Mr. Kitty Gets an Operation and Other Creative Deeds

Greetings Readers!

Can't say I've done a great deal in the time since I was here last. 

Mr. Kitty did indeed get some surgery! He had a double eye implant, some eyebrow work, reconstructive surgery on his feet and some rhinoplasty!

I was going to actually give him kitty paws, toes and all...but it ain't happening just yet with those toes on the bottoms of his feet. Gotta think on that one for a bit. Might have to drag out the paper and masking tape to remedy that one. Or I may just leave Mr. Kitty with flat feet. Guarantees he'll never be drafted!

Anyway.....Mr. Kitty, as he stands at the moment:

He's not standing at all.

He's laying upside down on the kitchen table. Looks like he's floating in space but he's not quite that talented!

Later, might happen today, might not, I'm going to give him a coat of gesso. Will have to wait for that to dry so I can sand him down in preparation for his first coat of color. His eyes need repainted as well.

He's coming along slowly, but nicely!

I've worked on hearts since the last post:

I'm still not sure what is going to become of these hearts.

Magnets?

Truth be known I'm a bit tired of the magnet scene.

Garland?

Maybe.

Ornaments?

That's more likely than a garland.

Truly a work in progress with no direction!

We'll see where the hearts take us!

And because two projects in the works at one time is not enough,

I'm working on a bucky ball as well.

The ball will probably be done in the next couple days. 

All depends on how intent I am on folding a gazillion little triangles into units. 

I need 60 for this ball. I've folded somewhere between 30 and 40 of them. 

I don't think you're supposed to put the thing together till you've folded ALL the units, but I don't always follow the rules. Sometimes, I just gotta do it my way. Whether its the right way or not. This seems to be working out OK though. I've only had to unglue three of the units to make things right. You're not supposed to need glue to hold this sucker together but my units refuse to stick together on their own. They need glue.

I'll be sure to show you the completed project.

I also made a chipboard box to house the red foil paper flower ball so it is safe in storage. The box is nothing to look at, only functional. And it's way too big for the flower ball so it will probably end up housing something else in storage that could use some protection.

Until next time......

be good to one another!

It matters!

PEACE

831

How About a Monster?

No new news going on with Mr. Kitty but other things have materialized.

Hello Readers!

The Pastel Monster

I have dragged out the sweater material again. More sweater material, I should say. This guy started out life as a crowl neck hand knitted sweater. It is soft, soft, soft! I don't think there will be any other monsters made from it though as the weave in the material is bit large and the polyfil shows through the monster's skin. Her leg looks a bit cockeyed cause this sweater had a diamond pattern knitted into it and the leg seams just happen to intersect one of those diamond patterns. I used a sleeve, with much left over, for this monster.

Her eyes and horns are made of felt.

I think the remainder of the sweater will end up in the sweater quilt I keep saying I'm going to make one of these days. I might try to make a sweater rose just to see if it will work. I don't think it will though. This sweater is quite fuzzy and the hot glue might not play nicely with all that fuzz. We'll see though!

Plaid Rose #2

You can see some of the petals used in making this rose laying next to it on the kitchen table.

I don't have enough petals to make another rose so these petals will end up in the 'mulch' bag.

What is this 'mulch'? It's pcs of material that are too small to do anything with but can be used to stuff little critters when I make little critters.

I started on my Valentine's Day project. 

You get only a sneak peek. I will tell you that crewel embroidery yarn, fiberfil, and those felt santa hats I talked about last post are involved in this project!

I thought I had shown you all the finished yellow sweater roses but I couldn't a find a picture anywhere! I ended up with 13 of these. 

They are all stuck to my metal pantry cabinet in the kitchen. They will all disappear from this cabinet in the next few weeks though cause the yellow ones are slated as Valentine's gifts and the others are slated for the craft show in September.

You all be good to one another!

I know I say that at the end of every post but it is so important!

The world is becoming a hateful place 

and 

if we don't all remember what it is to be human,

we will all perish in a very sad state!

So

be good to one another!

It matters!

