Not quite a scrap book page...

And not quite a framed photo either...this is something sorta in between...

Last year The Little One went to prom. The photos of her were spectacular and every time I look at them I hear the opening line of Lord Byron's poem "She walks in beauty...". I've wanted to do something with one of the photos and that line for some time. And earlier this fall the kids and I gathered to take some photos to surprise their father with. I snapped this one of The Big One and The Bonus One as they walked in front of me...for some reason, it's one of my favorites...and it seemed fair game to do something with as well...



Sooooo...I gathered my supplies. For each photo I had a 5" x 7" wooden plaque, a large wooden ball and a flat round (think wooden wheel), a couple of screws, tacky glue, some decorative papers, the photo, paint, a few embellishments, and the always wonderful Mod Podge, and, along with the help of The Little One, we started a project.




The first step was to paint the wooden plaque and the large wooden ball to coordinate with the papers we'd chosen for each of the photos. Once that was done, a hole was drilled through the plaque and the ball attached with a screw. A smaller hole was drilled into the ball and the flat round attached to prevent the finished piece from rocking.




When that was done the papers were added in layers to create the background for the photo. I laid them out in various patterns to decide the one I preferred, and when satisfied, The Little One applied generous coats of Mod Podge to the backs of the papers and I applied them to the plaque.





The photo was added and then the entire piece was covered with a layer of matte Mod Podge that had been thinned 1 part Mod Podge to 1 part water. The piece was allowed to dry. and once dry I added a phrase to each of the pieces using a permanent marker, and a second thinned coat of the matte Mod Podge applied. I wasn't satisfied with how the matte made the photos look, so I put a coating of the gloss Mod Podge on only the photo. All was allowed to dry.





Once the piece was dried, ribbon and other embellishments were added to finish it off. The photo of The Big One and The Bonus One was done using "retro-mod" papers and buttons...









The photo of The Little One was done using soft, antique looking papers, and a honeycomb sort of hand made paper. Because I wanted hers to look old, as well as soft and feminine, I used a wash of burnt sienna an metallic gold to add the aged look to the edges. Ribbon and a flowery brass charm were added to finish it.

A great project to ring in the new year....Happy New Year everyone!!

Well...it's here...a blue moon...

The rare "once in a blue moon" we hear of...and this year it falls in conjunction with the new year, a rarity to be sure, it happens only every 19 years or so. I wonder if that is why I am thinking more than I usually do about my history? Maybe it is just the coming of the new year...or perhaps it is because this year marks the year I will turn 50?

This is my past...My Great-Grandmother Pearl and Great-Grandfather Oscar. They came to the United States from Italy, through Ellis Island as a young couple. These are four of their 10 children, the one in the center, between them is my Grandmother, Erma. Pearl died when she was only 32, from "blood poisoning". She fell while hailing a taxi and a rusty tack broke her skin next to her knee. It still baffles me to think that an infection we wouldn't think twice about now took her life. My Grandmother was only ten when she lost her mother.

They are the family I inherited from my Mother...

This is also my past. My Great-Grandfather Logan, and my Great-Grandmother Emma. Their histories go back to Ireland and England. He was a giant, stood 6' 4", she...not so much, topping out at close to five feet. Logan and Emma came to Kentucky from Virginia, settling in an area they called "Pine Grove". The roots that my Great-Grandmother gave me run deep...all the way back to the beginning of America and the Mayflower. Her fore bearers, and thus mine, fought at Yorktown with Washington.

They are the family I inherited from my Father.


Somehow, in that bigger picture we all hear about, all of these genes got put into a shaker and I was one of the results. I have the "Murphy" nose right down to the hump on the bridge, and the longer and more narrow face of my father's side. The fact that it veers slightly to my left is the fault of a softball, not genes. The pale skin and red hair of the Irish handed down on that side. But I have the deep brown eyes of my Grandmother Pearl...and I think maybe the lips of my Grandfather Oscar...sans moustache...but what a moustache it was eh? Luckily, while the Irish in me gives me a pale skin that burns readily, the Italian seems to have allowed me the blessing of not freckling. The fire and passion that dwells within me for all that I love I am certain is Italian...as is my habit of "talking with my hands"...and maybe my penchant for a good pasta and a fine red wine.

