Framed pieces
23 hours ago
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Apples For Sale!!!
Who doesn't love candy apples? I'm offering handmade "candy apples" 3 for $10 . These are adapted from a design by Kristal Norton of Rags N Tags. These are made from muslin, stuffed and painted and then coated and 'sprinkled' with faux nuts. No two will be exactly alike. Each comes wrapped in a cello bag tied with a homespun bow.
They will make adorable gifts for teachers or any apple collectors out there. I will attach a vintage Halloween/Fall or Thanksgiving tag to each for gift giving.
Apples are approximately 4 inches across and 7 inches tall Including stick.
Postage will be charged separately.
If you are interested in either the pumpkins or apples or anything else I have featured feel free to contact me at: MaryKahle1968@yahoo.com
I look forward to your comments and to hearing from you.
Straight from the Pumpkin Patch: Pumpkins for Sale
Hi everyone. I am listing two sets of pumpkins for sale today. They are $12 for a set of three. You can choose between a prim orange or a set of prim white ones. These pumpkins are all hand made by me and are an adaptation of a design by Susan Dean of Threadbare Primitives. The stems are cinnamon sticks and all are embellished with moss. (all sizes are approximate)
Each set contains:
one large (6 inches across and 5 inches tall (including stem)
one medium ( 6 inches across and 4 1/2 inches tall (including stem)
one small ( 6 inches across and 4 inches tall)
Friday, October 16, 2009
Some of my Autumn Craft Projects
Pumpkin Crow Pie
Black Hat Society Reject
Olde Time HarvestJust in case anyone is wondering what some of the projects look like here is a sample of them.
UFOs and other thoughts
I don't know how many of you have the same failings as me... someone gives you a link to a web site and it has a great pattern... a 'Must-Have'! You happily pay out your money, download (hey I rarely send for paper patterns these days... who can wait that long for the mail...) and then you print. Oh ecstasy! You can visualise the final project with all your friends ooooing and ahhhhing over it... . So, in this first flush of enthusiasm you dive into your craft materials and if like me, have a stash you could open a store with (according to hubs) you can't find the perfect fabric or the correct colour of paint ... or... oh you know what I mean! That's it! Check the money in your purse... this is serious... it requires a trip to Joann's, Michael's or AC Moore immediately!
So you go and purchase a bolt of muslin cause it is 'on sale'. I know I have one in the house but it will save me money/a trip out to purchase more when I need it next. YES! They have the paint/wire/bells/thread/floss/fabric ... that I need as well! Suitably armed with my purchases I rush home. Oh the glory of it all! I can just see me putting the finishing touches to this tonight!
I'm exhausted! Need sustenance before I go any further. a couple of peanut butter cups later, the energy levels restored... I get out my materials, the freezer paper ...no I'm not cooking (for my non crafty friends).... it's to trace the pattern pieces... can't cut my precious pattern!
So I mark out the pattern on my fabric. I haul my 'portable' , 25 lbs of circa 1965, sewing machine on to the table. (Hubs always has a good laugh over the 'portable' discription! ) Thread the machine and away I go, sewing to my little heart's content. Before you know it I'm done. Next you stuff the little darling pieces and soon you will be able to paint and grunge. And that's what I do... painting and grunging ... one eye on the tv for my fave programme and the other on my little delight! I glance at the clock... it's getting late, my eyes are beginning to droop... too late to bake these... they can dry in the utility overnight.
Next morning… it’s another day filled with laundry and housework, cooking and dishes. “I’ll find some time in the afternoon to finish the project,” says I. Afternoon comes and goes. Something more pressing arises, like the newest catalog from one supplier or another. “I can put it together this evening.” But following a phone call with DD… “It’s too late, I’ll do it tomorrow!” And so it goes… one day follows another and the project casts a beady eye at you constantly reminding you that you haven’t finished it! Then days turn into weeks (and sometimes months). Eventually the UFO gets moved to a basket/box/bag to join other of its friends. At least it won’t be lonely!
