Laundry Sign

How can it already be a week into 2012?  this week has gone fast and I've had no time to breathe much less post!

I thought I'd share another of the Christmas gifts that I made.

This one is for our daughter who has 4 kids and does laundry for 4 kids, herself and her hubby.  That's a LOT of laundry!  She says she always has a load in the washer, a load in the dryer and clothes waiting their turn.

And then there is the folding!  I remember those days, but at least there were only 3 kids to do laundry for.

The words for this sign were "stolen" from a blog that I read.  Unfortunately, I either did not make a note on the URL, so if you saw this and know the blogger, I will definitely give her credit for the words.

This photo was taken before it was wrapped.  The angel above it was not part of the gift.  She watches over our dining room.

The frame was a new one, but one I had for a long time in the "frame" box -- it has moved a few times!

It started out brown with green metallic accents.  It was no long my style, so it got a coat of white paint and some antique glaze to age it. Hmm, it is probably already 25 years old, anyway!

The words were made using an MS Word text box.  The background used an option to color fade from top to bottom diagonally.  This was then printed on card stock and sprayed with a matte finish by Krylon.

The words say:

For one day service, do it yourself.

Ironing requires 2 week notice.

Not responsible for lost socks.

Thank you mystery blogger for giving me the words to use!

Mindy laughed when she read the sign.

I hope you got a chuckle, too!

Hope your first week of 2012 has been excellent.

Next time I'll show you the Kindle cover I made for the Kindle Fire I received for Christmas.

Until then, keep smiling!

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Lois

Chocolat Pillows

One of the reasons I did not post a lot before Christmas was that I was busy making some of the Christmas gifts.

Today I'm sharing the Chocolat pillows that I made for our daughter Beth.  She has a suede brown sofa and she really likes chocolate -- especially dark chocolate.  I'm a milk chocolate girl myself, but that's okay!

There are two of these pillows.  The one in back shows the back side of the pillow.  Both have the Chocolat on the front.

The graphic is from the Graphics Fairy who has an amazing variety of graphics available for use!  This one is displayed both in reverse for use with transfer paper and the correct way for just printing.  All I did for these pillows was to print the image in the size I needed on t-shirt transfer paper from Avery for light fabrics and ironed it on Osnaburg fabric.  Easy, peasy!  Just make sure to check that the image has transferred before removing the backing.

For the back, I went to the local Jo Ann's fabrics looking for a blue and white ticking, but instead found this wonderful brown "zebra" print.  The brown used for the cording was already in my stash.  The pillow forms are from Jo Ann's as well.  I did put a zipper in the back so that the covers could be removed for cleaning.  For that I cut two pieces of the backing, attached the zipper with a zipper foot and then cut the rectangle the same length as the front fabric.  When I make another of these pillows, I'll do a real tutorial with all of the steps in case making pillows isn't on your list of accomplishments.  They really are NOT hard to do!

Here is a closer look at the French Chocolat label on the front of the pillow.

Sorry this photo is a little dark.  I have a new Photo Shop Elements version and haven't quite learned how it works yet.  I jumped about 8 versions so there are differences!  Once I've learned this one, I'm sure I'll like it better than the old version 2 that I've used for YEARS!

Later I'll share the subway art that I did for Gary.  It was a first for me, so I learned a LOT about what to do and more importantly what I'll do differently the next time.

Guess it is really time to take down the Christmas decorations, but I'm not ready yet.  Yes, I am procrastinating as I like them up until New Years and then I wipe the slate clean so I have a few more days to enjoy the Winter Wonderland musical theme.

xoxoXOXOxoxo,

Lois

I linked with French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday

             and The Graphics Fairy Brag Monday

Stockings & a Banner

I hope you are better prepared for Christmas than I am!  There are still a couple of presents to purchase and cookies to bake, plus some of the already purchased gifts are not wrapped yet!  Yikes! It is getting way to close to have this much left to do!

Last week when we went to Tucson, I had the opportunity to photograph our daughter's family's stockings.  The don't have a mantle so hang them on this really cute bench by the front door.  This makes it easier for Santa since he can't come down the chimney anyway!  He sneaks in the front door!

