Creative Days with Cathie

MY Project Runway Challenge 3 Finished

2012-01-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

So here it is my version of the "Miss Piggy" challenge.
I made a three piece outfit that a little girl could wear to a mid morning- early afternoon premier at Disneyland and then with a quick change spend the day riding rides etc.
I did a few things this time to challenge myself but piping the neck and front bottom of the top. Added the little peplum (for lack of a better word) to the skirt. Added the vintage trim appliques with button centers and made a paperbag waist on the shorts.

I should have done the hem of the shorts a bit differently but I wanted to use the existing hems on the capri's so I could shorten my time putting in hems LOL
I love the little skirt and even though it isn't a glamorous outfit I think I fits the event and the little girl who might wear it.
Next up is the ice cream flavor (gelato) challenge and a short time limit!

Two Layouts and Buttons

2012-01-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

I actually had finished this layout a week ago but with my week taking such an unexpected turn and then back again I hadn't posted it before now.
This is my youngest son's 22 birthday this past fall. Don't adjust your screen he does have some blue hair and one white eye...it's a young adult thing! LOL
Supplies: bkground and ppaper DCWV, tag , journal box and star cut outs Storyteller's Club, ink Stampin Up fibers and brads from stash, Galaxy pen Am Crafts

This layout is of Mr Creative's 60Th birthday in 2012. I love this one too! Used a kit that has been sitting in the stash for probably 2 years or so. I was lucky to have pictures of him with our grkids and that will be a great memory. He is supposed to journal the box about how he feels being 60....hope he does it! LOL
Supplies: cardstock from stash, ppaper Laundry Line from Mind's Eye, chipboard diecuts and borders same, ink Close to My Heart, brads American Crafts

Lastly I have trying to come up with a way to store my buttons so that I can keep them in colors. I love buttons but sometimes it is more trouble that it is worth to find and choose the right ones. I found something that I love but there is one problem...the opening on the bottles are too small for about half of the buttons LOL So I am having to put them in two different places anyway. I tend to be an out of sight out of mind at least for the details like that. I can remember I have paper I want or even some ribbons because they are in my eyesight but when things are put away I forget about them! LOL I will take another shot with the bottles all lined up to show how they turned out!

My Project Runway-No Miss Piggy? update!

2012-01-29T23:06:00.001-07:00

So, week three of Project Runway (PR) featured the designers making a dress for a movie-TV star to wear to the premiers of her newest movie...Miss Piggy! What a fun challenge for them to be a bit whimsical and a yet still have to be "designer-y" at the same time.
As I said before I am making things for a little girl doll so I had to think of how I could adapt my challenge to fit the "theme of a movie premier" or something like that.
Good thing I have a good imagination! LOL
So...here's my take. What would happen if your very best friend has been "discovered" by Disney and she or he is staring in a show on the Disney Channel? Of course they would want you to be at her premier party which just happens to be at Disneyland...and once the party is over of course you will spend the rest of the day at the park having a great time!
That's MY challenge...to create an outfit that a little girl could wear to a premier party at Disneyland and for the rest of the day at the park, riding rides, seeing shows and just having fun! I also decided to give myself the challenge of re purposing some clothes that I bought at the local thrift store.

I chose this cute little sun dress and the flowered carpi's. I thought the colors were great and I also thought that the two fabrics used in the dress would give me some versatility in the design. I made a list of items that I would use from my stash.(you see it below propped up on the wooden mini cupboard) .

And here is the in-progress shot of what I hope to be making. Below is more of a hint of what I am doing I love those little flowers on the skirt so I hope it works out! LOL
I should be able to finish up tomorrow as I don't want to get too much more behind!

UPDATE
I am almost finished with this challenge only having to do some hand sewing but I am really tired and am hoping to get to bed earlier tonight
Hope I can all finished early tomorrow

My Project Runway...Challenge #2

2012-01-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Well for any who watch PR you know that I am behind on my challenges. It has been like that for me for the past two weeks!
So.....
Challenge #2 Was to make an elegant, romantic, over the top gown for an Opera opening night.
Well MY little girl doesn't go to the opera...after-all she is just a little girl so after some thought I tried to imagine what would be an event where a little girl would want to be elegant, romantic and over the top?
How about a Fairy Princess Party? LOL So that is my event. Here she is in her "look" in three pieces.

The top has "fairy wing" sleeves that I stitched by hand out of a vintage nylon organdy trim that I had bought several years ago in a box of trim at an auction. It matched the icy blue satin I used for the skirt/cape and the underlining of the top. The top has organdy rainbow striped ribbon that I stitched together to create the pretty stripe fabric for the bodice. I lined the skirt and top with white muslin to add some strength and structure and even used interfacing for the top and waistband for the same reason.
The under skirt is made of white, pink and lavender tulle that I made into an elastic waist skirt. The headband and lower bodice is made from some shear glittered ribbon. I ended up using some stick-on jewels as the final embellishment. I am not sure if I want to leave them on the outfit as a child might try to remove them even if they are glued on with fabric glue but I wanted to have them for my "look" I even stuck on some jewels near her right eye to make her fancy.

You can see my supplies from the leftovers. I forgot to take a picture before.
Supplies are all from Hobby Lobby unless noted:
Polyester satin (so it can be washed), cotton muslin (from stash), tulle, shear ribbons, nylon vintage trim (from stash), scrapbook jewels (from stash), butterfly and elastic and Velcro from stash.

I thought I would share the neat tool I used to create the scallops on the over skirt/cape. I got it at a quilt event for making scalloped edging for quilts and other projects. It's the JP Quick Points Scalloped Ruler model S1.5. You can find it at www.quickpointsruler.com. It made making those scallops so easy!
I might add some close ups later if anyone wants to see.

My Scottish History

2012-01-18T09:50:00.005-07:00

I am proud to be the descendant of many Scots who lived the hard life in Scotland and then headed for Canada with many others for a better life.
There were many talented people who can claim Scottish ancestry but one of the most famous was Robert Burns the poet who was born 250 years ago.
If you want to enjoy some of his often humorous poetry read by some famous Scots click HERE and enjoy! Mr Creative and I will be enjoying a dinner in his honor at BYU on Saturday with members of the Utah Scottish Association.

We Want Candy LO Pages

2012-01-17T22:41:00.001-07:00

Love all the fun papers that DCWV had this past Halloween in their glitter stack and it is so much fun to create with them
My GD C and GS I helped me out one day making Halloween Oreos and because we found that the candy melts don't take to food color so well we also made some candy clay pumpkins. I thought we could just change the white melts to orange with cake decorating food color so we had this lovely bowl of orange stuff that allowed the kids to make some crazy pumpkins.
Supplies-
pp DCWV and Fancy Pants, brads and ink from stash, ribbons from stash

I won't be scrapbooking for the rest of the week but hope to have two more layouts to upload early tomorrow depending on time.

Hey! Chickie

2012-01-14T16:18:00.002-07:00

This has to be my favorite layout I have done in a very long while.
Spring 2011 grson I and I went to the local Intermountain Farmers Association store to find seeds for Mr Creative to plant in the gardens. Look, they still have the baby chick-chicks for sale. Isaac found that they were shy and would run under cover when he tried to pet them but I helped him see that if he was patient they would come over to the feeding area in the pens. We looked at the different animal feed bags and he found the right one for chickens. He had a great time looking around the store at the farmer things.
I had these pictures printed for quite a while and even picked out the papers and supplies but they just sat until last night.
Somehow they managed to come together so easily for a change. I used a sketch for the basic design but of course had to adapt it to my pics and supplies.
Supplies: cardstock-bazzil and coordinations, brads American Crafts, ribbons All My Memories and Am Crafts, pp American Crafts and DCWV, circles cut with the Coluzzle

MY Project Runway

2012-01-13T16:21:00.001-07:00

I am a big big fan of the Lifetime TV show Project Runway. I am not exactly the people the show is marketed to...my idea of high fashion comes from Target, Kohl's and QVC! LOL But I do love watching the creative process of the designers as they try and make an extraordinary design while dealing with all kinds of challenges.

So I heard about a group that was doing their own version of Project Runway using fashion doll or what ever doll they had to work with.
They would do their own version of the weekly challenges just for their own satisfaction and fun. I loved the idea but by the time I found out about the last one it was more than halfway into a season....too late to really get involved.
But it is a new season and I thought it would be a fun thing to play with during the winter months.
So I made my own rules and started with the first challenge the unconventional materials challenge. The contestants went to a 99 cent store and had $100 to spend.
So for MY version I went to the local dollar store and spent $4! LOL I allowed myself use of most of the materials in my sewing room like thread, Velcro, buttons but not my fabric stash unless it will be the only fabric used. The exception is muslin which is a freebie.
I also allow myself use of a basic pattern book for an 18 inch doll since I haven't really done garment design before. The doll came from the local thrift store for $5...she has a child like body and face so...my designs will probably head that direction LOL
My materials are a pair of boys black and white tartan boxers, a hank of plastic rope, two little girl's bows and a pink and white fleece child's hat.

