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Carrie Underwood comes to town!
May 30, 2008 in Friendship, Music
After watching her win American Idol (four years ago now – wow, time flies), seeing her win award after award, admire her beauty on magazine covers and of course be wowed by her amazing vocal chops it was quite a treat to see her perform in Concert when she came to Spokane. Even though I was always amazed by all those things, I had the impression she wasn’t very warm as a person and was a little stiff as a performer. I’m changing my tune entirely on that impression….She was darling! She smiled, moved and charmed the audience with her chit-chat between songs. She was very friendly and warm and graciously accepted flowers from a fan in the audience. 
My girlfriend JoAnn (what a friend!) treated me to the Concert for my birthday and we had a spectacular evening out with a fun-loving girls. We had great seats, which was so cool because we had a bird’s eye view of “hottie” Josh Turner who opened the show for Carrie. All the ladies in the audience swooned throughout his performance. As a treat for y‘all – enlarge this photo of Josh Turner to take a good look!
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It’s in the Bag!
May 27, 2008 in Crafts, Creativity, QuiltingCute Crafter, Diane, from Royal Oak, MI sent me photos of her cute tote bag projects that she created using our Machine Embroidery Designs. Diane used the coordinating lining fabric on the inside of her summertime Uncle Sam bag. She quilted her Snowman winter bag with blue metallic thread. Thanks for sharing your projects with us!
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Spring Quilt Market
May 23, 2008 in Crafts, Quilting
Just returned from the Spring International Quilt Market in Portland, OR. The weather was hot, sunny, and lovely, and so was the Market. The trends of the quilt and 
craft industry remain diverse as they have been for the last many years. (Quilters like lots of looks!) I saw quite a mix of Traditional and Modern quilts, fabrics and projects throughout. What stood out the most was the enormous amount of aprons and bag designs. Aprons are pretty fun to make because it is a great chance to use all those retro, modern and large scale prints that are so trendy. (Vanilla House Designs) It’s also a quick and easy project to inspire beginning sewers. I think we may need to consider having an Apron making party after seeing all the different patterns and ideas.
Cute little girls clothes (Indigo Junction) were also scattered throughout the Market along with retro Children’s story themes made into fabrics and p
rojects – Little Red Riding Hood (and that big, bad wolf too!) was popping up everywhere. Wide, woven ribbons with patterns were strong for decor fashion and project embellishment. In addition to all the large scale decorator friendly prints there ar
e still LOTS of DOTS which mix in well with quilt or accessory creation. On the more traditional side I still saw lots of pieced quilts, primitive designs, hand embroidery and WOOL! Wool Applique projects for Halloween and Christmas were in abundance and often included embroidered embellishments. Home decorating projects for every season and holiday were also popula
r.
You always see a fun assortment of products that help make being creative quicker and easier. We saw a lady demo a clever device for making fast yo-yo’s (oops-can't find the company that makes it) and some easy to use and apply Chenille Ribbon trims (Chenille-It Blooming Bias) that you can use on quilts. For the more artsy quilter there were products for customizing your 
own fabrics with hand painting, color pencils and stencils. Jackie, Carolyn and I got to sit down and color our own little fun booby buttons using soft color pencils. As always Quilt Market was fun and inspiring and we're brimming with ideas for future projects.
Oh – How could I forget to mention Cupcakes – lots of Cupcakes!
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Presenting “Colors from Nature”
May 15, 2008 in Books, Crafts, Creativity, Quilting
With pride, I present to you some photos from our brand new book, “Colors from Nature.” The concept of the book is using color and design from nature to inspire quilts, crafts and even decorating projects. We selected some beautiful photos as our starting inspiration. With some analysis of each landscape photo we tried to interpret the overall feeling with fabrics and projects. It was very fun and challenging. Paring down and simplifying a design can often be more challenging than making it complex and representational. My goal with our quilt designs is to make them interesting and pleasing while still being easy to make.
Rocky Revelations may be one of my favorites. Courthouse steps is a classic traditional block and with the fabric we used I feel we captured a look that can as easily be considered modern as it is vintage. I love how the shapes resemble the stones with the snippets of orange represent the leaves scattered among the rocks.
