Sneaky Santa Inspiration

My Winter Scene handpainted glass vase with "snow"

I needed a little Christmas inspiration because not only do I love Christmas, but I love to create a lot of my own gifts at Christmas.  I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.  I feel that my gift giving wouldn't be complete without some little handmade addition to Santa's sack of goodies for friends and family.
The faculty at my school does a voluntary gift exchange which we fondly call "Sneaky Santa".  This year I picked the assistant pricipal's name, and although we began working here some 36 years ago and have probably been each other's Sneaky Santa more years than most teachers at my school have been teaching, I still feel the need to give her something handmade in addition to a storebought item. 
Another reason I like to give handmade gifts is because they're different, unique and from me and hopefully the recipients will enjoy them just a little more for that reason.  I put a little of myself in everything I make.  I am not a really confident storebought gift- giver because I always second guess myself.  Can the person can use it? Will they like it?  Will someone else get them the same thing?  It's so much easier to whip something up and rest secure in the knowledge that they will not receive anything else like it.
The other day, I spent about 2 1/2 hours scouring the stores at our local strip mall for a unique gift to give my Sneaky Santa because the gift I was planning on making was not finished.  I picked up countless candles, potpourri containers, baskets and even thought about making a little bag of Christmas wrapping paper, bows, gift bags and tags, but for the amount we were supposed to spend, the bag looked pretty meager.  So I found these pretty felt snowflakes placemats, which, I have to admit, I have been eyeing myself.  I bought 4 and a little red felted cardinal ornament.  I wrapped it all in tissue paper and put it in a Santa themed felt bag, added a card and a ribbon and was set to deliver the gift.  But then I just didn't feel right because there was nothing handmade in the bag.

The next day I had a thought,  I only had a couple of hours before I was going to give the gift to her, but since I get to school early, I figured I had enough time make her an additional gift and finish it before homeroom or at least in my free periods. I was a woman on a mission.  I packed up a glass container I purchased at one of our local department stores, and my brushes and set out to school ready to  paint!

Wine Bottles Christmas Display
from www.cleverlyinspired.blogspot.com

I found a beautiful inspiration a few weeks ago for the gift I was about to make. It was a wine bottles Christmas display.  I tried this out on a large wine bottle, but since I wanted to add a more artistic touch,  I painted a little scene with houses and trees in the middle of the bottle and added the "snow" at the top and bottom.  I wanted to work a little smaller for this gift, so I purchased a nicely shaped glass container, gessoed it. and sponge brush painted the sky and snow, so it would cover easily.   Sponge brushing is so much more forgiving than using a regular paint brush.  I painted tree branches and evergreens with a little cardinal perched on a twig.  I added the Epsom salt snow (what an inexpensive and clever idea from the tutorial) on the bottom of the container, the top and randomly in the sky.  I used Mod Podge as the glue for the snow, but also added a layer on the container and an extra layer over the snow to help it adhere.

Detail of my Winter Scene handpainted vase

By my first class, I was finished and let it dry a couple of hours.  When it was dry, I wrapped it in red tissue paper which I actually forgot to bring with me, but being an art teacher with a closet full of miracles, my problem was solved.  I slipped it into a candy cane striped gift bag that I brought with me and brought that and the store bought gift with me to our holiday luncheon and presented the assistant principal with my final Sneaky Santa gifts.  I can't wait to see how she liked her gifts, after all, I left a little bit of myself wrapped in that red tissue paper in the candy cane bag!

Countdown to Christmas

I haven’t written about my sewing club much lately.  We have been working on the same projects we started several weeks back.  It’s hard to really get anything done in a half hour after school, but the girls don’t seem to lose interest in their projects, even if they miss a meeting or take longer than expected to finish.

      Fleece hedgehog pattern and tutorial from the book Wild and Wonderful Fleece Animals

My little hedgehog

Last time we met, I had planned on making cute upcycled mittens made from old felted sweaters.  One of my students felted a very heavy sweater which was difficult to work with, so she abandoned that project.  Another girl, who used a thinner felted sweater, actually cut out a pattern and made one mitten today.  Some of the girls worked on their felt owls, pillows and some began this really cute fleece hedgehog pattern I found online before the meeting.   I tried it out 45 minutes before the meeting and was putting on the finishing touches when the meeting began.  The girls fell in love with this little hedgehog and much to my delight, were definitely onboard with the project.  I had enlarged the pattern slightly and brought my fleece out of the closet.  I made mine in gray, but some opted for pink, turquoise or multicolor hedgehogs. One or two of them have decided to give their little creatures to a younger sibling for Christmas.