I had some good plans and found just like the contestants that things don't always work the way I planned! I thought I would weave the rope into a bodice but it just was too stiff and plastic to work for me.

Here is my completed look for the doll. I used the shorts to make the skirt and lined the front of the little jacket and a piece for a headband, the hat was turned into the jacket and bodice, the rope was used as trim on the skirt and bodice and the headband and a drawstring for the skirt and the bows are pretty obvious.
The things I learned are to use invisible thread on the rope, stiff plastic doesn't weave so well, unless I make longer sleeves and a rather high neck the cloth body will show and it's really a lot of fun!
If I were really on the show I would have been knocked a lot for using fabrics instead of things like coffee filters or mop heads LOL but it's MY rules and for me as long as they were in the dollar store it's fair game. Hey I could have used towels or even scarves!
Anyway next challenge will be harder for a little girl figure as it is a gown for a night at the opera! YIKES!

Spooky Days again LO

2012-01-12T12:51:00.001-07:00

Hey, it's Halloween again ! Or at least in the scrapbook pages.
Two layouts I did from this past October of grson I. left page he is with his preschool teachers and right just enjoying some fun time with candy eyes and making candy clay pumpkins.
Supplies
backgrounds DCWV and Recollections, yarn Sticky Stitches QVC, Stickles,brads and accents from Storyteller's Club kits

On the Sewing Machine

2012-01-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

So....wonder what's in progress? It's a surprise project for someone(s) in New York!
I am hoping to have it done in the next day or so and will take a picture of the finished project.

Harry Potter DVD Scrapbook pages

2012-01-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

After 7 books and 8 films the Harry Potter saga came to a close Nov 11 of 2011 with the release of the Deathly Hallows pt 2 DVD.
Around our home Harry has been something we have really loved since youngest son A was about 10 and I bought him his first book as a Christmas gift. Who would have known the story would take our family by storm like it did the rest of the world.
These are the pages I did for the party we had with the family.
I love that I was able to find Harry paper and accents that I used on the pages. I journaled my feelings and our story on what looks like a letter with the Ministry of Magic's seal.
It took me several days to do the two pages but that's OK...it let me relish the experiences all over again one more time.
Supplies
cardstock from stash, HP papers Creative Imaginations, ribbons and brads from stash, pp Debbie Mumm from Joann's, Stickles, letter stickers All My Memories

We Love To Eat at Christmas

2012-01-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

And of course I take pictures so here is this year's food pages. I had fun doing the little pennent banner too.
Trying to use up metal stuff from my stash and that could include glitter but none on this page.
I used my Nesco roaster as a warmer this year and remembered to bake the dishes in the pans that came with the warmer tray. It works so nicely that I need to remember it for the next big meal. I baked everything in the oven ahead and then just put it in the Nesco to stay nice and hot.
Supplies:
card stock and pp DCWV, Martha S edge punch, pearl cotton thread, Thickers letters, button/brads, flowers frm the stash.

Waling Down Memory Lane picture

2012-01-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

PIctures for Scrapbook post

2012-01-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Having trouble posting these with the words so hoping this works

Victoria's Frienship Quilt...Nov Block

2012-01-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I kept putting making this block off for so long...as far as the sewing it is slightly easier than some of the others because the block is 12 inches and I had the fabrics picked out a long time ago! LOL
Anyway here it is....just slightly under the 12.5" unfinished size so I am hoping with some extra pressing I can persuade it to stretch out a bit more. I know it's not perfect but it is a pretty block and one of my favorites.

Walking Down Memory Lane BOM #1

2012-01-02T09:31:00.001-07:00

New Friends Quilt Circle will be starting our 2012 Block of the Month on the second Tuesday in Jan and here's a sneek peek of block #1.
Simple as can be right? So maybe I will be adding a second block so that we can finish the blocks before December. I will bring both blocks to our first meeting and we can vote!
As you see I am as usual, going my own way with fabric. Just in case you aren't interested in making a quilt Carmen has suggested that you could create the blocks and then make place mats for our Place Mats for Meals on Wheels project. One idea would be to make the block out of season fabrics and then you would have 12 seasonal place mats to donate?
Whatever works for you!

First Scrapbooking of 2012

2012-01-02T09:25:00.002-07:00

So...one of my goals is to do something in my scrapbook room twice a week. I have gathered more supplies over the time I wasn't even using up one piece of paper or a 1/2 inch of adhesive so it's time to remedy that behavior.
New Year's Day I made the time to create two pages from Christmas 2011. I used to try and do whatever was oldest in my photos but am taking the advice to work with what is current and then catch up as I can.

Christmas Eve Jammies and Soup:
The family gathered at my home to open our new jammies and enjoy soup for supper. many others have similar traditions of the jammies. This year's soup was Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with skillet cornbread made in my grandparent's cast iron skillet.
Supplies: cardstock, very old kit from Scrap in a Snap, pp ACrafts, ribbon Oriental Trading, stickles and ink

Christmas is for Families
Supplies: cardstock, frames from Scrap in a Snap Kit, flowers from stash, brads AC and Memory Makers, ribbons ACrafts

It's Here Once More!

2011-12-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

To all my dear family and friends...I wish for you a wonderful 2012, good health and happiness...

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

It has now come and gone but Christmas was lovely and full of family time.
I am blessed that we are all healthy and happy this year and so very grateful for the love of my Savior Jesus Christ in my life. It is so easy to forget these things with all the hoop-la of what we think would make a good Christmas and allow stress and impatience rule our lives.
God Bless Us, Everyone!
Above me with the lovely arrangement my sister sent as a welcome Christmas gift. It brought the smells of Christmas into my home I miss with the fake tree!

Mr Creative, Belle and I just home from church Christmas morning...as you see I made sure I had my Christmas quilt in the background! LOL

Me and my grkiddos Christmas even in our new Christmas jammies!

A Change is as Good...

2011-12-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Mr. Creative and I took the chance for a quick get away to Midway, Utah just over the mountains from our home.
With all the stress of work for him and getting ready for Christmas for me it was a welcome 3 days in a lovely condo and setting.

If you remember the X-Country skiing at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002, then you saw Midway, or at least the area around Midway. Usually this time of year they are enjoying snow and skiing but as you see there is NO snow! I have to admit that I was kind of glad but it did make the ambiance a bit flat.
I enjoyed doing some sewing and reading and Mr C watched some DVD's and carved a bit on the balcony. Our unit was on the second floor to the right in the picture on the top row right above. Just in time for us to leave on Wed it started snowing but didn't follow us home. LOL

Christmas Trees and Grilled Cheese

2011-12-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

OK, so when you eat low carb and or gluten free anything that would normally require bread us usually not allowed, right?
Well one of my online friends Jennifer Eloff has come up with recipes to make subs for usually forbidden foods. I make her Low Carb-Gluten Free Artisan Buns which are not only healthy for me but tastes incredible! So now it's time to see what I can make with them and first up was grilled cheese! As you see it worked very well.
They aren't low fat by any means but I just love the crunch of the outside and melt-y cheese on the inside. YUMMO as Rachel Ray would say!

OK the tree is all decorated with as many weeds as I am going to gather. They have been getting damp from the inversion fog each day and it is hard to snap the stems without a pair of scissors or pruners and I am not taking them on my walk where the weeds grow
I like my simple tree this year but I have to admit I miss all the flashing, talking and colorful ornaments we have collected over the years. Next year I have a plan so hope I can work it out so that I get the best of both worlds.

A Few Morning Pictures

2011-12-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Got up this morning early and thought it looked "white" outside and sure enough some surprise snow! As of about 9:30am it is still snowing. Bummer this is a day I have things to do in the car and I HATE to drive in the snow.

