I have been B U S Y.....

On my last post I announced the birth of my granddaughter, Wren Elizabeth.  Since then I have had the pleasure of being Gammi/Nanny to her and her two big brothers while mommy teaches school.  School is out for the Summer and I will have more free time on my hands so I promise I will try to do better posting here.

First ....  Here are some of my Favorite Pictures of the kiddos:

Big Brother Adler loves his baby sister.

Squishy Face

Ready to celebrate being a Patriotic Princess.

Wren swinging 8 months old.

This is the look I got AFTER she threw all her toys on the floor.  She knows how to get what she wants.

Adler "grew" a butterfly from a cocoon.

Tate is playing soccer this year.  He has fun!!!

Adler, Wren and Tate.  They are my youngest son's children.

Tate, Drake, and Adler playing on the last day of School.  Drake is my oldest son's boy.  We don't get to see nearly enough of him since he started school.  So glad we will have time with him this summer.

I have been art journaling in my Bible....Below is just a sample.

And I am still on the design team for Texana Designs Stamps.  I am busily coloring samples with Derwent Inktense Colored Pencils.  I love how vibrant and water colored they look.

This is what is on my Paper Crafting Table.

My Embroidery Machine has been busy doing patches for BACA Bikers Against Child Abuse.  After the Waco Motorcycle "event" that has been in the news so much lately, It is a true honor to know and help these wonderful Bikers who stand in the gap for abused children.  They "adopt" them and go to court with them or surround their homes to make the kiddos feel secure and protected and loved while they are dealing with the effects of being abused.

And I am still sewing and crocheting.  I will post more things later.

Wren's Nursery......

I have been busy this summer.  Wren is due to make her appearance in the beginning of October.  April and I spent a lot of time together this summer planning a room that would be cheerful and fun, This is what we came up with.

Zach installed the wood wall.  April covered the letters with fabric to match the crib set. I did all the sewing.  Bumpers, crib sheets, dust ruffle, curtains, foot stool, rag rug, throw pillows, and stuffed birds.  Oh and I can't forget.....a monster doll wearing a pink tutu!

Way behind on posting.....

But I have been busy. :)

I love weddings.  Even more I love working with fabric to create something beautiful.

Something NEW

I am getting ready to create another wedding dress this summer.  This one will be made using the lace from the mother of the bride's wedding dress.  It will be special to both the mom and the bride and will create some sentimental memories for the family. I have been loving the look of vintage mixed media for quite awhile.  I have found a lot of inspiration on Pinterest  Rebecca Sower has an incredible style. and in particular Master Pinner Marja Schwedler.Lisa Pace's Creations also inspire me.

Having created Bridal Dresses for over 15 yrs has left me with lots of little pieces of silk and lace.  I have wanted to do something with it for a long time.  A couple of days ago, I grabbed a handful of lace remnants and a piece of silk and started arranging.  It was fun playing with the lace again.  It was fun planning where I could add some pearls and create a piece of art.

 I wanted it to not only be vintage beautiful, but also useful.  I decided to make a little pouch perfect for jewelry or for a brides emergency kit.  This little pouch is 5 inches wide by 6 inches deep.  Perfect for holding storing your bridal jewelry or garter after the wedding, or it could hold  a few band-aids, a small package of aspirin, some safety pins, a needle and thread, a small emery board.

New Family of Heirloom Teddies....

Last year I made some Heirloom Teddies for the grandchildren of a Beloved Grandmother.  I used her Chenille Bedspread.  They were to be Christmas gifts for these young people.  Grandmother passed away right before Christmas.  The bears were still presented to the grandchildren, but instead of just an ordinary gift from the Aunt who commissioned the job, it became a very touching remembrance with lots of love and memories.

Here is a link to a precious post about the original Teddies

My customer called a couple of weeks ago asking if I could make some more bears for her.  Her daughter is going out of town on a long term job assignment to Australia and requested more bears to take with her.  She wanted one for each of her parents, her other grandmother, and her boyfriend.  

What a pleasure it it is to make such treasured items.

A new family of bears

Momma Bear

Daddy Bear

Grandma Bear

Boyfriend Bear.

Day 1 #30DaysofCreativity

Today I have completed 2 projects. 
The first was to patch my son’s favorite pair of blue jeans.
The second is to finish my pink paisley ironing board cover.

Getting it in Gear

Beginning June 1st I will be participating in 30 days of Creativity.
I decided to start a little early by doing a little something everyday to get a jumpstart.  Being Gammi for a 3 year old and an almost 8 month old doesn’t leave much time to get into my studio and I have found myself in a slump. 
Adler and Tate’s Mommy is an art teacher in middle school and there are 3 more days of teaching before summer vacation.  Vacation for her means vacation for me.  My rejuvenation comes from my creativity.  I love the sense of well being that I feel when I have something “beautiful” to show for my efforts.
Sunday May 29th:  I cleaned off my work tables from making the Christmas album in my previous post.  When I finished I sewed buttons on a vest I made for my husband.  He is not a “suit wearer”.  His style is Wranglers and Boots.  So for him, formal wear is a pair of starched jeans and a vest. 