The pattern called for sewing the hedgehog by machine, but I made mine by hand and decided that was a quicker and easier route for the amount of students who showed up for the meeting.  I explained how to cut out and pin the pattern, how to place the one piece on the fold, and how many of each piece to cut.  Some just cut, some just pinned, and one actually stitched her hedgehog body to the bottom and added the eyes.  The one student who started putting her hedgehog together has had several years of sewing experience, so she catches on to projects immediately and works quickly and skillfully.  Although some have very little sewing experience, they are moving along pretty well.
Honestly, I don’t care which project they work on during the meetings, I am just happy to teach them a little bit about sewing and watch them as they become more adept with each new project.

Student hedgehog in progress

When I was out and about doing a little Christmas shopping about a week ago, I was inspired by the little felt gift bags for sale in several stores, and thought that would be a great project for the girls during this holiday season.  They can decorate the outside of the bag with hand stitched appliquéd shapes and then stitch the bags and handles via the machine.   I’d better introduce that project soon.  I can’t believe we only have 2 more Thursday meetings until Christmas vacation!

Trimming the Tree with Teddies

I have been hand painting ornaments for as long as I can remember.  I have made all different kinds and have gotten some interesting requests on what to paint on the ornaments!  My favorite things to paint on glass Christmas balls, though, are teddy bears.  I happen to be a teddy bear lover and collector.  I have teddy bears in almost every room of my house.  They sit on a shelf in the kitchen, on my hutch in the dining room, on an antique dresser on our computer room, and on a wicker chest at the foot of our bed.  They are a part of who I am and fit perfectly into the décor of our cozy, folksy house.  So it goes without saying that my favorite subject matter would be teddy bears.  I use them as my models and they love to pose for me.  They are such hams!

 I add lots of different details to the teddies on my ornaments to create a different personality for each one I make.  I usually like to create one- of- a -kind ornaments since it is difficult to capture the same look more than once.  My bears also pose for my hand painted stools.  They are busy little fellows and all vie for the chance to be immortalized on one of my ornaments or stools.  Some of my furry friends are naturally better at posing than others, but I would never let them know, so as not to hurt their feelings.  Like a good mother, I love them all the same.   The hardest part of creating my teddy bear ornaments is letting them go, but as long as I know they will be going home to someone who can appreciate and love them, it makes saying goodbye so much easier. 

So this Christmas, I have started creating some teddy bear ornaments like the ones in my shop on ArtFire.  On Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, there will be free shipping on my ornaments.  I hope one of my teddy bear ornaments makes its way into your heart this holiday season!

Culinary Inspiration

Although my first creative loves are painting, and crafting, I have to admit, I have always loved baking, decorating cakes and candy making.   My love of baking began when I was a child.  My grandmother lived with us and was a magician in the kitchen.  She made lots of delicious meals, but baking was her specialty.

My grandmother was born in Germany and had an endearing accent, often substituting her v’s for w’s.  We still smile when we read her handwritten recipes where she suggests using a  “handful” of sugar, a “pinch” of salt and a “pount” of walnuts.  Her biggest thrill was making the weekly trip with my mom and me to the grocery store and picking out some “nice” meat.  She loved going to the local farm stand in the summer, and buying fresh fruit and one of my favorite vegetables, corn on the cob. 

Gram, as we lovingly called her, had her baking specialties.  I loved to help her make homemade apple strudel.  She would lay out a tablecloth on our kitchen table and after making the pastry, we would stretch it out until it covered the whole tabletop, then she would cover it with melted vegetable shortening and finally a mixture of apples,  sugar and cinnamon.  I used to love eating the unbaked apples and cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Gram used to set some aside just for me.  After the pastry was stretched out, she would cut off the edges and then lift up the tablecloth on one side and roll the strudel from one end to the other.  She would lay the unbaked strudel carefully on the baking pan in a crescent shape and pop it into the preheated oven.   The delicious smell of baking apples and sweet spices filled the house, but that wasn’t an unusual occurrence.  There were always delicious smells coming from the kitchen in our house, thanks to Gram.

Princess Cake

My version of the  Oreo Turkeys

When I was a teenager, I began making cakes, often from scratch, like Gram, then I moved onto making cream puffs and éclairs, from scratch.  When I got married and had children, I created all sorts of fun birthday cakes for them.  I made a princess with a cake skirt, a butterfly, Winnie-the-Pooh, a fish,  Thomas the Tank Engine, a dinosaur, a beach scene with teddy bear cookies among others.