I tossed my own genes in the pool and the two on the left came on the scene...The Little One got all the vertical challenge of the women on both sides of her family, along with the heart shaped face of her Father's side. She has my Grandmother's eyes, and my Mother's smile...and the stubbornness of her Grandmother Jett...on her Daddy's side of course. The Big One, he got the height of Logan, and all the men on his Dad's side, but he got the shape of my face and the Murphy nose...I'm not sure who in her family my Bonus One looks like..but I am sure we will learn so much more about that as time goes forward. In mine, I see their history, and mine...along with all the possibilities of the future.

One day they may choose to toss their genes in the pool as well and the children that result will add to the beauty and uniqueness of this world...they will hear about their history, and eventually be a part of writing the history for future generations...and life will continue under that great big old Blue Moon...into this New Year and countless more to come...

(Please remember that these are MY family, and are precious to me. No rights are given for these photos to be used by anyone other than myself...I do hope you will respect that.)

Languishing in nothingness...

I am so thoroughly unmotivated to get to all of the things I need to get to...the trees need to come down, the dog hair tumbleweeds need to be swept, the fridge needs to be cleaned out, not to mention tons and tons (did I say TONS) of laundry done...and yet, here I sit. Maybe it has something to do with waking at 3:46 am this morning. The Big One stayed with me last night so I could run him to the airport this morning, he's joining The Bonus One in Wisconsin so they can celebrate the New Year together, and needed to be at the airport by 5:00 am...That would be a great excuse, wouldn't it? I think the reality is that I am just being lazy in my week off, it's such a rare thing for me, and I am determined to enjoy this day of it...trust me, the laundry will be there tomorrow, and will have grown...to date, the clean laundry fairies have never visited my house...but I am always hopeful (crazy?)...

I haven't been totally without some wee smidgen of creativity. Last evening I helped The Big One make something for The Bonus one that I would soooo, sooo love to show you today because it turned out so darned cute! But, it turns out that my Bonus One reads the blog (how cool is that??), so I can't spill the beans just yet. It is really, really so darned cute, I will post a pic once she has seen it. And, I have been doodling Valentine's... I have seven finished...well on my way to the expected 200 I'll be needing. I'll be explaining that more later and sharing pics, just further strengthening my claim of insanity...

In the mean time though, I am pulling all of the craft links for Christmas that were in my sidebar to this page, and I will be adding Valentine's Day links there. And, now, to complete my languishing in nothingness...I am going to enjoy a glass of wine, maybe two, and catch up on that sleep I lost out on this morning....

Winter in a Jar by Monique (Moki) on the Creature Comforts Blog

Easy and gorgeous pine cone garland from Twig & Thistle

Little Houses for you to make from Cart Before the Horse

Hot Chocolate on a stick from Giver's Log

Little House Ornaments with Lauren Brandy

Ahhhhh......

The feasting is over...the dishes are done, the gifts are open...and I even slept until almost 5:00 am this morning...

The Little One and I tossed the dog in the car...ok, we didn't so much toss him in as he plunged into the back seat when we asked if he wanted to go for a ride...and took a drive down to see the lights on Christmas Eve.








I gave her the camera...








You'll notice we love blue lights here in Lexington...like we love our Wildcats (13-0 in basketball so far this year)...whose school colors just happen to be blue and white...wonder if there is any connection??


I hope your holidays were filled with much joy...and now, let me share with you the links for this week from The Artsy Bloggers...

Creative Dreamer
One last ornament...then on to Valentine's Day!

Gadabout Media DIY
Did you know that you can use LED lights to decorate for the holidays? Designer Alison Lewis shares her easy how-to for holiday bows.

Hankering for yarn
Do you remember the story of the Shoemaker and the Elves? Well, Noreen has designed and made some adorable miniature clothes for the Shoemaker's Elves- or perhaps just to hang on the Christmas tree. She's posted tutorials for a tiny woven cap, embroidered felt jacket, woven pants, and even little wooden shoes.

Mixed Media Artist
Mix fabric and paper for a one-of-a-kind collage!

The Artful Crafter
Don’t toss those leftover holiday candle stubs! Here’s how to organize them for recycling later – after the holiday whirl subsides.

My wishes for you...

It's Christmas Eve...The Little One is napping on the couch, and the dog snoring in his chair. A Christmas Carol, the one with Patrick Stewart in it, is on the TV and the Christmas lights are shedding their soft glow. At this moment, I am content to the very core of my soul. Tomorrow may well be a totally different story, but only tomorrow will show itself for what it will be.

