Sheet Music Garland

I've been wanting to try this for a long time and this morning I finally did. It's such a fun, simple project. I printed some sheet music, cut out circles (I used a large hole punch), placed them back to back, and stitched them together. You can recycle old books this way too. I think these would be great for a party , to decorate a childs room, or for decorating a Christmas tree. I'm going to hang mine in my craft room. Really easy and fun!

Septembers Free Give Away

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I've been busy preparing for my daughters upcoming wedding in October, renovating my Etsy shop, crafting, and a million other things. I promised a free give away each month, so here is Septembers: I will draw a name from my list of followers on Sept. 15th. The winner will receive a sample package of some of the wool crafting supplies that I have been working on. The package will include wool beads, wool ropes and some wool roving. Good luck to everyone!

Creative Connections

Connecting with creative, like minded people, through my blog and Flickr, has kept me going through some of the most difficult times in my life. Connecting and creating in person with one of these new found friends is even more special. Recently, I had the pleasure, of a visit from one of these friends. Odile Gova, a multitalented, artist from Toronto, found her way to my home. It was a fun filled weekend of talking, creating, shopping and learning. She called it "a gift to herself", but it felt like a gift to me. It was a weekend I will never forget.

Shine

There is a ZEN calendar next to my computer...todays quote is from the BUDDHA:

Like the moon,

Come out from behind the clouds!

Shine.

Seeing Red

Canning? Not me....When I see all these red round tomatoes, I just want to make more beads. It's my daughter who does the canning. I love to see all the jars lined up in rows on my kitchen counter. There is a lot more than just the vegetables in those jars...there's a lot of effort and hard work packed in there.

Dinner From Pittsburgh's Strip District

Yesterday I finally left my house for a while. My sweet husband worries that I spend too much time at home, so he insisted that we take a drive into Pittsburgh for the day. One of our favorite places to visit there is the Strip District. The sights, sounds and smells are just wonderful and I always leave there feeling inspired. We arrived there at 8:45 in the a.m. and it was already alive with the hustle and bustle of the street vendors, musicians, and shoppers. I got so excited by the bongo drums and flute playing that I actually bought a wooden flute. Tell me what a woman of 52 is going to do with a red, wooden flute. I know I'll never learn to play it, but I just couldn't help myself, I had to buy it. Now every time I look at it, I will be reminded of what a fun day my husband and I had.

My husband Tom, who isn't interested in flutes at all, was there for the food. There was a farmers market going on which made this visit even more special. I saw so many interesting vegetables and fruits from the local farmers. There were such sweet smelling herbs and flowers and even honey. We purchased some fresh baked bread there to go with the lobsters we were planning to purchase from the fish market.

One of the vendors had some pond plants that I just had to have. They were labeled as "pond lettuce", but my husband calls them "sea cabbage" Whatever they are, they are a nice addition to my pond.

When we got home to our little corner of the world, Tom cooked the lobsters and we had an amazing dinner. A great ending to a perfect day. I think I'll play my flute????

Linen Pumpkin Winner

Hi everyone...today was the drawing for the linen pumpkin giveaway. It has been so much fun to meet all of you who participated! Your blogs and websites are wonderful and I appreciate all the fabulous things that everyone has to share. I'm afraid my blog may not measure up to all of yours, but I think I will improve with time.

I'm happy to say that Patrizia is the winner for the month of August. Congratulations Patrizia!

I will be posting another giveaway for the month of September soon. I would like to do this each month if all goes well. Thanks again to everyone who was a part of this fun experience!!!

Inspired By Nature

It finally rained last night. I've been worried about the fish and plants in my pond lately. We've been pumping water from our well into the pond just to keep the fish alive. My pond is one of my favorite things. There are wild geese who have babies there every Spring. It's wonderful to watch the babies jump into the water for the first time. They're so tiny and clumsy at first. There is a pretty painted turtle who lives there as well as my beautiful big koi. The frogs seem to be loving the plants we've added this year. I see them next to the lily pads every day. My pond is the first place I go when I'm out walking. It's so full of life and beauty.

Bits and Scraps of Inspiration

You know how it is...you've organized that studio a thousand times before, but each time is like a treasure hunt. Sorting through the boxes, baskets, drawers and bins, you find not only forgotten treasure, but inspiration as well.

A Mountain of Thread Therapy

Countless crochet stitches = a mountain of therapy. Hundreds of hours of meditation.

Romantic Creations

I am planning a new line of soft, romantic accessories. The first piece in this collection is a necklace crocheted with a soft, ivory cotton thread. The embellishments are bits of vintage, crocheted doilies, scraps of lace and ribbon, a tiny tassel, vintage and shell buttons, tiny glass beads and a large picture charm. So pretty. The charm has a picture of a little girl with a basket and the back says "I love playing at Grandmas".

Buttons Old and New

Button: a small knob secured to an article (as of clothing) and used as a fastener by passing it through a buttonhole or loop.

I love vintage buttons for embellishing my crochet pieces. I keep them in old vintage jars. I also love ceramic buttons for some of my projects. If you are interested in purchasing some fabulous, handmade, ceramic buttons go to http://www.potteryhead.etsy.com/. She made the beautiful ceramic buttons that you see here.

Friends Through Art

About a year ago, I discovered the photo sharing site, Flickr. It has given me the opportunity to meet so many wonderful artists from all over the world. These artists inspire me with their outstanding work and kind words. Their emails, kind comments and gifts have kept me going through some pretty tough times. They have become my friends.

Today I would like to say thanks to Rita and Dawn. Rita is a fabulous artist from Italy! She sent me this beautiful coin purse and has introduced me to some of her friends as well. You can visit her blog at http://www.donnaraita.blogspot.com/.

Dawn is a fiber artist who lives here in the U.S. Her work is amazing! Yesterday I recieved this gorgeous hand felted scarf from her collection. You can learn more about Dawn and her art at http://www.feltsoright.com/.

The Blessings of Friendship Free to a good home.

I've been busy cleaning and sorting and organizing for the past few days, and I came across this lovely book. It's a beautiful, hardback book with illustrations by Mary Engelbreit. It's full of quotes and poems and song lyrics, and the illustrations are lovely. If anyone is interested in this book, please contact me via email and I would be happy to ship it to you. Here are a couple of photos of the book.

Wool Beads From Etsy

I purchased these large wool beads from 2 different shops on Etsy. The neutral ones are from HandbehgFELTS and the white, fuzzy, sparkly ones are from EdenGlitters. They arrived quickly and are nicer than I had hoped for. I plan to make them into something fabulous.

http://www.handbehgfelts.etsy.com/

http://www.edenglitters.etsy.com/

My Artfull Blogging

One of my favorite publications is "Artful Blogging". So many of the blogs I've read sound just like me. The words I read are the thoughts I've had. The photos are almost magical. As I worked to organize my studio this afternoon, I tried to create that magical feeling with some photos of the pretty things in my space. It made the cleaning and organizing fun.

Yummy Boysenberries

My daughter found a huge patch of boysenberries at the edge of our woods. Last Sunday she picked 4 quarts of them in the rain. She made a wonderful cobbler and some jam. Good stuff!!! If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I'll post it for you.