Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Last year, I celebrated Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) by participating in Stephanie's (Rodrigvitz Style) Dia de Bloglandia 2008. This year, Stephanie is again hosting a blog celebration--Dia de Bloglandia 2009.

I didn't sign up to participate again his year because, well, how is it November already?! But I wanted to remember the day in our home and created a Day of the Dead runner for our table.




If you'd like to check out Dia de Bloglandia 2009, you can go here for a list of the participants. I can't wait to visit them!

Marilyn

It's a Circus Around Here!

It seems, recently, that many of my regular-blog-reads have noted how long it's been since they last posted.....and here I am thinking the same thing! What's up with that, I can't even explain.

I've been in the craft room and I've been makin' stuff...like these Itty Bitty Circus Book pages:


This is the last Itty Bitty Book Club Swap for a while. The head itty-bitty is taking some much needed time off--through the end of the year. Eleven swappers signed up for the Circus book and we were also invited to make more than one page if we wanted to. I always like a thick itty-bitty...hehee, I really like saying "itty-bitty". I found several great circus images out there on free image sites and decided to make three different pages (3 X 11).


Speaking of great images, for the backs of my pages I used three of them from the Logomachy Cards set I purchased from my friend Mary at her Green Paper Packages Shop. I added my blog information to them, but still a bonus page, don't you think? Mary also shares many wonderful free images on her blog, Green Paper.

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It seems like there is less of this

and more of this

in our backyard today! Raking vs. blogging.....I'll get back to you on that!

Marilyn

Number Twelve

Rick and I celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday--our twelfth--and were we ever lucky to have the perfect-weather-day to enjoy it!

We took a day trip to St. Joe (St. Joseph, MO), Rick's growing-up town. I really believe the trees were at their peak just an hour north of us. We saw the most brilliant yellows and oranges! Isn't this one funny? Looks like a hairdo parted down the middle:)


We stopped at a nature park next to the Missouri River where the sun was glistening on the river and the leaves were rustling in the breeze, aahhh:)


There was a nice tree lined path for walking. This bridge crosses a babbling creek.


We ate a really wonderful Cajun meal and drove the beautiful boulevards to ogle lovely historic homes, including Lovers Lane...


How perfect!

Marilyn

Sinister and Sweet

"Sinister Bird"...the cutest one I've seen!
(6 x 6 inches)
from Katherine, Scootin' Annie

Katherine and I were swap-buddies for the Teeny Tiny Mini Quilt Swap. When she saw this tag on my blog...

...inspiration kicked in and "sinister" became our theme--a great one for October. It was a fun swap...thanks Katherine!

This is the teeny-tiny-sinister-mini that I made for her.
(6 x 6 inches)

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So, now, how 'bout some S W E E T !

These beautiful tags are from Karin, Creative Chaos.

Aren't they gorgeous?! And sweet...like Karin! I just adore them...thanks so very much!!

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Most of my time in the ol' craft room this past week was spent working on my issue for I Heart Zines 2009. It's a first for me--fun and a bit of a challenge.
But, Alma Stoller, the swap hostess (and another sweet and talented artist) provided a really helpful tutorial. I've mostly worked on getting my thoughts and ideas organized--ones that I'd noted and/or sketched over the past few months (an interesting variety of scrap paper, napkins, deposit slips, etc.)--but I've been able to create some of my pages too. I'll share more on my progress later:)

Marilyn

Summer at the Beach House

We've had some nice cool-ish weather here this week...and one very rainy day...but today was overcast and downright cold! I'm not r-r-ready for c-c-cold yet.

However, I did have a nice distraction from it in my craft room today. I worked on finishing quilt blocks for Sew Connected 2.

(10.5 x 10.5 inches)

The blocks are for Sonja. She sent the most beautiful fabrics and her theme is "summer at the beach house".

(8.5 x 9.5 inches)

That theme, and the lovely summer-y colors of the fabrics, made it easy for me to drift into my own little world with thoughts of sun and water and lazy days.

(10.5 x 10.5 inches)

Maybe I should make one of these quilts for myself. Then, when the temps are freezing and the snow is flying, I could climb underneath it and dream of the beach!

Marilyn

Where Did September Go?!

