Photos of things I have made this fall and winter . . .

This is a lot to look at, I know! But now that I am caught up, I will be able to post things as they happen! Thanks for stopping by . . . scroll down to see lots of pictures!

IF YOU HOVER OVER THE PHOTO, YOU CAN CLICK ON IT TO ENLARGE IT . . . .in case you want a closer view! :-)

Steampunk Tag made as a challenge in online group 

A couple shabby chic flowers made from fabric that matches some of my Graphic 45 scrapbook paper!

Wreath for the North Carolina Hartwicks . . . with things that represent NC . . Notice the little lantern lights up!

A greeting card made with Graphic 45 scrapbooking paper

A couple of ribbon "flowers" for a mini album (shown in the album below)

Cover of  Tag Mini Album made for a swap. I tried to make it look like a castle door.

Back of the mini (I tried to make it look like a garden)

The mini has 5 tags and inside are pockets that hold smaller tags that are calendar tags for photos and journaling.

I used wired ribbon  for the pockets.

Each of the smaller tags was spray misted and embossed.

The person I made this for can use the smaller tags to record things that happen each month, add a photo & journaling.

The papers are very pretty so I just added some flatback pearls to this page.

Cover of box that holds a Christmas mini album.

Front cover of mini album.

Back cover of mini album

Pages have pockets and tags. I painted, and stamped the tags.

The page on the right has a little photo album tied with a bow. It holds 9 photos.

I die cut the mittens.

There is a little booklet tucked behind the snowflake that I cut out with my diecut machine.

Tags and photo mats.

Bottom of box.

I had this little book box on hand . . .

Decided to decorate it and put a little mini album inside.

I painted the box with acrylic paint and adhered scrapbook paper inside and outside.

The little mini album inside the box. I die cut the deer for the cover of the mini.

Tiny tags that I cut with a punch and cute little brads I could not wait to use!

Altered Domino Book

Inside of Altered Domino Book

Keepsake Snow Globe Christmas Gift Tag

Keepsake Christmas Gift Tags (front)

Keepsake Christmas Gift Tags (back)

Keepsake Christmas Tag (front)

January card I made for my husband to commemorate the 2014 Blizzard

Keepsake Valentine Gift Tags (front)

 If you made it this far,  you have seen just about everything I made since October!

I will be making more tags during the rest of this week. I will be switching gears next week and will put the paper crafting aside and work on some quilts. I love staying inside during the winter months and working in my studio.

Wishing you a happy day. Thank you for stopping by.

Emmy

Have you missed me? I have been away from blogging for a bit . . . but I am back!

DEAR READER, 

I will publish this blog now . . . and photos later. I have just waited too long to put the photos into the parts where they should be . . . so, what I will do is a blog later on, maybe tonight, that shows just pix . . .
 LONG STORY SHORT: I lost a lot of my pix . . . so now I am kind of starting over in the picture department . . . read below, if you wish. Or wait for the pix!

:-)
Emmy


I started the draft of this post on Black Friday . . .But because I was waiting for news on the photos that were on my phone's micro sd card . . . with more than 2 years of photos on them . . . including some I wanted to post here, I waited. 

I got the news later that day from the tech guy who looked at my micro sd card. It has suffered what he called catostraphic damage. What that translates to me is some heart ache because I do not have access to some of my most precious photos. Darn it. The ease of picture taking in the digital age comes with a cost to those of us who do not print or send our photos to the cloud. Guess it is time for me to learn to use the cloud . . . 1200 photos too late. :-(  I thought my phone uploaded them w/ the backup of my contacts. D U H . . . )

Since my last post, I finished some projects. One is a pineapple block that I made from batik fabrics as a housewarming gift for one of the women who was in the Art C Girlz group. I don't have a photo to share. :-( Then everyone in the group signed one of the "logs" that make up the block and I sent it to her at her new home. She is missed and was such a great addition to our little group. I am hoping she can come and visit us sometime in the future when she comes back this way.

I have made a few Christmas mini albums and matching boxes. I took this to the local shop where I sell some of my things. Since I began this post, they were both sold!

I joined an online group in facebook and have entered a few challenges and swaps. It is a great way to meet other crafters, exchange ideas and items, and grow by trying new things. I entered a Steampunk Tag Challenge. We had to video tape our progress as we made the tag, so I did mine in what turned out to be 5 videos! They are on my YouTube channel. 

I made a snowglobe as part of a challenge in the online group I am in. It is a group on FaceBook called The Craft Hole, and I made some Christmas tags to swap in the on line group, and some to sell.

What I won't be posting a photo of is my torn-apart studio! It needed to be cleaned out, reorganized, and the work stations needed to be set up better, so I tore it apart and it is currently a big mess! I took all the sewing-related items out and cleaned one end of the room to use for sewing. I have my stash (well, some of it!) in the corner and a work table with my sewing machine and cutting mat. It is near a north window and I really like the light to sew by . . . especially when it has snowed and the clean snow right outside my window makes the whole room brighter!

