favorite pictures

love this picture of Maui...  the view from the lanai of my condo...  May, 2012 - I needed to post this so I could look at it from time to time.  sigh!

During the slow time...

Sales and activity have been slow this last month.  I understand it's because of the time of the year. But I hear all the complaining, makes me wonder if it's more.  Well this is a good time to really start creating and getting ready for the holiday season. BUT first I need to create something for my granddaughter.

Kalyn is a 2 1/2 year old with so much charisma..  she melts my heart!  Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, my daughter, while shopping over on the Washington Coast, texted me this picture and said that Kalyn loves it:

the caption read: "she wants this... 33 bucks"..  so I wrote back "and are you asking me to buy it?" no, mom, make it...  My kids think I'm this miracle creator!!!  I also don't know how to say "no" especially when Kalyn wants it (yeah, she was begging mom, right...  I think it's "mom"who loves it!!! Kalyn is the best dressed two year old around!)

I went on a hunt for the fabric. Every fabric I found was dry clean only...  ha ha ha!  so I kept looking and this is what I found:

 I really don't know what the material is made of,  but first it's washable.  Second, it glitters! And it's a light weight knit fabric (I think it's the kind of stretch material used in dance outfits.  It's light weight and should gather well.)

Then I surfed the web/you tube for instruction on how to do ruching (the gathering on the bodice).  Looks easy enough...  so now I'm off to my machine.  Let's see if I can come up with something similar (though it definitely won't be exact) to the store version...  I'll check back in later this weekend with the results.

and other fun things...

I have an urge to learn new things, well actually to create new things in new mediums. Jack of all trades and a master of none!  Thought I would take a minute to share some of my other creations.

About 12 years ago I lost my job. Though that may sound tragic, it was blessing in disguise! I was able to go through a retraining program for web design and graphic design.  During that time I had an opportunity to take some art classes... black & white photography was the first. I won a scholarship for some of my pieces. Here's a print of Portland Oregon at night (I have a print of it for sale on Etsy)

Since it was an art scholarship, I was required to take an art class each quarter.  I tried drawing... and discovered I could draw (though no pictures to prove it!).  And then I discovered metal sculptures.  Ended up taking classes for a year.  loved it!  I'm not the best welder, but grind it down and it's called art! - well that works for me! here are some of my pieces:

Churn Dash wall hanging

Crazy Quilt 5' x 5' (frame 6' x 6')

Sunflowers - 5 to 6 ft tall

Tree of Life - with quilt (bird net & dragon fly too)

Close up of the quilt hanging from tree

another quilt using steel, copper & brass - all scraps

And the latest is fused glass. I only have one piece to show you.  I made a 1" square of fused glass.  My daughter was inspired to create a ring with it...  here's our collaboration:

side view

top view

It's been fun trying all sorts of art..  Next month I'm trying torchwork glass and borosilicate, should be interesting!  I'll try posting the results.


Don't be afraid to try something, you may be greatly surprised, and so much more enriched!

Looking for new ideas...

Hi! I've been very lax at writing in my blog, so once again I'm saying this...  but darn it! I'm going to follow through, starting with at least one blog a week...  I guess it's kind of hard to take the time to write these, and realize there isn't anyone reading it.  Well I need to make changes to that as well!

Etsy has been a fun creative outlet for me.  It's exciting that there are people who want to buy my product!  I am someone who needs to change things up too...  so I'm always looking for ideas that will be fresh and new but still cohesive with the rest of my shop.

This morning I went to my local craft store looking for some do-dads in the scrapbooking section.  Well darn if they didn't place something close by that would catch my eye.  A few minutes later I walked out with three Pashmina scarfs.  Now I have to admit, I don't know what Pashmina is, but these scarves are 100% of it!!  So on to discovery (it would have been smart to research before buying, but that would have been too much common sense on my day off!!!)  Here's a before picture - it even looks soft and luxurious!

I did find some information, I think...  Pashmina is a wool from goat, also considered cashmere.  Well there are so many things out there I really can't tell what it is... but it's really soft! (but no mention of cashmere on the label, so it's probably isn't!)  I'm going to try to dye it and see what happens... (that's a big what if...  not sure which type of dye to use...  I'll let you know what I find out). The other thing that I'm working on is felted soap with a batik gift bag.  I'm trying to dye the roving to be a close match to the colors in the fabric.  Here's a sample:

 ok, I'm off to the craft room for organization and creativity!