Monday May 30th:  We took a road trip, so I didn’t spend time in my studio.  But I was creative.  My favorite pair of khaki shorts got some spots on them that would not come out.  I decided to do some hand embroidery on them to camouflage the spots and make them “cute” at the same time.

Tuesday May 31st:  The boys kept me busy today, but after they went home I started my new ironing board cover.  It will be fun to iron clothes on a pretty pink and black paisley ironing board.

Another Teddy - especially for MOM

My mother, Catherine B Hall, is the person most responsible for my creative talents. She is the one who encouraged me to explore them. When I was very young she set an example of creating, by sewing my clothes. We would go window shopping and then she would come home and make me whatever I wanted. In those days, it was much cheaper to make a garment than to buy it. That is not the case now with mass production and huge end of the season clearance sales. But it set the bar high for me. I could always have something that was my own. Something that though it was in style, it was just enough different that it wasn't like anyone else's. I loved that. I became my own person because of that and never felt the need to look like everyone else. Yes, there were times that I did follow the crowd, but it was because it was my choice - not because I was trying to fit in.

My mother lived with us for 10 years and was a big part of our lives. She has been in an rehabs and assisted living centers for the last 11 months. At Christmas time this year it will be a year since I have been her companion and caregiver and her 89th birthday. I wanted to do something special for her, because quite honestly, at her age, I may not have very many more Christmases to celebrate with her.

When I created the heirloom teddy bears last month, I got the idea to make a Teddy Bear for my mom. She loves stuffed animals. But this one really had to be SPECIAL.

So I got out my silk remnants from all the wedding dresses I made. I opened my embroidery files on my computer and picked the perfect floral designs to adorn Teddy and I started to work.

To see the progress as it happened check out my FACEBOOK PHOTO ALBUM.

Heirloom Teddy Bears....

I will be making 9 of these cute little guys. A customer of mine requested them. I am using her mother's old bedspread. These bears will be keepsake Christmas Presents for the grandchildren of the bedspread's original owner. What a neat idea!!!.

The first 3 will be delivered later this morning. One of them needs to be "fed" yet. You may notice he looks a little malnourished. But by 10 am he will be as healthy as his brothers. :)

I can see more Teddy Bears in my future. Adler was helping me stuff one yesterday and he said, "You make me one too, Gammi? I love him." and then he gave the bear a big hug.

Of course I will.

Christmas Stockings

When my sons became adults, I made them velvet Christmas Stockings. No more cutesy Mickey Mouse or Teddy Bears for them. When they got married, I made their sweet wives stockings to match. These stockings stay at my house and have gotten filled each year with goodies and personal items. I always put in a few little fun trinkets and candy. I also always include tooth brush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo - you know those necessities of life that you have to spend money on, but would rather spend it on FUN things. When my boys started paying their own way, I thought this would be a way that once a year, they could spend their money usually used for these necessities on something else. So for the last 15 years or so, I have made a Christmas run and stocked up on all the above mentioned things.

So yesterday as I was planning my final Christmas Shopping run, I was wondering if they really liked the stockings or if it was something that Mom did, but didn't mean as much as other traditions.

So I sent an email with the

Subject Line: Christmas Survey.

The email itself simply said:

Yes or no question

Do you still look forward to Christmas Stockings from Mom?

Zach's reply:
From mom??? I always thought they were from santa. Anyways my answer is heck yes

My reply to him:
Sorry to burst your bubble, but nope the stockings have always been from MOM…..why else do you think you get toothbrushes and toothpaste. Santa would just give the candy. :)

And then Michael replied:
Yes I do indeed!

So it is unanimous!!! I will be filling thoses stockings again and again and again. It proves you never get too old for Christmas Stockings.

As a side note: Amy's reply was:
I thought that was a guaranteed new toothbrush! So yes, of course.
Now that made me smile. She thinks so much like I do.

Sewing for Girls

I always wanted girls to sew for, but was blessed with boys instead. I am lucky to have two wonderful sons and I love them with all my heart. I would never trade them for girls, but I have to tell you that I think they did a marvelous job when they picked their wives. I don't think I could have done any better myself. LOL. And they both love me. Michael, my older son, is married to Amy. Zach, my younger son, is married to April. They are NOT Daughter in Laws.....They ARE Daugher in LOVES.

November 16th was April's birthday. She is teaching Middle School Art in Hutto, TX. She wears an apron when she is working with the kids to protect her clothes. She had mentioned to me at the beginning of school that she would love to have a "funky" apron with big pockets and a ruffle at the bottom. So I saw the perfect opportunity to sew for a girl . I had some cool batik fabric in my stash so that is what I used. And I made it reversible so that she could decide which "apron" she wanted to wear on any given day.

So here are the pictures of April trying on her apron at her birthday party last night.

***Sorry, Chrisi, that I didn't get this posted last night, but I GOT TO keep Adler overnight and it was more fun to play with him than to sit at my computer. >:)