Patchwork Valentine Hearts

I love Valentine's day!!! I saw these patchwork hearts by Jodi Nelson, and had to try my own. I cut 1.5 inch strips and stitched them together, using a 1/4 inch seam. I then cut those in 1.5 inch strips again, matched the edges, pinned them and carefully sewed the together. 

I then cut them out into heart shapes, sandwiched them together with boiled wool and the extra first strip backing.

 I found some vintage looking ribbon and also some red rick rack and tied a bow on one side. I found some beautiful heart charms at Shipwreck Beads and tied them with a strip of vintage lace. I printed off a favorite Valentine quote, cut them out with pinking shears and slipped it under the ribbon. Then shipped them off in pretty mailers on sale at the Post Office. Great fun!!!!

Glitter Putz Christmas Houses

These little glitter or putz houses were so much fun to make!!! Find the Harvest House pattern here:http://magazine-directory.com/Victoria.htm Trace the patterns onto poster board, cut out and glue coordinated scrapbook papers to the different pieces. Use an exacto knife to cut out the windows, take your time on this, its pretty tricky. Hot glue the houses together and let them dry thoroughly. Glue door and door knob and glue trim across the front of the home (see pic.) Glue paper on boxes you've gotten for the bases, let dry. Now the fun begins!! Apply glue to all the cracks and crevices of the roof, (I used craft glue for this, hot glue dries too quickly.) Sprinkle clear glue, vintage mica glitter or fake snow into these places. Let dry. Hot glue silver pipe cleaners around base of box top. Glue house to base of box, sprinkle these places with glitter. Let dry. Attach vintage bottle brush trees to either or both sides with hot glue, then add anything else you think looks good. I added silver holly and vintage ornaments. Glue over- sized snowflakes and mini frames to back of house for a more dimensional look. Glue mini glass balls to points of roof and push down trinket pins as well (see Pics) When everything was dry I sprayed it with adhesive and sprinkled mica glitter gently over the roof and sides. I had fun gathering all the different elements. Scrapbook papers, Coordinating brads and blank boxes from the craft store. Vintage bottle brush trees, mica glitter and trinket pins from eBay. Glitter pipe cleaners,found objects,and vintage glass balls from garlands that I already had. This was so relaxing and fussy!! I loved it!!

Lessons Learned from J.R.R. Tolkein

I hope you are expectant about the coming year, so full of possibilities and potential! J.R.R. Tolkien and I share a January 3rd birthday, and as he was a writer, this encourages me in my writing efforts.
As I sit down and try to practice my resolution to write more, I find there’s a number of Tolkein’s characters that relate to the obstacles/challenges I face as I stare at the blank page. The great dragon Smaug from “The Hobbit” resembles a foe I constantly confront as I begin to write. My dragon is a dark, slimy creature that represents mistakes, failures and shortcomings that rise up before me and argue that I have nothing to say, nothing that will change people or events. I must find this dragon’s vulnerable spot and slay him before I begin, and more often than not, he holds me captive and I am unproductive.
Like Frodo, from “Lord of the Rings” I sometimes feel that I’m carrying something ‘precious’, something that will either destroy me or take me to what I was made for, an unlikely hero for sure.
In trying to discipline myself, I always end up looking into Shelob’s lair (the spider from The Two Towers) for a shortcut. Sitting down and gathering my thoughts, finding time to write in world of distractions, those side eddies to the trite or sentimental often beckon me, but I’m trying to escape the web of the trivial to find the meaningful and helpful in my writing.
One of my favorite characters from the Lord of the Rings series is Legolas. He is an elf with many skills, my kids love to give me a hard time and call him ‘the fairy.’ But Legolas hears and senses things long before anyone else, is able to defeat his enemies, and seems to triumph over every adversity (even walking on top of the snow.) Lofty goals, I know. But to slay the dragon of past failures, believe that God has gifted me, spurn the shortcuts and really believe I can triumph in the midst of adversity would spell success for me, whether my writing is ever acknowledged or not.