Hands up everyone who recognizes themselves in this tale! I know I have many part finished projects ( unfinished objects) that haunt me, make me feel guilty. So every now and then I promise myself that I cannot start any new projects until I finish at least one or two of the UFOs. Why you may ask am I going on about this? Well today was one of my days of reckoning. I pulled out a couple of the half finished projects and started putting them together. I have finally finished one… it’s only taken about a month (maybe more). I have two others to work on tonight. I’m making a public promise to work on them and get them completed over the weekend because I know that if I don’t… they will continue to languish unfinished. Look for a picture on Monday of these two. But for now… you will have to settle for my finally finished Pumpkin Crow Pie. I made it from a design by Sharon Mitchell of Homespun Heart Primitives.
So you go and purchase a bolt of muslin cause it is 'on sale'. I know I have one in the house but it will save me money/a trip out to purchase more when I need it next. YES! They have the paint/wire/bells/thread/floss/fabric ... that I need as well! Suitably armed with my purchases I rush home. Oh the glory of it all! I can just see me putting the finishing touches to this tonight!
I'm exhausted! Need sustenance before I go any further. a couple of peanut butter cups later, the energy levels restored... I get out my materials, the freezer paper ...no I'm not cooking (for my non crafty friends).... it's to trace the pattern pieces... can't cut my precious pattern!
So I mark out the pattern on my fabric. I haul my 'portable' , 25 lbs of circa 1965, sewing machine on to the table. (Hubs always has a good laugh over the 'portable' discription! ) Thread the machine and away I go, sewing to my little heart's content. Before you know it I'm done. Next you stuff the little darling pieces and soon you will be able to paint and grunge. And that's what I do... painting and grunging ... one eye on the tv for my fave programme and the other on my little delight! I glance at the clock... it's getting late, my eyes are beginning to droop... too late to bake these... they can dry in the utility overnight.
Next morning… it’s another day filled with laundry and housework, cooking and dishes. “I’ll find some time in the afternoon to finish the project,” says I. Afternoon comes and goes. Something more pressing arises, like the newest catalog from one supplier or another. “I can put it together this evening.” But following a phone call with DD… “It’s too late, I’ll do it tomorrow!” And so it goes… one day follows another and the project casts a beady eye at you constantly reminding you that you haven’t finished it! Then days turn into weeks (and sometimes months). Eventually the UFO gets moved to a basket/box/bag to join other of its friends. At least it won’t be lonely!
Hands up everyone who recognizes themselves in this tale! I know I have many part finished projects ( unfinished objects) that haunt me, make me feel guilty. So every now and then I promise myself that I cannot start any new projects until I finish at least one or two of the UFOs. Why you may ask am I going on about this? Well today was one of my days of reckoning. I pulled out a couple of the half finished projects and started putting them together. I have finally finished one… it’s only taken about a month (maybe more). I have two others to work on tonight. I’m making a public promise to work on them and get them completed over the weekend because I know that if I don’t… they will continue to languish unfinished. Look for a picture on Monday of these two. But for now… you will have to settle for my finally finished Pumpkin Crow Pie. I made it from a design by Sharon Mitchell of Homespun Heart Primitives.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
How not to follow a pattern!
Well I've been busy making some 'candy apples' from a lovely pattern from Rags N Tags. The apples turned out great! Pattern is perfect and very simple. I even had a great color paint.
Unfortunately... I didn't have the correct type of wax for dipping my apples. (according to the pattern) Nor did I have a wax kettle (or whatever they are called.) "No problem", says I. I have a great jar candle, apple scented... terrific! Ahhhh... not quite. No kettle to melt it... no problem! I'll use my candle warmer... the apple scented candle is in a jar. I'll melt it and pour it into a heat-proof container sitting in a pan of hot water! So I did. Yeah, the candle is made of Soy wax... lovely, great scent, adore the color... love the scent! So I heated, melted poured and dipped 3 of my apples. Oooooo.... ahhhhhh..... they look great! Buuuttttt... it didn't harden, well it did... but not like I wanted. "I'll leave it over night." says I. (Ok, maybe I should explain that with the exception of the cats I basically have only myself to talk to on an evening... hubs works 2nd shift!)
Next morning I leap out of bed and make my way to the dining table fully expecting the magical transformation... nope... didn't happen! Maybe I should have waited and bought the correct wax?
At this point in the tale I probably should admit that the pattern also called for 'faux nuts' (basically a product made from ground corn stalks/cobs... well something like that) I didn't have any. But... I did have a few spent scented sachets containing that stuff that looks like the 'faux nuts'. "I'll try those!" Noooooooo... they are kind of greyish! "Won't matter, I'll redip lightly to give them a coating."
