"MY FAVORITE ROOM" - MCKINNEY in JANUARY

A January visit to "My Favorite Room", in McKinney, Texas.  I visit this shop every time I come down to McKinney and it truly is a favorite place to go!   The owner and others who operate this wonderful shop are so friendly and talented!  The pictures tell their own story - no need for words here.  Just look and you'll be inspired!

See?  I told you!

PEARS AND ANGELS

I've been doing some drawing. 

I've been focusing mostly on two subjects - pears and angels.  Pears are such a great subject for drawing - they seem to actually have little personalities.   Depending on how they're positioned and which way their stems are going, they almost seem to be having little conversations with each other.  When I draw pears, first I take a photo of them. 

 Then I change it from color to black and white - that helps me get the shading right.  I'm a beginner at this and that really helps!

Then . . . to draw . . . and the time just melts away!

Then, a while back, I did a post on a little trip we took to a local cemetery to get some pictures of angels statues. 

 Some of those ended up in drawings also . . .

The eyes are pretty creepy on this one - need to work on that!

 

So that's what I've been up to lately.

Now to put away my pencils and paper and switch gears.  My suitcase is packed (3/4 craft supplies and 1/4 clothing) and I'm ready to work on some other crafts in McKinney with Jan and a bunch of her friends!

The next post will be coming from McKinney, Texas!

THE PROJECT LIST

My visit to McKinney is just a couple days away, so I had to narrow down the list to my favorite projects.  We even have a guest crafter coming over to join us!  (Looking forward to meeting you, Cindy!)  Here are 4 of the 6 ideas I'm taking down with me.

From "Marie Claire Idees Magazine"

From "Make It Give It" - tutorial on the blog.

From "Heaven's Walk" - complete tutorial on the blog.

From "How About Orange"  - pattern on the blog.

There are two more projects that aren't shown here.

(We can't reveal EVERYTHING ahead of time!)

Needless to say . . . we're going to be very busy!

LETTER STAMPING ON METAL

For Christmas, using this cotton fabric, I made a set of dinner napkins for my son and his wife.  (I couldn't put this post up when I made them, since Christmas gifts 

are supposed to be secrets - so I'm sharing it with you now.)

Just prewash the fabric, cut or tear it into squares (16" - 18" works well), then machine or hand hem the napkins.  To go with these, I wanted to make some napkin rings using metal stamped letters.  So I found a dapping set at Michaels, and some spoons. These sets come as letters or designs - here's a link to an Etsy shop that sells shapes and designs, as well as letters.  This was my first attempt at this craft, but it was fun and the results are immediate!  

Dapping Set

First, I stamped the first initial of their last name onto the bowl of a spoon.  Then I used a black Sharpie to fill in the letter.  This helps the letter stand out a little more.  Wipe off the excess marker with a cotton ball and nail polish remover, and then you're done with that part.

Now you need to roll the spoon around a rolling pin, or something similar, to get the "napkin ring" shape.  Some metals are softer than others - my spoons were fairly easy to bend.  You'll want to take that into consideration when looking for the right spoons to use.  You could also use forks or even knives for this project.  Due to the long flat shape of the knife blade, you could probably stamp on the whole last name. 

   And, that's it!  You're done making a unique, personalized gift in no time.

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HORACE IS ON THE MOVE!

European Hares are normally shy animals.  However, in the spring their behavior changes.  That's when love is in the air and they are seen chasing each other around in the meadows.  This pillow captures Horace, a European Hare, in the middle of springtime frolic.

Horace . . . as we speak . . . is frolicking his way down to the home of his new owner, in Alabama.

I WONDER WHERE THEY ARE?

I'm getting in the mood to paint again.

 This got me thinking about the paintings I currently have at The Painted Lady-Chicago.  It was almost exactly a year ago when we drove down to the shop to drop off some paintings, so I thought I'd put up a post showing the ones that have sold in that shop over the last year.  

A nice thing about selling on Etsy is that you know who your buyers are since you mail the purchased items to them yourself.  However, when things are sold from an actual shop somewhere, you have no idea where they go!  I would love to know where these paintings landed . . . who bought them . . . where they are hanging now!  It's fun to know that someone liked them enough to buy them for their home!

However, that information will have to remain a mystery to me.

Meanwhile . . . I recently came across a long and narrow canvas that would be perfect for a spot in my kitchen, so today I painted a canvas for myself.  My kitchen is painted a soft green with cream colored cabinets.  The adjoining family room is brown and cream, so I used colors that would go with both rooms.  Most of the time, the artwork you see in kitchens has to do with a still life of fruits and vegetables, or farm animals.  I think a painting of flowers for the kitchen is a little unexpected, cheerful,  and happy.  I had a skinny space between the counter and the cupboards that was perfect for this canvas.  Besides, I've been anxious to use some new painting supplies that my son and his wife gave me for Christmas!

This is good stuff!  The colors are really intense and blend beautifully.

So here is, "WINTER ROSES IN A CHUBBY GRAY VASE".

Now, to bundle up.  The temperatures are not getting out of the single digits today and I need to go to the grocery store - my book group girls are coming tonight.  On cold, winter days like today, everyone loves a little comfort food!

I knew I should have gone to the store yesterday . . .


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PAPER HEARTS

Just a little something for Valentine's Day . . .

A couple winters ago, "McKinney Jan" and I made a bunch of these paper hearts.  I came home, put them away, and kind of forgot I had them.  I don't know how that happened because I love how they turned out!  Well, I found them again when I was sorting and sifting my way through my craft supplies!  What great timing!  We made them out of paper lunch bags and old book pages - kind of like a sandwich.  We just put the pieces together and ran them through the sewing machine.  Easy as can be!

Paper bag heart + batting + Paper bag heart + book page heart = stuffed paper hearts

So I got out a length of hemp string and put a little dab of hot glue on the back of each heart leaving about 6 inches between each one.

 Like this . . .

 Then a little dab of hot glue at either end of the mantel to hold it up there.

(Yes, on the mantel.  I do stuff like that.)

 And it's done!

Now, to bring a little valentine-ness to the rest of the house . . .


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