Are you checking back already?

You over-estimate my productivity during the summer!  Actually, I have been a little productive this morning:

FRESH PAINT

The blue is actually a little more dusty/gray than it appears in the pic.  The hubs helped me pick it out last night @ Lowe's.  It is called "Stormy Ridge."  I'll post another shot after I distress it a little...

But my real purpose for this post was to show a serendipitous find from The Graphics Fairy whilst browsing her blog. L.O.V.E. these! You will see them again!

My Family Room wall

has been white for 10 years now.  All my interior designer friends keep insisting I paint it.  Not that I don't love color, but the family room's connected to the kitchen's connected to the breakfast nook's connected to the dining room's connected to the living room...  That would be a so-much-paint-too-much-time-not-enough-$-quite-a-bit-of-blue project!  Because I eventually wish my breakfast nook window to be replaced with French doors out to my secret garden; painting the rooms will wait.

But! Don't despair -- I have a work in progress that will liven up the dreary space above the leather sectional. 

Phase 1 complete.

Phase 2 finished, but not displayed.

You'll have to check back to see  more...

I lied!

I did do some fabric crafting for the wedding, but they were kind of "afterthoughts."

My friend's youngest son got married, so I monogrammed a hankie for her.

I embroidered a bookmark/ornament with the date.

So -- here are the non-thread-involved (& much more time-consuming) aspects to my gifts: 

I bought a cake box from Party City & splatter painted it with black, cobalt (her wedding color) & silver.  Tulle ribbon & a satin rose complete the exterior. (I did handcraft the card -- but neglected to get pics, due to time...)  I used tissue paper in black, blue & silver to protect the gifts.

The first project I completed was a framed poem.  I used a picture from the couple's engagement day for the background of the poem by Philip Sidney.  The frame was a plain old every day blond wood thing. After several coats of paint, culminating in a silver top-coat; the frame was ready for application of silver leaf.  I love that stuff! I wanted a modern sophisticated -- yet antique look...

Last (& most labor-intensive) were the monogrammed blocks.  Would make a few changes to the process next time I attempt, but I'm pleased with how they turned out.  Now I'm going to make a set for moi!

hmmmmmmmmmm -- it's been awhile

since I've posted, huh? Been busy!

First I did
for "Teacher Appreciation" gifts.


Then I did

for my friend undergoing cancer treatment.


I also made a suitcase pillow for a friend's 55th birthday.

He likes lighthouses & they'd done some Hawaiian cruising --

so I put them all together...


Can't show you what I'm working on now, because it's a couple gifts for a wedding on June 12th. I'm not fabric-crafting this time, however...