LIFE BETWEEN THE STORMS

Well as "they say" life goes on with spring storms in the South. Yesterday was one of those days. Stayed close to the TV and watched the clouds. Don still has not had a chance to see what real 'spring storms' are in Alabama. We did have a little hail yesterday from "pea" sized to dime sized and thank goodness it didn't last long. We were on the edge of that storm. My friend Rheba was staying over on Lay Lake and they had golf ball sized hail. Covered the yard and they have the pictures to prove it. I didn't take any pics of our hail, the camera wasn't handy.
I have spent the day running around. I went on a hunt early this morning trying to find my box of empty picture frames. Never found it, but then Don has been trying to help me straighten up the craft stuff, so I have misplaced more than my usual amount of stuff. I finally found my box of embroidery floss. Hard to lose a 3 foot storage box of floss (that is right I said 3 FOOT) but I did. Anyway I gave up on the frames and went for a trip to the local thrift store. ANY excuse to go to the thrift store is a good excuse. Found some interesting frames to use with my beaded fish and sea pieces. When they are finished you will be the first to see them.
Well I guess that is about all there is to tell tonight. The TV says we will have more storms starting late Sunday nite. I really do feel for the folks that lost loved ones and homes and business in these last storms. The Weather channel says these next storms will track pretty close to the same as the Friday storms. The folks that were hit deserve our prayers and help. You never know when the next storms will be knocking on our doors. Have a Blessed Easter. Mary

Hi everyone!

Well yesterday was a busy day for me and my significant other, Don. He took me up to David's Bridal and we looked at wedding dresses. I was supprised he was willing to go with me. We saw some pretty ones and they all had pretty price tags. We saw some styles we liked and a few that would be fairly easy to make by me. We then went to Hancock Fabrics next door and looked at bridal fabrics. I found one, a dull satin with small leaves embroidered all over it that i really liked, (he said it was OK!). It is an ivory color and just $12.99 a yard. That is not bad for 60 inches wide. Now all i have to do is settle on a pattern and get with the sewing machine for some quality time. I know!! Time is short. But i work best with a short deadline anyway.

Be sure and check out my entry on http://www.mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/. There are some really pretty projects out there. It is really interesting to see how different the projects are when we all use the same image for them. Variety is the spice of life atleast in the art world.

Well, I guess this all for today. Don and I are going to the Cracker Barrel at Trussville. Don is going to get to meet my Aunt Mary for the first time. He talks to her on the phone. He said she is one fiesty lady and is looking forward to seeing her. We are also still working on the yard or rather Don is. I am posting some photos of him with his toys doing what he loves to do. All for now.

Have a blessed day. Mary

APRIL CHALLENGE ENTRY

WOW!! Have you checked out the entries in the April Challenge at the blog http://www.mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/ !! I have to admit I have an entry, so you all can look for mine, but the competition is fierce. There are some really good FAST artists that enter that challenge each month. You have to understand that Gail only gives us 7 days to dream up a project and finish it with the image she gives us. If you are not an artist you may not understand that that is the real challenge. Designing and FINISHING a project in 7 days !!

I forgot to add the blog site www.mind-wideopen.blogspot.com to my entry. Be sure and check to blog out if you love altered art with a decidedly Cottage Chic flavor. There is a new April challenge going on right now so jump right in and enjoy the fun!! Mary

