Artfull Living

I"m almost done....

2009-11-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

What a week...finished the coasters, placemats and now on to the napkins today....looking to see how to decorate the napkin rings....so much to do and lovin each minute....I always work better under pressure!

I'll have some pics to show you on Monday!

So until then......

Almost that time.....

2009-11-12T11:19:00.000-08:00

Two weeks from today is Turkey day....it's approaching fast hope everyone's preparations are going well!

It's back....

2009-11-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

I got my laptop back today....lots of pics to download and share....see you all tomorrow!

Fun night

2009-11-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

I made my first quilt top last night...well not just one but two. I didn't' bring my camera with me but next week I will...it was a simple square block and fleece backing....but I learned how to sew the rows together properly.....big accomplishment for me...lol!
I also started my placemats and coasters for the "Woman's Holiday" desert night at church on the 20th of this month...I'm hosting a table so I have to bring everything.
Pics to follow....but for today I'm off to spend it with hubby and the grand kids!
I have a very busy weekend too..."Prayer Walk" in the morning, lunch with my friend Dalana, then prepare for my Sunday School class.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Busy Blessed Week and Weekend.....

2009-11-02T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have had one of the most blessed weeks.....first a friend of mine who's grandson we have been praying for that he would turn his life over to God and get off drugs has and I got to met him and his fiance' on Wednesday.....had a great time talking, sharing and encouraging them in the Lord!
I also, got a call from hubby saying that he had Thursday off as a vacation day....wow 3 days off again together. As I was getting ready to go with hubby on Thursday to do some errands, I was digging in my drawer for some socks and put my hand on my anniversary ring I lost at the laundry place two months ago...God is so good.....how do you know it wasn't there to begin with.....let me tell you I pulled everything out and put it back piece by piece and it wasn't there.....I was in shock and started to shake...I turned around to show hubby and we both got so excited and praised the Lord for the miracle!
It gets getter.....I got a call soon after that from a friend telling me that anther lady here in the complex who was diagnosed with a second bout with cancer went to her doctor on Wednesday to find out when her treatments were to begin again and the doctor took more x-rays...only to find out that the spots were gone and she is cancer free.............another miracle and answered prayer....my God is an awesome God, who reigns from Heaven above!
Friday, went to bible study and Saturday we had the Harvest Festival...over 1,300 kids were there and it was a warm fall night.....great turn out.
Ok I'll finish now...but I could go on and on....HUGS!!

Happy Harvest/Halloween Everyone......

2009-10-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight is our Harvest Celebration at church and this is the candy that we have to give away.....60 grocery bags full...all donated by the church! We've been doing this for 25 years and it's great for the community.

Hope your day is filled with Treats!!!!

New project started....

2009-10-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give Crazy Quilting a try!
It's going to be a CQ book.
The white cloth on the left is actually a fabric page, it's double sided with batting in the middle and it measures aprox. 5x5, so I thought it would be a great start...not too big and not too small and it can double as a journal....on the back side of the CQ page I can write a little something!

It's been over 25 years since I attempted to do any CQ.....so if you have any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment!

I'll post a picture when finished.

Yummy treats....

2009-10-26T14:52:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd surprise my DH with a batch of bite size Hershey's Ultimate Chocolate Brownies.....they have mini Kisses and Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks in them.......

that should keep him happy while I'm at discipleship class tonight!

Halloween Decorations....

2009-10-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying other blogs that share their home holiday decorating and thought I'd share my simple home decorations with you.....mind you they are minimal...we don't go all out like we use to when the grandkids use to come over...but none the less it's nice and cozy....we live in a 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2 car garage with a very private patio...which I enjoy every day!

This is the right side of the living room as you walk in the front door.....behind the couch is the fireplace.
The Jack pumpkins, my hubby did last year and if you look on the shelf, you can see a pumpkin luminary on the left and a ghost and pumpkin candy dish I painted on the right.

This next picture is of the downstairs bathroom door and entry way....I repainted the canvas painting...it had "Happy Haunting" on it and I wanted to be able to leave it up through Thanksgiving so I painted over the letters.....the moon I did years ago, I use to Tole paint and this is one of them....all done in a technique known as "Pen & Ink"....everything is put in with a black fine pen and then you color in with acrylic paint.

Here's a closer look.....

This is the front door....another painting a did years ago.....

Shelf on the right as you walk into the living room...if you look closely you can see another painting I did behind the pumpkin man....it's a little shack done with the "Pen & Ink" technique only this is when I switched to oil paint instead of acrylic paints....easier to work with! I also painted the scarecrow and the ghost....all done in acrylic paint.

This is the downstairs bathroom....ahahaha...I just noticed the Christmas table cloth....oh well pretty soon I won't have to worry about it....it's almost that time of year again...lol!
I did paint the pumpkins on the tin the flowers are in.

