictures (but the step-by-step instructions are in the book).

Some of the pages were rolled from the long edge, and some from the short.

They were stapled at the narrow end and some more color was added by just lightly running the ink pad along some of the points and sides.

Then they were glued in circular rows to a large round piece of cardboard.

I remembered to take one other picture while we were working (probably when I realized we were going to get it done and I started breathing again).





 

Somewhere around the point when I started breathing again, I also realized I was growing faint from hunger.

Miss Helping Hands kept telling me to "Stop and eat. You need some protein, Mom."

I finally said yes to her offer to reheat a barbecued hamburger patty.

I guess she thought it was a pathetic sight all by it's lonesome on the plate, because this is what she brought to me:







I'll bet you've never had mustard served to you in such an artistic fashion.

Don't be jealous; you can copy this if you want to.

All I ask is that you give Miss Helping Hands the creative credit when you post your pictures.

Bwahahaha.

Once we had all the cones on the board, I had to do a little digging around on-line (I was grateful for Facebook at this point) to locate a photograph to personalize the center.

The addition of a few small blossoms finished the job.




 

I had Miss Helping Hands hold it so you could get an idea of the size; I had no idea it would be so large.

 

 


...but it was perfect for the door.





 

The shower, on May 20, was wonderful.







Just like the bride and groom for whom it was given.

Roll Your Own

Let's not discuss how long it's been since I posted here.

Let's not discuss how many inchies have not made it to this blog.

And, whatever we do, let's not discuss the weather.

The 'too-many-days-over-100-degrees' weather.

Let's talk about paper beads, instead.

Because (though I've been busy with a variety of things), last Friday when my D'Art group got together to play (it's summah!), the lovely Able Baker Dana joined us and headed up a little paper bead workshop.

I haven't been able to stop making them since then.

Perhaps it's because I can never tell just how a bead will turn out before I start making it.

Perhaps it's because they don't require any supplies that I don't already have (plenty of).

 

 

 

Got this stuff on hand?

 - white glue

 - clear nail polish (the glittery kind is nice, too)

 - a 'winding wire' (this one is the kind used by utility companies to plant flags)

 - decorative papers or colorful magazine pages

 - a nice wet cloth

Here is one way to make paper beads.

 First, cut a bunch of paper strips...

 

 

 

...in triangles at least 10" long...

 

 

 

...(you can even use the 'selvedge' from your decorative papers).

 

 

 

Then, start at the wide end of one strip and wind it (nice and tightly) around the rod.

When you get about 3" from the skinny end, ...

 

 

 

...run a little glue along the remaining paper before you finish winding it up.

Then grab your bottle of white glue,...

 

 

 

...glop some on the bead...

 

 

 

...and just smooth it all over the bead with your fingers (now you know why you need the wet cloth).

(Don't worry about getting glue on the wire; the beads will still move along the wire easily.)

Now, just move the bead down to one end of your wire to dry while you wrap the next one.

When you have your wire almost full, use your clear nail polish to give all the beads a nice protective coating.

 

 

 

Able Baker Dana recommends three coats of polish, but I'm here to tell ya I stopped at two and am hoping there won't be any severe repercussions.

It doesn't take long to make a nice little pile of beads.

 

 

 

And it really is interesting to see how the different papers look once they are rolled.

This bead was made from a leopard print paper:

 

 

 

And you can see that if you vary the width of your triangles, you get some nice variance in bead size.

 

 

 

Sometimes I worry about my obsessive/compulsive tendancies with these sorts of things.

I worry about why I am compelled to make so many of some things before I can feel settled.

But, you know what I've noticed?

There always seems to be a blessing in them for someone eventually.

In this case, it didn't take long to see who would that someone would be.

Little Man was here last night, and he sat for a long while, with real concentration...

 

 

 

...and made a nice long string of paper beads.

 

 

 

So.

I got the blessing on this one.

Roll Your Own

Let's not discuss how long it's been since I posted here.

Let's not discuss how many inchies have not made it to this blog.

And, whatever we do, let's not discuss the weather.

The 'too-many-days-over-100-degrees' weather.

Let's talk about paper beads, instead.

Because (though I've been busy with a variety of things), last Friday when my D'Art group got together to play (it's summah!), the lovely Able Baker Dana joined us and headed up a little paper bead workshop.

I haven't been able to stop making them since then.

Perhaps it's because I can never tell just how a bead will turn out before I start making it.

Perhaps it's because they don't require any supplies that I don't already have (plenty of).

 

 

 

Got this stuff on hand?

 - white glue

 - clear nail polish (the glittery kind is nice, too)

 - a 'winding wire' (this one is the kind used by utility companies to plant flags)

 - decorative papers or colorful magazine pages

 - a nice wet cloth

Here is one way to make paper beads.

 First, cut a bunch of paper strips...

 

 

 

...in triangles at least 10" long...

 

 

 

...(you can even use the 'selvedge' from your decorative papers).

 

 

 

Then, start at the wide end of one strip and wind it (nice and tightly) around the rod.

When you get about 3" from the skinny end, ...

 

 

 

...run a little glue along the remaining paper before you finish winding it up.

Then grab your bottle of white glue,...

 

 

 

...glop some on the bead...

 

 

 

...and just smooth it all over the bead with your fingers (now you know why you need the wet cloth).

(Don't worry about getting glue on the wire; the beads will still move along the wire easily.)

Now, just move the bead down to one end of your wire to dry while you wrap the next one.

When you have your wire almost full, use your clear nail polish to give all the beads a nice protective coating.

 

 

 

Able Baker Dana recommends three coats of polish, but I'm here to tell ya I stopped at two and am hoping there won't be any severe repercussions.

It doesn't take long to make a nice little pile of beads.

 

 

 

And it really is interesting to see how the different papers look once they are rolled.

This bead was made from a leopard print paper:

 

 

 

And you can see that if you vary the width of your triangles, you get some nice variance in bead size.

 

 

 

Sometimes I worry about my obsessive/compulsive tendancies with these sorts of things.

I worry about why I am compelled to make so many of some things before I can feel settled.

But, you know what I've noticed?

There always seems to be a blessing in them for someone eventually.

In this case, it didn't take long to see who would that someone would be.

Little Man was here last night, and he sat for a long while, with real concentration...

 

 

 

...and made a nice long string of paper beads.

 

 

 

So.

I got the blessing on this one.

This one's for you, Lindsay.

 

 

Maybe it's because you left such a lovely thank you note on my studio guest book after you spent the weekend playing in there.

Or maybe it's because you were so excited to make a paper dogwood branch the evening you were here with Miss Mary Mack.

 

 

 

But, whatever the reason, when I discovered these paper roses, I immediately thought of you.

So read on and tell me if this makes you run for the scissors and glue.

You can cut these from any paper you like; other people use decorative paper, but I like to recycle my old magazines (as you Dear Readers know).

