Progress And More

 Lately I have been reading blogs in the morning.  It is a great way to get my day going.  Lots of inspiration out there in blog land!   I came across a blog and it hit the spot for me today.  It is My Country Home.  The title for Tuesday, June 28th reads.....The World Owes You Nothing.  I really needed to hear those words today!   Sometimes in life you can forget such a simple thing.   My husband and I have always prided ourselves in the hard work that we put into our lives and what a great outcome it has proved to be even during hard times. 
As my foot heels I am able to make some progress on my rug!   Still wishing I could get to the dye pot!   Would love to whip up some new colors for a rug idea that I have in mind.   I never really liked sitting around very much but at least I am now sitting and working on a rug and in time I will be back at the dye pot!

Elaine

Kid's Summer Crafting Day!

Yesterday I asked my son to get the mail and he came running in so excited!   He had found my magazine called Stuffed in the mailbox and said they had really cool things.  It made me smile.  He really wanted to make something like one of the creatures in the magazine.  My kids love to craft and that really makes me happy!   I know that one day my son might outgrow this but I will enjoy this while he is little.   I suggested to my son that most of these are sewn but that maybe he could cut and glue and make something similar in fashion.   He agreed and this is what he came up with....

Owl On Skate Board

My daughter also loved the ideas in the magazine and made something as well.  She can sew a little bit so she tried to make hers stuffed!

Mr. Rabbit

It's good to let your children be creative!   To have a finished product in quick fashion puts smiles all around.
If you get out try looking for the magazine Stuffed and it could inspire you to make something today!

Elaine

ps if you are home bound like me here is a link to purchase the magazine...

Stuffed Magazine

Rug Design

Being immobile has let me venture into the big wide world of blogland the last month. It's been fun going to other countries (from blogland) and seeing what everyone is doing around the world. I am really loving what I am seeing! So many creative and very talented artists. I love the many different designs in rugs. For some this task comes easy and others well it can be a bit of a daunting challenge but the nice part for those who need help is that I found a few books/ E-patterns that can help. The first is from Mad Hen Primitives. Tonya has a couple of really great books that I have used for some of my own rug designs. The first one is called Inspiration From the Heart and Soul and her second book is called More Inspiration From the Heart and Soul. Tonya has great tips on how to make your rug your very own. My other find is from Bird In The Hand Primitives blog. Robin has several booklets for sale with doodle designs for rugs or other stitchery. I have not ordered but this is on my list to buy!!! Robin also has a horse freebie doodle on her blog! If I can somehow get to a dye pot I might just hook this one up. I should say I have not been able to stand on my feet for over a month now due to my little accident! I now have a plate and nine bolts to hold my ankle in place. You would think that I would have done a ton of rug hooking but it is really hard when your foot is up in the air! Now that things are healing hopefully I can start to rug hook again.

 

Designed by Elaine Fink

Other places to look for motifs for your designs are magazine's.   Here I have found shapes of objects that I love and turned it into a pattern.   You may use this design if you like but please name me as designer!  Please respect all artist out in blogland!  

 Would love to see your finished work.

Happy Hooking!    Elaine

Remembering and Keeping It Simple

I hooked this rug of my grandparents house sometime ago. Looking at it now I am sure that I would have done things differently if I had hooked it today. Maybe adding more color to the border or adding a few more elements to the rug. What I like about this rug is the things that I remember. I could tell stories about each element that I added. The crow my brother and I saved from a blue spruce tree in the back. We named him Skydive. The wonderful canned pears my grandmother would make. The flowers that my grandfather dug up at the old homestead farm and planted in the front of the house. Yes, I could have added much more to this rug but then it would have become too busy at least for me! So pick the things you remember the most and keep it simple. It is not a exact replica of the actual house but just the important facts and fun stories that I remember.

Don't forget to have some of the facts sewn onto binding or make a large tag so family will know the story behind the artwork.

Keeping Things Simple,
Elaine

Happy Memorial Weekend!

Down Again?

Wow what a crazy life!  Falling backwards into a culvert was not a very good idea.  This has caused a fractured heel and a small bone to move out of place.  So now I need to have surgery next week.  Maybe it is time to slow down a bit .....but not sure that I will ever be that kind of person. 

Well.... now that I have plenty of time to surf the web I ran into a really cute shop called Wisteria.  Yes,  I did order something and it is so darn cute! 

So what do you think?   It really has a great vintage look!  So if you are surfing the web check  this place out.
They have so many wonderful items

Up And Running and Waldorf Stars!

Using 4in and 6in paper.

Using 10in paper.

 Well things can certainly bring things down....like me!   Hail, wind, bronchitis, and pink eye you name it that is where I have been the last few weeks.   Now that I am feeling better my daughter and I started making stars out of tissue paper for the windows.   This is a lot of fun and a fairly simple project.  

These stars are beautiful hanging on a window as the sun shines through them. Many more complex designs can be made, but this is a nice simple one to start with. Any size paper will work. 3” squares are a nice size to work with. The transparency paper is a waxy transparent paper.  Tissue paper may work, but is more difficult to work with when folding and will fade more quickly in the sun.   We use tissue paper and they last about 5 months with direct sun light.
You will need:
8   3” square pieces of transparency paper, also known as kite-paper or colored tissue .
Glue Stick
1. Fold the sheets diagonally so that
points B and C meet. Unfold again
(a).
2. Fold points B and C to the diagonal
(b). Stick them down with a little
glue stick.
3. When all eight sheets are folded, assemble
the star. Stick the unfolded
bottom of the first star-point to the
diagonal of the next sheet (c). Continue
until all of the points have been arranged.

 Enjoy!   Elaine

Books to look at from Amazon:
Magical Window Stars
Crafts Through the Year

Kite Paper:
A Toy Garden
Imagine Childhood

Places to see:
Suncatcher