I'm still here!

Greetings!  I just wanted to say "hi!" and that I'm still here.  :)  I've made a few things, but haven't been able to post pictures because the recipient hasn't received the gift, yet.  (My bad, since they were for last Christmas!!)

Now, I'm working on a pillow for a friend.  I don't think she ever looks on here, but, just in case, I can't post the pic until I've given it to her.  I used wool felt and embroidery to create the pillow.... all done on a piece of wool felt.  Just bought the pillow form this afternoon, so now I have to figure out how to put it together.  The back will just overlap and I'll probably put three buttons across it.  Wool felt is great because you don't need to make buttonholes, you can just cut the fabric... kind of like polar fleece.  :)  So easy to sew with!  But, I think I want a flanged edge, that I will embroider a blanket stitch on.

I've also been busy making a flannel shirt for my husband, for Christmas.  It's been years since I've made a flannel shirt!!  This is a green plaid... it's beautiful fabric.... and, hopefully, will be a really nice shirt.  :)  But, hubby is home now, so I can't work on it.  My sewing/crafting/art space is the dining room table...and the dining room is right in the middle of the house... you have to go through it to get just about anywhere in the house!  :(  Some day... *some* day.... I'll have my own studio.  Until then, projects get put on hold as long as the recipient is home.  :)  Or, unless I can tell a little-white-lie about who it's for.  That works, too.  :)

Hmmm.....maybe I'll get my Christmas cards out and start writing some while I make some fudge.  There's an idea!

Have a great night!

     ~  Teri

A birthday card

Here's the card that I made for my sister, for her birthday.  I actually got it to her, along with her gift, on time!  (Even though she wasn't there to receive it.)  It's been years since I've managed to do that.  I'm so bad with getting things off in the mail....even if I have it all ready to go!!  (What's up with that, anyway??)

Anyway, it's hard to tell from this picture, but the butterfly was actually stamped, using Distress Markers for the ink, on a separate piece of cardstock, then cut out.  So, it's raised up from the rest of it.  I used Distress Inks for the background, liquid chalk on top of "punchinella" - that creates the little dots, markers (can't remember if I used Distress Markers - Tim Holtz, of course - or if they were my Tombow markers... I think they're the Distress ones, though.  Maybe a combination?  I added some Perfect Pearls or Pearl-Ex powders, not sure which...they're both great products!  Where you see any glimmer...that's from those.  I used Stickles on the butterfly, which is really hard to see here, but there are some little spots of it along the body and the biggest spots on the wings.  The green, flowery stuff that goes across the top and bottom is Washi Tape....wonderful, wonderful stuff!!!  So fun to use!!  I just added gems on the bottom.  The sentiment is from a little pack of vellum sentiments, on Love.  I had to trim it, to fit on this.  The flowers on the corners of that are Prima, with gems added.  I just happened to have the perfect color to match the green in the Washi Tape!  Yay!

Part of my sister's gift was this book, by Kelly Rae Roberts.  Her story is so great; she's such an inspiration to so many would-be artists.  My mom and sister were visiting in Sept. and we did some art-work while they were here.  I showed them how to do some things.  The only problem was we didn't have enough time!  They weren't here long enough for a trip to Salem, a trip to Portland (which we ended up foregoing, in order to do art) playing with art, music at the coffee-shop, an over-night trip to the yurts at the coast, etc...etc....!!  But, we did what we could and had a great time, regardless.

So, check out Kelly Rae's book.  Now, I need to get a copy for myself.  :)

http://kellyraeroberts.com/book

Enjoy the weekend!

        ~ Teri

Happy Autumn!

Happy Autumn!!

I really can't believe it's even here, let alone it now being November! 
My son looked at the calendar this morning and informed me that it's
three weeks until Thanksgiving!  Wow.

I *do* like to decorate for the seasons, though. I had some cute "Boo" garlands out, for last night. 

I also bought some dimensional scrapbook "stickers" (three or four layers, made of paper....not what most people think of when they think of "stickers"!).... of jack-o-lanterns, cute mice, owls... and I put those on our bathroom mirror and on one of the door-frames.  An easy way to add some cuteness.  I took them off carefully and put them right back in their packages... so, they'll be ready for next year!

