Happy Birthday Sis!

Each year my sister and I exchange birthday gifts and among all the packages...we promise to have at least one handmade item.

We both usually start collecting unique finds throughout the year for each other. I had found her a gift from an antique store in Mountain Home last year and she also found me an item from the same area during the same time period. Funny how that worked out.

My sister made me all kinds of goodies which I will post at a later date. She is so very clever!


The gift I made were ATC's that are personal for her. I forgot to scan them before I mounted them into their frame.

The letter "A" was Zentangle inspired on Arches Text Wove. I watercolored the background before making the design. I added red rhinestones for bling.


This ATC shows my sister in a "Back to School" picture that my dad had taken. I cropped out everyone else. I added butterflies and a sentiment of "Fun & Funny".


I had made ATC's using Dada poetry a couple of years ago and this particular one was in my collection. The background is a photo of the farmhouse that was our Great Grandparents and the woman is a great great aunt.

I thought the poem was perfect for the photo!

I used antique buttons to embellish the ATC.



I collaged this ATC and specifically selected the words that best describe how my sister views life!

She loves lace so I added a border with tiny little pearl drops on top.




This ATC is one of my favorites that I made. I used dyed fabric that I made when we were together last year over July 4th. The photo is also when my sister was about three years old. I am sitting next to her on the couch however, I cropped myself out of the photo. I added bits of fabric scraps and lace behind the photo...wrote the sentiment and added three black rhinestones.


I really love how this ATC turned out! I used a vintage card button where there was one button left. The red frame was part of the card and it was the perfect size to fit our mother's school photo!

I then framed this onto black card stock and then the final mount was white card stock.



I saved this bit of quilted fabric from my sister's friend when I was on a retreat last fall in DeSota, Wisconsin. Her friend Eileen delighted me in showing me all kinds of stitches that her new quilting machine did and then she gave me a good chunk of goodness.

I sewed on top of the quilting the antique buttons that my sister loves a lot. A blanket stitch borders the ATC.





A playing card is the background for this ATC. I collaged a napkin on top, added the quote and bling. Gel medium was used to seal the card.








This is another part of Eileen's chunk of goodness that she gave to me. I sewed the "dream & play" tiles and sewed three times around the ATC.






This is a photo of me when I was three. I went with the cowgirl theme!



Tim Holtz showed me how to make tiny wire bird nests at one of his classes last year. I made a whole bunch of these at the retreat last year with my sister so I knew I wanted to make a card where I could use one of these nests as an embellishment.



I've had this transparency forever so it was time for me to do something with it! Using it on this ATC seemed perfect. I sewed the transparency onto the background paper. Inside the keyhole is text that says "secrets".

A matching key is attached with ribbon at the top.

Sister's Gift to Me

My sister is so talented with her quilting. She has a natural gift of color design. And then her skills of quilting are absolutely amazing...her attention to the little details make her work stand above others. If you had a chance to see her work up close and personal you would not be surprised to know of the awards she wins!

I will look very stylish wearing my apron!

My sister knows how much I enjoy drinking tea and made me a cozy filled with tea samples. She included a piece that you place over the spout for dripping.....this probably has a specific name....just don't know what that is! And then buttons from Lansing as that is a memento of our retreat trip together. She also gave me a found object of a St. Patrick of Ireland medal (my husband is Irish)....and a pin cushion!





The table runner is perfect size for about three pieces of furniture that I have. Thank you Sister....you're the best!

A Dose of Cuteness!

Happy Birthday to you! It is hard to believe how fast time flies...my babies are already six years old!
This is Penelope. She was named after a character in my favorite book, Shell Seekers.
This is Monk named after one of my favorite television shows.

We have always had dogs.....Irish Setters. Dossie was our last dog of sixteen years. I didn't think I was ready for another dog....so I held off. Then my daughter's cat had a litter and I adopted two of the kittens.

What the big surprise for me is that I have never been a "cat" person before....I thought I didn't like cats, let alone love them. However, Monk and Penelope are adorable pets and I am crazy in love with them! !

Happy Birthday Annie!

My book is about Annie....and here it is. Lisa's instructions made it possible for me to complete this project at home where I pulled together special embellishments. I also had time to think about what lettering I wanted to use. Two guild members gave me advice on the transfer packages so I was able to add photos. However, I did use three originals in the piece.


I used a button binding using three antique buttons for the front and four antique flat shell buttons for the back. (The buttons on the front were given to me by my sister-in-law, Pat)



This has to be one of my favorite buttons...and I know Annie will love it too!


The strips of fabric were anchored using a zig-zag and straight stitch. The top of the binding was folded over and stitched down to give a smooth look. However, the bottom was left untouched. I love all the fibers and fabric strips just dangling! So messy.....I love that!



This is the last button I sewed on...and going through all the layers of canvas and muslin was not easy. Two broken needles later...the job was done!



This is the inside cover view. The day before I mailed it, I added three gold safety pins that held coffee stained tags. I wrote the Colophon and bits of sentiments to Annie.



I added text to the branches...writing my name, the date, and Annie's name. I also added an amber crystal for the bird's eye. I thought this page made the perfect introduction page.



