Here comes the train

It's a good thing that I don't actually get to bed at a decent time these days because between my neighbor and the train that rumbles past my house and likes to blair his horn I would never sleep... I mean I sleep like the dead when I'm with Joel... In fact I've got a working theory that I catch up on all the sleep I lose during the week when he comes home on the weekends... but it's not like i'm sleeping when the train comes around at 10pm or when my neighbor comes home from work at 2am so I guess it's all good lol...

Enough complaining though... This week I've been back into the incredible land of jewelry... I discovered a place called Artfire.com which is not all that exciting if you've ever sniffed around Etsy.com but I have found that artfire is an incredible resource for craft supplies... I ordered colored wire there and am experimenting in jewelry land... so far I have cranked out three different bracelets that I am wearing around to see if the wire holds up as well as I'm hoping it will... the wire is actually aluminum which means its slightly more malleable than the stuff I normally work with... and by slightly I mean a lot... But it seems to be doing well so far and I'm not careful with my jewelry so...

I also found a website that lists a lot of different chain maille weaves... the site is extensive but the directions are difficult so I'm exploring the internet for better options... but I figure I can start with some basic weaves and see how they hold up then get more elaborate to set me apart from other crafters... but the switch has been nice... it made me remember why I loved jewelry and why I got into it... it's a good activity for an ADD person like me... good results quickly lol

I will try to post some stuff soon and if there are things ppl want let me know then you can test my materials for me :) I am always looking for new guinea pigs...

Quick list of prayers....

That the Lord would direct us on where we need to be as far as a church goes...

That the car would either fix itself or I will be able to find a mechanic that doesn't give me the run around....

That my W2s will not get lost in the giant pit of life sucking that is gymboree...

That Joel will be safe in the field and me while i'm traveling this week...

Thanks all love you all

Samples Part 2

Ok so sorry about the two separate postings but you wouldn't believe how hard it is to post more than one pic on here... i had worked on the last posting for about an hour and i got to my last two pics and managed to delete them so i just figured they would have their own posting... so this is the post to show you my two favorite pieces

This fairy was my first attempt at a fairy.... it is one of my favorite pieces cause all the colors came together perfectly and the whole thing just popped nicely.... you probably can't see it but i did this technique with both of the fairy's wings where I faded the color as i worked inward and it ended up looking awesome...


This design is my all time favorite... I found it at Urbanthreads and fell in love... the only thing that I think i will change on my own is the color... I mean don't get me wrong I love the color I used but I think I will also do a version with a red iridescent thread as well...






ok you've seen the stuff reviews please! I need all the feedback and inspiration and ideas I can get!

Samples : )

Real quick I thought I would post some samples of my work so that you guys could see where I was coming from and the rut that I'm stuck in...

The first sample is just a fun little hedgehog that I found somewhere... I thought he was really fun and lovable so I whipped him out... he is a patch done on white fabric so all you have to do is peel the back off and iron him on... in the pick he is against a black background for contrast....



The next pic was my attempt at a rose pattern... the pattern itself was actually very pretty and elaborate but I managed to screw up the stitching so it ended up like this.... this sample was done on purple fabric and would have become a patch if I had managed to pull it off...


The next sample is my attempt at a chidren's design... now admittedly I killed this design the minute i put it on black fabric... i think my thought was the colors would really pop that way... but in general i'm not a huge fan but to be fair I am always my own worst critic so help me out... is it childish and fun enough? This design is also a patch mostly cause I wanted it to be really easy for the moms to get my designs on their kids clothes...

Ok... next one is my "monster latte" lol see what I did there? with the joke? cause he's a monster and he's holding a latte... ok i'm done anyways I believe I found this guy at Urbanthreads.com which has become one of my new best friends... i did him on black because i found this awesome pastel purple color and i wanted it to show but i feel like i killed the design yet again so.... but in general is he cute? is he the kind of thing I should be investing in?






Next comes my purple fairy... Now this was a second attempt at a fairy the first one I did was extremely colorful and bright and I went with different tones on this one and it may have come out muted.... interestingly enough this is one of the only designs that I wonder if I should have put onto black fabric... this design and the next one were both created as patches to test how well they would work and wash on clothes before I began selling them... they have stayed really nice so far....

What I'm up to...

So I haven't posted in like two months but they were busy months and this is why my diary died out when I was a little kid... anyways so there is plenty going on in my life at the moment and by plenty i mean I'm stuck in the house all the time in a little backwoods hamlet that is two hours from any type of civilization.... but still i like it here it's cute and pretty most days I like having the time on my hands... Right now I've been working on several different craft venues... mostly cause my rampant ADD will not allow me to just focus on one... I'm turning out lots of little embroidered iron on patches which is a whole lot of fun but murder on my eyes... but that's why God created reading glasses lol... I bought myself an itty bitty sewing machine and and slowly working through a couple fabric projects... I've got a couple set of crocheted gloves in the works.... and various other yarn projects that haven't quite made it beyond conceptualization....

But this week oooh this week is cooking... I have discovered a treasure trove of dairy free recipes at the Whole Foods website which I am really excited to try along with several other recipes that are not as dairy free but that's ok cause their not really for me anyways... the only problem I'm coming across is that for most of the week I'm all alone in my house and I mean I can put away some food when I want to but I'm finding that when I'm alone I really don't eat as much... Now on the weekends when Joel comes home food disappears faster than I can replace it.... I think it is all the extra training he is doing... or maybe it's just that he has to eat at the mess hall during the week... but I don't remember him putting away this much food on a regular basis...

Anyways the point is that cooking is my project this week... But I was hoping people would leave me ideas for other projects either here or on my facebook... the projects can be anything from patches to jewelry to crocheted things... i just need.... inspiration... so that's the cry for help... inspiration!