(I'm also thinking this would be a good way to make something beautiful from the summer electric bill.)

I pulled a few colorful pages from some of the magazines that are stacked up around this place.

 

 

 

I chose a variety of things because this was my first run with this project and I wanted to see how different colors and patterns would work.

I folded my pages in half...

 

 

 

...so I would get two-fers when I cut my circles.

At first, I carefully traced a circle onto the top magazine page...

 

 

 

...but, since it doesn't matter how perfect the circles are for this project, I quickly traded that in for just cutting the circles freehand.

 

  

 

Then I drew a spiral on the top circle only; magazine pages are light and I knew I could cut them all at once, as long as I held them firmly.

 

 

 

Once they were cut, I carefully separated them.

 

 

 

The spirals tend to tangle at the center.

Then I simply started rolling the spiral in on itself, starting at the outside edge and keeping the colored side of the paper to the inside.

 

 
 

 

After the whole spiral had been rolled in on itself, I simply set it down on the table and let it uncurl itself a bit.

It was so amazing to see how these came out!

The center of the spiral acts like a little base for the rest of the rose to stand on.

Here is the first one I finished:

 

 

 

So totally kewl!

I haven't glued any of mine to the 'base' yet, but the tutorial here suggests using a glue dot (though I will probably just spread a little white glue on mine - cheap cheap).

Each of the papers had it's own appeal.

 

 

 

It's going to be fun to experiment, because there weren't any that I did not like.

 

 

 

So, Lindsay, and you other creative Dear Readers (unless you've already done this and I'm just behind in school) go cut and roll.

I've got to cut and run.

There is a baby hedgehog out there waiting to be chosen, and Miss Helping Hands wants me to go through the adoption process with her.

Life is always interesting.

The Meanest Greeting Card in the Whole World

 

What's that you say?

Twenty days of May are gone and you haven't seen a single one of it's inchies?

You've quit reading this blog because there's nothing new to read?

You wonder if I got lost out on the mean streets?

Well, I'm right here.

And so are the twenty inchies.

I promise that they all had their pictures taken and I spent a long time writing many of their back stories.

Then I pushed the wrong button.

That really pushed my wrong button, and the mother board self-destructed.

I still don't feel like re-writing all those words.

 So let me just tell you about today.

Today I passed a lot of yard sales when I took my early morning walk on the mean streets.

So when I got home, I grabbed the Prince and a pocketfull of change and we went to visit some of them.

I was looking for books to cut up.

I picked up this book and thumbed through it looking for illustrations.

 

 

 

What I saw kind of scared me.

So I bought it.

I came home and cut out a lot of the pictures.

The Prince was rather alarmed at some of them.

 

 

 

I told him I thought they were perfect fodder for awesome greeting cards.

He said, "I hope you still think so about two a.m. tomorrow morning when you wake up screaming 'Please don't hurt me!'".

I said, "Don't I usually wake up screaming anyway?"

(And what's with that?)

I might as well have a reason.

Don't you think we could have some fun making cards from this stuff?

 

 

 

Maybe we could even use some of the words from the book.

 

 

  

Taken out of context, they are as bizarre as the illustrations.

 

 

 

 

We could make some apology cards.

 

 

 

Maybe we can make up our own words.

Perhaps something about a search for the perfect pair of shoes.

 

 

 

 

And when I say "we", Dear Reader, I mean you and me.

I think I'll use some of my watercolor paper to make some cards.

Then I'll glue these illustrations on the cards and let you write the text.

So, put on your thinking caps, because I'll be back in a blink.

You believe that, don't you?

 

Paper Dogwood Blossoms - Phase One

 

I wish I could write one, long, meandering blog post to show you how the Grand Weaver puts together all the different things that make up any given day, and then weaves all those days together into a cohesive whole life.

I wish I could.

But I don't know if I could pay attention long enough to write it, much less expect you to pay attention long enough to read it.

So, I'll weave a shorter (though probably not short) tale which involves the paper dogwoods and the first phase of my occupation with them.

Remember this picture I showed you of "what the sofa cushion next to me looks like tonight"?

 

 

 

This whole thing started when I saw the paper dogwood blossoms on Martha's blog.

I loved the thought of having some of them around for spring.

I thought they'd look perfect in the foyer, sitting atop the black credenza-which-is-still-in-the-garage-being-sanded-and-painted.

When our D'Art group meeting for April 1st (first Fridays we do art together) needed to morph so one of our members could welcome a new grandbaby, Miss B said she was game to motor on down to Gwen's to make paper dogwood blossoms with me.

 

 

 

Since we made our blossoms from copy paper (rather than the cardstock Martha specifies), and I just happened to have (I see the Grand Weaver everywhere) the perfect rubber stamp for the flower centers in my studio already, I had only to add a few sheets of green cardstock to get the project rolling.

We cut our squares about 4 1/4" (half a sheet of copy paper) when Miss B and I did this, but I later cut the size down to 3", which I like even better.

Here is Miss B creating the very first branch:

 

 

 

And here are some of our 4" blossoms up close and personal:

 

 

 

Because I knew I would be making many (many!) of these branches, one of the things we did (actually, Miss B was kind enough to do it) to make mass production easier was to cut two different size leaves and then trace them until we'd filled an entire sheet of copy paper.

I used that sheet for a master and ran my green cardstock through the copier (those are the sheets you see in the background of that first photo).

This way, all the tracing is done only once.

Yipee!

Now, the reason I knew I would be making many of these is that I had a table to decorate for a tea at the church, and I have a wedding shower (outdoor/picnic theme) I am co-hosting in May.

For the tea, I used the plain white blossoms...

 

 

 

...and added some aqua-colored paper birds (tanagers) I made to match the sweet dishes which the Grand Weaver placed in my hands just in time (and that's a story for the next post!).

  

 

 

 It got a little crowded at the table once we put all that lovely food on it.

  

 

 

 

I made favors for each of the ladies at my table, because I had planned to give the larger branches to the guest of honor and Me Darlin' Mither.

  

 

  

My hands felt like mitts when I was trying to fold those little teeny weeny pieces of paper for the small flowers!

It was someone else's suggestion to perch the favors atop the water glasses...

 

 

 

 

Lovely idea...thank you, whoever you are!

My sweet friend, Diane (an artist who works with real flowers), was hosting a table also, and it was decorated with her collection of Scandinavian wooden horses...

 

 

 

...and real flowers, of course.

When she exclaimed so enthusiastically over the favors I'd made (ever meet people who are just out-and-out cheerleaders for others?), I told her I was planning to give her mine after the tea.

She said, "I'll trade you real flowers for the paper ones."

I had no idea she meant an entire plant!

 

  

 

I don't think it was a fair trade, but I'm sure enjoying my beautiful hydrangea.

 

 
 

 It reminds me of my beautiful friends.

I am blessed. 

