Bella Dia

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T13:49:50-06:00

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy,
they are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.
~Marcel Proust

Happy Mother's Day
with love to
my Mom
jhvta3hx6f

Thoughtful Friday

2009-04-03T00:01:00-06:00

Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road.

-Out of Africa

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T01:33:39-07:00

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;what is essential is invisible
to the eye."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Vintage Valentines to Print

2009-02-11T00:30:27-07:00

Do you love vintage valentines as much as I do? I think they are so much better than the ones that are available today. I found two sites that have adorable vintage valentines that you can download so I thought I'd let you know. I've been busy with Valentine's Day posts at The Crafty Crow and making valentines with the kids but I have some great thrift finds to show you as soon as I can get to it :)

The valentines above, and more, are available here.

We are also making valentines for the senior center and the Meals On Wheels program for a total of seventy seniors so we're knee deep in hearts and glitter :)

Isn't that little Dutch girl adorable? These are just a few of the ones available here. Have fun!

Label Maker, Label Maker, Make Me A Label!

2009-01-27T14:01:12-07:00

The good people at Brother sent me a P-Touch labeler (PT-1280) to try out and tell everyone what I thought; I know, lucky me! I have to say that I love organizing stuff and I love having a place for everything and everything in its place. I just think better when the area around me is nice and neat, it calms me. The reality is my surroundings are rarely like that - single crafting mom to three kids at home all day plus a dozen+ animals just doesn't make for a neat-as-a-pin kind of home and honestly I have had to work hard to find a comfort level that works for me - balancing my ideals versus reality. Anyway, one of the simplest things you can do to organize a space is to label everything. You might have a drawer for scissors, a can for markers, a plastic tub for yarn, but by putting a label on the container those items have laid claim to that space and it really does keep away the stray marker in the scissors drawer or stuffing in the yarn box because, after all, the label says scissors or markers or yarn and those labels mean business, darn it! So, onto the labeler; well, it couldn't be any simpler! I'm usually a read-the-directions-first kind of person but since I didn't have my reading glasses nearby, ahem, I just started poking around on it. Put in the batteries, add the tape, turn it on and start typing up labels. You can change the size and look of the letters which is nice plus there are different color tapes, even clear, if you want to get fancy. A little tip, when you are printing out a lot of labels, just put spaces between the words and cut them apart later rather than printing one label at a time - you'll save a lot of tape that way. It works just as well in the kids rooms as the craft room and letting the kids organize and label their own space is a great first step in learning to organize and keeping things put away in the right spot.

One day I'll share new photos of my studio. I moved all my things into a new space and it's workable but I don't have it prettied up enough to share just yet.

Please vote for this very important cause!

2009-01-14T14:13:37-07:00

Vote Now To Save Handmade!

Button Clips

2008-12-19T13:50:44-07:00

This probably says something about how my gift making is going but here is another last minute gift that is quick and easy to make. Buttons and paperclips glued together with hot glue make button clips! They can still be used as paperclips but the large ones make cute bookmarks as well.

The view from the back. You can use a shank button or a button with hole. Lay the paperclip over the middle of the back of the button and add some hot glue. These look really cute with the novelty type buttons too - great for kids :)

Free Gift Tag List Updated

2008-12-17T02:58:34-07:00

I'm just letting everyone know that I have updated the list of free gift tags that I've been collecting from the internet for the last few years. There are lots of new beauties this year so be sure to take a look. The link is always in my sidebar under "Pages".

Click over to Maya*Made and see what she did with some free gift tags and ideas for green gift wrapping :)

Rocks +Transfers = Easy Last Minute Gifts

2008-12-15T14:53:09-07:00

I love that scrapbooking has brought so many products into the crafting world that can be used in other ways. I know rub-on transfers have been around for awhile but now they come in so many beautiful and fun designs and that's what I found on my last trip to the scrapbook store. Of course, I wanted to try them out right away and since these stones were within arm's reach this is what I did. These small ones look like they've been stitched together and would be just right for paperweights.

