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Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

A Little Word on Wednesday...

John 15:10 ...'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.'

I wanted to post a beautiful painting of Christ by Raymond Doward , a fellow Etsy Seller, along with this scripture but for some reason Blogger shuts off when I try to upload a photo.  You can check out his beautiful painting here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/150917711   I love his painting. The stern yet kind & loving expression.
I am having this problem with Yahoo email as well. Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know how to fix it?
I have been painting this week and while under the weather I have become a Pinterest Addict! You can check out my boards & favorite picks here: http://pinterest.com/folkartjane/boards/  I especially love my board called "Crafty Cravings" which is full of inspiration and fun projects!

Create a Wonderful Wednesday!

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Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Love/Hate Relationship...

... that's what I have with granny squares. I love them, I don't mind making them, it's just the blocking and sewing together I hate. Just like with sewing, if you want something to look nice and go together well, your fabric has to be ironed, so does crochet & knit. I cut out a thin piece of card board or paper the size that your granny square is suppose to be to use as a template. I set my iron to the Acrylic setting with steam. I just secure the pin at each corner first just pushing it into my ironing board cover. I lightly press and steam careful not to scorch or flatten the stitches too much. My iron is great on this setting but if you have any doubts about your iron you should definitely cover with a thin cloth before pressing. If your square is springing back and not remaining blocked, steam again and leave it pinned on the template until it's completely cool and then remove.









See what a difference blocking makes! You can't tell in the pictures but the black yarn used in this project is Vanna White's Glamour yarn "for special occasions" and it has itty bitty sparkles in it. It's really much prettier in person.

I am going to crochet these together instead of sew. I will share the picture of my project when it's all completed! You can see all the squares I have to block! Maybe I'll put some cream on my face and put all this steam on double duty! LOL

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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Loved & Loved Again

I got out and raked a little today. I have to admit it felt good. As far as gardening goes I'd say raking is about the extent of my talent. It's a shame I'm not kidding :) It got me daydreaming about decorating my outdoor room. It's a good size circle area with 2 granite walkways leading up to it in the middle of a little grove of oak trees in the upper portion of our property. Other than 2 black iron rocking chairs it's a blank canvas. Because I am not a gardener, I decided to divide my yard up and make little "rooms", that might help me tackle it or look at it in a different way and I have enough area to make a few good size spots. My goal is to make if flow and fun to walk through, not difficult to care for - container gardening all without looking like a junk yard.

You know I love upcycled/recycled/re-purposed art and objects. A well loved item transformed to love all over again. If you have some things you've made for your yard I'd love to see them! One of the things I plan to make/re-purpose are birdhouses made out of plastic coffee cans. My hubby feeds them so we might as well give them a place to live too. I plan to paint them and hang them at different lengths in those aforementioned trees. I'm calling it my "Coffee Condo Project." So stay tuned, that's soon, I can't wait to show you the project. Save a can! Here are some things I fell in love with. You can click on the pictures to be taken to the blogs, websites, tutorials, etc... I found some great places today!
Ut Oh. I might be saving cans now. I'm already saving coffee cans and we won't speak of my jar cabinet. Picture this spray painted with shiny copper paint, black w/ glitter to twinkle at night, turquoise or that lushious lemon-lime color next to it! Wouldn't this be a great outdoor room divider, or privacy screen? This Dino almost makes me want to crawl under the house to retrieve a box of old toys because I know there are a couple of dinos down there. Almost. Another super fun piece I will be making! There is scrap wood pile leftover from my hubby's wonderful deck I will be diving into.


These next 3 I saw at BHG.com and fell in love them. I think the chair shelf would be great in my outdoor room I am gonna be working on this summer. *summer? doesn't feel like summer, not yet* Next time hubby is in the mood for a nice cigar I'm gonna ask him to get me some more boxes, I used all that I had in an altered art frenzy. I do have one untouched box that is my hidey hole for the tv remote & other assorted things. I've got lots of hidey holes. The other day I couldn't remember what I did with a sink stopper. Oh yeah, I put them in a big ceramic acorn next to sink. I hid the sink stoppers & strainers in there. I'd much rather look at the acorn. My largest hidey hole is an antique armoire that we gutted, added shelves to and it houses all of our stereo equipment. I am now keeping my eye out for stray silver in my thrifty travels. I have so much stuff to box up to take to donate, it's now on my Things To Do List. Wait donate and then bring home stuff..hum.. hubby probably won't notice the camping silverware missing for awhile. LOL

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Such a Hooker...

