"Let There Be Peace..."

".....and Let It Begin With Me."

Quilts are home!

The little lady that I take some of my quilt tops to called me yesterday. She had finished the quilts that I pieced recently. Here you go. I am so proud of both of them.

I always enjoy visiting with this special little lady. Yesterday, she showed Marilyn and I a closet where she has over 70 quilt tops ready to be quilted. She has made hundreds of quilts. Some have been sold, some raffled for community projects, and some given to family members. The house is full of them. She is an amazing quilter by the way. I really need to get her an Etsy shop!

Craft Chatter

Hello, Everyone! I hope all of you had a fun, blessed weekend packed with all the things you had hoped it would be full of.

I thought I would share a couple of things from my "camp." Both of these as you will see are to wear when it is MUCH cooler around here. On the hoodie, I chose to use fabric with alot of color. I wanted to be able to wear it with a variety of colored t-shirts. The second one is another favorite. It has a detachable pin in the center.

It's Done!

Remember these I shared with you during a previous post?

After a few hours (and a backache or two from working in the floor and at the machine), I have a quilt top.

I'm in love with scrap quilts for so many reasons. They are economical and such a great way to repurpose fabric. They can have such a story behind them.

Remember, ladies, save those special t-shirts of family members to repurpose as well. They make awesome quilts. (If you didn't see Rick's "Harley" quilt I did for him last Christmas, you can see it here.)

Pulling Out the Singer and Scraps

Because I need a project, I decided to start another quilt. I still have plenty of "magic fabric" from a garage sale find, so I am not purchasing any material. It's more fun knowing it's not costing me anything. It will truly be a scrap quilt. But that's ok.  Don't let the sneak peek of some of the fabric scare you. I THINK it will be ok........

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Several of you asked about the pie. Well, so easy....

Graham cracker crust

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 sm. can frozen lemonade (partially thawed)

1 sm. carton Cool Whip

Mix all ingredients. Pour into crust. Chill. Can top with more Cool Whip or whipping cream.

Vintage Valentine

Old Valentines bring back such special memories! They take me back to elementary school, and all the excitement of that special day.

This was a fun little project. I used a frame I had on hand. After I painted it white, then I began building the collage using vintage valentines, ribbon, a heart button, a sheet of scrapbook paper, and a few extra jewels to spiff it up. I did not put the glass in, because I simply love the 3-D tactile effect.

"P-E-A-C-E" ....... DIY

Although it's not a Valentine's one, I did make a shirt this week! I used a sweatshirt I got on sale, some fabric, and a crystal peace sign. I had ordered the crystal peace thingee online and really wanted to use it before I lost it (HA).

I like the way it turned out.

“Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make."

Isn't this the cutest little outfit?

That crafty friend of mine got a custom order for it.

I just knew some of you would be chompin' at the bits to make one. So here's a tip! She used elastic to secure all the strips on rather than ribbon. I personally think that was clever because that way it's adjustable for the little one's waist. The strips are approximately 24 inches before you put them on. Ok....now go make one for that cute little girl of yours!

Here are a few more CRAFT ideas for you 

to try when you get in the mood!

1. Tin Star:  cover with different scrapbook papers; put a coat of Modge Podge on it 

2. Frame:  make a pretty bow and bedazzle it up

3. Photo Block:  piece of wood (your choice of size), cover with paper; "spruce" it up with feathers, trim, etc.; add a clip to show off a favorite photo

"Believe" Sweatshirt

Craft weekend share #1

 I put this on a red sweatshirt to enjoy wearing during the holidays! All you need are some letters, fabric of your choice, sweatshirt, backing, an iron, and a sewing machine.

Give it a whirl!

CRAFT CRAZE!

I left today with Marilyn and a friend for hopefully what will prove to be a very profitable girls’ weekend of crafting. We will be “moving” in with my 24 yr. old nephew at his house in a neighboring state. (He’s a great kid by the way!)

He will not know what hit him when all the crates, boxes, bags, sewing machines, etc. come rolling in the back door. I think he is honestly looking forward to having us around. He knows there will be some free meals involved, too!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tag!

I wanted to personalize some homemade baked gift packages this year. I decided to do it by creating some name tags.  Just for fun, I also wanted to do it without purchasing anything.

Out came some old Christmas cards from last year, scrapbooking paper, ribbon, a hole punch and a cutter. I began by sorting through the cards and finding some I really wanted to use. I trimmed them  and then selected some coordinating paper.

I will confess now. I actually had to go to the dollar store and buy a glue stick. 

And the finished products...............

Who said projects had to be difficult to be worth it? This was an easy, fun, and inexpensive DIY. 

 I have hooked up to

Harley Davidson Quilt

When my husband sold his Harley bike, he had a whole wardrobe full of HD t-shirts literally from all over the world. I wanted to do something to save just a few of the shirts for him in some "Harley Hog" special meaningful way (whatever that means) and give it to him for Christmas. So I asked him to pick out twelve of his favorite t-shirts that he wanted to keep to remember perhaps certain rides or memories .

I cut the squares off either the front or back of the t-shirt depending on which side I thought would make the best finished 12 X 12 square.

I purchased for little or nothing one black sheet for the backing and some of this cool Harley-colored orange fabric for the borders, sashes, etc. I already had some batting on hand. Then I began to piece it square by square. It was finished off with a machine for durability. 

And here's the finished quilt. We both love it! It goes wherever we travel in the RV.

Always save t-shirts! They have such memories tied to them. And they really do make great quilts. Perhaps I can share some other t-shirt quilts I've done in the future.

I have hooked up to both Keelie and Kimba, so hop on over to both of these!

When Life Gives You Scraps..............

Not sure whether you will think I've lost it or not!  I'll chance it! 

The flowered material was an old dress of days gone by. The yellow fabric was scraps of an old pillow case. 

Put the two together with just a few straight seams with the cute little.............

And WAALAA. I had an apron!

I was sort of proud of my first attempt. Hopefully, when I hook it up to the great sites below, they won't suggest I not come back! Keep your fingers crossed for me. I was sort of thinking about my second giveaway. I have lots of scraps and other patterns. Hmmmm....

P.S. Don't forget to share a favorite dessert recipe with us HERE. (You can make it an easy post, too, by just getting that good one out of your archives.) This 2010 Pillsbury Calendar along with other goodies just may be yours!

Chair Fair!

These chairs have been in my family for almost 65 years. I love them. However, it came time recently for a little makeover. So I would love to share this redo with you, Kimba, and everyone over at A Soft Place to Land.

Before.........

And now after a cordless screw driver, 

a staple gun, and just a little time.................

Have a great day!

Candle Craze

Joining up with Kimba again to celebrate the DIY spirit.

 I can't get enough of candles. I love them all--all sizes, colors, fragrances, styles; you get the point. I saw something very similar to this little number out in a store. It was great EXCEPT for the price. So I decided I could replicate it.

I just found the candle holder, candle, and cross at HL for 50% off. I had already purchased the beaded strings earlier at some craft shop just because I loved them so much. 

Then I added some dazzling jewels to the cross and finished it off with some wide pretty ribbon. The photo is not top quality here but the ribbon actually has cute little gold beads also.