Oreo Turkeys

 I began making different kinds of fudge at Christmas for my mother-in-law and it has since become a holiday  tradition.  In recent years, I have begun making peanut brittle, thanks to a recipe one of my colleagues shared with me.  That too, has become a traditional homemade treat.   My daughter gave me a candy thermometer last Christmas, so I tested out a recipe for English Toffee which I brought to a party over the summer.  It was a big hit, so that will definitely be a treat I will share with friends and family at Christmas this year.  I also tried my hand at fondant and created a sheet cake in the shape of a wedding dress for my daughter’s bridal shower.  For every holiday, I make my homeroom a sweet treat…chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkles, molded candy lollipops and at Thanksgiving last year I made these Oreo and Peanut Butter Cup Turkeys.  The girls loved them, so I will whip up another batch for this year’s homeroom. 

Fish Cake

Taz



Winnie the Pooh

 Creating gives me such joy. I am very lucky to come from a very creative family and to be able to carry on our traditions.   Both my mom and I have compiled some of our favorite family recipes for my daughter who has incorporated many of them into her culinary repertoire.  Gram, we may not be stretching out homemade pastry on our kitchen tables, but we know you would be proud of our culinary accomplishments!

Looking Backward and Forward

Today is my daughter and son-in-law’s first wedding anniversary.  I know they really have been a couple for seven years, but their wedding was a very special day, nonetheless.

My daughter is a graphic designer and I am an art teacher, a wonderful wedding planning combination!  As soon as my son-in-law popped the question, my daughter and I were on the phone planning the wedding.  We spent weeks combing the internet for locations, ideas, colors and dresses.  My daughter is a take charge girl and took care of all of the details, booking the church, the venue, the DJ, photographer, the menu, and the shuttle busses.  She had a plan, and a definite idea of what she wanted.  We exchanged ideas daily and the excitement mounted.  My daughter lives 3 hours away from us, so everything was done long distance.  The wedding was going to take place closer to where she lived as well, so it was just easier for her to take care of all the details. 

So where do I come in?  Well, once the details were taken care of, we started planning the diy part.  She had definitely done her homework and knew what she wanted.   She loves a neutral palette.  She loves the play of textures and different types of paper.  She sent me a photo of a beautiful fabric flower and the rest is history.  I made the flowers for the bouquets and centerpieces from white and ivory sheer fabric and the flowers for the accent pieces from burlap and satin with large fancy button centers.

I decorated white and orange pumpkins with wedding sayings and their initials.  I made the bird bride and groom wedding cake topper, and the flowers for the wedding cupcakes from music pages from an old book. 

My daughter designed her save the dates, invitations, and programs.  I wrote out the envelopes.  She is a stickler for details and created lists, detailed instructions for the guests and bridal party!  She brought in lots of vintage props for her candy bar, votive glass candle holders and tea lights for the tables and hung mason jars with tea lights from an archway in the reception venue.  She painted signs with their initials on framed burlap and various signs and props for their photo booth as well as. That was a big hit and lots of fun, by the way, especially for the younger kids who started the ball rolling.

I even made flowers for the church and boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen.  Not only did all of this save us money, but it made the wedding a unique and beautiful event.  Where did my son-in-law fit into all of this?  Well, he knew to stay out of the way of creativity and welcomed it!

The day was beautiful and went off without a hitch.  My daughter and her bridesmaids looked gorgeous and my son-in-law and his groomsmen looked handsome.  The flowers, the decorations, the guests, my husband’s speech, the food, details, everything was picture perfect and just as she wanted it. 

The day after the wedding, I felt like an athlete after the season ends, or an actor after the show closes.  I had been in creative overdrive for months and now it was all over.  So several months later, with my daughter’s help,  I started my own business doing what else?  Creating wedding items, of course, as well as baby related items.  Hmm, I wonder how much longer it will be before I go from mother-of –the-bride  to grandmother- of- the- baby ?    I guess it’s never too soon to start planning, right?

Halloween Traditions

I loved Halloween when I was young.  But then, what kid doesn’t enjoy dressing up as their favorite character and getting free candy?   As a child I loved dressing up and wearing makeup once a year and dumping out my treat bag after a day of trick or treating and counting and categorizing all my goodies into neat piles of bars, coins and the things that went in a bowl for my older brother and sister.  They were 6 and 7 years older than me, so because they didn’t go trick or treating anymore, they sat like vultures hovering over my candy stash waiting for my rejects. 

