Along comes "CeeCee"

Well, here she is.  And she has a sweet little crown.  Better to let ole grumpy beak know who is in charge right away.

She is looking for her spot...right up

 there.

Now aren't they a cute pair?

 

Whitman, the bird.

I am embarrassed. Sometimes the designer, sewer, painter in me cannot  GIVE it up if I can't figure something out.

I saw some darling little birds on Pinterest and I have a particular OBSESSION for birds. Not sure what that says about me, but at this point in life, I don't fight it.

Sooo, rather than send for the 4 dollar pattern, I decided that I would make it myself.

 I probably made 300 ( okay probably more like 20) birds outta muslin.  Yes, it even bothered me in sleep and I woke up trying to get my brain around the specific dimensions that I wanted.  Oh, my, GOODNESS.  I am so picky about what I saw in my brain, and what I came up with...bah.  I would throw it down and go bake more cookies.  (see previous post.)

I finally decided that enough was enough and I could let someone else be a successful designer of cute fat birds. GRRRRRR.  I ordered the pattern off of ETSY.  The seller promised a download in 24 hrs or less. 

 I waited.

I waited more than 24 hrs. 

 I waited more.

 I emailed her and said very politely..."please send me that pattern". 

( I found out that her PROMISE was not so great...)  I emailed her again and I wasn't as patient.  I told her to "resolve the matter soon." 

 In the mean time, I finally made a little bird that I  liked.  It was an accident.

I named him WHITMAN.

He looks a bit mad doesn't he?

I rather like his fancy tail.

He sits all alone in his plaster dipped nest

with a few feathers for comfort.

I think I need to make him a mate.

He looks a bit lonely in his nest all alone.

The pattern I used for him is here someplace.....I think.

Up to my eyeballs in DOUGH...

At the end of the week, I always look back and wonder.  Just what did I do all week.  With no "little ones" underneath my feet anymore, I should have huge accomplishments.  Uh, okay, I will settle for small victories.

Yes, I will.

So, I was asked to teach a decorating cookies class at church.  And you know me, can't do just a B- job,

it MUST be overdone and marvelous...

Here are the candidates.

I  saw Martha on Friday and she had a lady that decorated the cutest GNOME cookies, so I simply used my Santa cookie cutter and  voile'.

I feel like I cracked the code for making pretty cookies with the decorators icing...yes, the one that sets up like cement.  Pretty to look at but the cookies taste like cardboard and the frosting, well, like cement.

I decorate the cookies and let them set for a few hours or even better overnight

Find a plastic container and line the bottom with a  paper towel that has been saturated with water and then wrung out.

On top of that I put a single layer of wax paper.  Then layer the cookies in a single layer on top of the wax paper. The cookies should not touch the paper towel.

Put on the lid and seal.  Wait over night and  surprise the next day, the cookies are soft again and the frosting is still cute.

YAY!!!

 I teach the class tonight so I am off to package and make another pedestal with a tree stem (did you see that one on pinterest???)

I will post picture of my students glories.

Until, then ugh, YOU go and eat 

a cookie, I am never going to sample them again.

Well, until I make cookies next time.

more birding....

Going Birdy

I have 3 commissions I NEED to be working on. Three oil paintings and a couple of watercolor landscapes.   But I needed a break...and Pinterest is always there to entice me.  And I wanted to make something, I NEEDED to create something.  So some little birds came a calling.

And I had to go and buy a LITTLE bit of fabric.  Don't judge me.  A girl always needs fabric....
This pair, I already had the fabric...

Come to think of it...I had the above one also.  But I got bored and wanted NEW fabric....

I LOVE THIS SELECTION...and have you seen the plaster dipped stuff?  Well, I got some nests today and next week I am dipping.  Stay tuned.

A RED Day in the January.

One of the only redeeming things about January is that February is coming.  And the fact that I love red and paper stuff and all that.  So whilst pondering Pinterest the other day I spotted this ...

Love it.  Want it, but more so, want to MAKE ONE...so rather than work on stuff I should be working on, I pulled out my supplies (I didn't buy a thing, nosiree...) and started.

Easy, peasy.

Just get some of this.

and iron your fabric (cotton blend, canvas,muslin, any ole thing)

onto it.

Then cut it the size of a piece of printer paper and run 

through your printer.

Of course, you have to spend some time making up your own tattered Parisian envelope.

Using lots of different stamps, you already had and ahem, different fonts, and fun Parisian stamps off the internet.

Oh yes, and run it right through your laser printer, because your silly ink jet is outta ink.

Then make a red pillow and

heat and bond that cute thing right to that pillow.

SO FUN. oh, and the next one is on whiter fabric that looks a bit more like the PB one.  That one is next.  This one is for my etsy shop.  

SEE YA.

More Pillowing

So, as I see it, there is no such thing as too many pillows.  Just ask my spouse who spends 15 minutes throwing them from my bed to the floor every night.

When my sister and niece were visiting, there was a fun fabric store that had a cute version of one we decided to try.  And that was just after Thanksgiving and I finished mine just a few days AFTER Christmas.  Ah, well, such is my life.