Further Pillowing

So, that IKEA project turned into a 10 day ordeal...could be that when I put the drawer hardware in BACKWARDS, coulda slowed me down a bit. But I am proud to say that it is done and now I hate to put anything in it. Don't wanna junk it up...but I am sure I will. I have lots of thingys to put in it....I just have to pick the BEST ones to make it home.

BUt I did get in some pillow time...and not the shut eye kind-( that is dictated by the wonderful world of MENOPAUSE....). ANYWAY!!! This is my newest one. I printed out the capital S that I wanted and cut out the letter with an exacto knife and then laid it on the fabric with a little spray adhesive. I then took a foam brush and pounced it onto the area leaving a few lighter spots.

I then finished it with black piping that I made myself. I am happy with the result and have one more pillow I want to make. STAY TUNED!!

Recipe for coconut cake

Here's the recipe for my coconut cake as some has asked for it...

Bake 2 white cake mixes and add 1 t. of coconut extract to the batter. Divide it among 3 round cake pans. It will rise a lot but you need full layers and will trim it off. Be sure and grease and line the pans with wax paper.

After baking, cool and then release the cakes...then wrap and freeze the 3 layers.

meanwhile, buy 3 of the tall white fluffy frosting and 1 large coolwhip. You will also need a bag of coconut.

Mix a cup of coconut, all the coolwhip and at least 2 of the tall white fluffy frosting containers together. Take out cakes and spread a bit on your pedestal and then put first layer on. Spread a generous amount ontop and then repeat until all layers are on. You might need to mix in the additional frosting if you like lots... Spread on remaining frosting on entire cake and then I took the larger flake coconut and pressed it onto sides and top. Decorate with fruit. Refridgerate all leftovers if there are any....ha!

Under Construction....

Just like the header states....I am under construction. My studio that is...I decided I need a new place to store MORE FABRIC and supplies so I shopped around and saw some pricey cuboards and then decided on IKEA.and since my two college girls were home I could entreat them to help me unload the sucker. (IT WAS A KILLER!) We unloaded one day and called it quits. SO all week I have been

following the little IKEA men in the instruction booklet and it is close to done...but pillow making? For some reason it hasn't worked out this week. Maybe the next week...it is my plan.

I am also working on my shuttle watercolor and a hundred other projects that take up too much space in my head.

SO, enjoy my new header and thanks for stopping by...I will post pictures when it is all put back together and Belle has another nap.

The Dog Days of summer.....

Yup, it's here. Those long summer days that start cool and beautiful and evaporate into hot, sultry (yeah, in UTAH...). So, it calls for a fun project. A "won't take all day with many brain cells " project. And so far it is morphing s l o w l y...so hang on-there is more to come....

oh, and my sweet peas have been so plentiful this year. I have to pick them in two bunches...wonderful....too bad you can't smell em...

This one was great fun. I cut out an antique bicycle on my Cricuit onto freezer paper- then I ironed it onto the fabric and taped off the border. I then stamped with acrylic paint and carefully lifted the stencil off. VOILE'. Stay tuned for pillow #2....

Bandana bracelets...oh, my!

It all started with activity day. We needed a easy, cheap, FUN project on a hot Friday afternoon. All they really need is to be together so they can giggle and chat. So we made friendship bracelets. All it took was a few scraps of fabric and some tutorials on braiding and off they went....

And later I decided that scraps of bandanas would be a cute alternative....

Oh and beings the lot behind the house has been sold to some developers, I am in mourning to miss my early day horseness fix. Drat for progress. DOUBLE DRAT.....

Cut and Paste (sort of)

I really wanted to find a denim skirt for the Rodeo....I looked at all my favorite boutiques...(Ross, TJ Maxx and Target!) And then I found one at Ross but it was a bit too small...see that tag? But I figured that I could fix that if I found two of the same. And voile'...it was my lucky day. Two skirts for 4.49 a piece....if I goofed it up, it wouldn't be too much the worse right?

So this is the whacking away at it plan..... Cut down the middle and take out 2 inches on each side of cut. I then cut the bands off the other skirt and layered them down the center of the cut, backing it with a piece of black fabric.

I sewed them down with a zigzag stitch bumping them up seam to seam. (This would keep the bulk down and maintain the same lined pattern....

I sewed the remainder of the bands together and then attached them
by sewing right on top of the seam of the above band. I covered any stray white showing through with a touch of permanent marker.

So, I was pretty satisfied with the result...can't beat a 9 buck skirt for a RODEO...did you see those pink boots?

Just in case....

Yeah, so ALL of my creative juices have been sucked right outta me the last few weeks. I am getting ready for girls camp. Somehow I am in charge of the crafts....that one fits really well, but being in charge of the FOOD...well that is another ship to sail.

Making menus and planning stuff is just not in my DNA. Even my mother says she doesn't like to make lists because what if she wakes up and wants to do something else that day!!! LOVE THAT!!

SOOOO, I thought I needed to put something here new so you would keep coming to visit...all those of you that come and peek without a comment, and those that follow me...my sweet 10 peeps...love you!!!

I am in the middle of a painting for my oldest boy. He was a lover of space from the day he could point. He has the coolest blog entry about the latest and last shuttle mission...check his blog http://www.denver-life.com/. Anyway, I am pretty happy with the way it is going so far so I will give you a peek. So, you can see something new....Here is the beginning of the work...lots of pencil work and then a liquid mask that goes over the white or lightest areas...it works like rubber cement. It saves the whites so I can uncover them later and paint them like I want!!Then I paint a warm pink over the whole sky and some in the lower water ....after that I begin to layer the blues and purples that I want to be the underlayer of sky and clouds. I also drop some water right on the cloud areas so they will blossom on purpose and look like clouds. The warm colors also go in behind the white-hot shaft to look like the hot spots . So, now I am off to camp and crafting and cooking...whew. I am worn out before I even get started. So stay tuned....there is more to come. Always more to come...and I have decided what my new mantra is that I saw today.

Create something beautiful today even though no one might care. Isn't that cool?