When I was young, Halloween was a big part of my year, not only because it involved dressing up and scouring the neighborhood for treats, but because it was always tied in with my birthday which happens to be the day before Halloween.   My mom always had my birthday party on Halloween, and all my guests came dressed in costume and after cake and ice cream, we headed out for an afternoon of trick-or- treating.  Back then, our costumes were thrown together with whatever we happened to have lying around the house.  Although the costumes fell a bit short of the wide array of costumes available to buy and rent today, we were very happy concocting our very own creations.  There was something very creative and special about digging through the attic, basement, dresser drawers and jewelry boxes in an  effort to create the best ghost, gypsy, pirate, jailbird, witch or baseball player ever.  True, these were your garden variety costumes, but the creativity involved in putting together those costumes was fun and memorable because we created them ourselves.

But as I grew older, Halloween took on a different dimension.  I saw it through different eyes when I became a mom.  There is something magical about a little one in a pair of feety pajamas with a little makeup painted animal nose and a pair of floppy ears atop a tiny headband that sets my heartstrings in overdrive.  I’m just a sentimental fool for things like that.

 My son as a fish in a barrel

My daughter as a  candy bag

So when my children arrived, I wanted to recreate for them, the magic that I experienced as a child with creating my own costumes.  Not only that, but the artist in me wanted to create something very unique for them.  My daughter arrived on the scene first, so all my creative efforts were concentrated on her.  I started out small, making a bee outfit out of black felt and yellow fake fur with an antennae headband.  Then came a unicorn with pink tights, a pink sweatshirt and a unicorn horn with multicolored yarn for a mane.  Then I really stepped it up.  Our town has a Halloween Parade and contest each year the local elementary school.  When my daughter entered kindergarten, the fun began! She was a cat from “Cats”, then a sandwich with an olive hat, a tree with a hanging swing and bird’s nest hat, a candy bag complete with cellophane wrapped candy and a chocolate kiss hat ( I also won a prize at our local fabric store for that one!) She was a cat in a tuna fish can, a mouse in a piece of cheese and a piece of birthday cake.  Then she grew up and created her own costumes.  The torch was passed.  We won a prize every year and I tried to outdo myself with each passing year.  I don’t know whether she had more fun wearing the costumes or I had more fun creating them.  She loved every minute of wearing those costumes and when I cleaned out my basement and threw them all away, I had to fight back the tears.

Enter my son, seven years later.  He began his first Halloween experience as a lion in Noah’s ark (of course I had to come up with something he could travel in).  He was a bookworm in a fairytale book, a fish in a barrel, and a cup of cocoa.  Although his costumes were also winners, he didn’t seem to enjoy the whole dressing up in Mom’s creations for very long and soon reverted to the pirate, the ghoul, a werewolf, then onto masks and hairy hands.  Maybe it was a boy thing, but however short the creative spurt lasted, I had a wonderful time creating those costumes for him.

My daughter has already hinted that when she has kids, that she wants me to create their costumes and keep the Halloween tradition alive.  My son is not quite in that traditional frame of mind at this time in his life, but maybe someday.  Even if my future grandchildren rummage through a box of old clothes in search of the perfect pirate, princess or monster attire, I can rest assured in the knowledge that Halloween traditions really haven’t changed all that much since I was a kid.  It’s still about dreaming, imagining and pretending, oh, and lest we forget, candy munching, the stuff that childhood is made of!

My son as a lion in Noah's ark

Inspirational Owls

My sample owl

One evening when I took my dogs out one last time before turning in for the night, I heard the distant hooing of an owl perched in one of the trees in the woods behind our house.  The tree branches silhouetted against the October moon creaked eerily as they swayed in the breeze.  The owl hooed softly in the distance, and I got a sort of Halloween feeling.

Inspiration!  That would be the perfect next sewing project.  This will be a sweet Halloween treat for my Sewing Club “ghouls”.  So I immediately checked out the internet and found a few ideas.  I had to sift out some projects because of difficulty, but I came upon this project by sewtara.com that I figured was a good fit for my sewing teens…an adorable felt owl!

Student owl in progress

I usually email the girls a reminder of our weekly meeting and tell them what we will be doing for the next few meetings to keep their interest.  When they heard we were going to make owls, they were very excited.  Thank goodness for that, because sometimes I don’t know how my inspirations will be received by the girls, but I think after all these years of teaching art, I have a pretty good idea what will work and what won’t.

