What should it say?

I love wearing this little necklace I found at EphemeraPaducah. It is an attention grabber. Folks want to open it to see what it says.

This is what they discover.

 

It definitely needs some embellishment but I can’t decide what to do with it. I need suggestions! Should I put quotes, inspirational words, small drawings, patterns? Please help by leaving suggestions in the comments.

OWH Tutorial , Bow Tying, the Fork Method

 

Have you tried this? I found it on the Operation Write Home tutorial site and gave it a try. To view the tutorial, click here. I believe it may have originated with Stampin Up.

First I tried it with a regular dinner fork.



Then with a serving fork



Next with a meat fork.



Here are some of my finished bows.



And here is a card for OWH using one of the bows.

By the way, local crafters, I am working on my next box of cards to mail to Operation Write Home. I can fit about 30 cards into a small Priority Mail box. I have about 10 cards completed. If you want to help fill the box, visit the OWH web site to view the guidelines, make your card/cards and drop them either at my house or at Ephemera Paducah (corner of 9^th and Madison.)

 

Prayer Flags and Garden Flags with RubberMoon

As a creative designer with RubberMoon Stamps, I am challenged to find a variety of ways to use their unique and whimsical stamps. If you follow my blog, you know I love doing prayer flags. When I saw this Gnome House stamp by Kristen Powers, I knew it was prefect for a prayer flag for my daughter-in-law and granddaughters as they moved into their new home.

Using the directions on the Prayer Flag Project, I cut a piece of material 5-in. by 11-in, turned under a 3-inch casing and stitched.

I stamped a precut canvas shape with the Gnome House stamp, colored it with Derwent Inktense Ink pencils, and blended the colors with water. Derwent Inktense color is permanent after it dries.

The flag is embellished with flowers and buttons. I found the “Happy” element in a grab-bag and spray painted it to work with the flag colors.

 

Super Toad Prince by Jane Cather is my favorite go-to stamp. He is so darn cute! I stamped him on this garden flag and colored him with Tulip Fabric Markers. I added some vintage lace and buttons from my stash and he is ready to hang in the garden.

I have another prayer flag in the works for a very good friend that is currently going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. On this one, I stamped the Polka Dot Teacup which I am embroidering. It will be stitched to a pink flag. RubberMoon has a huge selection of stamps that work great for embroidery.

 

When I hang a prayer flag in my garden, I send a note to the person for whom it was made with my hopes that a gentle breeze will bring them my love and wishes for healing, happiness, peace, etc.

I love having the prayer flags in my garden as a reminder of those that need a prayer, note or email from me.

I hope I have inspired you to take your rubber stamping “out of the box.” Hop on over to the RubberMoon store and browse through their stamps and see what you can create.

They are in the mail!

So, we didn’t have lines of folks waiting to get in to make cards for Operation Write Home. After all, we were competing with a perfect weather Saturday and Easter weekend. However a half-dozen people showed up to make cards at Ephemera Paducah on Saturday. That means 35 unsung heroes will receive a surprise in the mail. Are we pleased? You betcha!

Thank you to the artists and crafters who gave up a few hours on a warm spring day to come to Ephemera Paducah to make cards.

 A huge thank you to Kristin Williams at Ephemera Paducah for hosting the event.  Kristin has graciously agreed for Ephemera Paducah to be a drop-off place to collect completed handmade cards. When a box is full, I will send them to OWH. It is important to note, Kristin can only accept the cards that meet the OWH guidelines; so before you gather your beautiful cards and deliver them to Ephemera Paducah, check out the OWH guidelines here.

I have had such a grand time making cards for this event, I plan to continue! I love the 100+ tutorials on the OWH website. My plan is to try one a week to post on this blog. Next week it will be fork ribbon making! Check back to see how this works for me!

 

Another Prayer Flag

I created this flag for my brother as he begins chemotherapy on Monday.

I used my Silhoette Portrait to cut the hot-air ballons; love that I can use the same pattern to make different sizes. I embelished with fabric paint. The words were stamped and glued to the flag with fabric glue. As always when making flags for my family, I attached buttons from my mom's button box.

I will send a note and photo to my brother with hopes a gentle breeze will carry my love and my hope for peace, strength and courage.

Prayer Flags and Cards

So nice to come above ground and spend some time in the garden this week. With the early daffodils at their peak and the tulips in full bloom, I am pulled between the garden and the studio for the use of my free time. I want to be both places!

It is the season and I had the pleasure of introducing prayer flags to a local garden club at Ephemera Paducah on Thursday. They had a ball with the stamps, stencils and paint!

 

I think some were surprised with their artistic talents.

 

 

 

 

The Prayer Flag Project has become popular with our local garden clubs; I look forward to seeing the little flags flying in gardens throughout the city this summer.

 

 

 

Back in The Underground, I made cards for the RubberMoon blog and wrote my first ever post ever as a Creative Design Team member. Want to see them? Hop on over to their blog and take a look! These will go to Operation Write Home.

The press release for the OWH card making event scheduled April 19 at Ephemera Paducah went to the media this week. Our first ever OWH event, we have no idea how much participation to expect. We are encouraged by the interest shown by the media. Kristin (owner of Ephemera) and I did an interview this morning for the local newspaper and Kristin has one scheduled with our local NPR station.

Also, this week I created a somewhat belated thank you note; often I have to weigh timeliness against handmade; for this couple, handmade won. This one was especially fun as I used a map from an outdated atlas and vintage lace from a stash my mother-in-law gave to me.

 

 

Classes have resumed after spring break at PSAD. We are now into charcoal drawing. I love it, but it is quite messy. With my AADD, I know I will have charcoal smudges everywhere! I am trying very hard to remember to not leave the easel and work on a card or flag without first washing my hands. And what about the white base and drawers on the new cardmaking station ….well fortunately charcoal washes off easily!

Speaking of the cardmaking station, Handy Randy added a pegboard and paper roll holder this morning. I love the free newsprint end rolls from the newspaper but they were a bit awkward to use. Not anymore!

I am off now to do a bit of organizing!