That's me lately. I just want yarn and needles in my hands all the time. It's like comfort food without the calories. I created this new super fun & easy crochet hand warmer pattern and listed a few for sell in my Shenanagans shop. I love the vintage yarn I found on one of my treasure hunts, that's what I call my thrift store excursions. It must be from the 70's with the beautiful rust & brown color and is in perfect condition. I love bringing yarn to life that someone kept but never created anything with or gave up on a project but didn't part with it for years. I made a pair for me and are selling a few. There wasn't but 1 skein. I like being able to slip it off my finger & wash my hands without taking them completely off and they are cozy. I made a pair for a friend's daughter in Long Beach and she let me know that she hasn't taken them off and it's been a week! There will only be a few of these in the Universe so if you would like one too, please visit me at Shenanagans! A new customer HomeSchoolHats purchased my hand warmer pattern is now selling her crocheted creations in her shop, she crochets beautifully and has some great colors. Click Here to stop by her shop. Watching crochet videos is a little like watching a golf match. hahaha However, I am grateful for those who teach and I loved learning how to make these little roses! I'll be making some later!

I have so many people to thank. So many have been very kind. I am truly blessed. I hope you take a moment to visit their shops or sites. A Big Shout Out & Thank You goes to Color Coordinated for featuring my art on their fantastic blog & creative Ning! More Big Shout Out's & Thank You's for including my art in beautiful, thoughtful, creative Etsy Treasuries go to Chaotic Cupcake, ThemeFragrance, Poppy Jewelry Shop, Fyrewerks, Indigo Twin, Spirals and Spice, SqueakyBug, CynArt, JoyNStiches, and Mireloom. Your appreciation of my work means so much to me!

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Saturday, October 9, 2010

Friday, August 13, 2010

Really?

I'm all for encouraging crafting & creating but Seriously?! LOL

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Monday, January 4, 2010

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Super Stars! A Recycle/Reuse Project

Sparkle, sparkle and so "green"! These were fun to make today & hang over my skating snowmen that are on my table. This Christmas Eve we are having the family dinner with the kids a la A Christmas Story. We are making oriental food. We are always up for an adventure and I love that about my family. I am making my Vegetarian Curry with Cashews & Banh Mi (Vietnamese pork meatball sandwiches), my special Egg Rolls taught to me by my friend Noi, Cucumber Sesame Salad & my own Red Ginger Noodle salad. I've never made Banh Mi before but I made the mayo for it already and it is fantastic. My son couldn't leave it alone & even ate it on toast, it's gone already! So it's fun that everyone is excited. I am grinding the pork for the meatballs so they should be nice & lean. I found the recipe in the new Bon Appetit Magazine . My oldest are bringing their famous crab dip & lemon squares. I don't know what my youngest is making yet. I bought red & white Striped Chinese cartons to serve the salads in & brand new chopsticks. The table will be fun. Both of my boys were eating with chopsticks when they were 2 years old and I plan on using those cute little panda bear chopsticks that I still have to teach my little JJ in the near future. My youngest son was once the center of attention when we popped into a little neighborhood Japanese restaurant in San Francisco, his blond hair almost white shining amid a sea of dark hair, sitting in his high chair, eating something most kids at his age wouldn't touch and with big boy chopsticks, he had the whole restaurant just going gaga over him. He was so cute.

These shiny stars are made of a recycled 2 liter soda bottle, fishing line, glue & glitter. Cut off the top & bottom of bottle. Then cut open the cylinder & cut into strips then squares. I got 12 squares from one bottle. I cut the stars freehand folk arty but you could use a pen & star template if you wanted them all the same. Using a needle make a hole & insert fishing line then tie a knot. Put glue on both sides of the star & cover with glitter. Shake off excess glitter & hang. I put a star on each end of the fishing line. Super easy & something you could do with kids. I think I'll be saving all my soda bottles to make stars for outdoors. I think they'd be great hanging from all my trees no matter what time of year it is!