The Dogwoods are Blooming

 

I should be posting the last of the March inchies, but my Beeg Seester inspired me to walk/run the 9 1/2 miles around the local lake with her this beautiful spring morning, and now I am too tired to think.

I am never, however, too tired to cut.

So, here's what the couch cushion next to me looks like tonight.

 

 

 

More on this later.

When I can move again.

Torn tissue paper is for the birds, too.

 

Since I showed you what I like to do with tissue paper that's been wrinkled or crumpled (gently used), I thought I'd show you what I do with tissue paper that's been torn (well used).

Some of it gets folded up and wrapped in piece of copy-weight scrap paper and fed to the shredder (of course, I save the pretty yield).

 

 

 

Some of it gets torn into smaller pieces which can be used to decoupage just about anything.

Some of the tissue paper which I rescued from the recent baby shower was glued to a scrap of white card stock to make this mailing label.

 

 

 

When I sent off a lot paper birds recently, I filled the bottles with some of the shredded paper and added one of these labels to the outside.

 

 

 

The bottles of birdies which I sent for Me Darlin' Mither included a photo of one of the paper birds on an unexpected perch in my home and a slip with this blog address, per her request.

 

 

 

Perching the birdies in unexpected places makes me look at some old things with new appreciation.

Here is the photo which was inside the bottles.

 

 

 

 

Some of the shoots' artwork from school days is hanging in the upstairs hallway.

It's natural to stop seeing things after you've looked at them for years, but I appreciated this art work all over again when I stopped to perch the birdie on the thermostat this spring.

The drawing above the thermostat is a Miss Mary Mack original and it reads "To mom and dad and my hole family".

Love it.

Sometimes it takes shedding a new light on something in order to notice it at all.

 

 

 

But the little birds which were so carefully placed...

 

 

 

...on the little hands of my favorite Little Man...

 

 

 

 

...gave me the most pleasure of all.

Life is good with little men and little paper birdies in the world.

Friendship Is For the Birds - Part Two

 

My friend, Patti-is-Fun, dropped in on me last Thursday night.

She'd found some colorful, speckled, plastic eggs at the craft store and purchased some for both of us, thinking they'd be perfect "gift boxes" for the little paper birds we'd been playing with over the weekend.

 

 

 

They are bright and cheerful, aren't they?

Imagine her disappointment when she got here and discovered that they were not made to open!

I asked if I could keep mine anyway, because I was determined to find a way to use them.

Craft knife to the rescue!

 

 

 

I took my little Xacto knife and jabbed it in at angles until I'd gone almost all the way around the middle of the egg; I left the last 3/8" intact so the two pieces of the egg would be connected.

The eggs are made from fairly thin plastic, so this was a fast and easy job and the eggs can be temporarily taped closed again with just the smallest piece of tape (or mini gift label).

And guess what?

 

 

 

The little paper birds fit inside just perfectly!

 

 

 

I might have to carry a few of these with me in my car or purse; you just never know when you're going to meet with someone who needs a little love in the form of a tiny surprise. 

Little surprises are so nice. 

 

 
 

 

Just like my friends.

What To Do With Crumpled Tissue Paper

 

I have no shame.

I went to a baby shower on Saturday and I watched as yards and yards of beautiful, gently used wrapping tissue was put into a large trash bag.

I tried to restrain myself.

Really, I did.

In the end though, in order to save face as I did my begging, I simply said to the hostesses, "I wonder...if you are planning to throw out all that paper anyway...well...I am an artist...and I would love to take it home and use it in some of my projects."

(I must pause to thank my Native American friend, Whatwouldhappenif, for showing me how to throw around that phrase "I am an artist". It's so helpful.)

As I passed the guest-of-honor on my way out, I lifted the trash bag in her general direction and said, "I'm just taking the trash out for them."

She laughed.

She knows me.

Here is some of the large stack of rescued tissue paper.

 

 

Some of it really did make it into my studio.

Some of it, however, was used to make note cards that very afternoon.

Here is what you will need to make some of your very own:

 

 

 

- Plain notecards

- Spray adhesive

- A cardboard box

- Scrap paper or newspaper

- Crumpled tissue paper

And here is how you make the cards:

1. Crumple and re-crumple a piece of tissue paper that is at least an inch or two larger than your opened card and then smooth it out just until it lies flat. How much smoothing you do at this point will make a difference in the amount of texture in your finished card. Luckily, there is no right or wrong amount. (Don't you love projects like that?)

2. Go outside or into your garage with all your supplies so you don't fry your brain with glue fumes.

3. Lay a stack of scrap paper or newspaper in the bottom of your box, open one card, and lay it on top of the paper stack with the inside of the card facing down.

4. Spray entire outside of card with adhesive according to directions on the can.

5. After the adhesive has set for a minute, carefully lift your card by the edges and lay it glue side down on top of your tissue paper OR set your card on a clean piece of scrap paper glue side up and lay your tissue paper on top of it (which is the way I prefer to work, for no reason I can remember at this moment).

 

A couple of cards in the making:

 

 

 

 

6. This is the second point in the process where you determine how much texture you want your card to have, because the more pressure you apply with your fingers when you are pressing the tissue into the glue, the more crinkles you will work out of your tissue. It's up to you! (Days later, I can still work crinkles out of the cards I made. If I want to. Which I don't.)

7. Once you are sure the papers are sufficiently adhered to one another (particularly around the edges), you can use a scissors (or Xacto knife, if you prefer) and (working from the inside of the card) cut away the excess tissue even with the edge of the card.

8. Et voila! You have textured note cards!

 

 

 

 

Some of these will be used just as they are.

But you see those pastel stripe cards in the back?

I think I need to add a sweet little paper elephant and make baby cards from those.

One of the cards I made is missing from this stack.

It's the one I told the Prince I didn't care for too much.

But he said, "Oh, I really like it! It looks like the ocean and it just needs a surfboard on the front. Give it to me. I will make something with it."

Faint dead away.

The Prince is going to mess around with paper and glue?

On purpose?

Voluntarily?

Does this mean he'll start thinking I need to pick out a tune on his guitar?

He took the card.

I forgot about it.

Until he handed me this a couple of days later:

 

 

 

He actually did cut and paste using scissors and a glue stick.

Inside is a poem about my upcoming trip to California.

Outside are pictures of the sights we were hoping to see.

But the Prince made a card, so I'm thinking...

You can poke my eyes out now 'cuz I already done seen ever'thing.

The Bored of Directors

 

The Bored of Directors took a spring break last week and they never returned.

And, since only three of you Dear Readers weighed in on the favorite bird question, we'll just handle our little giveaway without waiting on the Bored.

I'll be popping your (overcrowded) aviaries in the mail today.

 

 

 

Please set our feathered friends free as soon as they arrive.

They're trained to stay put.

Unlike the Bored.

You meet the nicest people...

 

...when you blog.

Last week when I was out shopping for paper for Miss Helping Hands birdies, I had the pleasure of seeing a Dear Reader in the store.

