Very Sad Day

Today we had to say goodbye to our dear friend Chloe.

Ode to Chloe by Anders

The house seems so empty without you, but you are at a better place now.

Rest Well Sweetie Pie.

Lacing Cards

I loved lacing or sewing cards as a kid A few weeks ago Peepers came home with a note on his daily sheet from school that their afternoon activity was lacing cards.

I thought, How great would it be to make him some!

I "Googled it" & came across this web site with printables for lacing cards. They recommend laminating the paper, But I wanted something more sturdy, so I used left over cardboard from this project & Mod Podge.

I printed out a bunch I thought were fun.Cut them out, leaving a decent boarder & Mod Podged the picture on to the cardboard. I Use my Pampered Chef Scraper to make sure it is smooth & that there are no air bubbles. Once Dry, I cut it out again & Mod Podge scrap book paper on to the back of the cardboard.

Let that dry good & punch holes around the edges. I did them about 1" apart & 1/2" in from the edge. This KILLED my hand. I had to have Hubby help :) He suggested using a 1/4" drill to make the holes... I just might on the others.
A few shoe laces from teh Dollar Store & you are ready to go.I have more just waiting to be assembled - I hope to give these a a little gift to a new older brother & sister.

Thank You, Karla

Kerchief Skirt

Hi All, I'm entering an on-line contest for a skirt I made. I'm entering it in the "Straight Skirt" category at THIS BLOG.

The rules were very loose... Luckily it can be any skirt you ever made! I was originally thinking of entering my 6th grade 4-H project. It was a ditsy floral print on a navy blue ground. It had 3 gathered tiers with white lace in between each tier. My Grandma taught me everything I needed to know about sewing & this was my first project we ever worked on together. I remember more that once she made me rip it out & do it over. I also remember even throwing it in the garbage. Now look at me! I give her credit for all the sewing skills I have. Since this skirt was "no longer available", I'm entering my kerchief skirt.

I made about 7 years ago. I purchased a basket of old hankies at an estate sale for $1.00 each. There was over a dozen & I just fell in love with them.

There was no pattern, I just started laying them out to see what ones looked good together. I knew I wanted it to be bias & that I DID NOT want a kerchief hem (too predictable). Then I just started to sew then together. Many of the seams overlapped, so you can see the scalloped edge detail. One I got a few sewed together I used a tried & true skirt pattern to make sure I was making it the correct size. I just make the waist elastic & lined it with a white fabric I had on hand.

Wish me luck in the contest.

Thanks, Karla

Big Flower Tee

Don't you just hate it when you just replenished your white tees for summer & you get a stain right on the front. UGH!!! So what to do??? I added a big flower on the front. For a full tutorial go here. She made this on a pillow with felt & I thought it turned out Gorgeous!

I had this very pale pink fabic on hand that I cut the circles from - you can create a template or use whatever you have to trace a circle.
I cut 30 large & about 40 small. I have 6-10 left over from each size. Cut your circles in half.

I then laid a paper plate in the center of the shirt to use as a guidline for the outer petals. You have to work quickly as little finger like grab them for their own.

Over lap the petals slightly so they lay nicely in a circle. Then stitch them down. Lay the second circle of petals is about 1/2" inside the first circle. As needed, you can pleat the flowers so they fit into the circle. As you continue to create more circles of petals, you can see that the stain will be covered.

I used the large petals for about 4 circles, then switched to the smaller circles. Once I got closer to the center, I trimmed down the smaller petals to that I could still form a circle. At the very center, I just cut a circle to cover what was exposed of the white tee. I knew that the weight of the upper petals would cause them to flop over once I would wear the shirt. So I stitched them down with a contrast thread... just like you would cut a pizza.

This is how I attached the center circle. I did have to tack down a random petal here & there to keep them from flopping down. For this I used thread that matched the petals, so you can't really see it.

Finished Shirt... No visible stain! I really like how this shirt turned out!

Jeff - Sr. Photos

I recently had the opportunity to work with this young man for his senior portraits. These were taken at the WBL VFW.

Sometimes, you just have to STOP

and smell the pretty flowers.

For some recent family photos go here.