Finished Just In Time for Christmas

YoYo Reindeer Card

I have had a busy week finishing up the wrapping, packing and mailing of boxes to send my Christmas gifts off to five different states (Arizona, California, Indiana, Nebraska and Ohio). Then I got to work on wrapping the gifts for my friends at work. Needless to say a couple of the packages I mailed required a homemade Christmas card and although it's hard to make everyone a card I do try to include a little something I have made like the cute little felt gift card holders that came in a kit. This was a wonderful project for me to work on as I watched TV with my husband. It was a little hard to work on when the cat decided to get into my lap but eventually the two of us came to an agreement that she could sit in my lap if she let me sew as she prefers me to sit still while she naps so we compromise - I sit still for a little while as she gets settled down to sleep and then I get to sew. It is actually safer that way for my project as the thread fascinates her and sometimes gets tangled up in her paws with the needle flying into the air!



Felt Gift Card Holders



My mom's December card is the cute reindeer card made with the large oval yoyo's. I love how they turned out and my Cricut Expression machine makes cutting out the letters for the "fa la la la la" a breeze.  The lace Christmas tree card started out with an idea of just sewing the lace back and forth in a very simple squiggly tree shape and then somehow it just evolved into a Victorian type Christmas tree. As the paper and lace sits on my desktop for days as I work with and around it - I have time to say "what if" and "ooh, I like that" and then I start pulling out papers and other embellishments that might give me the design I am looking for.

Lace Christmas Tree Card

Of course after all of my "what ifs" and pulling things out from every nook and cranny in  my craft room it is in shambles!  So today I plan on doing a lot of organizing, cleaning out and putting away so that I can start preparing for the New Year.

Sew many gifts . . . So little time

This & That Nifty Notes - Holiday Gifts

I don't know about you but I love to give handmade gifts for the holidays, birthdays and any special occassion. However, since I work full-time I don't always get to make as many handmade gifts as I would like.  Sometimes I think it's because I really don't enjoy making the same item over and over and making just one of a new pattern takes a lot of time so I end up having to purchase a gift or gift card.  Recently, I found a pattern that I do enjoy making a lot of, it is a This & That pattern called Little Notes by designer Sherri K. Falls, this can be made in so many different color choices and fabrics that it feels like I am creating a new one each time. On one of the blogs I was looking at I read that keeping your fabrics in the same color family helps save you save time as you don't need to keep changing the thread in your sewing machine.  For this batch of Nifty Note holders I tried that and found it really did save me time! Now the hard part will be deciding who to give one to so as not to hurt anyone's feelings-so if any of my family reads this and would like to have me make them one just send me an email with the colors you would like it to be made in and I will try my best to get you one made in the near future. These really do not take a whole lot of time once you decide on the fabrics and get them cut out - I had four ready to be assembled so that is what I spent last weekend doing which is why I didn't get anything posted.  I enjoy the blog but I'd really rather be crafting.

Inside the Nifty Notes note keeper

Here is a picture of the inside of the This & That Nifty Notes.  A very wise person I know suggested I take more photos to should show more of the details so they can really see what the whole item looks like.  I agree.

If this looks familiar to you, I did make one of these for my mom using fabric dyed with different teas.  The one I made for me I added a loop to hold one of the wood pens my husband turned for me.

Things Thanksgiving Part II

Owl YoYo Card



Thanksgiving Postcard Card



Whew!  I barely finished my cards on time to get them in the mail on Friday.  Actually I fixed up a couple of goodies and put them inside one of the USPS flat rate boxes and then added the cards to the box. For me it is as much fun to send goody boxes as it is to receive them.  My mom always use to send me fun little items in the mail (she still does, just not as frequently as she used to). She always wraps whatever it is in wrapping paper or tissue paper and adds a pretty bow or sticker. I never knew what would be waiting for me inside the box but I was always excited to get one as I knew it would be fun. I'm hoping when she receives the box from me that she feels in a small way that I have come to visit her.

The card I made for my mom this month is of an owl using an old sweater vest that I have been waiting to repurpose, some felt and of course a couple of yoyo's. My inspiration for the card came when Don and I went out to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant and I saw this cute cutlery holder in the shape of an owl.  It's eyes were made using gathered ribbon and my husband remarked that it would look good with yoyo eyes - and that was it - I knew I had to try it. 

