Hello Again

Wow!  Where has time gone??  When I realized that I hadn't posted anything here since May I was shocked!  At first, I thought I wouldn't have that much to share, but when I began looking for projects to photograph, I realized that I have actually been doing a good bit of crafting.  I can't help but craft, it's in my blood, and I love it.

Here's what I've been up to:

In June we traveled to New York to visit my sister Mary.  We spent time in upstate New York as well as 3 days in New York City.  We had a great time.  Our niece Olivia joined us from Topeka and having her along was a joy! These beautiful peonies were blooming in Mary's front yard.  I sure wish we could grow peonies in Louisiana.

Work continues on the banner project.  I have stitched down most of  the letters and added beading.

These are the various elements laid out before stitching.

These letters are stitched on and beaded.

Some up close views of the beading:

 I thought I was done with my  crocheted rag rug, but I decided to add another few rows of a green colored sheet, and here is how it is coming along:

A close up view of the new rag color with a little help from Phoebe:

 

My Dear Husband gave me a subscription to Cloth Paper Scissors magazine for Valentine's Day and I just love it.  So many awesome Mixed Media projects by super creative artists.  You should check it out.  I saw this project in a recent issue and decided to give it a try.  These are called Word Birds and they are so fun to make, and a great way to stash bust.   I picture my Christmas Tree covered in them!
Wouldn't that be cute?

 My Dear Husband's sweet Grandmother, Ruby died last year at age 98.  She was an amazing lady, and we miss her a lot.  As we went through her house to get it ready to sell I found numerous pins and brooches.  I wanted to do something special with some of her pins as a momento for my niece Magan, and here is what I came up with:

 
These are sardine tins!  They were so fun to make, and the pin can be removed and worn if the mood strikes.  There are bits of vintage lace and pattern paper that came from her house also.

 I got this awesome watercolor set recently and I've had a ball with them.  Here are some of my attempts at watercolor painting: 

And that is what I've been up to!  I hope you are having a fun and creative summer too.  Isn't it fun to make stuff?  Until next time, I wish you happy crafting.  Know that you are loved.

One last picture, a recent one I took with my iphone to show my new longer hair!  I haven't cut it since December and I'm loving my curls.

Bye for now,
      Anne

Hello!

Hi, sorry you haven't heard from me in a while. I'm back and I've been crafting, and I have lots to share with you.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Summer is here with temps in the 90s all week.  They say it will be another extremely hot and dry summer again this year for Louisiana.


I want to remind everyone that May is ALS Awareness month.  If you have a red ALS band, please wear it this month.  Thanks.

I've been doing lots of hand stitching on the St. Therese Banner project for church, and I'll post some pictures later as work progresses.

I planted 2 tomatoes, 2 zucchini and 2 summer squash in big pots in the backyard.  I'm really hoping to harvest some lovely vegetables soon.  Here is a picture of a beautiful bloom on the zucchini vine.  Isn't it something? Wow!!

I made some art yesterday and today-- a project I've been wanting to do.  A mixed media/collage list of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.  I went to Goodwill Friday after work and found the perfect picture to re-purpose for only $3.99!  Of course, I forgot to take a before picture of it until I had taken in apart and spray painted the frame, but here is the picture that was in the frame.  The frame was brown wood.

Now, you know that I love kitties, but this thing was so old and not in very good condition, and it was the perfect size and shape I had in mind.  Here is my finished project.  I had a great time working on it.  I'm going to hang it in my office.

I also painted a pair of shoes today.  I've had these since last summer.  I was inspired by the beautiful blooms on the hydrangea bush.

Here is how they turned out, once again, I didn't take a before picture.  They were plain white and I got them at Shoe Department for $4.98!!  I love a bargain.

Finally, I wanted to share some pics of the awesome postcards I received from the iHana Postcard Swap.  I had a great time making my 10 cards to send out, but receiving 10 from all over the world was so cool!  They are all amazing, and I'm so thrilled to own them.  It is obvious that they were made by super talented people and a lot of time and energy went into the creation of them.  Thank you very much for sharing your talent with me.  Thank you, Hana for a great job coordinating and hosting the event. 

Aren't they amazing?                                                             

Thanks for stopping by.  Sorry there are no pics of the 3 felines, they were all napping when I was taking pictures this afternoon.  Lazy girls!

Bye for now,
          Anne

Postcard Swap and a banner in progress

Hello!

I've had a great time making cards similar to the Valentine's Day cards I made last month.  These cards are for a postcard swap being sponsored by Hanna Andersson from Sweden.  I used old greeting cards as my base and then got busy creating most of the cards with a kitten theme.  They were really fun to make and I hope the recipients like them.  Here are my cards:

My work in progress is the Altar Society banner:

I still have a lot of work to do on it , but it is coming along. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Now go make something.  You can do it!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from all the Hares!

