Tuesdays Treasures Featured Artist

My featured artist from the It's Better Handmade guild on Artfire is Gail from Heart and Sow Designs. This segment will now be published on Tuesdays to give the featured artist more exposure for the week. This busy mom of 3 and grandma of 8 loves sewing. In fact she's been sewing for over 30 years. She learned at her mothers side when she was a teen making some of her own clothes. Recently Gail had been looking for cute aprons. Having found none to her liking, she proceeded to make one for herself and out of this need came her business, Heart and Sow Designs. Gail makes a variety of sewn items from aprons to purses to scarves and much more. Why not get your daughter off to a good start in her cooking journey with this adorable "mothers helper" apron? Isn't it the cutest? And if your young protegee` happens to be a boy, Gail does special orders. And keeping with today's style, Gail makes these cute, warm fleece scarves that are reasonable priced. I sure wish I had found Gail's studio when I was looking for a new scarf this past winter. Gail also makes these fun purses which aren't just functional but also stylish. You can find Gail online at her Artfire studio and on her blog , Hart to Heart. You can also find her on facebook and twitter. Be sure to stop by and check out all that Gail has to offer. Until next time.....

Bee Happy Swap from Becky

I was partnered with Becky of Ginger Creme Hollow for the Bee Happy swap that Amy at Bumble Bee Lane hosted. Boy did I ever get spoiled. We were suppose to send one stitched item, at least one form the related to the theme and any others that we also would like to include in the swap package. Becky sure went above and beyond. That cute little prim pillow is adorable. It will join my raggedy collection when they are moved to their new home. Becky also sent this mug rug as she called it. It's made with I believe little bumble bee material from Honey & Me. It's the perfect size for my extra large coffee mug to rest on. And in keeping with the birds/bees/flowers theme Becky also sent this bird pin cushion. I desperately needed a new one as I had lent mine, full of pins and needles to my neighbor so she could teach her daughter how to sew...well the daughter took it home with her to her apartment so mine was never returned. This one isn't going anywhere. There was also a cute stenciled box and nestled inside were wax dipped salt dough bird and flower ornies. Too cute. Becky said, if I remember correctly that these 2 tin tiles were thrift store finds. Aren't they just the cutest. And of course they fit perfectly within the theme. These strawberries look so yummy...but I'll just hang them over my dough bowl racks front bar brace and enjoy them.....very summery. There was also a yummy scented wax tart. Can't wait to melt it. There was also a cute little beehive sign and a cute notepad that had bees on it made by Primitives by Kathy....she has the cutest note pads sometimes. Oh and the little gingerbread man...he's too stinkin' cute. I love him. He will be hanging off a peg on my new peg rack the hubs is making for me....shhhh....don't tell him as I haven't informed him yet...will be tomorrow though as I've had the idea in my head for awhile. As you can see I've been thoroughly spoiled by Becky. Thanks to Amy for hosting this awesome swap. Until next time....

The Wrath of Grapes

Or something like that! LOL! I have been slowly adding to my wine themed signs. Every time I add one I think of my friends from New Jersey, Donna and Janice. I met them many years ago at a craft show. Since we have cut back on the number of shows we do a year we only see them at one show each year. These girls love their wine and bring a few bottles with them when they do weekend shows to enjoy in their hotel room after the show ends. In fact they even like $2buck Chuck from Trader Joe's. We have a Trader Joe's here locally in Maryland but they aren't allowed to sell wine in their stores here. What a shame from what I have been told it's suppose to be pretty good. Anyway, the closest Trader Joe's that can sell wine is located outside Edison NJ. How do I know this? Well from my Jersey girlfriends. They would take a trip over the bridge when we did the craft show at Edison and pick up a case or two or three! LOL! These girls are crazy and fun loving....they have sent me one night a text picture of their night on the town. Let's just say that the picture was of the table littered with empty wine bottles. So anyway, each time I make a new wine sign, I think of them fondly. As usual these are available on my website. The hubby being the frustrated gardener that he is, has 2 grape vines growing in pots. They are suppose to get transplanted on our 6 acres that we own sometime but for now they reside in my perennial flower bed. If you look closely in the picture you can see they have gotten some grapes.....Think they will be enough to make some wine? Until next time.....

