Marbled Easter Eggs

My daughter pointed me to a post on Pinterest on how to dye Easter eggs using food coloring and Cool Whip. Challenged accepted!

I boiled the eggs, cooled them and set them aside in a bowl of white vinegar. Unfortunately, life happened and I didn't get around to finishing the process that day. So the eggs soaked overnight in the vinegar. Bad move. The shells completely softened and started disintegrating by the time I got back to them the next day. Ah, well. I continued with the experiment.

I got out a platter and spread about an inch of cool whip in the bottom. I added a few drops of food coloring and swirled them around a little.

Then I carefully rolled the eggs around in the colored Cool Whip until they were entirely covered. I set them in a bowl and refrigerated them for about an hour.

When I took the eggs out, I rinsed them in cool water and carefully wiped the remaining Cool Whip from them with a paper towel.

They actually came out much better than I anticipated! I'm pleasantly surprised at how pretty they look in my glass Easter basket.

I may try this dying method again next year. But I won't make the mistake of soaking the eggs overnight. I will swirl the eggs into fewer colors of dye on each egg.

It's not likely we'll actually eat these eggs since they're undoubtedly pickled. Not my style.

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Inspired by Crafty Morning

This Morning

The sunlight shining through the flower vase caught my eye.

Throwback Thursday - 1997 (Part 3)

 My mosey back to 1997 cross-stitch projects continues with a nametag I made in October. I'd recently joined the Embroiderer's Guild of America (EGA). At each meeting, members wear namtags (sometimes quite elaborate) to both make it easy for others to recognize us, and to show off some needlework skills.

For my moniker, CameoRoze, I used an alphabet called Flower Garden from a book called The Ultimate Flower Alphabet Book by the American School of Needlework. And for "Margaret" I used the Leisure Arts Leaflet 407 called 20 Backstitch Alphabets: Mini Series #2. I thought the @ sign in Cameo was clever since I was well-known online in the needlework community.

This is where I learned the Nun's Stitch which is used for the pink border.

In November I finished one of my all-time favorite cross-stitch pieces. It's called Angelic Tidings and was a kit from the company Needle Treasures. Instead of using the fabric in the kit, I chose a Crystal Pink Annabelle evenweave ground cloth. So, so pretty.

Even though this is a large-ish piece by my standards, it worked up very quickly and was just a joy to stitch. To me, the most special part is the way the angel is holding the baby and looking at him with loving care, and the baby is looking toward earth, where he has a big job ahead of him. His cubby hand is grabbing onto the gold braid on her bodice. Just look at that smile! 

I was thrilled to have finished this stitching in time for Christmas. My mom and I had a girl's day out in early December, getting our hair cut, eating lunch and talking. She helped me pick out the mat and frame that afternoon. It was the last girl's day out we had together.

Mom died later that month, between Christmas and New Year's Day.

My Heart Belongs to Daddy is a Kidlinks design. This stitched piece was a joint gift to my husband from my youngest daughter, Jodie, and me. Jodie really did help stitch, even though she was only 4 years old at the time.

Jodie would sit in my lap, the floor stand in front of us. I would poke the needle down and pull the thread through. Then I'd poke the needle up, Jodie would grab it and pull the thread through. It took a little while for her to get the hang of holding on to both the needle and the thread. I rethreaded that needle more times than I can count on this piece!

Jodie is the one that found the chart and wanted to do it. The way this little blonde girl looks adoringly up at her daddy is exactly how Jodie gazed at her father.

The new technique I learned in this piece was how to use a blended needle, meaning two different colors of floss threaded into the same needle. It's what gives Daddy's pants the look of tweed.

The new technique I learned in this piece was how to use a blended needle. The chart calls for three strands of floss. On one leg of the pants, there are two dark brown strands and one light brown strand. The other leg is just the opposite, two light brown strands and one dark brown strand of floss.

This piece still hangs in our home, just outside our home office.

The last thing I sitch in 1991 was this Celestial Ornament for my sister Janet. She celebrates the Winter Solstice at this time of year. We have a "sister thing" about making it to the solstice while staving off the winter blues. So we both celebrate the beginning of days growing longer.

I used some DMC rayon for the dark blue, and some stranded gold metallic for the sun. Both those fibers are fussy to work with, but the result is so very nice in that the ornament glows in soft light.

The ornament designed by Carole Rodgers is from Cross Stitch and Needlework's 1996 Cross-Stitch Ornaments special edition.

That final Christmas with my mom was extraordinary. Early in the month, she spent the day with me and my sister Janet. She sat at the table and directed us as we worked (long hours!) in the kitchen. She gave us tips on how to make Christmas cookies from the old family recipes. It's one of my fondest memories.

Those Colors, Though!

Painted Rocks

There's a bit of a fad in my area right now of painting rocks, hiding them, and letting other people find them. They can either keep the rocks they find, or hide them again. I thought I'd join in.

So far, I've painted just these three rocks. I found some rocks I liked on my walks. Washed them. Then began the decorating process by spray painting a gray base coat.

For this batch, I used some paint pens to paint the designs. I didn't have any particular design in mind when I began. I let the rocks speak to me. I did add at least one signature heart to each rock.

I found it a very Zen experience. I dabbled while listening to an audio book. By the time I was done, I felt quite peaceful inside.

When the painting was done and dry, I flipped the rocks over and added my name and date.

I finished by spraying on a clear coat which protects the paint and makes the rocks nice and shiny. It also taught me the lesson that using black Sharpie doesn't work so well because it bled when I added the clear coat. I'll need to get a black paint pen.

On my next walk, I think I might hide these up at the elementary school playground -- when the kids are not at recess.