The rows of warm colors in Desert Dimensions mimic layers of clay in the stone canyon walls of the Southwest desert. The green brush and blue skies bring in interesting color contrasts. I think the rows of simple triangles accomplish this representation well and would be stunning displayed on the wall or as a bed topper.
Red poppies along with yellow and white daisies frolic across the quilt top of Meadow Melodies. This cheery color story represents my favorite hues of high summer. When I look at this I can breathe in the fragrances of the meadow and even feel a little breeze across my face.
We also cover other wonders from Mother Nature in River Reflections, Seaside Serenity, Mountain Masterpiece, Forest Foliage and Floral Flamboyance. Colors from Nature also includes a couple of appliqué quilts and a unique and clever assortment of decorating and crafting accessories. Please enjoy this glimpse into the pages of the book and I hope you find lots of inspiration to create!
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Left Dangling
May 12, 2008 in Crafts, Creativity
I used to think that being left Dangling was not a good thing. Now I think, the more Danglers the better!
This can be your solution for all your Creative Gift Creations for the summer. They Sparkle on the Patio, they Sparkle in the bath room, they Sparkle in a tweener’s bedroom, they Sparkle in the kitchen window. And they certainly will bring a sparkle to the eyes of the recipient of this fun and easy project.
You can explore a variety of themes for Spring and Summer like birds, butterflies and flowers. But any favorite theme can be achieved by incorporating themed ornaments and trinkets along with assorted beads. You can try different styles, colors and materials for different looks. Some of our examples show a variety of materials such as stained glass, wire, colored glass, rusted metal, painted wooden cut-outs, glitter, decorative and word rub-ons, and even napkin rings! Us collectors of “stuff” always seem to have an assortment of little trinkets and baubles that we’ve been holding onto. You weren’t sure what you were going to do with those until now! Click here for some great basic directions to assemble your own Dangler. You’ll be hooked!
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Quote of the Month
May 7, 2008 in Creativity, Family, QuotesIt’s May! It’s May!
I just love May – maybe because it’s Spring, or Mother’s Day or maybe because it’s my Birthday month. I’ve always had such positive associations with May. I love the Quote of the Month that Kris brought us for this month. “Happiness is the art of making a bouquet of those flowers within reach.” Being grateful and happy for all that you have in your life and then making something beautiful with those gifts is really what makes your life a success and is such a joyful way to live with appreciation. I certainly appreciate being reminded of that simple, yet meaningful lesson. Kris also went to her Scrap Bin for all the materials to embellish and decorate her quote which brings a double meaning to these words. Use what you have! (especially your talents) 
That’s one of the many reasons why we love Crafting – we use our resources and create something tangible. Happy, Happy May!
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Ten Ways to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day (May 3,2008)
May 3, 2008 in Scrapbooking- Take some time to GET ORGANIZED! If you know where all your ‘stuff’ is it’s easy to jump into a project anytime.
- Make a page for a friend. A layout celebrating baby’s first birthday will be a cherished gift for the mom of a busy toddler. At least baby will have one page in her scrapbook! :-)
- Try something different. Use your scrapbooking supplies to make party decorations or to create a home décor item.
- Go Shopping! It’s always fun to find new products!
- Take some time to reflect on the importance of what you do. Not only do you have the chance to express your creativity through your artful scrapbooks, you’re also a family historian! Be proud of the work you do that many generations to come will enjoy.
- Make a page for yourself. Have someone take a photo of you scrapbooking and create a page celebrating YOU, the scrapbooker.
- Attend a group crop event. Surrounding yourself with others dedicated to your craft can be the perfect inspiration. Use my Crop Party invitation to organize one of your own.
- Spend a happy hour looking through scrapbook magazines. Mark or tear out inspirational pages and products that you’d like to try.
- Try a new technique. National Scrapbook Day is the perfect time to learn a new skill or technique.
- Organize a supply swap with scrapbooking friends. A swap is a great way to clear out duplicates, papers that don’t work thematically, or excess embellishments as well as to build your stash with excess items from your friends.
- Bonus idea. Send photos of some of your favorite scrapbooking projects to Debbie! I'd love to see what you are up to!