Tuesday's Treasures Featured Artist

My featured artist from the It's Better Handmade guild on Artfire is Monika from My European Touch. This segment will now be published on Tuesdays to give the featured artist more exposure for the week. Monika's style can be classified as shabby chic or cottage/farmhouse. Monika creates this style through the use of a mosaic technique called "Pique Assiette or Tesserae". She uses small broken bits of vintage bone china creating one of a kind masterpieces. Her work is simply gorgeous. Check out this beautiful table.... Monika loves to repurpose/reclaim items to make them useful again. She credits her passion for recycling to watching her parents as a young child in post WWII Germany as they recycled/reclaimed/reinvented. Her passion for crafts started at a tender age of 5 and continues til this day. She has worked in many different mediums over the years and her current passion of mosiacs is self taught. She now resides stateside in Florida where you can find her locally and online at her artfire studio and on her blog. Be sure to check out her studio. Until next time....

My Buggy Swap to Vicky

Thought I'd share the buggy summer swap that I sent to Vicky Weaver at Vicky's Art. This swap was hosted by Wendy at Ravenwoods Whimzies. We needed to include in our swap at least one stitched item and of course one bug item. So the first thing I had to do was to figure out what bug I was going to do. I changed my mind so many times...going from a butterfly to a dragonfly and then finally settling on the ladybug. It's so much easier for me to create and allow the juices to flow when I am doing a theme. So searched for a ladybug saying that could go on a wood sign. Found one I loved and made the sign....easy part done. So now came the harder part...to find a pattern for something stitched. I remembered seeing this pattern in Create and Decorate design by Patti Cargill of Primitive Treasures on Raspberry Lane. I had bought the little ladybug buttons awhile back intending to make these last year but never got around to them. So read through the directions and set to work. So as the sunflowers with the ladybugs were coming together, I decided that I loved the pattern so much, and it really was pretty easy to work with, that I would apply it in a different manner. I had purchased these rusty bed springs a few years back...(are you seeing a theme here?) that I hadn't used. So thought I would attach one to the rusty bedspring add some cheesecloth and a coffee stained hangtag. Our strawberries were also in the process of bearing giving me a huge bowlful of fruit each day, so making strawberry jam to add to the swap was logical....noting says summer time like homemade strawberry jam. And of course after working with all the canning jars and lids, I remembered I had used jar lids, so though why not paint a sweet little ladybug on one and make it a magnet. You can see the magnet in the top picture. This was a fun swap and Vicky is an awesome swap partner. Thanks again Wendy for hosting this swap.

Fridays Feature... A Day Late

I'll be featuring an artist each Friday from the Artfire It's Better Handmade Guild....I know, it's a day late, but darn internet has been up and down. GRRR!!!! So back to the feature....This weeks artist is Corrinne from Pin and Tuck. Corrinne has an eclectic style and makes some adorable things. Of course her studio name pin and tuck kinda gives a glimpse into just what kind of things she makes. Aren't the little posie magnets baskets just the cutest? Imagine them holding up that important note on the frig. How about this special handmade card for that special someone on their birthday? And they are very reasonably priced too! And ever so trendy....bright orange clothespin magnets that are painted with chalkboard paint. The possible uses are endless. Use them to hold art work, bills that need to be mailed, permission slips that need to be filled out, or a lists of things to get at the grocery....you decide. So be sure to stop by and viist Corrinne's studio and see all that she has to offer. Until next time....

Hey Wait A Minute Mr. Postman!

