Memories for Life

Being a member of the EtsyBloggers the past couple years has been a lot of fun. One of the reasons for that has be getting the chance to get to know new artists, crafters and of course bloggers. Each month a team member is chosen to be featured by all the other members on their blogs.

The post today is about Edi of Memories for Life Scrapbooks who is our featured teammate for the month of August. Her work really does cover all of life from new babies, to weddings, holidays, friends, vacations and more. Take a look at a sampling from her shop and see for yourself.



To find out more about Edi you can also stop by her blog and say hello while you are there.

Old and Continuing Favorite Craft

When looking for a new project to keep me busy there is one technique I have gone to over and over. I have sold many thread crochet items at craft fairs through the years including things like snowflakes, angels, doilies, edged hemstitched baby and home things. I have sold some of this type of work to people that know how to crochet but don't want to work with fine threads. These customers certainly had a true appreciation on the craft and I thank them for that.

Thread crochet using fine threads and very small hooks has always fascinated me. Just the very idea of taking a piece of thread and a small silver hook to create a decorative piece of lace gives me a sense of competence and pride and the larger and more complex, the more I like it.

All three of the pieces I am showing you today use the pineapple design as the main feature. The top picture is a bit of a doily that lives on my coffee table. The middle picture is of a very large doily I made many years ago. I use it as a cover for the top and back of a chair.

The work you see above was not made by me but I rescued it. I found it in a pile of other things at an antique fair. The work is not perfect but pretty. It is made of eight large blocks and is big enough to cover the back of my couch. It would make a beautiful tablecloth but I don't want anything to happen to it.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Jordan,
Happy birthday to you!

Plumcot or Pluot?

Have you tried this lovely fruit? I didn't know the pluot or plumcot existed until this Sunday. We stopped at a fruit stand in Payson and the gentleman selling fruits and vegetables suggested it. The pluot as he called it is a cross between plums and apricots. It has a wonderful texture and is very sweet and it is just so danged pretty.

For Your hard Working Kitchen

Sometimes I wish I had all the cool tools that would make me a better cook. However in reality I know it is not the tools that make the cook. But I did run across something that I really liked today. This charming little piece or maple with its own curved blade is what I fell in love with today. It is to be a very useful J. K. Adams cutting board made for chopping herbs.

It has some great reviews on the J. K. Adams website. It is specially designed for cutting herbs. The way it works as I understand it is that you just rock the blade back and forth. The material naturally falls to the bottom of the depression so that you can mince what you are working on very fine, or of course, coarsely if you wish.

To complete a hard working kitchen you can take a look at other items in their quality lineup. You know after all that chopping you could dry your herbs and store them in a J. K. Adams spice rack. Keep on shopping there and find the perfect cutting board, wine rack or pot rack. All this with a 30 day no hassle return policy, price guarantees and reasonable or no shipping on any order.

PS I have also fallen in love with this chicken cutting board. They have other animals in the selection too. You could get a rooster, pig, cow or fish. Check them out and let me know your favorite, ok?

Art In My House

Today I am continuing to show you the handmade things I have around me everyday. The 2 pieces today are watercolors and hang in my bedroom.

The pictures to the right shows a forest scene that I bought for my husband one Father's Day. I loved the colors and beauty of the trees and he did too. Unfortunately I do not know the name of the artist and the piece is not signed. I bought it at a Quilted Bear store in Murray, Utah.

The painting on the left is one I have had since my high school days. We had a family friend named Claude Lepine who painted. Our families would get together sometimes and during one of those visits he told each of us we could chose one of his paintings to take home. This was my choice that day. I like the shades of spring greens mixed with the brown of the cattails. It looks to me as if a slight breeze is just barely bending the tops of the tall grasses.



Do you have handmade things surrounding you in your life? If you have posted about them leave a link to your post in the comments for others to see.

That Time

It is that time of year when it is time to start over. That is if you are connected to the education system. The beginnings of a new school year with all its new challenges. I looked forward to this time for many years as a parent and a paraeducator. I ran the computer lab in an elementary school before I moved down to Arizona three years ago. This time of year was a busy one. Whe my kids were young it meant shopping for clothes, supplies and all those little things that make being a good student easier. For me it meant a very busy time of registering students, building data bases for student work, scheduling with teachers. I would have loved to have a bag as pretty as this one when I was working through those years. I almost always brought my lunch. I also carried a small project of knitting or crocheting or maybe a book to read. Lunch time although short was all mine. I closed the door and had most days 15 to no more than 30 minutes to myself to recharge. I found this lovely bag in the shop momo trees.

Happy He Is Not 30 Yet?

However he only has one more year to go from today. My son, the poor middle child, is having a birthday today, his 29th. I am rather infamous for putting up pictures on birthdays that my adult children don't like. I am sure that today this photo will keep up with my currently low standards of picture choice.

Happy Birthday to You Jimmy!

Reading 2009 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseieni

A Thousand Splendid Suns is the second best seller for the author Khaled Hosseieni. His first best seller was The Kite Runner which was made into a movie. Both books are set in Afghanistan where the author was born.

A Thousand Splendid Suns weaves together the lives of two women caught in a society torn apart. In the end the survival of one depends on the sacrifice of another and I literally cried my way through it.

I don't want to tell you the story but I highly recommend you read this book if you haven't already.

Finished and Delivered

The young woman who cleans and checks on my teeth every 3 months is having her first baby. I told her I would love to make a blanket and burp cloth set for her. She chose the fabrics. The print you see here is backed by a solid dark brown. I crocheted a shell stitch in pink and then edged the shells in dark brown. I am very pleased with how this project turned out. I hope the new little lady in their lives enjoys in too. She is due on the 17th of this month and I have been promised pictures!

Staying Crafty

I saw this idea somewhere online. I think on a blog. These bowls are made from catalogs. Each page is folded into strips and they are coiled to make the bowls. If you posted it feel free to leave a link in the comments here because I am having trouble finding the post again.

Kaycee had fun with this and made two bowls, one small and one large. I think we will give them a coat of sealer so they are more protected and longer lasting. Pretty neat project out of something that would have gone in the trash.

The bowls have a close up shot in this post.

New Handmade

I have two new bowls in my house for keys and other small things. They are one of the projects done by my granddaughter during her visit this week. I will enjoy having them to look at and use.

To see the creator of my new bowls you can go here.