PEACE

831

Paper and Fabric and a bunch of Junk

Hello People!

Not much happening in my neck of the woods. Lots of sleep going on when I'm not making something or another.

Still no new pictures of Mr. Kitty. I have figured out his eyes but have done nothing to get those eyes in place on Mr. Kitty's head, so that project is still on-going.

I showed you all the beginnings of this red foil paper flower ball in the last post.

I thought when I was folding the cones that I would take some red ink and paint all those white lines from the backside of the foil wrapping paper these are made from but I've since decided it's fine just as it is!

Foil paper is a PITA to glue together! 

I tried three different glues before the regular ol' tacky glue did that trick of keeping this thing together!

I learned how to fold another origami ball last night but have yet to make one. It's on the list of things to get done! We'll see how it turns out. Don't hold your breath to see it though, might be weeks before it appears here! It's all in the planning stages right now. Got the idea in my head and I'll put it fruition soon enough.

I showed you all yellow sweater flowers in the last post. This is the same design but done in thin fabric with this plaid rose. I used to wear the shirt this fabric came from. It got a rip in the front of it and couldn't be worn anymore. I love the plaid on this one. I have enough petals cut for another one or two of these. Just need to sit down and get them made.

These are sweater material. The round one is the seam from the sweater sleeve all the other ones are made from. Not quite as cute as the yellow sweater flowers but I still like them!  The rest of that sweater will be made into a monster or two.

I'm still working on Junk Magnets for the swap over at AFA (link's up there at the top).

Forgive my dirty fingernails! Had my hands in the junk before this picture was taken!

That's an origami tulip made from purple paper, there's a big black felt 'washer' in the bottom of this juice bottle lid, some old broken chain from a necklace, three semi precious stone beads (holes weren't cut right so they're useless as beads), a purple foam "O" under the stones. The purple dangly is a necklace pendant.

Another junk magnet for the swap: The base is a coiled up magazine reed (magazine page rolled into a stick), a 45rpm adapter, a bread bag tag, a clock button, a gold foil candy wrapper rose, a copper wire jumpring to hold the amber colored stone dangly, a glass donut bead, a carved stone pink flower bead and a little brass butterfly.

I'm not sure this one meets the qualifications for the swap so it might not be entering the swap. I think it's too big for the maximum size for the swap. It's the finished altered key I showed you all in the last post. I added a couple of glass beads to the spring from the clothespin, a pearl and rhinestone bauble is wired on and I added a few microbeads to it as well.

I have plans to sew a monster this evening after getting Mr. Kitty's eyes in place.
I'll be back soon with more creative endeavors to show and tell!

You all be good to one another!

It truly does matter!

PEACE

831

Some Pretty Yellow Flowers, a Few Magnets and a Bit More...

Happy Wednesday, People! 

Hope you all are well today!

I don't have any new pictures of Mr. Kitty. He's still sitting atop the metal cabinet in the kitchen, drying. I'm still trying to figure out what to use for eyes.

There a few ideas bouncing around the old noggin:

*sure wish I had a ping pong ball*

*big bolts...I'm pretty sure I saw some in the prepared iron bucket out in the garage the other day*

*paper clay ... my least favorite of the ideas*

or, maybe

*plastic eyeballs...not sure they are the correct size*

So, in theory, things have been getting prepared while the kitty gets all the getting done. 

He must be perfectly dry before we proceed with more paper clay. I sure don't want the little devil getting mildew after all the work put in thus far!

Hopefully, next post you'll see some progress on Mr. Kitty.

Fear not, though! I have been busy with other things.

I showed you all some magnets in the last post. Well, I'm still working on magnets only these do not have a magnet on them, nor will they get a magnet till they have traveled to their new homes.

I read the hazardous materials part of the postal code. Magnets are considered hazardous materials if they exceed a certain amount 'pull'. I don't think anyone is going to attach a magnet strong enough to grab anything from 15 ft away to their magnets for this swap. That is how I read the code. You'd have to have a magnet strong enough to grab something 15 ft. away. If you have a magnet that is that strong holding your doodads to your fridge...you are on overkill, my friend! 

