Today has been ONE of "those" days...

...that I just can't concentrate on any one thing. It is, after all - the perfect day to get stuff accomplished. I had appointments today - which were both cancelled, I have the house to myself and a million things on the back burner that really need some attention. Focus. Focus. Where is my focus??? What a nice view I have. Focus.....

After a wonderful conversation on the phone this morning - my buddy Mary, (White Clover Stitches) who can do just about anything with needle, thread, beads, yarn, you name it - sent me a pattern for socks after arising at the conclusion that the pattern I got out of my book titled, "Oh so Easy Knits!' - wasn't, um - oh so easy after all. I do hope to report progress on these socks soon.

I do want to make one last comment on the topic of knitting before I show you my experiments from today - FIVE NEEDLES - 5 NEEDLES??? WHO THE HECK DECIDED THAT SOCKS SHOULD BE KNIT WITH 5 FREAKING NEEDLES??? IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE?
I did start painting, stitching and melting some foundations for my Christmas gift tags, cards, etc. I always enjoy doing the legwork for those kinds of projects. Just getting handling the paints, fancy fabrics and fibers, etc. makes me happy. Just what I needed after such a frustrating morning!

These first few are tyvek that I painted with Lumiere and heated up for texture. The purple one came out so cool.

Then I gathered some old stuff, new stuff, colored stuff into groups like my friend Carolyn does - for inspiration

Looking at Carolyn's little collections always inspire me. So I thought, what if I do that myself with my own stuff? I'll let you know how it turns out!!

Laugh as much as you breathe and

love as long as you live.

Blustery Days....

Oh How I Love Them!!!

The Wind, The Rain, The Falling Leaves...

The perfect day to work on my rag quilts....

Play with the embellisher....

making pretty pieces of handmade fabric with silks, organza, lame, metallic fibers, soy silk, yarns and other pretties....

Then stitching all over the surface
and applying heat to create some magic....

which will now be cut into hearts, and stars, Christmas trees to make beautiful Victorian Christmas Gift Tags.

If time permits....

I just might work on my kitting skills. I really want to knit my entire family socks for Christmas this year.

Do corgis wear socks?????

Now put on your raincoat and boots.... and go jump in the puddles. It will make your heart smile!

The Ocean at St. Ives Bay...

I have long admired a blog of a lovely lady (Lesley) in St. Ives (I believe I came across her on Carolyn's blog) - who is not only a gallery owner, but an amazingly talented painter.

Sea Blue Sky Abstracts blog has been a favorite haunt of mine for while. I visit there at least a few times a week to indulge my passion for the sea - and all things beautiful in shades of blues and neutrals which seem to be Lesley's trademark.

Lesley sent me this beautiful painting that she painted that I am so excited and honored to own. I am working on something to send her in return for this wonderful gift.

I have been diligently looking for frames for both this piece, and the earlier piece (on global warming) that you may remember, that my dear friend Carolyn sent me. I'm afraid that to do these two pieces justice, I need no ordinary frame. Therefore, my quest continues. I am seriously considering putting them on my Christmas list - as it looks like frames regal enough to hold both of these pieces will have a regal price tag attached!!


In the meantime, both Global Warming and St. Ives Beay are both securely and lovingly placed under a sheet of glass in my studio so that Sabrina and I can enjoy them until Santa comes!

Now go breathe in some fresh, crisp St. Ives air and visit Lesley's world of paint and brush.

The Leaves.......

are falling.... and falling.....

and falling.....at the Recca House! We get 'em cleaned up, and they fall some more. Everyone loves playing in the leaves - even Tobie!

NOW... go out and jump in a great big pile of leaves today (when nobody's looking - if you care to do it that way!) It will make you (and anyone who sees you!) SMILE I promise!!

Working Through Some "Issues".....

Don't believe in complaining - it only proliferates negative energy and compounds frustration. So I do what I do - to work through "stuff" - I workout, I run, or I sew! Therapy.

Made this turkey out of batik fabrics that I've been hoarding ( sometimes I just can't bring myself to use stuff I really love - isn't that DUMB!) It actually was a pattern, but I didn't like the pattern so I changed it up. The turkey was supposed to be mounted on a "pieced" background which I thought made it way too busy and took away from this cutie. So I cut him off the pieced backing, and satin stitched all the way around his body, which added tons of dimension and personality.

