Crafters Little Hideaway

Viking Knit Bracelet

2012-03-10T11:56:00.000-05:00

Besides my favorite jewelry making techneque Kumihimo, I have also been enjoying Viking Knit. This is one of my latest finished pieces that I made.

Viking Knit Bracelet

I had been wanting to learn how to do Viking Knit for a while now and just didn't have the supplies on hand that I needed to do the technique. Then I received an email from a vendor that was going to be at a local bead show and was going to teach the class and have the supplies needed. So I took her class and really enjoyed learning. Now I have been going back and forth between making Viking Knit and Kumihimo pieces. Now I need to take the time to add all those bead caps and clasps I also purchased to finish all the pieces I made. ;)

Poem ~ My friend

2011-07-14T14:37:00.001-04:00

My Friend

Author: Patience Allison Hartbauer

Thank you....for bring sunshine

To my grey and gloomy days,

For being there when needed,

And for your caring,loving ways.

Thank you...for encourgement

When I was weary and distraught,

For words of consolation,

And for all the joy you brought.

Thank you...for all of your prayers

That where made in my behalf,

For helping to ease the tears

And replace them with a laugh.

I can face a new tomorrow,

For I know I can depend...

On God..who sent an angel,

And it is you..my precious friend.

Card Making ~ Handmade Stamped Friendship Card for a Friend

2011-07-14T14:16:00.000-04:00

Handmade Friendship Card

This card I made using a flower rubber stamp that I stamped twice together (I flipped the single flower stamp and stamped the stem end together to create a mirror image like on opposite side.) Colored in the stamoed images with colored pencils.

The corners were punched with a decorative corner punch. I chalked with pink and blue. Then added green hand drawn spirals and those three tiny dots I use alot in my scrapbooking and card making. Then I took purple ink and inked the edges. Added a Butterfly sticker and the card was ready to give a friend. =)

Card Making ~ Handmade Thank You Card

2011-07-14T13:54:00.000-04:00

Thank You Card

Supplies used:

Cardstock

Silk Flower

Ribbon: Vine, Polka Dot

Brads - 4 small gold

Ink Pad - Blue

Mini Sewing Machine to Stitch with white thread around "Thank You"

"Thank You" printed in Word and printed on printed paper.

Card Making ~ Handmade Birthday Card

2011-07-14T12:07:00.000-04:00

Front of Card

Inside of Card

Supplies used:
Sayings; Outside - "Happy Birthday to You"; Inside - "May Your World Sparkle with a Million Little Reasons to Smile" "Happy Birthday"
Flower Daisy Punch
Stickles Glitter Glue
Ribbon "Happy Birthday" (This ribbon was actually package wrapping ribbon that was part of a gift wrapping package.)
Cardstock - White, Blue, Yellow
Rhinestones (6)
Silk Flower
Glue Dots
Adhisive
Ink Pad - Blue; Black
Pen - Black Broad Tip (To dot around the punched out flowers.)

Another Kumihimo Braiding Video

2011-07-13T14:39:00.000-04:00

I had several ask how to do kumihimo braiding and wanted to share another link besides one I had shared previously. This video shows how kumihimo braiding is actually done with a step by step instruction. I did not do the video, but found it on you tube and hope it helps those of you searching on this techneque. This person explains it step by step and slow enough for you to try it at the same time. Good luck to all of those attempting this for the first time. WARNING...Once you get the motions, you may become addicted to this techneque! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suUcFpj4OsA&feature=related

Happy Braiding!

Fruit Pizza

2011-07-13T09:37:00.001-04:00

It is that time of year when fresh and tasty fruit is available and usually on sale. This dessert is a favorite of my husbands, which he requests as one of his front runner desserts.

Fruit Pizza

1 pkg. of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
½ cup sugar
2 tsps. vanilla extract
Fresh fruit, such as, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, manderin oranges and bananas.
(I like to place the sliced bananas in lemon juice before adding to the fruit pizza to prevent the bananas from turning brown. You can also use orange juice or lime juice.)

Roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough onto ungreased pizza pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, or untill crust is lightly browned.

Cool

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla untill creamy.
Spread on cooled crust
Arrange fruit onto frosted crust and chill.

Slice with a pizza cutter and serve.

Wire Wrapping Earrings

2011-07-12T18:09:00.000-04:00

My attempt at a techneque of wrapping wire over and over to create sort of a yarn ball effect.

