Ole-Talk

Sister Sketch | Block Island Lighthouses

Wow!  It is July already and that means that this is our sixth Sister Sketch.  I am so proud that we have kept this up every month.  This month's sketch is from the blog Sketch Support.

Source

 And here is my take on it.

The summer here is in full force and we are trying to enjoy as much as we can before the cold makes a reappearance including making our first trip out to Block Island, Rhode Island for an overnight stay with some friends.  What a fun couple of days which included visiting these two lighthouses on the island.

I stuck pretty close to the sketch using a mixture of washi tape and ribbon doilies to create a colourful background which I then embellished with black accents.

The biggest change I made was using four Instax photos in place of the one 4 x 6 that is shown on the sketch.

If you have been with us for the past six months, thank you!  We hope you will continue to enjoy our layouts.

Now head on over to see what Francine did with this sketch.

The Resilience of Nature

I absolutely love this flower that is in my front yard. 

I have no idea what it is called but it blooms once every summer and is always such a treat.  It is a testament to the resilience of nature...it survives the harsh winters and then explodes in all its glory to brighten my summer days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hand Painted Yarn | Final Week

Sadly Thursday was the last of my hand dyed yarn classes for the summer.  On the bright side I did leave with six very unique balls of yarn and with the strong possibility that the class would be offered again during the Winter intersession...yay!

Remember the skein that I dyed last week

Here it is after the steaming and drying process.  I think this is my favorite of them all.

I have started swatching them and so far I am liking how they knit up.  I am also thinking of using the one right above with this one below to make a pair of socks.  Heels and toes with one and body of socks with the other.  We'll see how that goes once I actually start knitting it.

Thanks for sharing my six week yarn dyeing journey.  Stay tuned for my next knitting adventure once I decide which classes I am going to take in the fall.  You can see the other posts in my journey here, here, and here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hand Dyed Yarn | Last of the Skeins

Two weeks ago I shared the results from my first try at painting yarn as well as a new batch that I did that had still to be steamed.  Here is the result of my second attempt.

I love the softer colors on these two.

Last week we changed our method and use eye droppers to apply the dye to lace weight yarn and here is what I got after it was steamed and dried. (I forgot to take a photo of the before when it was wet...oops)

I have to confess that I applied the dye using both the eye dropper (the darker areas) and the foam brush (the lighter areas) and used only one color - Indigo!

Tonight was our last week of dyeing which leaves us with next week to do some swatches. I am excited to see the results of this last one as my plan is to make socks from these last two using one for the heel and toe and the other for the body of the socks...or at least that's what I think I will do!

Last skein dyed tonight!

Next time I will share the results from the last of the dying and also the swatches that I make.

Thanks for stopping by!

S'mores Cupcake

Here's a little something to brighten your Monday monning!

S'mores Cupcakes!
Made these last week...chocolate cake batter over graham cracker crust, marshmallow melted in the middle of the cake. 
my usual buttercream frosting, and garnished with a roasted marshmallow, and regular and chocolate graham cracker!

Happy Monday!!

Birthday Cards and Gift Wrap

My friend Marny's son turned seven this week and here's the card that I made for him.

I am sure some of my scrapbook friends recognize the paper on top.  It is from a few years ago but mixed with some newer embellishments it was perfect for a boy's birthday card.  Here are a few detail shots.

And what do you do when you realize that you have no birthday wrapping paper in the house...you use kraft paper and decorate it of course.

Here's another birthday card that I made for my friend Shannon for her birthday!

Thanks for stopping by!