Here are a couple of pics of my tree showing the "weeds" I added. As you see they look like dried baby's breath and I like the softness and fill it gives the plain tree. First is without the flash and second with the flash

Christmas Helpers

2011-12-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

I usually try to get my house ready for Christmas right after Thanksgiving but because I was sick for a couple of weeks I spent last week doing it all!
I have to admit to often "redecorating" my home with holiday stuff but for this year I decided it didn't have to be quite that elaborate and have gone more simple. Since my grandson I is there and now enjoys helping me we went to work.
Pic 1 shows his new 2011 ornament and it is the only collectibles on the tree this year. That is one of my simplifications. All the Hallmark, Star Trek Ships, trains, Frosty Friends, Barbies and on and on are being left in their boxes. I still plan to try and collect the ones we love but not have them on the tree.
Pic 2 (rt top) is my kitty helper in her hat. As usual once all the decorating was done made herself at home under the tree and often is found sleeping there. I tried to get a pic of her in the Build A Bear hat but she wasn't very interested LOL
Pic 3 (lower left) Grson I helps me plant an Amaryllis bulb. I love that everything is in the box and it is happily growing on the counter right now.
Pic 4 Another thing I did put out is my Jim Shore nativity. My dd and dh gave it to me several years ago and I always enjoy looking at it each year. Grson I helped me put the pieces in place and he loved that I added a hidden light .
I will try and get a picture of my tree with the addition of weeds...now aren't you curious?

The Ten Year Christmas...

2011-12-10T20:13:00.002-07:00

Quilt!
I bought this pattern 10 years ago intending to finish it up for Christmas that year...
Yeah, right!
As the years went by I would work on it a bit at a time and then finally I determined that I could finish it for this year's display.
I put the last stitches in on Friday night after machine quilting it. I love the fussy cut cardinals and subed out a block I didn't really like and put in one I have wanted to do forever called Dove in the Window.
So my Quilt's name is Cardinals in My Christmas Window

From Me to Y"All

2011-11-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

This digital greeting card customized with Smilebox

Sneak Peak

2011-11-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

From the design wall yesterday, OK really from today but it was supposed to happen yesterday LOL
I don't want to show it all until I get it finished but thought I would give you a sneak peak!

Something In Progress

2011-11-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

This project probably is a 10 year work in progress. I got this pattern at least 10 years ago and probably began tracing the designs to embroider. It sat and sat in the "piles" for a few years then I would stitch a few blocks and back in the piles it would go. LOL
Sound familiar anyone?
I hope to have it put together into a top this week and then maybe find the time to quilt it before December!
Hey, I can dream right?

About the Boys in My Life

2011-11-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist this one especially for my DD and my DS and their boys!
Hammie holds the qualities of a true boy!

It's Fall Y'all

2011-11-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is the wall hanging that has been needing to be finished in October however it took until this week to finish it up...good thing it's still Fall LOL
Our group did this as a mystery and had I known a bit more I would have added a couple other colors to add a bit of zing...maybe some purple and green?
Anyway it's off to it's new home in New York for my DD's family to enjoy.

What Are They?

2011-11-05T19:20:00.000-06:00

OK, I guess my children have been influenced by their "nurture" because they are always asking me for some help to make real their creations from their mind. Youngest DS Big A bought himself some fleece mittens that had a flap to reveal his fingers. I am sure everyone has seen this type of thing everywhere.
He comes to me with this idea he got from an Anime show How about making them into puppets! LOL
Son: Mom to you have any black fleece?
Me: Sure, somewhere in the sewing room
Son: Where? LOL
Anyway as you can see he found it and started creating. Using some cotton and fleece pieces and fusible Heat and Bond and a whole bunch of hand sewing Here they are. He also had me make him some pinkie covers to make the other hands of the puppets.
All in a day's work

Good Enough to Eat

2011-11-05T15:02:00.001-06:00

Most of you know I am diabetic and have been for years now. This is the reason I am a Low Carb eater...it helps keep me healthy with very little or no meds.
But just like anyone else I love baked goods And for some reason in the fall my mind turns to all kinds of baked goodies and this year I have been lucky to find a Low Carb baker and recipe creator who has a blog with many amazing recipes for baked goods. Jenifer Eloff is her name and you can link to her blog by clicking on her name.
If you didn't know better I bet you would think these are all regular Pumpkin Muffin Mini Loaves, right? Nope low carb and gluten free as well!

It is pretty expensive to bake low carb and gluten free but I think this shows it is worth it. I might just send a little loaf or two out to my Dad and see if he can tell they are low carb! LOL

Can You Guess Where?

2011-08-16T20:03:00.004-06:00

Yep I am heading to see the Mouse and Harry...I will check in while I am gone. (or at least that is my plan)

It's His Birthday!

2011-08-12T13:46:00.000-06:00

My youngest turned 22 on Monday. Our big guy is very sweet inside that gruff exterior and I am so glad that we have had him in our family for the past 22 years.
Oh, bye the way don't adjust your screen as he decided to wear his "costume" contacts...one white eyed and one black eyed and yes he has some blue hair for the summer...there are worse things to deal with! LOL

Design Wall Friday 8-12-11

2011-08-12T13:13:00.000-06:00

Finally I have something to share from the quilt world.
It has been a rather non productive summer for quilt stuff for me. My local bee's night group and I have started a new project...a mystery quilt lead by my friend CM. She has promised a small project and it will be small in total size (a table topper) as well as scale.
The Double 9 Patch finishes as 9 inches and the little leaves are 3 inches finished.
Last meeting we traded fat eighths in Fall colors and got the first two parts. I decided to add a neutral print with my 9 patches so crossing my fingers it will all blend in the end. That's half the "fun" of a mystery project LOL
I won't get the next steps as I will be out of town for the next two meetings but hopefully they will be as quick and easy as these parts!

Progress On Victoria's Frienship Quilt Project

2011-07-20T08:22:00.000-06:00

I have finally caught up on all the pieced blocks from the Victoria's Friendship quilt that have been presented so far from my group.
I do still have one applique block but as things go it will happen soon LOL
This lovely quilt is more challenging than I had anticipated when I picked it as my next long term project. There are many many small pieces in the blocks and they are sometimes difficult to be as precise as I wish to be. I thought I had done pretty well with the last block I completed (pieced block in the lower right hand corner) but once I had it all trimmed up I noticed that one "row" of seams don't match up very well. So note to self " no trimming until you make a very close up inspection of all seams and matching points"!
I am loving the fabrics I chose to use and it makes me excited to see it all together one day!

Catching Up , It's About Time

2011-07-18T12:14:00.001-06:00

So, what have I been doing lately instead of blogging?
Plenty but I will admit I have just been a very lazy blogger so there haven't been any updates recently.
I am going to try my very best to do better and keep up!
So, for those of you who know me and my family you are not surprised to see this post I am sure. Of course I bought midnight show tickets for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 and Mr Creative and son A and his friend W and I headed to Lehi, Utah for the show. I went ahead and did the whole 3-D thing. You can see us in our lovely Harry glasses.

Not that many of you will care but here is my kind of short review/report
First of all I am a book person and movies made from books often being a disappointment for me. I love all the details and specific events and it REALLY bugs me when those things are changed for what seems to be no reason at all!...One example will be the reaction of Hagrid as he brings Harry back to Hogwarts after Harry confronts Voldemort in the forest. Also Nagini slithering around Hogwarts chasing people while unprotected from the possibility of being killed and the scene in Hogsmead with Aberforth and the kids and a shortening or at least no explanation of the gathering of characters from former books in the Room of Requirement, and why it was surprising to see them there ...just annoying to me!
Having said that...I thought the movie was a wonderful ending to the series and I love it on the whole. I think the three main kid actors have matured in their roles and I am pleased with the way they brought together many of the characters from the earlier movies and books for the grand ending. The settings and backgrounds are wonderful but in seeing some of the previews and small sneak peeks they are mostly CG which they have done very very well.
I think that now I have a feeling of sadness that this is really the end of it all...no more books and no more movies to speculate about and wonder how it will be shown in the movies.
In my opinion the 3-D was a waste...not sure yet...but I will compare after seeing it in regular D. I didn't really notice anything in particular that stood out because of the use of 3-D.
OK, I seem to be knocking it more than showing love but I will say that I can't wait to see it again and have the DVD to watch over and over again when I want!

Is This May?

2011-05-30T08:57:00.001-06:00

So...here in Utah we are having a different spring for sure. Mr Creative tracks weather and water for his job and this is going with the trend of every 30 years or so.
Very sad sight this morning where the bird bath is iced up and there is snow on the ground...very little but snow none the less!

On a happier note...I finally talked Mr Creative into buying a swing set for our Grkids to play on so that we can keep them under control in the back yard. So far grson I has enjoyed it a bit but he has been sick and we have had Seattle or Forks weather here so no playing in the rain! LOL Hopefully once the spring gives way to summer it will get lots of use!

Bye the way Happy Memorial Day and a big THANK YOU to all who have ever served and most especially now to those who wait!