Here is the Autumn Leaf Tote I have been working on. I was soooo tempted to keep this one for myself. The fabric I used on this is without a doubt the coolest batik I've ever found. I wish I would have bought about 10 yards because this would have made a really stunning quilt.

I made the leaves like I do for most of my projects - commercial leaves that I cut up and paint with Lumiere Metallic paint. I appliqued these leaves to a piece of jet black canvas before attaching them to both the front and back of the bag. The inside is lined with tea dyed muslin and I made a pocket edged with canvas and embellished with a bronze word charm,"Dream." (little hidden messages make me happy!)

Both of these are available in my Etsy shops. The tote is in my Clevelandgirlie Etsy shop, and the turkey is at MountainGirlQuilts at Etsy.

Go outside, look up at the sky, and breathe....

A Taste of Appalachia and the Blue Ridge Mountains....

We spent the day on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, and up through to Skyline Drive in Virginia on Thursday - traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians.
A journey we typically do on the Harley, we decided since it was going to be a long journey done in one day that we would do it in the Jeep with the windows out - in order to appreciate the cool temperatures, the rustling of the leaves and the glorious smells.

The day started out a bit gloomy with grey and white clouds sifting down through the mountains...
I really didn't mind though, because the sky suited the day. Crisp, cool, breezy - a perfect Autumn day.

Around lunch time the sun was warm and started melting the clouds away. TheY were evaporating before my very eyes....

At lunchtime, we decided rather than eat in a restaurant - we'd eat out. So we got sandwiches and found a spot with a perfect view...

Some unusual "hitchhikers" on an expired Lady's Slipper flower. I couldn't resist bringing one of those pods home.

As the blue sky unveiled itself, the muted colors of the forest came alive. Red, Orange, Yellow, Gold leaves - everywhere. The forest was on fire!

After a leisurely day of just taking in beauty, we decided to Start heading home around 4, (we left the house at 5:30 a.m.) It began to get cloudy and cold....
Every turn around a bend, every time the sun went behind a cloud - the scenery changed, the colors changed, the mood changed. We spotted a Christmas Tree Farm along the way. I wondered if this is where our tree comes from every year??? What a cool way to make a living. I could seriously do that. Around 7:30 pm it was pitch black. We drove slowly around the twists and turns of the mountains as the night came alive with wildlife. The highlight of our journey was the sight of a black bear cub bouncing across the Blue Ridge Parkway in the dark without a care in the world. We stopped and watched him for a few minutes. I so wanted to get out to take a picture, but my husband reminded me - where there's a baby, there's a momma. It was a sight I will NEVER forget.

I so love the Autumn and the Winter.

I just can't stay indoors. The Reccas come alive with the arrival of the cold, windy, weather. I'm already thinking about our next adventure. Maybe Tennessee, the Smokey Mountains -- when the snow starts falling.

I'll be posting in a day some of the stuff I've been working on. My new header is a sneak peak. The studio's a mess - that means progress!! Now turn off that computer and go outside and PLAY!

Karen LOVES Bees and Lynette loves Surprises...

Okay, so Karen has a "thing" for bees. Fine. If it's a bee she wants- it's a bee she'll get.
Here is my page for Karen's Girlfriend's Art Sketchbook. THIS is the tar gel image transfer I did using Golden's Tar Gel over a copy of a picture Sabrina took of a bee on an echinacea flower, which I then threadpainted. How absolutely cool this came out. I do hope she likes it.

Now Lynette's page - I'm keeping that a surprise, because she is about to get her book back soon. So here's a sneak peak....

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

Jewels of Autumn - Art Pins Featured in Etsy Treasury....

My little purple art pins are featurued in a beautiful "purple" themed Etsy Treasury for the next few days. I do LOVE PURPLE!! Just click on words Etsy Treasury above to check it out.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

I've Been Dreaming of Skulls with Cobalt Blue Swarovski Crystal Eyes....

Unbelieveable.... it's DONE!! It only took me 4 months.

This was the hardest thing I've ever put together. No lie -- even more difficult than that dang satin dress I made her for the talent show last year. This thing was a "beast!"

I'm not gonna lie - I am the worst at following patterns. I don't like the way they are written. They leave too much to the - imagination! However, in all fairness - this pattern was actually pretty darn good. It was written right into the pattern when things got a little sticky. And did they ever get sticky!

