The Art of Embroidery

In our family, my mother-in-law is known for her expertise in needlework. 

From sewing to quilting to embroidery, her art is superlative. 

 (Clicking on photos will enlarge them so you can see even more detail.)

Here she is adding finishing touches of grass to an embroidered *barn. 

Y'all know I ♥ barns, right? 

And she has incorporated a Cardinal in the design, too. 

Oh, I love birds!

I love how authentic the Pine Tree looks.

When she is finished, there will be four designs and she will quilt them 

together to form the wall hanging. Isn't this awesome?! The first square is finished. 

It's so much more dramatic in person. I can't wait to see all four pieces put together.

 Did you know the earliest surviving embroideries are Scythian and date back to the 5th-3rd centuries BCE? There's a form of embroidery called Blackwork, where they only use black thread to make the designs and twist it in a certain way to give it dimension. I'm not sure what technique my MIL used on the barn but it seems awfully close to Blackwork. 

And look at this finished wall hanging...

Isn't it phenomenal?!

It's an ancient art form of Embroidery called Thread Painting or Needle Painting.

And the detail is absolutely stunning.

Can you tell that my mother-in-law's reputation is well deserved? 

But being the humble woman that she is, she'll be the first to tell you that it is a gift from the Lord. 

: : : : :

When I started writing this post I was only intent on sharing how much I admire and love my MIL's ability with a needle. I was going to attach a Scripture verse here but I have to say that after knowing her for 33 years, she is truly the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman. She is an awesomely dedicated wife, mom, MIL, grandmother and great grandmother who aptly fits the description. She has always put the welfare of her family first. Her faith in the Lord and love for hearth and home is what is to be admired. Her handiwork with a needle second. She may or may not read this post but I want to say Thanks, Mom. I love you. 

Have a blessed day in the Lord, my friends!

*The barn pattern is by Beth B Dix/ Primrose Lane, Black Mountain, NC. 

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Journal52 Week 3: You Make Me Smile

Can I just say that I am LOVING watercolors?!

I'm so enthralled with all the combinations and textures you can get mixing the colors. I've been watching some Youtube tutorials this past week and WOW...there are gazillions of them out there! 

I found one that was right up my alley. The artist's name is Samie Harding. She blogs at Journal Girl. What I liked most about her video series is that they are short, and she gets her hands messy! I mean messy!!! I loved it! And after watching, this is what I came up with for this week's prompt:

This is a closeup of the right hand corner. I'll list the colors I used but I can't remember the exact order, other than I know I started with a base layer of Prussian Blue and Crimson Red, adding Orange Yellow and Lemon Yellow with a tad bit of Yellow Ochre for some subtle 'sunny' highlights. I used some White along with the Crimson Red to get the pink tones at the top. 

BUT FIRST!!! I applied an all over coat of Gesso with a plastic card, then took another sheet of card stock and laid it on top, smoothing it with my hand. Then I carefully and slowly peeled it off to reveal those fantastic ripples!!! Leave to dry for 24 hours or use a heat gun, being careful not to burn the paper!

To make my faux flower design, I used a journal card from Making Memories and carefully outlined the shape. Tracing over it with a Prismacolor Premier marker in black really helped make it pop! I snagged that marker from my son's art supplies but don't tell him. Maybe he won't notice ;)

I drew the flower stalk and leaves (I don't draw well but it was fun trying). The paper flowers are some I had in my stash from Making Memories. I added some rhinestone bling so they would sparkle because you can never have too much sparkle. Right, ladies?

(The page really has more green tones than showing in this photo. You can see them better in the one above.)

Following along with the theme of someone who makes me smile, I immediately thought of my husband. He is the one person guaranteed to coax a smile or a laugh from just about anyone! He truly has a phenomenal sense of humor and quick wit. He is my SUNSHINE! I drew the sun on a separate piece of card stock after water coloring it with the yellows. Plus I spritzed it with some Sheer Shimmer Spritz in Frost. I glued it down with Tombow Mono (my favorite adhesive) and outlined it with the Prismacolor marker. After contemplating the emptiness of the sun, I then chose to journal some in the rays, which I think is kind of cute. I will journal more about him in the flower area that I left blank but that will be private :)

A few things I decided this week:

Use watercolor paper and not card stock. Maybe then it won't curl.

Start early. I get jittery when the end of the week gets close and I haven't even started.

Clean up my craft area while I go along, otherwise I can't find a thing.

Shop with a coupon at the craft store.

Be me and don't compare myself to others.

Thank the Lord daily for the ability to create!

So there you have it! 

I sincerely hope each of you have a blessed week in the Lord!

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Who makes you smile?!

