Yesterday, my friend Lorine and I took a mini-road trip out to the Eastern shore of Maryland to visit our friends, Tiffany Windsor and Candace Liccione. What a treat! Candace has a beautiful home overlooking the Wye River and the day began with some creative talk by a warm fire. Then we sat down to a delicious meal of quiche and salad followed by yummy warm apple cake. After MORE creative chat, we headed over to Candace’s studio- the ultimate in crafting heaven! There were beautiful projects all over the walls including mosaics, jewelry, wall hangings, frames, you name it… Jars of colorful embellishments lined the walls and windows-tiles, beads, charms. Another nook was dedicated to tea and various herbal items. Several work tables were set up for classes and workshops. I found it difficult to stop looking around surrounded by all of the cool stuff.

Over tea, we discussed the state of the craft industry, where we see our talents and goals fitting in and shared ideas and fellowship. We got on the road and talked the whole way home about our visit- such a great day. Thanks to our creative friends, for sharing your time with us!

The weather dudes are in their glory. Last night I was very disturbed to find that the storm coverage preempted “Shark Tank”, my new favorite show. I am not and never will be a weather channel watcher- the weather basically does what ever it wants and you just have to deal it. But this snow is worthy of writing about.

My job is to take a broom and whack as much snow as I can off the trees and bushes in the yard so they don’t break from the weight of it. I went out at 1:00 and came in at 1:40 encrusted with snow and tired from trying to make my way around to the various vegetation that needed attention. I don’t like to wear hats. This is a problem when you are standing under a tree poking the branch that is laden with 50 pounds of snow, hence “encrusted” 🙂 I still like snow. For lunch, we had grilled cheese with a side of Spaghettios and mini-meatballs. It’s that kind of day.

Word has come down that taxes must be completed ASAP so last night I assembled the paperwork, spread it out on a table in the family room and busily started making notations and piles of receipts. When the CFO fell asleep on the couch, I came downstairs and got started on several really cool projects. The fun thing is they are a little different than what I normally make. Stay tuned- will share some when they are finished.

Stay warm and cozy wherever you are!

I love my Book Club (aka the Book Bags). About 12 of us usually make it on any given night and we read anything that seems interesting. Our best discussions are usually the books we don’t like! And then there’s the food…

A few months ago, I made some little notepads for everyone so we could keep track of what we were reading, due dates at the library and recommendations for future books to be read. I saw the idea for the notepads at the blog of Michelle Wooderson. She is one amazing designer!

I got some of those mini-legal pads and cut them in half. I used to be able to buy them at CostCo- $5.49 for 24 pads but last time I went they were out. Knew I should have stocked up! I set my mat cutter up and chopped them right in half. It took a few passes but they cut clean as a whistle. I measured and cut a piece of matboard that exactly covered the front of the pad. I cut a strip of paper the same width as the pad and trimmed the front edge with decorative scissors. With my tape gun I adhered the paper to the back of the pad and front of the matboard creating a hinge. Then I created a simple logo in Illustrator and cut it out and layered with circle and scallop punches. The pad is kept closed with an elastic hair band in coordinating colors. They were fun to do- I could have gone crazy decorating them but time ran out.

These would be great for baby/bridal showers. You know those games you always have to play? Give a pen and pad out, play the game and let them take these home after as a party favor. Decorate acording to the theme of the event.

Here’s a quick card I made using a Sizzix embossing folder and a piece of aqua matboard.

With a brayer, I applied ink to the side of the embossing folder that would be pressing on the front of the board. After some adjusting of the plates to get the right pressure, I ran it through my Big Shot. The edges of the matboard were distressed with sandpaper and I bumped up the piece using dimensional foam dots. I really like the soft and rich letterpress look of the final print.

The Corner Chomper works great to round the edges of both the matboard and cardstock.

Best wishes to Marissa and Jeff on their engagement!

I know I have been heavy into the ScoreBoards lately so thought I would put up a picture of a recycled project that I did. I am always finding these silver bread baskets in my local thrift stores.

As you may know if you have ever been in my house, I am a silver plate junkie. If I had been born in England a couple of centuries ago, I would have been a great scullery maid because I love polishing silver. These pieces can be used in so many ways. I use silver butter trays on the mantle in our bedroom (serving as a headboard right now) where I keep my often- worn jewelry. I especially love to collect items that have been engraved because I know there is a story behind every piece and it’s fun to try and imagine the story of how that particular piece wound up in my bathroom storing Q-tips!

So here’s what I did with the bread basket… you may choose to polish the piece before you work on it… or not. If you don’t, be prepared because it will tarnish at some point. I kind of like how that looks so mine is not polished. Basically I went through my ribbon scrap pile and found lengths in Christmas colors. I laid them out in an order that I liked and then also picked out a bunch of larger size beads. Starting at the top, I wove ribbon through the basket spokes. Where the ribbon ended, I put a dot of glue at the end and pressed it together with the other end. You can use a binder clip to hold both pieces together while the glue is setting.

Weave silver wire through the spines of the basket on the outside adding beads every couple of loops.

NOTE: You have probably figured out that this project should not be used to hold food due to the nature of the supplies. Cleaning would NOT be fun! So this project is recommended for decorative purposes only. I have some handblown glass ornaments that I usually display in the bowl. I find the textures and colors blend very well together. Does anyone else out there like silver like me? It’s a sickness!

I don’t pretend to be a connoisseur of wine or champagne… in fact, give me a diet Coke, anytime… but when we serve it at parties, we often have half a bottle left. Also not known for my skills at opening bottles because I manage to reduce corks to crumbs which may be seen floating at the bottom. However, luckily, I am fairly handy with an icepick and tube of E-6000! I bought a bunch of these beautiful glass drawer pulls on sale and thought it might be cool to make my own wine stoppers.

They are quick and easy. With an icepick, stick a hole in the center of a cork and scoop out the middle to accommodate the long screw that comes with the drawer pull. Screw it all the way into the glass pull. Insert into cork to test. When hole is deep enough, squeeze a dollop of E-6000 glue into the cork and push all the way down with a bamboo skewer. Reinsert drawer pull screw into cork and let sit for 24 hours. Give the bottle stopper along with a bottle of wine the next time you are a guest in someone’s home. This is sure to be a hit!