On today’s craft table…

This REALLY IS what my craft table looks like LOL! I worked really hard one day and cleaned up my office (where my craft table is located) and then proceeded to make an even BIGGER mess. I’ve been having a lot of fun with collage. I’ve been pinning different things I see on the web and am now trying out some new techniques. I anticipate a lot of “fails” but that’s OK, collage is forgiving…you can just paint over it again!

This is one collage almost finished…

I have this hanging over our bed. It’s a reminded that LIFE IS GOOD! What you can’t see is that I’ve doodled lots of important dates all over the picture…just little reminders that LIFE IS GOOD! Do you like how I framed it? heh heh. It’s a happy accident!

I LOVE that I can change it out whenever I make something I like better!! So EASY!

In other news we took Abby to camp again yesterday. She was soooo excited! And last night we had a QUIET HOUSE! Abby was at camp and the boys were each at a friend’s home for the night. It was weird and even weirder to wake up to a quiet house too. Not bad weird…good-but-I-wouldn’t-want-it-to-be-like-this-every-day-weird. It’s so quiet I just want to lay on the couch and watch TV or take a nap…but I can’t lol!

Happy Crafting!!!

Another deer…

Did I ever tell you my hubbie and I are volunteers for the Cuyuna Whitetails? We go to meetings a couple times a month and help to plan the fundraising banquet. One of our jobs is to get donations to be raffled off at the banquet. I asked our library for a donation and they said “sure!”. At the library we are making up a gift basket and I made this picture to go in as part of the prize. I was happy to find a book that talked about hunting and preserving meat and I used a page of it for the background. I really hope that whomever wins it…likes it! I’m working on another project for the library now…my kitchen table is covered with little scraps of paper…I think once that picture is done it’s time to move onto something else. I should have it done by the end of this week. I haven’t needlefelted for awhile and I miss it! lol.

In other news we attended a ham bingo on Saturday night hosted by my hubbie’s fire department and I won a ham! So did my little guy! He was so funny…strutting his stuff cause he won meat for the fam…lol! Abby did really well playing bingo too – while she didn’t win she did pay attention to the numbers being called better than she ever has before. All in all it is a nice night out as a family!

Happy Crafting!!

Isn’t it nice when

you make something you really like!!! I just completed another project for the library and I tell ya, this one is going to be hard to give them -

This is a totally recycled project. I salvaged the frame (kept it from going in the garbage…picked it out of someone’s garbage pile…I have no shame!) I got the string, used as branches, from the thrift store. The black paper is from little (sometimes tiny) scraps of paper left over from another project. The music paper was donated to the library to be used in this kind of a project…or whatever else we can dream up – lol!

Here is a picture of the project in progress -

above: This is what was in the frame before I took it apart…

above: This is when I was covering the original mat board. As you can see it was matted with pink an blue. I glued down the paper and cut a 45 degree angle on whatever strip of paper was laying on top…nice mitered corners.

above: Sorry for the glare…I’m too lazy to take the glass out. This gives you a better look at the details. I cut each flower out with my craft knife and used my stylus to give the petals some shape. Then glued them down and added a dot of glitter with my cinnamon stickles stuff. The little bird was raised with some foam dots too.

I was going to paint the frame but I think I’m kinda liking the gold. Surprising! It’s a nice wood frame so it would take paint well…hmmm….

Happy Crafting!!

Oh deer!

The lighting is just cruddy today – we are in for some rain! However, this picture isn’t really done so this is an in-progress pic. I was inspired by this work and decided to try it out with paper before I move to wood. Really, I don’t seem to have enough time to start a big wood project these days. Isn’t that sad?! I keep telling myself to just tackle a project one step at a time and even if I only get a half a step done in one day I’d still be moving forward…maybe tomorrow! I want to paint the frame or refinish it…I’m thinking I’ll either paint it dark brown (Julie, you’ll be happy! lol)

Why don’t I seem to have enough time? Well, aside from the usual laundry, cooking and cleaning…boring! We’ve just been people on the move lately. I taught another needle-felting class on Saturday. I tell you, crafters are just the nicest people! It was fun. We all went four-wheeling on Sunday after church. The weather was crisp and clear – no bugs or sweat! We are part of a hunting club and have access to 1,800 acres of land. I snapped some pictures to show you how awesome it is!

Here’s one of the many trails-

Here’s another trail with the middle child riding a small four-wheeler.

There’s lots of water features on the land. The Mississippi borders part of it and there are ponds and swamps. I learned there is a wild rice bed! We will be ricing this fall!!!!!! Miles of the trails are bordered with raspberries and I found a hazelnut tree/bush yesterday. There is so much to see and explore. I told the middle child that once he figures out how to strap down the Rhino and 4-wheeler we will spend time out there even when dad is at work. (My brain does not compute the straps…it’s weird…like I enter a mind-warp when I have to deal with them!)

 

There is tons of wildlife out there…here is a wolf track…the size of my HAND! My youngest shot his first deer last fall out here too. And for his birthday he got this -

A Savage .22 bolt action for a lefty. He and Grant shot targets most of the time while Abby, Dev and I rode the trails. We were all exhausted when we got home, and will be going back soon! Even though this is within 8 miles of our house we don’t get out there too much. Last year was a cruddy summer and I was so busy with Girl Scouts – but this year – this year we are hoping for a great summer and lots of FUN!