One thing I learned in making this bag full of zippers, pockets, pouches, toggles, buttons and velcro - is that if I don't think too hard, and just do "what it says," it really does work out in the end. There is only one little trouble spot I am not pleased with and that is the bulk at the right end of the zipper on the main body of the bag.

I had fun hiding a few secret surprises in it - just for fun, as well as a bag of Skittles in the main zipper pouch.

So glad I finally got this off my worktable. I don't know why sometimes I put things off. Fear of failure, I guess. I kept coming back to this one - and I'm glad I did. I learned a heck of a lot, and Sabrina - well she's just as happy as she could be with her skulls.

Tomorrow - our son is taking over parental responsibilities for the day so Blaise and I can get up early, early (4:30 a.m.) and head up to the Blue Ridge Mountains (Skyline Drive - one of the TEN most beautiful drives in the country!) to enjoy some "Peak Fall Color." It's been such a hectic few months. It's time to STOP and breathe.

I suggest YOU do the same. Take some time just for YOU today. Paint, Sew, Write, Nap, Play with Your Dog - do what makes YOU happy.

LOTS & LOTS of pictures upon my return.

NOTE: As of the writing of this post, our trip was postponed because - you guessed it - Sal got the flu. Mountain trip now re-scheduled for Thursday departure at 4:30 a.m.

Tar Gel Image Transfer Pictures and Directions (so cool!), Neocolor Threadpainting & Rope Coil Bowl and Placemats in the Works and Coming Soon.

It's a cold rainy day here in NC. I've got quite a few really cool little projects in the works. Should be posting pictures of those today or tomorrow. Until then, here's my updated Flickr set.

Make it a good day - go get messy!



Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

I'm So Disgusted.....

with the world today -- and that is sad. I have always been an eternal optimist. I've always lived my life (thanks to my Mom's gentle wisdom) knowing that there is always a bright side, the cup is never half empty, it's always DARKEST before the DAWN. I truly believe that. I have raised my kids to believe that. My mother always told me something else that has stuck with me and I find particularly pertinent today - "you ARE the company you keep." An ideal that has served me well.

Working in the legal field for most of my adult life, spending five years at North Carolina State University and then working for a short stint as a high school teacher - I learned (sometimes the hard way) to keep my political opinions to myself - not an easy task for someone who can be as brutally honest and outspoken as me. But it is becoming increasingly more difficult (almost impossible for me) to hold my tongue any longer as I just can NOT believe what is going with "our" Government.

Let me say right off the bat - I am an conservative leaning INDEPENDENT voter, and as an independent - I am disgusted with what is going on in Washington. I don't know about you - but I feel as though I am living in a fog.

My family's breakfast/dinner table - instead of being a place of warm, reflective conversation - lately has turned into a place where we all (kids included) discuss the politics of being an "American," as we each share our, "Can you believe?" "Did you hear?" "Are they actually going to...?" stories, as every day it seems that we are presented with yet another unbelievable scenario of how life, as we know it - is being mandated to change.


"Change." I used to appreciate the word "change," for while it not always meant change for the better - it typically represented movement - to a better place. And even I will admit that earlier in the year (for a brief, very brief period of time) hearing the word "change" actually gave me hope for that movement - to an even better place (as I was NOT unhappy with the place I was in.) But over the last ten months - the overly touted and now, in my opinion "tainted" word "change," has taken on a whole new meaning. One I don't care for one bit.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. But as a family of proud Americans, here in the Recca house, we have all been discussing what's been going on with our country and even Sabrina is asking, "what can we do about this?"

First and foremost - I tell her to remain informed. And keeping informed does NOT mean engaging or listening only to those that you agree with - but also listening carefully to those you do not agree with. I've also told her that we are now going to start voting in ALL local elections - something which I have never consistently done. Whether it's for school board officials, local city, county government, etc. - it is important we start at the bottom of the pyramid and work up - for is is the BOTTOM of the pyramid - is what "supports" the top.



And finally, we need to get INVOLVED. At this point, I'm not really sure where we are going to get involved - but WE ARE GOING TO GET INVOLVED. I'm in the process of researching appropriate political causes/issues that she and I can get involved in - together. It is important that we teach our children that "change" doesn't just happen - it is created. If you don't like the direction that things are moving - it is YOUR responsibility to do something about it. It's time to take our country back and take control of our destiny.

Now ....... go paint or sew something and think about what YOU can do to create the CHANGE that YOU desire....

Just Can't Talk About it Right Now....