But, anyway, the magnet tops go magnetless through the mail cause that's how the swap host wants it and that's how it will be done.

I have three magnet tops in the works for that swap. I'm thinking to do 5, might be 6...I'll have to check the swap....I'm not done with magnets yet. 

I'm not sure if all of these will even make the cut for the swap. 

Red Button Key Magnet

It's a tractor key with an attached fob spray painted black. I put a few little junk pieces on it; a red button in a metal jacket, there's a blue stone, a little metal rod, some other things I can't identify from the picture and a quartz donut bead wire wrapped with brass wire. I''m thinking it needs a little something more.

Blue Flower Threader Magnet

I'm pretty sure this one will go in the swap. I'm very pleased with it! It has a lot of things on it. The base is a disk cut from a microwaved CD. I punched a hole in it and hung a little wire wrapped glass bead on a handmade jump ring. The glass bead came from a broken bracelet. (I loved that bracelet!) There are some tiny screws, a couple of ceramic beads, a string of sequins, a handmade foil rose (candy wrapper), a silver metal disk from a magnetic clip, star and leaf shaped plastic gems, little metal rod from a magnet clip, plastic silver oval, glass tube bead, piece of broken CD not microwaved, blue flower fabric emblem,  and a broken needle threader. It's a bit over 2 inches across.

I remedied the broken needle threader. That's not the only broken needle threader in my 'little junk' box. I made me a new needle threader that is not going to break no matter what I try to drag through the eye of a needle with it! I took a length of jewelry wire that was thin enough, when folded into a point, to go through my smallest needle. I wrapped the ends of that folded wire around a little wooden stick and secured it with 1/4 inch copper foil tape. It should last some years, I suspect. 

My hat is off to whomever invented needle threaders! They are a godsend!!

Back to magnet tops:

This one is rather silly. I'm debating his joining the swap. His eyes are two little screws stuck through holes punched in two metal disks (they're like tiny bowls with straight sides) that came out of magnet clips. His nose is a metal disk (flat) that came out of the same magnet clips, a white plastic cap from a syringe (perhaps? Not sure what that thing came from). His mouth is part of a red aluminum pull tab from a can of chili. All attched to a blue milk carton lid.

I thought I had turned this picture right ways, but apparently not.

When the kids came down just after the new year began, Terah, Brenton and I had a few hours of fun with the magnet making kit I got for Christmas from Justin and Courtney. 

Brenton did the orange flower and the eyeball just above the smiley face.

Terah did the purple heart, the bug with green background and the first three on the top row as you see them in the picture.

The rest are mine.

Here's a shot of the metal cabinet in the kitchen where all art magnets end up till they travel on.

Ma's yellow magnet with the butterfly in it is sitting on top of the cabinet cause E6000 does not like the plastic that peanut butter jar lid is made from. The magnet fell off, that's twice I've had to glue it back on. 

This is the beginnings of a red foil paper flower ball. It should be done soon. I have, I think 8, papers left to fold before gluing can commence. I believe I'll use one of those nice red cotton strings from the dog food bag for a hanger for it.

Yes, this is a Halloween Chunky Page. Yes, I know Halloween is nowhere in sight at this time of year. So, why did I make a Halloween Chunky Page today? Cause it seemed like a good idea. I like it. I made a few mistakes in the making of it. I only looked at the templates when I drew it up, didn't actually print them out and get it just right. His head is a tad large and it's not quite where it's supposed to be according to the tutorial, but I think he'll work just fine for a first try. Next time I make this kitty I'll give him a different background and probably make the kitty a different color as well.

I've yet to do the backside of this chunky page and danglies still need to be added. You'll be seeing this one again soon.

Just an experiment with paper roses. Not quite a success, but far from a failure.

The basket holds the backside of a sweater and about 8 hot glue sticks.

