AMANDA'S BASKETS: LANDSCAPE BORDERS, A TOOTHBRUSH and FOG

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

LANDSCAPE BORDERS, A TOOTHBRUSH and FOG

I went for a four mile walk today on the water's edge and the fog bank was really thick and moving up the harbor. Take a look at the VNBridge...

As I was sitting down on one of the benches, I heard a ship horn...

...but no ship.

Again the horn...

...is that a ship?

And another blast...

...there's an outline!

Now the blasts were coming regularly...

...and finally a ship!!!

Like I said, the fog bank was really dense.

I added the borders to my landscape...

The outer red border will be very thin...about 3/8 inch. And I am glad that I stayed with the blue inner border because it not only brought out the blue, but it also highlighted the green. Next, I will add the batting and back and have fun quilting on my machine.

That thing sticking out at the top of the piece is a brand new soft toothbrush. Why a toothbrush you ask? Well, the landscape was done with raw edges and I want to brush the edges to make them ravel. It makes for a softer feeling picture. And it needs to be done before I quilt it. So every time I walk by the landscape, I take the toothbrush and spend a few minutes, brushing the fabric raw edges. Works like a charm.

I also began cutting out flowers. I really need to look for some different colored flowers in my stash. But, as I was cutting them out, I decided to try them on the peacock feather fabric which really does read darker than the picture below.

I was thinking that a darker background may be better than a lighter one. Of course, then I would need to find a different fabric for the vase. But to me the darker background would make the piece more dramatic. What do you think?

I also worked some more on my latest journal page...

I think this one is done for now. I'll add it to my journal/picture wall.

I don't know if you display any of your work, but I do. When I moved into my studio/apartment, I decided to display my work only in the main room. It's an affirmation that what I create is worth considering and showing others. I also display my fabric creations. Lately, I have been wondering why it took me so long to appreciate my own work. Hmmm. Guess age does have it's benefits!!!

Thanks for dropping in...
Talk to you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?