It has been one looooooong month (and a half) Between Gizmo being sick, then Sabrina getting the flu and thank you very much - passing it on to me, I seem to have misplaced over a month of my life.

I don't really feel much like talking today as my head is throbbing, my throat is raw, and I feel like I've just been run over by a truck. I really just need to get a cup of tea and go lay down.

Before I do just that, here are a few pictures of a quilt I finished recently to hold you over until I'm feeling better. It's just a simple 4 patch, but this is my first attempted and a "stripped" binding. I cursed it while I was doing it, but I really like the polish that it adds to an otherwise simple little quilt and I can see using this border again in just black and whites on another quilt that I have in the works that is made with black, white and red skull fabric.

I found this really nice flannel cow print fabric for my baby cow quilt - from a collection called Molly's Backyard which I absolutely love. The hand of the fabric is really, really soft and the scale of the cow print is small - which is hard to find and I like it so much better than the larger scale prints.

Hope you don't get what I've got.

October is here......

Sabrina is trying to decide upon her "look" for a Halloween Party she is attending. Sugar skull or eerie skull?

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

Two Baby Quilts Done....

I LOVE how these two little baby quilts/toddler quilts came out. I think I made about a zillion of these squares so I had enough for two baby quilts and one queen size quilt. I just finished quilting both baby quilts
for my Etsy shop.










I quilted this first one in a wavy pattern and pulled the backing around for self binding. It really came out nice. Once it was washed the fabric just snuggled right up to those little stitches for a beautiful heirloom look.

The second little quilt (they both measure about 36x36) I simpled ditch quilted and then hand tied each white square with turqoise grosgrain ribbon. This one has a navy blue and white polkadot calico binding and is backed with a teddy bear soft fleece. Because of the fleece backing it has a wonderful drape and is oh so fluffy.

Both of these are going to be offered on my Etsy shop in a few days. I've got several others going up that I will be posting about in a few days.

P.S. Any of my blog followers or Facebook followers who are intested in either of these quilts - you can e-mail me privately.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

"People tend to focus on the here and now.....

.......The problem is that, once global warming is something that most people can feel in the course of their daily lives, it will be too late to prevent much larger, potentially catastrophic changes."

Quote on Global Warming by

-- Elizabeth Kolbert

Look at this spectacular piece I received from my dearest friend Carolyn (Love Stitching Red). (Be sure to click on all pictures to see beautiful details.)

We decided at the beginning of the summer to do a little art exchange. This gorgeous piece is from her Global Warming series which I absolutely fell in love with the first time I saw her working on a piece for it - quite a long time ago.

I so wish you could see this in person - some of you just might the next time you come over - because words cannot describe its ethereal spirit. It is so bold a full of color and texture, yet so delicate and sheer - it makes for an absolutely delicious feast for the eyes that can only be fully appreciated in person.

Carolyn sent me a description of this piece and I am going to share it with you because I know you are going to want to know more about it.....

"My piece for you is part of my “Global Warming” series of work. It iis a subject close to my heart and a theme I like to come back to every now again, to raise awareness in an approachable way.

The background piece is very delicate hand made felt, made with Cornish fleece with fine wool tops and metallic fibres. The holes are intentional. They represent the holes in our ozone layer which is the main cause of global warming

The central stitched piece was made on a calico backing with layers and layers of fabrics such as silk, felt, cotton, metallic fabrics and heat distressed chiffons. I distressed the chiffons before stitching them to the base. I like the idea that the distressed fabrics symbolize the distressed state of our planet

I added some hand stitches - French knots, fly stitches and beads in groups here and there - really just where I felt like working in little groups .

The colours are my representation of global warming.

The red denotes solar energy, the sun, heat, the hot element of global warming that is melting the ice caps and causing distress to our planet
The white represents ice, the polar ice caps, melting ice, slush turning to water.

The blue represents water, the consequence of melting ice , rising sea levels and the possible threat to all aspects of our planet....."

It is so special to me and I will treasure it. Like Carolyn, Global Warming is a subject close to my heart, as well - and her depiction of it in her work is really so touching and inspiring to me. She articulates so well what I aspire to do. I have spent hours examining this piece and it's symbolism - every stitch, every fiber, every placement - and will assuredly spend more.

In addition to this magnificent piece of art, Carolyn also gifted me with some absolutely beautiful fibers in "our" favorite shades of blue. My heart stopped when I saw them. She also tucked inside some sparkly beads she made from what looks to be Angelina Fibers - something I've never thought of when making beads. They are so pretty.

