Dyed and Gone 2 Heaven

O...M...G. I felt like I was in Heaven when I happened upon these two new batiks they got in last week at JoAnn's. I bought the last of both bolts. I know I'll be participating in Nj's FAT Chance fat quarter drawing, but I'm still not sure which of these beauts I'll use.

I also bought the latest issue of Quilting Arts in which I see someone stole an idea right outta my head. Seriously. Has this ever happened to you? You get an idea and you turn it inside out and round and round and are finally ready to bring it outta there when you see it somewhere?! I feel like I'm in a time warp when this occurs. You know what they say, though... there are no new ideas, just old ones reborn. I know I sure believe it!

Now, I can't remember when the last time was that I bought a basket. That's because I weave them. But then I saw Kiwi's comment on the Lust for Rust post I made and she gave me an idea. I bought this basket for the purpose of showing how I did the crate. I hope the basket will end up looking like woven pieces of rusted metal - cool, huh? I think so. Stay tuned...

Stripped

Poor, poor Betlgeuse.... he's been stripped of his manhood. He's actually taking it quite well, as you can see. He did have a wild night in the mud room (still working on the box thing), as it looked like a windstorm hit it this morning. :o))

Vet said he's about a year old and in great health. Yay!

More later. I'm off to town to check out the new batiks my MIL said Joann's got in. Might have something for Nj's FAT Chance draw on FAT! Woo hoo!

My Lust for Rust

I dunno about you, but I really REALLY love rust. Old, crusty metal is something that has so much character. That's exactly what I love about my banner. It is a photo I took of the bottom of a metal dresser drawer that has been out in the weather for who knows HOW long. I could have stayed there all day, even though I was freezing, taking pix of that piece!

Well, my knowledge of duplicating rust is about as long as my memory. That ain't good. But I'm having a lot of fun and learning at the same time, as I work on a plain, ol' wooden crate. I liked the crate but, well, it was just that: a crate. Made out of cheapo wood and staples. After watching Tim Holtz's DVD for, like, the hundredth time, I was inspired to see what I could do with this piece that I was SURE had potential.

So maybe rust doesn't have the vivid color in the "crooks and nannies", but I wish you could see it in your hands. I love how the rust seems to come alive from the colors beneath it and vice versa. It's not done, but here are a few shots. I'll try to get some better ones in the natural daylight later this afternoon. I have a houseful of kids now, begging for quesadillas and cinnamon applesauce (don't laugh - the combo is GREAT!), and I must admit: that sounds pretty yummy to ME right now!

I hope you have a wonderfully creative day! Lemme know what you're working on!

Celebrate Today!

Here is a piece I've been slowly working on. I wasn't sure what I was gonna use it for, but I now think I will make it into a tote bag.

It was so fun to make and watch as areas developed. I purposefully didn't plan it all out. I thought this would be something different to try, because I usually AM a planner-outer. But I'm pleased with it.

I painted different fabrics and then pieced them together atop a piece of timtex. The text pieces were made by running painted sheets of fabric through the printer. I back a piece of acrylic-painted fabric with a full sheet label and my printers have no problem accepting them. I then spray a bit of clear sealant on them, cut out, and stitch down.

I think I may play around with a pair of my DD's jeans with this technique.

Ooooh... I am a Fiber Bandito!

Just finished these up for a trade on Fiber Art Traders called Fiber Frenzy. The only requirement is that each spool must have one continuous 3-5 yard piece of fiber. I thought why not sprinkle some fun into it! And since I'm into the whole cat thang these days, I made these fiber banditos, drawing them and cutting them out of cardboard. They're painted with acrylics. Their masks and grins are black slick fabric paint. I wrapped their bodies (we don't need any nakee banditos running amok, now do we?!) in 2 different fibers, each one 4 yards long.

Hide your fibers, girls! The Banditos are coming!

How Time Flies

This is Swiper (was Sophie)

This is Betlgeuse

UPDATE August 8, 2008 - We renamed Sophie. It seems she's a real "petting junkie". When she yells at you to pet her, you do. Then you stop and she swipes a paw at you. NICE, eh?! Hubs and I are gonna apply her new pink SoftPaws on her talons this evening. We had to wait for her newly trimmed claws to grow out and since she swiped me good this morning (after holding her and petting her for about 20 minutes!), I'm thinkin' they're long ENOUGH!

How time flies, indeed. I can't believe I've not blogged for so long. I had many personal things to take care of. Seems every time I turned around, it was something else. Don't cha hate when that happens?

Well, here's the latest. First I have to tell you that we live in a small house. I mean VERY small. We bought it from Thumbelina. We live here with our two kiddos and a cat. As most people know, last winter was pretty horrendous here in Wisconsin. Record snowfalls and frigid temps. I love winter but it was BAD.

I had seen this white cat the winter before, but only a few times. This past winter, I put out some food the minute I saw her and I shoveled a path for her (she's small). She would never come close to us, but she always welcomed the food. I quickly made a makeshift shelter so she could at least get out of the wind as she ate. We saw her every day and it killed me that it looked like she was getting frostbite on the edges of her ears. But what cha gonna do? She was wild. Or so we thought.

In about April, she started to come closer and eventually allowed us to touch her. She purred and purred. We named her Sophie and kept taking care of her, ridding her of ticks and ear mites. Since she continued to hang around upon our return from vacation, we decided to take her in. She's just a sweetie.

I took her in a month ago for her shots and check up. All was great. Just had to bring her back 3-4 weeks later for her booster. I took her in this past Wed., and it appears Sophie has some little buns in the oven! Ok, so now we may have a possible 7 cats, as the ultrasound saw 4 critters.

What's that you say? One cat we have plus Sophie plus 4 babies only comes to 6? Right you are! That's because we have also taken in another stray who might be the Daddy. He is GORgeous! And SUCH a honey! Looks like a Russian Blue, only with longer hair. We think he's pretty young, maybe a year old. Betlgeuse goes in on Tuesday for his, um, transformation and shots.

When it rains, it pours! More to come...