This larger rock would make a nice doorstop. Did you need last minute gifts or stocking stuffers? Here you go!

Glittery Newspaper Tree

2008-12-09T00:44:57-07:00

I saw this tree on the Martha Stewart site and almost immediately set to making it. I'm planning on doing a whole landscape of recycled trees this year for a holiday display so this fit the bill perfectly. I have a few tips for you if you decide to make one as well.
* I made the polymer clay base exactly as the instructions and it came out perfectly only I used a bamboo skewer instead of a knitting needle for the support.
* I have a large paper cutter and I am *so* glad I did!
* Cut out all the newspaper ahead of time so you use the same amount of each size.
* We used a small newspaper cone for the top instead of a star since ours is just a regular tree in the woods and not a Christmas tree ;)
* I used Elmer's spray adhesive for the glitter. The glitter is actually small opalescent flakes - a brand new bag that I got while thrifting, woot!
* It is surprisingly sturdy and I plan to keep if for next year so we'll see if it stores well.
* My kids were very much involved and could easily do it on their own but it does take awhile so you may want to have them switch out if they get bored.

Handprint Turkey Softie and Tutorial

2008-11-16T23:15:00-07:00

For me, the hand print turkey is the quintessential Thanksgiving kids craft and it is one of my favorites. I thought it would be fun to have a more permanent version so I decided to make a softie version. I'll be the first to say that the following tutorial is very spare (because I'm really supposed to be working on other things) but I had this on my mind and just had to make it!

You'll need:

*two layers of fabric large enough to accommodate your child's hand with at least one inch to spare all the way around

*a few pins

*disappearing fabric marker or pencil

*sewing machine & coordinating thread

*scissors

*poly-fil or other stuffing

*pencil with eraser for help with stuffing

*scraps of felt (wool preferable)for feathers, wings, eyes, beak, and wattle; I used red, orange, gold, yellow, and beige

*fabric glue, like Fabric-Tac

How-to:

With right sides of fabric together, trace your child's hand with the marker/pencil.

Pin the fabric together and sew over marked lines leaving the wrist area open.

Trim within about 1/8" of stitch line.

Snip between the fingers and around any curves.

Turn right side out and poke out fingers.

Using only small bits of stuffing at a time, stuff the fingers then the hand.

Tuck in the bottom opening and edge stitch to close or hand stitch if you've got time - I didn't :)

Feathers should be about the length of the fingers. I didn't use a pattern but cut them freehand. I used five different colors and cut two feathers from each one for a total of ten. Snip along one edge of the feather.

Apply glue only at the base of the feather and attach to the turkey.

Cut two wings, apply glue on one forward end only and place appropriately.

Cut a little triangle for the beak and a little rounded strip for the wattle and glue in place.

Take a little bit of felt and roll it between your fingers to make the eye then glue in place and repeat for the other side.

Tip: If you don't want to machine sew then make the body from felt. Leave a little more room around the edges of the tracing for hand sewing and there's no need to turn it inside out. Continue as above with the stuffing and feathers.

Your done! That was simple right? Enjoy :)

BHG Holiday Crafts and Me!

2008-11-14T01:13:37-07:00

I am thrilled to tell you that two of my projects are in the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts issue out now! See the little pine cone girl skiier on the cover - that's mine!

There are tutorials for the mini felted wreath and the pine cone girls that I made last year and it is so fun to see them as new again :)

This issue is full of really terrific ideas from great artists like Betz White, Wise Craft, Linaloo, and Jenn Docherty that I want to try as well.

Watercolor #9

2008-11-13T00:39:36-07:00

A new watercolor and illustration (click to see larger) in lots of shades of pink :) I'd like to make some prints - does anyone have any paper suggestions for printing at home?

2008-11-10T02:06:57-07:00

Fall has not taken leave as quickly as it first seemed it would and I am so happy for that (knock on wood). Instead of snow we've had lots of rain and that's just fine by me. It just doesn't get much better than falling asleep to the sound of raindrops :)