A Beaded Kumihimo

2011-07-12T17:55:00.002-04:00

This was one of my first kumihimo with beads that I made when I just started learning kumihimo (which has only been since this past October) and tried my hand at adding beads. Now I seem to be hooked on beaded kumihimo braiding. I love the different looks you get with how you place the beads. And look... it is complete with end caps and a toggle! =)

Coil Wire Wrapped Bracelet

2011-07-12T17:28:00.000-04:00

I now ventured into wire wrapping and have tried a few different techneques.
This bracelet was made using the coil techneque and was my first attempt.

Some more wire wrapping with beads added...

Flower Watch

2011-07-12T16:59:00.000-04:00

When my watch battery died in my everyday watch, I decided to go into my bead stash and used this flower watch that I found at Jo Ann's Craft store and also used some of the beads that I purchased at the recent bead show. And guess what... my watch battery started working on my everyday watch just as I was ready to go have it replaced. LOL!

Rainbow of Color Kumihimo Necklace & Bracelet Set

2011-07-12T16:32:00.003-04:00

I have been kumi-ing (if that's the word for it) away for the past few months. Now I need to make time to add end caps and toggles.

This rainbow pieces below is one of the latest Kumihimo necklace and bracelet sets I made that I actually finished the ends. It is a favorite of mine and was already given to my mother in law this past week. She loved it and wore it right away. Now I need to make another! I will have to start stringing the beads to see if I have enough to make another. This is a nice color combo that allows you to wear this with many things.

Here is a photo up closer...

Blessed With Happiness

2011-05-15T10:45:00.002-04:00

May your troubles be less,
Your blessings more,
And may nothing but happiness
Come through your door.

I recieved this quote in an email from a friend and really liked it enough to want to save it as a favorite and to share here.

Vidalia Onion Dip served at my Bunco

2011-05-07T17:04:00.001-04:00

This recipe was a big hit at my Bunco get together with the neighborhood gals last month. Sorry there is no photo as it was taken out of the oven when everyone arrived and we started dipping in with nachos and spreading it on French bread. Makes me want to make this right now just thinking about it. Yum!

Vidalia Onion Dip served at my Bunco

2 ½-3 very large sweet onions - finely thin sliced (approx. 4 cups)
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups grated Swiss cheese (pkg from store only had 1½ cups, substituted ½ cup with shredded gruyere)
1/4-1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce or Sraracha hot sauce.
1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
· Note: This was how the dip was made for Bunco. First…Caramelize onions in a skillet with a little butter if desired before mixing with other ingredients. If using sweet onions and not Vidalia onions, you may want to add a touch of sugar. The dip at Bunco had a little turmeric sugar added since I did not have Vidalias.

(The actual recipe did not call for caramelizing.)

Actual directions below.

Mix onions, mayonnaise, Swiss cheese and Tabasco sauce. Spread into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with paprika to taste.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve just warm with crackers or Small slices of French Bread.

Apache Blessing

2011-01-17T15:03:00.002-05:00

May the sun bring you new energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night,
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of
your life.

Today we are enjoying the day off. And I am counting my blessings. Never take the day for granted. Sadly a neighbor friend of ours decided to stop chemo. It is a reminder not to take for granted that we have forever.

Make the extra effort and time for those you care about. Leave behind wonderful memories.

Thanksgiving Card

2010-11-17T16:33:00.000-05:00

I got to make several Thanksgiving cards to send out. This one was my favorite...

Here is a collage of of the cards I made so far...

Notice the one card with the upside-down stamping. I didn't want to toss out the card after realizing I stamped it upside-down, so I made the writing inside work with the outside. The inside says "No matter how you look at it, you & your family are wished a blessed Thanksgiving!". That made me happy that I didn't have to toss out this card. I liked it to much to toss. I enjoyed the chalking and popping effect using Versa Mark ink and chalks. The other cards I took a 12 x 12 sheet and was able to make several cards from that one piece. (Another grateful moment that I figured out a way to save the card.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-17T15:52:00.001-05:00

I try to reflect everyday on moments I am grateful for. From the moment I get up, I say thank you for the HOT shower. As I have learned that is something we take for granted. After living in an apartment that seemed to not have a hot shower, yet I could get hot water at the sink and in the kitchen, the shower would turn cold within the first few minutes. The landlord had a plumber come out and after several visits from the plumber, the cold water remained and I moved to a new apartment. So ever since, I say THANK YOU when I am under that nice HOT water.

