KERRIE'S KRAFTS 3

My Two Best friends were Carpenters....

2012-01-31T09:16:00.000-08:00

My wonderful sweet husband succumbed to the horrible cancer Multiple Myeloma on Thursday, January 26, 2011 at 5:15pm.at home with his loving family. He died an agonizing 12 hour death and he held my hand until the last breath. I gave in to have Hospice help the last 3 days when I could no longer lift him. They were absolutely wonderful and supportive and I cannot praise them enough. They never took his care away from me but supported me with medical knowledge as well as loving hugs. We all bonded including Bill in just those short 3 days of knowing one another. When Bill passed, they wept right along with us.

Bill doing what he loved best! Taken on Owasco Lake in Auburn NY several fall seasons ago...

And here is a picture of my honey, the carpenter busy in the shed in the 90's. He was always building and creating.

The hammer is still, the saw is silent. The house is filled with his love though and I feel its warmth all around me. Thanking all of you who have traveled this journey with us. You saved me when I was lonely, had questions or just depressed. You shared your own experiences and always tried to make Bill and myself feel better. What would I have done without my blogs when we were housebound? Thank you sweet friends, I love you all. Hugs, Kerrie

I wrote a song to him once about MY BEST FRIEND IS A CARPENTER.... And it is about the Lord but also about my Carpenter Bill. I will share with you some day....

Nifty Book Marks

2012-01-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

Are you familiar with Pinterest?? It is a site where people pin their favorite things in categories and if you like one of the pictures, you can repin it. Several have repinned one of my Myrtle Beach ocean pictures. Well, anyway, I found the neatest Book Mark idea on there.

These are made with paint samples! For children, you can punch a heart out each time they finish reading a book, isn't that neat? Or just make for friends and slip them in an envelope the next time you write or send a card to them.
Punch a hole in the top for the colorful ribbon that will hang outside the book pages. I just love this idea and can't wait to make some.

Here is one I made last year for a book plate. Wanting to share again. Right click on image to save and Print out on sticky backed paper that can be peeled to adhere to the frontispiece page of your books.

My Krafty Heart to yours...

Thanks for visiting today and come back soon!

Easy Ornaments from Fabric Scraps

2011-11-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

Nothing personal, but you are all full of Turkey!! ha, ha, ha! to see our silly Thanksgiving tradition go to my Kerrie's Korner SC blog. We hope your day was wonderful and that you were making new memories....
We celebrated with only one daughter as everyone was out of town. Later in the afternoon, I was in the mood to make some ornaments that I had seen on line and was experimenting.

This one was very simple! I just cut some red and white felt into a simple Christmas Tree. 2 small pieces of red and 2 white. I sewed down through the middle of the tree at the same time catching the green ribbon for the hanger in back. Then I just fanned out the branches! The back side is flat so it would make a great gift tie-on as well.

Next, I sewed 4 different fabric scraps together in strips about 1/2 inch wide. I drew a Christmas tree shape lightly on the strips and cut two shapes at once with the pinking sheers. It has the quilted look on both sides and the ribbon hanger was stitched between the 2 shapes. I stitched over my light pencil shape and then cut with the pinking sheers close to the stitching. I really like the way these came out and they also would make a good gift tie-on and ornament. I hung them on the mantle pegs to see what they looked like.

Our daughter liked them so much, they all went home with her-ha! She said she would treasure them as they are special...
I love creating things and I know all of you do, also. Very little skill is needed for these projects and you could even glue the shapes together or sew by hand if you do not have a sewing machine. Happy Krafting and come again soon!

My Krafty heart to yours...

Victorian Fan in Pinks

2011-11-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

You may have seen other fans we have made like this one I am featuring today. It is a scroll saw Victorian fan that Bill cut from thin aspen wood. I did the embellishing with ribbons, fabric flowers, painting the Hummingbirds and bead work. I just love these fans as they are so elegant and look beautiful on the wall of any room. This one is for sale in my Etsy Shoppe and it would make a wonderful gift. Link is in the sidebar.

I am joining Beverly at "Pink Saturday" with this post. If you love Pink, you will have a ball visiting all the entries for this Pink Saturday, come on and join in!

Here is a how to that I made by accident! Ha!

I was trying to make a snow flake that I had seen on some one's blog but the directions were not clear. So while experimenting, I made the cutest Christmas tree that I will use on top of gifts or for a banner. Have not decided if I should put glitter on it or just use different color papers in red green and gold.
First I cut a little square of paper.

I folded it in half and cut slits from the folded side towards the edges. Then I turned it around and cut slits between the ones I had just cut from the straight edge.

I cut the edge point off at one end to make the pot for the tree and then I opened the paper up and pulled from each end. And this is what happened!

I love it! If you pull it out more , it will become dimensional. These would look so cute in colors on a ribbon tied to a gift!
Happy crafting and come again! Happy Thanksgiving coming up Thursday -- Already!

My Krafty heart to yours...

Ornament-Easy

2011-11-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is a super simple craft and a recycle. Most everything we buy comes in clear molded plastic packaging. This one had AA batteries in it. I cut the trim where it was glued to the cardboard and this made a very nice little recessed frame. I used a vintage Christmas graphic from the Graphics Fairy ( all graphics are free and you can look for graphics by category or holiday) I glued a lavender piece of paper to the back of the graphic. I used clear adhesive photo corners to put the card in and pressed at the corners onto the plastic frame.

Measures 3 1/2 X 3"

I then enhanced the figure by going over her details with jell pens. Then I used the little Christmas Tree and snowman that were from the Dollar Tree that came in a package with snow flakes, trees and snowmen all in one package! I put some snow flakes on the back of the ornament with a little stick glue. I used a small hole punch to make the holes to put the green ribbon hanger through and tied a bow at the top.

Then I wrote Noel down the left side of the graphic. This is a great project for

children, too. You can print several copies of the graphic and use for card making, too.
I would love to see what you are inspired to do with a little recycled frame like this one. Happy Krafting and thanks for coming!!

This was a fun project taking only 15 minutes.

My Krafty Heart to yours...

Napkin Rings from Towel Roll

2011-11-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Crafters! Here is an easy napkin ring tutorial. Make for yourself or for gifts.

When your paper towel roll is empty, take the cardboard roller and cut about 2 inch wide pieces. This roll made 8 rings. Next I took some fall Apple fabric from my stash and cut strips a little wider than each ring and used white tacky glue to paste onto the ring.

Then I cut a smaller piece of fabric for the inside of the ring and glued that down. And then I let the glue dry overnight.

Add a white napkin and now you have your own designed napkin rings! I used "Aleene's Okay to Wash It" glue so the napkin rings can be moist cloth cleaned if stained.

You can also make napkins rings with Christmas print, which I also have in my stash and I plan to make aprons from both the apple and the Christmas print-NEXT!

I have been busy crocheting things for my Etsy Shop: Scarves, dish cloths and a darling crocheted Teddy Bear! You can buy from this page by clicking Buy Now in my side bar or go to our Etsy Shop site.

Set of 3 crocheted dishcloths

Sweet crocheted Teddy Bear with Polka Dot ribbon 8" tall.

Detail of button features. My own original
creation.

He is so soft and cuddly, great gift for teens. Not recommended for toddlers as they put toys in their mouth and could be a choking hazard.

Fluffiest Pink Pom Pom scarf

Lovely white/green/blue variegated Bernat Pipsqueak yarn. So soft and fluffy! 100% Acrylic.

My bust of Beetoven makes a perfect model for the scarves-ha!

Me modeling this scarf...

Thank you so much for coming today and do come again soon! I love comments, please leave one for us. Till next time, have great crafting days!!

My Krafty Heart to Yours...

Paper Pom Poms

2011-10-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing a craft from the Sewing Loft. I can't wait to try them and so wanted to share with you right away. For this time of year I was thinking of lightly spray painting with orange paint. I hope you make some and send me your results. Have fun!

Today's craft is super simple. I mean really simple & no cost. The kids made them with me so, they were super fun!!
Let's face it, we all have news paper hanging around the house but what do you do with it? Since my recycling bin was full and the girls were looking for a craft project... the paper pom pom was put into action.
These can be made any size and can be used in so many ways.

Party Decor
Garland
Flowers
Pretty Packaging
Holiday Ornaments
My girls like the party decor.. So that will be the focus for today's craft!
This project is for sewers of all levels.
Skill Level- 1 Button

Materials:
Newspaper
Craft Paint or Watercolors & Brush (Or Orange and yellow and red spray paint.)
Needle
Thread
Scissors
Basic instructions:
Cut many squares of news paper. (*If you have a rotary cutter, you can cut several layers of paper at a time. )

Then I handed the squares off to the girls and let the painting begin! After a quick dry in the sun, you are ready to move on to the next step.
Fold the paper squares as photos. I folded 15 to create my pom pom.
With needle and thread (approx 20" long), stitch through the pointed corner of each petal. Be sure to leave approx 10" of thread on each side for hanging.
Repeat the process. For pom poms in photo, I used around 15 petals, 5" square.
Tie in knot.
Pull apart each petal and "fluff".

They are not as light and fluffy as tissue paper poms but these pom poms are a fun way to drama above any child's party table.

For More ideas, visit the Sewing Loft http://thesewingloftblog.com. Happy Fall Crafting!

My crafty heart to yours...

Nice Halloween Cat

2011-10-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

HERE IS A NICE HALLOWEEN CAT! Use for greeting card or decoration. Just right click to copy. Again, this is from The Graphics Fairy.

Isn't he cute? You could also use for pasting on treat bags, or for a banner when printing out several copies. If you right click you can also print right from this page.

Sorry that this is all I have for today. Hubby had to have 2 pints of blood today at the hospital and the transfusion took 6 1/2 hours, all told! The day is shot but it is still sunny and a wonderful 73 degrees so not complaining! I would love you to create with this image and send me a pick, thanks!!

My Krafty Heart to Yours...