This is a "Boo" vertical garland??  not sure what to call it... but, it's oh, so cute!!  My friend Jana made it for me...confessing that she started it about three years ago!  Ha!  Sounds like me!!  It's really cute up close and personal.  Dang... I just realized that I've got to put it away now.  :(

We got together with our homeschool group a few weeks ago, to make a leafy garland.  My 11 year old cut out his leaves and made a simple garland.  His is here, all green leaves, hanging with the "Boo" garland.  But, I'd been wanting to make a leafy-garland for a few years now and just wasn't getting around to it.  So, this was my opportunity to get started!  The drawings of leaves shown here is what I used as my templates.  I found them on Pinterest.  :)  So, I embroidered each one, just free-hand.  I wanted them to hang, like they are, so had to come up with a way to attach them to something... embroidery floss was my first thought.  But, then, I decided on ribbon.  Fairly narrow so I wouldn't have to worry about it not lying flat.  I bought a pack of fall-colored buttons and I sewed on a button to the stem of each leaf.  Then, I arranged the leaves as to how I wanted them so I wouldn't have any of the same color next to each other.  I used Aleen's Tacky Glue to adhere them to the ribbon.  I put a drop on the ribbon and layed the leaf over it, so that the glue went on right behind the button.  I let them dry for a couple of days (not necessary, but probably overnight would be good, just so they don't pull off while you're trying to hang it.)  I put the leaves on about every nine inches.  (Pictures are below.)  There's something about it that I'm not happy with, although I'm not quite sure what it is.  Is it the way I have it hanging?  Are the leaves not big enough?  Are they not close enough together??

I'd appreciate your feedback!  I'd thought of needle-felting little acorns and putting those in between each leaf...but, I knew that would take me a whole lot longer and we'd be going to get our Christmas tree by the time they were done!  But, maybe it needs something like that.  ??
Let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful day!  I hope you're all happy, healthy and safe... especially those of you on the East Coast!

      ~  Teri

It's flower time!!  One of the things I love, love, LOVE about Spring and Summer here!!  (Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to capitalize those words, but I can't help it!!  They deserve to be capitalized!!)  Anyway, plants grow with wild abandon here....especially the ones that you don't want to grow!!  Since I've been gardening more than making art, I'm posting some pics of some of the flowers that I've been tending.  This vine is growing on my front porch.  It's a Thunbergia Alata, better known as the Black-Eyed Susan Vine.  (Not to be confused with Black-Eyed Susan flowers; completely different thing!)  I knew it would need something to wrap itself around, so I just leaned this metal climbing thingamajigger for it to climb up.  It's not only growing up that and up the wall, it's also growing all over the little bench and into the nest that's there.  I figured it'd do that, though, so that's why I placed the bench so close.  I just love these vines.  It is possible to have them grow in a more salmony color...but, I've never seen a seed package that showed them that way.  So, I'm not sure if it's like Hydrangeas, that will change with the pH of your soil or what??  If you know, please share!!  I love the salmon-colored ones the best!!!  But, the only way I've been able to grow them was to buy a start, where I could see what color the blooms would be.  This one was actually a start, also, from a dear friend.... she gave me the watering-can-pot that it's planted in, too.  Hmm.... can't really see that here.  Sorry!

This is a Passion Flower Vine.  These are amazing flowers!  I had one that grew over my picket fence....it must've grown twenty feet that year!  I cut it way back after the end of the season.  Woops! 

Well, I shouldn't say "woops!" because I don't know if that's why it didn't come back the following year or not.  We had some temps in the teens that winter, so I think that may have done it.  Not sure.  My oldest daughter's horticulture teacher told me to put barkdust around the bottom of it in February.  They are fast growers and I was just reading that they do fine with hard pruning, but that it should be done in segments, not all at once, so that you don't shock it.

Coming up the steps to our front porch, you see this on the left.  This is Purple Fountain Grass, which I will transplant out in the flower beds after it's done this year, because it's a perennial, so it'll come back next year.  I've always killed mine, because I'd leave it in the pot that I planted it in and then I stop watering once the rains start.  But, they're under cover, so they don't get any of that rain.  :(  So, this year I'm going to transplant them.  I have two this year....both growing alongside this cool "Wasabi" Coleus!!  I just love the deep purplish/lime green combination!  There's a little Nemesia that wintered over from last year and some Lobelia in there, too.  Another of my favorites!

 On the right side of the front porch....the Passion Flower Vine, along with Cheddar-Pinks (don't have blooms showing in this photo) and Lobelia in the front pot.  Next pot has three different colors of Pansies; next pot is just a big Geranium.... you can see one, big pink blossom.