You may also remember from last week I was concerned that I didn't have enough time to finish the Thanksgiving postcards, well, inspiration struck and I used some double-stick fusible web to add the postcard fabric to a card.  I love the way it turned out and think I am going to make a few more this way too.

Things I am thankful for today: my husband and family, friends, the spectacular colors of the fall leaves, the little chipmunk that visits my backyard and the fun I get from being creative.  What are you thankful for today?

Things Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Fabric Postcards

It always seems that no matter how much I try to be prepared for the holidays they always catch me unawares.  A couple of years ago I found this great fabric panel with these wonderful pictures and sayings for Thanksgiving.  I was so excited as I thought wow these will be so easy to embellishment with either hand or machine stitching and then send out to my family.  And here we are today (a couple of years later) and I have only managed to complete two of them. I was so tempted the other day to donate or toss out the others that still need to be embellished and put together but something inside me said "someday, someday you'll have time to finish these", so I put them back in my box for another some day.

2006 Turkey Fruit Carving

As you may be aware I like to be organized with my pictures, crafts, cabinets, etc but I find that sometimes my organization will just "explode" in all directions - probably a result of over thinking it.  Anyways, this happened recently to my digital photos as I got a new computer this year and transferred them over from my old computer into new file folders labeled by year and then activity. What I didn't take into account, but remembered later, was Don had some pictures on his computer too and when I went to check to see what I was missing I came across the Turkey Fruit Carving he had made in 2006.  I was so excited to find it as I wanted to put the picture in the same file folder as his sailboat fruit carving. I still have photos I am looking for and I also would like to scan my hard copy photos to my computer plus save them to a disk or USB drive but that will have to wait for a while.  For now I am still trying to finish up my UFO's.

My YoYo Bowl

YoYo Bowl

I don't know where the idea came from or what the inspiration might have been but a few months ago I decided to sew lots of yoyos in a variety of batik fabrics using the extra small Clover yoyo maker to make a fabric yoyo bowl. The batik fabrics are a joy to work with especially in the smaller yoyos as they do not "bulk up" at the part where they turn under, and the fabric is very soft to the touch. Originally I had the bowl sitting flat without any legs, then I thought I might make it "feet" using my extra yoyos (I always have extra yoyos as they are great to have around just waiting for the next inspiration). The feet looked good but it was just a little bit too much the same and seemed to all blend together.  Then as I was in the midst of de-cluttering I came across this stand I had purchased years ago, its original purpose was to hold a seashell but as you can see it is very versatile and made the perfect stand for my yoyo bowl.

YoYo Dogs & Cat



Tamara's YoYo Puppy for Her Mom



My Brown & White Puppy



My granddaughter from Arizona visited me a couple of years ago and while she was here we went to one of my favorite quilt shops, Quilting Adventures. While looking through the store she saw the Indygo Junction pattern for this yoyo puppy. She really wanted to try make making one for her mom so together we looked for the fabric she wanted to make her puppy out of and made our purchase. Once back home I showed her how to use the Clover YoYo Maker to make the yoyos. She caught on really quick and in the evenings or anytime we were just hanging out watching TV (I learned a lot about Hannah Montana) she would sew the yoyos for her puppy and I would sew the yoyos for the puppy I was making. This was a really enjoyable and relaxing time. Soon it was getting close to the time for her trip to end and the puppy still needed to be assembled.  Things got a little crazy but we managed to finish it in time for her to take back home to give to her mom.  After she was back home I finished assembling my yoyo puppy. I really enjoyed being able to share my love of sewing and spend this time with my granddaughter.

Once I made the puppy I just knew I needed to make the kitty cat pattern too.  I wanted the cat to look like our orange tabby cat (MacTavish aka Ru) so I chose fabrics that would help depict his coloring and personality.  Our buddy Ru passed away earlier this year and it left a huge hole in our lives, I am so glad I made this wonderful yoyo kitty as it always reminds me of our very remarkable cat. As you saw in one of the earlier blogs we have a new tabby cat and I have already picked out my fabric  to make a yoyo kitty in gray and white. Boots body is mostly grey with a little brown and all four of her paws are white which is how she got her name.