Through out the day, I make sure to say thank you even if it is a whisper to myself and say I am grateful for what ever good is happening. Simple things like being able to have one on one time with my boys, lunch date with my husband, being able to enjoy a day out with friends. I truely believe that when you reflect on what you are grateful for, more will come to you. (Hmmm, this makes me think of if I am grateful for my ONE son eating what I make for dinner more then once a week, that he might eat more of the things I make through out the week. Hmmmmm? I will keep trying for that!)

May you all be blessed and surrounded by loved ones this Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Halloween "WELCOME" Banner

2010-10-29T15:42:00.002-04:00

My boys like when I decorate for Halloween. I almost thought of not doing it all this Halloween and changed my mind. My one son came home from school and said. THANKS MOM, it looks great. So that made it all worth while.

This is what he walked in the door to...

I made this Halloween Welcome banner at a crop with a group of friends. We decided to make these as a group project for that month. It was interesting to see how different each persons turned out. I made 3 different size tags and used the paper tearing techneque across the bottom of each tag and layered the three tags. Then embellished each tag. The WELCOME letters were chipboard letters and painted with acrylic paint. The ghost are Sizzix die cut ghost. I used an assortment of ribbons and yarn, silk fall leaves, buttons, stickers, and Jolee embellishments. Some items came from the swaps that our one group did together.

Close ups of the tags...

There you go! To think it will only be up one more week and back into storage til next year.

Learning Rivoli Beading

2010-10-28T10:38:00.000-04:00

At the Bead Cave, SuZ taught us how to bead a Rivoli. While some finished theirs at the cave, I only made it this far before having to go. I will have to post a photo of the finished piece once I have completed it. I have made it all the way around with the beads and petals and now need to add the crystals. Not sure just yet about adding those. Suz, I need your help on the next step. LOL! I would have gotten to this step had i not had to be different and place my petals behind the gold beads and left them in the front like we were shown. But I liked how it looked when seeing the petals from the back, so I created more work for myself while learning a new thing. What can I say?

Learning Kumihimo Braiding

2010-10-28T10:17:00.001-04:00

Here are photos of the Kumihimo braiding I did at the Bead Cave weekend. I had so much fun learning this techneque that I continued to make several others that weekend and even tried a 12 strands Kumihimo braid later in the week.

Here is the first one I made at the Bead Cave Weekend...

Thanks Carolyn for the refresher class. It was very helpful!

Here is my first attempt I made adding beads at the bead cave weekend. I added beads to the 8 strands. I made a few without beads first to make sure I felt comfortable enough and not missed any steps that would leave a gap in the braid. I enjoyed the bead adding techneque.

Here is a close up to see the bead pattern...

Since I had so much fun with the 8 strand braid, I decided to give the 12 strand a try. Here is a photo of my first attempt at the 12 strand...

For those of you that would like to see how to make a kumihimo braid, you can watch this great how to video on YouTube. This womens video shows you every step and takes her time with each and every one of them...

Kumihimo Kumiloom Braiding Instructions - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RNbFjvZycs

Halloween Cards

2010-10-28T09:32:00.000-04:00

I had lots of fun creating Halloween cards. Here is one of them...

and another...

Halloween Recipe Scrapbook Page ~ Creepy Eggs

2010-10-28T08:53:00.000-04:00

Here is another layout I made for the Halloween recipe album.

Here is the actual recipe...

Creepy Deviled Eggs

Make normal deviled eggs make nasty faces on the yolk part with sliced green olives for eyes and green or red pepper for mouth and eyebrows. Use green olives to make medusa hair, black olives to make witches hats, pimentos to make devils...all sorts of possibilities.

Beading Away this Past Weekend

2010-10-11T16:55:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I learned Kumihimo while spending time with the beading group at a Bead Cave Weekend. I started with just the fiber and then after practicing to make sure I didn't miss any turns, I then tried it with adding beads. I was very happy with the finished piece and ready to make the next one. For those that don't know what Kumihimo is... Kumihimo is Japanese braiding, and is often combined with beads to make beautiful jewelry. I will try to take a photo and share the pieces I made this weekend.

I also learned how to bead a Rivoli. I am not finished with that piece yet as time ran out at the cave. So hopefully I get time to get back to it and finish it real soon.

The gals in the bead group are so talented and very helpful at teaching others in the group the how to's on things they make. I am just amazed at the talent that these gals have. While I have been beading for years, these gals create awesome pieces with seed beads. An area I didn't get into until seeing what they create. Now I want to learn all the techneques using seed beads!

Halloween Recipe Scrapbook Page ~ Ghoul Ade

2010-10-05T10:45:00.002-04:00

Another Halloween page...

