Take to the Sky

This week I was playing around with a new stamp set, Take to the Sky.  I bought it to make some masculine cards.  Here is my first attempt at using it.  

For this card, I started with Copper Clay cardstock.  I seriously love this color.  I added a navy blue banner that I embossed with a folder, a piece of the sky designer paper and then a stitched square.  On the square I stamped some clouds and some splatter.  I colored in the plane with Blends and cut it out.  I added a small paper strip to the bottom of the clouds with some twine and then 2 cute little banners from Nested Essentials dies.  I got the idea from Carole Parsons on Pinterest.  

The next card is made with Navy blue cardstock.  I like how Susie Wood cut the paper and added a strip to the top and to the bottom of the card.  I tied a a twine around the middle to give the card a more masculine look.  I stamped the plane directly onto the white rectangle and colored in the plane using some watercolor pencils.  It's hard to see in this photo.

I stamped a couple of clouds and added them with dimensionals to give the card more interest.  I had an extra banner cut out on my desk and I thought that it looked great on the bottom of the focal point.  I trimmed it a bit and like how it looks.  It gives the card an additional contrasting color.

My third card has a side fold.  I like this fold - it's easy to do and it highlights the designer papers.  Add a focal image and a saying and you're all set!  For my card, I stamped the plane and cut it out and added it to some cut outs from Stitched So Sweetly.  They're a few years old, but one of my favs.  I added Happy Birthday, some twine and a few sequin embellishments.  Even though it is simple, I kind of like this card!

I would like to try making some more plane cards, but didn't get a chance this week.  

 

Winter Sewing Retreat

Winter is a great time to catch up on your sewing projects.  Every January I go on a Quilt Retreat with some ladies from my quilt group.  This year we had 17 women who attended.  Here is a photo of me finishing up a table runner that I made for the kitchen island.

After I put away all of the Christmas decorations this year, I thought that the house looked bare.  I wanted to make a new table runner for the kitchen in some blues, greens and grays.  

I cut up some of my "Next" fabrics into 2 1/2" squares and put this together while I was on my retreat.  I think it looks pretty good in the kitchen.

I would have used a dark teal or blue for the borders but I didn't bring a lot of fabrics with me on the retreat.  I had some dark gray and I ended up using this.  

I like the look of it; it's a little darker than what I would normally make, but it works.  

Here is a closer look at the fabrics.  I fussy cut some birds and their nests to give it some interest.  I still have a bit of the Nest fabric left, but I'm sad to say that it is almost all used up.  

I roomed with  my friend, Linda, and we usually spend some time outdoors over the weekend.  The retreat center is near the Vermont hills and it's very nice there.

But this year it was too cold and windy to go out.  It snowed on Sunday, but we left a little early to beat the snow.

Here is Linda making some cute fabric baskets as gifts.  She was using some Christmas fabrics and catching up on things she didn't finish before Christmas.

I'm so grateful for our friendship and how she puts up with my silly shenanigans.  We had so much fun.  

Another project that I finished was this maple leaf wall hanging.  I had started it a couple of years ago but wondered why I didn't add any fall colors to it beside orange.  At the retreat I added the brown border, a green border and another neutral border.  I think this added some color and interest to the wall hanging.  I quilted straight lines in the leaf and small free-motion stippling in the neutral area.

I am happy that I didn't throw it away, because I actually like how it turned out.  I added a brown border to finish it.

I think I will add some fall colored buttons to it to give it more color and add some interest.  Although I didn't get a lot accomplished at the retreat, I had a wonderful weekend with my quilting guild friends.  :)

 

Winter Owls

The other day I was working on some Thank You cards for Christmas gifts that people had given to me.  It was a wintery, snowy day and I took out Winter Owls.  I paired it with the soft colors of One Horse Open Sleigh papers and love how my cards came out.

For this first card, I die cut a circle and put some of the designer papers behind it for the focal point.  I stamped and cut out the owl and used some branch die cuts from Classic Cloche dies.  I heat embossed the saying on Just Jade paper and think that the colors go so well together for this wintery card.  I got the idea from Sandra Kogel.

Another beautiful wintery card is this one - the designer papers do all of the work.  I started with Misty Moonlight cardstock and added the winter scene.  I stamped the owl in navy blue and cut him out.  I love how he is flying by the winter tree.  A quick and easy card.  I saw a card by Nancy Wood and copied her idea.

This next card is pretty much the same layout, only it uses a different paper.  It comes with this saying and I thought it was so appropriate for this time of year.  I stamped the bird in Early Espresso and colored him in a bit.  I added Wink of Stella to make his wings sparkle as he flies through the snow.  