This is the dining area looking straight from the living room and just to the left is the kitchen.
The flower arrangement on the table I made years ago and the large wooden pumpkin on the table in the back I painted as well....it was suppose to be different...each panel was to have a halloween scene on them but it was tooo much work so I decided to just paint it orange.

Hope you enjoyed my little modest decorations!

Hello.......

2009-10-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and my honey has two days off so I'm going to leave you with a poem by Helen Steiner Rice

Someone Cares
Someone cares and always will,
The world forgets but God loves you still,
You cannot go beyond His love
No matter what you're guilty of-
For God forgives until the end,
He is your faithful, loyal friend,
And though you try to hind your face
There is no shelter any place
That can escape His watchful eye,
For on the earth and in the sky
He's ever present and always there
To take you in His tender care
And bind the wounds and mend the breaks
When all the world around forsakes.....
Someone cares and loves you still
And God is the someone who always will.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Busy day.....

2009-10-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this last night but Blogger wouldn't let it post so here it is a day late.....
This morning took hubby to the dentist to have a crown and an abscessed, cracked tooth removed...he's been on antibiotics for the past 1o days...poor baby...they had to dig out the roots.....what a trooper he went to work and is doing well.....should be home soon!

On Tuesday, I received this lovely birds nest necklace in the mail from a sweet friend Maggie....

Dolls shipped....

2009-10-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

This batch of comfort dolls are finished, prayed over and on their way to Pat Winter as we speak.

As you can see I made the faces work....all I did was pull out my nifty drafting stencil and make the circles smaller and they fit.....easy peasy!

Quiet Sunday....

2009-10-18T16:31:00.001-07:00

I'm loving the quiet today.....Sunday School was good.....the story was on John the Baptist baptizing Jesus....then they say a movie on it so they got the visual effect with the story!

Bryan's working and I'm catching up on blogs and facebook posts.
Getting ready to put jammies on, make a pot of hot tea, put on a movie and curl up with Shayla on the couch and wait for papa to come home!

First I want to show you what I made the other day....
I made little mummy pumpkins....not my idea...I saw a big one done like it at Michaels the other week and picked up a couple of small ones to try on my own....

I made two and gave one to my neighbor.....she loved it!

Fab Frday.....

2009-10-17T12:05:00.001-07:00

Friday was a wonderful day.....first I had lunch with a couple of friends.....catch up on each others lives before Ida leaves for 3 months to Australia!
It's great to sit and talk, laugh and share!

When I got home my friend, Dalana called and said she got off work early and was on her way over for a quick visit...we've both been so busy lately we haven't had a chance to sit and chat either....so while I was waiting I got to talk to my granddaughter Evelyn, my grandson Caleb and got to hear Clover crying in the phone.....she was not have a good moment...lol!
My grandson and I talked Bible for about 45 minutes........his mind is so curious and wants to know so much....what a blessed time...one I cherish!

Have a great weekend!

Offline for a couple of days...

2009-10-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hubby's taking my laptop into work tomorrow to practice how to run a pc check on it....I've been saving files to my external hard drive for a couple of hours...now ready to save my favorites list...I can't loose that...lol!
Be Back soon!

Beautiful gift....

2009-10-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

My friend Charris gifted me with this beautiful glass beaded bracelet this weekend...I love it!

Almost ready to go....

2009-10-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

It rained all night and it's still drizzling...woo hoo...no sun and damp...not good for the joints but I
got the fabric stamped, cut out and sewn on the comfort dolls...now all I need to do is sew on the metal hearts and they are ready to go.....progress.....gotta love it! I'll finish tonight and post a pic before I send them on to Pat...but first I must get ready to go to the dentist....yuck!

May your day be filled with many blessings from our heavenly Father!

Old project....New project

2009-10-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

I was going through the art room last week and came across this project I did a couple of years ago.....I've never used it....I think I set it aside to give away as a gift and never did......so out it came and soon to be used.

If your wondering what it is....it's a birthday book and it fits in the tin with cards....clever idea!

This is what the inside looks like....it has the old library cards for each month that you date stamp with the persons name. Each cards has a folded ribbon stapled to it for easy pull out!

Here are the dividers that go inside so you can put the number of cards needed for each birthday that month.

Here are some cards that I've made that I put inside....looks like I will need to make more stamps if I'm going to use my little birthday tin!

Now, that is the old project and here's my idea for a new one....I found an extra tin tucked away on a shelf and using the divider idea what about a recipe box?
Any suggestions????

Busy day.....

2009-10-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

I was going through my stash of fabric and found these chicken prints....what do you know...the colors match my kitchen....also my dil's mom loves chickens too....hmmmmm...maybe she would like a wall hanging for her kitchen too!

These prints are for coasters she asked me to make for her....she just moved into a new house last week and won't they be a nice house warming gift.

