Great Greeting Cards

Are you looking for a nice card for someone special? If so, then I’d like to introduce you to A Special Touch on ArtFire. This studio is full of fun, unique and creative handmade cards for just about any occasion. She is even willing to custom make something for you if you don’t see what you like or want one of her designs for a different event. Here are a couple of my favorites...



Check out her studio and enjoy!

Storms

I have been staying with my parents in Houston for a few weeks now while I have some extensive dental work done. I met them at their store yesterday afternoon and hung out for a while letting a storm pass over. We were all in separate cars and headed home about 6. I passed 4 different accidents on the way home and what is usually a 15-minute drive took about 50 minutes. Once I turned onto the main road in the neighborhood there was no power and all the stoplights were out. That’s not very fun in rush hour traffic especially in a neighborhood of about 70,000 people and there are only 3 ways to get in and out of the development! Our subdivision looked like a disaster area and all the neighbors were in their yards picking up debris and looking around at the mess. I turned onto our street and I was greeted with this in the driveway...

It was awful! My Dad just paid to have all their trees trimmed about 3 months ago and unfortunately all the branches in the yard came from neighbors that don’t have their trees trimmed. That company was ringing our doorbell this morning at 7 am once they saw lights on and knew someone was awake! Well, they came back with their crew about 9 and ended up sitting in their trucks for a couple hours because it was raining. They are now working and as I’m writing this I’m listening to the sounds of chainsaws and men walking on the roof. Good thing we weren’t home or else we’d probably have 3 pretty messed up vehicles in the driveway!

I've Been Featured!

I am so flattered. One of my listings in my ArtFire studio has been selected as “Item of the Day” on Handmade News! They chose the machine embroidered lace angel that I made. You can read the full article here . Make sure you vote and give the article a thumbs up!

Featured Artist Today - Grand Prairie Woodworks

I wanted to share with you the talents of a fellow ArtFire seller. Meet Grand Prairie Woodworks whose studio features cutting boards, kitchen utensils, clocks, lighting and other home decor by a master builder of Mission furniture. My fiance does woodworking as well so I can appreciate the time, precision and talent that goes into these pieces. Here are a couple pictures from his studio ~



Make sure to visit his ArtFire studio and start your Christmas shopping today!

Beading Again!

I have been so busy enjoying my new crafting machine that I haven’t had a chance to get in any beading. I was having withdrawals so I whipped up this quick and fun spiral bracelet. I used red and white seed beads and added black drop beads for a little twist.

I just listed the bracelet on Etsy and ArtFire so hopefully someone will enjoy it soon!

Name That Delica Number

Color inspiration shows up when you least expect.

My parents gave us an invaluable gift for Christmas this past year. We went on a family vacation to Florida in July! This was the first vacation for all 8 of us to enjoy spending together for a week. It was my parents, my fiancé and I, my sister and her husband, and my niece and nephew ages 7 and 13. My Mom is in love with an amazing resort in Ft. Meyers and has been there 5 times over the past several years. She had been wanting to share the wonder with all of the family so we finally got to go and experience it for ourselves. If you’re interested in a vacation spot, check out Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa. We are all now checking the web cam on a daily basis daydreaming of going back!

On our second day it stormed for a couple hours. Our room overlooked the ocean and had floor to ceiling windows. We watched this storm roll in over the horizon and it was a spectacular range of blues and greens! Funny thing, my Mom and I at one point both looked at each other and said, “What are those Delica numbers?!?”. The colors of the storm over the ocean were just amazing and we both imagined a rich project using those colors. I took many photos as a reminder of the brilliant color combination although it was much prettier in person. Amazing how our minds are always working toward that next favorite project! :)



After the storm, we were treated to this beautiful sunset from our balcony......

I Hate Sewing

As long as I can remember, my Mom has sewn. She made clothes for my sister when we were little and then I was lucky enough to wear those clothes once I grew into them. My sister and I wore the same outfit in our kindergarten picture and she is 7 years older than me! She is probably going to kill me for posting this picture, but I can’t resist. Here we are about 30 years ago wearing matching denim jumpers my Mom made for us. I’m the chubby one on the right!

Mom even had her own pattern company in the late ‘80s. The whole family would work on copying the pattern, folding the pages and stuffing them into bags for selling. I even got paid 5 cents per pattern that I got ready! My mom got interested in quilting and now my parents own 3 amazing stores in Houston. Shameless plug – visit them online at www.itsastitchonline.com for all your quilting wants and needs.

I have never liked to sew. I go through little spurts where I get really excited about sewing up a project and then about 20 minutes into it I remember that I hate sewing. Although, I have just discovered the joy of machine embroidery! Since I don’t sew, I call my sewing machine “my crafting machine”. :) Check back soon for photos of what I have been making on my crafting machine.