Ghoul Ade recipe layout

This was a fun layout to create. I made this using 3 different background papers, stickers, and Boo ribbon. Very simple!

The recipe:

Ghoul-Ade

1 envelope Kool-Aid grape flavor unsweetened mix
1 envelope Kool-Aid orange flavor unsweetened mix
2 cups granulated sugar
3 quarts cold water
1 (1-quart) bottle ginger ale, chilled

Mix Kool-Aid together with sugar in large pitcher.

Add water and mix.

Just before serving, add ginger ale.

Halloween Recipe Scrapbook Page ~ Ghost in the Graveyard Boo Cups

2010-10-05T10:43:00.000-04:00

Here is one of my recipe pages I created for my Halloween Recipe Album. Making these type of pages are lots of fun.

Ghost in the Graveyard/Boo Cups

Here is the actual recipe:

Ghosts in the Graveyard or Boo Cups

3 1/2 cups cold milk
2 small boxes Jell-O Chocolate Flavor
Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (12 ounce) container Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed
1 (16 ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

Pour cold milk into large bowl; add pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping and 1/2 of the cookies.

Ghosts in the Graveyard
Spoon into 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cookies. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve. Store dessert in refrigerator.

Makes 15 servings.

Decorate with Milano cookies placed perpendicular (like tombstones), candy and remaining whipped topping dropped by spoonfuls (to make ghosts).

Boo Cups
Spoon mixture and remaining crushed cookies into 12 to 16 individual cups, and decorate as suggested above.

Oh Yes, the Recipe Collection Too!

2010-10-04T14:40:00.000-04:00

Over the many years I have collected many recipes. My collection comes in all types from magazines, books to online and from family and friends. I am one that loves to alter recipes to create my own version. Some are hits and some, well, let’s forget about those.

I have several scrapbooks with recipe pages. My favorite scrapbook recipe pages currently that I have made are the Halloween recipes I collected. This reminds me to go and make more pages to add and use up at least some of those Halloween supplies. Since it is October now, I will make sure to share at least one of my Halloween scrapbook pages here.

To Many Projects So Little Time

2010-10-04T13:11:00.001-04:00

Ever come across projects that you so wanted to do? If your like me, then you may have a huge collection of projects just waiting to be completed.

I wish there was more time in a day when it comes to doing crafts. I have an entire room dedicated to many different types of crafts. Let’s see how many that I can think of that are just waiting for me to give time to them...

Scrapbooking, Beading/Jewelry Making, Card Making, Rubber Stamping, Quilting, Oil painting, Water Coloring, Knitting, Crocheting. Oh let’s not forget that clay bought to make those little itty bitty ideas I had and still think up more ideas on top of the others. And what about the shrinky dink stuff, or all the acylic paint which was used to make painted flower pot as gifts a long time ago. And then there is all those silk flowers I like using with many projects, and all that ribbon. Oh yes, ribbon, lets not go there. Yes, I am one that loves trying my hand at all the different crafts out there. I love creating! Just wish I could create as fast as my mind thinks up of the many ideas that come to mind and giving me the time to complete each and every one of them.

Like many others out there, I would just love to be a person whose full time job or even part time for that matter had a studio where I would get to do any and all crafts just like the ones that host all those craft shows. How cool would that be to have a job like that to go to each and every day being creative and being around other creative people. My husband would love me even more if I could turn my love of crafts into a “real” money making career rather than making and giving away what I make or teaching it for free. I just have a hard time putting a price to the things I make or teach. I have tried and learned and been told I under priced. I need an agent to do all that for me. I myself am a bargain shopper and so if i wouldn't pay that much, I find it hard to see that others would. LOL! My husband has been a good sport about it all. He mentions from time to time how he wishes I could turn my skills into a money making profit for him so he can retire. LOL! Gee, I just might enjoy that if he would take over all the home duties. Now he does help with the dinner dishes lately. ;)

I can picture having a studio/store where people would come in and say I would like to learn this or that today and I could create away with them all day. Lord knows I probably have enough supplies to start a place like that. I just need a big enough space to actually spread out all the collection. Hmmm, that would be a big help in general to complete many projects. Then when an idea hits me, I would just go to that space and create. I wouldn't have to worry that I have an over flowing work space with another project going on. That's when I have this vision of my childrens bedrooms becoming another room to take over when they go off to college. But my husband would draw the line there.

So for now, I am hoping to find more time to complete the many project ideas and maybe share some of those here. It just might be my motivating tool. Maybe if I use this blog as my place to share what I make, I will complete more projects instead of just coming up with all the ideas. Here's to completing one this week!