I loved making these cards and now I wish that I had more of the One Horse Open Sleigh papers.  :)

 

Terrific Toadstools

I love to start out the New Year by offering some sort of desk calendar to my stamping friends.  This year I made a little Post-It holder calendar.  You can put a pen or pencil in the space next to the Post-It notes.  I used the Terrific Toadstool papers that are in the Sale-a-Bration catalog and just love their bright colors.

For this cute card using the Terrific Toadstool stamp set, I used some of the designer papers to add bright colors.  Then I stamped and cut out the mushrooms and added them to my card.

The saying, squirrel and bird are from an older set called Friendly Gnomes.  I thought that they would pair nicely with the toadstools.  I got the idea for this card from Jaimie Barbarczy.

Look how colorful this card is!  What a great way to kick off stamp classes in the New Year.  :)

The designer papers from this set are so bright and happy and they make pretty cards.  I added a bright pink circle from Spotlight on Nature dies for a focal point.  I stamped the mushrooms, grass and the little gnome and then cut them out.  

The saying is from an older set called Magical Day.  I could make these cards all day.  

The third card is made using papers from the Terrific Toadstools dsp.  I wanted to show that not all of the cards using this set had to be whimsical or have mushrooms on them.  I stamped the background using a new online work set called Elements of Text.

Then I added a sprig die cut to bring out the purple color a bit more.  A bow, saying and some embellishments finish up the card.  It has a side fold opening for some interest.  

What a great class to start out the New Year - lots of bright, happy colors and fun images to stamp with.  Which card do you like the best?

 

Making Hotpads and Bowl Cozy Sets

My friends are always asking if I have made any microwave bowls.  So I decided to make a few sets to give as gifts.  This blue set is made using Tilda fabrics, for my fried that love all things Tilda.  

I made a hot pad to match with heat resistant batting in it.  They can be used for a hot dish at the table or as a potholder.

My next set is for my friend that loves elephants.  So I found a fabric with elephants on it and matched up the colors.  I love how these turned out.  

This set is for a friend that love food.  I found this fabric years ago while on a shop hop.  These are the last scraps of it.  

This set I made in a pretty green.  When I made my bowl cozies, or microwave bowls, I free motion quilt them before assembling them together.  Some people sew an "X," but I like how the quilting looks.  It give the fabric a bit more stiffness.  The bowls can be turned either way so it makes them reversible.  

I use all cotton batting for the microwave bowls so they don't catch on fire.  My recommendation is to use them once your hot bowl comes out of the microwave, just to be on the safe side.

Bowl cozies are great for a dish of ice cream, too.  They keep your hands warm while you're eating.  

This is what I use in the hotpads to make them heat resistant.  Just be sure you don't put this in the bowl cozies.  

These are easy and a lot of fun to make.   

 

Quilts from 2024 and What's in Store for 2025

I actually enjoy the quietness of January.  Because I live in the Northeast, we tend to get a lot of snow every winter.  This makes me want to stay in and find peace in the down times.  It's a much slower pace of life, maybe because it gets dark out so early.  My evenings are filled with handwork such as crocheting, watching tv or reading.  

Winter is a good time to spend the whole day in the sewing room or stamping rooms without any fear of missing out on anything going on outside - Ha ha.  

Last year I worked on finishing up some UFO's - my unfinished quilts and projects.  Sadly, I only got 4 more quilts finished!  And there's still a LOT more in the (naughty) pile!

Here are my 4 finished quilts from 2024:

1.  The Bowtie quilt for my granddaughter

2.  The Irish Chain quilt for my daughter's new home

3.  The Red Quilt for myself so that I can have a quilt in every color

4.  The Flowered Chandelier quilt for one of my friends

My goal this year is to finish up at least 6 more so that I can start on some new quilting projects. I have lots of fabric fat quarters and jelly rolls that are ready to get used!  I have been making each of my friends a quilt, and the list is only half complete.  So there's work to do - LOL.

This weekend I'm going on a sewing retreat and I hope to get some more things finished.  But we'll see.  
 

Bird Ornament

Each month I get together with ladies from my Stampin Up demonstrators group.  We take turns meeting at different houses.  It was my turn and I made them each a little ornament using papers from One Horse Open Sleigh and bird cut outs from Nests of Winter. 

Each one is a little bit different.  I cut the circle shapes out of chip board and 2 pieces of designer papers to cover the front and the back of each one.  I fussy cut out the birds and added a stamped saying, a small ornament topper some twine.  

The designer papers make it look like the birds are "in the woods."  I think if I was going to make these again, I would put them onto the wooden ornament shapes.  That would make them a little bigger and more interesting.

