Garden Memories

With the warm weather we have had in the last few days, I am thinking, dreaming, planning, gardens. Of all my hobbies, gardening is the closest to my heart. And, besides my kids, what I enjoy photographing the most. A few years ago, in my obsessive way, I started a garden album. I add to it every year, look through it in the winter, and use it to help decide what to do the next growing season.

I'm not very good at taking pictures of my pictures, but this will give you an idea of how I put the album together.

I have already started some perennial seeds, and will start some annuals and veggies in a few weeks.
I just can't wait to get my hands into the soil!

Valentine's Day

I had quite a day! First, I started my new job. It's like a parent volunteer work. You know, copying, cutting paper, getting things ready for family night. Not very exciting, but I am getting paid.

 Then when I got home my husband had these waiting for me: 

Such big, beautiful roses! Along with 2 bird books and a pair of earrings.

Then we found out that Andrew and Alison are having a boy! We are so excited!
We had them and Eric over for dinner Sunday night and this is what they got from me:

 
Lots of goodies and fun. What a nice day. And I even saw several robins in the yard!

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. And next....spring!

Tag Crazy

With this bitterly cold weather we have been having, I have more time to mess around in my craft room. Besides decorating little boxes, I have been making a lot of tags lately. They are such a nice size, and I can play around with different techniques. I guess that is why Tim Holz, Two Crazy Crafters, and others enjoy working with them too. Here are a few that I've done in the last few days:

 

I just found out on Monday that I got a new job! (After being a stay at home mom for 25 years, I got a job as a teacher's aide. But I was RIFed after 2 years, so I'm very happy to get this one.) It's part time, so I will still have time to do all the things at home that I love to do. Best of both worlds!

Old Boxes, New Trick

 A couple of weeks ago I bought some pretty 3D stickers from K and Co., and was thinking about how to use them. I searched through my craft supplies and came upon a bunch of small boxes I had saved. They became the perfect surface to cover with paper and add the stickers, flowers, lace and buttons. I love how they turned out.

I don't want to become a real hoarder, as in the TV show, but it is nice to have some things on hand, like these boxes to craft with.

A Finished Project

Quilting is one of my many loves, and I always have one in the works. I love choosing the pattern, the many beautiful fabrics, and the sewing. But my favorite part of the process is hand quilting. Most quilters think I'm nuts; they take their pieced quilt to get machine quilted. Machine quilting is beautiful, especially the meandering designs, but I like the look and texture I get from hand quilting. And it gives me something to do in the evening while watching TV with my husband.

 

This pattern is from a Thimbleberries book. I think I want to do a little more quilting on the lighter squares, but I have some (a lot) other things to finish, including a baby quilt, embroidered pillowcases, a candle mat....you get the idea.

My Craft Room

Since I got my craft space all cleaned up and organized, I thought it would be a good time to take some pictures. It may never look this good again!

I use one half of our finished attic room that is open to the living room below. This limits the amount of wall space I have, but my husband has made built- in cabinets and desktops. There is also a closet that I use to store my stamps and labeled boxes of craft supplies. In addition there is a dresser on the other side of the room where I keep my fabric.

Starting on one end of the room is my vintage Singer that I got a couple of years ago. The drawers were full of old sewing supplies. It was like opening a treasure box of goodies! On the floor is an old carrier that I have been keeping my "Inspiration Station" - supplies for a season or holiday.

Next is my sewing machine and supplies.

Along the back wall are shelves where I store some of my magazines and display my two antique toy sewing machines, along with some stuff I've made. Under the counter, I have lots more storage.

On the other end of the counter I have my TV, printer, and computer.

On the wall opposite the window is a built in bookshelf. I use it to store buttons in canning jars. Underneath is a couple of old wooden file drawers. I put cards made, envelopes, and cd cases of clear stamps in here.

On the wall opposite the cabinet is my desk and a bookshelf. I bought baskets and labeled them for small scrapbook supplies.

We bought the desk at the university's salvage store. It's huge and gives me plenty of space for getting messy. There are file drawers for storing my papers, and regular drawers for my tools, inks, and dies. 

 

  After getting everything put away after all the cleaning and organizing, I decided to clean up my mess of ribbons. I have them wound on plastic embroidery floss things. Don't they look so pretty?

 

 Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Art with a Past

There is a story behind this frame. During WW2 my father was a Navy flight instructor and flew supply missions to South America. After one trip to Brazil he brought back two frames like this. Each was filled with a beautiful design completely made of butterfly wings. At some point one was given to my sister and one to me. When I was in college I kept my frame on a coffee table. One day I bumped into it. It fell on the floor and the wings, which were very dry, broke into a million pieces. I was devastated! I kept the frame all these years, not knowing what to put in it. Then I saw this idea on a blog (sorry, I can't remember which one). It was perfect.

I've had these stickers for years. I just popped them up, typed up the Latin names from a guide book, and distressed everything a little. Now my butterfly frame is on the wall (of course!) and a reminder of the gift from my dad.