History Has A Way of Repeating Itself ...

Have you even done a project and look at it later, thinking that you'd like to try it again? 

In 2009, I was working as a Family Representative for a military unit. When we hosted our annual Volunteer of the Year Ceremony, the commander wanted to give something unique to the so I decided to turn terra cotta pots into "baskets" for some of the items we had special ordered for the recipients. 

Earlier, I was looking through some of my old posts from my previous blog, looking for ideas for Valentine's presents for Lil Monkey's teachers and found this post. Here is what I did ...

Step 1: Chose the pieces you want. I used medium-sized terra cotta planters with saucers.

Step 2: Sand them to remove any ridges or rough spots, then wipe with a damp cloth to clean.

Step 3: Let them dry completely. Be sure to flip over so the interior drys as well. I let them dry for more than 24-hours.

Step 4: Paint them. I used 3 coats for the base, letting each dry at least and hour or two before adding the next one. Depending on the paint you can get creative and drag a dry-brush over the top coat while wet to get striping. 
Creative Tip: After drying, do secondary color. Try sponging a complementing over the top.

Step 5: After the pieces are completely dried, add accessories. I glued ribbon of the complementing color to the rim and then added ribbons.

It was a very easy project, but does take time for the drying. I'd recommend you add a clear coat once the paint dries for a shiny look and to protext from scratches. I did the pink one later in 2009 ... for me and used it to ho;d utensils on my kitchen counter before Army movers broke it in a move. I used an ordinary stamp to add the designs.  

Until our next cup of tea ...

Happiness is Hexagons!!

This past weekend, I was able to spend a little time working on a project that I am using Quiltsmart Hexagon ZigZapps! to make it. While I won't be posting this project for a while, I have to say these Hexagon ZigZapps! are super easy and very fun!

They come in 3 sizes, 2-inch, 1.5-inch and 1-inch and i am overflowing with ideas as I sew these quick little hexes. I can assure you, I have looked at hexagon quilts for years and loved them. For years I have stressed about how hard triangles looked, so I didn't even want to think about these little six-sided bundles of potiental tears. 

The technique that Mattie at Quiltsmart has designed is simple, you place your printed interfacing on the right side of the fabric, sew around the sewing line, trim on the cutting line and then flip inside out (you cut a slit in center of interfacing - I do it before sewing so I don't cut my fabric.) It's literally as easy as turning my kid's socks right side out, and less smelly! Most of the Quiltsmart ZigZapps! use this technique or a version of it and I am addicted!  

I had a lot of fun and in no time, I had a pile of each of these sizes sitting there waiting to find their place in the project. (The pink is actually the above color, my phone flashed on the photos below.) I can honestly say, I will not do hexagons any other way! (Sits on hands to show my resolve and commitment!)

If you've wanted to try hexes but were too scared, or if you've given up after other techniques, take a deep breath and try these. You'll be happy you did!

Until our next cup of tea ...

An Accidental "Sweetheart" Project

Houston we've had a problem here ... Well, yes, but maybe it can be a good thing. Well, I'm sure that's not how the conversations went with the crew of Apollo 13 when they reported a technical problem back to their Houston base, but as a Houstonian, let's just go with it for the sake of the post. (A little histocial fact, they are often misquoted as saying "Houston, we have a problem" because of the Apollo 13 movie.)

Anyway, back to the post ... Last night I was working on some wreaths with a friend, Erin (more on that later.) After hubby came home and we have dinner, he offered to do dishes so I headed to the sewing room for a little relaxation and stress-relief after a hard day at work (production time at the magazine.)

After working on some pink wreaths, I was ready to get a jumpstart on some Valentine's Day projects, so I pulled out my trusty bin of Quiltsmart interfacing panels and dug around looking for some Sweetheart ZigZapps! I found a panel and a half as well as some pink fabric and a project was born within minutes.

I tuned into Netflix on my iPad (I'm currently binge-watching Heroes), while I pinned and sewed the fabric heart. It must have been a cliffhanger kind of moment because I had it all sewn and cut out before realizing I'd pinned it to the wrong side of the fabric. Oh, no!! Considering that usually I do a good amount of fusible applique, I'm surprised this is the first time I've done that.

I sat there looking at this perfectly cute heart, flipping it over back and forth (like that would fix it), bummed that turning the interfacing would leave it inside out and the back on this fabric didn't have anything showing through on the other side. 

