one of my Hand-made Boxes!

One of my favorite things to do ....(among many!) is to make a box from pieces of cardboard. I am always on the hunt for wonderful papers to use. I am in a bunko group that we have had for 30 years!!!! Sounds long and boring but it is really all about getting together once a month...old friends that have been "friends" for so long. We have a Christmas party every December and exchange gifts. We use the fun method where you choose a gift from the pile and open it. The next person can pick another or "steal" your gift...it gets very serious to say the least. This is the perfect opportunity for me to make a special box! On the top of the box is a gathered fabric flower that my friend Suzanne showed me how to make. SO FUN! Inside the box was one of my glass Snowmen!!!

Little Braided Mats

This year (December 2011) at our annual rug-hooking Christmas party a friend (Carol Lawlor)

showed us some little braided mats using the strips of wool we use in rug hooking. As there are many strips left over after completing a rug or a hooked piece....you soon accumulate quite a stash of random width strips....various colors. I had heard of these little mats and one day tried to make one...not very successfully. Tossed it aside and forgot about it. Carol told us she was going to give a demonstration ....How-To...at the next Guild Meeting. Since I would be gone I was not happy to miss the demo. They were SO cute...looked exactly like a larger braided rug. She said they required LOTS of steaming so the next day or so I attempted again. The braiding went well but hand-lacing them together was very tedious....frustrating! So I attempted to zig-zag on my sewing machine....a very wide zig-zag. It worked beautifully....any distortion was corrected wit heavy steaming. I did back them with a piece of felt..also zig-zagged ....gave them more stability. I have to say "Thank You Carol."...I have now made 6 of them..my favorite one is the one using one of Anita's (our rug hooking teacher) crazy spot dyed pieces with wild colors.

Handcrafters Show ...October 28...2011

Well...our show is just around the corner...Suzanne and I are sharing a booth...and have been working all summer "creating" things for it. Here are some more items I will have in the show.

I have had a wonderful time making different things...it should be lots of fun....now I have to tag and price everything....the hardest thing for me!!!

Weekend at the Lake

We sure picked a great weekend to go to the lake...John..Mimi...Melanie and Ray...and of course all the dogs! (Melanie's 2...and Dory!) It was THE best weekend so far this fall...picture perfect.

We did a few chores...Melanie washed some windows...(I watched)...John blew off the many leaves that have already fallen...also more acorns than I have EVER seen. We went on a great

boat ride...with the Sr. Hills....who live a few doors down....went to Capn' Rons for a yummy

lunch ...also took a long walk...a neighbor saw a bobcat last weekend...right near our house...very scary! Here are a few photos.......

Mastering the Art of cutting wine bottles!!

After many unsuccessful attempts at cutting wine bottles ...to re-purpose into other products such as
candle lights...containers with the bottom that is cut off...I finally found a device that works. It is from a company called Diamond Tech...Tampa, Florida.. There is quite a learning curve with this device.
When I first tried to use...I broke about 30 wine bottles...(No..I did not drink all that wine...I have to confess I rescued them from our Glass re-cycling bin!!!!) The setting has to just so exacting...if anything moves while cutting the bottle...it is a mess-up! But I now have it down to a science and so rewarding when you get a clean break. After scoring the bottle all the way around...you dip bottle into boiling water

for maybe 15 seconds??  Then immediately dip in sink of ice water. You should begin to hear a slight cracking and the scoring begins to widen...then the bottom falls off. Voila!!!  You have a top part for the candle light and the bottom for a container. Edges are sharp so I grind them and sand with wet sandpaper until they are not sharp. Now everyone may not be interested in this...but I am having fun....would be wonderful lining your walk in the evening...for a party...a group of them on a table as centerpiece??

Fall 2011 Art Show..Handcrafters

Have been wanting to post some photos of some of the things I have been working on for my fall show. I am sharing a booth with Suzanne Lawrence... a longtime friend. We

get along great and enjoy doing shows together. I do believe she is as passionate as I about creating "Things". Our styles are a bit different...but that makes for a more interesting booth. We recently took a class at a local scrapbooking store...now I do not do scrapbooking...but Love all the things...paper...charms...inks...punches...I do Lots of cards...only send my hand-made cards...and find dozens of uses for all the items. We made a delightful thing...do not even know how to describe it...but will show a picture of it. It was a lesson in collage and we learned SO many techniques...I could not shut my mind off after coming home....it was from 6:00 to 9:00...I am now trying to re-create one for my grand-daughter's upcoming birthday. So here we go with the photos! Thanks for checking out my blog!!