Another Giveaway....Click HERE!

Okay so Sandi at Wayside Treasures is havin her 300th post giveaway. I HAD to enter this one as anyone who knows me knows I collect "bird" items as well as a vast collection of china birds. So I agreed to post this for an extra chance (do not feel obligated to enter as I want to win this one, ha ha). I just love the egg soaps, they are too cool!

Click Here to Enter...Another K C Giveaway!

To celebrate her new classes K C is having ANOTHER giveaway, and she is also giving a discount if you sign up for one of her online classes now!

So click on the post header above and sign up to win!

A Good Day To Dye.....

Yesterday was so lovely in the morning. Sunny and clear. I did some housework, Steven cut the grass. He is off Fridays now, like me, due to the cuts companies are making. It was nice being home with him. He fixed my car (it had a leaking gas line, for months, I thought he was waiting to see if I went up in flames before he fixed it) and I prepared a dye bath for some fabrics I had, and some I bought the other day when I was out with a friend at the Salvation Army store. 

As you may have read below my friend in Tennessee sent me a box of trims. I wanted to make her something. I was inspired by my friend Nancy VanHoose who is taking a class with K C Willis. I would LOVE to take the class too, but with less money coming in right now, and my daughters college to pay for, it will have to wait a bit (however I am trying to win a chance!). Yet, how I could look at the beautiful work Nancy is doing and not want to make something? Then all that trim my friend Cathy sent just begging to be used gave me the added motivation.

I prepared a dye bath, Rit Dye, Tan (do not use the dark brown, it turns things purple!). Although it worked well, it lacked the right hue I was trying to achieve. So I tried Coffee staining next. Well I liked it much more, it was much easier to control.  I think I prefer the Dye, I read the acids in the coffee can deteriorate the fabric over time.  I will just have to experiment with colors another time. My neighbors must have thought I was nutty, hanging bunches of stained, torn pieces of fabric outside. 

I foolishly thought, "this won't take long", wrong! It took almost all day. At the end of the day though, there was some lovely aged fabric and trim. I laid out some of them to start a project. Now that I know which ones I want to use, we can begin. The striped fabric is from two sheets,  some of the trim from Cathy, and the bottom of an old pillowcase.( I also found a couple jewelry pieces to use as accents).....

I dyed a lot of trim, and got all levels of stain depending on how long I left fabric in the dye, and how much I rinsed it. I found this vintage skirt at the local Salvation Army, I love the dusky color it got. I bought some pretty pearl cotton to add accents.

I think I love what the coffee dye does to silk flowers the best. They look all aged and rustic...

So today, after I clean the bathrooms (yuk I hate this job) I will start cutting and sewing.....

K C Willis Collage Camp!

K C Willis does the most interesting work in fabric collage. I would dearly love a chance to attend her camp, so I have entered her giveaway with high hopes to win. Check it out by clicking on the Post header!

A Giveaway! "Click Here" to Enter!

http://beedeebabee.blogspot.com/

Check out the giveaway at her new blog. Lovely handmade wool pins....and a chance to win one!

Package From a Friend....

My good friend Cathy Teller moved to Tennessee a few years ago. I miss her, we used to paint together and laugh and have fun. She makes cards also as well as china paint (her work is beautiful). Like so many people who make art, her Mom was/is her inspiration. A big fan of Carol Duval and crafting she like many moms opened a door of possibilities for her children.

Cathy has dabbled in many things, but she really shines when she paints. Her Mom decided she wanted to purge herself of some things she felt she had no use for. She brought them to Cathy, knowing that she was having a garage sale.

Her mom wanted Cathy to sell off the lot for a couple bucks unless Cathy wanted them. Well darn if Cathy didn't think of me. She called and asked if I would be interested in a "couple things".  I said sure asked her how much, she said "Oh, two or five buck would be fine." 

So in my mind I thought, okay, how much could there be for that? I said yes. I sent out a check to cover the amount plus shipping.

I received the box Saturday afternoon. I want to say it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. What could she have sent me?

First a lovely card, saying to keep what I like, and throw away what I don't (yeah like that would happen). She hoped I would find use for the things she sent........There were a few pieces from Toms family, her sister, a cross-stitched table runner, a crochet runner, some embroidered napkins,(she said they were "bonuses" she thought I would enjoy them)most though was from her mom.

There is so much here, crochet pieces, flowers, and circles. Some fabric ribbons...

More crochet trims, flowers, and leaves.....

New treasures with each layer..........

Just look at all the colorful lace trims......

There were pieces of eyelet, laces, cutwork and more.....

Then there was all this............

White, Cream and Gold Fringe,

Lace and more trims wrapped on cardboard and plastic racks.......

Even more trim and fringe...

This was below, pieces and parts, bit's and bob's. Beads and Ribbon, Fringe and lace....

There was a nice note from Cathy also. I cannot thank her enough for thinking of me. The Caption on the inside said: We are such good friends because, surprisingly, you are not intimidated by my beauty. 

Well Cathy, sometimes I am.............. Thank You good friend!

P.S. I called Cathy to tell her I thought I had not sent enough, but  she assured me that it was plenty.  I have not been feeling very much like doing any art. Now I want to make something with all these lovely things, something for a good friend.

It's Back!

Yes, Mariana de la Noche is back on Univision! Yes and although it is halfway through the series, I am still going to watch it. I saw it the first time it was on and really enjoyed it. It was the first time I saw this guy, Cesar Evora. I love his deep voice. I was hooked. This was the second Telenovela I followed. I don't speak the language, but you really don't need to, you can figure it out if you watch long enough. I even learned a few words and phrases watching (I keep a Spanish/English dictionary handy). If you really want to know what's happening there is a site called "Caray Caray" (http://caraycaray.blogspot.com/) where people translate and give you a synopsis. Now I warn you ,these people at Caray Caray are funny, and you will often get their commentary along with the story. So if you like "overly dramatic" (yeah a whole lot of crying, men and women, and over the top acting) you will like this. I recommend it. Next to La Madastra, it is my favorite one so far...... Oh did I mention Cesar is in La Madastra too?....... Here he is again, although later in the show he is shaven, much better..

How about this guy? Jorge Salinas, yeah he makes this telenovela easy to watch too..... Here is another one for you.....mmmmmmm

Things that fascinate me about Telenovelas:

The women all have a lot of makeup (even some of the nuns)

They always have a priest at some point in the story

They always have the Lady of Guadalupe at some point in the story

Both they guys and ladies cry (yeah I know we have a lot of that in our soaps, but I think they do it a lot more often)

They always have a happy ending (okay at least every one I have seen), the bad guys get caught and punished, or are forgiven, and the "true loves" are together in the end. Which is another reason to watch!

Oh, I hope you are home or have Tivo, it's on at 1:30 pm est.