I was thought, "If I leave it like this, it will be raw-edge ... what can I do with that?" The back didn't have a slit yet in the back since I was just going to cut the smaller heart off to reuse, so I thought maybe I could put it on an craft apron as a spoon pocket and only sew up the sides, leaving the top and bottom open for a pair of scissors. Then I thought, I could just sew up the "V" portion and put it as a little pocket on a back. While I liked both of those ideas, it required me starting a larger project and I had to put The Lil Monkey to bed in an hour. I needed something fast ... LIGHT BULB! A banner!!

I dug around and found my Quiltsmart banner panels and grabbed one with some white fabric and within minutes, I had made this adorable banner. Today, I have to run errands and added to my list to get some fabric for letters. I'll lad the work LOVE in between the hearts and add a ribbon across the top. I'll post a finished photo when I post the orginal project I had set out to make.

All in all the lesson here is, you never know where your mistakes will take you. If you just roll with the punches, sometimes falling down gives you a better view! 

Until our next cup of tea ... 

Operation Organization: Keeping Track, Keeping Motivated

On thing that I have learned in more than 10 years as a military wife, is that life is easier with organization and order. It has actually become something I am known for among my friends and colleagues. Lists, notes, journals and more. Does that mean that my house is an organized and well running machine - no, I'm only human, and in fact as I write this, a pile of dishes silently stares at me waiting to be loaded into dishwasher and my son's school uniform for picture day tomorrow is still sitting in front of the washing machine, but being organized does make it quicker when I do face the most dreaded of household tasks.

Lists, charts and timelines are something I thrive on most. Sure I've shown you stacks of carefully cataloged boxes and bins, but really the important part is the list that tells me what is in those containers and where I am on the projects.

Last year a fellow crafter asked me for the project worksheet that I'd made in 2007 or 2008 during one of my husband's deployments. I updated it last year to reflect The Teacup Collector's Cottage, now that I chronicle my creative adventures here.

Since we've spent some time talking about organization lately I thought I'd share with you my simple little project organizer.

Its no secret that I juggle what feels like 700 ongoing projects. At home, work, and with my son's school, I am a start-to-finish type person, so to be able to set something down and start something new is a bit of a vacation. There is no deadline really, unless I impose one like the Quiltsmart Round Robin.

Ultimately, when it comes to creative projects, I like the worksheet because some projects can make you feel like you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere, but having notes to track progress can put things in perspective.

What do you do to keep motivated on long projects?

Until our next cup of tea ...



Story Time SAL Gets Us "Frosted" in 2015!!

A few months ago my friend Teresa introduced me to a new cross stitch pattern company, The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. When I explored the site, I instantly fell in love. So many cute projects! I had a lot of projects on my plate at the time and was unable to start something new without finishing a few, but I definitely added their Tea Time pattern to my wish list. 

Last week I saw a post introducing their 2015 Mystery Stitch-a-Long...Story Time Sampler where once a month participants would receive a portrait of some of our favorite characters from literature! What!?! Books and crafts! Who could pass that up?

So the next day, I signed up and received the instruction guide and supply list! Yeah! I am super excited to get started!! 

Some stories we'll be stitching up:

Alice in Wonderland
Little Women
Lady of Shalott
Sherlock Holmes and more!

The finished Story Time pattern measures 8.2" x 11.2" tall and 131 stitches wide x 180 stitches tall on 16 ct. aida or 32 ct. linen. 

I have so many projects that I rotate through, I think I will start a #FrostedPumpkinFriday post to keep me going. I'll try to post progress reports MOST Fridays and encourage you to post photos of your progress if you are participating in the SAL. 

If you are participating please remember to only post photos of your project, not the pattern. Artists work hard to create these patterns and in order to keep pricing  reasonable, we  must remember not to share their work with those who have not purchased it. If you have any questions feel free to post, or email #TheFrostedPumpkin directly at  thefrostedpumpkinstitchery@gmail.com.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Operation Organization: Keeping Up with Quilting and More

As a military family, organization is important. As a crafter, organization is important. As a mom, organization is important. Basically, organization is important. 

When the Army brought my son and I home, while my husband spent a year overseas, I had to chance to unpack and organize at my leisure. That included my creative area and office.  

In Miami, I'd started to get organized and had a variety of boxes that I'd purchased as I organized my craft room there. It was so easy to sort my creative supplies and tools into these easy to stack boxes. I loved them especially, because I could open them through the snap fronts. That was quite helpful once we moved here and they found a home at the top of the closet.  