YoYo "Ru" Kitty



YoYo Pumpkins for Halloween



YoYo Pumpkin-pattern by Indygo Junction

I'm on a mission this year.  Actually, it started around the beginning of summer as I looked around my craft room and saw so many unfinished projects, which conflicted greatly with the other projects I either wanted to start or purchase.  For me it all seemed like "chaos & conflict". My solution was to weed out any project I absolutely was not going to do, set aside some projects for repurposing, and slowly complete projects that just needed a little bit of time.  The yoyo pumpkin by Indygo Junction  I had started in 2008. All the yoyo's had been sewn and all it needed was for me to sit at the sewing machine for a half-hour to sew his little body together,and then finish stuffing and adding hand sewn details in the evening. He is so cute - it makes me wonder now why I took so long to get him finished?



YoYo Pumpkin and Bats 2010



YoYo Pumpkin & Crows 2010



There were two left over yoyos from the pumpkin (I had sewn them just in case) so I decided I would make  a couple of Halloween cards with them.  With my plan in place I started pulling out me my blank cards and orange and black papers.  I found in my stash of ribbons one with Happy Halloween and bats on it and then I looked at my Cricut cartridges and I found one with a Halloween bat design. Last year I had pre-cut some paper crows in different colors so I pulled those out to use and then got to work.  The Autumn pumpkin yoyo card is mom's card of the month and this time the other yoyo card will go to my sister Mary. I hope I'm not offending my other two sisters - it is so hard to keep a balance - but I need to go with my heart, instincts, or that tiny voice that just speaks to me saying "make this one for . . . ".



2006 Thanksgiving YoYo Card



In 2006 I had made my mom a Thanksgiving card using a yoyo pumpkin on the front.  This card is a little more detailed as the scarecrow is made with eyelets that allow him to move.  I saw the pattern for him in one of my books and thought he was so cute I just had to make him.

Pink Ribbon Pens

Each year Don's work hosts a Pink Ribbons of Hope Tennis Tournament to benefit breast cancer. Since 2007 when Don started wood turning and making pens he has donated a pen for the Silent Auction.

2010 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

This year's pen is a Wall Street Rose Inlay pen which turned out beautiful

2009 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

In 2009 Don turned an American Slim Pen with Tennis Racket Clip. Finding the tennis racket clip was a bonus.

2008 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

We had a busy year in 2008 but Don still managed to get this pen made.  Again, it is another American Slim Pen.

2007 Pink Ribbon Silent Auction Pen

Here is Don's first pen he donated in 2007 for the silent auction. It is made with a pink/red colored wood (type unknown).



No matter how busy Don's schedule is he enjoys being able to contribute to charity by doing something he loves.



YoYo Cupcake Birthday Card

YoYo Cupcake Birthday Card

Whenever possible I love to use yo-yo's in my card designs. This month for my mom's birthday I used the yo-yo as the topping on the cupcake and then added a paper cherry and candle.

Saturday Play Date

Yesterday, Connie and I got together for another of our play dates. The theme for this one was paper dolls but we sort of went on our own creative bent which totally worked out for the both of us. These play dates are so much fun as we get so immersed into our projects that we lose track of time. What a great way to spend a Saturday!

Here is a photo of my paper doll design using Connie's piece she did earlier in the month from Julie Nutting's project in the latest issue of Somerset Studio magazine, as my inspiration. 

For my canvas I covered a used binder with old newspaer clippings my mother had given me of various tips and hints for projects as well as crochet directions that I will never use, as I don't crochet, but with this project  I did get a chance to repurpose them. My paper doll is still a work in progress as I would like to add a few embellishments to her dress but I was quite pleased with my results during our "play date". Once finished I plan on using my binder to hold all of my craft magazine clippings.

Tree Challenge due February 2011

For the past several years my friend Connie and I have come up with our own quilt challenges for the simple reason that 1) we can choose the theme and 2) we can choose the deadline or choose to extend it.

