visitors

The pictures have nothing to do with the post. 

My baby sister came to the house today. 

She visited in my studio.

She loved it.

I hope she will come back for a day of making. 

At least for some salty rim adult beverages.

I'm kinda fond of her. 

 rose crocheted from hardware store twine.

my daughters wedding bouquet.  I made from lace that was her Nomi's and rhinestone brooches gathered all over.

the spoon was damaged - but then so are we - still life and love are beautiful.

seems i have a "thing" for buttons. 

Much love everyone 

have a beautiful day.

Summer fun.....

It has rained in northeast Georgia for weeks now. Leaving us trapped inside A LOT.  Fortunately, Iv'e been quite busy playing in MaggieGrace World.

There has been play with glitter and glue.

Some serious paper and string play too.

A little bit of fabric and handwork fun.

Then there was one full day of pretty weather.

The table below was the bridal party table at my daughters wedding in December.  I have all this stuff still around the house. See that pretty "tin" piece under the lamps. Yes I even kept those. They were created from anaglypta wallpaper. I painted them with various spray paints to look like tin ceilings.

And my booth at Junk in the Trunk is in need of a new display.

I am also very determined to lose some "stash weight"

So I scrounged around and found a cutout from an oval whirlpool deck. I was going to paint it, but then I remembered that I had those wallpaper "tin" squares. And since my artistic focus is RECYCLED AND REPURPOSED, I decided to try and use those pieces.

I chopped of the bottom of the cutout.

I lay the "tin" squares out on it. (Making sure I had enough - let's just say I've been guilty of not doing this little step in the past)

Dappled sunlight on the front porch  - scissors - spray adhesive - brayer --a couple of hours in the muggy nasty heat and I had this. (to quote a comment from my facebook - a big knight's shield).

I stood back - and decided quickly that using those squares was genius.

Shelves for books were required and,  at my grown up girl job, we get pipe with these hardwood bands securing the shipments. So I snagged the chop saw and cut a few bands to length. A sample paint pot of a color called TWINE and painted the shelves.

I really wanted to mount them with L-brackets --- and again went to the wedding decor items. I took apart the barrel of bamboo that was outside the venue and reused the brackets and screws from that project.

Here is the resulting display.

Those huge shelves are on my porch ---- waiting for their move into my living room and dining room. One set is 7 feet tall by 11' long and the other is shorter but the same height.

They came from an old store building. See that story here.

I'm hoping this post  finds you having a beautiful life.

I still do make things and notes on stash busting....

We are getting nine beautiful new blessings in our life this year. That means 9 baby gifts for Miss Teresa to make. I'm well into it and have posted a few of them already. This is also a challenge in that I want to finish ALL of these from my stash. So far - so good. 

This one is the latest finish. Honestly - I had no idea if I would even like this one. I so rarely work in any kind of bright colors. The purple lustersheen yarn was in some that I was given a long time ago. The white was from an afghan that my mom started and didn't finish. While I had the pattern and the same size hook, I was not able to get the stitch size right. So I "frogged" it and kept the yarn. Plain granny square pattern, a fairly quick finish. The center is a strand of white and purple, the white band is two strands of the white, and the purple is two strands bright, all held together for the duration. (Is there some magic trick to doing that easily? My yarn kept tangling on itself.)

When I finished it, I do like it. Its for the next girl. 

I had quite a bit of yarn left from the "green" blanket. (yes, I know its not green - but there is green in there and that's what we wound up calling it.)

The next baby on the list is a boy. So I wrangled with myself and decided to go with the idea that these could be "boy colors" and maybe be used for longer than just the "baby" years. I love the basketweave pattern on the blanket above so I am using that same pattern and yarns on the smaller blanket. That's the travel project right now.

The pattern is basic double crochet in a variation. The blanket above was done in a 4 stitch block. Here is a link to a tutorial on the stitch.

There has also been a bit of studio work. A friend of mine wanted a spoon pendant with her husband and children represented. Here is that fun piece. --- a topaz, garnet, and turquoise drop (birthstones) completed the assemblage.

Then on a jaunt thru the foothills of the North Georgia mountains, I found these keys, The graphics on them were so pretty to me. Aged just right too. I haven't had much studio time, but I did sit down and pull some blingy stuff out and make two necklaces.

This one is a mix of a key and an earring single that I just couldn't toss. I mounted the bling on the less decorative side and left those gorgeous graphics uncovered, so this one can be worn either way.

 I also look for butterflies everywhere I go and find them often. This necklace is a mix of a butterfly and a skeleton key.  Loving this one too.

Both necklaces will be in my booth at Junk In The Trunk in Athens, GA .

And last, just because he's cute and lovable, here is my sweet helper after a really long day of babysitting the cat. Isn't he sweet. Have to say, he's a great dog, but that tail is NOT coffee table friendly.

I hope you guys are well --

My life is beautiful ---- have a wonderful day.

about the stash busting --- What is it about creative "stuff"? I keep bringing it in and I can see all the incredible things to be made, but then I have a hard time using it. This is an issue I continue to work on. I turned 48 on Sunday. At a friend's suggestion, I am going to try and make 48 projects before my next birthday using nothing but stuff I already have. Goes along with HAPPY DO YEAR quite well, don't you think?


Teresa

prep work

not glamourous.

but a required tool in my world

Patti asked if I would help the youth with some items they can sell as a fundraiser.

I said yes.

So I'm cutting mass quantities of paper for cards, tags, garlands, and that kind of stuff.

She asked if she needed to buy any supplies. That question caused hysterical laughter on my part. I got stuff. I will share.

I'll be posting my designs as I create them. They will be "kitted" for the kids to then assemble. Hopefully this will move things along.

Look for updates on this as I go.

Much love --- Teresa

yes -- the muse awake --

There was a lot of activity this weekend, but I did manage to get into the studio.

I have a baby blanket crochet project that is traveling with me and is almost complete.

But the box below is sitting by my chair in the house --- there will be another garden blanket to happen from some of this. (all thrifted crochet cotton)

I'm stash busting too and that includes planning and gathering for a Youth Work Day at Jones Chapel UMC.

The youth will be making cards and tags to sell. Fundraising for their activities. I'm providing the sample and making kits, trying to make the work day highly productive.

Then there was some heavy metal work too. Not really. A few spoons stamped (one has some custom wording and I messed the spacing up on it - three times - but that's what's called a learning experience)

I am quite happy with the ones using these love charms from Hobby Lobby.

It's good to have her back --- and to be making things again.

have a wonderful week.