Once we moved, I had more space and I started to get more and more supplies, mostly from friends who pass stuff along to me. When my husband returned after a year overseas, he started law school and I had moved to a job that allowed me to work from home. Since there was less travel and Iwas able to keep up with housework that when I was juggling a job where I traveled, worked odd hours and kept up with a toddler.

I was exploring a sale at The Container Store after a lunch meeting one day and found these sturdy, deep boxes and being pink certainly was a bonus! The blue boxes were perfect for organizing The Lil Monkey's art that comes home from school. (I have plans for that later.) 

When I started the "A Year of Quiltsmart" Project, I knew I needed to find a way to organize my rotating projects (really, who does one at a time?) and my Quiltsmart interfacing and panels. By this time I'd visited The Container Store a few times, and had discovered their clear plastic shoe boxes in varying sizes. Once a month I had a lunch meeting nearby and would head over to grab a few, and before I knew it, I had all my projects organized, each in their own container. 

The boxes were also the perfect size for extra unpackaged interfacing. Whenever I want to work on a project, I can grab a box, which has all the fabric, interfacing and pattern or notes. I can get started with a project within minutes. I also found these small scrapbook boxes that I use for smaller projects. I have been using the larger ones for scrapbook, but have only found the small ones recently.

Keeping myself organized has definitely made my limited craft time more efficient. Living a businy life doesn't mean that I can't have a little down time, I'd just rather spent it doing a project than trying to find all the parts to one. When I started the "A Year of Quiltsmart" project in August I knew that I needed an organized method because inspiration can hit at any moment and who wants to waste timedigging  for stuff you think you might have, when you can reach for it and be started in minutes. 

   

Until our next cup of tea ...

Conversations with my Kid: I Don't Know My Story

This is a little off topic of the blog, but too funny not to share. The conversations I have had with him over the years are quite humorous at times. He has a funny way of looking at things and his interpreation of every day life is amusing ... most days. Here is an example.

Last night when I was putting the Lil Monkey to bed ...

Lil Monkey: Remember when I was a baby and you stole me?

Me: What!?!

Lil Monkey: Did you steal me when I was a baby?

Me: Who told you that?

Lil Monkey: Well, I just ... you know.

Me: No. I don't know.

Lil Monkey: You know, in the movie Tangled ...

Me: That's Repunzel's story,  not yours.

Lil Monkey: Oh, then I don't know my story. 

I guess like the super heroes he loves so much, he wants to have a unique story.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Operation Organization: Cross Stitch Corner

I learned to cross stitch at the age of 5, when a friend of my mother's taught me that summer. We'd spent a lot of time with her and her sons. I was the only girl in the group of kids, so I was either left or wandered off because I really wasn't interested in what the boys were doing.

I stuck with it through high school and even into college. Cross stitching was definitely what helped me keep my sanity through my husband's yearlong deployments. So many projects were created through those 3 deployments.

It wasn't until 4 years ago that I realized I had an organization problem. I was 7 to 8 months pregnant and the Army had just moved us from Georgia to Florida, our 3rd Army move in his career, but that did not count the 7 moves since I graduated high school, or was it 8?

Anyway, each move half finished projects, or even finished projects that had to be sewn or framed into its completed form, were boxes up and shipped along with all of our household goods to our new home. In some cases it only took days to get a house, in some it was weeks. In that time, I'd usually picked up another project at the locate craft store to keep me from going stir crazy in a hotel room in a new city with a grumpy bulldog. (To be fair, he was not grumpy if I just sat and let him lay on top of me, it was all this getting up and going places that did not include food that he was against.)

So my hesitance to start exploring while the dear hubby was at work, gave me plenty of time to stitch. When the Army moved us to Homestead, Florida (South Miami), I was nearly 8 months pregnant, hoping that we'd be able to get the house put together enough to bring home a new baby. So the kitchen, bathroom, and our bedroom were the primary focus. We were lucky, and I guess smart, because as soon as we learned where the Army would be moving us, we changed our baby registries to have all the of gifts not mailed, delivered to the local stores. It was like Christmas walking in and coming out with carts full of baby stuff that we 1.) didn't have to pay for and 2.) didn't have to unpack from the stacks of boxes that were sitting in our new house at the time. When you spend enough time in the Army you learn to always to looking ahead to the next move!