Why I Love Owls

Kind of a funny subject I know. But for 2-3 years at least, I’ve been enamored with owls. Doesn’t get the bills paid, irritates certain members of my family, clutters up usable space, but there it is. I’m an owl lover. Not anatomically correct owls, mind you, but owls with big eyes, unrealistic colors, and with just a piquant hint of fluffyness. Did I just make up a word? See, that’s one of the things that the love of owls does for me, increases speech fluidity!
I’m actually writing this story to try and figure out why I love owls. I have an owl spoon rest, owl candle holders, a large owl statue (weird, I know) many pictures of owls, owl cards, a stuffed owl, salt and pepper shakers (more than one set) etc., etc. “Not ANOTHER owl!” my son scoffed recently as I unpacked my treasures I had discovered that day. He threw in a complimentary sigh and eye roll.
I read an article once that said large eyes in babies (and baby animals) bring out nurturing behavior in females. I agree with this, and if you sat inside a store that contained a good assortment of owls, you could count the seconds that it would take for me to ooh and ah and then squeeze most of them. For my time of life it makes sense as well. I’m a mother of a teenager and a twenty something and I see some of my friends squeezing their children’s large eyed offspring, and I can’t help feeling a twang of jealousy. (I’m sure my kids would rather have me crooning over owls anyway, as neither one of them are planning any procreation in the near future!)
Color is another reason that I love owls. The realistic colors of owls are black, brown, gray, etc., and even though there are many lovely patterns and details, the brightly colored and whimsical owls are my favorite. A quick Google search on emotion and color will give you an idea on how important color is to our psyche. A color can energize us, rouse our passions and inspire us, among other things. That must be why I’m drawn to these fanciful owls in purple, orange, bright blues and greens, which look great on a card, T shirt or salt shaker, but might not look as well on the walls, unless you’re someone like Henri Matisse.
I’m also a sucker for the small and fluffy. That’s why it’s not safe for me to pick out dogs, certain shrubbery or furry animals (read ‘hamsters’, which in the past have escaped more than once.) When I was little, I wasn’t a fan of dolls but I loved stuffed animals. I’d line them up on either side of me every night when I went to sleep, and almost all of them fit the ‘small and fluffy’ moniker. Fortunately for me (and my son) they don’t make a ton of small and fluffy owls (at least I haven’t seen many) so they’re not lined up next to my husband when it’s time for bed. (That’s a fun mental image!!)
So, summing up, the reasons I’m enamored with owls are 1) they increase my vocabulary 2) they bring out my nurturing side 3) I respond favorably to bright, fun colors 4) many are small and fluffy! and I’ve just thought of 5) they make a great gift! Who doesn’t like to receive a bright, loveable creature that might also bring out a latent attraction to the small and fluffy?!
Now that I’ve discovered why I love owls, I think I’ll dash over to Etsy to check out more of them. Maybe someone has a birthday or an anniversary, is celebrating 10 years on the job, perhaps a child graduating from kindergarten, or someone who remembered to put out their recycling two months in a row…..

Homemade Handpicked Blueberry Apple Pie!!

Whew!! The summer seems to be flying by! All the stores are busing selling school clothes and Halloween candy, it's always hard to put summer feet back in those new shoes. I had almost forgotten about blueberries in all the rush, so I went to Sauvie Island Blueberries to pick their 'fall bearing' variety. It was slow going, not many berries but I got some home and made blueberry apple pie and thought I'd share the recipe. First, the pie crust has to be perfect, and fortunately, I have that recipe!
4 cups flour 3 cubes butter 1 teaspoon salt 4-5 tablespoons ice water
Put the flour in a large bowl and sprinkle salt and mix it in. Using a pastry blender, blend in the butter. (I can't believe I used two knives once, time consuming!!!)
Put a couple of ice cubes in about 1/2 cup of water, and with a two tined fork, add a tablespoon at a time of water until mixture starts to stick together, then form it into a ball. This recipe will make 2 pies if rolled out thin. Roll out bottom crust and put in pie dish.
Blueberry-apple filling:
If using fresh berries, mash them up with a potato masher first, if using frozen, squeeze the excess moisture out in a strainer.
In a bowl, add 4 cups blueberries, 2-3 apples peeled and chopped (If small apples, use 3)Add 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, mix together and put in crust. Dot 3 tablespoons of butter in small pieces evenly around pie. Roll out top crust and put on and seal, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. (Don't forget to slit the top, so steam can escape. Bake about 40 minutes at 350, wait till you can see the juices forming around edge of pie and pastry is browning. Let cool and YUM!!!

Strawberry Rhubarb Memories

The strawberry season came late this year, so I was able to experiment a little more with making jam. When it comes to jam I'm a strictly follow the rules gal as I've made many jars of thick syrup in my time. But back to the jam. I have never made strawberry rhubarb jam before, but I found a recipe that looked plausible, and amid fear and trepidation prepared all the ingredients. Even though it didn't follow THE PRINTED INSTRUCTIONS, it still turned out! And here's the neat thing. As I was making this jam, the smell transported me back to my Grandmother's kitchen. Now Grandma was a little mean and gruff, and I was half afraid of her most of the time. But she was a great cook and loved rhubarb, and the strawberry rhubarb smell didn't remind me of her grumpiness but only of her in her kitchen, support hose, hair bun and dimpled elbows floating over the pot as she stirred the strawberry rhubarb jam, scooping a little jam on some homemade bread for me to try. I'm glad to say the two batches I made turned out marvelously thick, and I guess Gran wasn't AS grumpy as I remember, besides now that I just kept a tradition going, I have to find someone to taste this jam!

Here's the link to the recipe:http://www.kitchenlane.com/2010/04/strawberry-rhubarb-freezer-jam-spring.html.

Reuse and Recycle-But Can I Make it Pretty??

So many people are recycling these days. I've managed to incorporate something I love under the guise of recycling, but I've made it pretty, no empty milk jugs or flattened cans here! I love to visit antique shops, garage sales and second hand stores. I find such interesting things there if I'll just slow down and look,(true for finding agates on the beach, fyi.) But what I focus on is old jewelry. You can find it behind the counter at Goodwill, the front of a garage/estate sale by the cash register, and if you're fortunate, your mom or grandma might have an old jewelry box full of odds and ends. These pieces can be made into beautiful bracelets, like the ones pictured or necklaces, earrings, anklets, etc., and it's really fun to create new pieces from these vintage treasures. There are many 'findings' available at the local craft store, earring hooks, clasps, glue, etc., to complete your creations. (Kudos to my daughter for helping me with this!) I found some antique buttons and made them into beautiful brooches for my friends, I also researched the history of buttons and learned something new! So, keep your eyes 'peeled' as my mother used to say the next time you're at a sale, and see if you can't do your part to stay green (or blue, or purple, or....) :)