Yep, October already...reminding me yesterday that it was time to quilt the table runner I pieced a couple of weeks ago.

Fortunately it went smoothly and I was able to get it on the table along with my Vintage Spooky Tag Book...


...and, at least in the kitchen, there's a reminder that YES, IT IS OCTOBER ALREADY!

Marilyn

There's a Housing Boom

In this economy?!

Yep, it seems to be happening--at least in my quilting bee groups...

In Sew Connected 2, our September blocks are for John who is planning, what I think is going to be, a fabulous Neighborhood Quilt. He has requested 12.5 inch blocks using the Kona Cotton "Ash" that he sent. From our own fabric scraps, we are to make little houses and trees, etc. measuring 3.5 to 5.5 inches.

When the blocks are sewn together, the quilt will be a vast background of pale gray dotted with cute buildings and trees. I can't wait to see it!

Terrie requested houses this month too in Stash Busting Bee International. Houses of a different color, so to speak--Wonky Halloween houses...


And while I had my Halloween fabric stash out and spread all over the craft room, I started putting together several different 6.5 inch blocks until I had fifteen of them.


My plan is for a table runner and now that the blocks are sewn together, all I have to do is quilt it and bind it and hopefully have it ready for October duty!

Marilyn

Can You Really Have Too Much Fun?

On Tuesday, Shawn and Bethany and I drove to Karla's lovely cottage for a craft day. Actually, we met Mary for lunch first--Mexican food, mmmm--then to Karla's and Beth arrived a little later.

It was the perfect craft day! Lots of chatting and laughing and lots accomplished! I worked on tags for the Sweet & Sinister swap...



a n d



Mary was very nice (and generous) to bring book covers for us to use for collage projects...like this one and this one that she put together--doesn't she do beautiful work?! Then, in no time at all, Karla turned two covers into a beautiful piece too! Amazing!

I also took my gluebook to work on--the one that I started on a craft day back in April, inspired by Mary's gluebook. I didn't get to it on Tuesday but I finished a page yesterday. This is what I have so far...






This is such a fun project and I really don't know why I don't play with it more often. Maybe I'm too busy swapping, hmmm...also fun! What's a crafter to do?!

Marilyn

What? Me, EARLY?!

I usually don't give much thought to Halloween in August, but this year is different...thanks to Shawn who told me about Sarah's Vintage Spooky Tag Swap.

And not only have I thought about it, but I finished my 13 tags today, ready to mail to Sarah on Monday.





I like that I'm now in a 'spooky' frame of mind and ready to start on my Sweet & Sinister tags. My supplies are out and that little space on my table is cleared off. I might even have a couple of ideas left too:)

Marilyn

Thoughts of Winter and Spring on a Fall Day

This past weekend, the better part of my Saturday was spent in our yard getting ready for winter(!)--raking leaves, bundling up fallen or pruned tree branches and cutting back perennial plants.

BUT, there were plenty of thoughts towards Spring, too, because I planted fifty of these...

so I could have more of this:

Since this photo from Spring-2002, this bed of tulips had gradually thinned out to be a pretty pitiful sight by Spring-2008 (sorry, no photos of that in my files). So, Saturday, I set out to remedy that, with achy lower back and thighs as proof, and am looking forward to a pretty, tulip-blooming, Spring-2009.

Marilyn

Happy Halloween!

Beware?!



Hmmmmph! Really?!



That silly spook thinks it can come between me and my Halloween Treats?!



No chance...I have my sources!


Wishing you a Happy Halloween!

Marilyn

Autumn Love

Rick and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this past weekend. We've said that an anniversary celebrated anytime during the year would be just as wonderful, but we admit to being happy that we were married on October 19th. This time of year often brings beautiful, even perfect, days for celebrating.

Such was the case again this year. We arrived at a local Bed and Breakfast early evening when the sun was low in the sky and the shadows were long. Gorgeous!

Granted, the entry to the Bed and Breakfast would look the same no matter the time of year, but it was so delightful that I had to take a photo.

The following morning was just as lovely.

Because of the warm temperature, even the spray that the wind blew from the fountain was pleasant. I'm fairly certain this guy would agree with me...

I do wonder what he would have to say about standing in the water come mid-January.

Marilyn