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Monday, November 9, 2009

A Simple Project to Share...

I made these Prayer Tile Trivets 6 or 7 years ago, as you can tell from the wear & tear on them! They are looking pretty awful, not sure why I didn't just throw them out last year,*pack rat*, so I thought I would make some new ones before Thanksgiving. My back is better but not 100%, so my hubby took me to the pharmacy for more back creme & Thanksgiving paper napkins to make some new trivets. I was really disappointed that the only Thanksgiving napkins they had were of extremely ugly turkeys. Hopefully I can find something better before Thanksgiving. If not, I may try printing a picture onto some tissue paper that may work just as well. I'm sure you could use a magazine picture or other paper, however, it just would be as flat. I am thinking I am going to use a piece of recycled wood instead of a tile. I am going to paint & distress the wood before applying the picture. They come in so handy with all the hot plates & dishes at dinner. To make one you simply pull the napkin layers apart leaving just the printed image that you want to adhere on your tile or piece of wood. Glue image to tile & let completely dry. Then you can antique, paint or whatever you'd like. Then over the top of it all write the prayer with permanent marker or paint pen, then spray with acrylic or coat over with Mod Podge. This would be a great project to do with kids as well. I didn't write the prayer that is on my tiles. I'm sorry I don't know who wrote it but I can bet whomever wrote it wouldn't mind me or you using it. It reads:
Our Heavenly Father,
Please bless the bounty that has been prepared before us. Bless those who are with us today and those who are not. Thank you Lord for all the many blessings that you have so graciously bestowed upon us. Thank you for giving your life so that we may have life. Father bless those who are less fortunate. Bless our children for they are our future, and bless our elders for they are our history. For all these things we ask in your holy name.
Amen

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

My Little Creek On The Corner

My husband and 2 poodles, Roadie & Reeda took a walk this morning. I brought along my camera to take a picture of the creek we walk over which is just a block from my home. Most of the banks are covered with wild blackberries and in the spring it's really pretty. When my little brother Jimmy the Fisherman came to visit he took a couple of walks to get out of the house. After one of his walks he asked me if I had a round hoop and some netting. We scrounged through my collection of bits and pieces saved over the years to my husband's dismay. We found a wire circular ring which I had saved who knows how long because I figured I could use it for something one day. Then we found some hot pink tulle netting. I have no idea where I got that from but if it's fabric related I have to save it. (ok so it's not just jars I have a problem with!) He found some fishing line in a tackle box from the 70's that is only a garage decoration. I had no idea what he was doing. He said he was "making something". He grabbed a hot dog and left. An hour or so passed and in walks Jimmy with a bucket full of crawdads! We were all in shock & awe of him! We cooked them up and had a little crawdad party on the patio. The kids felt a little creepy about eating them at first but they are just like me and will try anything once. The next day Jimmy walked us all down to the creek and showed us how to catch them with what I thought was a craft project! Every time I walk by the creek I wonder how many crawdads I could catch.

This is a picture of me on the little bridge over the creek this morning.
The photo is not altered just cropped a little.
I guess my aura is red today! Weird.

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Today's The Day!!

It's Wednesday already! Sorry I haven't blogged since Saturday! I've been in my own little whimsical world! I've been painting, knitting, crocheting and working on some new zine cards! I especially love the little baby sweater & how it came out. It was a lot of hours of work and I must say the pattern is great! I am going to get a cute button for it instead of ties, once done I will post the picture.

Vicky Howell of Knitty Gritty Show is writing a new book called "Craft Corps" and I sent in a profile to possibly be featured in this book! If you are a crafter you can also apply and get the details on her blog site: http://vickiehowell.blogspot.com/


Today's the day! My first grandbaby is on his way! Joe & Erin are just getting settled into their room and I will be going down shortly! They called to let us know when we were in Walmart picking out the button to go on the little sweater! I opted for just a plain button so that it would match everything. I guess I'll be sewing that on in the waiting room tonite!

Here's an amazing picture of a sand creation that my nephew sent me today...

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