Beaded Snowflakes

I have been making these beaded snowflakes for years. I got a small kit when I was 13 or so that had directions, wire and beads. I used the beads and wire up years ago, but always seem to have the supplies to make more. I never get tired of making them. No matter the size of beads the patterns always work. It is nice to have a pair of jewelry pliers to help pull and wrap the wire at the end. I think they make rather nice looking ornaments. I have given them as sets or just singles tied to gifts.

This year, I used vintage beads from broken necklaces along with small silver beads from Michael's. In about 30 minutes and very little money I can make one snowflake. I usually put on a Christmas movie and make a few.  I love how these turned out. I decided to keep these for myself. I live how they twinkle with lights and stand out against the green tree.
I put them on this wire tree I made to display items. I made the tree put of a heavy iron plate and green floral wire. I just wrapped and twisted away as I saw fit until the branches seemed strong enough to hold up the items. It has been a nice accessory for Christmas display as well. Wire is fun to work with and has limitless creativity.

Watercolor Christmas Cards

I found these plain newsprint cards I was hoarding. I decided to make Christmas cards. I love watercolor and felt the paper would soak up colors well and not ripple.
I love how the turned out. I made 20 of them. It took me two evenings after dinner to paint them. It is basically what I see around me, well when it's not raining. So, basically what I saw this summer. Oregon sure is beautiful.
I started with dark heavy on the paint outlines of mountains and then hills. Then I soaked the brush and pulled the paint out and created a bit more depth and color wash.
Then I let them dry a few moments before the trees were added. They were more of a thick paint and would run into the hills if they were too wet.
Each one was slightly different,I didn't really try to make each one the same. I simply tried to keep with the same layout. Who will know anyway. I think they are amazing and show our friends and family back east what is around us. It is from the heart and not that expensive. The cards were probably under $10, I've had the water color set forever, and high quality brush dosen't hurt Also, water color painting is very very therapeutic.
Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth!

Map Art

I love maps and photos. I wanted to make something to remember our epic road trip we took this summer. I had this huge frame from my Dad's that I carted all the way across the country. Why? because I hate to give usable stuff away and I wanted to junk up my house in OR real good. I still get mad about stuff I left behind or sold.
  I am an AAA member and before our cross country trip I went to their travel store and requested maps. I got 8 (for free) basically what my year's membership cost, valued in maps.
Once we got here from NC, the maps and frame sat in the same corner. I had seen some awesome map crafts on Pintrest. I decided to go for it. I cut them up. I felt slightly bad, because I love to look at maps so much. I figured a) we wont be driving through Tennessee and Texas again in the near future and b) I will be a life long AAA member and can acquire more maps if needed and finally c) map technology exist that surpasses paper :(
For the quick prep work: I used a heart template I made out of an index card. I laid it down between the existing blue mat from the original frame and then on some photos to be sure of the size that I desired. Finally, I determined how many photos I could fit.
Now the fun starts: I went hunting for my favorite photos from our cross country trip. This was the hardest part because I took sooo many amazing shots like this one:

UTAH

or these:

IDAHO                       OREGON

I had a very hard time choosing when it is scenery like this.

 I pulled some of my favorite images off the computer that had been taken by iphone and SLR to be printed. I took my thumb drive down to walmart and had them printed cheaply. The quality if the prints certainly had a lot to with which camera I had used.
I spread the photos out on the table and started hunting for those locations on the maps and when found I centered them in the heart and traced them and cut them out.
We found an awesome quote online, " Distance is a Test to see how Far Love can Travel" by simply doing a Google search for: "Travel Love Quotes" It was hard to pick there were so many. One gripe is that, I don't know who to site.
I set my hearts on the craft/brown paper and decided on a layout, then used double sided tape to stick them to the craft paper. I traced the quote in pencil and checked it from a distance and finally went over in sharpie marker. The blue mat was already in the frame. So, for the cost of $2.00 to print the images, I got a huge piece of personal art, that reminds us daily of this amazing country and the freedoms we are blessed with, to travel as we wish.

 I know this is a bad image, I did take it.  It is hard to take pictures of glass. I didn't think of taking a picture until after I had already closed it all up.

Chairs

The in-laws are coming from Texas to Oregon to our tiny apartment for Thanksgiving. We had two kitchen table chairs, with dirty white seat covers. There will be 7 of us for dinner. See the problem.

We went hunting and found these cheap folding chairs at vintage/ second hand store in Springfield. We have found a few other goodies there that we love as well. These were rather hideous, but at $5 a piece I couldn't say no.

After three trips to the hardware store,cussing and whining; due to a broken staple gun, the task was completed. We recovered 5 chairs for Thanksgiving.

Our guest should be proud our work, especially Hubby's handy work. These tasks are usually my domain. He wanted to help. :-) He is a great cleaner and helps in the kitchen. I never imagined he would like this task. After completing "his" chair, he asked what else he could reupholster.

