Out of the Box

I am a yellow/red, fall/winter person and I have a hard time starting a project that doesn't start with the aforementioned colors or themes from fall and winter...so the lime green background here with a blue birdhouse was completely out of the box for me. But, I love how it turned out. The bird house is made from fabric paper (thanks to Beryl Taylor's instructions from her book under my favorite books)and the roof is copper leaf. The leaves are done with various threads. The background is hand-painted muslin. This miniature "quilt" reminds me that sometimes I need to step out of the box and expand my creative wings.

Speaking of stepping out of the box, I am taking Carol Murphy's class called Tempting Techniques offered through Joggles.com and am having so much fun. Penscore is a new product for me and I have been having a blast creating my own "stamps". Lumiere paints are also something I have never played with. I am still working on getting results that I like. I LOVE these on line classes. This is the 4th one I have taken from Joggles.com and I have not been disappointed. The instructors are great and I have learned so much from them. And there are so many choices...well, as you can see I am a big fan. 

                                                              

 birdhouse details

Graduation and bac to the studio

My two boys...well, young men. Chris' red cord means that he graduated cum laude and yep!!! I sure am proud. 

The studio is calling. I haven't been in there for any length of time for a couple of weeks and it shows. While I am away I think the muses play and create an awful mess!!!  It won't quite take a shovel to get to where I can create but it will be close.

So clean-up is on the agenda for now. 

Graduation Day

Today was #2 son's graduation from college. Chris now has a degree in music education. The day was very long with a two hour drive in each direction and 4 hours of graduation ceremonies. Lunch at Chris' favorite restaurant ended a  delightful time with the boys. 

Colin drove home for the graduation and heads back to Ohio tomorrow. He has been on vacation since his wedding and it was great to see him. Unfortunately Chelsea had to work so she is left holding down fort in Ohio. I am sure their cats are glad one of them stayed home.

                 My new daughter-in-law, Chelsea and my son Colin at their wedding.

What a joy it is to have a new member of the family. The "kids" decided to spend their honeymoon on the East Coast ad have used our place as home for their various activities. They have spent the week with us and we are delighted to have them here.

Since the wedding last Sunday, I haven't had much chance to get into the studio but have BIG plans for getting there this week. I want to try using my jet ink printer to print on dryer sheets. This idea came from the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I have painted, melted, stamped on and sewn dryer sheets but have never tried putting them through the printer. I can think of several projects that could be enhanced with the use of printed dryer sheets. Can't wait to get started!!

Countdown to Wedding

I may be away for a bit since Colin and Chelsea's wedding is next week. Being the mother of the groom and far away from the hoopla has meant that I have not been very involved...and I am not complaining!!! 

My dress is at the cleaners being pressed, my shoes and handbag are ready and all I have to do is pack. That can be a chore since we don't know what we will be doing during our downtime other than making airport runs when all the relatives arrive. We will just go with the flow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

I am looking forward to having a daughter-in-law since I have raised only sons. It will be nice to not be the only girl in this Patterson clan. Now on to the packing!!

I LOVE threads and fabric and color and fiber and beads...well, as you can see, the list goes on and on and on. I started organizing my threads recently.

  Someone suggested that I sort things by color. Having been a counted thread embroiderer most of my life, I had sorted everything by number. This system was no longer working for me because I was no longer using patterns designed by someone else. 

Starting was easy but there were those odd colors that defied catagorizing (is this a word???-spell check doesn't think so) like the blue green or green blue. But all in all, it works well for me. I also did this with my beads. 

The problem with beads is that they need to be contained within the containers that house each color. I am still trying to find a system that will work for the beads. Anyone have any ideas that have worked for them? I would love to hear about what works for you.

Two Weeks To Go

Two weeks until THE WEDDING. Yes, my eldest son will tie the knot with his lovely bride. It has been hard on us since we are in New Jersey and he is in Ohio...where the wedding will be...but we are excited. Needless to say, I have been busy shopping for a dress (found it last weekend) and now need shoes and a handbag to go with it!