Halloween fun Decorations

2011-09-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am sorry for not posting sooner. We went camping for 3 days last week while hubby was off chemo. It was wonderful to get away for a few days with NO Dr. appointments!
I thought I better get a move on and share some Halloween decorations with you so you can make cards, banners, or whatever with these wonderful graphics from the Graphics Fairy There is no other site with so many free graphics anywhere!

Right click to copy or go to "file" at the top of your page and choose "save picture as". I save mine to my picture file and when the season is over, I delete them later.

And here is a gorgeous butterfly with Autumn colors!

Suggestions for use for graphics. Put them on lace pumpkin doilies and make cards or banners, gift tags, print as iron on's for T-shirts, etc.

I would love to see what you do with them!

graphics cut out and ready to glue on lace pumpkin doilies.

Lovely Butterfly. For 3-D effect cut out 2 and glue them together at the feet of the butterfly.

And this witch with the moon and bat would look great on a banner for a party or just for Halloween decorating. Or photograph and make copies for Halloween greeting cards.

Thanks for coming and do come again soon. If you have time, check out my other blogs. My most recent blog (listed in sidebar) is my original poetry.

My Krafty heart to yours...

The above graphics are taken from vintage post cards, I love them!

2011-09-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

I HAVE ADDED A NEW BLOG TO MY GROUP, THE THE POETRY OF KERRIE O'HEARN MARQUART. It features only my poetry and photography by my hubby and myself. I hope you will enjoy reading the spiritial Christian poems as well as other subjects. If you visit, please leave a comment. Thank You!!

Kraft Notes...And Toile Valances

2011-09-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

Good morning crafters! Sorry for not posting for so long but hubby has been very ill for the last month with kidney failure. It got down to only 10% and we were heading towards dialysis. But we saw the kidney doc and a nutritionist at the hospital who gave him a kidney failure diet to follow and also recommended a nutrition drink specifically for patients with kidney failure. Just two weeks after, another blood test showed marked improvement and his function increased 10% to everyone's surprise! I can only conclude it was from prayers and the diet!! We are so happy.

Consequently, I have not worked on crafting and neither has hubby. But now maybe we will get some projects going again. Thanks for hanging in there with us. I did make some Valances for our newly painted bedroom and pillow shams. I used a beautiful fabric that is water and stain resistant. I just looked at one of my old pillow cases to measure and sew the matching shams. We were very pleased with the outcome. Hubby spends a lot of time in the room and I wanted to brighten it up for him.

As you can see, I hung our finished lighhouse paintings on the walls and they look great against the blue!

Bill's is especially pretty as he has that dark patch of blue sky in his that blends so nicely with the blue walls.

Detail of Fabric

The fabric is pure white but this photo doesn't show the whiteness. The pattern is children in blue playing, trees and has several scenes. I love it!

This is the corner window on my side of the bed. We loved the open clean look with just the Valances so we did not put the sheers back up.

The lamps were purchased several years ago seperately but I already had painted them to match with the same design in blue, green and gold acrylic paint.

This picture of pieces of the fabric show more of the true color. I am using the present quilt until my pinwheel quilt is completed.

Thanks so much for visiting today and do come again soon!! What are you crafting??

♥KERRIE♥

My crafty heart to yours...

QUILTING TIPS

2011-07-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

GOOD MORNING!! I had trouble joining the squares on the Pinwheel Pattern quilt I am making and my sweet sister who has much more experience in quilting than I have has come to my rescue with some really good advice so I am sharing it with you.

"Here's hoping this works. You may have lots of solutions by now but here are mine. It is impossible to cut any pattern on the straight of the goods...except the binding along the sides. it is all in the handling and pressing. During the sewing of pieces try not to pull on them.When pressing it is important not to move the iron back and forth.Put the piece on the board and "finger press" carefully ...the seams. Then Just put the iron on the piece and just press with out moving the iron back and forth.When putting the pieces together do the same ...handle with care. If it looks like it is a little short you can cheat by pulling at this time. If it is a little long you can fit it in. It may look wrong but you can press it. All pressing should be with steam.When putting the pieces together to make the pattern if they are not the same size You can square them up by trimming a smidgen. Before I cut any pieces out I press the fabric first
but only press.. not move the iron.Also let the pieces dry if they are a little damp.Your piece looks beautiful so far.
Hope this helps. Love you, Mary"

Don't ya just love having an older sister?? ♥
THANKS SO MUCH SIS AND I WILL BE HEEDING YOUR ADVICE FOR SURE!

Sure hope this will help anyone else out there that has had problems with joining pieces like I did! Come again soon! And if you have time, check out my other blogs with links in my sidebar-Thanks!

My Krafty heart to yours...

Collage of Favorite things....

2011-07-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Wishing for rain and doodling with altered art collage. (These can be photographed and used on the face of your homemade cards, framed, or put in scrapbook page). We need rain so badly and the thunder can be heard near by. the skies darkened but now the sun is out without a drop of rain!
I was day-dreaming and made this little collage of some of my favorite things...

I adore this little vintage card with the girl pouring milk for her kitten! I started with that card and then added things as I went along...

I collect Bird feathers all the time and others bring them to me as they know this, (smile).

And leaves, I love leaves! This one had so many points and I do not know what tree it came from but it is pretty! My daughter brought it to me.

This is a vintage spoon print from a magazine and I chose these drab greenish buttons because they seemed to go with the soft colors of the drying leaf and card.

Then I added the steel crochet hook that is very old, a bitty little shell and then I wrote on the paper and glued a feather at the end of the writing as though it were a quill pen that wrote.

Once I took the picture of my collage to print out and frame or put in a scrapbook, I disassembled it as I did not want to glue the card to the surface or the vintage crochet hook, either, as I still use it. Picture taken, I then made a smaller collage by using some of the pieces from the first.

I liked this one, too with some of my crocheting, thread, thimble and cutting out my writing to lay across the sheet. After I was satisfied with this picture, I removed all but the writing, leaf with little cow picture and spoon print. I cut out the paper around the points of the leaf to make it more interesting and put it on my Bulletin Board. Such fun! You must have favorite things you can collage for pictures to print or scrapbook fun or for card making. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to copy and paste the vintage card of the little girl and her kitten and use it for yours.

Thank you so much for coming and do come again soon! If you have time, please visit my other blogs with the links in the sidebar.

My Krafty Heart to Yours...

Paper Roses♫

2011-07-12T05:49:00.000-07:00

REMEMBER THE SONG, PAPER ROSES? My Mom used to make crepe paper roses all the time and they looked so real! Mine are much smaller but here is how to make them!

Supplies: Floral wire and tape (craft store), stick glue, crepe paper,scissors.

I like this package of wire as it comes with its own cutter.

Begin by cutting an irregular circle from the crepe paper.

This is what it will look like. It is now ready to begin rolling. Hold the center with one hand and start twisting the paper wrapping the petals as you go along. I tack it with stick glue while wrapping and pinch the bottom of the flower while I am wrapping.

When I am finished wrapping, I glue the bottom of my rose with the stick glue again.

Next I add the floral wire overlapping it at the base of my rose and start applying the floral tape around the base of the rose and the wire and start twirling with my thumb and index finger. As you stretch the floral tape, it becomes sticky and will adhere to the wire and base of the rose.

Continue rolling and twisting until you reach the bottom of your stem.

These work up very quickly once you get the hang of twirling the rose and then the floral tape around the wire. You can make a bouquet in no time!

I did not have green paper to make leaves but will show you that another time. They are even easier to make!

We finished our Lighthouse paintings and I think Hubby did a great job on his, I love it and cannot wait to frame and hang it.

Hubby has been having a rough time of it lately with the chemo and meds but we are hoping he will feel better soon. He sleeps a lot due to the meds and he hates not being able to get outside as our SC temps have been so hot as is normal in July and August. Thank you so much for visiting today and When my pinwheel quilt is finished I will post a picture. Do visit my other blogs if you have time, the list is in my sidebar. Have a most wonderful and Krafty day!! Hugs,

My Krafty heart to yours...

Pinwheel Quilt Pattern...

2011-06-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to make a pinwheel patterned quilt forever! Even though I am still working on two larger quilts (Cathedral Window and a Yo-Yo Quilt), I was given a book with the pinwheel pattern in it just last week and had to start this lap quilt!! I love the way it is coming out!

I did 3 blocks on Sunday and three more yesterday!

This is how it looks today after ironing the seams and now having 6 blocks completed.

I just love the way it is turning out. One thing I notice though when joining the blocks was that there is some irregularity in the sizes. I am thinking it is because I did not pay strict attention to cutting on the bias?? Okay you very experienced and pro quilters, is this the reason? My other quilts are sewn together by hand but this one is being done on my machine so I am noticing the difference. My hand sewn quilts make it much easier to ease in the joining if there is a small discrepancy. This Pinwheel pattern is so much fun to work with and the blocks are very large so it should work up quickly. This will be a lap quilt size.

WE are still working on our lighthouse paintings and hope to be done soon. We got to camp for a couple of days last week and away from cancer treatments--a joy!

Thanks for coming and do come again,

Something from Nothing...Little Pink Book

2011-06-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Pink Saturday to you! What is Pink Saturday?? It is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet The Sound and is celebrating 3 yrs. last month. If you love Pink and you blog, all you have to do is post something you like on Saturdays and if you are not a blogger but just love to visit them, this is the place for you! My pink Saturday offering today is this Little Pink Book I just made!

And this is how I made something from nothing....

I used Martha Stewart paint samples from the local Home Depot Store.

I glued 2 of them back to back for the cover and did the same for the back. You know those cute little metal frames that you buy in the dollar store with vintage pictures of people you do not know but love? I took the picture out of the frame and pasted it to the front of my little Pink Book.

Next I punched holes in my covers and found faded pink ribbon among my stash to lace the covers together with pages I made from Index cards....

I punched holes in the index cards. Next I laced them together with the ribbon.

This is what the inside of the book looks like.

This is the back of my little book. I loved these paint samples as they looked like leather.