It stinks to high heaven in this deskroom right now! I used nail polish to edge my flower petals which gave the flowers a WOW factor. I'm gonna have to take them outside to finish the nail polish part. I only did five of them with nail polish, there are a total of thirteen of them. I like them! They will all be a different color of nail polish. Nothing garish. That purple is about as garish as the flowers will get. If one were going to wear the polish on their nails then the garish would come in with the yellow polish that edges the petals of one of those flowers!

Here are some unembellished flowers. These things are simply sweater material cut into rough squares with one edge rounded off. You hot glue them together to form a rose. They average about 3 inches across. I was quite impressed with how very easy it was to make them! I wasn't sure what the hell I was gonna do with them, but I've since figured that out!

These are Valentine's Day Presents!

I slapped a magnet on the back of them and viola! 

Instant roses for your fridge! (Or wherever!)

It's a good thing Valentine's Day is still a little ways off cause these things are going to have to air out in the burnt house for a few days at least!  That's the price you pay for sparklies sometimes though! I do like the look of the nail polish though it really isn't shiny. It kinda soaked into the cotton sweater material like a sponge takes in water. I will go for sparkly colors for the remaining sweater flowers. 

Once I locate that bag of sweaters I thought was in the closet I'll probably make some more sweater flowers. I've no clue what became of that bag of sweaters. It must be in the burnt house. 

Another reason to go out there!

You all be good to one another.

It matters!

I will return in a few days with more show and tell!

Peace

831

Paper Mache Cat, a Few Magnets and Some ATCs

Hi Everyone!

The kitty is taking shape a bit more each day. I didn't work much on him yesterday. We are in the drying stages at the moment. 

I've figured out what to use for his eyes, but I don't know if what I have in mind will work or not without some experimentation. 

Next post we'll see how that experiment turns out!

I'll have to put another coat of  paperclay or gesso on him...not sure which just yet. 

I truly do make this all up as I go along.

His face needs a bit of tweaking as well. I'll have to drag out the dremel and drill some holes for whiskers. Not sure what I'll use for whiskers just yet either.

He's coming along nicely though and I'm pleased with the progress.

Ma came over the other day and we sat at the kitchen table making magnets from jar lids and junk. 

This one is mine. I'll be entering it in a swap over at AFA (link's up at the top). I have two others done that I forgot to take a picture of. You'll see them next time.

This one started out life as a cap to a gallon milk jug. It has a little of this and a little of that on it. Sequins of different shapes, plastic gems, fake pearls bauble, a puzzle piece, some copper wire jump rings, a clear plastic flower with green stripes, little feet lapel pin with the shaft removed, a heart cut from a microwaved CD,  brass doodad with a plastic yellow ball on top of it, a couple of glass tube beads and a metal shaft from a magnetic clip. the inside of the lid has another lid glued in it to adhere the magnet to. The inside cap is blue and came from a vanilla extract bottle.

These two lid magnets are Ma's

I really like the one with the spider!

I drew three ATCs yesterday as well.

On The Savannah

ATC 

markers on recycled cardstock

Firestone Flamingo

ATC

markers on recycled cardstock

Pliocene Pussy Cat

ATC

markers on recycled cardstock

I have a sweater monster in the works, three more magnets in the works and the paper mache kitty ongoing as well. Never a minute goes by that I am not at least THINKING of something that needs to be created. 

I'll be back again soon to show you more progress on the Art Front!

Be good to one another!

It matters!

Peace

831

And the Cat Grows, Still

Hello Readers!

I'm still hard at work on my paper mache cat! I have decided I will give it to my sister Jeanny for her birthday. She hasn't even seen it and already she covets it! 

I told her I seriously considering painting it orange and I thought she would burst with excitement! I haven't actually told her she's getting the cat. I've only danced around the request. 

I got up this morning and bulked him out some and put a last layer of paper on him. 

My sister, Kathy, gave me a bunch of old paper napkins that she got from the remnants of a yard sale. I've trained my people well to look for unusual things for art! She said they weren't good enough to use for napkins cause she hadn't a clue just how old they were or how they'd been stored before she got them. They were plenty good enough to use in paper mache!