One of my flower boxes.... I have two that used to be in full sun, so I could plant sun-loving things in them.  But, the Maple trees have grown so much (over the last twenty years, so it's no surprise!) that they shade the area and now I have to plant more shade-loving plants.  This year I really packed in the Impatiens.  I had more than I knew what to do with so I just put them all in there!!  Turned out beautifully!!  I really don't like how the plant tags are always telling you to space things apart... I've always thought they'd fill in that space after they grew...but, that never works for me!!  They grow and look great, but never enough to fill all that space in.  I don't want to see soil or barkdust or whatever between plants, especially those kinds of plants.  I want it to be just the plants!!  So, these boxes turned out great this year.  Lesson learned!  :)  There are the short Snapdragons in there (grow 8-10" tall) that wintered-over.  Oh, I think that Autumn-foliage Fucshia was also from last year.  Can't quite remember... I do know, though, that it hasn't bloomed, yet!!  :(

 This box has more Impatiens, but also Creeping Jenny, which is great in hanging baskets/boxes!  You just have to be aware that it will root wherever it lands in earth!!  It could land in grass, soil, I don't think it'd matter....it'll take root!!  The Coleus in this box just loves it here!!  There's also Fucshia in here... you'll see a close-up in a minute.

 Close-up of the Fucshia that was just about to pop open!!  It did, the next day.  So beautiful!  I cannot look at a Fucshia blossom that's just about to open without thinking of my Grandmother's plant that she had growing on the side of her "washroom".... the "laundry room" that was attached to the garage.  I loved popping them!!  You know, squishing them.  I don't know if it ruined the blossoms or not... it must not have because I don't remember my Grandma getting mad at me for it.  But, now that I grow my own flowers and I wait all year for them to bloom again, I don't want anyone messing with them!!  So, I cringe when I think about doing that.  "Sorry, Grandma!"

 Diascia and Lobelia.
 The salmony color is Diascia.

More of the Coleus, Impatiens, Creeping-Jenny and Fucshia.

Off to have coffee and visit with a nephew, his bride and baby-to-be who are visiting from N. California.

Have a beautiful day!

        ~ Teri

Mother's Day card and gift

Here's the Mother's Day card that I made for my mom.  I used alcohol inks on the back of a Tim Holtz "idea-ology" fragment/charm and then stamped "with love" with Jet Black Archival Ink on the top.  The alcohol inks are done on the back.  Then, I glued a piece of plain, white printer paper onto the back, using Glossy Accents, so it would give it a bit of shine.  If you don't put some paper behind it, you'll see whatever paper it's against.  The butterfly is a new Brenda Walton stamp that I just bought...since I use butterflies all the time!  I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers right on the stamp and then stamped it onto cardstock.  I cut

 it out and then mounted it with double-stick mounting tape... it's about 1/8" thick so it raises things up.  I added some "Stickles" glitter-glue to the little spots on the butterfly.

The art piece (the gift) was done on that really smooth wood...I'm not sure what that stuff is actually called.  But, I know now that I like it better if I'm gluing papers down, instead of painting a background.  It's too smooth for painting, for me.  Even with a coat of gesso, for some "tooth".  I'd rather use a small canvas.  This piece is 5.5 x 5.5.  I love the size... to work with and for hanging somewhere in the house...perfect!  But, I'm not sure I'd paint right on the wood again.

So, this is what I've been busy with!  I think my next project is to organize my stuff and get my dining room back into some kind of order, so I can actually find my supplies when I need them and we can actually use the room for what we intended!!  Wish me luck!!

If you came by for a visit, please leave me a comment!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

        ~ Teri

Four ATC's, for Swap

Hi!  I'm hosting an ATC swap and I just finished mine!  (Bad girl, six days late!!)  I have everyone else's and will do the actual "swap" this weekend (what fun that will be!!) and then mail them out on Monday.  So, I did four which means I will get back four.  Here are my four.  The top two I just did last night and today.  The bottom two I did a few weeks ago.

You all know what an ATC is by now, right??  :)  They're so fun to do.... some people say you're limited by their size... I say you're "freed" by their size!  There's only so much you can do on such a small space!  (2.5" x 3.5")

I'm so glad I'm done, too, because it's supposed to be a beautiful weekend!!  I want to get out and work in the yard!!  Yay!!  Wish me luck.....

Have a great weekend!

      ~  Teri

Embroidered flour-sack towel

Here's a flour-sack towel that I embroidered for a friend.  I added the little strip of fabric at the bottom, too.  I just love this set of chicken patterns!  There are seven of them....some hens, some roosters.  I did another one, but haven't given it to that friend, yet, so can't post it on here until she has it in her hands.  :)

Look closely and you will see a little chick on either side of the mama....one sleeping and one peeking out.  Too cute.  I need to do a full set of these for my daughters and myself!

That's all for now.... need to finish cooking dinner and putting the flyers down at the coffee shop that I book music for.

Have a great night!

       ~ Teri