Too cute, he and the awesome new chairs.
The folding chairs were rather ugly all baby blue. I think it makes them look modern and cohesive by having them all covered in the same fabric. The fabric is a Jo-ann's flannel that I got 75% price at a store closure, that I hoarded. Iam so proud, so is he, and now everyone can sit and eat, which is important.

Passing the Time

We are finally feeling settled in to our new new home in Eugene. We disliked the first house's neighborhood and location. We are in a cute spot now that is close to everything. It has been a challenge though. This is a very tiny duplex.
I was fortunately still unemployed when we moved again, so I had time to put my organizing skills to work, but now I am bored. I don't currently have a sewing table so I decided to a bit of crocheting. It was lovely today as it has been since we arrived in September. So, I set myself up outside in the sun today under a pretty maple tree and crocheted away.

I wanted to make containers to store items around the house. I found the stash of balls of yarn scraps. I love the earthy colors. Then I went digging for the containers, a glass jar and left over plastic butter container. We had saved the glass salsa jar last week, because I found the shape to be useful. I had scraped the label off but it left a funny mark that needed covering.
I simply crochet a disc/ circle the size of the bottom. Usually starting with a loop and then adding stitches in every other slc stitch. Then when reached desired size I will stop adding stitches and it start creating a tube. For the bowl size I just stopped at desired height and then rolled under the last few easily.
For the jar the curve in the top created a problem. I stitched the tube a far as I could and then I had to deduce stitches. Then the hole became small and I feared I wouldn't be able to get the jar in. So, I ended up having to crochet the rest of the way with the jar in the crochet tube. This was a bit challenging and slowed down the entire process. I think the end result was super worth this annoyance.

Here is the end result, they were virtually free with yarn scraps from old gifted projects and recycled containers.  I just had to put in a bit of time. I enjoyed sitting outside today under the tree and watching all the cyclist and kids play. I think this could be a great gift idea with flowers or candy.  I think that older kids could definitely do this project if you teach them the stitch and teach deducing and increasing of stitches. I like projects that dont require a pattern but need a little creativity.

The Atlantic to The Pacific

Today, the cross country trip has officially ended. I really wanted to do the atlantic to the pacific. We started at Litchfield beach, SC on a family vacation before we left the East coast.

So, today we made it to the Pacific, it has a different feel, a different vibe, but it was still absolutely beautiful. It had been a bit grey recently, this morning the sun was out at full blast and so we took advantage of it. We went to Heceta Head, OR from Eugene it was about an hour and half drive. The coast has very few houses on it, in the area I was in, so it was kept wild. 

 In most areas it seemed that the mountains just went straight into the ocean.

 This was near an attraction called The Sea Lion Inn it seemed rather cheesy and expensive so we didn't  go in.

 Other areas were more beach like. The water sure was cold though. the Inn Keeper's home is up on the hill here but, the lighthouse is around the bluff. It was under major renovations and not really picture worthy.

This was a bit farther North in the National Park. It was not very crowed, but you can tell that a storm was rolling in.

It was truly amazing to find such beautiful amazing scenery so close to home, but honestly I think there is so much to explore that we havent discovered yet. Fall is fast approaching so, I was very excited to get out to the ocean before it got too chilly. We hope to explore more, hubby starts his first week of Phd  school tomorrow, so I am not really sure how much time we will have to travel at first.

A Little Funky

Vintage chairs were a score. They swivel too. I think they fit our over all look. There are two, of course I had two perfect Kaffe handmade by me pillows to bring out more of the 60's vibe. They are velvety feeling but, polyester. I remember this color from my parents house when I was a kid, I think it is a great neutral with tan and should make a comeback. I am in love with mid century modern furniture. I find that it tends to be super expensive stuff, even more so here on the West Coast. I know these really aren't mid century modern but they seem to fit in with my pieces of furniture. I was stoked to get these two chairs for $50. Kuma likes them too, she gave them a major sniffing before allowing them to stay. I was super sad to get rid of the chair that we had in NC. It was super big and nice to curl up into. It had come from my grandmother's house and went to a friend who enjoys it. Besides, these are a little funky, rather awesome and there are two! Which makes me feel slightly more grown up.

The River

This is the Williamette Rive that runs through Eugene, Oregon.

It is very wide, clean and super blue. It is such a lovely surprise to have in town. It weaves and turns a bit, but basically runs through the middle of town. Autzen Stadium is very close by the river which seems to be a lot of fun on game days. We have actually avoided this part of town and campus on the last few Saturdays because of the games. The weather has been beautiful. Its kind of a shame that I haven't felt like exploring more. I have been crafty and I will up date soon.

Kaffe Cloth Napkins

This might just be my favorite project i've worked on in awhile. 