The holidays are such a unique time. I don't know of any other point in the year that brings more stress and conflict, and yet is considered so joyous and filled with love. I'm suspicious that it is much like childbirth, such a pain while going through it, and yet, when it is over, we only remember it with the fondest of memories. Selective memory can be such a good thing sometimes.

The memories that I have of Christmas are of my grandmother. From the time I was big enough to stand on a chair beside the table I can remember being allowed to roll out cookie dough to make the Christmas cookies. Her kitchen was always warm and welcoming, regardless of the time of the year, but especially so at Christmas. My memories of the scents that filled her kitchen still envelop me like the love she wrapped me in. She's been gone more than 20 years now, and I miss her more than I can ever explain.

Christmas was about Santa and gifts, family and friends, a midnight service at Church...because the birth of the Christ was the reason for the celebration...Having grown up in such an insular part of the world it was all I knew, and I thought everyone was like we were. As an adult I have learned much, and I still have so very much, much more to learn. I know now that the community that I grew up in was not the reflection of the world that I thought it was.

I've found beautiful and wonderful friends that have become part of my life that come from all over the world. They have different colors of skin, different backgrounds, many other faiths and belief systems, and sexual orientations. What I thought when I was young, that everyone was like we were, turns out to be far from reality. The true beauty of our world are all of the variations that so richly fill it.

And, I've realized that, regardless of our differences, we really are very much alike. We all want to be loved, we want to have meaning in our lives, and we want to believe that there is something out there, something larger than we are, that created the beauty of our Universe.

As I sit here reflecting on this life and this holiday I am celebrating, my thoughts turn to the gifts I truly want and wish for, not just for me, but for all of us the world over..

I wish for understanding, tempered with tolerance. I wish that, for one blinding moment each and every day, we all suddenly understand with amazing clarity, the journey that just one other, random person, is walking. To walk for that moment in their shoes, to feel their trials and joys...to understand that this journey is not always easy, but that it could be so much more so if we all lent a hand to each other.

I wish for moments of peace. True peace. The type you feel to your very soul. Those rare moments when all of the Universe seems to be perfectly aligned, and you know with certainty that everything will be just fine.

I wish for moments of pure joy and contentment...tempered with just enough sadness that we can truly understand the depths of our joy. You cannot truly know one without the other.

I wish for grace...that unexplainable state of being where you know you are walking the path you are meant to be.

I wish for health...for all to have enough healthy food, enough clean water, and enough shelter to allow no one to be hungry or thirsty or cold...

I wish for love, hope, and happiness...because these things are what make every life worth living.

May blessings be abundant for everyone, now and through all the years...may our hearts be filled with understanding and awe...and may we all share those blessings with everyone we meet...

Oh Christmas tree...oh, Christmas tree.....

How in the heck did Christmas get here so darned fast? I know it wasn't long ago I was writing about the scent of the magnolias and fireflies...But, alas, it is here, and all the stress that goes with it. I've got one last offering of an ornament pattern for you before it hits! I whipped three of these things up last night in about two hours, in spite of the help that the dog gave me. He's cute, but he sure isn't much help in the thumbs department...


So, here's what I've got...a Christmas tree inspired by the ones I made for the cake the other day...and a little because I watched the Rudolph special the other evening. This really is a quick and done sort of thing, it's simple, but I think they turn out darling. These are just the tip of the iceberg, you can decorate them with any and everything, just let your imagination run wild.

And, here's what you need for each tree, you need one 8"x8" piece of interfacing or of light weight cotton fabric (think muslin), three scraps of fabric to accommodate the pattern pieces, and one for the base piece, a 3"x3" light weight piece of cardboard, polyfil to stuff with, and buttons, beads, trims, and whatever else you can think of to decorate them with. If you want to make them for ornaments, you need a small piece of ribbon to make the hanger with (that piece of ribbon makes the turning of these things amazingly easier!!). Oh, and you need the pattern...which, luckily, you can find right here...

To enlarge the pattern, open your word processing program. Create a blank page, and set your margins to .5". Click on the pattern to the left which will open it up in a new window. Right click on it, go to your word processing program, and copy there. S-t-r-e-t-c-h it to fit the whole page, and voila, you have a full size pattern. Of course, you can make it larger, or smaller to adjust to suit you. If that seems like far too much work, just email me for the pdf file... acreativedreamer@gmail.com.