OH Yum Icecream Cake

2011-05-14T14:25:00.000-06:00

One more page for the mini. It is pretty simple with the one photo but I wanted to show the fun photos displayed with this Chocolate ice cream cake. Dad was in heaven as his favorite things are chocolate and ice cream! LOL
Sketch Nuts about Sketches
Supplies: pp Guy Stack DCWV and Luxury Stack, cardstock DCWV and Co'ordinations and stash, Twill and brads from stack, ribbon Martha Stewart. Cricut carts Graphically Speaking and From the Kitchen

Always Eating

2011-05-13T15:34:00.001-06:00

First two pages of a mini album in the works.
Love this new stack from DCWV...the perfect papers.
Sure hope my Dad doesn't see this as it will be a gift for him LOL
Sketch Nuts About Sketches
Supplies: DCWV pp and cardstock, Bazil cardstock, ribbons Martha Stewart and unknown, Cricut Lyrical Letters and Straight From the Nest., ink from stash

I think it's because people stay still when they are eating so I always seem to have pics of the family! LOL
A page for a gift album in the works
Sketch by Nuts About Sketches
Supplies: PP and cardstock DCWV Guy Stack, brads Basic Grey (I think), ribbon, sticker tag letters and ink from stash

One More For Now

2011-05-11T17:18:00.000-06:00

Finished this a bit ago.
I love this Crafty paper stack from DCWV and even though this will be in the Christmas 09 album I decided to use it for these pics.
I got the chance to do some sewing/quilting with my Momma and my gr'niece while visiting NC. This is another sketch from Nuts About Sketches and even though I only had two photos to use it worked with the sketch just fine. I also dug out some Prima flowers and old fancy brads from Making Memories and ribbon to complete the page.

Mr Roboto

2011-05-11T16:30:00.000-06:00

Grson I was talking about making a blue robot like he had on one of his puzzles. I asked him if he would like to make one with Nana's Cricut Of course he said yes! LOL

He picked out the shiniest papers from Nana's stash and we designed, loaded the mats and cut the robot parts! Then we glued them together and Nana suggested he might like to add some sparkle with jewels, Yep again!
Here is his special robot
Supplies: DCWV glitter paper, American Crafts metallic paper, cardstock, jewels from the stash.

From the Quiltroom Design Wall

2011-05-11T09:38:00.001-06:00

I have to admit that I have been spending much more time in the scrapbook world than the quilt world but I have to keep up in a couple of areas so here are the latest from
Victoria's Friendship Quilt
this is an 8 inch block and I am keeping with my chosen palette of fabrics so there will be a lot of repeated use of them. I still need to do some stitching on the applique block so hopefully that will be done soon.

Color From the Heart Lesson 5 Inspiration
For this exercise we were to find something that inspired us to create into fabric something that wasn't fabric...if that makes sense LOL
I looked for 2 weeks or so to find something that made me want to do this. I was looking for something spring like and searched all kinds of images on google and finally found the image that just made me want to jump in and create.
This image is of the Castle Eilean Donan in Scotland which happens to be the castle owned by my very own Clan MacRae!
Perfect!

At the top you see the inspiration image and then below the fabrics ready to sew into the Trip Around the World quilt. The squares are 2 inches unfinished. I had planned only to pick the fabrics to start out the project since my friend PN was teaching the lesson at our New Friends Quilt Circle but once I found the photo and started picking the fabric I just couldn't rest until I had the whole thing done! LOL
I finished it on Mon. afternoon took it to our meeting and everyone assured me that it indeed showed how the image inspired my quilt.
PN and CH borrowed the quilt plus the others from our lessons to do a trunk show for another group KNOTTS in Orem, Utah. When I get it back I will add a border and then take another picture to show the finished quilt top.
I really love my quilt and might just quilt this one. I had only planned on making tops but I might not be able to help myself and actually make it into a completed quilt.
I started out with 13 fabrics and added and subtracted about 3 of the fabrics to get the final look. You might notice the "out of place" square but I didn't notice until the top was sewn so I had to do some reverse sewing to fix the boo-boo.
Sorry such a long post but you probably can tell I really love this project!

Las Vegas Scottish Festival

2011-05-11T09:04:00.001-06:00

Mr Creative and I traveled south in April to spend a long weekend in Las Vegas to see their version of a Scottish Highland Festival. It was really nice weather and we enjoyed outself despite Mr C's still healing broken ankle.

For their opening ceremony they welcomed the Navy Band out of San Diego. It was great to see the boys in their dress whites since all military mostly wear the camouflage ACUs most of the time.

Here is one of the pipe bands at the same ceremony.

There was a whole bunch of both Scottish and Irish dancing it is quite a contrast to see the tradition of the Scottish dancers in their dancing kits and jackets and socks compaired to the glitziness of the Irish dancers with their bright almost neon colors and sequins. LOL
I forgot to take pictures of them
Here is a link to some typical dresses for the Irish Dancers
and then one for the Scottish Dancers
Don't know any of these girls personally but they are very typical of what you would see at the festival!

Doing Some Catch UP

2011-05-11T08:57:00.000-06:00

I have gotten way behind in my blog posting...Sorry about that Chief! LOL
I need to take a bunch of pictures so I will go back to Easter for these

I made cards for my "far away" grandsons since I couldn't be there to enjoy Easter with them.
Most of the papers are from DCWV Spring stack of 2009 and to tell the truth I can't remember which Cricut cart I used for the chick but I think the Bunny is from Winter woodland.or maybe not! LOL
Anyway Grson I helped me out with the cards and I gave him his own chick to take home and play with.

MY Mother's Day Gifts

2011-05-08T14:15:00.000-06:00

Make your own free digital collage

DCWV Give away!

2011-05-07T09:23:00.002-06:00

Erin at DCWV is giving away all kinds of goodies for National Scrapbook day...and I bet many of you didn't even know there was such a thing! LOL
Visit the blog to enter

Scrapbook USA EXPO

2011-05-06T16:21:00.003-06:00

Did you know that there is a new blog for Scrapbook USA?
And just to think only 125 more days until the next Expo in Sandy, Ut!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-05T09:35:00.000-06:00

To my Mother, and the mother of my Grandsons, my daugher.
Love You all!

This Morning!

2011-04-09T09:29:00.002-06:00

Not much to say is there? Hope it melts off but the way things are going so far not too optimistic!

Where Have MY Pictures Gone? UPDATE #2

2011-04-08T08:53:00.002-06:00

Maybe the problem has been fixed?
I added in the photos from my last post with the cards and then the beautiful sunrise and they seem to be staying! I will give it a few hours and see if I can add the others. Sooooo frustrating!
Crossing my fingers that I don't have to do it again

Where Have MY Pictures Gone? UPDATE

2011-04-06T13:23:00.001-06:00

I checked into blogger help and it looks like it is a problem all over their service.
I am thinking of switching to a different blog hosting site...anyone have a suggestion. It has to be as easy as what I currently do as I just don't have the time to mess about learning a bunch of new stuff!
Stay tuned for updates!

Where Have MY Pictures Gone?

2011-04-05T08:24:00.002-06:00

Something very odd is up with Blogger these days.
All of the pictures from the past week have disappeared! They were there as of yesterday and now poof, they are gone
I am not sure what is going on but I hope to get them re-posted soon!

Three New Cards

2011-04-04T18:14:00.004-06:00

Kind of scary that I am doing so many paper crafting stuff these days...OK, I really should be doing some spring clean up around the house but these just needed to be done!
Flower Love card I made this for my dear friend who lost her sweet Aunt last week. I was very late at getting it done but I love how it turned out! I used both my Cricut Carts and my Make the Cut software to make this. Supplies: cardstock from stash, pp DCWV Luxury stack, jewels from Archivers $1 spot, ribbon from stash, stamps CTMH and a Costco set, cricut carts Martha Stewart's Elegant Cakes, Just Because Cards, ink CTMH and Stampin Up God Bless You Card I made for my neighbor who lost his sister after a long illness. I tried to make it a bit more masculine but with the birds I guess it is still kind of "cutsie"? Supplies: pp DCWV Dots, Stripes etc., glitter paper same, Cricut Cart Just Because Cards
Celebrate Happy Birthday is for my grson B who's B-day was last week. I wanted something fun for a pre-teen but not too baby or grown up. I love the truck cut from Boys Will Be Boys and thought it would be perfect. I also used a sketch from the blog Card Positioning Systems as my starting point and since it was a rather simple sketch it gave me room to "create"! LOL I also love the stripe paper I used for the celebrate word as it coordinates so well and is fun too! You might not be able to tell but the pennants and car body and hubcaps are made from a metallic paper that is kind of bling-y without being girly! LOL Supplies: pp K&C stack Hopscotch, metallic paper American Crafts, cardstock from stash, waxed fiber from stash, stamp CTMH, Cricut carts Just Because Cards and Boys Will Be Boys

Last Two Pages for today

2011-04-01T19:31:00.002-06:00

Two more pages from grson I's birthday. He loved that I put the number three on this layout of him riding home on his new bike after the dinner and presents. Simple layout but I like how it turned out.