Our inspiration comes from quilts we see in magazines or at the Mancuso Quilt show. We have always been drawn to the quilts that depict trees in them so for 2010 we decided that would be our theme, Trees.

My Tree Challenge Inspiration

Deadline: February 2011

Materials: paper, fabric, metal, wood, ribbons, buttons, stickers, threads, paint, crayons, markers, just about any material that you need to create your tree.

Size: 8 1/2 by 11 is suggested but you can make it smaller or larger this is your creation.

If you would like to join our Tree Challenge add a comment here or send me an email at dclarkcreations@aol.com. I'll be happy to post your progress if you would like to send me a photo to the email address above .

Inspiration is all around you, as for me, I'm starting in my own backyard!



My Self-Portrait Quilt

Previous challenges we have come up with include a self-portrait quilt (spq). 

This challenge I interpreted very loosely  and Connie is still working on the details to her self-portrait. 

The pattern is an Elinor Pearce Bailey doll pattern I saw in Soft Dolls Magazine. I was drawn to the yoyo hair as I love everything yoyo and knew I needed to make this doll as my spq. Most all of the fabrics and embellishments hold a personal memory for me. Even the shoes are made using a black yoyo adorned with a gold bead for the buckle. 

Friendship Quilt Front

We also both made a friendship quilt that had to reflect our personality and then it was to be given to the other person.  These challenges test our skills and let us explore and share our creativity with one another. How lucky are we!

My friendship quilt consists of a series of fabric postcards. The front of each postcard is done using several embellishment techniques including a yoyo butterfly in the lower left-hand corner.

In the lower-right hand corner is an old key that we both used in our friendship quilt depicting the "key to friendship.



Friendship Quilt Back

 For the back of my quilt I wrote a small description and title for the corresponding postcard on the front of the quilt. Then I addressed and added a stamp to each postcard.  Luckily I had on hand butterfly stamps and return address labels so that the design on the front of the quilt carried over to the back of the quilt.  I totally did not have a pattern to go by and as I am not a quilter I had to use my sewing skills to put it all together.

Connie's Friendship Quilt

Connie's friendship quilt is absolutely beautiful and it makes me feel very special.

The Belated Birthday Present

Georgia's birthday present "Then and Now"

Last year while visiting my sister, Georgia, she asked if I could make her a new cover up (she had nearly worn out the one I had purchased and given her years ago). I figured if I could have the old one to use as a pattern it should be fairly simple.  Of course she agreed I could take her old cover up but then she added "oh, but don't cut it up because I still want to wear it". So, now I was challenged.  Thank goodness my sister is patient as it took me a little over a year to purchase the material and make it for her. It was difficult to find the right color but then I found this really nice creamy yellow fabric. When I started to sew the pockets I realized I needed something decorative for the pocket so I decided to add a YoYo flower with the extra wide rick rack for the stem and then I found these wonderful flower buttons that pulled the whole piece together.  I put it in the mail for her on Monday and I received this wonderful email from her on Friday saying "I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!"

Just for Fun

Stenciled Red T-shirt

A couple of years ago I purchased a men's red t-shirt because I liked the quality of the material and the little looser fit. Of course I altered it by hemming it and I also sewed a decorative machine stitch around the sleeves.  This little red shirt is my comfy working around the house shirt. But somehow it got a couple of white or faded spots near the hemline, I've stopped using bleach so I'm not sure what caused it.  The shirt was still wearable especially since it is for hanging around the house but I wanted to do something to fix it.  I still had some fabric paint and stencils from a project I did quite a while back so last Saturday I pulled them out and did a quick fix on my shirt. I love it and it was so easy to do.  One of my biggest fears is that I will mess it up worse or not like it when I'm finished.  Needless to say, I may have to try this quick fix on other wearable items. Of course while I was trying to photograph it I received a little help from my furry friend.

August Cards

August is a busy birthday month in my family.  I try to make birthday cards for everyone but a lot of times I just run out of time and I either make a quick handmade card or they get a "store bought" card.  The good news is I try not to always send the same person a "store bought" card each time. My favorite card this month is the one I made for my sister, Mary.  I used the heart shaped yo-yo to make a mini tulip display.