Christmas Ornament Exchange

I couldn't resist participating in the Christmas Ornament Exchange,  hosted by Vicki, over at Life On Willie May Lane.  Some of the participants were agreeable to sending ornaments around the world. 

The big question for each of us was, "Where will my ornament come from?" 

I was so excited when mine arrived and it came from the U.K., Truro to be exact!
The lovely Barbara over at Cornish Cream gave me some very special gifts.
The heart ornament is made from Thai Silk that she purchased on a trip to Thailand and embellished it with beautiful gold ribbon and poinsettias!

Included is a lovely lavender scented sachet, two Afternoon Teas, a delightful handmade gift tag (which will not find its way on anyone's gift because it is too pretty! I think I will use it as a bookmark.), and a sweet note from Barbara, written on a gorgeous handmade card! 

We have corresponded a coupe of times already and I am so happy to have a friend in the U.K.! I'm looking forward to getting to know Barbara even better in 2014.

I want to thank Vicky for hosting this exciting exchange! I'm sure there's a lot of work that goes into organizing so many ladies. Hop on over and see what everyone received by clicking here.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Easy to make Autumn or Thanksgiving Wreath

I am always late getting a seasonally appropriate wreath made for the front door. This year is no exception. With less than a week to go before Thanksgiving, it may seem useless to even make one. However, I couldn't pass up an 80% off sale of all autumn florals at Hobby Lobby! I unpinned the cloth flowers off my basic wreath that is made from a foam circle and burlap to get it ready for a new look.

While I was at HL, I couldn't pass up this awesome purple hot glue gun! 

I needed a new one anyway :)

I snipped apart some of the floral spray pieces to make it easier to handle and attach to the wreath.

I'm quite fond of mums and sunflowers. 

And I loved the acorns and apple in this particular spray.

Even though these beautiful flowers are silk, they still bring a smile to my face. 

Sunflowers and Mums breath warmth and hospitality!

I tried to follow pretty closely the way they were pre-arranged on the spray when I glued them down. I think I need a few more leaves around the bottom but overall I am quite satisfied. 

Floral arranging of any kind is not my forte'. My daughter, on the other hand, is very good at making wreaths. Maybe I will showcase some of her work in December. 

Do you make your own wreaths or buy them ready-made?

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

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Desperate times call for desperate measures

My sixteen year old has never shown an interest in the kitchen other than to fill his plate and eat. I refused to make his favorite cookies this week because he has been sick with a severely sore throat. Figured the sugar wouldn't be good for it. Well, he got desperate and went to work for himself. Since we're home educators, I grabbed my camera to document this amazing event and I'm calling it Home Ec 101: Cooking  :)

Sam's Favorite Cookies

(recipe below)

Gather the ingredients...

[can you tell by the recipe card that we've made these a few times? 

i believe there's more than a little vanilla & peanut butter smeared on there :)]

measure the oatmeal...

[we actually live in our house so just ignore the clutter in the background ;)]

peanut butter...

vanilla (Molina is the best!)...

and sugar & cocoa.

melting the butter...

adding the sugar, cocoa and milk...

and stirring and stirring and stirring...

add the peanut butter and stir some more...

(at this point he said they aren't quick :)

adding the vanilla and oatmeal was fun...

but now there is more stirring!

(not his favorite part of making cookies)

now they are ready to plop onto the pans...

Sam did an excellent job on his first batch of 

Quick Chocolate Cookies even if he thought they weren't quick. They are delicious! His daddy grabbed one as soon as he came home from work but wouldn't let me photograph his look of joy. 

These are my guys favorite cookies!

Recipe: No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/2 c milk

1 stick butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

Heat first 4 ingredients. Boil 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stirring pretty much constantly. Remove pan from heat. Add last 3 ingredients. Stir, stir, stir. Spoon quickly onto a pan lined with wax paper. Let cool. Enjoy!

What's your favorite cookie?

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Homemade Cloth Diapers...

What a cute idea!

Check it out @ Mama Java: Craft therapy

Altered Art is...

~ Collaging, embellishing, enameling, stamping or doing anything else to a book  or other household item to reflect a creative idea, theme or narrative.

Collecting items to create Altered Art has become almost an obsession. I see potential in EVERYTHING! I save tea boxes, yogurt cartons, jelly jars, plastic trays, spaghetti boxes, and cereal boxes. Have I made anything out of these wannabe trash to treasure goodies? Well, no but I'm going to. I will. I promise. I just need more time in my day. I do like to read, you know. And I have two boys that I homeschool, laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, and I like to read. I said that already, didn't I?

I have made one really super cool box, though. If you're on my Facebook then you've already seen it, but you can hang around and ooohhh and aaahhh over the photos again. Be kind. It's my first one.

Pretty, huh? It was so much fun! And I learned alot doing this one. Like what type of glue NOT to use.