Grson I and I made some easy "animal" treats with chex cereal, and pretzels with no seasoning to take to his daycare friends. More of the cute animal paper and this time some felt farm animals this time on cardstock squares. The tag was the same one that I put on the bagged treats. It is fun to do little things with him.

Two More New Scrapbook layouts

2011-04-01T19:26:00.002-06:00

Yep I told you I am on a roll of sorts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1 Grson N, son Big A and his friend W went to the midnight show of HP and the DH pt 1 together but it was a little bit after the first shows. When I tried to get tickets to the Midnight ones there were only cruddy seats left so we just went a bit later. I wasn't the only granny aged person there but I was surprised to see quite a few young Potter fans under the age of 8! I don't think I would take someone that age but I am not the parent. I used part of a HP kit and since the supplies are few and far between I mixed it with some DCWV papers. Supplies: PP DCWV Happily Ever After, Creative Imaginations, cardstock stash, inks Close to My Heart. stickers Creative Imaginations, part of title cut with Cricut and Martha Stewart Holiday I think.

My little grson I celebrated his third birthday farmer style. Loved this paper and stickers and so did he when I showed him. Cardstock is from my stash along with the inks

Spring Expo Crop 2011

2011-04-01T15:51:00.002-06:00

Hard to believe it but I have some pages to share from last week's Scrapbook USA Weekend with friends. Friday is all about the Expo and shopping and visiting and shopping and a bit of crafting too! I don't have pics yet of the mini and cards I did but here are the layouts from our Saturday at Archivers. We are in love with doing our Sat. get togethers there now. Lot's of room to spread out, plenty of supplies in the store in case we are missing anything, and a food court at the mall for meals. I love to scrap and chat with my Cricut messageboard friends and whoever wants to join us!

Lonely Thanksgiving page This year it was me, Mr Creative and Big A for Thanksgiving but of course we still had all the special dishes. I did decide NOT to use the good china but still used my gold flatware that A hates because it can't go in the dishwasher LOL Supplies: PP Storytellers, cardstock Coordinations, embellishments Storytellers Club

Christmas Treats Grson I and I made these fun melted snowman cookies to give to his daycare friends and Amy the provider. He helped me make up the cookies (was lazy and used a mix) then we microwaved the frosting to get that great melted look and added some pre melted in the microwave marshmallows. All Nana had to do was add the sprinkles for coal and a carrot. Papa was home for lunch so he helped I bag and tag them for his friends the next day. Supplies: pp DCWV Christmas 2009 stack, title same stack, pp Close to My Heart from years ago LOL, cardstock, ribbon stash, jewels from Archivers in the $1 section.

Sweetest Thing I have had this paper and kit for several years and finally had some pictures to use with it. I had bought some oranges in Jan and grson I was excited to have one. I showed him how to use my old Tupperware orange cutter and he loved the taste of fresh oranges. Supplies: pp and embellishments Storyteller's kit, cardstock from stash and Double Dot from Bo-Bunny More to come!

April 1~ No Fooling

2011-04-01T15:30:00.002-06:00

I was up very very early this morning and was clearing out some old emails when I looked up out of my window and saw a beautiful sky and the snow capped mountains. I just wish I could have captured it better but it was a beautiful sight!

Paper Crafting Blog Candy

2011-03-31T10:13:00.002-06:00

Wendy over at Bling Queen is offering some fun blog candy!
Visit her blog and you might just be the winner if it isn't me! LOL

Design Wall Friday 3-12

2011-03-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

First of all had to show my poor little empty sewing table!
My Viking somehow managed to "eat" some (a whole bunch) of thread while trying to wind a bobbin and had to go to the sewing machine doctor...sigh...I need to take the time and do a little house keeping while she is having her thread untangled LOL

My version of lesson 3 from Color From the Heart book.
The lesson was to find dark, medium and light fabrics with just one color in them for the nine blocks in the wall hanging. I was pretty satisfied with all but two. The red dark had way too much black in the print and it sort of blends into the black setting pieces. The blue green block I feel the med is too dark and the dark is too dark but over all I did find plenty of fabrics in my stash.
It was a good lesson in helping me choose the tints, tones and shades of fabrics to get the look I wanted.

Quilts From My Friends

2011-03-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

A few recent quilts made by my friends.
Top
L: CN shows her Mexican Stars quilt, CV and friend show off our recently finished charity quilt made by the group. We all were to create one of the stars in a workshop helping us make 60 Degree stars with diamonds then a few weeks later we learned how to set the blocks with big triangles and then one of the members finished it up
Bottom
L: Another Mexican Stars quilt...quite different from the other one R: CV shows her quilt from lesson two of Color From the Heart workshop Can you tell which two colors she worked with?

Two more friends ..
MH shows the project for lesson 3 from Color From the Heart workshop. This lesson was about choosing light med and darks.
KH is proud to have finished her BOM from last year. She let us know that these are NOT her color palette but she learned to like them as she did the project.

Plants and Bugs

2011-03-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

A little update on the tomatoes in the Aero Garden. As you see they are coming along nicely. Mr Creative has been able to visit them since all his medical issues are finally getting better. I am anxious for the first flowers to show up but they are a bit small still for that.

Here are the bugs... a bit of a surprise working so this is all I am going to show you for now. Love the little Ladybug and can't wait to show the whole project.
We had lots of rain today here in American Fork Utah but it's all good as I took the time after church for a very long nap. Found a station on XM from Dish network that has the perfect soft 70's type music called Ambrosia...lovely for sleeping and I am glad I checked it out. LOL

Victoria"s Friendship Friends

2011-03-05T16:25:00.002-07:00

A few of my quilting friends are working to make the quilt Victoria's Friendship together and this is a picture of our second month's blocks. Mine is the top row on the left and the applique is the bottom on the right. Just love seeing how each of us select different fabrics and yet they all look so beautiful!

Harry Potter blocks update

2011-03-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

I probably should have waited until tomorrow but I decided to go ahead and share my most recent two blocks.
Here are the 8 blocks all in a row. Youngest DS big A said the thought I had a hodge-podge of fabric on these blocks but I told him that is exactly the look I was going for! LOL Good thing this week's block was a simple one as I needed to catch up from last week.

This is last week's block...I had fun with the book beside the timeturner. DS mentioned it was hard to see the timeturner and I agree with him. I plan to do some stitching around the glass and sand to make it stand out a bit more when I start putting the blocks into a quilt.

This week's block...can you see where I made a change between the picture of all the blocks together and this one?
I made a boo-boo and fixed it before I forgot! LOL
I have also started a new feathered star block but haven't had much time to stitch on it lately. So nice to be able to see the stitching lines with the new red fabric!

Two Finishes

2011-02-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

OK, since this was a rather slow weekend I made an effort to finish two projects that were almost done.

A cute (in my opinion) top for my grson A. I thought I had made him two baby quilts before he moved to Texas but my DD informed me that nope only one. I love the Fat Quarter sets sold by Fabric Boutique and good thing it is in Calif. cause I would be so tempted to buy them all the time. Their patterns are perfect for the sets as you only needed to add some border fabrics and everything else can be made from the 8 coordinating fq's from the set.

This is a real TA-DA! for me. I am in love with the color combo and the Inklingo method of making my first Feathered Star. I have a second set of pieces cut and ready to piece for the future 4 block wall hanging. I am very happy to use this wonderful method to piece either by hand or machine.

Design Wall Friday 2-25

2011-02-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

So this is what is on the design wall today. I have been working on it for the past couple of days. I bought the fabric in Houston in the fall and have had this little quilt in mind since then.
The Fat Quarter pack came from Pin Cushion Boutique...one of their Sweet Treats. I asked if they had any monkey fabric sets and she brought this one out for me...It's the Boys Will Be Boys line from Freespirit. I have one more border to add and then it will be ready for quilting. I think I will try it myself GASP! LOL
You can see the old Harry Potter blocks and Victoria's Friendship quilt on the left. No new blocks for those yet.

Is It Ever Gonna Be Spring?

2011-02-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Not much I can say except...told Mr Creative I want to move somewhere where it doesn't snow and he said, Well I guess we will have to move somewhere in the Caribbean! LOL

The First Star...Almost

2011-02-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

My current take along project is this Feathered Star and it has slowly but surely been progressing along. I am finally in the stage of adding the final outside pieces and I am so excited to see it come together. I love the cheddar and red colors but not gonna use that red for the next stars.
As I explained to my neighbor yesterday as to why I am making it all by hand..." I have plenty of projects in the works where I sit at a machine and sew but this one is for me to work on when I am on the go. Yesterday I worked on it at Carl's Jr (fast food place) while grandson I played with kids in the play area. I could keep an eye on him while I stitched and got a good bit done.
I will see how much longer it will take but it's OK, I am in no hurry on this one.