As I mentioned in last week's blog I send my mom a "card-a-month".  For August her card is one I made back in June.  I saw the idea of the ribbon loops surrounding a button to create a flower and I thought "I could use one of my yo-yo's in place of the button.  This is a real simple card to make and I think I will make a few more to have in my stash of pre-made cards "just in case". The photo didn't turn out as well as I would have liked but hopefully you can see what a fun, simple design it is.

July Craft Play Day

Painted fabric ready to be set in the sun

I am very lucky to have a friend who enjoys experimenting with new techniques as much as I do. We have so much fun when we get together on our craft play days. Part of what makes it fun is that we both have different styles so we are always learning from one another. Connie is more of a free spirit with her art and crafts and I tend to be more purposeful.  By that I mean my art or craft project needs to have a purpose.

Our July Saturday play date involved painting fabric with Setacolor Soleil (a sun printing fabric paint). We had a blast experimenting with blending the colors on the fabric, laying the objects on top of the fabric to create a design and then placing the fabric in the sun.  We also learned some objects worked better than others. 

My sun printed fabric

My favorite fabric is the one I created using buttons placed on top of my painted fabric. I plan on making a book cover with the button sun printed fabric. Other items I used on my fabric were paper doilies, fabric lace with metal hardware and rock salt. I'm still amazed that with so little effort and so much fun I created my own unique fabric.

It would be easy for me to get the fabric painting bug, my only drawback is what would I do with it when it was done?

Salad spinner art fabric

The second half of our play day involved this technique from the Creative Arts Home magazine of using a salad spinner to paint on fabric.  As a child I loved the paint spinners so I couldn't wait to play with this new technique. 

To my amazement it turned out really good and yes, I have a project in mind for these fabric circles.  I think they will look great appliqued onto a pillow cover as holiday ornaments.

Salad spinner fabric art circles

Crafting with Paper Napkins

Flowers in Bloom

Here we are heading towards  the end of August and I'm just getting around to my July creative activities. When I started this blog I had really good intentions of posting every couple of days and like all of you, my day-to-day life kept interrupting. As my parents always said, "anything worth doing is worth doing right", so I have made a commitment to post every Sunday, the other thing they taught me was to honor my commitments. One commitment I made years ago was to send my mom a card a month. For July I tried a little something different as I added a magnet butterfly to the card. The flowers on the card are made with paper napkins using the technique from "Paper Crafting with Carol Duvall". It is a simple technique using Saran Wrap and an iron and it is a lot of fun to do.

Watermelon Sailboat Fruit Display for Nick's Graduation Party

The making of the watermelon sailboat.

First, we had to shop for the fruit which was a wonderful adventure. My brother-in-law John took us to one of their favorite grocery stores, HyVee, and we found all the fresh fruit we needed plus the melon-ballers. Next, we gathered up a few supplies from my sister Karen. We needed large platters, saran wrap and a couple of bowls. Then we took the stuff back to our hotel room which had a small kitchen in it. Don cut the melons and gave directions to me, my mom and sister Mary so we could help with the melon balling while he took a short and much deserved nap. Much deserved because earlier he had cooked his wonderful French toast breakfast for 14 family members. As Don napped Mary washed the strawberries and grapes and mom and me got busy making watermelon and cantaloupe melon balls. Once Don was recharged from his nap he assembled the sail boat and put together the other fruit display. Needless to say the fruit displays were a huge hit and a great topic of conversation.

Graduation Card for Nephew Nick

Earlier this month we traveled to Nebraska for Nick's high school graduation.  Since Nick is a very talented wood worker and designer I wanted to make a unique graduation card for him.

As I was thinking about ways to add a money holder to the card the thought came to me that the year is 2010 and how cool it would be to show a 20 dollar bill and a 10 dollar bill. I figured out the correct dimensions to hold the money but now I needed to have an easy way to remove it so I decided on making a tab that would slide in and out.  I was so pleased when that worked but I saw another problem.  When the money tab was removed you could no longer tell what year the card was made. So I started hunting, found some number stickers and solved the problem. 