This fabric came from M & L Fabrics warehouse in Cerittos....can you guess what they are for....no...it's going to be a pillowcase for Bryan....he love Santas and last year for Christmas I made him one using the same Santa face fabric only it has a red background and this is black!

This fabric is for my fall placemats....both came from JoAnn's. This picture doesn't do them justice....they have beautiful lush autumn colors with a bit of gold throughout....the bottom piece already has the panels on there so not much guess work on my part....guess the side pieces will become coasters....oh I like that idea.
If your asking why so many coasters....that's because I have a glass table top and they are a must...besides they are a nice accent with the placemats!

Yesterday was 50% off at JoAnn's and I bought this charm pack to make what else...coasters.
Sorry the pic is so dark...the colors are pink and brown...with 10 different designs..3 each design...so that's 15 coasters.
I have a box of coasters that I've made for gifts. I tie 4 with a ribbon and when I visit friends , I'll grab one or two sets put in a nice little bag with note card and off I go!

Looks like I will be a busy sewer this week and this is only some of the projects that need to be completed.

Wonderful mail while on vacation.....

2009-10-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

I received two packages last week while I was on vacation and they were both filled with wonderful surprises.
The first one was from my dear friend Janet, in England. This was her first beaded doll and from what she said her last....it's not her thing.....I don't know why...it's so beautifully done and it certainly doesn't look like a first timer did this work!

I'm so amazed every time I pick her up and look at her....Janet...I'm honored to have her....she now hangs from a shelf right above my computer desk so I can admire her every day!!

This is the piece of fabric the doll was wrapped in....oh, I have ideas for this.....castles in the clouds.....fun fabric!

I've already put this lovely to use...it goes with me every where....fits a small not pad and pen as well as a few other goodies....a perfect little quilted bag for tucking in those little projects while at the doctors office or for a ride in the car.....love it!!
Check out Janet's blog for more of these cute bags!

Now for the tear jerker gift......this is Janet's specialty.....her fabric post cards....this is an album of them with pictures from my blog.....these are just a few of them! Each one is in a clear plastic photo holder and on the back of each fabric postcard she has written something about each one.
I can't even express how in awe I am at this beautiful memorable work of art!!

My mom and dad's wedding picture

My Mom when she was in her 2o's

Clover blowing kisses

Evelyn and Clover

Caleb's water Baptism

the last page in the album.....beautiful!!

The following gifts are from Carol....she is a new online friend....I sent her some comfort dolls and patterns and as a thank you she sent me these gifts.

This is a healing doll that Carol makes....the bottom is home grown lavender that she grows herself.....she smells wonderful! I haven't named her but she too hangs from the shelf above my computer table! Carol also tucked in a large sprig of lavender to boot....I may have to stuff a small doll with it and hang it in my car....I love the smell of lavender!!

This lovely work of art is a magnet that is hand painted by a friend of Carols.....it's painted on a piece of shale....this picture doesn't do it justice! It's now on my refrigerator for everyone to see and admire!

I'm am truly blessed by these generous ladies.....thank you for

your beautiful gifts!

Somewhere over the rainbow.....

2009-10-03T09:15:00.001-07:00

The other day out of the blue we had a bit of a fall sprinkle.....hubby came rushing through the door and said "Honey you have to come and see this....it's a double rainbow!

You can barely make it out but just above this one is the remains of another one...by the time I went back in to get my camera it was pretty much gone.....it was a lovely sight!

My condo is the one on the left the picture below

These next two pictures are breathtaking....they are the final glimmers of the sun setting for the day.......what magnificent blend of colors!!

What a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Last bloom of the year......

2009-10-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful way to start the week off......this lovely bird of paradise plant sits just outside my garage door....lovely!

Back from vacation.....

2009-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Oh I'm a bad girl...I forgot to post that I was going on vacation for a week+.....but I'm back and have lots to share!
I've missed being on the computer and visiting my blog friends....lots to catch up on!
There just isn't enough hours in a day to get all the things done that need to be done...oh well there's always tomorrow or not.

Oxymorons....

2009-09-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you all know what an oxymoron is......those terms that are

self-contradicting like......

Jumbo shrimp
Freezer burn
Genuine imitation
Deafening silence

Well here's one that I read today that really gripped or should I say, more like stabbed my heart.....

Unforgiving Christian

God's word says if you don't forgive others then your heavenly Father will not forgive you!

I'll be honest, it's a struggle for me......sometimes I don't want to forgive the other person....but I know I have to or I won't be forgiven for the hurts I've caused others. I don't intentionally set out to hurt someone but sometimes the way I say things or react to others have hurt them and/or myself.

It's only by His strength and His power that I am able to do this!

So the word for this week is "FORGIVE"!

Just a friendly reminder......

2009-09-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Three months from Friday........
ahaahaa...oh, I mean hohohohohohoho