Design Wall Friday 2-18

2011-02-18T21:03:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe it is Friday again and time to show what's up in quilting.
This week brings block #6 for the Harry Potter Project of Doom quilt. The top photo shows all 6 blocks together. They are looking pretty fine I would say.

Below is block 6 close up. We had two books and a flask of a potion to make. Pulled out some interesting fabrics this time I think LOL
Can you tell what potion I put in my little flask? If you are a Harry Potter fan I am sure you can guess. The designer of the quilt made one with Lace Wing Flys in it but no fly fabric in my stash so I picked something different . Not so sure I like the pink I used in the middle book. Somehow the print doesn't "fit" the book fabric. I may just remake that book in the future if it bothers me.

This is the first of my goal baby quilts for charity. If you remember my Underground Railroad quilt that isn't at all a civil war theme...this is part of the leftovers. I plan to use this sort of stuff to make 6 total quilt tops that I plan on donating by the end of the year. I found this pattern in the book Weekend Scrap Quilts by House of White Birches. I changed it quite a bit. I used the cute forest friends fabric instead of an applique block and left off the Wandering Stars in the borders plus I made it smaller by making less blocks.
I am pleased with it and know that some little baby will snuggle up in it one day.

A Bit of This and That

2011-02-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

My friend PN showed off her completed Underground Railroad top this past Tues. I loved several of her blocks and the machine embroidered square with the story of those blocks. It is a fun story but pretty much proven to not be a true account of escaping slaves. We enjoyed doing the quilt as a BOM for my local night meetings bee.

I had to share this piece of fabric. It looks like a shaft of sunlight on the fabric but it is actually the effect of sun damage. It was hanging with several other pieces but this was the only one that showed any damage. It is interesting to see how antique quilts might have changed colors over years of light exposure from what happened to this modern fabric.

OK, I am ashamed to show off this mess but....
Mr Creative got me a Cricut Gypsy for Valentine's Day and I struggled all Sat to get it ready to use. Thank goodness for some friendly online help at the Cricut message board and youngest DS big A who were able to get it registered and then updated and linked to my cartridges. As they updating and linking took a while I decided to use the time to sort out various piles of scrap paper, accents, kits, and pictures. Yikes! so much stuff and I still have things I have never even used yet. Sorry you have to see the kitty box too...Muffy won't share boxes with the other two kitties so hers is in this room where she spends much of her days.
It is much cleaner now! piles sorted and things put away but I am not known for my neatness in general! LOL

Lastly and update on the tomatoes in the Aero garden. They are getting bigger and it won't be long until we will have to move the light up one "click" to accomodate their growth!

From the Design Wall 2-11

2011-02-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

A few things are on the design wall right now.
Top
is the Harry Potter Project of Doom blocks with this weeks addition on the right. Four books on the shelf.
Bottom left
is my feathered star in progress. This is a hand pieced project that I have used Inklingo to prepare. I have one problem that has come about from my choice of fabrics. The cheddar (gold) was printed with darker gold lines and except for an ocassional spot where it printed a bit too light, has been great. The problem fabric is the red. I ordered it online with the hopes that the print would be light enough that when I printed the dark lines they would show up just fine. Well...I am sure if my eyes weren't so bad and a bit younger I would be OK but it has been much more difficult than it needed to be. I can only work in daylight with GOOD light from the windows plus I have to add a pair of readers on top of my regular trifocal glasses.I have pretty much decided that I won't be makeing the other 3 stars for my planned wall hanging from that red. I have to decide if I want to make 4 more from an alternative red I have on hand or see if I can find a third red and start over. Yeah,
anyone have a suggestion?
Bottom right
You see the second block from Victoria's Friendship Quilt by Lori Smith and the first applique block along with last month's star. I am loving the fabrics and colors I chose and even though I made cutting and assembly changes from Lori's pattern am happy with them so far.
I also finished the second hush, hush project with a label but it will wait a bit to be revealed!

There's A Storm Coming

2011-02-11T16:47:00.001-07:00

I have been plotting and planning to make a Storm at Sea quilt for a few years. I love the movement when you combine the different parts of the block and I knew what it should look like. I almost chose to make it with the cheddar and red combo that has been dancing around my head for years but no, that wasn't the way I wanted it to look. I finally decided I wanted to use hand dyes or fabrics that look hand dyed in blues and greens. I have been shopping around for months for just the right fabrics and had found several good candidates but somehow never bought them.

Well as you see I finally found just the right fabrics to make my quilt. They come from a seller on Ebay that has a very nice selection of hand dyes and best of all the prices are less expensive that many I have come close to buying before. One of the things that really got me to buy was that the shipping is very very reasonable. That is what has been stopping me when I found something I liked online, the shipping just added too much to the cost per yard for me. She also was willing to cut 1/2 yards and not make me buy a full yard and then put together a special deal just for me so that I could get the colors I wanted. I am so happy with them and find that they are much like the ones I have dyed myself but the colors are richer.

Here is my Inklingo Cheat sheet that allowed me to figure the amount of fabric I needed plus how many of each piece I need to prepare for printing my precise Inklingo lines. I will probably hand piece this one but I don't have to if I decide to machine piece it
Sigh, another project for the future but I just had to share! LOL

Be My Valentine Surprize

2011-02-08T16:26:00.001-07:00

Here is my special Valentine Grson A holding the Mystery project from last month. I love these little quilts from Kim Schaefer Calendar Quilts. Pulled it all from my stash so none of the new trendy fabrics but I think it turned out dang cute!
It's almost as cute as my little Grson who claimed it for his own. LOL

Design Wall Friday (uhhh Saturday) Update

2011-02-05T12:45:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was not exactly the best day for our family. Mr Creative is still very sick on top of his broken ankle poor guy. He is very tired of it all right now. Then oldest son D went to the yesterday evening and has a bad case of strep. I took grsons I and N out for dinner and that took up a bit of the evening and by the time midnight rolled around I hadn't gotten anything ready for the blog.
However! Last night I stayed up really late and volia 3 blocks completed for the Harry Potter Quilt of Doom mystery block of the week.
So cool so far and I peek at the weekly block so that I can get some help choosing fabrics. As you can see so far it looks like a row of books with a couple of things like a crystal ball and a bottle of mystery potion! LOL So fun pulling out some of my crazy or wilder fabrics and making book covers out of them Nice thing is that the blocks finish at 10 inches so there isn't much tiny pieces so far although the next block (which I might get to today) does have a lot of small parts.
If you are a Harry fan and a quiltmaker join in with the group and you too can have a special quilt. Best of all they are free blocks!
You can also see a little peek and the next "mystery" project recently completed and my Mexican Fiesta quilt top.
(I finished the 4th block last night and added it to the post)

Snow Crab

2011-02-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

I get the feeling there are many of you who can relate but this is for my sister Beachgirl Miss PittyPat!

Tomato Plants

2011-02-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

I told Mr Creative that once Christmas was over we needed to get our Aero Gardens back to growing some plants. We decided to do tomatos this time. I have friends that have had success with the tomato plants so cross your fingers that ours do as well.
I need to get some lettuce and herbs for the second garden asap so they can get growing as well.

FROM THE Design Wall Jan 28

2011-01-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

A couple of projects from the quilt room today

Another hush hush project in progress. The one I was working on last week is done but I can't share yet but soon I promise. This one was fun to do and can't wait to share the whole thing

This is a sample of the Pattern I am teaching called Mexican Stars by Annette Omelas of Southwind Designs. It uses her technique of folding triangles to create a curved look from straight sewing. It's not a new technique but the pattern is all her own design. I picked it up at the Houston show last fall and and when I shared it at the board meeting we chose it as a workshop. Of course since I had suggested it I had to teach it! LOL That means I needed to create a sample. I used Fossil Fern prints for everything but the background which is my favorite background fabric Floral Fusions. I wish I had bolts and bolts of this stuff as I could use it for almost every quilt in my mind! LOL The print that is in the "sashing" was the inspiration a lovely crazy colored Fossil fern my Mom bought for me. It's not my usual style but it reminds me of a Fiesta and that is it's name for now! The color is not quite as bright and clear in the photo but enjoy!

A Change of Plans

2011-01-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

Sooooo...
Mr Creative wanted to see some petroglyphs at sunset as we arrived in St George last Wednesday. I was ready to head to the condo but told him to go ahead but I was waiting for him in the vehicle.
Yeah, that wasn't such a good idea.
The good part is that he got to see the petroglyphs at sunset but....

