Redbud Winter

I have been absent from blog land for sometime now. I took advantage of the lovely weather and have been out gardening and weedin and weedin some more! And now today it is cold........brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The old folks around here call it "Red bud Winter". I guess it measns having winter like temps when the red buds are blooming. Seems May is a busy month for me; I have mother's day, mom's birthday, my sisters birthday and my nephew's graduation. A lot of events to plan for. I also have a show coming up the first of June and as of right now I have made one doll for it. Yes, I repeat ONE DOLL! Lord help me; surely I will find time to make new things. I will be posting a new tutorial tomorrow. Off to protect all my tender vegetation..........we are under a frost watch.

Spring

It never ceases to amaze me at how lovely everything is in the spring. What magnificent colors appear during the earth's rebirth after a long winter. The grass is tender and vibrant green, the trees are a multitude of colors. From pear and peach blossoms to dogwoods and red buds. They are all a sight to see. And there are the little creatures that are born in the spring. I new bird family moves into my birdhouse every year and I love watching the mommy bird bringing worms to her chicks. But what amazes me more is the preparation before the chicks hatch. How the little birdie collects bits and pieces to make her nest. God's little creatures are all so amazing! I snapped this photo of my sister's new little ducks; aren't they the cutest?

Prim Crafting Tips

Wow! What happened to spring? It has been in the upper 80's all week here. Today it was a lot cooler with rain. All week I have kinda put my work aside and did things around the house. Lots of laundry and lots of weedin. I bought two hanging baskets to spruce up the porch and hung my flag back up. I am running out of things to do tutorials on but thought I would share some tips with you guys for primitive crafting.

1. I save all my fabric scraps; I use them later to stuff pincushions and dolls. It gives them a wonderful old feel.

2. To make new fabric look worn stain it and then sand it. To make moth holes nip the fabric with scissors and then sand the hole.

3. To make a new bear look old run over his fur with a disposable razor and then dust with cinnamon.

4. To dry paper you have stained in seconds place in the microwave. Watch carefully as it will catch fire!

5. Recycle empty glass bottles and cans to grunge. Cooking oil placed on the labels and allowed to sit makes them easily removed.

6.Fabric stains better and more evenly is laundered first.

7. Fabric stained and baked in a 200 degree oven is naturally stiffened.

Hope you find these tips useful :) Hope you have a blessed Sunday.

Instructions On How To Print on Fabric

It's a cold rainy day here in Kentucky. It went from being in the 80's to the 40's. Strange weather; I don't know whether to wear short sleeves or a sweatshirt on most days. I have included some pics of the workshop; I added a bed and did some rearranging. I think the bed made it so cozy out there. I wanted to share instructions with you guys on how to print directly on fabric. This is useful for photo quilts and other projects.

You will need:

Computer paper

Stained Muslin

Freezer Paper

Computer and Printer

Begin by taking a piece of computer paper and laying it on the dull side of your freezer paper. Trace around the computer paper. Cut out the freezer paper on the traced line. Now iron the piece of freezer paper onto your stained muslin. Iron the paper waxy side down. Cut out again making sure that there are no loose threads or ravels. Place your merged fabric/paper piece in your printer and print out the image you'd like. It's that easy!

New Offerings

Thank you

Thank you all for your kind comments. The only comfort I have is that he enjoyed his short time here on earth. He was my companion out in the workshop as Daisy and Odee opted to stay in the house where it was warm with their dad. But buddy ran to the workshop every chance he got and went straight for the couch. I have heard that their dog is a notorious "cat killer" and that disturbs me that they let him run lose to do as he pleases. But never less hopefully tomorrow will be a brighter day. Again thank you all for your kind words. Blessings,
Jill

A Sad Day

Today has been one of those days where everything goes wrong and nothing goes right. I was awakened at 4 am this morning with dogs barking outside; I heard my cat making noises as well. I went outside to see that the neighbors dogs had mauled my cat to death. It angers me so that people will not keep their animals on there own property. Buddy will be sadly missed especially by Odee who loved to lay on the porch in the sun with him.