Happy Crafting!

Collage attempts 3 and 4…

And we have a winner! I like these!

 

I think I’m getting somewhere now. I think we all know I love paper airplanes…I see a lot more of them in my future collages! Again I made these by layering paper, tissue paper, paint, glue, more paint, more paper…you get the idea. These little guys are tiny. The frame outside edges of the frame measure 4”x5”. And I think the frames are pretty special…they came this way direct from the thrift store. By the time you read this post these will already be at the library and for sale. It’s kind of hard to give them up…but a darn good excuse to make some more! (And I loooovvvveeee my library – we gotta do what we can to support them!)

Happy Crafting!

PS: Next week I think you’ll see more needle felting.

PPSS: Mary…could you keep a look-out for more frames from our favorite thrift store? smile. They don’t have to look like this – I can always paint them…just little and sturdy. Really any size up to 8x10…

Bonus links to keep you busy and give you something to talk about…#1

She’s awesome! (there are two you can find the other one here)

#2 http://autismasithappens.blogspot.com/2012/03/future.html This blog is written by a mother who had a daughter with autism. Oh my gosh…she can get down in words what a lot of us parents with “special needs” children are feeling! When I read her posts I keep thinking “I know! I’ve been through that too!!!” It is almost painful for me to read but I can’t stay away. I check in with her blog once in awhile and read big chunks and leave feeling happy, sad, and understood! Her daughter is quite a bit younger than mine…I wish I would have found someone like her 10 years ago…The post I’m linking to really relates to where we are right now…you’ll see.

Collage attempt number two…

OK – this one is actually not done yet. It needs a little somethin’ somethin’. I just don’t know what. Hubbie has suggested a yellow bird. I think “tweet” needs to go and be replaced with scrabble tiles or something. Any ideas? I want to get it to the library by the end of the week…so put your thinking caps on!

Happy Crafting!

Get ready for collage week…

It’s funny where life can take you! I was thinking about my role at our library as a “crafty person” and was feeling guilty that I hadn’t made them anything lately. Luckily we had a pretty lazy weekend around here. For once it wasn’t scheduled to death. Well, the next thing you know my kitchen table was littered with paper and glue and I was making collages. Here is my first attempt -

I started with a plain piece of 1X6 pine. I don’t think I’ll give this one to the library cause it isn’t great…but it makes me smile so I’ll keep it! I might add to it as time goes on…we’ll see. Looking at it now I think more black dots would jazz it up a bit. This is one of the hardest things about making a collage…knowing when to stop adding more and more and MORE! lol! (more collages to come this week…ooooo…exciting I know! ha ha)

Happy Crafting!

Necklace and card…

I got these little wooden pieces at a garage sale and decided to turn them into pendants. Here is one painted with the over-used owl. smile. But I love these little guys!

Here is one painted with a mushroom and spider. It still needs to be glittered and sealed.

I am going to a baby shower this weekend and made a card. You can find the pattern here. (Thank you for the pattern!) I can’t wait to buy my digital cutter…but this one was cut by hand…

Well, that is about it! Today is my daughter’s last day of school, because she is a Junior (a Junior!) she gets out a week earlier than the rest. She is very excited! I think we’ll have a nice time together next week…I’ll have to think of something special.

Happy Crafting!!!

Spring is in the air!!!!

I saw a post about making Scrapbook Paper Branches and had to try…

 

I used the new handy dandy hot glue gun and within about ten minutes was done. If you go to the original post (click on the words in pink) you’ll see that she used a lot more branches…or a bushier branch…but I just didn’t want to give it that much time. (But I like hers better) I got the branch to stand up nice and straight by filling this little crock with pea rock that Julie brought me…it seated it in nicely! (Please forgive my cruddy picture…no sunlight in that corner of the house…)

Another quick project for the week was to recycle an old flannel sheet. I tore it into squares as quickly as I could and now have a pile of rags and since my youngest has a cold he uses these to blow his nose. Then we throw them away. The sheet was going to get thrown away anyways…this way we can use it one more time. When you blow your nose with torn sheets you don’t get the red and chapped nose you get with tissues. Love it! (Picture taken with my Droid)

Otherwise I’ve been working on a needlefelting project that still has a ways to go. Today I’m going to muck out our front entry and pack away the winter gear and replace it with the summer toys!!!! Geez I hope I don’t jinx us and we get more snow…

I said a while back that I’d pass along any weight loss tips and here is another one…if you have a smart phone you can download the Cardio Trainer app. (free) This app will tell you how fast you’re walking (minutes/mile), how many steps you’ve taken, how far you’ve gone, it shows you a map of where you’ve been, and how many calories you’ve burned. My only gripe is that at the end it will say “You’ve burned 103 calories that equals 2 peaches!) Who in the helicopter cares about how many peaches you’ve burned (do you know anyone who gained weight from eating too many peaches?!)…I want to know how many Doritos's I’m walking off my hiney!!!

Happy Crafting!!!