When I got home, I found this in my bag:

 

 

 

What a lovely surprise!

I love the stamp, but I love knowing that I was in someone's thoughts (in a positive way) even more.

I was slow getting to it, but I finally made a thank-you card from this stamp and got it in the mail.

 

 

 

After I'd gotten the image stamped and watercolored, I kind of felt like the crown needed a little more sparkle.

I used  just the tiniest bit of diamond glitter glue and it made all the difference.

 

 

 

Just like this gift made in my day.

A Flock of Paper Birds

 

Birds!

I love birdies.

I love real birdies.

And I love paper birdies.

And, apparently, all the girls in Miss Helping Hand Hannah's dorm love paper birdies, too.

When we made them (as door decs) two years ago, we never dreamed the girls would ask for them year after year.

But they have.

So we set out Saturday morning to make the last set of door decs of Miss Helping Hands' college career.

I had the pleasure of shopping for paper earlier in the week.

 

 

 

Ohhh, ahhh!

Our job is so much easier now that there are so many decorative papers with two 'faces'.

We used to have to glue two pieces together and it wasn't much fun.

We enjoyed our birdie workshop this time.

We sat at the kitchen table, with the sun coming through the blinds, and cut out 45 paper birds.

In the beginning, I was also cutting some smaller birds from the scraps, but I had to put that aside once we got cooking.

 

 

 

Pretty soon, our stack of birds and wings was growing.

(So was our pile of "error wings": you have to be careful to cut wings going in the correct direction for the side of the bird you are working on, and sometimes we just weren't!)

 

 

 

Within a couple of hours, we had all of our birds assembled and ready for eyes.

 

 

 

A dot of glue from a toothpick, and a flat blue sequin finishes the job.

 

 

 

Since one of the 'functions' of door decs is to serve as a name card, we added discs (two of them glued together with the fishing line in between) to the strings to hold the names.

Miss Helping Hands didn't have the roster with her, so she'll have to letter them when she returns to school.

 

 

 

In years past, we've hung the birdies with ribbon, but the fishing line is much better because it makes them look like they really are flying.

 

 

 

I just love seeing them all together.

When we were finished with all the big birdies, there was plenty of paper (and paper scraps) left over.

And until scraps are this small...

 

 

 

...I can't toss them out.

Besides, every spring calls for a new flock of small paper birds.

I cut my patterns out of plastic so they don't wear down with multiple tracings.

I think this one was cut from a worn-out document folder.

 

 

 

Whenever I sit down to listen to TV or to the Prince playing his guitar, I grab a few scraps and trace and cut some little birdies.

 

 

 

The two sides of this little birdie are quite different from each other.

 

 

 

 

I cut the top edge of the wing with regular scissors,  and I cut the bottom edge of the wing with decorative scissors.

This one is the postal edge.

 

 

 

After the wings are glued on ( I use a glue stick for that part), the little birdies are ready for their eyes.

I use a toothpick to put a dot of white glue on the bird (I love using this little pink button for my "glue pot")...

 

 

 

...then I use the same toothpick to grab a black (or blue, or green, or irridescent) seed bead and plop it  on the spot of glue.

 

 

 

These little birdies get set on 'nests', rather than hung on string.

I use a circle punch to make the nests from decorative papers.

Sometimes the papers are perfectly designed for this.

 

 

 

After I've punched a whole bunch of nests, I adhere a square of double-stick foam to them.

 

 

 

Then I turn them over and make a little slit through the paper and the foam with my Xacto knife.

 

 

 

The little birdie gets his bottom dipped in the white glue and...

 

 

 

...and now he has a permanent home!

 

 

 

Know what's even sweeter than one of these little paper birds?

A lot of little paper birds together!

 

 

 

A whole flock of them!

 

 

 

This year I was doing some 'finishing' of little birdies in the family room, and I lined them up on the mantle before I went to bed because I was too lazy to take them up to the studio.

 

 

 

It was only supposed to be for the night, but I loved the cheerfulness of them, so I brought some of their friends in to finish the line up!

 

 

 

Some of the little paper birdies are perched on the scales at the clinic where I work (for some strange reason, many folks need cheering up when they stand on those scales).

Some of the birdies sit atop picture frames there, or perch on the leaves of the artificial tree in the hallway.

Many of the little birdies have flown off to other parts of the country.

I would like to send some little birdies your way, too, Dear Reader.

Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite bird is and I'll have the Bored of Directors pick a winner on Monday.

I've got a book club meeting in 25 minutes.

I've gotta fly!

...six, five, four, three...

 

I am still counting down the last ten inchies of my inchie year.

And I've been looking over the 355 inchies which are already in my files, remembering all the good things in my life which they represent, and feeling blessed all over again.

I hate to think these are the last...

SIX...

We've been undergoing some training on the new computer system at work (in preparation for going 'paperless').

And, because we're in this together, we had 'sign-up-and-bring-something' lunches every day last week.

I'm on a sugar fast (again!), but I had a quart of whipping cream in the refrigerator which I did not want to see go to waste, so on Wednesday I made a pie to go with it.

Not just any old pie.

Pioneer Woman's French Silk Pie.

 

 

 

They tell me it was fabulous.

I didn't have any.

So, can I have, like, 1500 life points for not so much as licking the spoon?

I earned them.

-------

FIVE...

I am not sure why I started baking things almost the same minute I started fasting from sugar, but that's what I did.

Maybe I'm testing all my willpower right up front.

Wednesday night I made 2 1/2 dozen white cupcakes (using up the leftover sour cream in the refrigerator).

Thursday afternoon I went to play in Able Baker Dana's kitchen.

She likes to mess around with all the fancy cake-decorating stuff.

We clipped some mini marshmallows and pressed their cut edges in colored sugar to make some flower-topped cupcakes.

 

 

 

After we'd both made a half dozen of these, we got bored with them.

 

 

 

 

Dana really wanted to experiment with 'tangling' cupcakes (remember Zentangles?).

I had a Goldilocks experience with it.

At first, the tip on my icing bag was too small.

Although it meant the details could be finer, it really cramped my hand trying to pipe out the icing.

 

 

 

I hadn't packed my big camera and I'm sorry these cupcakes look blue and orangey.

They were actually a beautiful violet color (and red).

I loved the violet.

 

 
 

 

When my hand really started to hurt, we changed to another size tip.

But it was too big for making intricate designs.

 

 

 

Unlike Goldilocks, I never did find the tip that was 'just right', because Dana's little alarm went off before I had time.

When I realized it was almost time for Dana to pick up her kiddos from school and we'd made a  mess of her kitchen, I just squeezed out my remaing icing on my remaining cupcake so I could help with clean-up.

 

 

 

And that's how we got spaghetti cupcakes.

It's okay though.

Miss Mary Mack was here when I got home, and I sent a dozen cupcakes back to college with her.

