Easter Menagerie

I crocheted four little animals to include in the Easter baskets I made for my daughters.

A sweet bunny face

A bunny showing off his tail

A big plump chick with spiky "hair"

A little chick looking for his supper

All were inspired by applique patterns I saw on Pinterest

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Bunny face inspired by Hectanooga1

Bunny tail inspired by Love the Blue Bird

Big Chick inspired by BAG-O-DAY CROCHET & MORE

Lil Chick inspired by a Ravelry designer

(I looked at the photo, but created this pattern myself)

Progress Report

I'm a little under the weather today with a cold coming on, so sat and stitched for several hours. I like the progress I made so far on Secret Flower Bed.

Between my Ott Light, the guidelines I added to the fabric, and my +2.5 magnifiers, the stitching is going well now. Plus, it's a good look, don't you think?

Hyacinth

This pink hyacinth is the only one left in our yard. So, so pretty.

Perhaps I should plant more for next Spring.

Egg Hunt Wreath

I saw an Easter wreath in a Pier One catalog that I really liked. It is airy and light, made of a grapevine wreath, Easter eggs and berries in creams, greens, and purples. But I wasn't so crazy about the $35 price tag. Because I enjoy making wreaths, I used that as an inspiration to make this wreath.

I bought a grapevine wreath for $4.00. I bought the purple, pink, and baby blue berries at the Dollar Tree. I made the bow from two wired ribbons, a sparkly purple sheer and a solid pink, from Dollar Tree. I really like the way the bow turned out.

I call this the "Egg Hunt Wreath" because, hiding in the grapevine and disguised among the berries, I hid some sparkly blue, yellow and pink Easter Eggs. When you look closely, you can find them!

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Here's the living room mantle, dressed for Easter.

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Easter Parade

I'm back from my Easter weekend in Oregon. All the folks I sent surprises to have received them. So this week I can share the various crafts I made as gifts. I'll start with the cards. This card was inspired by some wall art I found on Pinterest.

The sweet bunny card was made by using fusible web to adhere a white lace bunny to some brown cardstock, ironing it in place. I like the touch of the yellow bow around the Easter Bunny's neck.

Inside, a simple sentiment, printed from the computer. The heart? A sparkly sticker.

This time, I even put an artist signature on the back.

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Inspiration:  Lace Bunny Canvas designed by DIY Candy

Daisy Does It

It was Wedding Prep Central today at Jokes House. Handmade envelopes. Daisies. Wildflower seeds. Daisies. Centerpiece. Daisies. Ribbon. Daisies. Boutonnieres. Daisies. Corsages. Daisies. And a bouquet ... of daisies.

We made a lot of progress and the bride is feeling a little more at ease. The Mother of the Bride wishes she lived closer and could do even more to help in the wedding preparations.

Now daily life is calling. We'll be together again as soon as we can.


Photos by Jodie Davaz

A Day in the Life of this Traveler

Jodie and I spent the day tidying, cleaning, sorting, sharing stories, and laughing.

We started with a scrumptious waffle breakfast, followed by a quick trip to Fred Meyer for some car cleaning supplies. Then we gave her vehicle a good twice over - removing unneeded items, organizing needed items, vacuuming, Armour-All-ing the inside, and washing the outside.

As a reward for a job well done? Soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden for our Easter supper. Then another stop at Fred Meyer to see if they had some car organization items for me (they didn't, so I placed an order on Amazon).

Back home, we poured through Pinterest and YouTube, getting a more firm grasp on how to make the bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres for her wedding. Then we did an adhesives test on the party favors. We'll have the results tomorrow. Pro hint: never use E-6000 indoors without superior ventilation.

Next? Back to Fred Meyer for some wedding supplies (Thankfully, the store is only a couple blocks from her home). Since they don't carry all the supplies we need, and the store we need to purchase said items from was closed on Easter, we found more sorting and organizing fun in Jodie's craft room until bedtime.

The tulips? (Jodie took the photo). They are a gift from Kenny to Jodie. Jo placed this bouquet in my room to welcome me with beauty and color. She's a wonderful hostess, a thoughtful young woman, and an extremely fun companion. I'm so happy to have the love and friendship of this amiable daughter. Dale and I raised her, but she's blooming on her own.

Magnolias in Bloom

Jodie took me to Wallace M. Ruff Park and Arboretum today. We brought along a picnic lunch, sat with the sun warming our backs, and made up a new mindfulness practice that involves Jelly Belly jellybeans.

Afterwards, we searched for three geocaches at the park, and walked the path, taking in the beauty and the aroma of these lovely flowers.

Tomorrow? Make some decisions about floral arrangements for her upcoming wedding.

Springfield Bound

Look who I get to spend the weekend with!

My bride, Jodie!

Bunny Banner

I've made quite a number of Easter decorations this year. I'll share all of them as the recipients let me know the gifts have arrived. In the meantime, here's a simple decoration I made for our home today.

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I drew out the simple shape. Cut it from seven coordinating designs of scrapbook paper. Then used glue dots to adhere cotton balls for the tails.

The banner now hangs on the mantle in our living room.

Happy Easter, my friends!


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Inspired by Simply Sprout as seen on Pinterest

Next Project: Secret Flower Bed

I've got all kinds of projects going on downstairs in my Studio, but I need something to keep my hands busy while watching TV upstairs. So I pulled this Spring design out of my stash.