Thank you so much dear friend for such a wonderful gift of yourself. I am now taking upon myself -- the task to find the perfect mounting for it. I do believe, as we discussed - white is the only option for this. So - I have put this on my list of priorities and will share a picture with you once I have found the perfect companion.

In the meantime, it sits so gingerly atop the drawing table in my studio so I can admire it - and so it will be safe - until it is securely placed within a frame. If you don't know already, Carolyn has two of the most amazing blogs LOVE STITCHING RED & CAROLYN SAXBY MIXED MEDIA AND ART that I visit each and every day for fear of missing something. Her art is beautiful and inspiring - but more so is her spirit - which clearly shines through in every piece she creates, every photograph she takes and every word she writes.

Make this a special day and steal away an hour, a half hour, a few minutes - whatever you can - just for you. Do something to make YOU happy.

Wake Me Up, When September Ends.....

Not a great month for us. We recently found out that our precious Gizmo is not well. At 3 years old - he has idiocratic epilepsy. Needless to say, we are devastated. After suffering a month with seizures (sometimes three a day) he has been put on medication that we are praying will eradicate them. Time will tell.

We love you so much Gizmo. Please, please get well. I can't imagine my life without you in it.

Dang! Where Does the Time Go?

Okay - where did the summer go? Where did August go? Where did last week go? Where did today go? I always thought that as my kids got older, things would "slow" down a bit around here - at least for me. I couldn't imagine when Sabrina was a baby and Sal was 6 that life could be any more hectic than having two kids, working a 40 -50 hour a week job at a law firm 25 miles away, going to school part time and being President of the PTA. Life was busy those days, but not "complicated." Now my life is busy AND complicated. HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN????

It was over a week ago that I started pinning that little baby quilt.

I finally got it under the needle yesterday and finished the quilting. I did a wavy pattern in all of the white blocks (big and small) and stitched in the ditch the nine patches and throughout the entire quilt.

I am so in love with the colors in this quilt and am glad I made enough blocks to do a queen size quilt. The binding's all pinned on and I plan on hand stitching it tonight while I'm watching the news. I had a little trouble with my tension last night :( I switched to Bottom Line bobbin thread by Superior and forgot to play around with the tension settings. Nasty little thread bundles on the back had to be ripped out. All is right with the world now - as I found the perfect setting and the little stitches are as neat and tidy as can be!

On another front - I bought two pair of awesome jeans a long time ago (well over a year ago) that I never got around to hemming because I bought them too tight and they um, remained too tight. I dug them out last week, tried them on, zipped them up and they are seriously tooo big! THANKS P90X.

So I got out my scissors and pins and with a little help from Gizmo (and Sabrina) I got them all pinned for hemming and taking in. Sabrina clearly has her eye on the skull pocket jeans. I buy petite jeans and STILL have to cut this much off the bottom. If I were only 2, no make that 4, no, no - make that 6 inches taller - I'd be normal size.
Oh well - my mom always told me, "Good things come in little packages." Oh and then there's the one my Grandma Wanda used to tell me (which is one I use on Sabrina), "Nice boys like short girls."

With Gizmo by my side I will finish up this little quilt, stitch the hem in these three pairs of pants, clean up the studio and get ready to finish Sabrina's TOTE from "you know where." Never in my life have I ever seen a tote bag with so many zippers, velcro, toggles, magnetic closures, little secret pockets - eeeeeeeeek. I've been sewing and ripping out, sewing and ripping out, sewing and ripping out the seams on this thing for what seems like forever. But when I'm done - it will be perfect (or as perfect as I am capable of at this point in my sewing career.)

It is now time for dinner. I've been cooking an amazing pot of sauce ALL DAY and intend on submerging some delicious little meat raviolis in it for dinner with a salad. I haven't eaten any solid food all day - just two protein shakes and I am famished. Enjoy the day.

P.S. I LOVE YOU GIZMO! You melt my heart.

Yay!!! Back to Doing What I Love......

Remember this one? I started this a long, long
time ago after I bought all of those delicious homespun fabrics in shades of blues and greens. I finally got this layered and pinned and when I turned it over to check out the back there was one giant pucker towards the center. You know what that means - had to take out all the pins and start over. It's now smooth as can be and ready to go.