The upshot of the tale is that the about half of the 'faux nuts ended up sliding off and into the hot wax (which wasn't as hot as it should have been! I didn't have a thermometer.) So by the morning I found the 3 apples standing to attention, smelling delightful, but not looking remotely like the picture on the cover of my pattern! Now I hasten to add this has nothing to do with the pattern... it was my fault... I should have waited, bought the correct equipment, the wax blend, the 'nuts'. The nice part... I get to keep these, they smell great, they'll look cute on my kitchen counter and in the air conditioning... they won't melt! (I hope!)
Unfortunately... I didn't have the correct type of wax for dipping my apples. (according to the pattern) Nor did I have a wax kettle (or whatever they are called.) "No problem", says I. I have a great jar candle, apple scented... terrific! Ahhhh... not quite. No kettle to melt it... no problem! I'll use my candle warmer... the apple scented candle is in a jar. I'll melt it and pour it into a heat-proof container sitting in a pan of hot water! So I did. Yeah, the candle is made of Soy wax... lovely, great scent, adore the color... love the scent! So I heated, melted poured and dipped 3 of my apples. Oooooo.... ahhhhhh..... they look great! Buuuttttt... it didn't harden, well it did... but not like I wanted. "I'll leave it over night." says I. (Ok, maybe I should explain that with the exception of the cats I basically have only myself to talk to on an evening... hubs works 2nd shift!)
Next morning I leap out of bed and make my way to the dining table fully expecting the magical transformation... nope... didn't happen! Maybe I should have waited and bought the correct wax?
At this point in the tale I probably should admit that the pattern also called for 'faux nuts' (basically a product made from ground corn stalks/cobs... well something like that) I didn't have any. But... I did have a few spent scented sachets containing that stuff that looks like the 'faux nuts'. "I'll try those!" Noooooooo... they are kind of greyish! "Won't matter, I'll redip lightly to give them a coating."
The upshot of the tale is that the about half of the 'faux nuts ended up sliding off and into the hot wax (which wasn't as hot as it should have been! I didn't have a thermometer.) So by the morning I found the 3 apples standing to attention, smelling delightful, but not looking remotely like the picture on the cover of my pattern! Now I hasten to add this has nothing to do with the pattern... it was my fault... I should have waited, bought the correct equipment, the wax blend, the 'nuts'. The nice part... I get to keep these, they smell great, they'll look cute on my kitchen counter and in the air conditioning... they won't melt! (I hope!)
By the way... the apples in question are the ones in the front of the picture, the ones behind are a secod batch and they turned out great! Abandoned wax but that's another tale!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Crafting for Fall
Well the days are drawing in (or they would be if I was living in a colder climate) but never the less... It is fall or rather, autumn. Unfortunately I live in south Florida and the temperatures are in the 90s so it doesn't feel much like fall or autumn here. But it is in my house! I have wreaths in rich golds, oranges and deep reds. Pumpkins adorn every surface, many of them made by my own hand.
I love buying fall patterns... I love making them and for the last few years I have developed a love of certain prim designers. Cindy Markovcy of 'Homespun from the Heart' has some really lovely... bring-a-smile-to-your-face designs! I've made two of them this season. The first, "Black Hat Society Reject" that I finished crafting this past weekend and a cute mummy nodder (who has been gracing the shelf behind my sofa for the past month! At present there is a pile of muslin apples waiting to be made into 'candy apples'. I've already tried 3 coated in wax but I'm not very experienced working in that medium. Trying to work out different coating... oh well, something to think about!
I love buying fall patterns... I love making them and for the last few years I have developed a love of certain prim designers. Cindy Markovcy of 'Homespun from the Heart' has some really lovely... bring-a-smile-to-your-face designs! I've made two of them this season. The first, "Black Hat Society Reject" that I finished crafting this past weekend and a cute mummy nodder (who has been gracing the shelf behind my sofa for the past month! At present there is a pile of muslin apples waiting to be made into 'candy apples'. I've already tried 3 coated in wax but I'm not very experienced working in that medium. Trying to work out different coating... oh well, something to think about!
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