Now . . for the other 3/4 of the room. . . that is devoted to paper crafting and that is a work in progress that needs to get finished by Sunday night. I have a lot of stuff and getting it sorted out, labeled, and within easy reach is very important. If you are a crafter, you know what I am talking about! If you aren't, I am sure you can understand. Having a messy studio is like trying to find something in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I know you have one of those! 

I plan to be back soon and post more photos. In the meanwhile, you can check to see if I have posted any new videos on my YouTube channel!

www.youtube.com/user/studioemmy

THIS POST may seem a bit scattered . . no, maybe a lot scattered. I am getting it finished and sent and then I will start a new for 2014!

So, since it is too late to wish  you a Merry Christmas . . I WISH YOU AND THOSE YOU LOVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Emmy

Self Portrait Collage

Last night at the monthly meeting of ArtCGirlz, we worked on self-portraits that we made from pages from magazines. The meeting is only 2 hours long and the first hour was spent catching up with each other, some of our projects, and tearing out pages from the magazines we brought. I don't save magazines, so I ended up bringing travel brochures from places we have been. Gettysburg, North Carolina, and so forth. I borrowed images from another person in the group for my eyes and lips. Thanks Mary Ellen C.!

The hour we all spent putting our collages on paper went fast. I tried to get mine done so I would not take an unfinished project home. I have enough of those around my studio!

You can view the portraits on the ArtCGirlz blogsite at:

http://artcgirlz.blogspot.com/


Mine came out like this:

I can't wait to do this with my grand daughters. I think they will really like making self portraits this way.

A short post today. It is an absolutely gorgeous fall morning. I will be going out to show some lake property in about an hour. It will be beautiful there and I hope to get some fall foliage shots along the way. If I get some good pix, I will post them sometime soon.

Rows for the Row by Row Round Robin

I waited to post photos of the rows I made for the Row by Row Round Robin (RRRR) that I participated in with my quilt guild, The Museum Quilt Guild, because I didn't want to spoil the surprise for any of the participants by showing them here before they received them. Everyone has their rows now, so I can show you the rows I made and also the photos of the rows next to each other. I described in an earlier post how the RRRR was arranged. (See February 27, 2013).

The first row that I worked on was Carol M's.

 

I paper pieced the 8-inch star blocks while I was on a mini vacation on Chincoteague Island. I thought I had brought enough fabric from my stash for the colors I needed, but as it turned out, I needed to shop for just a little bit more fabric, so we made a trip to a little quilt shop in Pokomoke City, Maryland.

  

This photo shows the row of 12-inch Maple Leaf blocks I received from Carol beneath the row I made.

 

This second row I worked on was Kathy B's

 

I made a row of traditional Court House Steps 8-inch blocks.
I bought beautiful batiks to make these blocks.

 

 This photo shows Kathy's 12-inch Snail Trail block at the bottom.
 





The row above it is a pinwheel block made by Carol M.

My row of Court House Steps is at the top.

  

The third row I worked on was Jeri M's.

 

I  made a row of 8-inch paper-pieced blocks that are supposed to be tulips. 
Because Jeri's theme was Desert Southwest/Native American, I renamed the blocks to Thunderbirds, to keep with the theme.

 

This photo shows Jeri's row of 12-inch blocks at the bottom, with Carol and Kathy's rows above. 



 

 I forgot to take a photo with my row in the picture!

 

  

The final row I made was for Mary L.

 

I made a row of paper-pieced fans. I went shopping again for more batiks!

 

This photo shows Mary's row of 12-inch blocks at the bottom with Kathy's, Carol's and my rows above.
 



 

 One more row was given to Mary at the guild meeting. I didn't get a photo of it.
It is a very cool row of paper pieced blocks that resemble Japanese lanterns.

 

This is a photo of my row that I passed on to Mary L.

 





I made four 12-inch Star Blocks.

When they are next to each other, the star kind of recedes and the central squares on point seem to emerge.

 

The rows I got  back are pictured below, with my row at the bottom.

  

 

 

I love all the rows that everyone made for me! The bottom row is mine, the next is Mary's, on top of that is Jeri's, Kathy's, and the top row is Carol's. Now I need to decide on how I will assemble the quilt top!

 

 

I had never made anything in a Desert Southwest/Native American or an Oriental motif. I was very challenged at first. But, some of the reasons I joined in on the RRRR in the first place were to learn new things, challenge my creative self a bit, and get to know a few other quilters in the guild better by working on their rows, and having them work on mine. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again! A big Thank You to Kathi Everett, who arranged it.

 

 

I have been working in my studio on a couple new mini albums and boxes. I will get them finished soon and post them here and on YouTube. I wish there were more  hours in the day, because I have sooooo many things I want to make and could be crafting 24 hours! I joined an on-line craft group today and I am excited to start chatting with the other members of the group and join in on challenges and swaps of all kinds. I will be posting a greater variety of handmade things here on my blog in the future. Stay tuned!

 

 



What I have learned:
I really really REALLY like using batik quilting fabrics!

 What I want to learn:
 I can work outside of my quilting comfort zone and enjoy myself and the results!

What I appreciate:
The chance to get to know others through our shared love of quilting.

What I want:
World Peace. Amen.