Purse Project...

A while back I picked up 2 of these napkins, I loved the color and thought I might be able to make them into a little pouch-purse…

I just wasn't happy with any of the design ideas... then I spotted this cute style at a DSW & thought it could be adapted into something I'd like for my napkin-purse…

The shape/size was "just right", I like the way the fabric folds soften the look... not crazy about the basket edge (but wasn't planning on doing that anyway)... liked that it had a long strap, but I'd have made it detachable, with an attachable wrist strap option... ok, you can tell it got my juices flowing...

Then I dug around in my old fabric scraps to find something for a lining... no problem, I found a nice beige flannel that will work just fine!!

Next it was off to my local craft/fabric store to pick up a few items: Zipper, D-Rings, Clasps, Piping, Magnets (at this point I hadn't decided between Zipper & Magnets)...

I'm thinking that the purse body will be made out of the center of the napkins, and the top edge & wrist strap made out of the border of the napkins...  ok, time to start measuring, cutting, pinning, sewing... here goes!!  Clip-Clip!!

Vroom-Vroom!!

Obviously I made some decisions & modifications as I went along… I ended up using Magnets instead of a Zipper.  I made a wrist strap, but there is another D-Ring sewn in the other side so if I decide to get a full strap at some point I can use it with this little pocket-style purse…

Don't look too close, there are big mistakes in a few places, but with what I've learned the next one will go much more smoothly...

Also, as I was going along I thought perhaps I should do an Oragami inspired purse… but that's for another day… stay tuned!!

When Clippings Inspire...

I'm a gardener… well… I'm a novice gardener… and due to the fact that I live in Minnesota I'm only a novice gardener part of the year…

This year I had a dill plant in a little herb garden, I had been keeping it free from blooms & trimming off bits for food, and it had gotten woody.  Apparently I must not have kept it completely free from blooms because a new young plant had sprung up (in the middle of my cilantro, go figure…).  So I decided it was time to remove my woody friend from the herb garden, so I clipped off all the branches close to the ground.

As I held the branches in my hand I liked the unusual way the greens bent & twisted… so…

I put them in this interesting little vase & have been enjoying them for several days…

I was a bit surprised that my husband also enjoyed this, and I realized there is a sense of depth and space and scale, and that this is very artistic in its composition… I just wish I were a better photographer, perhaps that's something I should learn more about…

So then came today, I've not been feeling well and was in a "mood"… I did some homework for a Bible Study I teach (studying the Bible usually snaps me out of a funk), and was starting to feel more cheery, then my printer ran out of ink (Argh!) so I had to actually get out of my PJs (I said I wasn't feeling well) and down to my local office store to buy some ink (we were out at home).

After buying the ink I realized it was mid-afternoon and I hadn't eaten lunch (you know I'm sick if I miss a meal)… ink issues + hungry = "mood" is back with a vengeance!!  I also knew I needed to pick up a couple things from the store to round out dinner, and I was in no mood for the grocery store (Grrr!!)…. so in to the store I go, tummy rumbling as I go…

But in the store I pass by the flower display… I LOVE Flowers (I did mention I'm a gardener - check out my gardening blog)… so I stopped and gazed and sniffed… ahhh… then I spotted them, an adorable bunch of yellow miniature roses, I just couldn't resist!!

Finally I was back home, ink & groceries & roses in hand… I put away the perishables then decided to put the roses in a vase, about this time I wondered if I could combine them with my dill… they are so different from each other… so I gave it a shot & here's the result:

I think they're lovely together… again I just wish the photo did them justice…

Appreciating Amber...

I got this little bauble while on a mission trip to Ukraine… no, this is not my work…

Ukraine is known for its Amber, and I happen to love Amber… I was actually hoping to pick up some Amber for mounting, but this was a mission trip & there wasn't time to search things out…

The mounting is silver, I like the leaf-like nature of the mounting… looking forward to wearing this piece...

More Lion Around… :)

Lions are ready for inspection…

Some trimming, some re-gluing, some need surgery, some need eye replacements…. and a few more need to be made...

Shannon & Amy...

Shannon & Amy are helping me make sure that we have lots of nice little puppets to send to Ukraine for the orphans…

Roxy

Joining us was Roxy, she was working on costumes for the skit that will be done for the orphans - Daniel & the Lion's Den…

A fun time crafting with these very sweet ladies!!

Preparing for Inspection...

All these lions… packed up and brought home… now they need to be unpacked, dried, and looked over...

Ready to be unpacked...

More ready to be unpacked….

Need to be checked… Oops, we have some tilted heads!

Some of the Lions (there are >250)

Some More of the Lions...

Lots of Happy Smiling Lions!!

Lotsa Lotsa Lions!!!

Wow!!

A group of about 25 of us got together this week to trace, cut, glue, and superglue Lion Finger Puppets… here are some pics:

Supergluing Google-Eyes to Faces.

This wonderful group of volunteers came together to assemble these fun little puppets in support of a group that will be traveling to Ukraine & visiting several orphanages.

Our prayer is that the young people who receive these little puppets would get joy from them.

Cutting out Bodies & Manes.

More Cutting.

And even more Cutting.

Gluing together the Puppets.

More Gluing.

And even more Gluing.

And even a special helper who was in town
from Wisconsin visiting her daughters.

A Good Rainy Day Activity

I am still helping with the craft project for the little Lion Finger Puppets, this week we've had a bit of rain so I worked on getting some faces painted - the one part that needs to be done in advance before a group of us gets together to put together 250 of these… yes 250… they'll have to be packed to take to Ukraine, so I guess its a good thing they're small & lightweight…

I'm getting some other prep work done as well, a team of around 20 people will be working on these… lots of bright colors as well as some traditional colors…