Anyway they have some nice police officers and some great EMT type guys too in St George. The hospital is very nice and new!
the Nurses and physicians assistants are good too!

The bad part is that he now has a broken ankle and lower leg. He missed his conference and has surgery scheduled for tomorrow. It's not fun but we are glad we have such a great system to get him taken care of. I will report on the results soon.

To Wash or Not to Wash

2011-01-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

The debate for quiltmakers goes on and on. Should I wash my fabrics before I make the quilt top or not. Everyone has their own reasons for which ever side they are on but for myself, I have gone back and forth and am now back once again! LOL

When I first began making pieced quilts back in 1989 I was told you really need to wash that fabric so that there would be no accidental bleeding of dyes onto my quilt when it was washed later. Also there is the shrinkage issue...will the fabrics shrink differently or not at all? So, I washed.
Then after a few years I found that many a great quiltmaker DIDN'T wash the fabric...after all the fabric is so nice when it comes off the bolt and now-a-days the bleeding issue is very rare and according to Harriet Hargraves, a known expert on fabric, it's not the bleeding that is the issue it's if the other fabrics in the quilt will retain the excess dye or not. So, I stopped washing the fabrics and enjoyed the brand new feeling and look of the fabrics. Sigh...

Well, my Inklingo group has been having a discussion on why it is good to wash that fabric right when you purchase it. Some of the factors have to do with the old shrinkage issue. Also once the fabric is washed any stretching out of shape that comes from the printing and rolling onto the big rolls at the factories will relax to normal. And last of all if you use Inklingo you need to wash before printing the fabric. So...I am back to washing again. I have a ton of fabrics on my shelves that has to go through my washer not to mention the fat quarters in boxes. So far I have done the neutral backgrounds, greens and most of the blues and have started on the blacks. I haven't had too much trouble with the fabrics raveling out too badly (crossing my fingers) and I am using the hand wash setting on my washing machine to keep it from getting too ravelly. My biggest problem is that even with cotton fabrics I am still getting some static as a part of living in a "high desert" environment.
It has been suggested that I don't worry about ironing the fabric until I am ready to use it which if fine with me! LOL

A Little Hint

2011-01-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Since Mr Creative and I will be out of town for the next 3 days I won't be able to do a design wall posting on Friday so I thought I would share a little hint of a project that is in the works right now. Can't show too much but I am working on a project that I can't wait to have it done.
I will try and post while I am gone but no guarantees LOL

Design Wall Jan 14

2011-01-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

It's time to report on my quilting progress this week.
I taught 2 different classes with my local quilt group this week. One was from Gai Perry's Color From the Heart book which we are using for a color study guide this year. It's a great book as it doesn't use the technical jargon of artist color theory but she teaches you to work with your favorite colors. I did an overview of the Introduction section and then lesson one on Spontaneity. It was a great exercise and the ladies in my group seemed to enjoy learning a bit about their own fabrics and color preferences.
Second class I taught was how to do an Attic Windows setting for our Crumb quilt as invented by Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville. We are only a few blocks short of having enough to do a nice double sized quilt and hopefully the next time we are working on this we will be doing the setting and getting it ready for borders.
Now, in my own quilt room I am continuing work on my Civil War Love Letter. I have now completed the 14 groups of 4 blocks with 1 inch sashing. I needed to square up the battle panels so that I can work them into the corners of the quilt. Of course if you have worked with panels you know that they aren't printed straight nor are they the same size. Sigh.... So they measure between 20 1/8"X16 7/8 and 20 1/8x 17. So the panels will have to be sashed up to fit. I guess It will be trial and error until I get it right. LOL

From the Design Wall

2011-01-07T16:01:00.001-07:00

Like most people I am trying to set goals once more for 2011. I haven't updated my sidebar but I plan to do it by Sunday of this week.
One thing I would like to do is a post each week from either my quilt room or scrapbook room of what I have accomplished.
This week it is from my quilt room.

A group of friends and I have chosen a wonderful new project to do together. It is from Designer Lori Smith and as you see it is a lovely friendship quilt. HERE is link to the pattern and her WEBSITE. She makes wonderful vintage looking quilts and I have several patterns and a book that is in my dream pile and hope to be made one day.
I started out the 2 year journey by showing how to make the Diamond Star which measures 12" finished. Lots of little itty bitty triangles so I took the opportunity to use foundation papers to make them. The larger hst are an unusual size so they didn't quite translate perfectly but it still made the piecing much easier.
here is my block and as you see I am using a different color palette. It is mostly from Judie Rothermell's Cocheco line of last year. Love it! I will have to add some other CW like fabrics to round out what I need but I am excited to see it develop.

The other report is of those Civil War Love Letter book blocks that I finished up last summer. I have begun the task of putting them together in groups of 4 so that I can start the top. I am going to "wing" it as far as putting the top together. I know what I want, to use some of my panel prints, so it will be a matter of figuring out how to fit it all in as I go. I need to figure out how many groups of 4 to make and then how to fit the special blocks into the scheme...the ones with Lincoln's face or a flag in the middle. I am excited and have plans to have it finished for the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War but not the beginning as it is April 12 with the Battle of FT Sumter in SC. Hey I can dream!

Good Day Sunshine

2011-01-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Grson I was looking for a treat. He didn't want a cookie, or some fruit snacks or a roll but he was really happy when I suggested an orange. I showed him how to use the orange peeler that I got from a Tupperware party many years ago. I wonder if they still have them?

He loved helping to pull of the peels and then separate them into segments. We had fun trying NOT to squirt ourselves with the juice doing that.

You can see he enjoyed about half the orange and I think he will ask for more next time he is here. Its a good treat for sure!
We called it the sunshine fruit as I explained that the orange has lots of vit. C that comes from sunshine

Puzzled No More

2011-01-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Mr Creative loves puzzles especially for New Year's Eve and then how ever long it takes him to finish. I told him that this year I needed him to have his puzzle finished by Tuesday since I had guests come for lunch and didn't want it taking up the living room. He didn't trust the 3.5 yr old grson to leave it alone if he put it in the family room LOL
He worked fast and furiously on his 1000 piece puzzle and he got it done in plenty of time.
He loved the train theme that my Dad chose for him and maybe he will do it once again when he gets his office cleaned up and can lock the door from a curious grson I.

Glamorous New Year's Eve

2011-01-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

I don't expect camera crews to cover our exciting celebratin'! LOL
As you can see we just stayed home waiting for midnight. Mr Creative loves to use New Year's Eve and day to put together a puzzle...my Dad gave him a 1000 piece one for Christmas this year that features trains one of his favorite subjects. Me? I was in my scrapbook room trying to put together a page or two after preparing snacks for the evening. I was using a new to me divided page protector version and I am not sure how they will go but I am hoping it will help me get pages done faster and with less indecision...so far...not so much. LOL
Mr Creative and I and youngest son A toast with sparkling juice!
Happy and Healthy New Year Everyone!

New Scrapbook pages, Hurrah!

2010-12-28T10:49:00.001-07:00

It's about time that I took a few hours to do some pages again. Right before Christmas I had printed some photos from Christmas 2009 to get started with the NC Christmas album. It's fun to get into my supplies once more and see what I can make. I started with two one page layouts.
First is a fun collage photo that I had printed at 5x7 by editing it in Picasa first and then sending in to Walgreens. I just am not satisfied with their prints and I kind of knew it when I made the order but there was a "deal" and I thought I would try once more. I think I will reorder the print from Costco and see how it turns out and replace if necessary. Loved the pics of Mr Creative and our grson A. This is a tradition of our family to wear Santa hats during the holiday season. Sometimes my older sons won't cooperate but they are over 21 now and I figure one day they will come back to the hats! LOL
Supplies: pp Am Crafts, cardstock DCWV, ribbon Am Crafts, Cricut Cart Christmas Cheer...as part of my new goal to USE those carts that I already have and NOT go ga-ga over what's the newest and trendiest.

This layout was of my grson A and the snowman he and his mom made after the snowfall in NC. He watched his Gr Uncle R outside as he shoveled the sidewalks and deck and then he and his Mommy went out to build a snowman the next day. It's fun to see him have a great time in the snow as my children did and my bro and sisters did so many years ago! I really love the Winter Woodland cart and wish I had a chance to use it more.
Supplies: pp DCWV Christmas 09 stack, cardstock DCWV Christmas Stack, DCWV Glitter stack, ribbon Target Christmas ribbon 08, jewels stash, CTMH, Am Craft Slick Writers blue

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-23T21:39:00.001-07:00

A digital scrapbooking design by Smilebox

Who Orderd the Snow?