Kitty was a bit skinny in his midriff so I bulked out his shoulders a bit. Bulking out involves tape and paper...whatever kind of paper you want to use will work! Tape it on the piece and then paper mache over it. Easy peasy!

Except for his face! His snout is way too long for a cat's snout! 

I was taping little balls of newspaper to his his nose area for some cheeks to stick whiskers in later and my mother told me I should be putting those balls on the other end of him! LOL I told Ma he's been neutered!  One of his legs is way fatter than the other three. Ma was displeased I had cut a good 4 inches off the end of his tail by this point too. I fattened up his belly, his tail and along his backside with paper napkins and masking tape.

Then I covered him up with drug booklet paper. I like the fact the drug booklets are numerous colors. It lets me know where the next layer has been placed. Assures ALL of it is covered in each layer of paper. 

His chin is a bit off! I'll correct that when I apply the paper clay tomorrow. 

I had planned on getting the paper clay made today but that didn't happen so it's scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see. If I'm going to give Kitty to sis, which I'm sure I will, I have till the end of April to do it! I plan on having him done before the end of January though!

This thing, however, probably won't be done by the end of January. I spent a whole day punching stars and putting them on this canvas. This thing has stopped talking to me, as it were. I don't know what direction to take with it at this point. I've put it back on the easel to brew! I think I jumped the gun on putting the stars on! I really don't know what will happen with it. 

I started a new project on the kitchen table this evening. I must have this project done tomorrow afternoon so the kitchen table is clean for the putting on of the paper clay to the cat. 

I went out to the burnt house yesterday and collected up some magnetic clips. Took them all to the garage and proceeded to demolish said clips for the magnets in them. I was getting really low on magnets and I have about 2000 of those magnetic clips to steal magnets from! It's great for the ego to demolish perfectly good things. I took the little sledge hammer to them. I couldn't do more then 20some. My arm was killing me by then! That sledge only weighs 8pds. It shouldn't be so hard to pick it up! Took both hands to pick it up and aim it at a clip. I generally got the magnet out with one whack, but some of them took two whacks. 

I'm working on junk magnets. The swap I entered calls them Earth Day Magnets (Sans the Magnets). Apparently magnets are considered a hazardous material to the United States Postal Service. This is news to me but whatever. I'll add a magnet when I get my returns. No problem! (I just see a lot of issues with magnets not being able to be sent through the mail. If that's true how come magnets are sold on ebay and etsy and a lot of other online stores? Does UPS and FedEx allow magnets to be shipped through them? I have questions is all. But it's no skin off my teeth to make magnetless magnets for this swap!)

These are magnets made from junk. 

I have lots of junk to use in magnet making!

No pictures of the magnet progress, I'm afraid.

I've only got 1 done and 2 others in the works. All depends on if I work on them still this evening as to how many will get made. I was shooting for 7 of them, but that might not happen. Might end up with the three in progress now.

I'll show you results in the next post.

Until then......be good to one another!

It matters!

Peace

831

Some Paper Mache in Progress

Remember this thing?

I woke up with this critter nagging at me.

I was on a paper mache kick back in September of 2011 when I started this critter. It'd been called everything from a cat to a wombat! I sat it on the kitchen table this afternoon and it yelled at me while I cooked some fried potatoes, so I sat down and fattened up its legs and  its head and cut a bit off the end of its way-to-long tail.

Then I promptly chopped its head off and 

put it back on again in a different position. Wooden skewers aren't just for BBQ! 

And hacksaws do an excellent job of hacking!

It was quite liberating to saw this critter's head off! When the idea hit me to cut its head off cause it just wasn't working with its head where it originated, I second guessed myself. Questioned if cutting its head off was such a good idea. I sucked it up, got out the hacksaw and boom! No head! And it felt good! It was a whole lot easier both mentally and physically than I thought it would be~!

I have decided this is indeed a cat.

There were doubts about what it would become.

This is one stout little cat! As you can see in the picture of its decapitated head, it is solid paper! The armature is made of magazine paper rolled into reeds, taped together in the shape of a creature with four legs. From there newspapers were taped round and round that armature to develop the shape of the critter. When I got tired of layers and layers of newspaper, I wrapped and wadded tin foil around the legs to fatten them up. 