A note here about this pattern and all other "free" items I offer. They are my gifts to you for your personal use ONLY... please do NOT make them for sale (that infringes on my copyright unless I give you permission), and please do not post them on your blog without linking to mine if you want to share the pattern with others.

I drew the finished pattern on card stock to make it more durable, then cut it out to make my pattern pieces. On the fabric you've chosen, around each piece and cut out. Make sure to add a seam allowance around the outer edges...I cut the bottom edge of each piece on the line since it was meant to make it decorative. (I so love being able to crop photos...you have no idea how much mess you are not seeing!!!)



Starting with the lower layer, stitch into place on the interfacing or base fabric. Continue with the middle layer, and the top layer. Remember to overlap the layers so that you have none of the base fabric exposed!












It should look something like this...(did I mention how fast these things are to make?????)





If you are making them ornaments, fold a piece of ribbon and insert it (loop side toward the bottom of the tree), fold the cone in the middle and sew the seam up the back. Turn the tree (really, the ribbon hanger helps sooooo much in this step it isn't funny!). On the base, use a running stitch to go all the way around the edge, insert the round of cardboard (you may have to adjust it a bit depending on your seam size), and gather the running stitch so that your fabric fits tightly around the cardboard circle.





Stuff your tree with polyfill and attach the base circle using small stitches. Be sure it is stuffed pretty firmly before closing off the base, you want it to stand straight. After that it's just a matter of using what you have on hand, and your imagination, to gussy it up to your likin'...










I kept mine simple (I like simple...it often translates to not only cute, but fast to make)...and tied on only buttons...this time. If you make a couple, be sure and send me photos of them, and I'll share with everyone (include your blog address if you have one so I can link to that as well!)

Moooo-ey Christmas...

Really bad, huh? Even for me...moo-ey....but hey, it's Christmas...

The luncheon went well at work, although I have to tell ya, there was more cake left over than I'd expected. Usually, when I take treats in they are wolfed down within the hour (The Little One says you can feel the earth rumble as they all make their way to where the treats are)...we did have an awful lot of stuff there though, so I am going to attribute it to that...'cause the cake was darned good!


And, now...I am finishing up the ornaments I want to give my co-workers. This is the first one I got finished. My "real" job deals with agriculture, and one of the offices in the building deals specifically with milk. This ornament is for Cathy, who works in that office. It seemed only appropriate that I something cute using cows for her.

One of my favorite ornaments on my tree is a crescent moon with a cow dangling over it that I made several years ago (you can see the moon behind these cows)...the cow jumping over the moon. I liked how the cow turned out when I made it, and thought I'd use the same sort of thing for this. The moon one is made of salt dough, this one is made of polymer clay.


Dragging out my most sophisticated crafting tools, I began by drawing a circle (around a lid of a bottle of "snow" that I thought would be about the right size, see how sophisticated??) on a piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil. I kneaded some of the clay and pressed it into a flattened circle that is just a shade over 1/4 inch thick. The white pieces are explained in a bit.

I wanted to have two cows enclosed in a fence with a "Merry Christmas" banner hovering over it. To make the cow, I need 4 small pieces of clay for the legs, one larger piece for the body, one piece that is a bit smaller for the head, and a few small scraps for the tail, ears, and "tuft" of fir on the head. (The white pieces I told you I would explain.)

I roll the leg pieces into upside down cone shapes, and put four of them close together. The body is rolled into an oval shape and squished onto the legs, the head done the same way, with one end of the oval smaller than the other, and attached on one side of the body. I then attach the tuft, the ears and a tiny tail to each cow, and tuck them onto the grass. Usually, I use a small piece of floral wire that extends from the base, between the legs and into the body to help secure it.


I used brown clay to roll a cylinder that I cut into four short pieces to make the fence posts. Each of them are attached with a small piece of wire inserted into them and the base clay to support the post. You can see the arched banner above the cows in the pic. And, here a note about doing as I say...not as I do...I made the round wire inserts to use as a place to tie a ribbon through at the top of the banner for the hanger...however, I forgot that the base had to hang from that banner as well. What I should have done was insert a straight wire, and then made the loops after the clay was cured. As it was, I had to go to plan be...which you'll see in a minute.

