A Little Angel

I just showed you the train quilt block that I finished for my play room, where my trains will be.  As I uncovered that, I also uncovered this little gem.  It works on the same principle, a laser cut foam block with a pattern.  This one is in the form of an angel.  I am not an angel collector but I have someone that I work with that is.  She actually collects Santa's and Angels so this one will be for her. 
This block is smaller than the train and has many more pattern shapes to cut out and fit into place.  Working for the outside in, this one offered some challenges with curves and unusual cutout shapes.  However when it is done, it is a glowing site to see.  My co-worker hopefully won't see it until Christmas, when I give it to her as a gift (does this mean I am ahead on my Christmas Shopping?).

Quilting Back to the Station

I mentioned in my last post that I was redoing my craft room. As part of that I have had to clean it out. I mean clean it as in six trash bags left the room for the dump, there are three boxes of shredding and two bedrooms stuffed to the rafters with miscellaneous items such as my various train sets. As part of this massive cleaning effort I came across a crafting project that just called out to me to be completed. Some time back, while I was in Florida I came across this really cool shop in a flea market that sold quilting blocks. Literally blocks for quilting. They are foam blocks that have padding on the top. A laser cuts a design in each block and you cover it with fabric giving the design that quilted feel.

There are traditional designs, but the one I chose was one based on trains. When I came across it I set it aside so that I could get it done before my room is finished so that I can hang it up to go with the new motif. That motif includes trains. You see my father and I loved to play with our trains and set up boards in our home in Missouri. Now I have the trains and plan to hang track from the ceiling so that I can enjoy my trains again. This quilting design is one of the largest I have tackled and did take a couple of hours to complete. The fabric comes with it and you have to cut out the fabric into corresponding pieces for the design. You can use a tool that comes with the project or a simple butter knife to tuck all the fabric pieces in. When you get done it turns into a pretty awesome piece that takes no sewing what so ever.

Turning to Green

I mean green in so many ways. Yes, these dishcloths are very green in color for a very good reason. 4-H (my day job that sort of spills over) colors are green and white. So what better color for dishcloths that you plan to donate to the 4-H Volunteer Leaders Conference? Each year the 4-H volunteers from around the state gather for training, fundraising, and networking. Through in some awards, and a little fun and it is an additive environment for all involved. In other words you can't help but want to go back year after year. As part of the conference the volunteers run an old country store where items are donated. They also hold an auction where higher end items are auctioned off and items that did not sell in the store are bundled together for auction. I am not sure when or where these items sold but I do know they were placed in the old country store for two dollars a piece.

Of Course these are green for another reason. Made from 100% cotton these dishcloths are meant to be used and then put in the washing machine and reused again. Thus helping the environment and being healthier because people are more likely to wash something that can be reused rather than reusing something as much as possible that is disposable because they want to make sure they get the most of their money.

Only the Shadow Knows.....

No this is not a post about building a radio or writing a show, although that does sound rather interesting. Actually, I am quite proud of my first ever shadow box. I can't really say I built this. However what I did do is buy a kit of an unfinished shadow box. I bought the kit from A.C. Moore, and must admit it was very reasonably priced. You might ask why I would want to do this, and actually I am not big on Shadow Boxes per Se, but I had a very specific item that I wanted to protect and display.

As part of my profession, I had the opportunity to travel with a 4-H club, the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting sports club to be exact, to see Tom Knapp, an incredible sharpshooter, perform. He along with two of the members of the U.S. Shooting Sports team were part of the Annie Oakley Boom Days in Pinehurst, NC. Mr. Knapp was kind enough to take the time to meet with the youth, take a photo with the club, and sign clays for everyone who came. Also the two members of the U.S. Olympic shooting sports team (who both began their shooting sports careers in 4-H) took photos and signed clays as well. These are once in a lifetime items and something that I would like to display to remember an incredible experience, but must do it in a manner that will keep these fragile clays from breaking. A shadow box would allow me to show the photos, clays, and even a spent shotgun shell that Tom Knapp used that day. Basically everything is framed behind glass with a two inch depth between the glass and mounting board.