Sewing Club meets every Thursday after school and, last week, I think we had the best turn-out ever!   This week we had a conflict and we met today instead. I have several new members who just seemed to ease right into what we were doing the week before.  The challenge of having a club like this is often its inconsistencies.   Students don’t come every week for one reason or another, or come late, so they have to catch up on what they missed, or wind up not finishing a project because we have moved onto something else.  Right now, we are finishing up the Scrap-Buster Fall Pillow project, so girls are in various stages of completion.  Several of them came the day after last week's meeting in their unscheduled time to finish up the pillows in preparation for next project.  But we put the pillows aside for this week, so the girls could all start the owls together and branch off next week to machine sewing their pillows or working on their hand stitched owls.

Student work

Since November is swiftly approaching, the owl will be the one of the last in the series of fall projects.  We will be working on a simple tote bag and then the drawstring bag that I referenced in an earlier post, come November. So here we go with another fall fling!

Now that my club is fairly large, I need to make sure I have enough materials for them each week.   I have been crafting for many years.  I have made lots of different things and have amassed a huge amount of materials like scrapbooking paper, fake fur, ribbons, embroidery floss, all sorts of fabric, felt and wood pieces.  After the hurricane a few months ago, our basement flooded and it became apparent that many of the things I had stashed away in the basement had to be thrown away, sadly.  But my interests have changed over the years, so it was time to move on anyway.

Student owls in progress

Saturday is usually my day to scout out materials for the next week.  After doing a little shopping at the mall and going to the grocery store this Saturday, I didn’t have too much time or energy left to get the felt I needed for this week’s owls.  I remembered that from the days of making felt ornaments and things of that sort, I had a wide assortment of felt in the closet in our computer room.  As I said, I don’t really use too much of that anymore, so I am going to donate it to our club.  So I didn't have to make a trip to the thrift shop or the fabric store and I am clearing out my closet (for which my husband will be eternally grateful!)

So we forged ahead to hand stitched stuffed owls, which, I might add, are turning out be be a lot cuter and much less scary than the one perched in a tree hooing softly in the woods in my backyard!  I can't wait to see how they all turn out.

Student owl almost ready to be stitched

Falling Fabric Leaves

Fall is just full of inspiration!  One of the most vividly colorful seasons, an artist or crafter would be hard pressed not to find something to inspire them.  Multi hued leaves, orange pumpkins, bales of hay and slightly weathered burlap faced scarecrows offer a variety of colors, shapes and textures just begging to be transformed into a work of art.

After last week’s Sewing Club’s hand stitched pumpkin pincushion project, which, I might add was a big success, I thought I would keep the autumn theme going with another fall inspired project.  The girls are itching to use the sewing machines, so I guess I have to finally pull the machines out of the closet and set them up.  Machine sewing is an exciting prospect, especially to teenage girls.  They are getting pretty good at threading needles and simple hand stitching, so I suppose they are ready for a simple machine sewn project.  Since I only have 4 sewing machines, we are going to have to alternate time on the sewing machines.  One group will work on a hand sewing project while 4 will work on the sewing machine.

Student adaptation of Scrap-Buster Fall Pillow by Cluck Cluck Sew

I actually saw this project last year from Cluck Cluck Sew and loved the variety of patterns and colors and its simple yet striking design.  When I was searching for an easy machine sewn project last week, I came across it again, and knew immediately I just had to try this out with the Sewing Club girls.  I simplified it a little bit due to time constraints and the girls’ lack of sewing experience. 

I pre-ironed the Heat Bond on various fabric pieces, cut some trunk and leaf templates, let the girls rummage through the fabric pieces and had them trace and cut the leaf and tree trunk shapes from the backed fabric.  I eliminated the stitching on the leaves and the envelope stitched back.  The girls will just iron on the pieces, and stitch and stuff the pillow instead of inserting a pillow form.  Two or three of the girls had time to iron on their trunk and leaf appliqués onto their pre-cut solid pillow backgrounds and will be ready next meeting to stitch their pillows on the sewing machine.  Many of the girls still have to finish cutting and ironing which is really a blessing in disguise because of my limited number of sewing machines.

Student adaptation of PurlBee's Very Easy Pincushions

I totally enjoy moderating this club.  The girls are so proud of their creations and one girl, who is always the first one in the room at dismissal, said that Thursday is her favorite day of the week because of Sewing Club.  She even passed on the Gelato Sale sponsored by the World Language Club so she could pay her Sewing Club dues!   