Then I added a little embellishment with some flat half pearls that come on a tiny sheet and are already tacky. I also had these in my card making supplies but they are very inexpensive in the craft stores and Walmart.

And here is my finished Little Pink Book with 12 pages that I can write sentiments in or phone numbers or whatever! I added the Christian saying from a teabag tag that I had. (my daughter gave me a whole box of green tea with
Bible sayings on them for Mother's Day)

I love it!

And the little frame?? I put Mama in it!

Thanks for coming and do come again. I hope you enjoyed my Pink Saturday How-To.

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty heart to yours...

Finished $1 store Bags...

2011-05-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!! Just finished the little bags from the dollar store with doily embellishments and buttons!

The bag and the doily are from the $ store. It is just the right size to hold cell phone, cosmetics, and a small wallet. I got out my button tin and found these black and gold buttons to embellish the doily. I just love the way it came out.

This is the backside with one black button for closure.

And here is the lavender bag. I removed the brighter green stitching on the handle ring and did a blanket stitch around the ring in a matching green embroidery thread. I used all matching yellow buttons on this one.

I used one lavender button for the closure on this one. I just used the opening on the doily for buttoning even though it is off center. These will make great gifts! They are completely washable, too!

Details....

Visit your dollar store and see what you can find to create something fun and bright. Thanks for coming and do come back soon. Hopefully, we will be finishing up our Lighthouse paintings soon!

♥KERRIE♥

My krafty heart to yours...

Finished the totes!!

2011-05-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

OKAY! I had some hems to shorten today so while I had the sewing machine out, I finished the Spring bag/totes that I was making from place mats!! HURRAY!

If you recall, I am making these totes from place mats I found at the $ store and all the emblellishments are from there, too! First I pinned the ribbon in place on a slant for this one. I used a heavy duty needle on the machine as you would use for denim.

Next I stitched the ribbon in place and joined it at the bottom of the bag by overlapping the two ends and folding over for a clean look.

Then I took a piece of fabric to line the bag with and laid it on the mat cutting around the edge in an oblong just slightly wider and longer than the mat. This left room to turn the lining fabric under, then pinned and stitch to the mat before sewing up the sides of the bag. Next I sewed up each side of the bag and went over the stitching twice to re-inforce.

TIP: I use invisible nylon thread for almost all my sewing projects and alterations. It is strong, can be laundered and ironed over but it helps not having to have many, many spools of different colored threads! It also has a little elasticity to it.

Here is the bag with the sides sewed up just inside of the border on the mat.

Next I pinned on the butterfly embellishments as they need to be tacked on by hand and also I will trim of the wires at the bottom of each butterfly so I have no sharp edges.

And here is what my finished bag looks like. All I have to do is tack the embellishments down!

I followed all the same procedure for the lavender place mat with matching ribbon and butterflies. I lined the lavender bag with pink fabric.

I will be putting these in my Etsy Shop for $12.95 plus 6.00 shipping each. They will be one of a kind as I designed them myself. If you order here on my blog by using the PayPal tab and say for "Tote" you will save 1.00.

I sure hope you enjoyed this craft How-To and I hope you will try making one of these handy little bags!

♥KERRIE♥

My krafty heart to yours...

Just a little note...

2011-04-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Crafters, just letting you know that I have not kept up with my posting as I injured my back lifting the camper hitch and had X-rays and meds to help me recoup from a bulging disc! Also, Sweet hubby has been having a rough time of it with nausea that won't quit! We see the cancer doc on Thursday and hopefully will get something to relieve it as Compazine is not working. He spent Easter Sunday in bed. So I have not finished our paintings, or the totes but promise to and will post ASAP! Thank you for your patience! In the meantime, please see my other blogs for new pictures of baby Mute Swans, they are so beautiful. Links are Two Happy and Kerrie's Korner, SC--Thanks!

Easter table, my clear glass flowered plates do not even show up-ha!

This is the Easter Apple Pie we made being creative-ha! before baking, I cut a bunny head into the top crust and painted the color with egg whites and food coloring.

Hubby added the dough nose...

Once baked, I added colored sprinkle candy eyes and a few pink ones at the slits in the crust. Pie was made with Granny Smith Apples and was delicious!!

Thank you for coming to visit and I hope you will come back soon!

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty heart to yous...

Small Camper remodel...

2011-04-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

I WILL be showing you my finished totes but had to share our morning's little camper remodel. Bill has been wanting to make room in our pint size camper for a thin leather recliner that has been in storage and we just got it out. His idea was to take the part of the sitting bench that extends out from the dining table and cut it out making space for the recliner. Well, this morning we did it and here is the result.

Here is the corner that he wanted to put the chair in. He removed this area as wide as the cushion.

Here he is removing the screws in the floor where wood framing was.

Amazingly, the floor underneath was just fine!

We removed one arm from the chair to get it through the camper doorway and it fit just right in the corner!

Here is one happy man-ha!

And here he is with the arm back on and testing the recliner out.

When turned sideways, the chair fits snugly into the space for traveling. How good is this?! Now he will just make an end cap for the bench and we will be all set. Incidentally, we saved the wood and fixtures from the part we took out so that if we ever wanted to put it back (resale down the road) we could).

And here is my one addition, a new valance over the table in the eating area. I had this left over from our living room and now will buy some material that matches so I can make the curtains for the 2 bedding areas (you can see the old faded green to the right) We were so pleased with our little remodel and hopefully next week we will take a little camping trip---Yes!

Thank you for coming as always and come back again to see my finished totes next time. Hugs to you.

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty Heart to Yours....

Spring Totes and Purses...

2011-04-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

Now look at all the things you can buy at the Dollar Store for your Crafting!!

I have gathered everything together in a pile and roughly laid it out to see what I want to do with it.
The lavender and blue (Spring and Easter colors) are mesh place mats.
The matching ribbons were from the craft aisle and were $1 each for 4 yds.
the blue and lavender butterflies came 4 in a pack.
As you can see, my plan is to make totes with ribbon handles and decorate them with the fabric and wire butterflies. When finished, I will put them on my Etsy Shop. But as I sew them, I will show you how to make them in the next post.

The striped one is one I made last fall and will be just right for this spring colors. The place mat was from Wal-mart and cost $3. The embellishments are fabric flowers that I made with button centers and you can see them by looking at last fall's posts. I have 4 of them and plan to offer those already made on my Etsy as a set of 4 all season totes for one economical price.

Next, these round pouch totes were $1. each at the $ store! The star doilies came TWO in a pack for $1!! I am going to sew the doily on one side and add a butterfly. Just right for little hands to carry or teens to carry their essentials in!

I love this Lavender one!!

And last but not least, these photo mats came 3 and 4 in a pack. I plan to draw, paint or put shells or buttons around the edges.
They have a nice texture and will hold acrylic paints nicely to decorate. Or you could personalize with a name with Marker if you are making for someone special.

I sure hope you like all my ideas for creating on a shoestring budget and will come back as I finish them.

Have you visited your Dollar Store yet?? They should PAY ME-HA! I am their best advertisement on line-tee-hee.

I hope I have inspired you and show me what you make if you use any of these suggestions, I would love to see!!

♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty heart to yours....

Oil Painting With Bill

2011-03-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

Hubby always wanted to learn to oil paint and I bought all the supplies get him started a few years ago but we never got into it. We loved watching Bob Ross (His videos are still on now and then though he has passed on) and though he painted in Acrylics, we loved his easy style. Also William Alexander who was so dramatic with passion for his Oil Paintings that he finished in a half hour per program!! So yesterday was our day for finally getting to it! In the 70's I taught drawing and painting to adults and children at the local YMCA in our home town. I have painted almost all of my life. But I have let it go by the way side as there never seems to be enough hours in the day...
But here are the pictures of our basic "putting the colors on" from yesterday:

We are painting a lighthouse using a photograph that Bill found in a Country Magazine. He tackled it with zest and although he has never oil painted before seemed to know instinctively how to mix colors. Being a carpenter and woodworker, he eyed the canvas up and divided it for horizon line.

I really loved the way he put the sky in, blending Cobalt Blue with Cadmium white and using a dabbing motion with a half inch brush to blend. Lookin' good!

In no time he had the lighthouse roughly painted in and the rocks at its base with a pool of water at the bottom. Much to my surprise, he needed hardly any instruction on my part at all! He found it very interesting that we could both be looking at the same picture and see it differently. But that is what makes YOUR painting yours and mine-mine. When I taught, I never touched the other person's canvas, I always painted side by side and showed how to do it on my own canvas and the student painted from watching on their canvas.

I realized that what I thought was a rock in the pool of water at the bottom of the photo was really a reflection of just the top of the lighthouse - ha! ( I am sitting farther away from the typing page size model we are using) I have not decided yet if I will change my "rock" or not-ha!

But after a couple of hours, this is what we accomplished for our first day and we were both pleased with the results so far.

And while we were painting, my Mallard Couple who always visit, did not come together, she was alone under the den windows and I panicked not knowing what happened to her lifelong partner! She was making a sad little noise and fluttering her wings in this wonderfully beautiful pattern as I have never seen before. For more photos and video, see my Kerrie's Korner, SC blog site.

I plan to definitely draw or paint her from this beautiful picture!! So Mr. Mallard never did show up and though it was pouring rain all day, Mrs. Mallard stayed close to the house under the den room overhang as if waiting and watching for her spouse. By supper time she had left and I will be anxious to see if she returns this morning.

Thank you so much for visiting today and please come back soon. We love having you over to see what we are up to and also for how-to's now and again. Have a most blessed day,

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty heart to yours...

Easter Craft Quickie

2011-03-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

MANY Years ago I used to make bouquets of tulips using egg cartons. I bought stamens for the middle of each tulip, pipe cleaners for stems and crepe paper leaves. I now came up with a simple, less than an hour way to make tulips from foam egg cartons and this craft can be made with children or grandchildren. I love the results!!

