Juvenile Illustrations

I have always liked art! I took every art class I could in junior high and high school that was available. I love to create! But I have been known to say that my own illustrations, sculptures, and paintings seemed a little "juvenile" in style. Not really realistic, with correct detail; not really abstract; just juvenile. That's O.K. Style is just that----style!!! Not a measure of good or bad, but a matter of taste! And because I like this kind of art, I love children's books! I purchase them just for the art (well, the story needs to grab me too!) I always have a few books around to share with my grandchildren when they come to visit. (I've added a couple of children's titles to my recommended book list in the right column of this blog.)

So, today I am featuring one of my favorite Etsy sellers of "juvenile style" art! I picked these two especially for mother's day (coming up very soon.) I hope you enjoy her creations as much as I do. She calls them: "Little art for little people (and big people too!)" I hope you will visit her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5262259

Enjoy!

P.S. We are looking for an illustrtor and a publisher for two stories that my husband and I have written for children! Any leads?

Little Blessings!

We are so privileged (and BLESSED) to be the grandparents of 23 grandchildren!

Andy and I have a blended family of ten children, so 23 grandchildren is not so many! Of course they range in age from 3 months to 21 years! They grow up so fast! I've written about several, from time to time in my blog-- see previous posts. With mother's day coming up soon, I decided to write about my blessed life as a mom and grandmother!


What is a mother? To me,without writing a WHOLE BOOK!, it means having unconditional love for your offspring, regardless of their ages, and regardless of how you obtained them -- biological, adopted, or 'step children'--although we NEVER use that term in our family! If they call you mom, they are your children and I choose to love them! It also means, being there for them when they need someone to affirm them and ALWAYS forgiving slips in behaviour! (I always told them, when they were growing up: "I might abhore your behaviour, but I will always love YOU!") I read a little book by Jerry Cook, called Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness. Although it is specifically about Christian love in the church, it's become my motto. (I've added it to my recommended books section in the right column.)


My kids? I'm truly blessed with three homemakers, two who home school our grandchildren; a financial advisor, an IT guy, a graphic artist, a children's pastor, a financial trainer, a math teacher and a project manager. All of their spouses are awesome people and I love them just as much. Are they all done having kids? Well, no . . . several more grandchildren will be on their way, including a few that will be adopted! A new experience for me!


So . . . be sure to honor your mom this season and if you are a mom, recount to yourself all the little blessings, all the memories, all the surprises and you will find that you, too, are truly blessed!


P.S. Photo taken by Mommy Annie of my grandson Roman with his daddy, Aaron.

1950's Embroidered Quilt

In honor of EARTH DAY (GREEN!), I decided this was the correct day to post this post!

My son-in-law, Eric, likes to visit in the neighborhood garage sales. He doesn't like to hold garage sales, but he does visit them! Several years ago, he and my daughter, found a bargain. It was some fabric in a plastic bag, that looked like someone had the start of a quilt. White squares with embroidered animated animals. They were like the ones that I saw as a little girl when my mom went to those paint embroidery parties! Much like the embroidery patterns that were available in the 50's!

Some squares were sewn with a border of lime green cotton. There were more pieces of green fabric and several pieces of fabric in various stages of production. My daughter purchased them all for one dollar!!! She gave them to me and I finished the quilt with a flannel juvenile print backing of yellow and lime green. I had enough of the original fabric to re-arrange all the squares and make the quilt top. Finished size is a full bed quilt, maybe for a child's room! Or with the nature of the vintage embroidery, maybe it would be better in a lovely guest room where it would not get so much wear! Anyway, it was a fun project!

P.S.  I like lime!   See my "Lime Surprise" Treasury now thru Saturday 4:40 a.m.   http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=54021

Book Review

If you will notice, in the right hand column, I have recommended a book, and today I am adding another one to the list. There are loads of books available on every project for crafting, sewing, quilting etc. most of which are a little disappointing when you get them home! When I find one that I want to refer to over and over, I will recommend it.

Contemporary Quilting, by Cindy Walter and Stevii Graves is one such book! It's colorful, innovative, instructional and just plain fun! It is divided into three sections: The Evolution of Contemporary Quilting; The Projects; The Gallery. You'll love some of the projects, and the gallery has some awesome award winning quilts! It provides a heavy dose of inspiration, if for nothing else than color combinations! I highly recommend it!

Ribbons for Bella!

Just recently, my son and his family came to visit. My new granddaughter, Bella Jo, was getting a little fussy while her brother was coloring at the table. The crayon roll he was using, (that I made) had a ribbon tie. Bella got hold of the ribbon and loved it! She fingered it, stuck it in her mouth and sucked on it. She was very vocal when we took it away from her, so I went to my studio and got a piece of green ribbon for her to have. She eventually went to sleep with it! So when she left, I made a cute little toy with ribbons on it. She'll be back this weekend, and I can't wait to give it to her! Creativity Rules!!!

(Click on the crayon roll picture to see more.)

Spring!!!!!

I waited and waited for spring to get here! Spring in Oregon is usually gorgeous as we have loads of crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils, tulips, and flowering trees of all kinds! And because it rains so much, everything is really GREEN! It's hard to stay at the sewing machine when it's so beautiful outside. I think I will GO OUTSIDE and take some pictures!!!! In the process, I'm sure I will get a heavy dose of inspiration!!!! Meanwhile enjoy a few of last year's flowers!!

Also, please check out my spring treasury at this site:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=52536

It will only be good thru Thursday the 16th at 3 p.m.  Check it out!!!!

Make your own!

How do you store all those earrings? How do you know what you have? Those cute little store bought holders that look like a flower or a little animal and only hang 8 or 10 pair of earrings just won't cut it when you love earrings! Or when you make earrings! I have dozens! So I made my own holder and you can too! Here's how:

You will need some thin balsa wood strips (mine were about 1/2 inch square by 36" long) from the hobby store; some quilting batting; and some glue or tacks.

1) I just made a frame that is about 7 inches by 36 inches tall. You can make it any size you need. Just cut the wood to size with a sharp knife or saw. (I made it this size because I had a wall space that was between the patio door and the closet door. It's all the space I had! I've moved since then , but still use it!)

2) Then use the glue and tacks to put together a frame and don't forget the cross supports. Plan the size you need with the supports. Supports can be at the corners (making a triangle) if you have a larger span than I did.

3) Then cover the whole frame with the batting. You can glue it down or just use the tacks to hold it stretched over the frame. The finished product will be extremely light. You can hang the frame over push pins in the wall.

My Good Friend! I have a simple zig zag machine that is my faithful friend. It sits ready and waiting till I am ready for the day's project! I don't have to clean up after it, or feed it, or ask it not to bark!! It just needs a little dusting and a bit of oil, occasionally. Sure, I'd like to have a more elaborate machine, but for now, simple is just fine.

My second best friend is my Ott-Lite! My projects are well lit when I sew, and I could not do without it!!! It's a pale pink; that works well with my Breast Cancer theme quilts and projects. The Model is T59112. I highly recommend it. It's well worth the money! (Although, this one was a gift!)

Well, back to my friends . . . . . . .