Tuesday Tries!

I am doing an extra posts, since I have a few things to show you and new things for Friday. I finally finished my lighthouse and not too happy with how it came out. I used a photo that I  took of the Point Judith lighthouse, so my first that I did on my own.

I used Teresa's technique for a paper background and antiquing, but the paper didn't seem to show through too well and the crackle did not work for some reason. I even got the brand she uses, so not sure what I did wrong.

Even if it is not what I was hoping for, I still enjoy practicing and learning and find it relaxing to paint.

I also got an idea, I had to try. I get distracted to easily, lol. I wanted to try a photo transfer on canvas. I used a mini canvas and reduced the photo to fit. I used Modge Podge by applying it to the canvas, then you put the photo, picture side down, onto the canvas. Once it sets over night, you use a wet sponge to get the paper off and it leaves an image.

As you can see, I didn't transfer a few pieces of the photo by the white spots and in some areas the design started to fade and mix colors in other areas. So, another experiment gone wrong, but It may have been the paper I used or the canvas, so will try again. It is fun to do and easy, so by using junk canvas or cutting out some wood to try, I keep the cost to a minimum.

I tried adding a bit of color and then antique medium to cover some of the flaws.

We had a slight warm spell on Sunday, so we got out on the beach for an hour. The tide was just going out and with the wind, the waves were coming up to high, so it was hard to find much glass. But I did get some nice pieces of driftwood. I put it in soapy water with a little bleach and now they are air drying. They lighten as they dry, but I like the darker sections too, they will be fun to use in projects.

I hope you are all enjoying your week and enjoying time to create.

Happy Easter!

I want to wish you all a Happy Easter and blessings to you and your family. This is an old photo of my family, I am the baby. We look like the Kettle family, for those who remember the Ma an Pa Kettle family, lol.

I am not sure what we will be doing for Easter. I am still recovering from my infection and the meds, so not up to cleaning and cooking for a large group. I asked my son to host and he said yes, then he tells me we are eating at Ivy's friends. I like her friend and children and enjoy spending the holidays with them, but the last time she cooked, they all got sick. So, I really doubt she will have anything I can eat and with the extra kids, it might be too much for me, we may just eat at home and go to the beach.

Speaking of the beach, it seems that is where we spend most of our free time. I love walking on the beach and the fresh air and of course, finding new treasures for my collection. This week we spent a few days at the beaches near the old navy base. One beach has some nice glass and the other has a nicer beach and much stranger glass. I found some large pieces and the bottle in front, that looks like it has been melted down, have never seen something like that.

Today we spent a few hours in Jamestown, the best beach for older glass. It was a bit dismal out, but warmer, so I spent a lot of time digging in the piles of rock and found some nice smooth and rounded pieces. It was nice to get out without freezing, but I got hit twice with incoming waves, so that did me in. Bending and squatting is killing my back, but I was having too much fun to care. Hopefully a good nights sleep will have me all ready for a new beach tomorrow.

I am also working on my stocking quilt, a few more blocks to go, then I will sew them together to see what I have for size. I would like to finish the top before we go on our camping trip in two weeks, then I can hand quilt this one, while I relax at camp.

Monday Finishes and Weekend Fun!

I wanted to make more pillows and something a bit quicker, so I made printable fabric pillows. I found some free graphics on the internet and printed them out with the printer fabric. I use the June Tailor, washable and colorfast. I heat set them, then rinse in cool water and heat set them again. Not really sure if they are waterproof or washable and I do notice they tend to run with the red ink. After I rinse them, I blot them with a paper towel and that keeps the reds from running too much.

I made the mistake of using a higher resolution on the small pillows, that is why they are smaller. I forgot to change the size to compensate for the resolution. The wagon pillows are done at the lower resolution so they came out the right size. I like the smaller pillows too, they could also work as tree ornaments and if you don't have a real tree, the scent of pine would be nice on the tree.

The thing I don't like is, the fabric is stiff so I had to cut an opening in the back to fill them, that is a pain in the neck. With balsam, it is easier to pour it into the bottom, then sew them closed. I also have to stitch them up and cover the ugly opening I made, so an extra step. It is a nice way to make fun pillows though, and there are lots of free graphics on the internet.

I had Nicholas this weekend so I gave him his new creche to play with. He loves to play with the figures and the start lights and plays Away in a manger, so we heard that a lot, throughout the day.

Sunday he decide he did not want Mommy to leave, so it took me awhile to calm him down, but once he did, he was fine. I decided he needed a table so he had a place to play and a place to eat. He loved the table and played on it all day and loved eating like a big boy.

I guess I will not be online till after Thanksgiving. The kids are coming to our house, after all, so I will be busy cleaning and planning the meal, I have two more days, ugh. I always work better under pressure;) I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with family and good food.

This is an old photo from a Thanksgiving at Waterville Valley in NH. They had santa come in on a dog sled and fireworks at night. The holidays will be hard, but I will treasure the memories.

Giveaway Winners!

Well, I had a piece to finish today and I was getting ready to make it into a pillow and the phone rang and then it got late and Bean wanted to go out, then the neighbors dog came over to visit and wore Bean out for me, so by the time I got done with things, I gave up on the idea of finishing the pillow tonight.

So, we will get to the give away winners. USAGypsy is the winner of the funny caption, very clever thinking the tarp was the tent and no one knew how to put it up. Picturing that made me laugh:) The random generator winner is Wendy of Ravenwood Whimsies. Ladies, please email me with your choice of epattern or Ebooklet from my Ecrater site.

Since I have no finished photos tonight, I thought I would go with an oldie. This is a photo we had taken at the local state fair, one year. Bill was away on a trip, so I took the kids to the fair and we had a photo taken. Of course Billy wanted to be the man and have a gun. It is fun to look at the old photos and remember the happy times with the kids.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Bill has to work again, so hopefully I can catch up with all the things I never got done today and get some projects cut out, to work on.

Playing Around!

I  had planned on finishing my new pattern this weekend, but life gets in the way. But sometimes it is worth slowing down and enjoying a day with my grandson.

I have wood floors and that is not a great surface for a baby to crawl on, so we got a new rug. Something that covers the living room floor so he has plenty of room to play now.

He has so many unique and fun expressions, I couldn't resist taking some photos. I should have a new design and punch to show you by wednesday, the punching is done, just need to decide how I want to finish it.

Nick likes the new rug too, lots of colors to look at.

And look who has his first teeth.

And of course he can crawl much better with the rug so he wants to see the fun toy grandma is pointing at him.

If you like to take photos of your family or send them to others, a fun program to use is PHO-TO. They have all types of photo editing tools from fixing a photo, resizing and lots of fun frames and effects.

This will be nice for holidays too, you can take a photo and then make it into a card to send to friends and relatives. The only thing you have to remember is to crop and size your photo to fit the frame. There is no way to position the photo in the frame, once it is in.

Giveaway! Chris at We Love Quilting is having her giveaways again, so don't miss out, she has wonderful surprises for her winners.

Happy New Year!

You have all made my year special and each day a celebration of friendship. May God bless you and your family with Love and Health in the coming year!

Stray kitty who has been sleeping in my basement stairway, the last two days. If you would like to decorate your own photos, you can visit Art.pho.to for free editing effects.