You will need:

Some pastel ribbon
Colored Egg Cartons
Straight scissors
Curly edge scissors
Glue stick
Buttons
Craft paint or colored markers

First cut a cup from the carton. Outline 4 petals with a marker following the curves of the egg cup.

Cut out with straight or curly edge scissors. The petals will not all be the same size but it does not matter.

When you have your cup cut out, poke a hole in the bottom with the pointed end of the scissors. Take a strand of ribbon (about 18 inches long) looped in half by the 2 ends and push the loose ends into the opening until you can pull the strands through from the bottom leaving a loose loop on the top of the cup. Do this with the other 2 strands of ribbon.

This one has been cut with the curly edge scissors and give the tulip a lacy look. These can be set loose on your Easter dinner table or a cluster of several will look nice in a short clear vase.

Optional, you can tip the edge of the petals with craft paint and put an initial on the side of one petal if using as place cards.

This is one of my own hand painted egg shells set inside for a different look. Plastic eggs from the dollar store look great in them, too!

This one has a blue flower shaped button glued to the center with stick glue and then one strand of ribbon is laced through to the back. Below is the kind of paint I used to tip the edge of the one tulip petals and for writing an initial.

And here is a real egg I used to demonstrate how your own boiled and colored eggs can be made to sit up in the cup by pulling the strands of ribbon around the base to steady it. It will stand up very nicely next to a plate.

Curly Craft scissors can be found even in the Dollar Stores.

I really hope you will make some of these really easy Egg Carton Tulips!! If you do, I would love to feature your creations! Thanks for stopping by and come again soon.

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty heart to yours....

Just a Little Twine...

2011-03-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

I saw in someone's shop that they make little baskets and I immediately thought that I could make those from baling twine!
I found this roll in the good old Dollar Tree Store! I used a size K crochet hook and began crocheting with a circle as when you make doilies. When I got the size I wanted for the bottom, I stopped adding stitches and just continued the rows going around until the sides were the depth I wanted.

Twine and Needle size K

Next I crocheted 2 rows from one side of the basket to the other for a handle.

And this is the result! I just love it! Who knew twine could be so pretty! I am going to try it with the finer macrame cord next time but this worked up so quickly. It was a little coarse on the hands though. And when I finished it I had to trim off some fly-away "hairs"-ha!

1. The basket was all stitched in single crochet stitches.

2. I increased by crocheting 2 stitches in each row every chain stitch around
until I had the desired size for the base like you would when making a coaster.

3. Then I crocheted without adding stitches for 8 rows until the depth was the desired size to hold small objects, candy, or even dried flowers.

4. Next, I crocheted 2 rows of single Crochet from side to side to make the handle.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this project and that it inspires you to make some baskets!

Thanks for coming and do come again soon!
♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty heart to yours....

Yard Project done

2011-03-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Just love the way this came out, we will have many enjoyable hours here...
Hubby redid a mosaic table top that broke and made a wood insert for it so we can place it between the chairs.

Hope you had a good St. Patrick's Day, Come back again soon! Good old Dollar Store, I decorated some for Easter on the front and back door.

I bought the basket, 4 tulip flowers,a bunch of plastic eggs and filled the basket and added the bunny from last year's decoration.
I got all those pretty flower and butterfly reusable stickies on one large sheet for a dollar. This was so much fun!

And here is the back door with a little felt bunny hanging decoration on the door. The hat on the window is one I bought at the dollar store a few years ago and stapled fabric flowers all around the brim.

Thanks for coming, love your visits. Happy crafting!!
♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty heart to yours...

Yellow Chairs

2011-03-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is, OUR SPOT with the two new Yellow Vinyl molded Adirondack chairs!! It looked so neat as the sun was setting....

Now all we need are a couple of nice pots of flowers and a little table for lemonade in between.....

This will be so much fun all summer to have a nice place to sit near the lake and not be balancing our chairs on the grade. This was a great project!

Bye for now from we two and have a wonderful St. Patrick's day tomorrow!

♥KERRIE♥
Come again soon!

Outdoor Living Project...

2011-03-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Crafters! Today we are featuring our outdoor project. We have a very uneven back yard where we observe all the wonderful wildlife here. We have been wanting to make a level place near the water where hubby could stand and fish but also so we could sit level to enjoy the water.
Hubby helped and supervised the project as I and my daughter's friend helped with the more physical side of the project. First Bill made a sort of a frame after digging out a 4' X 6' oblong in the bank.
Next we moved some stone and soil from another area of the yard with a small lawn cart. Hubby cannot do any lifting so our friend and I did the shoveling and dumping until we had the space filled.

As you can see, the bank tapers down to the lake at a 2-3ft. grade by the time you get to the water's edge. Next we bought sand to lay the 24" patio blocks on (it took 6 to fill the space) and then we put a row of bricks on either side to hold the sides stable.

Bill filled the cracks with more sand and after 2 days of working, the patio space was finished! It is a great little spot and we are buying the chairs tomorrow and will show A picture when they are setting there. With a good friend, you can make this project at a minimum of spending and a maximum of enjoyment for the rest of the year!

And this is a tip for you ladies: The best lettuce Keeper I ever had is a plastic ice cream container! It is an oval "Blue Bunny" brand Ice Cream container. I break the head of lettuce in half and the two halves fit side by side in the oval. This is the very first one I have ever used as a lettuce keeper that actually kept the lettuce fresh so that I used it to the last leaf! No rusting, no spotting, just crisp lettuce! Better than Tupperware!

Thank you for coming to visit and please come again soon.

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty heart to yours!

FUTURE CRAFTY TEACHER....

2011-03-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

Our granddaughter, Jessica, is a freshman in college and she is going to be a teacher. At present, her courses are for teaching children pre-school through 3rd grade. There is a tremendous amount of creating involved in her assignments and she came to Grandma's to help her put her creations together. I am so proud of her and all the little crafting together times when she was little have come to fruition-LOL!
She needed to make a display board with the subject of potty-training and a touch and feel book. She had everything ready and I just helped with gluing and I did make the whiskers for the Kitten touch and feel-ha!

She scanned the cover of potty training books, laminated them and put them on the tri-fold display board. She used real pull up diaper cutting it in half, boys and girls panties and glued them around the book cover in the center.

This is the first page of her touch and feel flip book. She cut the shoes out after coloring them and put real laces on them.

This one was really fun! I suggested veggie skewers for the swing frame and she placed them. She used chain lengths for the swing chains and craft foam for the seats. I just love its dimensional look and the brightness.

Next, she took plastic life-like grass and cut it into short lengths and glued them down at the bottom. She turned some sideways and glued them horizontally at the base. Then grandma thought a lady bug would be nice-ha! So she cut out and drew spots on a piece of craft foam and glued it down.

I love kitty! She cut him out after coloring him and then used button thread for his whiskers glued on with hot glue.

This is her fence from painted Popsicle sticks, I think it is so cute! And she cut grass shapes to place be placed in back and front of the sticks...
When the project is completed with a cover and back piece, she will punch the top of the pages with a paper punch and join with rings used for car keys from the craft store. Then her touch and feel flip book will be complete!

Jessica has wanted to be a teacher from the first moment she went to pre-school and played teacher all through the years. I have featured her before as she has an Etsy shop where she sells her home made beaded jewelry. Thanks for stopping by and do come again. I think this project would be great for Moms to make when they are potty training, also! Kids love bright colors and are so proud of themselves when they finally "get it".

TODAY IS JESSICA'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!!!
♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty heart to yours...

Early Easter Craft...

2011-02-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hey Crafters! I have created an Egg Graphic for you to use for Greeting cards, place cards, or just for decorating. Just click on the image to make it larger and then copy to your picture file. Then you can print it out in what ever size you prefer. I did lettering on some and left one blank for your own writing. If you use on a card, just cut the outline of the egg out and paste it. I created this Egg Graphic with jell pens, permanent fine marker, and drew free hand. I have never shared this before. Thanks so much for coming by and I hope you will be able to incorporate this colorful egg into your Easter crafting.

This is reminiscent of beautifully colored eggs that my Mom's friend used to make for her each Easter. They were made in Ukrainian tradition painting on a real egg with dyes and wax. They were most beautiful and my mother treasured them. I have painted on blown eggs to try to simulate these eggs and keep them in a china closet. They are a good likeness and my friends did not know the difference until I told them-ha!

If you cannot draw ovals free hand, just buy plastic eggs in the $ store, open and draw around the base. If you cannot draw, simply put dabs of different colored paints on the end of the handle of a paint brush and dab dots on the egg. This can be quite pretty also. And there is always ribbon and Rickrack that you can paste as stripes across the egg. I would love to see how you use my graphic, please send pictures in an e-mail and I will feature them here on the blog!

♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty Heart to Yours...

Come again soon! For today's inspirational message, go to http://kerrieshomejournal.blogspot.com

Scratch Board Stallion and Scrollsaw items

2011-02-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

Hello dear crafters! Today it is beautiful here in sunny South Carolina and 77 degrees at 4:25 p.m.!! What more could we ask for?
Hubby has not been feeling well of late due to the treatment for his Multiple Myeloma cancer and being in the house a lot instead of woodworking in the shed, he had to keep busy. So he did this beautiful Stallion on scratch board and I just love it!

These are so much fun to do at any age and you can buy kits that are pre-printed with the pattern or if you are artistic, you can just buy the scratch board in different sizes at the craft stores. This one that hubby did though had no pre-printed pattern so he just used the small picture on the package for reference and I love what he turned out! It satisfied his creativity for the moment and he has another one of a wolf to do when he is house bound again.

In the past he has cut out this very beautiful Friend Saying that is on the wall in our den. The words are all cut out separately with the scroll saw. He has so much patience doing these very meticulous cuts! He has also cut the first line of Amazing Grace for me on a note staff!! I am always amazed at the wonderful detail in his work.

We had planned to make more of these for my Etsy shop (not open at present) but with Bill's treatment causing much pain and lately nausea, he has not been able to enjoy his wood work and also the shed had been too cold for him to work out there when we were having the unusually cold weather here.

