Ready for Fall....

Fall has finally come to Fresno....time for pumpkins and acorns. I have been seeing these on felting blogs where they used a felt ball for the acorn.....so cute, I just love them.

I didn't have any felt balls ( I wanted to give up) so I decided to create something different. I wadded up a small piece of tissue paper then wrapped it with pearl cotton or embroidery floss - they both come in so many colors - some even variegated - the choices are endless. I don't have any oak trees around but I did find these eucalyptus caps...I liked the color and they work just as well - something a little different ....... My friend Alexa at The Swell Life took these pictures for me - I just love the natural light. Thanks so much. I think these would be so cute just lying in a bowl or plate - the natural wood really enhances the colors.

I decided to create little pumpkins with some. After wrapping with orange, I took wrapped a single strand of brown to create sections. Everything was glued in place with Fast Grab Tacky Glue - it dries clear and fast. Before I glued the cap on, I drilled two small holes, inserted thin cording creating a hanger for the necklace. Small felt leaves were glued on for color. I just think these are so cute and could be worn all fall.

Here is a different necklace, plain pumpkins but with a larger felt oak leaf added to the necklace lacing. I like how it turned out. Hope you like these and will try them - please let me know if you do - I would love to see them.

12 Layer Birthday Cake!!!!

I went to my niece's wedding in Maryland that past week and stayed with my sister. We had three birthdays this month so she made us this birthday cake - 12 layers of yellow cake with homemade chocolate frosting between. It was the BEST! My Brother-In-Law Jay loves yellow cake with thick chocolate frosting - he loved this - as did we all. There was only a small slice left after we all got a slice so Jay decided to freeze it till after the wedding....Thanks Carolee for making this great cake.....Yummy!!!!!!

Warm and Cozy Pumpkin Pillow

Here's my warm and cozy pumpkin pillow. I made it for my sister - her birthday is this month and she likes to decorate for the season. I found this sweater at our local thrift shop - I was lucky to find orange - it a hard color to come by.....I basically cut out a pumpkin shape , sewed it together then stuffed it. The leaves are made from a sweater and blazer that I also found at the thrift shop. Hope she likes it.......
Here's a close-up of the top of the pillow. The sewn leaves are glued in place with Fabric Fusion. I lightly stuffed the stem before sewing into place. The stitching on the pumpkin is embroidery floss just slightly darker than the sweater.

Here is a close-up of the bottom of the pillow. I sewed on an oval base to the ribbing of the pillow then glued the sewn leaf in place. Let me know what you think.

M-I-C-K-E-Y Coasters

Aren't these great? My sister and I went to Disneyland last weekend - had a great time on all the rides - but the best part is going through all the stores.....I found a box of dominoes and just had to have them - I don't even play dominoes so had to come with another reason to get them....I decided to make coasters. I just happen to have the perfect glass to accompany them....don't you think?

Here they are out of the box - so cute! Now I have to figure out what to do with the box.....any ideas? Here's how I made them.....

Place pieces on a non-stick sheet or shiny side of freezer paper for easy release, just in case some glue may seep through. Assemble pieces as desired - I used eight for each coaster - with amount of dominoes in the case I could make three large ones with 8 pieces or four smaller with 6 each. I opted for the larger size - with three left over for future use.

Place sections together. Lift up one domino then apply a very thin bead of Liquid Fusion Glue only along edges where it touches another. Press together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Any glue that shows can be carefully wiped off with a damp paper towel. Let dry overnight.

Now that the coasters have dried overnight, cut a piece of black felt slightly smaller then use Liquid Fusion to glue in place. Let dry then they are ready for action.

Hope you like them as much as I.....

My Ad in Crafts and Things Magazine

How exciting is this - I have had many projects in Crafts and Things magazine over the years(Thank you Abby!) but how cool is it to have an ad. iLovetoCreate - Duncan Enterprises new name - decided to put all of their designers in ads - how great is that. I love the pillow - the colors are so me......just thought I would brag a little.....it's not often I pose for an ad.....this may be my first and last time......

Here is my new toy - a video camera! Now all I have to do is figure out how to use it......I would like to add videos to my blog. I picked it and the tripod up at Target last week. Haven't tried it yet - hopefully this weekend....anybody know a kid that can help me? - they have a mastery of these things without even reading the instructions.....hopefully the instructions have good pictures.....just what does "mode" mean? One of my goals this year is to learn more about my camera and create videos - so I guess I'm on my way......Wish me luck!!!!!