No, I'm not gonna break out in song at any minute here, but I do have that song stuck in my head now and maybe you do too! LOL!! I've had a love-hate relationship for quite a few years with the post office now and have discussed this many, many times online on various forums and in other posts. But recently my relationship has been more hate than love. Twice I have come home and the mail and packages I so lovingly left for the postman to take has been left sitting there, unloved, uncared for, untaken. Which meant that for my customers their orders were delayed another day. Ugh! So what's a gal to do? I could have called the post office and complained but that would have only gotten someone in trouble. Our mail route has been given up by our regular carrier...it was too much for him...he picked an easier route to do, so there are a bunch of fill ins right now. And one of the fill ins I really, really like. He's a nice young man...very cheerful and polite. So I chose instead of calling and getting a letter of reprimand put in whomevers file to write them a love letter and tape it to the mailbox as a gentle, but firm reminder to please take my mail. It worked like a charm....the mail was gone. In fact, the days I see my fill in carrier, he asks me if I have anything to go. Guess a little honey does go a long way afterall. Until next time....

I've Been Jammin'....

Strawberry jam makin that is! I gathered up all the necessary canning supplies to make jam on one of the cool days last week. The hubby and kids were waiting impatiently for me to make more as they had consumed all the homemade jam that I made last year. So I went and picked a basketful of berries...washed and hulled them. Consulted google regarding how many pounds of strawberries equal 2 quarts of fresh picked berries. Smashed them up in the blender. Added the sugar and the pectin. Brought everything to a boil and cooked it for the correct amount of time according to the Ball Bluebook of Canning. Filled the jars and into the water bath they went. The end result after about an hour....8 1/2 pint jars of pure strawberry goodness.....Processed another batch as these were cooling. According to the hubby, the jam turned out perfect as he had it for breakfast with toast the next morning. I'm sure I will be making few more batches made before the summer is out. Until next time....

Strawberry Pickin' Time

It's been strawberry pickin' time here. I've been pickin' and pickin' and pickin'. Each day there is more and more! We have 2 raised beds of plants and the buggers are spilling over. So if anyone has any good ideas and recipes on what to do with them all, please share. We also picked our first pepper...I prefer them to be red, but the poor little plant was struggling with it's fruit I had to pick it. Until next time....

Summer Bug Swap

I participated in the Summer Bug Swap that Wendy from Ravenwoods Whimzies hosted and was paired with Vicky Weaver from Vicky's My Art. I gotta tell you that Vicky sent me the cutest swap things as you can see in the main picture but I took a few close ups so you can see the detail. Vicky is a wonderful painter with a whimsical style as you will see in the upcoming pictures. Isn't this set of watermelon slices too cute? And what about the ant who joined in on the fun. I mean it wouldn't be summertime without a few ants! I have found a lovely home for this wall hanging right by the front door. Luckily this is one ant I don't have too swat at! And Vicky was certainly as busy as a bee creating these little buzzin buggers! A set of 3 bees bowl fillers. Thankfully they are the non stinging kind so they have found a home for now tucked onto my dough bowl rack. They look adorable among the bowls. These cute planter pokes have such great details. I love them! They have all found homes in my indoor plants, my wandering jew and spider plants. Vicky also sent a cute metal bucket that was embossed with dragonflies. I will be getting an african violet to plant in that and it will sit on my bay windowsill. Oh and the sour gummy worms that aren't pictured, well the son claimed them right away, so they were history even before the pictures were taken! As you can see, Vicky certainly spoiled me. Everything was wonderful and I love it all...at least with these, I don't have to call the hubby to kill them. Thanks Wendy for hosting this fun buggy swap. Until next time....

Joined The Half Century Club!

Last Friday I joined the ranks of the Half Century Club!! Yep, I hit the BIG 50! People keep asking me does it feel any different....well yes and no...it depends on the day, but that was so even when I was just a young pup at 49! We celebrated with a bottle of champagne at my neighbors Mary house. Mary turned 50 on the 21st of May. We toasted to being 50 and fabulous and to good friends and health. We were suppose to have steamed crabs but Mother Nature had other plans for us. Maryland had one of the worst storms to come through ever. There were 10 tornadoes here in the state and almost 5" of rain that evening. We also had dime size hail for a bit. We didn't have any storm damage here, but others did that were nearby. Anyway, the crab picking has been put off til this weekend and hopefully better weather. Ou internet has been really flaky recently so sorry for my absence in posting....I promise to make up for it with a summertime giveaway soon. Until next time...