And last, but not least, is this beautiful wooden scroll saw fan that he made for me from a purchased pattern. He also made another one that I will have for sale in my Etsy shop when opened again, that has peach ribbons, bead decoration and flowers. These are large and make beautiful accent pieces in any room.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of his projects today and that it is an inspiration for your crafting.
Here is my other tissue box holder made for the long boxes from the plastic grid and yarn.

I did not have a pattern for either this one or the boutique one I made and on the long box I just filled in with variegated yarn and used corner to corner stitches.

I was even able to put a little flower cluster on each end by making the flowers first and then filling in with the filler stitches. This is another fun project and I plan to make more. And PS: I did do all the stitching on the panels this time before joining with the white yarn. It was much easier to work on and made the back of the work almost as neat as the front.

Come again soon and do visit our other blogs, links are in the sidebar.
♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty Heart to yours...

Red Tailed Hawk Completed

2011-02-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

The red-tailed Hawk in Intarsia is finished by hubby and ready for his owner who will be picking him up. He measures 10 1/2 inches wide and 11" tall. He is quite beautiful and we were both pleased with the way he came out. The top wing was cut out separately from the body parts and glued on afterward. All 64 pcs. were stained and/or painted first before gluing them together on a base. Then the details of the feathers, head and eye were painted again.

He does not have a glaring shine like that which is reflecting from my camera flash, but does have 2 coats of varnish to protect him.

This was a long project but hubby enjoyed making it for our friend and cannot wait for him to see it in person!
I hope you enjoyed seeing the hawk's development and if you are a woodworker that this has peaked your interest about working in Intarsia.

Thank you so much for visiting and please leave a comment for us as we read every one. Come back soon.

♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty heart to yours....

Valentine Low to No Cost Crafts...

2011-02-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

Remember my Christmas Wreath with Santa in the middle? Well, I printed out a valentine from the Graphics Fairy once again and Placed it right over Santa without gluing or harming the Santa print. Since the wreath is made from pages from an old hymnal, I can keep this up all year just changing the picture in the center for all holidays! I just love it so much! I have it hanging in the kitchen on the wash room door.

Here is a close up photo. Karen at the Graphics Fairy provides a multitude of vintage artwork free for the copying. She also has Request Thursdays where you can even request graphics! Do visit her site.

Next, I printed out valentine graphics, cut them out with scalloped craft scissors and strung them on a green ribbon with a glue stick. I don't know where I will hang it yet but love the result. Also, I made some book marks from vintage actress photos that were popular way back when with their little envelope under them. I just loved these too and they came out very nicely. I simply glued different colored ribbons to the back of them with a loop at the top.

Thanks to the Graphics Fairy, I can be so creative! Sharing is what it is all about! Life is good!

Hubby is still working on the Red Tailed Hawk for our friend and I will post when it is finished.

Here is one from real life that he brought for us to see on Sunday evening.

For more pictures of the Red Tailed Hawk and our Backyard Wildlife, go to my Kerrie's Korner, SC blog.
Do come back soon, we love having you visit!

♥KERRIE♥
My Krafty heart to yours...

The Red Tailed Hawk continued....

2011-01-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

This is the wing that is now sanded and the color will come next.

I love the regalness of his head. This looks more real than the pattern drawing did! Hubby does such a great job!

Stains used are Mahogany, Light Oak and White Oak.

I love the way he is developing! He is so beautiful. Won't be long now and he will be ready for gifting. The young man who will receive him is stopping by on Sunday to show Bill a real hawk that he is training, I hope to get pictures!

Stop by our other blogs to see pictures of our backyard wildlife, also!
http://kerrieskorner.blogspot.com/ and http://beaver-kerrie.blogspot.com/
Thanks for stopping and come again soon!

♥KERRIE♥
Our Krafty hearts to yours...

Creating an Intarsia Hawk

2011-01-26T05:09:00.000-08:00

We have a friend who is a licensed trainer of Raptors. The trainers find wounded birds or young that have lost their parents and rehabilitate them to be released again in the wild. Bill thought he would make a wood plaque in Intarsia art of a Red-Tailed Hawk for the friend and is working on it right now. So far, he has cut the many pieces out (approx. 65pcs) and is sanding each one to put them all together like a puzzle.

I caught Bill off guard as he settled in to check out the pieces-ha! He has been cutting the pieces out for a few days in the shed but it was much too cold for him to stay out there any length of time.
The pattern is a purchased one. Copies are made so that you can attach it to the wood with spray adhesive. Then when sawing the pieces out, you cut paper and all. Now he is coming inside to remove all the paper and then will be sanding each piece before assembling the hawk.

Note the wing on the upper corner of the board on his lap. This will be added to the figure of the hawk making it 3-dimensional.

In this picture, the wing is placed on top to show you the depth
of the figure.

Before the hawk can be completed, all of the paper will be removed from the pieces and they will be sanded and slightly beveled. Next they will be stained in different hues to assimilate the colors of the wings as closely as possible. Then the many pieces will be glued together in a mosaic* on a board backing of the same shape.

I will take pictures as the figure progresses. I cannot wait to see the result!

*Intarsia comes from the Italian word for Mosaic. The patterns for Intarsia woodworking are put together much like mosaics. It is very time consuming and requires a great deal of skill.

For pictures of our backyard wildlife and Winter poetry, please visit my Kerrie's Korner, SC site. http://kerrieskorner.blogspot.com

Thank you for coming and come back again soon!

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty heart to yours....

MIniature Sketch Winter Scene

2011-01-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

I finished the little winter scene sketch with colored pencils instead of paint. I was happy with the result.
Before:

After:

I think I will have hubby make a little frame for it and put it on a stand...

Finished Tissue Box cover

2011-01-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

Now I was really happy with my tissue box cover! With no pattern and never having done this before, I came up with a sunburst design for the sides and it is not so shabby!

On the top of the cover I was just filling in with basic half cross stitch pattern but for the sides I did 3 rows of basic stitch and then started at the center of the block and filled in with long stitch.
First from center to corners and then worked inward until the "fan" was complete, then from the longest stitch to the corner downward to the center.

I turned the box upside down and did the same thing.

I just really loved this variegated rainbow yarn. It worked up so pretty!

(It is from Wal-mart and is Red heart Brand.)

When I was finished, I made a cross in the middle. I learned a lot while experimenting with the pattern and cannot wait to create one for a long tissue box. FUN!

I did not count canvas squares to fill in the sides, just found the middle and worked from there.

Come back soon to visit, I love having you over!

Here are some vintage actor book marks for you! They are from the Graphics Fairy blog where Karen provides free images for your use. A wonderful site!
The envelope image is pasted to the back of the picture with a ribbon between for a lovely book mark. See more at Karen's. Check out all the "Brag Monday" entries from blogger's who have used the images in many different ways.

Here is a really cute valentine vintage image for you that is also from Karen's site. To save any of the images, right click for full size, save to your files and print in the size you want to use. I would love to see what you do with these! Have a wonderful Day!

♥KERRIE♥

My crafty heart to yours....

Shaping up the Tissue Box Cover

2011-01-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

Joining the sides with white yarn. I decided to assemble before stitching...

Joining all four sides and top.

Outlining the top tissue hole. For some unknown reason the white yarn looks a little pink in this photo.

Beginning to fill in with half cross stitches on the top of the cover.

I filled in each side of the hole one at a time.

The filled in top, I love the colors. This time the camera showed the true colors!

Four sides to go-ha! My arthritis in my hands is killing me! This is really a fun project and I cannot wait to see it completed!

I received a beautiful reward today from Donna over at "Comin' Home" but I cannot show you until I meet the conditions of the honor-ha! But you can see it at Donna's!!

In my spare time, I cannot waste one tiny bit of paper, watercolor board, etc. So I Inked in this little scene on a scrap 3 1/2 by 4 1/2. I will water color it soon!

Thanks for visiting and come again soon!
♥KERRIE♥
My crafty heart to yours.....

Working with Plastic Canvas and Wood Basket

2011-01-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

Gathering supplies and cutting out the pattern for making tissue box covers. Can't wait to get started. I made the pattern by just laying the side of the tissue box on the plastic canvas and cutting out 4 the same for the sides. The top I cut and then held over the hole while I traced the oval opening. Plastic canvas cuts very easily with scissors. Now that I have my supplies ready, my first step will be to join the four sides together by looping yarn from one long side of the canvas to the other. I have not decided yet whether it is easier to cover the canvas first and then join or not, what do you experienced crafters suggest?

I am making this one for the boutique size tissue box.

Okay, now I am ready to begin...

Come back to see the outcome of my first plastic canvas endeaver of the year-ha!

And Hubby just finished making a new Basket design!! I love this! We will be offering these for sale soon when I restart the Etsy Shop.

Because of the cradle on the bottom of this basket, it will stand on its own when tilted on its side or on an end. This will be nice if I want to display fruit or flowers in it as a centerpiece! Fun! The first one is always mine to keep--lucky me!

Thanks for stopping by!

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours...

COMIC GET WELL TAGS

2011-01-11T13:15:00.001-08:00

I found these great tags to put on tissue boxes in Goodhousekeeping Magazine. Love the one about Moms aren't supposed to get sick. LOL! So true! My photo down load is still not working and it is very frustrating. Nothing stays on the page where I post it now, either. I wish we could get on-line chat support with blogspot.com! Anyhow, I cannot wait to start some new projects for Valentine's Day and for Spring.

At least we can think Spring-ha! Sometimes I think I would rather be looking at snow than the dark brown of winter in the South...
But the beautiful birds that have been coming to all of our backyard feeders brighten our days. To see some of them that are migrating through and some that are here all the time, go to: http:kerrieskorner.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!!

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours...

