Birthdays: Cards, Gifts, an Elephant, and Pens

July, August and September are filled with birthdays for us.  Trying to keep up with them all is a bit challenging but always a lot of fun!

Pin Wheel Birthday Card

Thinking of You Card

In July I started out making pin wheel cards and as they were easy to make I made a variety of pin wheel cards that I could use for our different family members (and I still have at least one more to make).  As you can see by the photos you can change up the paper and embellishments to create a different card each time. I don't know about anybody else but I have an extremely hard time making an exact duplicate of any of my cards or crafts, I've tried, but it just doesn't happen. August is probably the largest birthday month with nine birthdays. To be honest I can only make cards for half that amount and the other half end up being store-bought cards.

July Birthday Pin Wheel Cards

Birthday Tote Bag

Usually, only one person in August receives a handmade gift but this year I was able to make two.  I am only going to show you a photo of the one gift as the other gift needs to remain a surprise as the birthday doesn't fall until the end of the month. Two years ago (or maybe it is three years) my sister visited me and while we were out shopping she saw this tote bag in one of the quilt shops.  Well we took pictures of it for the fabric design layout and then when we got back to my house we went through my fabric to select the colors to make the tote bag. Since that time it has sat on the corner of my sewing work table until this July when I got it out, found a simple pattern for me to sew, and got busy sewing.  There has already been a request for me to make another tote bag and hopefully I will be able to make it in less than two years.

Riding 8000 lbs of Grace and Beauty

We also went on vacation in August and one of the fun things I got to do was to ride an elephant.  As my sister said, we rode on top of 8,000 pounds  of grace and beauty! 

Our Pens

After we got home from our vacation we had a couple of extra days to relax. On one of the days my husband and I turned a couple of pens. Kingwood was the wood I chose for my pen (nearest the stamps) as it has a strong wood grain and Don chose Cocobolo (a tropical hardwood) for its lustrous coloring.  We both made an American slim pen. As I am still new to pen turning I received a lot of support from Don but I was really excited to learn how to get my wood turned closer to the bushings and to learn how to shape the wood as I turned it to make the bump at the end of the pen.  The "bump" is a bit of a signature mark of my husband's pens.

Fine Feathered Friends

The summer is always a busy time for me as there are so many birthdays to make cards and gifts for that sometimes it is difficult to keep up with them all.  I have to admit that once in a while I am forced to buy a store-bought card or gift just to keep my sanity. Usually I manage to balance it all out the next year by alternating who gets the homemade card or gift versus the store-bought card and gift. 

Ready for flight

With all this going on I did manage to finish Spreckles friend.  Spreckles is on the right in the photo above and his friend is on the left. Each time I sew one of the birds I find it gets easier and the legs get stronger and I am able to make them hold up the bird better.  With Puff (see him under For the Birds) and Spreckles they tend to keep their balance on the bend or elbow of the leg but with the new friend his legs better support him and in the one photo he looks like he is getting ready to take off in flight!  The friend hasn't been named yet as he is being shipped to my mom who will get the chance to name him. Other gifts have been in the works and I am waiting to show them to you at a later date as I don't want to give away the surprise.   So stay tuned.