Bearing Flowers Part II

I'm so lucky to have a family who supports my creativity.  My sister, Karen, sent me a close up of the basket I sent her at Christmas time and I thought I would post it on my blog so you could see it too.

Bearing Flowers

The other day I received an email from my sister, Karen, with an attached photo that showed a beautiful display of bowls and baskets.  She did such a wonderful job of displaying everything I didn't recognize the fabric bowl I had given her as a Christmas gift.  See if you can find it. 

The last time I saw the fabric bowl it was filled  with packets of hot chocolate, cookies and peppermint candy stirring sticks. The bowl now holds a nice display of flowers. What a transformation!

Mother's Day Gift: Tea Dyed Note Keeper

Back in March, my friend Connie and I got together to dye some white fabric in 12 different types of tea to see what kind of results we would get. We used Bentley Tea and the flavors were Oriental Treasure green Tea, Raspberry Green Tea, Blueberry Green Tea, Pomegranate Green Tea, Misty Mint Green Tea, Earl Grey Green Tea, English Breakfast Tea, Lemon Honey Chamomile Tea, Gingerbread Spice Tea, Holiday Spice Tea and French Vanilla Tea.

I used my tea-dyed fabric to make the This and That note keeper from the Nifty Notes  pattern by Sherri K. Falls for my mom. As you can see with this fabric there is not a lot of color variation.  One of the reasons could be because we used the same brand for all 12 teas flavors. I also noticed that with the green teas there was not a lot of color differences either. The top section is dyed in the Oriental Treasure Green Tea, English Breakfast Tea was used for the middle section, the botton section was dyed in Gingerbread Spice Tea and the tab was dyed in Blueberry Green Tea.  At least all the fabrics have fun sounding names even if there is not a lot of color difference.

Of course I had to make a note keeper for myself. The fabrics I used to make it you can see some shade variations.  All in all our tea dying party was a lot of fun and I would definitely like to do it again but using more of the black teas. The This and That note keeper pattern is perfect for using small scraps of fabric and on the inside is an extra pocket perfect for adding a book of stamps or even a gift card!

Mother's Day Card

For Christmas I got a Cricut Expression.  It is one of my favorite craft room accessories as it saves me so much time from hand cutting the pieces for my cards and the detail I can get from my Cricut still amazes me. As I was looking through my copy of the 2010 StampIt! Cards magazine I saw a layout I liked that used a flower and leaf shape that would work wonderful for making my mom's Mother's Day card. Next, I looked at my Cricut cartridges and found the shapes I needed. I used my computer and printed out my message. Then I played with the placement until I was happy with the layout, after adding a few embellishments I then glued everything in place.

Saturday Excursion to Woodcraft

It's hard to go into Woodcraft and not buy something.  This Saturday was no different.  While I went to Michael's to add to my paper stash Don headed into Woodcraft and came out with a new wood project.  He is going to try his hand at cutting and carving a cocobolo wood handle to fit the 4" ceramic knife blade he saw and bought (pictured).  It may be a while before I can add the picture of the finished project.  You'll just have to be patient.

Easter Cards

I know Easter has past but I wanted to share the card I sent to my mother this year. I've also included some past Easter cards as each card was made using yo-yos in a different way. You see every month I make my mom a card and write her a letter about what I've been doing. With mom living in California and me in Virginia my homemade cards are my way of visiting her each month, and even with the high rates the USPS charges for postage we both find it a real bargain, especially compared to airline prices. Working with yo-yos is so much fun for me as I like to come up with new and unique ways to use them. Since the oval Quick Yo-Yo Maker maker was just released by Clover this year I had to try it out. The ears are made using the oval template and for the head I used the extra large yo-yo template.

Here is the Easter card I made in 2007 using the extra large yo-yo template for the head, felt and fabric to make its ears, a pom pom for the nose, and an accent ribbon on the top of her head. I think she turned out pretty sweet but I do like the way the oval yo-yos gave this year's bunny extra character and dimension.

The 2006 Easter card I sort of did the standard yo-yo accent thing of using the yo-yo as a tail to my stamped image.  For the words I cut small rectangle shapes, one from a patterned paper and a smaller rectangle from a solid paper, then I added the sticker letters to spell out my message.