Check out Donna's Blog

2011-01-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

WHILE I AM CONTEMPLATING MY NEW CRAFT PROJECTS, please visit Donna at Comin' Home . Donna is the Queen of homemaking arts. If you have never visited Donna before, you are in for a real treat! This gal can do it all! Happiness shines from the faces of her whole family proving that busy hands are happy hands! I visited some free pattern sites this morning and want to make some really easy hand bags I saw. When I get started, I will post on here. I love that I have met so many Christian men and women by blogging. How great it is to share not only our common interests but also our faiths. We are one big family tree with God at the top of the graph!!
I am also going to re-stock my Etsy shop soon. I have not had much success in selling on Etsy as yet so removed all 20 items to start over. I am looking to more success in this new year as I keep my prices very modest and know there is a market out there for reasonably priced home made treasures! That is another reason to visit Donna's site as she has the best advice on buying things reasonably-everything from eye glasses to jewelry! She also sings and writes songs! Gotta love this gal!
So have a wonderful day and thank you for visiting!

Traditions...

2011-01-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

Do you have crafting and sewing traditions that you share with your children?? I always loved that my Mom taught me how to crochet and sew and as an adult, she taught me to knit after I was married! Every Sunday when my children were small, we would go to Mom's in the afternoon and she always had a new project to show us. She had all the craft supplies for us to use in addition to any we brought ourselves. My sister and I and our children, too most of the time, would while away the hours making something neat to take home and show off to Hubby.

I also had a wonderful sister-in-law who taught me to embroider when I was only about 6 or 7 yrs. old! when my Mom taught me to crochet, she gave me a friend for life. I always think of her when I pick up a piece to crochet. She even carved her own crochet hooks from a wood dowel if she did not have the size needed among her stash! She also taught me to sew and when my children were little, I made many of their clothes. Mom was the first to make Cabbage Patch dolls when the patterns were available and every grandchild has a sock monkey that she made for them.

I taught my girls to crochet and they make beautiful things!! My Oldest daughter just completed a beautiful crocheted bedspread in the "Slave Pattern" that I had posted last year. They both also quilt and we all love to craft. My granddaughters all love crafting, too. My son and grandson have made things, too. But the guys prefer more exciting endeavors even though they indulged me at times... But they learn building skills from their DAD/Grandpa.

I hope you are sharing your skills and crafting with your children. There is nothing like sharing what you have made, having little chats and giggles and a cup of tea. I hope my daughters and granddaughters will remember me as I remember my Mom and all the fun we had creating things.

I am getting my supplies in order and making room on shelves for the new year so I can finish up some started projects and start some new. Hubby is doing the same. He has been cleaning out the work shop/shed, making room for storage and throwing away what has not been used for the last 5 years-ha! I just know we will have something to share very soon to get the year off to a booming start!

I had books all over the house, some by the bed, some on the floor near the bed and some in the living room. Of course I am reading them all! Hubby took 3 scrap boards and put them on brackets in one end of a double closet and wa-lah! Off the floor and neatly on the shelf! Well, okay, it will be neat-ha!

And hubby's closet is much neater and less crowded now, too!

I have another small walk in closet on the other side of the room where I have my clothes and a few craft projects (2 quilts I am working on and some crochet supplies). So we feel like we had a good start on organizing for the New Year. How's it going at your house, would love to hear!

Come back soon, thanks for your visit and please leave a comment!

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours....

MUG RUGS AND MORE...

2010-12-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

Sewing in the living room.
Making some last minute mug
rugs, gift bags, and angels from Lace.

I used scraps of Material from other projects to make the mug rugs (for put-
ing your mug on with a snack.) They are washable and have thin batting
between the layers. Angel bodies are just gathered lace and eyelet trim. You can use a pom-pom for the face and use as a gift tie on, put a pin backing on it, or hang on the tree. The little gift sac is enhanced with a free graphic from the Graphics Fairy. I just cut oblongs without a pattern for these and rounded the bottoms when sewing the mug rugs for the guys and just stitched them with square corners for the gals.

The Deer mug rugs are for my son-in-law and grandson who hunt. The blue Christmas
print is for my granddaughter and I quilted a tree shape on it. The beige with quilt square is for one of my daughters.

Here's a great idea, I wanted to display the candy canes and I decided to use my vintage green flower frog! I just love the way it looks and worked perfectly!

I gathered the sewing scraps
for making the wax paper gift
wrap. I was just experiment-
ing but want to try some more
with freezer paper for the back layer and using flower petals, etc. for more elegant paper.

I used a large man's handkerchief to press the layers together so you do not get wax on the iron.

Add caption

I just randomly put the scraps between layers. This makes
clear wrap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Come again soon and when you have time, please visit my other blogs whose links are in the sidebar. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY BLOGGING FRIENDS!

♥KERRIE♥

My crafty heart to yours....

Quick Wrapping paper tip...

2010-12-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Running out of Christmas Wrap? This morning when I was suffering from sleep deprivation (Ha!) I watched HGTV around 5 a.m. The gal showed how to make wrapping paper with wax paper that you buy on the roll for the kitchen.

She put bits of string or yarn across the paper, put a second paper on top and Ironed using a piece of cloth over the top. The wax will adhere the two sheets together and you will have clear wrap with the yarn design through it. She also showed doing this with freezer Paper as the back, thread or yarn on top and then the layer of wax paper. This made a very nice wrap with the colors of thread and yarn showing nicely on the white background.

So now of course, my mind is whirling thinking of pressed flowers between layers or any other thing I can find; postage stamps? photos printed out in miniature on regular Xerox paper and cut out? Etc, Etc! I am hoping to make some of this paper and I will post for you when done but just had to share right now-ha!

Hymnal Page Wreath

2010-12-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to make one of these wreaths that I have seen on other blogs and finally took the time to do it! I absolutely love it!

Supplies:
Dollar Store Grape or straw wreath (mine is grape vine)
Graphic of Santa printed out. (Source: The Graphics Fairy)
Pages from an old hymnal ( you can usually find these at church book sales)

Directions:
Print out your Santa Graphic in the size you desire. I used a whole typing sheet.

Mount on cardboard ( use sides of cereal box)

Hot glue the wreath to the picture centering Santa.

Cut a hymnal page into quarters

Curl the page piece with your fingers making a cone and glue with glue stick.

Make as many of these cones as you want to fill the wreath. I used two rows of these.

Then hot glue them onto the wreath in layers. ( I went once around and then made another row on top of the first one.)

Just use a pipe cleaner wrapped around the top of the wreath for a hanger and finish with a bow placed at whatever point you would like it.

The result:

I have seen so many variations of this wreath and you could make it of any pocketbook pages but it is more meaningful at this time of year with the hymnal pages.

You could make these wreaths any time of year with whatever scene as the graphic in the middle to match the season or holiday. I think it would make a stunning gift and even in a smaller size.

HAPPY HOLIDAY CRAFTING!! Come again soon for more ideas, sources and more!
♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours...

PIZZA BOX CRECHE...

2010-12-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

UH-HUH! You heard right, I made a creche display from a pizza box. The box is from a pizza I bought at the grocery store-ha!
   It already had the arched cutout. I immediately thought of the manger scene and covered it with Christmas wrapping paper.
   All the little creche figures are ones I purchased at the dollar store, $1.00 for the set a few years ago.
>I put colored paper inside the bottom of the box and then raffia for anchoring the figures.

>I poked a hole in the back and hung the angel with thread under her wings and back through the hole.

>The candles are from the dollar store also and work on 2 AA batteries.

>The cow and donkey under the creche were odd pieces I found over the years.

   This project took about 15 minutes - tops! It makes a cute little display on the bookcase near the front door. Can you think of any other way you could use the Pizza box?? Maybe a fireside Santa scene? Or your children could draw figures and cut them out. Then paste to the back of the box.....

If you make one of these, please send me a picture to feature, I would love that!

♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours...

MORE HAND MADE CHRISTMAS CARDS

2010-12-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Sharing more hand made cards from Graphic and photographs.

Don't forget to visit previous post for sources for graphics.
The Swan pictures are ones I took in our backyard lake. I printed them out on regular xerox paper and then drew a bow and holly with gel pens, on the Swan's neck to make him Seasonal.

These are vintage graphics that I made into iron-ons on the computer. My Iron On paper was old though and one of them would not peel off of the fabric (white cotton). I used it anyway and like the ragged effect. I then wrote Merry Christmas on them and added a button to embellish. Not sure if I will glue them onto a card or make a little gift bag of them.

Or you could glue them onto a jar with cookie ingredients or filled with candy, cocoa, tea, coffees or what ever you can think of.

This is the one with the ragged edge, turns out I like this one best! Ha!

These are made from Graphics and cut out with scalloped craft scissors, embellished with gel pens, stickers and matching envelopes with sprays of flowers. Blank cards can be purchased at any craft store and also at Wal-mart stores.

Thanks so much for visiting and do come again soon. Leave a comment, I love them,they make my day!

♥KERRIE♥

My Krafty Heart to yours.....

You can right click and copy this graphic to use. IT is so sweet...

Christmas Card

2010-12-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

This is my card made from images from "The Graphics Fairy". I cut out the image with scalloped craft scissors, glued it to a blank card. I then enhanced all the colors, e.g. berries and leaves, with my gel ink pens. I scribbled with my Red pen and then wrote Merry Christmas over the scribbles.
I cut out a spray of greens from another card and glued it to the side of the card. I did the same with the envelope by cutting out a spray of blue vine and flowers and glued it to the flap. I love the way this came out and made two.
The Graphics Fairy provides free graphics very generously on every subject you can think of! I just love all the vintage images. Check it out.

More pictures:

This one has the green sprig at the side. When using gel pens to enhance, be careful not to smear your image as they remain moist for awhile. I blotted as I went along and then let them dry well.
Another great source for images is Dame Penniwig's Both of these blogsites provide images for your use totally free. I have used them for years.

You can buy blank cards at Wal-mart, A.C. Moore or Michael's Craft stores.