One-third of my downstairs is set up for making crafts and having people over.  Here is the set-up for my demonstrator friends to come over and make a couple of crafts. 

 I enjoy my crafting time with friends.  :) 

 

11th Annual Ornament Exchange

This year we had two new girls attend our annual Ornament Exchange, with a total of 9 ladies.  We love our special night together; it's really one of the highlights of the Christmas season for me.  

My son is usually here to get our photos, but this year we were on our own and had to take selfies.  

The night begins in the kitchen, where we have appetizers, dinner and maybe even a little Christmas cocktail.  Everyone brings something to share and the variety is always so exciting.

Don't you just love Amy's dress?  Seriously, I would wear that if it was mine.  :)

Here we are snacking and waiting for everyone to arrive.

After dinner, we move to the family room and we each take turns telling about our ornament - how we got the idea, how we made it, etc.  Linda had taken a trip to the German market and ended up making us each a little Scandinavian horse.  

This is Kim and she made some pretty little trees that she sewed and added sewing embellishments onto.  

Amy found some greenery and made a cinnamon stick Christmas tree embellished with buttons.  Although I don't have photos of all of the ornaments (not sure why), they were all amazing!  The ladies spent so much time and effort into making their ornaments.

After our exchange, I have another ornament craft ready to make at the crafting table!  We wrap up the night crafting, chatting and just having a great time.  

I am honored to have these wonderful crafty friends and each year I can celebrate that by putting their ornaments on my tree.  Have you ever been to an Ornament Exchange?  Have you ever thought about hosting one?  You just need a few crafty friends to get started.  

 

Making Nativity Ornaments

Every year, I host an Ornament Exchange for my crafty friends.  I think this year is the 11th year!  We all look forward to it and plan our ornaments throughout the year.  

This year I made a Nativity wooden ornament.  I have been collecting clothes pins for a couple of years now and decided it was time to make the project.

I found some Christmas carol papers that I cut out and glued to the backgrounds.  I sanded the edges and sponged them to give them a little bit of an antique look.

I had a package of wooden ornaments and one of wooden hearts and I used them for the background.  I painted the wooden cut outs and stained all of the clothespins, which was kind of messy.  

The little clothespins were from Michaels and they made the perfect baby Jesus.

Joseph was painted green and Mary was painted blue to give some color.  And I had a roll of burlap ribbon that I cut and used for the swaddling cloths to keep baby Jesus warm.

Mary gets a jute rope bow and lastly I added some buttons and sparkly embellishments to finish them off.  

I ordered the rusty stars online and used some old Stampin Up wire to attach them to the ornaments.

There a LOT of glue from my glue gun used to hold everything all together.  

I made about 20 of these so that I had extras to give out at Christmas and some to put in my shop.  They took a couple of weeks to get all of the steps made to complete them.  But I like how they came out.  The girls at the Exchange loved them. 

But then I had another idea...

Remember the old quilt that I picked up at the Vintage market in the spring?  I cut out some hearts from it and sewed along the edge to hlep them keep their shape.  

I thought that the quilted heart would make a good background for the clothespins.  I decided to use the older vintage clothespins for this craft.

Here is what they look like and I have to say that they really have a vintage look to them!

The clothespins have been well used and I think that adds to the project.  I didn't paint Mary and Joseph this time, but left them plain.  

And I had to glue the star onto the quilted piece because the background wasn't stiff enough to hold the wire.

I didn't get a chance to use or give any of these out this year, so I will save them for next year.  :)

Which Nativity ornament do you prefer?  The one with the wooden background or the quilted background?

 

Two More Quilts Finished in 2024 (#3 and #4)

Before 2024 was out, I finally finished up two more quilts that I had been working on.  Here is the Red Quilt that I made using jelly rolls.  

I added in some pinwheels to give it some interest.  I think it adds to the quilt.  

I free motioned some roses in the quilting.  I found a rose pattern in one of Pat Sloan's books.  I practiced doodling it for about 2 weeks, then quilting it in.  I think the rose quilt pattern matches nicely with the pretty flowered fabrics in this quilt.  

I'm going to keep this quilt for myself.  It's not a Christmas quilt, just red.  I know it's simple, but I love how it turned out.  

This is my second Chandelier quilt.  I made it using some greens and flowered fabrics.  It's for one of my friends who loves to be outside and in her garden.  

For the machine quilting, I free motioned some large flowers onto the quilt.  I love the bit of whimsy that it adds to the piece.  

On the back I added a couple of strips of patchwork.  I like how it breaks up the back and gives it a little visual interest.

I'll be giving it to her in a couple of weeks for her birthday.  I don't think she reads my blog, but I guess we'll find out.  LOL