One Little Word 2014 January

 

my word is order

put this crazy life of mine in order

 

i have had a word of the year for two years before now

i had no idea it was a 'real' thing

i thought it was just fun

 

in 2012 my word was act - of course i had nothing to keep me accountable

i definitely hear that word though when i hesitate

 

in 2013 my word was less - and i started to work on less

less of everything

 

this year i found out one little word was a really, real thing and i joined

ali Edwards gives us prompts and videos to work on to keep our word present and to love out word

 

i have had a few hiccups

first so many people were so enthusiastic at the beginning that i got completely overwhelmed and tried to give up

i stopped reading the posts and soon found i wanted to jump back in

did some stitching and thinking

ordered some pages and i am off

 

 

 

 

 

these were the assignments for January ... i finished in mid-February :)

 

it has made it all so clear - what i mean by order - it isn't all about organizing

 

 

 



30Lists: Day 3

ideal day...fantasy day

what would my ideal day be like

after making this, i realized that my ideal day would surely most surely involve the ocean

 

so here is my new ideal day

 

wake up to the sound of the ocean

it's 80 degrees and the lightest breeze

the bed is just so soft and comfy

charlie greets me with coffee

 

we go for a walk on the beach

sophie runs in front of us

we go to a fire hall breakfast

we win a raffle

 

i go down to the dunes

and draw

and write

and read

and fall asleep in the warm sunny dunes

 

charlie wakes me

i meet some friends for lunch

we laugh and have wine

 

i meet charlie and the boys and we dig a big hole

they dig i watch

the tide comes in

we hunt for shells

 

back to our nice cabin

not big

just right

all us

rustic

 

mom and dad arrive

brothers and sisters

i make my pizza

we eat

we play cards

we visit

 

we head to the beach

for a fire

for s'mores

for laughter

 

we head to the cabin

charlie and the boys

a visit by the fire

hot tea expertly made by charlie

back in our snuggly bed

a good day

the sound of the ocean lulls me to sleep

 

not loving my other lists now

 

 

30Lists: Day 2

Day 2 - how would you describe yourself to a pen pal

 

this prompt really had me thinking - what would I tell a pen pal

probably just basic kinda surface stuff

the me i want people to see me as

the best me

pen pals are probably never gonna really meet you - i could make crazy stuff up

(that would be a fun list)

the cliché list of who i am as defined by what i am

 

 

since this was too big for one page of my book I cut it up and added my thoughts

 

 

then i thought about the things i would never tell a pen pal

the real stuff

 

the REAL REAL stuff

 

and i made that list

hid it behind a fold of paper

 

that is not for no pen pal

this is just the beginning of the purge

glad i put a piece a tape on that bad boy so no one can see

 

30Lists: Day 1

i am participating in 30Lists - each morning i receive a prompt and make a list based on it

 

day 1 things that make life magical

 

just getting to live another wonderful day is magical but i came up with other things to - because it's the weekend i was able to turn it into art...

 

that'll surely surely change come work-a-day Monday!

 

these did not photograph well - bummer

here are a few details - the longer i worked the more ideas i had - lists are so fun 

especially crossing stuff off them

i believe in fairies and gimmicks and such and hope to see one soon

 

there is always room for glitter!

 

this is where i put my secret magic stuff so only i could see - way to personal to share with the world but it is on my list for sure and boy would it be

M*A*G*I*C

 

finish

finally got the trip around color study put together .. i tried many layouts and finally decided that it really looked good anyway i put it

crazy hard to iron though

 

i would like to make another one with either

brighter fabrics of all colors, or

black and white with bright pastels, or

geometrics

the nice thing about this block is i can make a batch in the evening after work and it is not a huge undertaking

 

i stiched on the batik heart - the batik made it difficult to keep the shape of the heart and the polkadots so i had to create the outlines with stitching

after this picture i decided to stich even more, i used varigated thread and it took on a circus look .. love it

batiking with crayons

last spring my sister and i (annie in salem) decided to do a project together..we don't get to see each other near enough...so we skyped a craft session ... she found someplace where you used crayons to batik

