Happy Birthday, Bob!

Happy Happy 55th Birthday to my Baby Brother, Bob!

It's hard to believe, but the cute little guy above is 55 years old today.  There are just the 2 of us kids in the family...and I was the first born.  Bob followed about three & a half years later. 

Now, it was no secret around here that I wanted a baby SISTER.  As the story goes, the day they brought Bob home from the hospital, I threw a temper tantrum & threw myself against the front door to block him coming in here.  Somehow, I never questioned that story!  Sounds like something this little Prima Donna of a formerly Only Child would do.  My Grandma had to pull me away from the door so Mom & Dad could bring Bob inside.  That's my maternal Grandma above...holding Bob...and you see I had to hog a lot of the picture.  Either I'm happy or screaming...it's hard to tell. 

As the years went on, it turned out that having a kid brother could be quite useful.  I was skillful at getting him in trouble...he got blamed for a lot of stuff I did because, well, I told them "Bob did it!". 
How could that angelic little Debbie do all those things?  heheheheeeeee!!!

Grandma lived with us & after she died & I moved into her room to have a room of my own, my secret was revealed.  One of my favorite ways to get Bob in trouble was that since we were in the same room, I'd sing in bed & tell stories to keep us both awake...I've always been a night person.  Mom or Dad would holler for us to shut up & go to sleep & my standard answer was "Bob's keeping me awake!"  Well, the first night he had the room alone, he went to bed & fell right asleep.  As you can guess...I was the one still awake & talking & singing hours later...to myself...and my secret was out. 

Now that we're older & both out on our own...I can't get Bob into trouble any longer. 
I kinda miss doing that!

Happy Birthday, Bobadillo!  May you enjoy many many more in the years to come.

Spring Flowers Charm Swap

I've really been in the mood for SPRING...and it just refuses to stick around here in the Clevetown area...so I've occupied my time indoors by designing Spring Flower charms for a swap my friend Bev is hosting in the ArtCharms Yahoo group.  I'm not yet sure how many I'll need to make as you can still join in through April 15th.  Charms are due by May 15th.  If you want to play, join the group here.  Then you read the requirements & sign up in the Database.

The charms above are my Captured Flowers.  I love using these little glass bottles with corks for art charms.  They're from SkyBluePink.  I arranged tiny little faux leaves & posies inside & glued the bottle shut with Glossy Accents.  Added a very tiny little eye screw to the top for hanging & embellished the charm with a bit of pearl link chain & a tiny leaf charm.  Each one has different posies captured inside...a fun little art charm.

This little bouquet is another idea I've played with.  The flowers are constructed from seed beads & plastic flower parts & the leaves are also plastic.  Looks like spring to me.

This last design is lots of fun, too.  The Spring Daisy is a plastic "Lalique" flower shape that SkyBluePink is no longer able to get and her "Queen's Jewels", which you can find in MANY colors in her shop. I added the glass leaves...one to the bottom hole & one so it hangs in back...and all it needed was a tiny jump ring so that the larger jump ring would be facing the right way for attaching it to a bracelet or necklace.

I'm working on a bracelet made with a bunch of these Spring Daisies now...when it's done & photos have been taken, I'll put it up for sale in my Etsy shop. 

BTW...the beautiful embroidery background is a vintage cotton pillowcase that is a favorite of mine.  It was a gift to my Mom & Dad for their wedding in 1951.  She never used them, but I indulge occasionally.  They're too pretty to just sit in a closet.

Enjoy your weekend & thanks for visiting my little blog.  Be creative however & whenever you can...at least once a day is my recommendation!

Hello Spring! Tag Swap...done!

The Art Swap Sisters at Red Lead Paperworks are at it again...there's always a fun swap going on in that group.  You can sign up to join the Yahoo group here.  The latest swap is Hello Spring! tags...and since Spring has teased us a few times, but Old Man Winter isn't moving out yet...I needed some spring relief from the frigid cold we cannot seem to escape.

Tags are a fun way to make small collages & use some fun embellishments...like Easter Grass from last year's basket.  The little eggs in the nest above are simply plastic speckled eggs that I had leftover from a fatbook page years ago...and I dyed them up using some Ranger Alcohol Inks.  That cute little chickie was a little goodie from when I ordered some paper posies awhile back...and it's great to find a use for it.

My last tag above is way more embellished than my usual style...but it works...the ribbon roses were a gift from my previous swap with Sandy in A Swap for All Seasons...thanks for those, Sandy!  The filigree butterfly is another Red Lead beauty.

And last but not least...the bows are my own hand dyed ribbons...I just can't get enough of those!  I'll be listing more to my Etsy shop today or tomorrow.