Except for the denim on the left which was made by the other Grandma (Hi, Mary!) these are stockings I've made over the years for grand kids.  The red with the lace is made from fabric and left over lace used for the bridesmaid's  and flower girl dresses from M & M's wedding and belongs to their oldest daughter A1 (she is A1 because another granddaughter's name also begins with an A and because she is very special!).  The stocking with the Princess Feather quilt pattern was made from a pattern in a Country Living magazine several years ago and belongs to L, I think.  I made two of these and one belongs to E who is our other daughters second daughter.  The ticking stripe belongs to H or maybe the Princess Feather belongs to H and the ticking stripe belongs to L!  I think I've made too many Christmas stockings to remember any more which I made for whom!  Mindy saw a ticking stripe stocking in a magazine and we tried to duplicate it with a couple of changes.  I think the lace at the top of this one is the other half of the lace I used for the coffee bag stocking.

The yellow and brown Sunbonnet Sue I made for Mindy when she was a little girl and I had first started quilting.  I know, yellow and brown, what was I thinking?  Well Sunflowers are yellow and brown, after all!  The other stockings in the back belong to Ehrwen (I probably misspelled that!) their cat and Prince, their dog.  You can also see part of Mindy's Rudolph collection here.

On the bench is part of Mindy's collection of Rudolphs.  She has been collecting them since she was quite young.  One year all she said she wanted for Christmas was a stuffed Rudolph.  Try as I might, I could NOT find one that year.  So, I did what any self-respecting mom would do.  I found stuffed deer and painted it's nose red with finger nail polish.  She did figure it out, though.  She loved it anyway even if it wasn't a REAL Rudolph!

Here is the banner I made for the china hutch in the dining room. 

These are chipboard letters from Hobby Lobby.  I painted them white and sparkled them up with a bit of clear glitter.  They are simply hot glued to twine.  It does make it a bit difficult to open the door of the cabinet, though. LOL  My SIL, Joyce, made the ceramic high button shoe that sits on the side of the hutch.

The stocking is from a heavy grosgrain fabric with a lace doily cuff.  I love this neutral combination highlighting the textures instead of a color.

The kerosene lamps are wearing their holiday bows though they are hard to see.  Many of them are from family and a few I got from an antique dealer in Wisconsin.  I didn't buy them exactly.  She needed antique clothing repaired and rather than paying me, I would earn pieces in her shop.  One dress I finally gave back to her without completing it as I had put so many hours into this Victorian era ball gown that I told her she couldn't afford for me to finish it.

There are a few more Christmas things to show you, but they will have to wait until the next post.  I'll try not to be so long between posts, but there was shopping to do and I do have to go to work, too!

Until next time, enjoy the season!

Lois

Angels Aware!

Hello my dear friends!

What an incredibly busy week it has been!  It seems there are never enough hours a day to do all the things that need to be done, much less the things we want to do!  Sunday we were able to go to Tucson to see two of our grandchildren perform in a musical and have lunch with their mom (our daughter), dad and brother and sister.  Then we drove back to the Phoenix area and had dinner with two more grandchildren and our son.

Monday was work, but after work we had dinner with another granddaughter and various other relatives before going to see her perform in her school Christmas concert.  When did 7th graders become SO sophisticated!  Not to mention the talent we saw!

I took a few photos of the angels we hang on the tree before they came out of there box.  Have you ever seen so many angels in such a small space before?

That's just the first box of angels.  There is this one also.

These angels have personalities, too.  Here is one with a sweet face.

She is one that I made for a ladies tea at our church one year.  I made a LOT of these for the tea and a few for our tree.

This one was made when we lived in Alabama.  I made quite a few of these, too, but I gave all but one away.  I think I used them on top of packages, too.  She is made from a silk rose and silk leaves plus a wooden bead with a pipe cleaner for a halo.

The following two are definitely Arizona Angels as they are made from cotton bolls.  Of course, they could have been made in a number of places in the South.  I just know these were made here because I made them from a kit.  I made more than I kept, but these two have distinct personalities.



This one has a heart for a mouth -- kind of Betty Boop, don't you think?

But, this one!  don't you just love the quirky smile?  She's the angel who has the fun!  Can't you see her saying to the other angels -- "Boy, we sure scared those silly shepherds, didn't we? That was FUN!"

These remind me of a friend in Alabama who called everyone "angel".  I miss that and her!  She is a quilter, too!  If she didn't call you "angel" you were in BIG trouble!  She's the one who is an angel -- love her to pieces!

That all for today.  I'll do better this week, I hope.  I have more photos and plan to take more of Christmas quilts to share with you.

In the meantime, don't overdo it.  It's only 11 days before the BIG DAY, but it will all get done, it always does!

Until next time,

Lois