Have a most wonderful day and please come back soon!
Krafty Hugs from KERRIE♥

WATER OR MILK JUG SITTING SANTA

2010-12-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

This is my Shelf sitting Santa made from a Milk Jug:

This is how I made him:

You can either paint the legs and boots or cover with felt. I painted my legs in all black to look like the boots. I cut the arms in a mitten shape before adding the cotton cuff and felt. This is one of my favorite decorations and very easy to make. Children and grandchildren love it and they can easily help with the assembly under supervision. Questions? Please comment - Thanks!
Happy Crafting!

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours...

Gifts for my Granddaughters

2010-11-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Two of my granddaughters are in college, the same college. One is a Freshman this year and the older one is a Junior. They are very creative, they are involved in music, writing, drama and much much more! This year the Oldest one has been the stage manager for several plays presented to the public. The Younger one helped with Production. Since they both loved theater, I decided to make them something simple that they would appreciate and came up with these bookmark/ornament for them both.

   I drew a Theater Mask of Comedy and Tragedy, colored it with my colored ink pens and cut it out in an oval.
   I put it between 2 pieces of cellophane I had saved from a greeting card. I cut the oval around the picture.
   I punched a hole for a ribbon and reinforced the hole with 2 reinforcers on each side.
   I used fabric ribbon to make the tie.
The envelope is just a standard white and I wrote the name on it and drew a little ink bottle as Kelsey is a writer. She wrote an entire autobiography in 10th grade! Both girls want to be teachers.

I did the same with Sarah's but changed the colors of the ink to purple and lavender. And on her envelope I put the quote marks as music notes as Sarah is a violinist, pianist, plays guitar and sings!!

I will use these as Money holders for Christmas and they can be used as bookmarks or on the bulletin boards in their dorm. They even get to share the same dorm room!

You can find Drama masks on line to give you an idea and if you cannot draw yourself, there are many that are royalty free graphics that you could print and use. What are your children and/grandchildren interested in? This is a great way to make your own Money card holder with an added personal touch!

2. The best way to make Ribbon Roses:

Buy Ribbon with wire in it.

Strip a little of the fabric away from the wire on one side of the ribbon.

Then Pull the wire and ribbon away from each other as though you were gathering a piece of material.

When you have enough gathered to twist around itself to form a flower, wrap the wire around the gathered base and pull tight.

The pink Ribbon I had already made up but today I bought the red and was happy with its result. I pinched each of the rows of petals just a little to get the desired result. I liked the way this ribbon was darker on the borders as it looked like natural rose shading.

Come back soon and I hope you are inspired to make something. There is such gratification in seeing a project that you have completed
and given as a gift. There is so much pleasure derived from giving...

Blessings!

♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours...

A Lot for A Little...

2010-11-27T16:47:00.000-08:00

One of my on-line friends was telling how she saw a cup and saucer with greens in it and it was something under $200. so she went to the dollar store, bought 2 little evergreen trees, used her own cup and saucer and it looked nicer! Not to be outdone, I loved this idea so much, I picked up 2 little trees at A.C. Moore for 99cents each and used my own cup and saucers. I bought 2 sprigs of holly @49cents each, cut them up to decorate the trees and Wa-lah! I love the end result!!! Send me pictures of what you can do with this crafty idea!!!

My kitchen does not have this yellow all-over glow but apparently my camera thinks it does! Day pictures never have the glow and the walls are actually a creamy beige but the camera told me otherwise. LOL!
   My cups were not quite deep enough for the little stands on the trees to fit down inside them. So I put a paper napkin in first and then the tree base and it worked fine.
   Hope you like this idea as much as I did and I am sure you will come up with something gorgeous spending more time with this than I did. But it was great fun!
Come back and see me soon!
                 ♥KERRIE♥
             My heart to yours...

Ornament Card

2010-11-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Now my inspiration for this card is really going to make you laugh, I guarantee it! Ha! Try guessing before you scroll down the page.

Okay! My daughter took the top

off a box of boutique tissues and knowing

I can see a craft in ANYTHING, she said "here you go Mom!"

I immediately saw an ornament shape in the oval pull out! I came out to my computer/crafting desk and created the ornament card by cutting around the oval with my craft scissors to make a scalloped edge, rounding only one end. Then I drew around the shape with a black pen. Next I added the drawing of the extended bottom part with colored pens. At the top, I just drew a circle and suggestion of what the top of an ornament looks like with the ring to hang it from. I then wrote Merry Christmas across the ornament and -DONE! I can write a personal note inside and send to a friend. What do you think? Can you think of another way to feature this part of the tissue box?? And when the box is empty, I will use the sides to create more goodies--Easter Eggs maybe?? Ha!
                 Hugs to you from a happy crafter,
                       ♥KERRIE♥
                 My heart to yours...

Thanksgiving Prayer-crafts

2010-11-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a Thanksgiving prayer for you to copy and make place cards for the table or for a card.

Just copy and save to your photo program and then print to the size you desire. There should be choices in your photo program.

And here are some more graphics for your crafting...

Hope you have fun creating with these! I would love to see pictures of what you create!

TURKEY DAY IS ONLY 3 DAYS AWAY!!

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours....

PILGRIM GIRL PAPER DOLL

2010-11-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a Pilgrim girl for you to print out. She would make a neat decoration for placesettings on your Thanksgiving Table or for occupying the little ones at the table.
Source for this paperdoll is Dover Publishers and they have a book of Paper dolls that you can purchase at a very small price.

Have fun! I still love playing with Paper dolls-LOL!

Beginning my Christmas Cards....

2010-11-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

I love making Christmas Cards!! I first went to the Graphics Fairy http://thegraphicsfairy.com/ site and then picked out a vintage children's trading card. I then saved it to my photo program and printed it out (9 on one page) wallet size. Next I cut them out and pasted them on card stock.

Blank cards and envelopes were purchased at A.C. Moore Craft store. I used a glue stick to glue them to the cards. Then I took my colored pens and drew a little decoration on each one, Holly leaves, lamplight, etc. If you cannot draw, use stickers.
The last one I added a strip of ribbon to it, a satin button and a little white bow with a pearl in the middle. You can find these little bows in the bridal section of craft stores.

The last one I cut the little girl figure out completely. On all the cards, I used pens to accent the outline of her dress, etc. I swiggled some lines to look like snow and used a white pen to put the snow dots on the cards. I then drew a matching element on the envelopes. Again, you can use stickers if you cannot draw. Walmart has a nice variety of stickers from $1.00 a set up! If you have any questions, please ask! Hope you will make some cards and have fun doing it as I did!
CRAFTY HUGS FROM KERRIE♥

MY ARTWORK...

2010-11-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

POSTING SOME OF MY ARTWORK TODAY, I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY!

A pencil sketch of my Monk Parrot when she was
4 weeks old

Beezer at 8 weeks old

Race car driver, Davey Allison

Pen and Ink drawings with crayon color

Father and Son

Richard Petty with car, pen and ink

This is pen and ink of a working horse Team near Georgetown,

South Carolina. I drew this from a Newspaper photo.

This one was also from a rather blurry newspaper photo

of School boys on a field trip. I loved their faces!

This is a watercolor of pansies and from my imagination.

This is a watercolor of a gate. I love gates and that is one of the

Reasons we love visiting Charleston, SC.

This is Ink, crayon on Watercolor paper. It is a Gazebo

that was on the Lake property we rented one fall in NYS

This is Ink, colored pencil and watercolor from my imagination and I

made this one an Iron-on for a T-shirt many years ago.

I love working with White or pastel inks on colored

backgrounds. The feather is my favorite.

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed my little Art showing! Do come again soon and please visit my other blogs listed in the sidebar.

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours...

Motorcycle Portraits

2010-11-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the first motorcycle portrait on wood that I ever did! My fellow worker, a nurse, wanted to surprise her hubby and asked if I could do it. She had seen some of my hubby's and my other cut outs and artwork and she had confidence that I could do this. I tackled it and this was the result using a very good colored photograph as my model. Hubby cut out the shape in pine, cutting the left leg out separately so that we could make it a ledge hanger. It sets flat on a mantel or shelf and the leg hangs over. This makes it very dimensional! My friend was thrilled with the result and so was her hubby. Since that time, I have done about a half dozen more as I did not advertise but through word of mouth was able to get more commissioned work. I am really proud of this particular craft as I knew nothing about motor cycles but put all the details on it and it sure looked like her husband and his bike! And with sun glasses, it was easier to do the face. Enjoy!

STURDY HANDBAG/TOTE

2010-11-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

FINALLY FINISHED MY OTHER 3 HAND-MADE PURSE/TOTES! I LOVE THEM ALL, if they do not all get sold, I will enjoy using them!! They hold more than my present leather purse!

100% cotton totes handmade by Kerrie.

All bags measure 9 inches high by 11 inches wide. They have tote openings. Each is embellished with heavy doubled fabric ribbon to match, buttons, applique and the navy/blue has a sequined butterfly element and vintage button.

Each is only $12.00 plus $4.80 priority postage.

To order any of these bags, just click on the Buy Now PayPal button in my sidebar, describe the item and number and fill out the rest of the form with your mailing address. Thanks so much for looking and do come again for more of our crafts and how-to's!

#1 Navy/blue bag

#2 /Brown/orange leaf applique bag

#3 Orange Paisley Print bag with Fabric leaves and buttons

Questions? E-mail or comment. Thanks so much for visiting! Come again soon.

Good night from my home to yours....

♥KERRIE♥

KRAFTY SATURDAY

2010-11-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Good Saturday to you! I have a great craft for you today and I think you will like it! Don't know what to do with all those calendars now that we are winding down the year of 2010?? Well for years I have been making envelopes and wrapping paper from them! And this is how:

Fold calendar page as you would a letter in thirds.

Then glue the bottom pocket on 1/4" both sides of the envelope or:

Stitch as I have here on the sewing machine

Add a sticky label and your return label and on the back close with decorative seal or initial sticker as I have done here.

This is a wonderful, easy craft for your kids, grandkids, college kids who will love these home-made beauties when receiving them in the mail!

