Maine Signs

 

I like to have a variety of things to sell at my craft shows, and have found that stenciled signs, especially anything with Maine on them like these, are great sellers.

I usually use wood scraps I find in our workshop, but I came across these pallet planks at Walmart that work perfectly.

I prefer the whitewashed pallet plank,

but have made a few signs using the darker Barnwood Pallet Plank.

The LOVE sign is a single, horizontal stencil, which made it quick and easy to do.

But I couldn't stop at that and combined a square stencil with the LOVE stencil to make the HOME sign.

Notice the silicone mat under the plank. I use that for a lot of projects I don't want to slip or move when I'm working on them.

I usually use painter's tape to keep the edges of the stencil secure while I work. But of course I couldn't find it, so I dug into my desk and found sticky notes! 

I have several other stencils I want to make signs with, so check back often!

Tuesday Craft Day

 

I dug out my yarn for today's Tuesday craft day and joined two other crocheters, one knitter and one embroiderer for a fun day of crafting.

I started this African flower granny square afghan months ago, and don't expect to finish it anytime soon! But it's fun to have something like this to grab and go for days like this.

It didn't take long for little Miss Lucy to find my bag of yarn, do her balancing trick along the top of the chair and try to drop her fuzzy purple mouse inside.

From there she thought she should investigate a little closer and hopped down to inspect my stitches.

We had another successful crafting day, filled with live entertainment, good food, and great friendship.

 

Plant stand re-do

Ever have one of those "aha!" moments when things unexpectedly come together? I had one of those this morning when I was trying to balance a cup of coffee, my cell phone and a book in my lap. 

I realized I needed a solid place to put all my things when I am allowed by the dog to lay on HER couch to catch up on reading, messages, or take a little nap in the sun.

So I took this ordinary plant stand that lives on the porch in the summer, 

and made it into this.....

simply by using two pieces of chipboard I saved from packages of Stampin' UP! Designer Series paper, and a roll of contact paper I recently bought to line my kitchen shelves with. (This project was much more fun than lining shelves).

When I retired as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I sold, gave away and stored ALOT of my SU products. But one thing I made sure I kept was this awesome paper cutter. I can't cut a straight line with scissors, so this will always be close by.

I simply measured the openings in the stand, cut the chipboard to size, cut a piece of contact paper a bit larger than that, wrapped the paper around it, placed the squares into the openings, and done!

Piper's not too sure about it, but I think it's great!

WOOL DRIER BALL HEADS

If you've got some wool drier balls hanging around and you don't want to use them to dry your clothes, make them into snowmen heads!

First thing I do is color their cheeks with a little make-up, then poke a hole between their cheeks for a nose.

Next, using either embroidery thread or crochet cotton, I sew their faces on and glue on their noses and eyes.

Finally, I make a hat from a sock or other fabric I have hanging around, glue that on their heads and add a jute hanger.

Just look at those happy faces! I think these will be great sellers at my Christmas crafts shows. 

Tuesday Craft Day

 Every Tuesday I get together with a group of friends and craft. All day! We start in the morning with coffee and a morning snack, craft until noon, take a break for lunch, and continue working on our project into the late afternoon.

Each of us does our own thing. This week we had two crocheters, one knitter, one embroiderer, and I sewed faces onto snowmen. But the main event every week is Lucy!

Lucy is a sweet, curious, mischevious kitten who rules the house. If she's not getting tangled in yarn or hiding in the plants, she's climbing on top of the cabinets so she can plan her next attack better. 

This week I finished a group of snowmen who needed their faces stitched and glued onto their heads.

These little guys are fun to make, and are a great way to use up your scraps.

I used off white felt for their bodies, orange felt for their noses and pieces of felt and fleece for their hats.

Their rosy cheeks are colored with actual powdered make-up, their eyes are half round black beads, and I use three strands of embroidery floss for their smiles.

They are weighted with about 1/4 cup of plastic pellets or kitty litter, then stuffed with fiberfil.

Looks like I need to make one more nose to complete this batch. And I think I will sew little jingle bells to the ends of their hats.

I make a lot of my snowmen and gnome patterns myself, but purchased this pattern on-line at QBPN.

Check back next Tuesday to see another photo of Lucy and to see what I made.

Need Stamps?

I spent most of yesterday taking photos of stamp sets and dies, then posting them on my Etsy store. But if you want anything, just let me know!

• Jingle, Jingle, Jingle 
• Evergreen Elegance
• Ringed with Nature
• You're Inspiring
• Welcome Easter
• Daffodil Daydream
• Guy Greetings
• Soar Confidently

• Art Gallery
• Color & Contour
• Softly Sophisticated
• Lovely You
• Through it Together
• Something Fancy
• Wild About Flowers

• Good Feelings
• Vibrant Vases
• Get Well Soup
• A Big Thank You
• Happy Labels
• In The Moment
• Music From The Heart

• Best Day
• Thanks a Bunch
• Hey Birthday Chick
• Wood You Be Mine?
• Circle Sayings
• Cutest Cows

• Amazing Silhouettes
• Perfect Pomegranate (2)
• Scenic Garden

• Home & Garden Bundle
• Quite Curvy Bundle
• Coffee Cafe Bundle

• Vintage Leaves Bundle
• Gather Together Bundle
• Bonanza Buddies Bundle
• Bloomin' Love Bundle

You know you want some!

FABRIC SHOPPING TRIP

Look what I found at the Oxford Mill-End Store! Wool scraps sold by the pound! Beautiful wool that will make great gnomes and snowmen coats.

Years ago, my mother bought her wool strips for the rugs she braided at the original Mill-End store by the lake in Oxford. The store has moved to Rt. 26 at 971 Main Street, and still carries a good selection of wool and beautiful quilting cotton, flannel, fleece, books, notions, Pfaff sewing machines, repair and cleaning service and classes.