Art out of Driftwood

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This absolutely amazes me!!! A friend sent me an email with pictures of this woman’s art, so I googled it and found her website. Her actual site won’t come up, but here’s a link to a site showing her Driftwood Horses and the steps she takes to make them.

It is unbelievable how real they look! So totally life-like! I would love to see them in person. I’m sure I would take tons of pictures!

Enjoy!

We’re Back!

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We’ve been off on vacation for Becca’s Make A Wish trip to Orlando! Check out my Bev’s Bits blog to read all about it and see some of the pictures that Becca and I took.

Heading to Florida!

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We’re heading to Florida to swim with dolphins! We leave first thing in the morning for Orlando for Becca’s Make A Wish. We’re very excited and can’t wait to see everything! I will try to post updates on my Bev’s Bits blog later this week, so stop on over if you want to see what we’re up to! Have an awesome week!

Patchwork Cards

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I found these unique patchwork cards today at Craft Apple. I love them! She’s got a great step by step tutorial on how to make them. I have quite a few scrap pieces left over from my scrappy cabins, so I’m going to give this a try and see how I do! If you click on each image, you can see the detail much better. These are actual pieces of material sewn onto cardstock.

I’ll post pictures of mine when I get them done. It won’t be for a couple weeks though cause we’re heading out of town for vacation later this week and I have lots of packing and organizing to do!

If anyone else has tried these Patchwork Cards, please let me know and send me a link! I’ll post it here as well.

Potholders from scraps!

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Potholders are a great beginning sewing project that can be made from scrap material or unwanted clothing and a bit of double-fold bias tape. Here are the simple instructions for this creative handicraft.

First cut two 8-inch (21 cm.) squares of fabric to be the front and back of the potholder. Choose coordinating fabrics that match your kitchen for these pieces. To make it easier, you can make an 8-inch square pattern from a piece of cardboard to use as a pattern. Cut more 8-inch squares of any old fabric to stack for the filling. You want the stack of fabric squares to be thick enough to protect you from a hot pot, but thin enough to be flexible and able to be sewn through.

Stack all layers so that the outer layers are facing to the outside and the filler layers are inside. You can put a couple of large straight pins through all layers to keep them together. Now sew right across the middle of the stack. Sew across the middle again, perpendicular to the first stitching. You will have divided the square into 4 squares. Sew across the stack again from corner to corner, and again from the other corner to corner. The layers should be joined and sturdy now.

To bind off the raw edges of your creative handicraft, trim with scissors so that all the layers are again even at the edges. Open out one folded edge of the bias tape. The wider bias tape might seem to be easier to use, but the narrow type makes a neater finished product. Starting at one corner, line up the edges of the tape with the edges of the potholder, and start stitching through all layers along the first fold line, which will be about 1/4 inch from the edge. Stitch neatly and slowly, attaching the opened tape all around the edge until you reach the beginning corner. Cut the bias tape off, leaving 3 inches, (7 cm.) to make into a hanging loop.

Fold the bias tape over the raw edge so that the middle fold lines up with the outside of the potholder and the other fold is hiding the raw edge of the bias tape. Now, for best results, hand sew the binding down, forming a loop on your creative handicraft when you get to the end.

When it is finished, you will have a useful item made from all recycled materials.

Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

Sailing Into Summer

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Here is a beautiful Nautical quilt called Windy Sails. I found it at QuiltZine. She has a whole page of Nautical quilts and wall hangings with patterns!

We never had a sail boat, so I never actually got to sail into summer, but when I was growing up, one of my fondest memories was taking our fishing boat down to the river and spending the day going up and down the river in Kittanning, PA. We even used to take that boat the whole way to New Hampshire for our summer vacation on a lake. We kids would sit at the very front of the boat with our faces to the wind and just be grinning from ear to ear…. ahhhh memories.

Quillows!

Filed Under Sewing, Quilting, Quillow | 3 Comments

I found my next project! lol! After I finish my scrappy cabins that is *wink wink*.

I was over at Dragonfly Crafts and I saw a picture of the Quillow that she made for her dad. A Quillow is a combination quilt and pillow. The basic idea is that you fold the quilt into an attached pouch and when it’s all sealed up, it looks like a pillow! Some people sew a carrying strap to their Quillows, some don’t. They are popular for kids’ sleepovers or for grownups being cozy by the TV.

I’ve made so many quilts and blankets for my kids that I don’t know if they’d want a Quillow, but it would be a nice gift idea, especially for someone who has certain things they enjoy, such as sports or animals. I could make one with dog print fabric for a dog lover, or one with underwater images for a SCUBA diver! Or even a tiny Quillow would be nice for a baby shower…. I could just see a toddler carrying around their Quillow, then laying down for a nap!

The Quillow in the picture above came from Hearts Content Custom Creations. They have some beautiful handmade items for sale!

I’ve found several sites with directions on how to make Quillows, but if you’re looking for a very easy Quillow to make, here are the directions for a Fleece Quillow.

Enjoy! And let me know if you have ever made one, or when you do make one, come back and tell me about it!

Garden Apron

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Cultivating a green thumb takes practice, patience, and a few handy accessories — like this personalized apron and glove set that I found at FamilyFun.com.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Carpenter’s apron (available at hardware stores)
	Pair of gardening gloves
	Fabric paints and brushes
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Decorate the set with fabric paints. Brush on a garden design, such as a row of bright yellow sunflowers or a bunch of carrots. Or slice an onion and a pepper into halves, dip them in the paint and embellish the set with vegetable prints.

2. Fill the pockets with seed packets, a garden trowel, and a plastic misting bottle. Use pinch-style clothespins to clip the gloves to the front of the apron when they’re not being worn.

Tip: This gardening set makes a great gift for a relative that loves to garden.

Father’s Day Ties

Filed Under Kids, Paper Crafts, Father's Day | 4 Comments

Here it is! The ultimate Father’s Day tie! Jillian can’t wait to make this one for her daddy. She loves to make Origami animals so when I found this online at Activity Village, I just had to show it to her! I can’t wait to see Frank’s face when she gives it to him!

There are some really neat Origami projects on that website, like a business card holder, wallet, van and even a neat looking photo frame! Check them all out and let me know what you think!

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