 

There's still time to join in the fun of this swap...join the Red Lead Yahoo group & sign up...tags are due before April 25, 2011. Each person who plays will also get this adorable little Buttercup Bunny stamp...a Red Lead exclusive image.

Until next time...be creative & make time for some art every day!

I'm addicted to dyeing...

This is the rainbow of ribbons that is drying on my kitchen counter this morning.  You should FEEL them...the tactile experience is awesome & the colors are spectacular.  I'm an addict.  This is almost an entire 100 yard bolt of white ribbon, dyed up last night & into the wee hours of the morning.

As soon as I figure out some color combos...and dye some more, of course, they will be up for sale in my Etsy shop, KittenCreates.  Hop on over sometime...help support my habit if you can!  I'll send lots of love with my ribbons, too.

A gift for St. Patrick's Day...

And what a fine gift it is, indeed!  A bit of natural green, embellished with shades of lavender & yellow...a welcome sight for sure to give me hope that SPRING will be here soon.  It's even 67 & sunny today...but the air is still a bit too chilly for me.  I can't wait for balmy breezes...even if they no longer come to me off the Pacific Ocean.

These crocus bloom quite faithfully each March...over the years they have naturalized throughout the front lawn of this house. I remember the first year they came up all over the lawn...the summer before, my Dad had planted a new lawn & in tilling the soil, he had chopped up Mom's crocus bulbs with the tiller...so we didn't know if we'd even have crocus the folowing spring. They used to be in a circle in the middle of the yard...I'm not sure why, but they were. Much better scattered casually across the entire lawn, I think.

Until next time...enjoy these crocus that have grown into a free form heart...Springtime Love!



It's beginning to look a lot like Easter!

Well, even with the heavy snow that got dumped on us yesterday, I'm trying to think SPRING around here.  I used to decorate like crazy for Easter, but now I've edited my collection down & I'm selling the rest over in my Etsy Shop.  I've listed just a few things to get started.

This adorable little musical bunny is one I made back in 1983...when I did a lot of sewing of pretty little things.  My creative style has changed, but I have to admit, this bunny is still terribly cute.  She's all handcrafted & has a wind-up music box that plays a bit of "Easter Parade".  She's wearing her Easter bonnet in the spirit of the music & of her favorite springtime holiday.

Her little friend is in need of a new home, too.  Created around the same time in the early 1980s, he's good & plump & just too cute. 

Then over in my jewelry category, I recently created this bracelet full of hand painted floral eggs.  The eggs are wooden & make a delightful soft noise as you move your wrist. 

Then because it's just too early to start dyeing eggs, I've been busy dyeing ribbons.  And tags.  Oh my!  This is just one of a collection that's also available in my Etsy Shop, KittenCreates.  They're the same ribbons that I love to use to add a special touch to gifts, and people who have received some tell me it's great stuff.  I know I love the colors & crinkled texture of these ribbons & I hope you will, too.

Now all I have to do is wait for Spring to really arrive here in NE Ohio...this snow is starting to melt, but that doesn't mean it will be our last...after all, Clevetown is where your baseball home opener can be called on account of SNOW...in APRIL! 

I'm hoping for the snow to be over once this stuff melts...when it melted recently, I could see the crocus & narcissus starting to poke their little green shoots out of the ground.  Spring...I can't wait!

Swapping with my Red Lead Art Sisters...

After a bit of a hiatus from art swaps, I needed to get back into the swing of things & the "Welcome to my Cottage" swap sponsored by the girls at Red Lead Paperworks was simply irresistable. 

Each Swap Sister is taking 3 of these chipboard cottages & altering & embellishing them to create artsy bits of springtime beauty.  Since SPRING cannot come soon enough for me, this was just the thing to have me really thinking of warmer days & nature springing back to life after the all too long & bleak doldrums of winter.  Winter in NE Ohio lasts for half of the year...and one day of it is too much for me!

My favorite of the cottages I created is the "let yourself fly" one above.  We feed the birds here all winter long, but soon there will be even more of them around & the dogwood in our backyard will begin to bloom.  It truly is one of the most beautiful sights after a dead winter.

My other 2 little cottages are shown below.  They will all be mailed in to the Red Lead Swap Sisters & I'll receive 3 cottages from others in return...along with a vintage paper pack as a gift for playing.  You can't beat that. You should play with us sometime...the Yahoo group can be found by clicking on the button at the top of my sidebar.  Sign up for the weekly newsletter, too...all sorts of great ideas & often a contest to enter to win a fabulous goodie bag.  From the shop home page, just click Mailing List & you can sign up.  

Counting the days until SPRING...we've been teased with some warmer weather & snow melting, but that ugly snow stuff came back over the weekend...we've had snow as late as April here...which is a cruel, cruel joke by Mother Nature!  Let's hope that groundhog was right & it's an early spring.