The first thing I had to do was determine what color to paint the frame. For those of you who know me I absolutely love the natural look of wood. I will stain it, poly it, rarely do I paint it. However, not every thing goes with day glow orange. In an effort to let the color of the clays and photos stand out I thought basic black would be best. So I spent a little time painting the frame inside and out. After the paint dried I nailed the claw hanger in place. Now here comes the harry part. The instructions (not that I am one who likes instructions) said to hot glue the corners of the glass in place. Not wanting to take any chances of the glass and glue perhaps drying out one day, genius my decided to use super glue. In case you don't already know this the fumes from superglue are used to activate the oil in fingerprints. It is some really amazing stuff. However when I set the glass and frame down on a plastic bag it trapped the fumes and they adhered to the glass. So in an effort to make it better I took Windex to the glass to clean it up. Problem was the glue was not completely dry. Thus I began spreading it around on the glass. A few new words later, when I was sure the glue was dry, and not moving from where I smeared it from, I got a straight razor and carefully scraped off the dry glue. My advice if you do this project is not to use super glue, I will try not to do it on future projects.

Finally after I had secured the clays, shot gun shell, photos, and placed the wording in the center it was time to put the back in and secure it. I must admit the clays and shotgun shell have been secured with Velcro so that I would not damage them if I wanted to move them. The photos were done with double sided tape. I can get into it at anytime should things move but I truly hope they won't.

This was fun to put together, reasonably inexpensive (much more so than buying a finished shadow box) and when I got done well let's just say I am happy with the final outcome.

Getting a little Blue

I admit I have been snowed in for the last three days (actually iced in to be precise) and I hate just laying around. Thus I have kept my hands busy with one of my favorite things, knitting. As you might have noticed scarves have been on my mind lately (probably because I know I have three blankets to knit before June and I am procrastinating). I picked up a yarn the other day that is similar to fun fur but the fur is actually shorter. The base of the fur that is actually knitted is smaller as well. Thus this scarf is thinner than the typical fun fur scarves and has a more delicate feel to it. In that approach this scarf is shorter than the others, and is meant as a dress scarf. It is great to add a little flair under a coat or jacket collar and is great to throw around your neck to dress up a blouse or simple dress. The color is an aqua or dark teal blue. It is knitted in a machine washable and dryable yarn. The actual scarf is four inches wide and about four feet long. It is delicate and fun and can be worn in a variety of situations not just to keep you warm. If you are interested in this scarf just e-mail me at the e-mail below and I would be happy you be a little blue too.

Royal Dish Cloths

You have seen my dishcloth design before so the pattern is nothing new but the color is like none of the others. These dish cloths are knitted from 100% cotton yarn. Specifically Peaches & Creme brand dark purple. It is a variegated pattern that translates a little funny in this pattern but if you know someone who loves purple these are the perfect little pick-me-up gift for them. The great thing about these dishcloths is that they are green. In other words when they get dirty you just toss them in the washer, then dryer and they are ready to go again. The ridges from the pattern are great for gentle scrubbing or picky up items off a counter top. Each dishcloth is $1.00 (plus shipping) and can be bought separately. Other colors are available and if we don't have it we will do our best to get the color you want and knit it for you. For more information about this or other products just e-mail us at DeJCreations@aol.com.

A Trio of Fun

You your screen is not blurry and there is nothing wrong with your eyesight, unless of course there is. All jokes (no matter how bad) aside this trio of scarves was the inspiration of one of our customers. She bought a white fun fur scarf and thought it would be nice if there was an off white choice as well. So from left to right the three scarves are champagne, white, and ivory. Each scarf is knitted with two skeins of fun fur yarn. All the scarves are machine washable and quite fun to wear. The scarves are each five and a half inches wide and about five and a half feet long. Each one is $20 (plus shipping) and can be bought separately or together. If you are interested in purchasing a scarf you can contact via e-mail at DeJCreations@aol.com. If you like the look of a fun scarf but would like a particular color or size just let us know. We are always happy to make custom orders.