I have been unemployed since leaving NC two months ago and moving to Eugene, OR. I have moments of thinking that my husbands  income will barely sustain us, then in tears that I left my seeming perfect job in NC, and finally excepting of the time off as a vacation. Recently, I seem to lean more to the fact that this is a much needed vacation. The lack of employment will end and I will be mad that I didn't use my time better.

There have been a few things to hinder my wise use of time. First, I have been sick, my stomach is just not happy at all. Second, within two days of moving into our apartment we decided we wanted to move  into the more accessible part of Eugene. So, when it came to unpacking boxes some boxes were never opened and shoved into the garage. I finally found the desirable Kaffe fabric that always inspires me. How could you not be inspired by all those colors.

And Third, I've spent more time on Pinterest than any person should admit to. Today, I decided to finally make a few things on my "Make this NOW!" board. These napkins were perfect for the Kaffe scraps. So, between bouts in the bed, on the computer sending resumes and Pinterest rabbit trails, I churned out these six lovelies.

 The Kaffe Scraps came from the quilt I made my Mom last year. I had tiny pieces of some and yards of others that I purposely bought too much of. It is hard for me to cut down the bold Kaffe flowers. I enjoyed using the chevron ikat and organic prints to balance the bold flowers. Kaffe's prints all work so well together sometimes there were too many choices. I tried to use the scraps first that could be joined with out cutting or trimming. I also hesitated on cutting any yardage piece, therefore this project probably too me longer than it should have.
 I adore the eggplant shot cotton from Kaffe's line. I am unsure of the precise color name but it is a dark purple warp and orange weft. Which looks different in lighting and perfect solid to compliment all that color from the print side. The current kitchen is rather boring but at least their is a lot of natural light.

I think cotton napkins give a nice pop on the light wood table and they are not so formal that they wouldn't be unpractical for everyday use. Stay tuned for coasters and seat covers from the smaller scraps that I can't let go to waist.

Nana's Quilt

Here is my 92 year old grandmother, I call her Nana. Nana is a piece of work. Her body is failing her but, she is very sharp. She remembers so much and lead a super interesting life. She started getting super fixated on things lately. He has always been feisty, but her fixation is the newest thing the family has noticed with her age.
She wanted these fabric curtains panels made into a light weight bed covering. She ripped out the old seams herself a year ago and started trying to pin it together. When I got to her house it was all laid out on the bed.
She had apparently asked everyone about who to take it to. They all told her that I might be able to help her. So right before I left NC I made this quilt for her.
It was quickly made and super basic. I simply pieced together two curtain panels and added a solid back and thin cotton batting . The cornice board is still up on the window in her bedroom from when she picked out the sweet birds in the 70's.
The heavy drapes panels had been taken down along long time ago.
She had a heavy comforter on the bed and couldn't move it around with her weak wrists. She didn't want batting but I convinced her otherwise.
I tried to tell her that the black acidic ink in the birds beaks were eating through the fabric. She did not care, she wanted the blanket. I did however spend quite a bit of time trying to patch some holes.
I think that it lightens the room and I have since heard her say so many nice things about it. I am concerned about it being washed and worsening small holes. I just hope that it lasts and my aunts don't wonder why it's so hastily done.

This is my Grandfather holding my Dad, Nana and Aunt Elayne
I would say 1952. I recently learned that women purposely would pose like this in the '50. I think it is awesome and I would look this amazing too.

We Made It!

Well after a month to take our time getting across the country, WE MADE IT!
It will take me a bit of time to get set back up to enjoy my crafting and sewing. We just got internet today which is very very exciting! Hubby has been to his new lab a few times and we are feeling like we made a great choice to move to Eugene, It is truly beautiful here and the "folks" are just as nice as southerners!

Here are a few more lovely iphone photos of our cross country trip

Palo Duro Canyon, TX

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Huntsville, UT

Idaho City, ID

Blue Lake, OR

Wedding Love

I just completed an awesome project for dear friends of ours that are getting married soon. I wish I had thought about this for my wedding! I feel so honored to help with their wedding. Instead of a guest sign in book, these fabric patches will be signed and for the wedding reception they will hang around the deck of the cabin. I was super stoked to use up all this scrap fabric I was hoarding. I did buy the crisp white Kona solid cotton.

I live in a different city than my dear friends so they have yet to see these in person. Her wedding colors are teal and lime green. I was amazed at how much I had in that color pallet. Her favorite animal is owls and I had that awesome owl in the tree fabric. Then I went with a earthy feel to work with the mountain cabin location. The intention is that the flags will eventually be made into a beautiful quilt for their home. I have offered to piece it together for her. I don't have the ability to quilt it. 

I completed this project while packing up my house in order to move to Oregon. I am amazed at myself for getting this project done. I am generally a super procrastinator. I think they turned out beautiful. This will be something that the will be able to have and enjoy for the rest of their lives.

Look and here they are at the wedding!