I was not pleased with the results for this page from the workshop so I made some design changes. I wanted to write the text in the green area that framed the letter "A". So I added layered fabric pieces over my original script and sewed a bead that matched perfectly the colors for this page. I used oil pastels to shade the letter "A", too. Now I am very happy with the final result!



I love this page....maybe it is the Roman lettering on top of the bright colors of yellow and green! I meant to bounce the last two letters in "raised" but it was late at night...and I am thrilled I just didn't misspell the word! So the three buttons were added to take care of this design error. I added a sparkle netting over the family farm photo to give the page more interest. I used a white gel pen to write Annie's birthday.



I made a good beginning for this page in the workshop. I was going to add little notes in the pockets but later decided on photos of us instead. The first pocket holds a photo of her only. The "sisters" image is a rubber stamp image on card stock and then sewn. I lettered text from a Chattel mortgage that my parents had signed. In another project...I am going to do more text from this document.



This page was another one almost completed from the workshop. I added written text surround the "K" for kindness. I wanted additional texture, so I lettered on printed cotton fabric, ripped it and then glued it in place using fabric glue. I made sure to add this printed fabric for my cover piece. I wanted all the fabric I used to be cohesive.



I did use an original photo in this piece. My sweet sister on her wedding day. Originally I was going to letter "wedding" using the Roman hand but then decided on less formal and went with my own style of copperplate for "love". Under the fabric strip with the wedding date is text written describing the church and location.


I also used original photos of her boys for this page. I adhered the photos using French knots. They are grown men now with families of their own. I really liked these photos because Annie dressed them in the same style shirts! In the pocket is a photo that Annie or her husband had taken of the boys during a Christmas holiday. At some point, Mom sent this to me and I am glad I saved it just for this book. It was a Polaroid photo so I am pretty sure there was not another photo.



OMG....I almost threw this page out! I was so frustrated doing my lettering at night. The hand I chose was Uncial and the lettering looked really great. The next morning before heading to work...I stopped in my studio to look over what I thought was a terrific piece of art until I discovered that I had misspelled two words! Double Darn! So from that point forward....I did ALL my lettering first thing in the morning. I added silk fabric first treated with Jacquard No Flow and then re-lettered "strength". I painted gesso over the misspelled wording and rewrote the words also on sheer fabric treated with no flow. Then this was sewn on top of the gesso. The brass button layered on top of fabric pieces was used to anchor the page.



I did a photo transfer to cotton fabric using my scanner and home ink-jet printer. The transfers really turned out great. I also added additional text under the blue fabric on the right. I really enjoyed writing hidden text on the pages. The embellishment is a "J" for Journey from Tim Holtz's collection.



Uncle Chuck and Aunt Dorothy were our favorites! Aren't they a stunning couple! I added a fabric tape measure because that is what I remember most about Aunt Dorothy was her sewing abilities....well....along with her cooking, decorating, and the ability to laugh and have fun skills!



Joy describes Aunt Joan, my mother's only sister. I also wrote hidden text for Annie on this page as well. The "Joy" was written using brush lettering and then touching up using a sharpie.


This vintage photo of the little boy just looks like he wants to be a farmer....so that is what he gets to be. I also added hidden text of what was written on the back of the photo. It may give clues to who he is.



Four Generations is one of my favorite photos....I was nervous about writing on top of the fabric transfer...but that worked out just fine. So I wrote their names and ages. The little girl, Merle, is my maternal grandmother.


This page is a school photo of mom. I added the names of all her daughters on one side and the sons on the other. It was amazing that the last two pages became a tribute to our mom and dad.



Again, this is one of my favorite photos of my dad. I had written that I use it a lot in my artwork and that is definitely the truth. I decided to add the text using Blackletter with a parallel pen. I did not retouch as I really liked the texture the ink left.


I used the funky letter style that Lisa has in her new book "Modern Mark Making". They are a lot of fun to do....and I used sharpie pens.



Watercolor paper was used to make her card. I used the same colors for the card as I used on the pages. I rubber stamped "be yourself" image and then added personal text to the backside.


This is the inside back cover.



This is the back cover showing the four antique shell buttons.

My fabric book arrived safely to Annie's house...and she absolutely loves this book and will treasure it always!

The Sweetest Sister

I have the sweetest sister, Annie. Once again, she gave me terrific birthday gifts. I know she gave a lot of thought and put her heart into what she made for me!

The miniature wall quilt is adorable. I asked her how she could work so small and she told me it gets easier after a few drinks! The colors are perfect for my home.....and she made a hanging pocket so it is ready to go! I LOVE IT!

Then the fabric bowl is awesome! She explained how she made the bowl but it does not seem possible. She wrapped a clothes line and sewed it together using a zig-zag stitch. Of course, she sews on a new Bernina.....that has to be the answer! Where does she get these great ideas?


Don't you love the colors!!





I absolutely am delighted with the handles! Way too cute ! ! !



And if she thought that was not enough.....she made this little wallet that is perfect for times that you need your I.D., credit card and a little cash instead of carrying the big purse. She must have had me in mind for all my flea market and antique shopping that I love to do! This is the front of the wallet.

Inside view....isn't the zipper fabric fabulous!



The back view.


Inside the wallet was a hand-painted pin! (painted by another artist) Wow....all the gifts sure makes it worth turning fifty-seven!

Thank you sweet Annie! You're the best!