Well, it has been quite a while since I have been back here. A lot has happened. I became part of the "big layoff" of businesses looking to trim down their companies. Then I got the wild idea that I might move to Alaska to be near some of my family. That didn't work out at all. I had some interesting job interviews in Alaska but I had a house in Alabama that getting rid of would have been nearly impossible in today's housing climate and I would have had to get rid of my fabric stash and craft supplies. Moving to Alaska is VERY EXPENSIVE if an individual has to pay for themselves. So scratch that idea!
Then life picked up. I met a wonderful man on line in a chat room. His name is Don and low and behold! we are getting married June the 6th. I still don't have a job, but since I will be 62 in October this year I have decided I will file for Social Security and use my crafts to suppliment my income. Don is already retired and we plan to enjoy life for a change. He has already moved to Alabama and life is wonderful!!!
Now back to the crafts aspect of my life. I have been working on some really beautiful handbags and journals and ribbon sachets and all things Cottage Chic!! Don likes my crafty ways and is helping me thin down the stash that has taken over my life. I knew I had a lot, make that a SUPER LOT OF FABRIC, but finally seeing it thru the eyes of someone else does give a different perspective. So if you love fabric and crafts keep a watch on my Etsy site - www.marysrosecottage.etsy.com and my ebay site - seller name - marysrosecottage and my web site - www.rosecottagetreasures.com for some great buys in fabrics and craft books, and craft supplies.
I guess that will be about all for now. It is spring in Alabama and we are expecting some heavy weather today with possible tornadoes so pray for Alabama and all the others in the paths of these storms. I have to go and finish my entry for Mind wide open's April Challenge. If you have not checked that blog out be sure and go see it. Some really beautiful art work. I am, also, getting ready for an art show in my little town of Montevallo, Alabama on April 18. Montevallo is a small college town but has an huge number of artsy crafty folks living there and close by. I will post pics after the show and I will post pics of some of my newest creations very soon. Mary

Hi! Wow, I can't believe another week has already gone by. My mother believed 'they' had figured out how to speed up time. She said time didn't pass as fast when she was younger as it does now. I'm beginning to think she is right.

It has cooled off about 15 degrees in the day time this week which is great!!! August can be unreal in central Alabama. We still have September to go thru. It can be real hot and dry, dry!!!

I promised some of you I would list some more detailed pics of my journal tote bag for the Mind Wide Open challenge. That challenge is the most fun I have had in a while. ( I live a very sheltered life LOL!!). When Gail listed the image on her web site I down loaded it to my desktop on my computer at work. I work in Medical Records at a hospital and assemble charts to get them ready for analysis. So while I was working on my charts I could study the image and write down different ideas for my design. One day I will scan some of my sketches and let you see how I design things. I have lots of ring binders of sketches and ideas. Anyway that is how I came up with the journal tote bag. It has a divider inside and 2 pockets. It is lined with white diamond quilted fabric, and also interlined with fleece on the back. I didn't use fleece on the front like I usually do since there was 4 layers of fabric ( 2 uphostery and 2 muslin weight). The pattern of the outside fabric (a really pretty abstract design of heavy woven fabric) didn't show up in the original pics. I think these are better. The bag is 11 inches wide & 12 inches deep. The shoulder strap drops 16 inches to the top of the bag. All of the elements (leaves, tassels, beads dangles, keys, ribbon, and rose buds are hand sewn on the bag. The metallic trim and yarn are machine sewn on the bag. This is functional working bag. An interesting note- the combination of the keys (real ones) and glass bead dangles makes it sound like a wind chime!! I hope you have a great night and here are the picks Love Mary (PS I am like my grandfather Nelson- he signed all of his cards and letters Love Harry and I follow in his tradition with Love Mary)

Well another week has gone by. The weather has been stiffling hot. I don't have air conditioning since they wanted $1300 to fix it. I told the man if I had that much money I would buy a new car. Does not really bother me except when the humidity is real high. I have ceiling fans in every room.

I entered the the August Challenge at http://mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/ that Gail Schmidt is running. She has a really nice blog if you like "pretty" altered art. I am not in to witches and skulls and that type of stuff you see in a lot of the altered art/mixed media stuff. I like the vintage , I guess elegant look. Be sure to go out to her web site and check out all the entries and be sure and vote for your favorite.

Today while I was finishing my entry it stormed and the lights flickered. Had a lot of distant thunder. We got some rain -not enough!

As usual when I am trying to finish something to a dead line, there were things I couldn't find. I think my problem is I have too much stuff. I am trying to organize things. I have taken two of my bedrooms and one is a sewing/computer room and the other is a crafting room. It is coming together. When it looks a little better I will put up some pictures.

I promised some pictures so here goes. These are some of the pillows I have sold on EBAY. The butterfly pillow is handbeaded. I hope you like them. I have also added a picture of the "Secret Journal Tote Bag" I made for the Challenge at Mind Wide Open.

I guess I will sign off now. I hope you have a great week end!! Love, Mary