I've been having a problem with "looping" on the back of some of my stuff and someone suggested I try "Bottom Line" thread by Superior. I did some sample stitching on a yellow layered scrap just to see how it performed and so far so good - no looping - which will be a dream come true if it continues like it did during my practice. I'd like to quilt some continuous line fishies in the white blocks and probably "ditch" quilt the nine patches for the 36" square quilt. I think I'm going to look for a "wave" pattern for the large quilt. (I made enough blocks for a queen size and a crib size quilt.)

Now we're off to the North Raleigh Christian Academy Varsity Football Game to watch the game, but more importantly, to watch our little flag twirler do her thing!

Laugh as much as you breathe...

and love as long as you live.

Desert Moonrise...

Got the new Quilting Arts this month (love that publication) entitled, "Creating with Silk - Painted & Beaded Trees by Betty Busby. I loved one of the silk paintings she did and decided to try something similar.

Because I don't have any sheer white silk, I did my painting on sheer white muslin and painted with watered down acrylic paint. My focus on this piece was to try a new stitching technique.

Instead of threadpainting and following the contours of the elements in the picture which is what I typically do in my Neocolor pieces, most of my stitching was done with a horizontal orientation - to create strata in the earth and the mountains and layers in the sky. I used a very light stabilizer to back this to avoid puckering while stitching. I will now apply a piece of batik fabric to the back to finish it off. This is going to be a page in a book so both sides need to be finished. I really enjoyed working on this. It's for my friend Kate in Ohio. I do hope she likes it.

With the duration of girl's weekend coming to a close, after church, Sabrina and I are both spending the remainder of the weekend in the studio. She, organizing and packing up her art supplies for her classes next week, and I plan on doing some more painting from some of my "own" photographs this time. I want to try this again. I learned so much from my first go at it.

I do believe I felt a taste of Autumn in the air this morning when I let the corgis out at 6:00 a.m. Not as humid and a bit of breeze. North Carolina weather says it's only going up to about 69 tomorrow.

Come on Fall - I am soooo ready!!

Girlfriends Sketchbooks....

Two down - two more to go.

Tried some new techniques on these two sketchbooks - bobbin painting and mixed media wet stamping, then stitching. Working on these was quite enjoyable.

This is just a sneak peek. I just mailed these off today so I don't want to spoil the surprise.

I hope Suki and Karen like them. So heads up Lynette - these two are coming your way. Oh, and I have Kate's on the machine and Soulbrush's is drying - so they will be off to you by Monday.

Whew - glad those are done. Four at a time is a little stressful.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

My Leaves Art Quilt Made it into an Etsy Treasury...

Remember this? It's been selected for the Etsy Treasury, "Inspired by Nature." Take a look - it's a beautiful treasury http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=65118
But hurry, it EXPIRES Friday (8/21).


Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

.

Autumn Leaves on a Neutral Bark Background....

Just finished this little piece for a good friend in St. Ives! Actually, it may NOT be finished as Michelle recommended I add a few beads here and there which I just may do before I drop it in the post.

The background is a piece of artist canvas which makes a nice substrate to stitch on. I layered the canvas with wool yarn, metallic yarn, gold and silver lame', tulle, torn pieces of silk and linen. After I arranged the fibers I put one large piece of neutral (ivory) and several torn pieces of torn bronze/brown organza over the entire piece and free motion stitched up and down (in a bark-like pattern) to hold all the fibers in place beneath the organza.

Then.... you guessed it. I melted away the organza with the heat gun - being care to leave parts of the organza as well as to strategically reveal the fibers underneath.

The leaves I made using an artificial leaf as a base to which I added dryer sheets which I painted with metallic Lumiere paints and free motion embroidered to the top and trimmed around the edges.

When it was time to stitch the leaves down, I played around with the arrangement (two maple, one oak), finding I needed one or two small leaves to balance the piece out. I painted two more leaves and pinned them down. I applied a closed, tiny zig zag stitch around the edges of each leaf, leaving some of the leaves hanging over the side to create an organic edge.

I sewed two loops to the top and found a nice twig which I cut, sanded and stained for the piece to hang on.

This was such a fun piece to work on (even though I was tearing my hair out at times). I love creating backgrounds and everybody knows leaves are my "muse."

Things I learned while working on this piece:

Always save all of the failures (I made four backgrounds before I ended up with this one and the backgrounds that failed are great to use for other things - they are in my "box.")