Knowing how to sew is such a valuable tool!  I can’t tell you have much it has helped me through the years.  Besides making my own clothes throughout high school, and making my daughter’s outfits when she was young, I made countless Halloween costumes and crafts projects including fabric pumpkins, dolls and Christmas ornaments.  I have come full circle and now sew ring bearer pillows, wedding hair bands, and fabric flower bouquets.  Although I teach art, sewing offers me a little change of pace from the pencil and paintbrush.  I just love to create, period.  I can’t wait to try things out with lots of different mediums.    

As a teacher, my job is to inspire my students to appreciate, to learn, to develop their own passions about art, about sewing, about life.  If they can leave my room on Thursday afternoons with a newly sewn creation in their hands and a smile on their face, I know I have done my job!

Autumn Treasure Hunting

As I mentioned in my last post, my daughter and I make our annual excursion to the fall rummage sale held each year by the Visiting Nurses’ Association in the beginning of October.  It is a huge event held rain or shine, at fairgrounds about 25 minutes from my house.  I have to say that most times we went it rained.  But we always dressed for the occasion, rain boots, umbrellas and hooded sweatshirts, and virtually nothing could come between us and our quest for bargains.

We have walked away with some interesting finds the over the years ranging from fireplace tools, books, picture frames and candy jars to acrylic paints, note cards and, of course, fabric! 

My daughter lives in Maryland, so our yearly pilgrimages now have to be carefully planned between work for both of us, and other things happening in our lives.  But this weekend, she made a special trip for a brief visit and a jaunt to our favorite spot.

I have to admit, we couldn’t have asked for better fall weather.  The sun was shining, the air was crisp and cool, so we didn’t have to lug around umbrellas and try to balance them while carrying a bag full of treasures and digging through goody-laden boxes!  But we are troopers in the face of adversity!

This year’s beautiful weather drew a seemingly larger crowd than usual, if that is even possible, so we decided to play it smart and rather than wait in traffic and park in the main lot on the fairgrounds where the tents are set up on one section of the grounds, we opted for an additional parking venue down the street and around the corner.  It was about an 8 minute walk, but we figured it was a nice day, and we were excited at the prospect of bargain hunting, so that walk was welcome exercise at 9:30 AM. 

When we arrived at the entrance and noticed there really wasn’t too much traffic and there were still lots of parking spaces on the grounds, we sort of wished we had parked closer, but rationalized the 8 minute walk was good exercise on a perfect day.

Since we were there early, the lines had already started forming outside the tents.  Due to the fact that the volunteers only let a few people in at a time so as not to overcrowd the tents, we had to wait five or ten minutes tops outside the more crowded tents.  But we used that time to chit chat about the family, and what has been going on in our lives.  The first tent we visited was the dry goods tent.  This always seems to be the most crowded, but obviously, my favorite.  Since it is crowded, you have to be an acrobat to hold everything and work your way from one box to another while batting away aprons hung over the fabric boxes.  Quick decisions had to be made, but since my projects for my Sewing Club and my online shop were set in my mind, I knew what I was looking for.  I got some great buys for $20.00. 

We visited a few more tents and got some spontaneous buys, but the catch of the day was definitely a very heavy silver reindeer centerpiece with cups for votive candles in its antlers, that my daughter snagged for a mere $10.00.  A bit tarnished, we decided a little silver polish would perk it up, and even if that didn’t work, it looked kind of cool and “antiquey” with the little touch of tarnish on it.  But, what we soon realized was that it weighed a lot, as did the $20.00 worth of fabric in my canvas tote bag!  We sort of carefully picked through the other tents’ contents searching for items that didn’t weigh too much.

Since my daughter had to go to a wedding rehearsal in Delaware in the evening, we had to cut our trip rather short, and hike with our items back to the car in the lot around the corner and down the street.  The 8 minute trip back to the car with everything slung over our shoulders now seemed like a 40 minute walk with several stops along the way to rearrange the bags and rest every few feet! 
It was a wonderful day well spent with my daughter.  The drive back home found us talking about days gone by and the fact that we both have always loved the fall with its beautiful colors and welcoming fall decorations.  It’s just a homey sort of feeling that stirs up lots of fond memories when our family was young.

Tired and happy, we arrived back home with our treasures.  I said farewell to my daughter and wished her well as she drove out of my world for another few months.  As she left my driveway, I looked ahead to days when we will share this tradition with my future grandchildren.  It’s always a fun-filled day, rain or shine, to browse, buy, and best of all spend some time with one of my most precious treasures and her slightly tarnished reindeer centerpiece.