College kids are usually willing to eat anything that's homemade.

Friday morning on my way to D'Art group, I dropped off the remaining cupcakes at work.

That's the way I got rid of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Dana wasn't so lucky.

She still had her evil bunny cupcake sitting on the counter when I left.

 

 

 

I wonder if her kids had nightmares that night.

 

 

 

I just dreamed about licking the icing knife.

-------

FOUR...

Friday was a very full day.

There were many weighty conversations, with many different people.

There were many places I had to be, which meant a lot of driving.

There was a bit of time pressure.

And I felt a lot of stress.

But...

 

 

 

...I was wearing my red lipstick.

So that was good.

-------

THREE...

Saturday morning, although I knew we were leaving at 12:30 for an overnight trip, I felt it was absolutely critical to my sanity to go into my studio and cut paper.

I had a little project in mind which I thought I might be able to finish before we had to leave.

Miss Helping Hands and I fell in love with the Charlie and Lola children's television series several years ago and, subsequently, the Prince bought me several of the storybooks as gifts.

Miss Helping Hands and I often refer to Lola when we are struggling with big grown-up responsibilities, and since Miss Helping Hands is in a transitional (read: challenging) stage of her life, I thought it would be fun to 'copy' one of our favorite pages from one of our favorite Charlie and Lola books for her.

The story is about Lola going to school for the first time.

She's scared...and aren't we all sometimes?

She's feels she's too small (young, inexperienced, weak)...and don't we all feel that way sometimes?

Here is the page of the book I wanted to copy for Miss Helping Hands.

 

 

 

I traced off their figures to make patterns.

I cut their faces from white paper and used chalk and colored pencil to color them.

 

 

 

Pretty soon I had some funny looking little pieces of Charlie and Lola in front of me.

 

 

 

I got their figures all finished before it was time to pack up and leave, but I didn't have the graph paper I wanted to use as a background (though I did have a snap-in type frame in the studio closet).

Since the purpose of our road trip was to see Miss Helping Hands performing with the orchestra in her last Masterworks Concert, and since we planned to stay overnight, I figured I'd just finish the project in the hotel room at some point.

Which I did, but just minutes before we left for the concert, so I forgot to take a photo.

This is (a not very good) one with the mat sitting on it, before I glued the kids in place.

 

 

 

 

It's sitting on Miss Helping Hands' dresser now.

While we were on the road home, I received a text message from her which read "I love my Lola pic : )".

As for me...

 

 
 

 

...I love my shoots.

From 13 to 73. Degrees, that is.

 

I'm rather glad I didn't have time to post these inchies until the entire week had passed.

This way, you'll get a feel for Oklahoma weather.

This particular seven days began with a snow storm and record-setting low temperatures (-32 in some parts of the state), and ended with such lovely weather (73 degrees!) that I was able to work (up a sweat) in the yard, and start clearing and turning the garden beds.

February 9 -

We had six more inches of (beautiful!) snow, and the unexpected pleasure of a visit from the Creative Genius and his Bride.

It was already hungry-thirty when the boys finally decided we should all go out for dinner, but just as we were leaving we got an SOS from Miss Mary Mack, so we stayed home long enough to cook some rice for her (poor little thing was unwell).

We dropped it by the university on our way to dinner, and by the time we found an open restaurant in our snow-stricken city (it doesn't take much), my blood sugar was so low I wasn't sure I would be able to be kind (I would have chewed my own arm off, but the fat content was too high).

An amazing restoration took place after a few bites of hot food, and the ensuing conversation made me glad to be alive.

I love my shoots.

 

 

 

And I love their spouses.

-------

February 10 -

My next-door neighbor has several large crepe myrtle trees which are planted right next to her side of our common fence.

During the summer, when they are covered with pink and fuscia blossoms, those trees afford me such a beautiful view from the window over my kitchen sink that washing up dishes is a sweetened chore.

I've been so blessed by the beauty of those trees that I took a photograph right through the window last summer and used it as a postcard to write my thanks to my neighbor.

Thursday morning, as I was rinsing out my coffee cup before heading to work, I heard some beautiful bird-song and looked up to see a stunning male cardinal on the snow covered branches of the crepe myrtle.

 

 

 

I did not have my camera at hand.

If my neighbor reads this blog, she will know that I am, again, grateful to her.

I have already thanked God.

-------

February 11 -

I'll bet you think I've already told you about every single Valentine cone-making moment I had, don't you?

But you're wrong.

Friday it was my turn to bring a project to share with my D'Art group (something new we have added to our schedule).

Surprise!

We made cones!

Sweet Mary Lou chose silver, gave the Queen of Hearts a sparkling gown (love it!), and decided maybe the cone could double as a corsage:

 

 

 

My Native American friend, Whatwouldhappenif, drew her own ValenGirl (of course!) and put the boing on the wired hearts: 

 

 

 

 

The lovely Miss B (of Zentangle fame) smartly placed the heart from an old charm bracelet at the center of her bow, and put the boing on a silver pipe cleaner:

 

 

 

 

Oh, but it was good to do artsy things with my artsy friends!

I couldn't remember (at the last moment) whether we were still planning to exchange Valentines, so to be on the safe side (not having actually made any other Valentines this year), I pulled from my file some Valentines I'd made in years gone by.

Way back when stamps were thirty-seven cents each, this is what the LOVE stamp looked like:

 

 

 

I liked it so much that I designed my Valentines after it that year.

There were two or three left in my stash.

 

 

 

I still like them.

And my D'Art group friends liked them, too.

 

 
 

At least they acted like they did.

-------

February 12 -

Miss Helping Hands was home for the weekend and we did some of what we like to do most.

We danced around (each other) in the kitchen.

We made dill bread (her first time) (you should try that recipe, and then toast some of the bread you make, and then spread some cream cheese and some jalapeno jelly on the bread you toasted, and then eat it, and then wonder why you didn't do that a long time ago) and all those Conversation Heart sugar cookies I told you about in my last post.

 

 

 

I like Miss Helping Hands.

She is a Q T.

-------

February 13 -

For two weeks I have been thinking about making some "e-changes".

I see how easy it is for the pull of the 'virtual' world to distract me from giving my love and energy to those who are actually with me, and the work I can actually do.

Sunday morning I finally made a firm decision to 'pull some plugs'.

I knew it would be a very good thing for me to do, but I also knew it would not be a very easy thing for me to do.

How good it was to hear the preacher say  "Let's make this simple. The answer to the question 'Who is my neighbor?' (in reference to the commandment 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself') is this: Your neighbor is the person you are with. Help the one you're with."

 

 

 

E-with?

-------

February 14 -

I woke up to a dozen red roses and some beautifully written sentiments.

 

 

 

But, more importantly, I woke up to the Prince.

-------

February 15 -

I spent the morning on the job, and I stayed after my work was done to spend a jovial hour in the break room sharing my leftovers with my friend, Flashmore.