Always make two of everything (this is something I do now as it saves me a lot of time when making things for my Etsy shop and for gifts.)

DON'T let Lumiere stay on your skin (or in your hair!) for more than 8 hours....

And, enjoy the process. Don't stress. If things don't work out just throw it in the box (NOT the trash) and start again!~

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.

A 12 Hour Harley Ride Saturday....

Couldn't have been a better day. Sabrina left at 6:00 am to go to Carrowinds with about 100 kids for the day, so Blaise and I took advantage of the "alone time" and jumped on the Harley for for a day of cruising, swimming and relaxing over on the Atlantic coast.

Is this a welcoming sight or what??!

We left home about 8:30 a.m. and returned home about 9:00 p.m. It was a perfect day - the sky was Carolina blue, the beach was red hot, and the water was the perfect shade of "cool."

Remember the motorcycle blanket I made a while back (the one we carry in the saddle bag of the bike for unexpected stops)? It makes the perfect beach blanket. Perfect thickness - just big enough for two!

Nobody ever takes pictures of me (that I would show you!!).

So here's a few pictures I took of myself!

LOOK.... I'm waving to YOU!

Make sure you do things today to make YOU happy today. Play with your dog, hug your kids, read a classic piece of literature, (may I suggest "Wuthering Heights???") kisss your honey. Make yourself smile.

Laugh as much as you breathe...

and LOVE as long as you live.

I'm Ready to Stay PUT for a While....

I'm back from visiting my dad. It was so nice spending time with him - just the two of us. We divided our time between Key Largo and Boca Raton and basically, all I did was float in the pool, read and watch the boats whizz by.

These first three pictures are from my dad's home in Boca Raton - which is where we moved from when we moved to North Carolina. Boca is in Palm Beach County and is still considered South Florida. The house sits directly on the Intracoastal waterway and has an incredible view from all angles. Here you see his boat "Yo Eleven" parked right outside the living room door. Care to go for a cruise???
My Boca Raton itinerary - visit with my dad, float endlessly in the pool, read Wuthering Heights, drink iced tea and watch the boats go by.
This is the view from my bedroom. See my Kindle on the chair??The other house in Key Largo is on the Largo Sound (in the Atlantic Ocean) The Atlantic ocean is just outside of that little land bridge you see in the background. Not much boat traffic, but the sky was very busy.
My Key Largo itinerary: visit with my dad, float in the pool, eat Key Lime pie, read and watch the seagull, pelicans and egrets whiz by.




I don't think I've ever had more than a few hours to myself in my entire life. It was kind of weird at first - I had to acclimate myself to not having to answer to work, chores, corgis, children or a husband. That took all of about 5 minutes!!


THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME..... Upon my arrival home, I was greeted by a spotless house, two freshly bathed corgis, NO laundry, some flowers and a plate of cupcakes in my office with a teeny tiny note next to the flowers from my man ( HE made the cupcakes) I had to pinch myself. My husband and girl are AMAZING!

Oh - I can't forget to mention -- I was also greeted by FOUR - yes FOUR Girlfriend's Sketchbooks to work on. Babs sent out four at once so I will certainly be kept busy with that for a week or two. So Lynette - get ready 'cause they're coming your way soon.

The plan for this week: get back into my exercise program, fire up the Janome, and get ready for the POISON CONCERT ON FRIDAY!! I'll be making the blog rounds this week. Can't wait to see what you've been up to.


P.S. I did NOT forget the contest I promised. It's coming, I just need to get organized.

Laugh as much as you breathe....

and love as long as you live.

Crazy, Crazy, Day....

I don't know where the day went today.
I looked at the clock one minute it was 7:00 a.m., I looked at it what seemed only like a few hours later and it was 2:30.

I've been trying to get some work done on a custom order and make some Art Square
Brooches for my Etsy shops. I have two shops Clevelandgirlie and Embellishment.
The brooches/pins came out great. I made them in sumptuous autumn colors with some really cool copper and pewter embellishments. They're right around 2 inches (give or take), the backs are hand painted and finished with a nice pin so they can be worn or displayed. They're lots of work to make as they are made with lots of layers that are painted, distressed, heated, etc., and then more layers applied. But they are worth the work.



Anywhoo - now I'm cleaning up and packing as tomorrow morning at 7:00 I'm off to Key Largo to see my dad. I'll be back on Thursday so look for me then.

Have a great week and I'll see you soon.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.