Pumpkins and Pincushions

Pumpkins….don’ t you just love them?  A definite harbinger of fall, these plump little veggies can spark just about anyone’s imagination.  Whether they are transformed into jack-o-lanterns, fall displays, centerpieces, costumes, or pies, these orange favorites are a never-ending source of autumn inspiration!

My Sewing Club is meeting at the end of the week and it’s time to start another project.  They spent the last 2 meetings playing with yo-yo’s , so now it’s time for the girls to step up their hand sewing skills just a bit before we move on to the machine.

So, in my weekly quest for new and exciting projects that would appeal to both me and the students, I came upon this very cute idea.  Now that it’s October and the leaves are changing color, the scarecrows and pumpkins are appearing on porches everywhere, I thought I would choose this seasonal twist on a sewing room staple- the pin cushion.

I loved the idea of the traditional tomato turned into the not-so-traditional pumpkin.  The best part of the whole project is that is basically is, what else?  A larger and stuffed version of the yo-yo, something they are quite familiar with at this point.

I really enjoy having the girls create all these projects, because, I don’t know about you, but buying fabric is, to me, one of life’s greatest pleasures.  To walk into a fabric store, especially as an artist, and see all the gorgeous patterns, colors and textures all lined up in beautifully neat rows, is truly a breathtaking experience for me.  Since I am a bargain hunter and try to keep costs down for the girls, I often seek out thrift shops and rummage sales for unique fabric treasures as well.  Although the fabric is far from being stacked neatly and color coordinated in these venues, the thrill of the hunt mentality takes over and I find myself actually enjoying the challenge of finally finding the perfect fabric for the projects at just the right price!  The problem is, I either have to figure out my projects ahead of time, or think on my feet of future project ideas, which, over the years, I have become somewhat of an expert at.  For at these one day sales, you know that either you buy the fabric now, or it’s back to the fabric store to pay full price. 

It has become a fall tradition for my daughter and me to spend some quality time visiting a local rummage sale every October.  Fortunately, we share a love for bargain hunting and great finds, and since she is a graphic designer, she also enjoys finding vintage items she can use in her house, in her work, or just for inspiration.  The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree!

Since the rummage sale will occur after my next Sewing Club meeting, the fabric for my pumpkin pincushion project will have to come from the fabric store with its bolts of beautiful colors, gorgeous patterns and rich textures at full price. Sometimes, we all have to make a sacrifice!

Is There Life After Yo-Yos?

Well, I have decided that I love the look of sheer fabric yo-yos, but I promised myself I would try not to obsess about them anymore.  Now that I know what they look like in my desired fabric, I’m on to incorporating them into a new project.

I met with my Sewing Club students at the end of the week and they were supposed to bring in something to sew their yo-yos onto from last week, like a pillow case, or a canvas bag. Some of them did bring something in, but, as I guessed, most of them did not.  Having taught for more years than I’d like to admit to, I know that Plan B is a teacher’s best friend, therefore, I had fabric pieces ready.  I put out a large, yet slightly jumbled, box of embroidery floss and some embroidery hoops and needles.

 I found a great way for the girls to use the yo-yos while learning some simple embroidery stitches.  I had them stitch the yo-yo to their desired item and then I showed them a few embroidery stitches so they could add some stitched accents to their yo-yos.  This example I found on the internet used the yo-yos as flowers with a stem, but I showed them how to do a split stitch and French knot instead of the stitches shown, and the rest was up to them. They could do whatever they were comfortable with.  Only 2 of them finished, a few left their masterpieces for next week and a couple took them home to finish.  I’m glad I picked the stitches I did to show them, simply because they were very doable for their skill level and for the short amount of time I have to meet with them. 

That brings me to my next inspiration.  After looking up some ideas I can do with Sewing Club, I found this cute drawstring bag.  I actually tried it out by hand during a free period at school, partly because I still had my sewing machines packed away, but mostly because I always have to try things out immediately.   I didn’t want to waste any time!  I have to admit, the bag came out pretty well, even by hand, and it was very easy to make.  It was even something that my students, I feel, would be able to handle at some point.  But I always have an ulterior motive to everything I make.  Sewing Club seems to be my venue for testing out projects for my shop on ArtFire.  Enter my obsession with those darn yo-yos!  My vision is to try one of these bags in a white or ivory satin type fabric and to add a yo-yo or two, maybe with embroidered detail in white or ivory. 

The weekend is here!  I have a few orders to fill first, but then it’s my time to play!  I can’t wait to dig through the white and ivory fabric stash I have been stockpiling.  It’s the perfect opportunity to try out that drawstring bag with yo-yos. 