Her laughter does me a world of good, and all the tension had left my shoulders before I got home.

It was a gorgeous afternoon (an unbelievable change from last week) and I couldn't stop thinking about my flower and herb beds.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stop thinking about the chocolate silk pie (which was left over from the fabulous dinner the Prince had made for me on Valentine's Day), either.

So I texted my friend Flashmore.

"Decisions. Decisions. Eat chocolate silk pie or work in the garden?"

And she texted me back.

"Do both. That way you won't feel too guilty."

 

 

 

So, guess what fueled this inchie?

E-words! 

Happy Valentine's Day, Dear Readers

 

I will be busy icing the last of the sugar cookies and delivering Valentines this morning, so I won't have time to write or to post inchies.

Until I can get back to business, here are photos of some of the 21 (I couldn't seem to stop) Valentine cones that have been produced around here in the last week or two.

 This one has a little love letter.

 

 

 

This was the last one I made.

 

 

 

I liked it a lot.

So I kept it.

I loved this one, too, but I don't  even remember where she went.

 

 

 

This one is going to be mailed late, so her little banner says "you are loved" instead of "happy valentine's day".

 

 

 

I worked with browns and golds (out of my comfort zone) on this one because I wanted to use some of Seester's other chicken feathers.

 

 

 

 The lighting is off on this one, so the colors don't show up well.

 

 

 

But, yep, that's a black ribbon.

It worked.

Really.

Here is another bad photograph (of a cone that went to Wisconsin).

 

 

 

This one "spoke to" my good neighbor, and is now living with her.

 

 
 

I did stop messing around with paper long enough to go into the kitchen when Miss Helping Hands was home on Saturday.

We made heart shaped sugar cookies, flavored with vanilla and a bit of orange zest, and iced them to look like conversation hearts.

 

 

 

A little treat bag and some red ribbon...

 

 

 

...and Miss Helping Hands, the Resident Advisor, has sweet little gifts to give her girls today.

And today, because one doesn't forget the love of one's life, the Prince recieved this little card from moi.

 

 

 

I'm sure he's proud of me for making it all by myself.

I even curled the little love letter I slipped into the typewriter.

 

 

 

I can't show you the poem I wrote for the inside because, well, it's quite personal.

But...

I can tell you that it starts with "Roses are red" and ends with "Will you be mine?"

I hope he says yes.

And I hope that you have a lovely day today.

Here are the words of God on which I meditate every Valentine's day:

"...I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." Jeremiah 31:3

Making Hearts and Hearts Made Glad

 

 

Goodness!

Prince Charming is outside shoveling snow off the driveway and sidewalk again and here I am; just now posting the inchies I created during the last snow storm!

Last Wednesday he shoveled us out after two days of being housebound.

 

 

 

Drat! We enjoyed being home together.

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We were able to return to work on Thursday without too much slipping and sliding on the roads.

The parking lot at work was a different matter altogether, and my car lost it's grip and slid into the curb before I got it into a parking stall.

I lost my grip on the pavement, too, coming across the same parking lot after work.

I sent my keys and purse flying through the air as I grabbed the car bumper - hoping to stay upright.

(It worked; and for that I am very grateful.)

We made it safely home to find a "Save the Date" card in the mailbox; another of our 'adopted' shoots has found a bride.

We were both moved to tears by the words which he'd written on the back of the card.

How wonderful to love and be loved!

The words were so encouraging, and came at so perfect a time, that I copied down the entire message on the inchie for the day.

 

 

 

It wasn't very easy, but the words were very important.

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My D'Art group meeting for Friday was cancelled for reasons other than the weather, so I had some unexpected studio playtime with Able Baker Dana.

She got kind of fired up about Valentine cones, and...

 

 

 

...omigersh!

We made a really big, fun mess!

I played around a bit with some of my old rubber stamps; I was wondering if we could use some of them in place of the Queen of Hearts paper doll.

 

 

It's kind of addictive once you start gussying up these little things.

It's hard to know when to stop.

 

 

I finally decided maybe you don't have to stop.

 

 

 

Able Baker Dana didn't want to stop, either.

Although she finished these two sweet Valentines when we were together,...

 

 

 

(Wish you could see how that paper cone sparkles!)

 

 

 

...and she was very happy when she left,...

 

 

 

...I think she's at home...

 

 

 

...with her glue gun plugged in.

(PS Do you ever use hot glue without burning yourself? Inquiring minds want to know.)

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Friday night when Prince Charming got home from work, he made the exciting discovery that (not only did we have water dripping from two new ice-dam-related leaks in the kitchen ceiling) our water heater had sprung a leak and soaked the carpet in the closet under the stairwell (which shares a wall with the heater closet).

Sigh.

Our friendly plumber wasn't working on Saturday, so the Prince called an old friend who used to do a lot of this kind of work on the side.

He's a civil engineer by trade, but he is the gifted handyman who tiled our master bath/shower, installed our new garage door, and did the sheetrock work on our new kitchen ceiling (yep, the one which is now quite water-damaged).

What a blessing for us that he was willing to 'come out of retirement' to help the prince install a new water heater on Saturday!

 

 

 

I hid in my studio during the process.

My friend, Patti-is-Fun, and I had made a date to 'play Valentines'.

Guess what we made?

Surely you know!

Here are the beauties she created:

 

 

 

 

Notice the bandage on her finger.

She didn't have that when she arrived.

But, as I mentioned before, I use a lot of that surgical wire because I got it for free and...

...it draws blood if you get yourself at the poke end of it.

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We had the Creative Genius and his Bride, the Prince's seester, and Miss Mary Mack here under the guise of watching the Super Bowl on Sunday evening.

We did actually watch the first half of the game, but then we gave it up for a round of Yahtzee and junky food.

Seester pretty well dominated the game (how DOES she roll all those Yahtzees?), but we all got a share of the fun and food.

 

 

 

And there are still some Oreos here, if anyone wants one.

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Know what is sweeter than Oreos?

Sweeter than honey?

 

 

 

Good news.

And if you can get a Prince to read it to you, well...

...even better.

"Doot, doot, doot,...

 

...looking out my back door."

I don't think CCR had this picture in mind when they were singing their happy little song (which, by the way, was playing when Cable Guy and his Bride came down the aisle after their, otherwise formal, wedding).

 

 

 

Eeeesh.

Asthma, followed by the flu, followed by a blizzard.

That's a lot of down time.

Here's what I've been doing with it (as well as cleaning out the bathroom cabinets and drawers which, more than likely, is equally pleasing only to me, myself, and I).

Here is what the couch cushion next to me looked like while we were 'watching' White Collar last night.

 

 

 

And later, it looked like this:

 

 

 

When I plan to make a bunch of one kind of thing, I like to do it assembly line style.

And since I've been rather under the weather, I've had a lot of time to sit and make 'fancies' for the Valentine assembly line.