The pattern came with the linen and the buttons. I've decided to use Anchor floss rather than the recommended Gentle Art Sampler Threads and Weeks Dye Works (I have the GAST, but not the Weeks in my stash - and I really don't need another line of threads).

I've started making a grid on the fabric to help me with the stitch count. This definitely calls for good lighting and magnification. I'm still trying to figure out a comfortable way to set that up.

Sundown

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Lilac Buds

They're giving a hint of the color inside that's about to burst out.

Rain, Drop, Splash

Forsythia

Over the years I've tried to get a photo of this bush. It's in flower for a very short time before the wind and rain blow it all away. Usually, the yellow boggles my camera's eye or something. Maybe it's the sunshine bouncing off the yellow. So I've never taken a decent photo.

I'm pretty happy with this one. It was taken at twilight.

Where's the bunny?

Starting another crochet project for Easter

Sneak Peek

I'm crocheting an Easter surprise.

More Buds

The cherry bushes in the backyard are budding too.

The spider seems happy about building a web on them.

I Love Librarians

My friend Kathy, the children's librarian, sent me a treasure trove of baby board books, pop-up books, puppet books and soft books. She said it's something every grandma needs.

Kathy and I worked together eons ago when I was in my first years of college. She's been generous to me and my daughters for years. Now she's gifting my granddaughter. Such love!

Buds

The grape hyacinth are starting to bud!

Spring Wreath

Today I made a new wreath for our front porch. I found this idea on Pinterest several years ago, and decided to give it a go this year.

First, I gathered up my materials. The wreath form is the one I used last month for the St. Patrick's Day wreath.  I bought the green eyelash yarn on eBay for about $7.50. The pink dot stickers are from Dollar Tree. I found the lace flower trim and the bright pink satin ribbon in my stash.

First, I wrapped the wreath form with the eyelash yarn. That took over an hour to do because the yarn is very very thin and has two be wrapped tightly to keep the foam wreath form from showing through.

I love the daisy lace trim used in my inspiration piece. But to buy a roll would have cost another $7.00 and which I didn't want to spend and a 10 mile trip into Joann's which I didn't feel like driving. So I looked through my stash and found this rose trim. It was fairly yellowed with age. So I soaked it in warm water and OxyClean and it brightened right up. I separated the flowers from the leaves, then hot glued the flowers into the eyelash yarn "grass."

I placed a pink sticker dot in the center of each flower. I tied the bright satin ribbon into a bow and pinned it in place. Finally, I created the little sign using some pink cardstock, some felt-tip markers, and a toothpick.

This wreath graces our porch by the front door. Now if only our lawn will perk up and become as green as this wreath! Come on, Spring!

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Inspiration from Duitang

Under the Umbrellas

I decided to take a quiet day to myself today and put this colorful 300 piece puzzle together while watching recorded programs of Charlie Rose.

#howigetmyjollys

The Visitor

I wasn't the only one who wanted to get a close look at the crocus.

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Those wings, though!

Survivors!

While it's true that all the rain beat down the crocus patch in the front yard, there were others that survived!

As I was washing dishes this morning, I looked up through the window and spotted a few bright spots of purple on the hill in the back yard. Crocus!

I thought I had dug all the bulbs up last year and transplanted them to the front yard. But some of those tiny bulbs hid from me in the Fall and decided to bloom all on their own. So I was able to take some crocus portraits this year after all.

Here's one of the rare variety in my yard - white with purple stripes.

Maybe I should wash dishes more often. I would have seen them sooner.

My Poor Crocus

Every year I look forward to watching my crocus push out of the ground, bud their pretty purple selves, then bloom in the sun. Every year I get down on my belly and take their portraits. I love them. They are my first sign of Spring.

This year, they tried. They really, really tried. But the rain has been relentless. My pretty babies finally gave up today.

Sad.

Final Quilt Square

I've completed the embroidery on the last square of my granddaughter's quilt. I love the way this Frog turned out! I loved it so much, I gave him a heart.

Now on to the next step. I've decided to serge the edges because this fabric is so light, and the stitching is already so close to the edges of the squares (don't know why Mom did that!) that if I wash the squares I'm pretty sure that the fabric will fray all the way up to the edge of the stitching. And I do need to wash them. After all, they're at minimum 20 years old. More likely, closer to 45 years old.

Man, I hope this works.

So, 12 squares times four sides to serge. That will take a bit of time. Good thing my serger is fast - as long as the multiple threads don't get all jammed up.

The *Other* Vitamin P

My number one Vitamin P snack is pretzels.
My number two Vitamin P snack is popcorn.

Sometimes they switch places.
Can't get enough Vitamin P on these rainy, rainy, is it ever going to stop raining days.

Puzzle Time Again

Breakfast with Dale
Absorbed the roar of Post Falls -- the Spokane River is flooding
Began reading a book
Took a walk
Listened to a podcast
Hours of sorting and piecing

Homemade soup
Sunday comforts

Getting Lost, Maybe

Today I got lost by doing a lot of digital decluttering. It feels good to have some of my computer files in better order, but there's really nothing tangible to show for it. Except, maybe, me being less frayed around the edges.

Maybe tomorrow I can go find myself - and lose myself - in art.

Or maybe I'll spend the day reading. Who knows? That would be good for my soul, too.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

Making progress on the final quilt square. Can you figure out what animal it is?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

I'm nearly done with the embroidery for my granddaughter's quilt. Only one more square to go.

Then the hard part begins.