I used paper napkins to bulk it out. Lots of masking tape is involved as well. 

I fashioned him some ears from corregated cardboard and taped them on his head. I taped them three times before they ended up where I wanted them! 

Then I sat down to a hamburger patty, some fried potatoes and a bowl of sweet corn for supper. I contemplated what to do with the cat while I ate.

After I got my belly full, I cut the cat's ears down some so they weren't quite so large and covered him in a layer of the drug brochure paper. I really wish there had been enough purple pages to make him all purple but it really doesn't matter cause that will all be covered over with paper clay day after tomorrow and you won't know it even had color! 

He'll get another layer of paper and glue tomorrow. I need to give him some toes. I was half way through that first layer of paper mache when I remembered I wanted to put some toes on him! Will use egg cartons for his toes. Cut the egg cups in half and trim them down, stuff em with newspaper and tape them to his feet before I put the next layer of paper down.  I'll mix up a batch of paper clay to finish him off the next day.

Not sure how I'll paint him but I'm thinking he'll end up being orange with some kind of decorations on him. Haven't thought ahead that far!

I really don't know what I'm doing! I make up the rules as I go along!

There's at least another 4 days work to do on this thing.

Nothing has occurred in the cutting room. I have no picture either.

Be good to one another!

It matters!

Peace!

831

Stuff Completed

Hello Everyone!

First, I must warn you the pictures in this post are terrible! There's something wrong with my camera! Sometimes it will take pictures as clear as can be and other times, we end up with what you're about to see in this post!

I apologize for the crappy photography! 

Blame the photographer. It is probably the result of my not knowing what the hell I'm doing! 

At any rate, enjoy!

We'll start off with my latest project. 

Completed in three days time.

I dragged out some paper mache and the paints.

I was sick of looking at the cut off coffee creamer jars holding all my markers so I made them a new organizer and got rid of three of those ugly jars. 

This thing started out life as a cardboard box. My diabetes testing supplies arrived in it. I cut the flaps off and used them to make two dividers in it so the markers could stand up even if there weren't enough of them in the box. I then covered it with two layers of newspaper-like paper. (I have TONS of this paper! It is in the form of booklets addressing the drug problem in this country to high school students. I got it from the chief of police of a small town in Kansas. I got three cases of those little booklets! They're wonderful for paper mache! God knows some of the information in those booklets isn't correct any longer. So I'm putting them to good use and making pretty things with them.) After the paper mache had dried for a day, I started painting it. I lost track of how many layers of paint it is. I started off with yellow wall paint for the outside and then got out the Dr. Martins Inks and some more wall paint and some acrylic paint and I slapped it on and wiped it off and put some in a spray bottle with a bit of water and sprayed away and I just went a little nuts with it! Took me a whole day to actually paint the thing what with drying times between colors. That was a tough one for me. I usually start and finish painting with very little drying time between colors. I'm not sure I like the paint job but it's full of markers and on my desk ready for service! The inside of it is a medium lavendar color wall paint. If I decide I don't like it, I can always give it another paint job!

I'm glad to have the markers back on the desk. They've been on the cabinet where the printer lives for weeks now! Been ages since I used them!

Be forewarned--marker drawings are in the future of this blog!

Yes, I know, this picture hurt my eyes as well.

I couldn't get a sharp picture of this wire wrapped rock to save my soul! That's all it is though, a copper wire wrapped rock. Nothing special about this rock at all. It looks green on my screen, but it isn't green, it's a plain ol' run of the mill gray piece of gravel. I dragged it out of the big diffenbachia pot (plant) in the livingroom a couple weeks ago. This is the rock I told you all I would show you when I found it again.

I found it buried beneath the shipwreck of projects that were scattered all over my desk. I cleaned this desk yesterday to be able to put the marker box on the desk. And lo and behold! There it was!

It's not a very big rock....the whole pendant is about an inch long. I rather like it. I was just practicing my wire wrapping skills. They need LOTS of practice!