I had a bunch of brass, heart-shaped brads...

 

 

 

...which I tried to use, but they left me cold.

I decided I'd try coating them with a little glue...

 

 

 

 

...and dipping them in zee lovely glittah.

 

 

 

 

Ohh la la!

So much purtier now!

 

 

 

 

Last time our book club met, Me Darlin' Mither wanted to contribute to the food table, so she bought some of those frozen mini quiche and had me bake them for her.

I knew there was a reason I saved the containers.

They are perfect for assembly line work. 

 

 

 

 

 (Hmmm. Only one pink arm. Hmmmm.)

By now you probably realize I am planning to make a lot more 'Valencones', similar to the ones we made in class at My Heart's Fancy.

I got this pink and brown one done and decided it still needed a little something.

 

 

 

 

I found a small scrap of metal 'paper' in my files and remembered a technique from 'long ago'.

 

 

 

I punched out a little heart shape and impressed some swirls and dots into it with an embossing tool.

 

 

 

It was just what the Queen needed!

 

 

 

 

 

Although the cones are mostly alike, it's kind of fun to mess around with things I have in my studio and try to give each one something unique.

A little bit of brown and white baker's twine here:

 

 

 

And a bit of ribbon here:

 

 

 

A flower 'doodad' which I rescued from some packaging here:

 

 

 

Most of them say...

 

 

 

 

...but the way the queen's arms are extended, I think I should make some that say "I love you this much".

 

 

 

The bottoms of the cones are different, too.

 

 

 

 

This one is really special, because I bled all over this silk ribbon.

I wrapped it together using some surgical wire I saved from a toss-out at the clinic.

That stuff is sharp!

 

 

 

Just wanted to say I love me some brown and white houndstooth check paper!

 

 

 

I wish I could show you all the completed Valencones, but alas!

 

 

 

I can't get out to get the ribbon to finish them.

Dear Chicken-Raising Seester,

 

This Valentine is for you.

 

 

 

 

Seriously.

It's yours.

With very much a whole lot of thanks for the beautiful feathers.

P.S. I'm sorry about your chickens.

I had class.

 

This afternoon I took a class with Miss Lisa at My Heart's Fancy.

I met new friends (Hi, Mary!), reconnected with old friends (Hi Carol, Fran, and Johnnie!), and was introduced to some great products (why, oh why, am I just now learning about Beacon's 3-in-1 Craft Glue?!).

And this is what I made in class:

 

 

I'm so happy with my fancy-schmancy Valentine that (although I have roughly a week's worth of inchies I need to post, three or four loads of laundry to fold, and a chair cushion to reupholster for Me Darlin' mither),well, I am going up to my studio to make more.

Maybe I'll be over it by tomorrow.

But I doubt it.

Paper Valentines. If you're not too busy.

 

I had a pleasurable field trip on Saturday with Dear Reader, Annski.

We went to the 'new' My Heart's Fancy, which is now (almost) exclusively a rubber stamp art store.

I made a little Valentine at the make-it-and-take-it and bought a few new sheets of paper, some very lovely ribbon, and some new color.

 

 

 

I also saw many old friends/students/customers from my days teaching classes at another rubber stamp art store.

 

 

 

I'm afraid the trip also stoked my paper-cutting fire; I spent an hour or so in my studio Monday night going a little bit heart crazy.

I made a few patterns from some old manila file folders and coated one side with restickable glue.

 

 

 

I know I've said it before, but I just looove me some restickable glue stick.

I wanted to cut about a million paper hearts, but I didn't want to trace a million paper hearts, so I just stuck the patterns right to the decorative paper with that wonderful restickable stuff.

Depending on its thickness, I layered two or three pieces of decorative paper and just held on tight while I cut around the patterns.

 

 

 

I had a very large pile of paper hearts on my desk in no time at all.

 

 

 

I dazzled some of them up with a bit of glitter.

 

 

 

I cut some hearts from these black and white and leopard print papers because I want to make some fancy shmancy Valentines using these beautiful feathers (in honor of my Chicken-Raising Seester's ill-fated guinea hens):

 

 

 

Now I have all these wonderful parts to Valentines...

 

 

 

...but no matter how many times I tell them to, they just won't pull themselves together.

So.

If you're not too busy...

Could you come over here and take care of that for me? 

Thanks.

Share and Schnitte

 

Let me just start this post by saying I am so glad I bought the book Paper Cuts: 35 Inventive Projects.

I already showed you the "Hedgehog Love" cutting I made from one of the patterns Cynthia Ferguson contributed to the book.

The pattern which really sold me on the book, however, was another of her's titled "The Beetle's Devotion".

I had the thrill of starting (and finishing!) my very own cut of this pattern yesterday, and it's already hanging on our family room wall.

 

 

 

I just fell in love with the whimsy of it all...the little beetles, the flower offering, the wonderful trees.

Cynthia used a 5" shadow box frame for the sample in the book, but I couldn't locate one  of that size when I wanted to get started on my project.

I did find a piece of "plastic art" in a shadow box frame (in one of the dollar stores) and, since it had a $6 price tag, I decided I would just ask the Prince to enlarge Cynthia's pattern to fit it's 8 1/4" span (I don't do math, Dear Reader).

When I tore the 'art' apart I realized (because of the way it was constructed) I would have to keep the mat in the frame, but I was able to change the background paper to a color and pattern I love.

I used a large piece of heavy-weight art paper (purchased on sale at Hobby Lobby for about a dollar) for the cutting, and traced the pattern onto it using graphite tracing paper (purchased during a thrilling trip to Porch School and Art Supply with my friend, Able Baker Dana).

I'm so very happy to have added this (inexpensive) bit of whimsy to my surroundings.

 

 

And I thank Cynthia Ferguson from the bottom of my little paper-snipping heart.

Edwina Scissorhands

 

So.

One of you Dear Readers called me Edwina Scissorhands when I posted my 'Hedgehog Love' paper cut, and Beeg Seester and I had just been discussing Johnny Depp movies...and 'planning' to  get together  to watch  some of our favorites.

Including Edward Scissorhands.

Look what the Prince gave me Tuesday night:

 

I haven't opened it yet, but I've really enjoyed it, just the same.

Look at the back of the case:

 

 

Yikes!

Paper dolls!

Red paper dolls!

Today, I was about to toss a catalog into the recycle bin while I was doing a little housekeeping.

Then I noticed the inside pages were red and pink.

 

And that's why the house is still messy.

 

I can't help it.

I have a problem.

The truth, the whole truth, and...

 

...nothing but the truth.

Occasionally I hear comments from some of my Dear Readers which make me realize that focusing the writing of my blog on the positive things in my life (little or large), lead them to believe things about me that, well, just ain't so.

I do sleep.

I do sit down.

I do make lots and lots of mistakes.

And things don't always go just like I'd planned or imagined.