Bridge Below the Dam

On a cold winter day

Click for larger image

Crocus Whisperer

The Age of Letters

I have a friend who is becoming more and more anti-digital. He no longer uses Facebook and keeps swearing off email and text messaging. He wants to return to the age of hand-written letters. So I humor him ... to a degree.

I made him this card. On the outside, I used simple letter stamps.

On the inside, I added a bit of panache.

One must include some wry humor along with the handwritten letters.

Naught, My Friend

Throwback Thursday - 1997 (Part 2)

In the middle of 1997, I completed two larger projects and several smaller ones. The largest was this version of The Beatitudes that I completed for my sister-in-law. It's one of her favorite bible passages which she said gave her some peace as she went through cancer treatment.

Bluebird Peaches was a chart I stitched for my oldest brother as a birthday gift. He, too, was going through cancer treatments. Because he lived so far away, I felt helpless to be of support to him. Stitching this was my way to do it ... every stitch a prayer. My brother was a bit of a local history buff and had a large collection of fruit labels form various California companies. I picked this pattern because I knew he'd appreciate the reproduction.

Every year I stitch Christmas ornaments for my family. I missed the mark in 1996, and didn't finishing stitching those ornaments until the following September! These little pillows were sewn together by hand with red satin ribbon loops as hangers.

I made this bookmark to accompany a book I sent to an online friend. I like my choice of fabric on this, but that yellow lace ... hmmm.

Four Generations

Look who I got to spend time with today! My daughter Julie, my granddaughter Melody, and my mother-in-law Joany.

Lots of hugs and kisses today.

Welcome Spring!

Spring: the promise of the crocus

Starting Fresh

My long-time friend Creeping Charlie died last month. He'd been in the family since before my eldest was born. Actually, he's been in the family since before I moved to Idaho in 1980!

So I sent him off to the beautiful garden in the sky. Then I gave away the other two plants that graced his table.

After a short period of mourning, I bought this galvanized pail, some soil, and fresh seeds and planted this herb garden.

Look! The sprouting has begun!

Petals

This bouquet of flowers is giving me a lot of aromatic, photographic, and artistic pleasure this week.
Here are two more reasons.

The King of Spring - Part 3

After a month-and-a-half, another chart from my 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar is now done. I'm one step closer to finishing one my my 18 in 2018 Goals.

He is a dandy little fellow, with his polka dot breast and golden crown. I added a heart-shaped button to the stitched heart.

The specialty stitches incorporated into this design are the yellow smyrna crosses at the corners of the border, a satin stitch for the big dots on the wings, and a half-cross that makes up the purple background. I'm crazy about the mat that came with this design and think the gold frame sets off the piece beautifully.

I think I'll take a short break from these calendar charts and work on a different piece of needlework over the next month. But I am determined to finish the last few charts before the end of the year.

Flowers for Friday

Playing with filters can give some lovely effects!

Throwback Thursday - 1997 (Part 1)

We're moving forward to 1997 where I finished at least 15 counted cross-stitch projects. These first five finishes were fairly small because I was working on a large project at the same time. These small finishes kept me from feeling crazy while I worked on the bigger piece.


 Easter Breadcloth

This was a sweet, fast project. Basically, it's the corner of a cloth napkin that we use to keep rolls warm for Easter dinners. Twenty years later, we still use it.

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Easter Egg Welcome

We hang this six-inch embroidery hoop near the front door each year to welcome friend to our home.

Mickey Mouse

I stitched this for my daughter Jodie because she wanted me to make something special for her. When Jodie didn't need it any more, she gave it back to me. Last week, I passed it on to my granddaughter, Melody.

Butterfly Pins

I was part of a women's church group where one of the gifts each new participant received was a butterfly. I decided to design and stitch these pins for my ladies. They are stitched on a base of perforated paper. Each butterfly has a unique pattern on its wings, but all the butterflies use the same color pallet. That was to symbolize that each of us in the group is an individual, but we all have similar threads of shared life experience.

Angel

This was my second attempt at stitching on a t-shirt fabric with waste canvas. In this case, I was covering up a hole in my daughter's jumpsuit. The hole was near the neckline, so I told my daughter that this way she could always have an angel on her shoulder.

Preserving Flowers

I'm trying another craft this week. I'm using silica gel to dehydrate and preserve fresh flowers. I'll check on its progress in 4 days.

If this works, I'll have another material to incorporate into my crafts. I'm imagining using them on greeting cards.

Watch this space.

Leprechaun Wreath

This festive holiday wreath was made for only three dollars! Here's how.

I started with an approx 10 inch floral wreath

A St. Patty's Day felt bowler hat

And a roll of orange crepe paper

Wrap the wreath form in crepe paper, securing the ends with straight pins.

Cut lots of eight inch strips of crepe paper. Then cut these strips in half lengthwise.

The "beard" of the leprechaun is two layers think. For the front layer, I wrapped the crepe paper strip around the wreath, pinning it in place with a single pin. I overlapped each wrapped strip a little, just enough to hide the pin from one layer under the strip from the other layer. (Whoops! I forgot to take that picture).

Once the beard covers about 3/4 of the way around the wreath form, turn the wreath over. The next layer of beard will be attached to the back of the wreath. Fold each strip into a V shape. Pin in place with two pins, overlapping the strips slightly.

Cut the hat in half. Attach the ribbon with hot glue. Using three pins on each side, pin the hat onto the top of the wreath, making sure the back of the hat aligns with the back of the wreath so that it will lie flat against the wall when the wreath is hung.

Finally, adhere a hook to the back of the wreath so it can hang on the wall.

I think this is adorable!