I also made a pencil box last year for myself by folding the heavy calendar picture to accommodate the length of the pencils, embellished it with glued on rick-rack in gold and 2 buttons that I cut the loop off of the back and glued flat on the box. As you can see, I use this.

And last but not least, use the calendar pages to wrap small gifts!

I sure hope you like these simple craft ideas today and please let me know if you do by commenting! Have a most wonderful weekend and do visit my other blogs when you can, Thanks!!

Two Happy http://beaver-kerrie.blogspot.com/

Kerrie's Korner, SC http://kerrieskorner.blogspot.com/

Kerrie's Home Journal http://kerrieshomejournal.blogspot.com/ My newest Christian blog.

♥Kerrie♥

My heart to yours...

BLUE MONDAY--Not!

2010-11-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Good Blue Monday to you but it is a happy one-ha! I finished one blue scarf with the Pompadoodle yarn and gave it to my oldest daughter. She fell in love with it immediately while visiting yesterday. And now I am about 5 rows away from finishing a second one for myself! I loved working with this yarn once I got the hang of it but could not for the life of me work it in crochet. How my youngest daughter did hers in crochet is a mystery to me-ha! So I knitted mine which was what the pattern called for anyway. I love the way it comes out and will enjoy the super softness and warmth of this beautiful yarn! Now I want to make a pink one and more....

I am surely addicted now-ha! Can't wait to see what other colors they have so I can make several for gifts and for my Etsy Shop.

Purse from Placemat

2010-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Isn't this great? I made this little handbag 8 1/2" by 11" by 1 3/4 at base, from a place mat that is reversible! The straps and flowered details are made from fabric ribbon doubled. The flowers are then embellished with bead and pearl. I was so pleased with the way this came out and everyone loves it! If you would like to purchase this bag, please go to my Etsy shop listed in the sidebar of this blog.

Inside of bag

Detail of ribbon flower and beading

Keep your eye out for colorful placemats that would be perfect for this project! PIER 1 stores are a good place to look. This one that I used was from K-Mart. I have two others that I am going to make in darker colors and will post them when I get them done. I am still working on the Pom-Pom scarf and will post that soon, too!

Keep on Kraftin'!!
Hugs from
♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours...

Pom Pom Yarn

2010-10-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

My daughter made this beautiful Pom Pom scarf using Pomp-a-Doodle yarn by Red Heart. It is the softest, prettiest thing! And the pattern is really easy once you get the hang of working with this yarn!

I really like the varigated yarn that she used but when she went back to buy some more, they were out. This yarn is very popular! So she bought some for me in baby blue and I cannot wait to start working on one!

Just love this color! I will post when it is finished so you can see how mine comes out! I love crocheting so much and even though my arthritis really raises a fuss when I crochet, I shall never give it up-ha! I always told my Mom she gave me a friend when she taught me to crochet. I was a very little girl when I learned and I taught my daughters when they were very little. The one that made the scarf above does beautiful work and when I first showed her how to make a crocheted chain, she was so enthusiastic, she made one long enough to surround our house I think-ha-ha! She was about 5 yrs at the time. I love the old days when Mothers automatically handed down their skills in hand work and cooking, etc!!

They were precious days because not only were children learning the skills but they were spending quality time with their parents... The same is true for boys of course, who were taught to hunt, to do carpentry, etc. There is nothing like working with your Dad on a project-girls or boys! Making memories is what it is all about. Fond memories are carried to the grave, treasure them.

And Dad's do not have to be skilled carpenters or anything else to spend quality time with sons and daughters, it can be as simple as making a glider to fly in the yard, or fishing at the favorite river or lake. Oh how many, many times my hubby baited the hook for the kids while we fished on the Seneca River in Weedsport, NY!

I hope you are having the most wonderful Sunday! It is sunny, 78 degrees here and I am surrounded by wonderful fall colors in the yard!

God is so good....

♥KERRIE♥

My heart to yours....

ACORN PUMPKINS

2010-10-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here are the Acorn Pumpkins I promised!! I used Acrylic paints:
red, orange, yellow, brown, black, and green.

Live Oak Acorns (or the larger variety for larger pumpkins)
I removed the caps from the acorns to reveal the flat surface and turned the nut upside down. This balances your pumpkin to sit flat. I gave them 2 coats of orange paint and painted the little point as a stem with brown or black. I painted the caps with all the colors of fall including a dash of green. After the orange was dry, I painted the pumpkin features with a fine brush and black. Just make simple triangles of black and fill in or just outline if you want it to look like a light inside. I put the caps back on the tops of some just for fun. This was a fun project and I am sure your painting skills may be better than mine-ha! Show me what you can do....

There is a typo on the palette, it should say Acrylic Colors, not "corn"-ha!

Decorating for Fall

2010-10-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

I LOVE decorating for fall! Everything is so bright and colorful, full of life even though is the end of a summer season! This metal Rooster was a gift from my Sis-in-law, Sue a couple of years ago. Other than a candle, I had not decorated it much. It hit me today that I could put fall leaves to accentuate the Rooster tail and feathers. So I bought a bush of fall leaves at the Dollar Store and a sprig of leaves with berries and gourd. This is the end result and I am most pleased! I also bought the vanilla candle in the $ store.

I placed him on the rolling cart in the kitchen and it looks wonderfully fallish and cheery!

This Pilgrim Cookie Jar I found at Cracker Barrel on sale after the season a few years ago. I loved it but it was $25.00 when I first saw it and I would not buy it. Later on, it was marked half price and I was thrilled. I always use it for my October and November (Thanksgiving) table. This year I added the pumpkin, $5. at Wal-mart and the smaller one for $1.49. I added a bow with fall leaves on it (the spool of ribbon $1 at $ store). Lastly, I added the candle with corn on it that I bought at a white elephant sale in our community! I love all these economical but most pleasing decorations. What have you come up with??? I would love to see, send me pictures!

Thanks so much for visiting and do come again soon! I will be painting tiny acorns to look like pumpkins!!

Have a blessed Sunday tomorrow and thank God for all the blessings he has given us and all of those that are yet to come!

We are blessed so that we may bless others with our understanding, caring and support. Thank someone you love for being there for you!

♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours...

GIRAFFES AND GOURDS

2010-09-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

The giraffes are coming along nicely, Hubby has made 3 pair now that complete our first set that I get to keep! He will now start making them to sell alone or as a set on this blog or in our Etsy shop. Although they are small, they are very time consuming and delicate to work on. But I will certainly let you know when we have some for Sale per your requests!
The third pair are kissing...

These are gourds that I raised myself a couple of years ago. I painted freehand on them and felt they came out very nicely. I did not grow any this year and I do not think they would have done well as the summer was very dry. My cucumber vine kept blossoming and then the little cucumbers would wither and die before maturing--Except for that one 18" cucumber Giant we had-LOL!

Here is one that Bill painted of fish, rocks and seaweed on a light blue background.

Leaves and pumpkins

Pumpkins and goose

These I painted with a 2 color loaded brush of red and black and then painted my deer, trees and Kokopeli in black with white highlights. Last, Bill varnished them for me. I loved the way these came out.

Since I have not been growing these myself I am going to check out a site I found, http://www.amishgourds.com/ and see how their prices are. I really enjoy painting on them so much. Imaginatively, I could paint pumpkins, flowers and a host of other things on them. I would like to try a giraffe on a long necked one. If the bottom of the gourd is not flat and will not stand by itself, I use large pearls or beads on a common pin with a colored head and push directly into the gourd on the bottom in at least 3 places. They stand very nicely doing this.
One last idea if you crochet or macrame!
I had hubby cut off the top of this gourd, punched holes near the rim all around. Then I crocheted through the holes to make a mesh basket or web like effect and added Swan feathers. I painted the inside with a watery blue color and then painted Kokopeli so you can see him through the crochet thread. I was really pleased with the whole effect.

I hope I have inspired you to paint on gourds! Thanks for looking and come back again soon!

For a great hearty fall recipe for Chicken Stew, go to my TWO HAPPY blog for today at http://beaver-kerrie.blogspot.com/   Thanks for stopping by and do come again soon!
                                     ♥KERRIE♥
                                    My heart to yours...

New from the wood shop....

2010-09-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hubby knows that I love giraffes!! He surprised me with these precious entwined giraffes that are carved from one piece of wood and then intertwined! I love them! He made one pair facing front and one pair facing both front and back. Hoping to get some of these finished to put in the Etsy Shop! (But these are MINE-ha!)

Pair stands 4 inches high by 2" wide

Just love these! I may try painting a pair to see how that looks but I love the natural look of the cedar, too.

Thanks for coming by and do come again soon. Love your comments, please leave them!

I have been posting new items in my Etsy Shop so click on the link in the sidebar and you can see!

ASKING PRAYERS for the family of Vern West in Henderson NV who passed in the night at Hospice from Multiple Myeloma Cancer. Please pray for a cure for this devastating disease!

EASY FALL OR HALLOWEEN CRAFT

2010-09-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Now here is a really economical card making tip! I bought a whole pack of 200 sponge stickers in The Dollar Store. Included are different colors of spiders, skulls, bats, witches, moons, etc. They are perfect for making cards for Halloween. And secondly, I found a bag of 150 various colored fabric leaves which also make wonderful supplies for fall cards and decorating. I bought the blank cards and envelopes, a package of 40 at Walmart a few months ago for about 5.00.

For variation of the leaves, glue or sew to card adding a bead in contrasting color at each point. I am going to try that next as I can picture bright orange or green beads at the tips!

I added a single strand of spider web with a marker and wrote "Boo!" over yellow marker scribble on the card. I also drew a halo around the moon with a yellow marker. I glued the leaves on with just a glue stick which worked very well. If you make any of these cards please send a picture of your wonderful creations!! This is a simple and fun craft for children!

Thanks for visiting and come again soon. And visit my other blogs (links in sidebar) and my Etsy Shop where I am adding things for fall and the cooler weather.

♥KERRIE♥

A beautiful fall leaf along side a floating feather from the swans.