Here are my first ten inchies of the new year - presented with, perhaps, a bit more 'balance' than the inchies before them.

January 1

Because of our incredible popularity, the Prince and I were 100% completely alone all of New Year's Day.

And because we are such creative, exciting individuals, we did absolutely nothing all day.

And we continued to do so into the wee hours of the night.

Sometime during those wee hours of the night, a movie which had flitted by when we were channel surfing reminded the Prince of a song in one of the Three Stooges movies.

You can listen to the Three Stooges Swingin' the Alphabet on Youtube.

If you dare.

It's very hard to get it out of your head once you hear it.

I think I had been up too long when the Prince played it for me.

 

 

 

Because I laughed really hard.

And it's not really funny.

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January 2

I already posted about cutting the tips off the purple Q-tips.

I was actually very excited to find out that I could buy cotton swabs in a variety of colors at the Dollar Store.

Why is that?

And how ridiculous is that?

 

 

 

Is it as ridiculous as the fact that I couldn't seem to remember, from snip to snip, to cup my hand around the Q-tips as I clipped them, to keep them from flying all over the room?

I was still sweeping them up days later.

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January 3

I celebrated the first anniversary of my blahg by having a giveaway.

 

 

 

I did not bake a cake.

But I was too tired to attempt drawing the paper doll I made on the Inchie.

So there.

Sometimes I flake out like that.

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January 4

I've also already posted about the tissue paper flowers I made for the wedding.

 

 

 

I didn't tell you that I made about fifty tissue paper flowers before I thought about using two different colors and putting in a center.

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January 5

We had fun making Gloppy and the other Candyland images for Miss Helping Hands' door/hall decs.

They didn't require a lot of work, and they all turned out well.

 

 

 

Except for the fact that I made one too many little snips when I was cutting out the big snowflake for Queen Frostine's block.

 I found little pieces of it in the entryway the day after Miss Helping Hands returned to school.

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January 6

Yes, the 180 cupcakes tasted wonderful because I was fortunate enough to find two really great recipes, and to have a good friend help me make and fill them .

 

 

 

But she didn't arrive until after I'd baked the first 50 white cupcakes.

And I baked the first 50 white cupcakes before reading how many cupcakes the recipe would yield.

I overfilled all fifty of those little muffin cups.

So I had to trim the side bulges from the tops of fifty white cupcakes with the kitchen shears.

Eesh.

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January 7

I worked at the church all day helping the bride and groom, and their friends and family, set up the reception area for the big day.

I made it home just in time to go to dinner with the Prince, my Seesters, Me Darlin' Mither and my Leetle Brudder (visiting from Arizona).

After dinner at our usual place, we went to Beeg Seester and Bro's to celebrate Me Darlin' Mither's 86th birthday.

 

 

 

Four of Mither,s nine children were there, along with many of Mither's 32 grandchildren,  some of her thirty-something (I've lost count) great-grandchildren and various beloved in-laws.

After the cake was served (ohmygoodness-three layers of white cake with fillings of raspberry and lemon, topped with icing and coconut) we took turns sharing the things each of us love about Me Darlin' Mither.

"She's kind."

"She always shows such interest in our lives."

"She's kind."

"She's interesting."

"She's kind."

"She's so cool."

"She's kind."

"She makes you feel so special."

Some day, I would just love for someone to tell me "you're just like your mother".

But it probably won't happen.

My mother would never attend someone's 86th birthday without bringing a gift.

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January 8

I was up early so I could snatch a visit and have a cup of coffee with my Leetle Brudder and Me Darlin' Mither before going to the church to finish the decorating.

I was so grateful to have Miss Mary Mack with me at the church...pulling tablecloths off the ironing board as I ironed them, being a second pair of hands and feet and just an all-around big help.

We got home with just enough time to shower and dress before returning to the church to frost the cupcakes and attend the wedding.

During that mad dash, the Prince handed me an envelope which had come in the day's mail.

Enclosed was a check; payment for the three inchies I'd sold to the author of a "five page master class" article about inchies (which was published in Papercraft Inspirations magazine in the UK).

 

 

 

Though some of my work has been published in the past, this is the first time I've been paid for it.

And I really appreciated that.

I didn't get to pause and enjoy the moment too much because, as I said, it was a mad dash to get back to the church in time to frost those cupcakes.

I packed the ice chest full of ice, mixed the vanilla and sugar in the containers of cream and placed them, along with my Kitchenaid mixing bowl and whisk attachment, on the ice.

I packed a couple of spatulas and some broad knives.

I took the 180 cupcakes out of the freezer and put them in the car.

And away we went.

We met Miss Helping Hands at the church, and the three of us girls were all ready to whip cream, frost cupcakes, sprinkle sugar crystals, and fill up the four tiers of the cake stand.

But.

I'd left the actual mixer at home.

The Prince came to our rescue (it's what the Prince does) and brought us the mixer.

But we were a half-hour behind schedule.

We finished the cupcakes, cleared away our things, and took our seats at the wedding...

...just as the first bridesmaid came down the aisle.

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January 9

I did absolutely nothing.

I did not go to church.

I did not get dressed.

I did not make anything.

I did not clean anything.

I did nothing.

I did see my first snowflake of the season.

 

 

 

But I did not even step outside.

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January 10

I went to work on Monday, but once I got home I could not seem to get motivated about anything.

I decided, late in the evening, to stamp a few bumblebee images...

 

 

 

and maybe get started on some Valentines.

 

 

 

It started me thinking about the days when I worked for my incredibly talented friend, Pat.

She taught me how to layer color with my colored pencils, and she used this bee to do it.

I thought maybe I'd try to pass the lesson along to the young artist I'd met while camping in Colorado, so I made a little step-by-step to send to him.

 

 

 
 

 

But  (just so you know the real state of things)...

   

 

 

...this is the rest of the picture. 

She Likes Hedgehogs

 

Miss Helping Hands Hannah loves hedgehogs.

So do I.

We used to have one as a 'pet', and it was the cutest little thing ever.

So, today, while I am recuperating from several days spent on my feet, I made a little something for Miss HHH.

It's in keeping with the upcoming 'holiday', and it's a paper craft I love.

Cutting!

 

 
 

This is called "Hedgehog Love" and the pattern can be found on Scherenschnitte, the wonderful blog of Cindy Ferguson.

Cindy is one of the artists featured in the book I purchased last week, and it was one of her whimsical designs which made the book a had-to-have for me.

Her blog is full of inspiration...and free downloadable patterns.

How nice is that?

I think the floors around here are going to be littered with little snips of paper all winter long.

Q-Tip Tips Tip

 

 

Okay, so you want to know why I cut the ends off the purple Q-tips?

Because I needed centers with stems...

 

 

 

...for the tissue paper blooms.

 

 

 

And the bride needed lots of tissue paper blooms...

 

 

 

...to use in the decorations for her special day.

It is going to be lovely.