Southwestern Quilted Pots

After much effort (and very little skill) I was able to finish this quilted wall-hanging for our home.  Don't look too closely!  I'm an amateur!  But it was fun to make and I am happy with the results.  I think it goes well on these adobe walls in our new home in New Mexico.

Before/After Little Piano

I found this child's piano at the thrift shop for $12.  It works great, but was a little scuffed up and needed some "pizaaaaaaaz"!  After painting it with the bright pink flowers,  I carefully wrapped it in bubble wrap and packed it in my HUGE suitcase to take to some of my grandkids over Christmas.  It survived the trip (which restored my faith in airline luggage handlers!)  and makes plenty of noise to drive their parents nuts!  I'm sure the grandkids have great fun with it!!!!

My 2012 "52 Q"

This is an idea I found on-line from another creative blogger.  What is "52 Q" you may ask????  It stands for 52 Questions,  one asked each week. Each week I sent out a question for everyone to work on.   Friends and family worked on their own "mini time capsule" and decorated the tag pages each week.  It's a small project that was easy to take on.  Now I can look back and see just what I was thinking at that time last year.  It's so interesting to see how fast things change.  The little journal is actually a personal book meant to be looked at when we want to reflect on 2012.  It was also a fun craft project to use up left-over scrapbook papers and doo dads.

Another Travel Journal

This was the 4th "junk mail" journal I created and I think I got smarter with more experience.  When we travel I tend to pick up mementos of all sizes.  By making the journal a little larger on the outside (using fabric, lace, and ribbon scraps) I am able to add the keepsakes I pick up along the way.

 The ribbon embroidery is a project I started and never finished.  Turned out the journal was a great place to add that little piece of x-stitch fabric.  The book is lined with a piece of cardboard to keep it's shape, then I sewed through all layers, plus sewed the paper scraps together to make the pages.

My driftwood mobile

I collected sea shells and driftwood on the beaches in Oregon and put this together with fishing line. The trick is to drill 2 parallel holes through each piece. This keeps the wood from spinning around, maintains it's design, and adds durability. extra sea shells dangle at the bottom.

This project doesn't mean anything to anyone except us. We have the memories of collecting on the chilly shores of Oregon.

Crafts found in Oregon

This is from a shop in Eugene, Oregon. She makes her own bird nests from natural materials she collects on her walks.
This is an artist's canvas covered with papers, then old letter game pieces were used.

Crafts I've picked up along the way

The folded tree was a craft I picked up at a wonderful little shop in Farmington, Utah called "Just a Bed of Roses". It was my first inspiration to working with old books for crafts.

Junkmail Journals

Here are two new journals I sewed together with fabric scraps. The blank pages are ready to be filled. I like the size of these journals. They fit in my suitcase or even purse very easily and are not heavy.

Junkmail Journal

This has been such a great project for me. I took an on-line class from Mary Ann Moss (dispatchfromla.typepad.com). She gives such complete video directions . This was very easy to put together. The "gist" of the project is to use fabric scraps, paper scraps (junkmail in particular), pages from old magazines, maps, registers, and leftover bits and pieces of scrapbooking papers and supplies. Then she taught me how to sew it all together to make the journal. Who knew my old Singer could sew paper!!! Thanks so much Mary Ann!!!
Once the journal is sewn together it's ready to take on my travel adventures to fill in. Initially I didn't really know what to add other than photos, then my friend Kathy suggested I use the journal to not only keep a record of where we've been and what we've seen, but also to give opinions and impressions, making suggestions of possibly returning in the future. She suggested adding places we missed with the idea of getting there on another visit. These ideas have helped me nearly fill my first journal, and I've put together another with even more pages to fill.
As we have more ability to travel at this time of our lives, I wish so much I had a travel journal from our early-married years, when the children were younger. There's so many places I can picture in my brain, but I just can't remember WHERE they were!!! If only I'd made a travel journal back then.

I Just Keep Folding Old Books

Folded Heart Valentine Book

This little book is titled "A Time for Tenderness". It's a bit thinner than my other books but still just as precious. It's an older slightly worn book that was published in 1962. I've lined the inside covers with beautiful papers, then tied it together with a gold colored ribbon. I also made the rose that is on the cover. A glass star bookmark hangs over the binding. A great gift for your sweetheart or even something special just for yourself.

Weaving cones into trees and angels

My friend Melinda up in Alaska sent me these thread cones used by weavers. I've posted a photo of one of the cones to give an idea of what I started with. I painted the cones first, then added glitter. I used wood ball knobs for the angel heads, Christmas snowflake ornaments halved for halos, and bits of old lace and jewelry for the bodies. Tinsel or braid were used for hair. The first tree has mirrors and bits of old jewelry and beads, along with lots of sparkly pom poms. The pre-glittered balls were found at Michaels.

I am looking for additional ideas for other holidays using these cones. I will give away 5 cones (you pay postage) to whoever comes up with a unique and creative idea. I may even chip in the postage if it's not too much.

Paper flowers in a vase

This was a great craft using scrapbook paper, beads, buttons, vases and wire. I used my Cricut machine to cut out the flowers, then I used floral wire to create the flowers. I had to put a button between the petals to give them depth. The biggest challenge was all the wire twisting. Overall, it was a really fun craft to do.