 

 i got a mini muffin tin and peeled a load of crayons and melted them on my electric griddle

 casey was home from school on spring break so he joined in making one for his service fraternity at college (usc)

this is the heart i made before dye

 after first round of dye

 after i bent it all up (cuz it didn't look batiky enough)...i dyed it a second time

finished ... i am currently working on embellishing it - actually maybe i am working on a second version of this
here are some other things i made

the french houses were a disappointment for sure


caught the trip around along craze

about two weeks ago i was catching up on my quilting blog reading and after a few i realized i was seeing the same quilt in many places .. i am not sure if it is trip along or trip around...but it is great..so satisfying and quick and A.D.D.I.C.T.I.V.E
i really liked the quilts i was seeing and then discovered a tutorial ... i will link to it as soon as i find it again .. but seriously, everyone who is anyone is doing this :)

i decided to do mine as a color study..so i headed to my sewing room, looked at the shelf and decided to 'study' green as it was the most loaded shelf

i cut a 2 1/2 inch strip from each fabric .. except the hand dyed, woven, and batik pieces...if you see some doubles (i think i counted 3) it is becasue i had 2 pieces of the fabric..

above are the first 16 blocks...6 fabrics per block...big math...i kept sewing and unsewing and even some missewing...turns out i made 36 blocks with 3 strips left over...let me do the math for you 219 fabrics...shocking i know...especially to me...how did i get so many...there isn't one fabric in this quilt that is less than 5 years old...

i think i might need a 12 step program for fabric .. specifically green

i am thinking and have been having dreams about a quilt using all my reds with maybe some ocean blue for contrast...

all 36 blocks are sewn but not to each other...will finish soon

wow lotta time gone by

it is surprising to know that a year has passed since last i posted. a friend recently started a delightful blog and i so enjoyed her first post about her grandfather http://nerdsmiles.wordpress.com/ that it inspired me to check in to my blog. it took an hour to get logged in...really..i could not recall my password and i get stubborn about admitting it to the internet password resetting powers!

i have many things to share and look forward to getting back into the blogging thing.

for today i will share what i have on my camera - these are my new invention for christmas delight...i called them christmas sodas... i didn't get a picture when the syrup was dripping like lava through the glass - but still you can see how festive they are

the recipe is:
1/2 cup of bubbly water poured into the cup
1/4 cup of heavy cream or half and half poured in next
1 shot of cherry syrup (like they use at coffee places)
and 1 green striped straw (the paper straws did not hold up very well)
next year I want to try lime syrup and red straws

since it is about to snow A L O T

i thought this would be a good time to catch up on some of my christmas projects

this year my friend ornaments combines fabric and paper, beads and glitter

i used images from old prayer cards my mom loaned me and added some from the graphics fairy - between the two of them, they have everything

each one is different and i made about 25 - i used postcards for the base and added velvet ribbon from my friend jill and lace from the goodwill and ribbons from my stash and mercury beads from my grama - i sewed and glued and glittered - it was a blast - i copied the prayer cards and then glued them to heavy stock and distressed them so they looked old - there are layers of organza and netting velvet and satin and anything else i could throw in there  - i packaged them in onionskin envelopes i made from the box of paper i scored at the thrift store (it has an onionskin watermark on each sheet)

and i'm back...

it is an amazing thing how fast a month slides by and then 2...then 8...it isn't like i had nothing i could post it was more about having/taking the time to post...

last we visited, it was spring and i was involved in swaps...those swaps got me going to the goodwill on a semi-regular basis and having a blast looking at and creating with old stuff no one wanted...some stuff is so sad there and other things just bring memories flooding back of times gone by...while there is some great stuff there, i see blogs with even better stuff from estate sales...wonder if i could start taking fridays off...kids don't need to learn on fridays?...right?

and so i am back...not sure how often i will be posting but for the next few days i am going to post some projects i did this summer fall and winter...it is snowing here and i am hoping for a snow day or two this week...did i just jinx it?

Spring Petite Box Swap

i participated in another swap and got another set of wonderful partners and wonderful boxes. here are pics of the first box i received - the maker was AJ and you can see her blog here. thank you AJ - everything is delightful and i can't wait to start crafting things - your generosity is much appreciated. please enjoy a view into the creative mind of my new swap friend AJ...

this is the outside - a wonderful glittered butterfly and a tiny little butterfly net, AJ got the net at a flea market and it became the inspiration for the box

inside is a treasure trove of delights

there is a better view of that little butterfly net - just the right size for a little fairy to catch herself a ride

inside there were many more butterflies - some came from the bottom of AJ's grama's jewelry box (such a treasure)- and lace and trim

and bunnies and eggs, buttons and thread, so many lovely things

these made me laugh - a recipe for applesauce brownies (made me think of growing up) - these came from AJ's mother-in-law

this is a teeny tiny metal sewing machine -i love it - so much detail --AJ said she had this for years and was waiting to give it to someone who sewed - well, that is definitely me

isn't this beautiful - it sparkles and shimmers

this cherub is so sweet - thinking i might gild it, but i love it white too - oh the decisions