It finally feels like winter, it's cold and it has rained all day.

I made Valentines this weekend, and took a few pictures to share.   I had a great time making these. 
                       
    I made a bunch of small ones, some are pictured here, the others are in the mail!!

 I also made a few large ones.  Can you read the saying?  They both say "Love You, Always have, Always will".

                 I really like working with Mod Podge.  Great stuff.  You should get some.

      Here is one last picture for you.  Look at that sweet face.  What a cutie pie, huh? 

      Hope you have a great Valentine's Day.  Know that you are loved.  God Bless you,
                                                                                                                                  Love,
                                                                                                                                           Anne

I'm still here!

Sorry for the long absence.  We've been busy finishing up T's soccer season, and things have been kind of hectic at work.

I tried to bring some homemade goodies to T's home soccer games to be sold in the concession stand.  The Killer Brownies are really good sellers!  One evening, I went in the kitchen and turned on the oven to pre-heat, and had NO HEAT!!!  I almost panicked, then took a deep breath and thought about what I had on hand that wouldn't require the oven.  I had Oreos, Vanilla Bark, Red colored Candy Melts, and Peanut Butter.  I ended up dipping the Oreos in the vanilla bark and red candy melts.  I also made a large pan of Tiger Butter (T's favorite).  I didn't get a picture of the Tiger Butter, sorry.  Here is how the Oreos turned out.

The soccer season ended Friday night with our team losing in their first playoff game against Baton Rouge Catholic.  We are really proud of the guys for making it to the playoffs.  It was a good season.  Tristan is ready for a break, though.  They were practicing every afternoon and he has a pretty heavy course load this semester. 

I began a new project recently.  I'm making a banner to hang in Church.  We are The Altar Society of St. Therese and we do not have a banner currently.  I volunteered, and the officers have given me complete artistic license in the creation of this banner.  I think it may end up looking more like one of my art quilts.  I have a lovely picture of St. Therese that I can iron on the banner.  I hope to get some work done on it this Saturday.   These are the flowers I made to go on the banner.  They are made of organza that I cut out into rough flower shapes and singed the edges with a candle flame (very carefully, I might add).  I just love them.

Here I zoomed in on one of the larger flowers so you can see more of the detail.

I'll post updates on the banner project as I go.  I hope to have it completed by the end of March.

Now, to show you a completed project.   Yes, I actually finished the second rag rug!!  One evening last week I ripped up a sheet and ended up with a huge ball of dark blue, almost denim looking strips to work with.  I finished the rug while watching the Super Bowl.

It is my largest one yet,  32 inches in diameter.  Naturally, when I set it on the floor, I had 2 girls very eager to try it out.  Here you are:

These are really fun to do, and I have lots of sheets right now.  Mostly light colored and  I might experiment with dying or even tie dying some of them...could be really fun, huh?

Thanks for stopping by, sorry I was away for so long, here's one last pic you might like from my mini cat calender.  Bye for now,  God Bless, Love

                                                                              Anne

Happy 16th Birthday Tristan

Wednesday, January 11th was Tristan's 16th Birthday.  When I asked what kind of cake I could bake him, he said he'd rather have some Oreo Balls.  I didn't get them made until Wednesday evening because he had a home soccer game Tuesday night that lasted until almost 10 pm!  They did win the game, though  4 - 2, and T scored one of the goals.  I made the Oreo Balls into pops and here are some pictures of them.  T is really enjoying them.  They are a yummy treat.

16 Birthday pops

Phoebe checking out the treats

Happy Birthday sweet Tristan.  Thanks for all the joy you've brought to so many lives.  I love you.

Thanks for stopping by!
                                                        

New project

Here's a fun new project I decided to try my hand at.  Crocheting rag rugs!  I've found cotton sheets at Goodwill, a beautiful cotton gown at a garage sale,  and old clothes of ours.  The process of ripping the fabric is quite fun, and a sheet produces a really nice sized ball of fabric to work with.  Here is my first attempt.

It took less than 30 seconds for Fluffy to come and see what I was up to.  There was no way I was going to get her off, either!  This first attempt is kind of "wonky".  I used mainly clothing, resulting in the wide array of colors and patterns.  I also made too many stitches which resulted in the kind of ruffly affect you see on the edge.  It was a fun project and I do like the finished product even if it is kinda wonky!!

This is my second try.  It is turning out a little better than the first.  The center is a small bit of blue from a shirt and all the rest is sheets that I got at Goodwill.  I use 100% cotton.  The bit with red is a lovely beige with  a red paisley print-- I really like it.  I will finish the ball of beige that you see I am currently stitching and then carry on with the red again.  I will post photos when I've completed this one.  We will see which kitty lays on it first!
Just wanted you to see what I've been up to.  The need to create stuff just has to be released somehow!