After we brought home The Lil Monkey, we slowly started to turn the 4th room into a craft room, the first time I'd ever had one (it only took 32 years!) The Christmas before he was born, my husband had surprised me with a sewing machine. So those last two months of pregnancy it was hard to focus on unpacking when I had that pretty new machine sitting there.

As I unpacked I'd realized that over the years, many of my half stitched projects had been boxed up for a move and then set aside when we unpacked because I had already started new ones in the interim. Since I was a serial project starter anyway and had rotated projects to keep me from getting bored, there were a lot. I knew that with a new baby, life had to get organized really quickly if I was to keep crafting. So that's where Operation Organization began.

When it came to stitching, the solution was simple. I needed something that allowed me to keep everything I needed for a project together, and that's when "The Box" came  to our house.

The box has changed over the years, just like the "craft bag" where I keep current projects for grab and go moments. Now it is a bright pink canvas basket, but the organization of its contents are the same.

Each cross stitch (or embroidery) project is put into its own zipper plastic bag. It contains the fabric and all of the floss needed to complete the project as well as with the original or copy of the pattern. I mostly use copies so I can highlight the finished sections as I go, but small or quick patterns may have the original. They are not really put in any order throughout the year, though at the end of each year, when I sort through and update my WIP (Works in Progress) list I usually put them back with larger in the back, smaller in the front. Throughout the year it gets rearranged with stuff I am pausing work on going in the front.

Each bag that is in the "working" rotation usually has a needle and hoop in it. I have a few pairs of scissors and even nail clippers that I use to cut with and those are usually in the bag as well. (I use nail clippers if I am taking a project in the car or on a plane for safety reasons and because sometimes TSA will not let you take scissors on a plane.

In the front of the box is also the stack of finished projects that need to be completed as a wall hanging or some sort of sewn project.

Since I mostly wind my floss on bobbins to prevent tangling, I also have a bag of floss that is unwound, so that if I am watching TV or at a sports practice I can take it and wind them at my leisure.

This year, I have the smallest amount of WIPs that I can remember in a long. My list this year includes ...

Finished Projects to Be Sewn or Framed:

• Rejoice Wreath
• White Heart (on pink)

Projects to be Stitched:

• Christmas Bells Bread Cloth
• Roll Poly Santa's
• Easter Bunny - mom
• Easter Bunny - me
• Love Honor Cherish
• Blanket with Jamie's initials
• Army Seal
• Good Night Moon blanket
• Red, White and Blue Ribbon
• Watermelon Towel
• Monthly Christmas SAL
• Witch Hat
• key bookmark
• Candy Cane Towel
• Daisy Tabletopper
• Jamie's Christmas Stocking

I'll create a Projects List with link at the top of the blog to help keep track. Tomorrow, I'll post organization tips for quilting and other crafting.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Pinterest Project: We Need Alcohol for This!!

Yesterday, I posted about getting some creative time in with my friend, Erin. Though it was by far, our longest creative time together, it is not the only one on this trip.

On Friday, we were still trying to recover from our Christmas Day adventures (the wind picked up our canopy in the backyard and sent it flying though the kitchen windown when I was washing dishes.) After additional clean up and repairs, we rescheduled a gathering of #TheFourFamilies to Saturday and settled in for a quiet evening around our new gas firepit. Mike and Erin, who are staying down the street, walked over with their oldest to join us for some backporch relaxation.

Earlier on Friday, the hubby and I went to Lowe's with Lil Monkey to  pick up the gas grill and I got some plain white tiles so I could "trouble-shoot" the Sharpie Alcohol Art project I will be doing with my son's pre-K class next month. Sharpies and 4/5 year-olds is definitely something that can get scary fast so I wanted to have some idea of the project beforehand.

So when Erin came over, I enticed her to help me with the project. That's what good friends do, get you out of your comfort zone.

The premise seems pretty easy. Take multiple Sharpie markers and color white tiles with various designs then "drop" alcohol on it and watch them kind of melt together like a watercolor. Sounds simple ...

We had 4 color Sharpies ... black, red, blue and yellow. I thought the yellow wouldn't work, but we were surprised. After a couple of tries we discovered there were a few things that were not on the various instructions we'd found on Pinterest:

1. They don't really "melt" together without a little "dabbing" assistance. 

2. The red in particular was difficult because it tended to "float" and eventually just disappear.

3. Black was too strong and muddled everything into a black soupy mess.

The part we loved the most? You could rinse the times and remove the Sharpie and alcohol and start over, though we did have to wipe the ones with red with a little alcohol to get it all off. Not a big deal, and definitely a lifesaver since I'd only gotten 4 tiles. 