Keep an eye on my shop.  You may spot my new latest obsession very shortly!

Yo-Yo Inspiration

I have been thinking a lot about yo-yos since my last post. It has become my latest crafting obsession! If you are a creative person you know what I mean about obsessing about creating something. You see something, you get inspired, and you have to try it out in a variety of ways, colors and patterns. In fact, if you are anything like me, you think about it when you wake up in the middle of the night, or when you're brushing your teeth, or driving to work. It seems that you literally can't do another thing unless you try out your new idea!

 Last week I wore a new white knit cardigan sweater with decorative accents around the collar. The minute I saw it in the store, I loved it because I tend to gravitate toward sweaters or shirts that have interesting details, like crocheted fringe around the collar or cuffs, pretty buttons or a combination of contrasting fabrics.  I didn't really investigate the detail around the collar of this this sweater that closely. I knew I just liked the look of it, so I bought it.  I knew that what I thought were flowers, were made of chiffon type fabric with white beads in the center.  But when I put it on the first day I wore it, I took a closer look at the details, and, much to my delight, the flowers were actually yo-yos! In fact, my art colleague even asked me if I made the handmade detail around the collar.  Since that day, my wheels have been turning!

So today, I finally got a chance to try out my yo-yos in a sheer fabric.  My idea is to use these sheer yo-yos in some of the items I make for my shop on artfire .  I have often seen yo-yos on pillows, so I know that will probably look pretty on my ring bearer pillows, maybe with pearl beads, or fancy buttons in the centers, or maybe I'll just leave them au natural!
I also make bridal headbands, so they may be a nice alternative to fabric flowers, maybe with a little lace or tulle as accents.

I have some other ideas about what I can do with these marvelous little puffs, but since it's time to do other things right now, I will just have to spend a few more nights dreaming and planning as I try to drift back to sleep!

Learning to Sew Fabric Yo-Yos

I have a dream job doing what I love to do every day. I teach art at an all girls’ high school and I moderate Sewing Club as my extra- curricular activity.  These are two of my favorite things to do!  Last week I had my first club meeting after school.  Several students asked for this club a few years back because they wanted to learn how to sew.

My grandmother taught me to hand sew and crochet at an early age and my mom taught me to machine sew when I was 13. When I was in high school I remember running to the fabric store on the weekends to get fabric to make an outfit I could wear to school on Monday.   I never took home economics in high school because I always took art classes, but my mom was a wonderfully patient teacher and I learned so much from her about sewing and life in general.

I noticed that when I assigned an art project requiring the students to make a few simple stitches, relatively few of the girls even knew how to thread a needle.   Although my wonderful school is very supportive of the arts, there is a strong emphasis on academics, so consequently we do not have a home economics program.  My little club is an attempt to teach the girls a few skills that seem to have fallen by the wayside.

The first club project is crucial, since initial impressions are important in drawing the students back in for the rest of the year.  I searched the internet for beginner sewing ideas and found something that I had done as a teenager and had also done with one of my classes a few years back…fabric yo-yos!They are so much fun to do!  When I was a teenager, I made a vest out of these little puffs of fabric.

I cut a bunch of fabric circles in lots of different patterns and colors and decided to pre-thread the needles to save time and my sanity!  I never know how many students I will have at the first meeting, and I wanted to be ready for them.  I know that in the learning process, it’s better to have the students do the project from the very beginning all by themselves, however, in the interest of time and given their skill level, I made an executive decision and opted to facilitate the project steps.

Although we had a few disasters, they were quickly snipped and restarted relatively quickly.  Most of the girls got the hang of sewing a simple straight stitch and were able to stitch around the circle to the end, gather it, and, with my help, knot the end. 

Then I brought out my fabulous button assortment!  There is just something wonderful that happens when you bring out a box full of buttons and set it in front of an eager bunch of teenage girls.  It’s sort of like kids in a candy store.  They dig, pick out their favorites, and have a hard time choosing just one.  Time was running short, and I knew that some of them would have a difficult time negotiating the button stitching, although some actually did sew the buttons on and did a good job.  The others, however, used the hot glue gun to attach their buttons. 

At 3:15 we were pretty much done, and although the girls wanted to bring their yo-yos home, I asked if I could keep them a week for a display in the showcase outside the art room.  They wholeheartedly agreed and the next morning we had a lovely display of Sewing Club yo-yos! 

Knowing how to create something is a gift, but sharing that gift is a reward in itself!