Ignore the sugar bag in the background. I save all paper bags! 

This one hurts the eyes too. Sorry bout that!

Green hair green velvet Goddess ornament.

That sparkly stuff I made her hair out of REALLY sparkles in the picture! And so do the two rhinestones in the plastic button sewn to her tummy! That sparkly stuff came on a spool like ribbon does. Christmas stuff of some sort. For embellishing packages, like you would with ribbon. I bought it before Christmas for $1.27 for 9 feet of it. I might of used 12 inches for it, but I don't think so. She's about three inches long, stuffed with fiberfil, handsewn from velvet that was once a shirt. She has a copper wire bail sewn into her upper body so she can be hung. I've strung her up with some fishing line.

Her sister #2 didn't cooperate in the photo shoot any better than any of the other contestants in this post did!

She's hand sewn from that same velvet with fiberfil and the copper wire bail sewn in. She has a white plastic button  on her tummy and a chipboard tag sewn to the belly end of the bail. She's a bit shorter than her sister at about 2.5 inches. She has no fishing line to hang her with but that could be easily remedied

.

I've been sewing more mug rugs as well. These will probably show up in the posts on a regular basis throughout the year. I have a whole stack of them cut and ready to sew. 

black cloth from a man's shirt

light orange is from a jersey knit from a woman's sweater

yellow is a cotton sweater

stripes were an acrylic yarn sweater

dark orange was a woman's shirt

light orange is a jersey knit from a woman's sweater

dark orange is a poly blend from a woman's shirt

blue is fleece from a woman's sweat shirt

dark orange from a woman's shirt

light orange from a woman's sweater

stripes from an acrylic yarn sweater

pink background is heavy cotton t-shirt fabric from a dress

red is fleece from a woman's shirt

the sheep is flannel from pajamas

purple is fleece from pajamas

dark orange is poly blend from a woman's shirt

flower print is cotton t-shirt fabric from little girl's skirt

orange is from a woman's shirt

purple is fleece from pajamas

All are about 4 inches square, 2 layers hand sewn with crewel embroidery thread. All are made from repurposed  fabrics.

I have plans to make more monsters, pot holders and maybe a tote

bag or two as well this year. I need to make a prototype of the tote bag I have in mind. You'll all see it when it materializes.

In addition to the creating, I'm slowly working my way through the cutting room. I'll show you all a picture in the next post of what the cutting room looks like today and another picture of what it looks like on the day I make the next post. I'm hoping for progress to have been made! We shall see!

I didn't read very many books last year at all. I think only four or five. One of my goals this year is to read at least one book a month. I started The Partner by John Grisham a couple days ago. I bought it at the thrift store for 50 cents. I have almost every book John Grisham ever wrote but I didn't have this one in my collection. Good to have found it! It's a first edition as well which just puts the cherry on top of the sundae for me! I bought another John Grisham novel that day too....can't remember what that one is called right off the top of my head. I didn't have it either. I'll read it next. And then I'll start in on that stack of books I got from my sister right after Christmas when she culled her book shelves. Must be 2 dozen books in that stack. Not all of them 'reading' books but I'll plow through them nonetheless!

I'm not really participating in the 365 Project this year. I'm still trying to make at least 365 things this year and I don't see any trouble in accomplishing that goal. I simply don't have the 'want to' to post about it everyday to get my projects on the 365 Blog. 

By all means go visit them though!!! The link is in the upper right corner over there>>>>>

You'll get new eye candy every single day! 

I didn't really participate much last year but I did hit the goal of having made the equivalent of something everyday even though I don't have something written on my calendar for every day of last year. I didn't count each ornament I made individually. I counted all those as lots. I hit 365 and beyond though.

But anyway, go check out the 365 Project blog. You won't be disappointed! I promise!

I have shelved the envelope book project for the time beings. The person I was to trade this envelope book to has disappeared and it took the wind right out of my sails on this project! I still plan on finishing the envelope book, just not sure when at this point. 

Until next time:

Be good to one another!

It matters!

Peace

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