We each rinsed and redid our tiles 2 or 3 times, but eventually we got the hang of it. This is a photo of her tiles (top) and mine (bottom) when we left them to dry.

As you can see the red starts to fade away, but overall we were pretty happy. Unfortunately, it has rained to 48+ hours since then, so while they are dry, I have not been able to seal them with a Polyurethane sealer. From all I have read, it is best to use a spary versus a brush method so it doesn't distort the tiles. Hopefully, today the backyard will dry a little and I can spray them and post notes about the finishing step. I'll post another look at them as well, so you can see how they changed as they dried. 

Until our next cup of tea ...

A Friend's Request

Military life comes with a certain degree of separation and a large portion of goodbyes. As a military family you learn to treasure friends when you find them because in a short time you're introductions turn to farewells. If you're lucky you'll stay in touch via social media and if you hit the lottery you may be stationed at the same location again with a good timeframe of overlapping between another move.

Sometimes you have the rare treasure of having a military friend who has family in the same location as you and the friendship can grow into one that will last weel into your golden years. George and I are that lucky. 

He and his friend, Michael, grew up in the same neighborhood and after highschool Mike headed to the Navy and George headed to college where he joined the Army. Eventually wives and children joined the mix and "coming home to visit" gave us more "family" to visit. Now that we are living back in the old neighborhood we've become part of the family their coordinate into those busy trips home.

Erin and I have a friendship that was born because of our husbands' history and grew fast because of the shared understanding of military life. It's hard to explain to those who don't live the daily life of a military family, but there are small daily things that you don't get if you don't live it. Today for example we talked about how even when you are unpacking from a new move you are taking notes on what to do differently when packing the next time, and how even putting away holiday decorations is extreme because you don't know if you will recieve orders to move before you open them again, so you have to pack with that knowledge.

That's not to say that we can't find comfort and support from those family and friends who are not military, but it's sort of an unspoken understanding.

During this visit, we've had a bit of time to get together with what has come to be known as "The Four Families", a group that includes two other friends from George's childhood in this neighborhood. With Mike and Erin staying down the street, we've also had some one-on-one time to visit and relax. Today was one of those days.

The Lil Monkey spent the day with my parents and I called Erin to see if she wanted to come over to sew. When their oldest was younger he recieved a lot of handmade gifts from family members, such as blankets, quilts, afghans, etc. In the 10 years between their oldest and youngest, many of those family members have passed away and Erin was sad that their second child wouldn't have some of the same heirlooms later. I offered to make a quilt and other little things earlier this year and she was excited but also expressed how she'd love to learn to sew as well. 

We were finally able to have a good amount of child-free time for both of us today, so she came over to help layout the quilt (I wanted her to have as much participation as possible) and to learn the sewing basics. After getting her comfortable with my sewing machine and showing her to basics, I pulled out the easiest projects to learn to sew on ... Quiltsmart ZigZapps and Wine Shades. She felt comfortable starting with the Wine Shades because of the straight lines. 

I sorted through my recently consolidated fabric stash pulled out some pink polka dot fabric that matched the quilt we'd been working on for her daughter's soon-to-be big girl room. She was a little hesitant at first, but when I explained that the wine shades were very forgiving as far as staying on the sitching lines and such, she started to feel a little more confident. 

She slowly stitched along, talking herself through the steps and buttons, while I organized my box of ZigZapps looking for some more Wine Shades. I'd recently given my roll of panels to my Mom who was short for a class she was teaching and was now regretting not keeping some. I soon got lucky, finding a few pre-cut wine shades interfacing panels as her confidence grew and she began chatting about making set for each holiday. I dug around in my fabric a little more and found fabric for her to use to make wine shades for 4th of July/Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving/Fall, and Halloween.  

A few hours after starting she had a stack of completed wine shades, the remaining panels I could find and a list of fabric to get at the store this week. I'm not sure of I should be proud like a Mama Bird whose chick learned to fly, or if I should worry that I have created a tornado that cannot be contained! But I guess I'll worry about that later because now I have to show her the ZiggZapp flowers, leaves and petals, stars and more!!!

It was truly an amazing day to be able to take a break from the realities of military life and the looming seperation and just get creative. Quiltsmart made it easy to get have fun while learning, and who knows what crafty craziness we try next!!

Until our next cup of tea ...