2010-12-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, for some reason it was mistakenly delivered here!
Mr Creative had to measure and as you see it is about 8 1/4 inches this morning and it has been snowing lightly all day so far.
Just thought I would share in case some one's order for Christmas is delayed LOL

Mystery Reveal

2010-12-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

My local quilt group wanted to help improve our skills so one of the members designed a table runner that used flying geese and half square triangles so that we could get better at our cutting and stitching skills. This is the result I came up with. I used some blue and yellow 6 inch squares I had swapped for quite a few years ago and added some from my stash to get enough for the project. I think my middle section ended up "going the wrong way" but with this kind of a project it doesn't really matter does it? LOL
I did a quick turn with a piped edge so there will be no binding but need to quilt it still.
I will probably give it to my DD even though she has changed her color scheme for her dining area to match her living room since they are all together, which I can understand.
Any suggestions on quilting?

Gingerbread Train

2010-12-21T07:45:00.001-07:00

Grson I and I spent a couple of days in the past 2 weeks making a gingerbread train instead of a house. It came from a Wilton kit that contained everything that you would need to create the engine and coal car (except "coal"). I and I used the first day to assemble the train but I added some ready to use frosting in a can to make snow around the train and attach a few of the pieces together. The kit's icing was in bags that were supposed to let you just squeeze it out but no tips to make it easier. Good thing I have some cake decorating supplies on hand to make things go a bit easier. I was a great helper and the next week after the icing had hardened we decorated with more frosting and lots of candies that came in the kit. Mr Creative had the idea to use licorice for the coal car and I used some icing in a tube to secure it all in. I was glad they have "extra" candy in the kit as the bubblegum was irresistible LOL

Here we are all done and proud of our work!
It was fun to find that I's special ornament for 2010 is this Santa in a candy train. I guess Hallmark and I were in 'sync this year! LOL

A Visit With Santa

2010-12-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

When your youngest child is 21, there isn't much of a point to asking him to take a Santa picture! LOL So, now it is Belle's turn to take an annual pic with Santa. Each year Petsmart uses pictures with Santa Paws (or Claws) as a way to raise funds for homeless pets by offering a pic with Santa and your pet. Belle is not so sure she wants to be there but after 3 pics settled down enough for this one.
Good thing I didn't try to take the cats too! LOL

Erin has a New Giveaway

2010-12-10T03:59:00.003-07:00

DCWV's Erin has a new giveaway this week. HERE'S the link!

Show and Tell From Tues

2010-12-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

My quilt friends are so good at getting things done! I did have a show and tell but didn't give my camera to anyone to take a picture of me! LOL
L to R
Top A shows another of a donation baby quilt, CN made a repro of a repro mixed up piecing and all, C shows us a darling little girl quilt meant for a grd's wall, JB is proud to show her finished Woman's Work by Lori Smith and she personalized a stitchery.
Middle CJ did this version of an orange peel in red and white, CN and her Mystery table runner so beautifully finished (I still have to finish mine but it is close),
Bottom PN shows her finally completed millennium plus ten quilt and next her BOM for this year Victory Quilts, one more for C is her 40 year quilt....she started it as a teen and finally finished it up this year with work from the 50's, 70's and today on it and RV shows us she completed her scalloped edge border from a workshop.

New Friends Christmas Party this and that

2010-12-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

It was our annual Christmas party with New Friends Quilt Circle on Tuesday and we had a fun time. I loved all the great pot luck dishes the ladies brought. Such good cooks and a great variety so that there was something for everyone. I made a dish Cheesy Chicken and even though I had never made it before, I was confident that it would be good since it had chicken, cream cheese, shredded cheese and broccoli. DS A said it smelled awful but I got the last laugh as it was delicious LOL

I made this quick purse/tote from a panel I bought at Joann's the other day. I made sure to use some fusible fleece to give it some body and added the silk flower from my scrapbook supplies. I put some MaryEllen's Best Press in lavender, a lavender candle, and a bar of handmade lavender soap. That was my gift for the exchange. My friend TR got it and she said she liked it a lot. Shew....you never know about those kinds of gifts.

I can't seem to find any Christmas gift bags so I took a plain white one and supplies from my scrapbook stash and jazzed it up. Nice thing is that it also works for the Fantabulous Cricut blog's challenge this week.
Supplies: plain gift bag, pp DCWV Christmas 09 stack, ribbon American Crafts and stash, tag cut with my Cricut using the From the Kitchen cart.

A group of friends displaying their challenge projects. Everyone had the same center panel and then created a baby quilt from it. Great job everyone! Since the center fabric was many years old it was a challenge to find fabric to "match".
More photos from our show and tell to come.

Robert's Give Away

2010-12-04T07:11:00.002-07:00

Ya, know I should keep this to myself so that I can have a better chance to win but on the otherhand...sharing it on my blog gives me an extra chance to win...LOL
So you see, it's a win-win for everyone.
Do you like great DCWV products? Then click here and see the great giveaway being sponsored by Roberts Crafts.

First Big Snow for the Winter

2010-12-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

Took these about a week ago when we woke up to some light and fluffy snow outside.
You can see the trail made by the paper delivery guy as it was pretty late when he made it to the house that day.

Can I Ask A Favor?

2010-11-27T21:40:00.002-07:00

I usually don't feel like I can ask for people to vote in a contest if I am the one who is in the contest. Kind of makes me feel icky LOL
I am asking if there are any of you who might be willing to help out my younger brother who is trying to win an opportunity to perform in front of some music industry "important people".
He has a video here and to vote you need to register (sorry about that) and then click on his video and vote by clicking on the arrow in the box with the number of votes.
His name is Raymondw and his song is Acoustic Jam for Winter Namm
If you don't that's OK...Just thought I would ask

This and That from Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

This had to be the funniest cartoon I have seen in a long time. The little boy, Hammie, reminds me so much of my little 2 1/2 yr old grson A. I had to share.
When I was a girl my Mother would make pies, and not just on Thanksgiving like her daughter, LOL. When she was done with the pie dough there was always a bit left over and she would first make for us, and then later we (my sisters and I) would make these little cinnamon and sugar pies. I ended up having some dough left over and I made as a tribute to those days, a little turnover type pie.

I also tried something new this year. I have to admit I am not a fan of cranberry sauce. I like juice and drinks flavored with cranberry and also dried cranberries and also cranberry mustard made by Hickory Farms... but for sauce...eggghhh, not so much.
The one way I DO like it sort of is fresh made. Just cranberries, sugar and water but being a diabetic I really only eat a tiny bit and that is enough. This year I decided to use dehydrated apples for Mr Creative's apple pie and ended up with way too many for one pie. I had set them aside telling him to use them over some ice cream one day. I had just finished the fresh cranberry sauce and noticed those leftover apples and volia a new idea was formed.

It is very delicious and not any harder than just stirring the apples into the cranberries! I wonder if this is how the Pillsbury Bake Off winner starts out!? LOL

2010-11-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Erin at the DCWV blog is giving away some wonderful paper.
Visit the blog to see how you can win.
She also has a lovely idea for a place card for next year's table since Turkey day has come and gone! LOL

Ready for the End

2010-11-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

I am catching up on a few events from this past week. Can you guess what we are waiting for? LOL
Yep, it's time for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film part 1.
Grson N, me, son A's friend W and son A at the "midnight 30" opening day showing.

Tickets here are assigned a seat and that is my favorite way to go now. I am willing to pay the "convenience fee" of a dollar or two so that I know I have the best possible seats and no waiting in line. OK, I guess I am just getting old! LOL
I would give the show 4 out of 5 stars on the whole. The acting is really good and Harry, Hermione and Ron are all outstanding...I can hardly wait until spring for part 2. The reason I didn't give it a 5 is because of the parts that were left out or changed...I mean after all it really bugs me when a 30 second addition would have made such a difference. I guess when you are a big fan of the books you HATE to see anything left out! LOL
Mr Creative couldn't stay up that late so we are going on Sat to a matinee...costs less and no chance that he will fall asleep! LOL

Thank You Mrs Cubbisons!

2010-11-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

So...after searching several stores for Peppridge Farms corn bread dressing I finally gave up and at the suggestion of my sister I bought 5 boxes of Jiffy Mix corn muffin and made two large pans of cornbread. Then of course it had to be crumbled up and allowed to dry, usually easy enough here in Utah. However, it was taking rather long so I decided to put the bread in the oven to hasten the drying.
Yeah, that worked great except when I was taking the pan with the largest amount of cornbread out of the oven...well you guessed it...from the picture you see it all piled up ready to toss in the garbage.
I was a bit worried since the stores were all crazy on Wed. afternoon, I just didn't want to have to go out to the store. Then just by chance I glanced up to an upper shelf in my pantry and there was the box of Mrs Cubbisons corn bread stuffing!
Hurrah I was saved and the casserole turned out wonderful!