I measured wire to cover with the clay to use as the slats for the fence. It is important here to measure each side individually, it isn't likely that you will cut all four sides the same lengths...or, at least I have never found that I am that symmetrical....if you are, I definitely bow to you...



I thinly roll a covering of the clay on the wires and insert to make the fence slats on all four sides. Then it is into the oven to bake for the time the clay suggested...along with a couple of other ornaments that I'll be sharing in the next few days...





When it was finished baking, I added some painted details...black spots, a peach muzzle and some eyes. I baked the ornament another 5 minutes to set the paint. At this point I covered it all with a glaze to protect it...and figured out plan be...I tied the ribbon to two of the corners and ran the ribbon up the back of the finished banner banner, then tied it into bows through the hanging loops I had created earlier. It worked, so no one has to ever know...right?


I added the snow from the bottle I had used earlier to draw the base, and then tossed some ultra fine glitter over it while it was wet...wrote "Merry Christmas" on the banner, glazed it, and added snow and glitter to it too. One cannot have enough glitter this time of the year (and just wait until Valentine's Day!!)!!

I did end up making a brass wire hanger that went from loop to loop (since they had been crowded with the ribbon bows from plan b), and I think, in the end, it is adorable....let's hope Cathy likes it too!

Next up...Christmas Trees (with a free pattern) that were inspired by the trees on the cake I made for the luncheon....

If there were every any question about my sanity...

Let me clear it up now...I'm nutty as a fruit cake...so appropriate to the season, huh? Last night, after work, I rushed home to bake a cake (peppermint red velvet) for the luncheon we were having at work today. While I was at it, I made some of the peppermint fudge....then, because our inspectors were in for our winter meeting, I made them each a Christmas ornament...wrapped some home made caramels, and put together a treat bag for each of them from my friend Kellye and myself. I got to bed at midnight (turns out that the frosting trees I thought would be sooooooo simple and fast, weren't so fast....) woke at 5 am this morning to finish glazing and adding sparkle to the ornaments.

Now that I am home for the weekend, I have two days to finish up the ornaments that I am doing for my co-workers...just about 10 of them between now and Sunday afternoon....When that is done, I get to begin my Valentine project, that everyone will hear about as I do it. Yep. I'm insane.

In the meantime...while I try to collect my wits if not my sanity...I want to share this week's Artsy Blogger links...

Creative Dreamer
A Christmas tree named Charlie....and the elfin magic that makes him special.

Gadabout Media DIY
Do you really need jewelry pliers? And what is the difference between all those different "noses"? Chloe has a basic guide to get you started.

Hankering for yarn
Noreen became a grandmother for the first time last week, and so she's over the moon. She's made some cute little mini folders for baby pictures and has posted a tutorial on how to make these dandly little treasures.

Mixed Media Artist
Make a stab-bound scrapbook or journal to hold all your Christmas cards and memories this year!

The Artful Crafter
Just look at the darling ornaments you can make from mini clay flower pots!

The "other" tree...

You met Charlie the other day...now, meet the "other" tree. This one doesn't have a name...it's just referred to as "the tree". It's tall, and skinny...(I was hoping the dog wouldn't find it as big a target)...and green. Really green as I look at this picture. Kinda sad looking.

But, again, that elfin magic...add a couple hundred little lights, and yards and yards of red glass beads...an ornament here, and there, and there and there and there...two or three deep...







My own sweet little elf adding her magic...









A snowman I designed...his arms and legs are jointed, and when you pull the string, they "jump"...the idea came from antique toys...a jester, a Wildcat, complete with his blue and white scarf and a basketball, and a Santa designed the same way share the tree too...






A cute snowman I made of paperclay...and in the upper right you see the Christmas spider who spins the silver "festive" all over the tree.








The idea for the "ice cream Santa"
actually came one afternoon when The Little One and I grabbed a soft serve cone...the sprinkles are seed and bugle beads.








Can you tell I like bears? The smiling polar bear was created a couple of years ago, the pink and green teddy I made from my very own baby blanket. That blanket would be about 50 now (hard to believe)...








The Little One stitched the penguin...I stitched the snowman...(I miss designing needlepoint...these so make me realize that!)








My very bodacious mermaid (just a little sassy)...












And, how can I not giggle when I see this little guy?








Amazing what a little magic can do, isn't it?