Tonight I went to the first yearly meeting of the Berry Basket Quilters.   It was a entertaining program put on by the IQ3 (secret quilting code for Industrious Quilting of 3 great women:   Susan Painting, Sherry Brown and Debbie Rouse).    So glad I got to see their quilts and hear their tales.   All of them are very talented and if I can sew 1 quilt block for every full size quilt they have made it would be a whole lot for me.

The reason for my post is that a few of the ladies came up to me and said “wow – great resolution you put in the newsletter” and “oh I am going to follow your resolution”.    LOL    I forgot what I had even written but said thank you to each one of them anyway.  

It all started towards the end of 2009.  Carol, the newsletter editor had sent out a message asking us what our resolutions were for 2010.   I overlooked the first email somehow but then I got a 2nd one sort of pleading for people to participate.   I had been thinking alot about the new year and all the new things on my plate so I quickly typed an email back.   

Here is what I submitted for the newsletter:

“Instead of taking away, I decided to add a few things into my 2010.   Create more, pray more and focus on Jersey Made.”   

Perhaps I should add “keep up with my emails” to the list so I am better prepared for the feedback! 

www.jersey-made.com

Jersey Made is my business.   A retail shop located in the Mill Race Village of Mount Holly.   It opened on December 2nd.   100% handmade by NJ artists and a variety of classes too!     This is where I am 5 days a week now.    I work hard, set up displays of incredible artwork, and creating art of my own in between.   Since I am praying constantly along the way perhaps I have been following my own resolution after all.

Today was the first time I tried out my new wood burning kit.   Actually the brand name is Versa Tool.   After practicing on a small piece of wood with a few of the tips, I decided to work on my big project.   My friend Steven had given me some awesome driftwood that I have been using in a display case at Jersey Made.   I had also selected this piece from his vast collection.   He said this particular piece had came from the riverbank in Delanco -  real New Jersey driftwood!!!

First I marked the letters onto the driftwood with yellow chalk.   Pencil lines would have been too hard to see and I was not couragous enough to even think about using a pen or other permanent writing tool!    After doing the outline of the letters I got braver and made a design inside the letters too.     

I think I did mighty fine for my first adventure!!!

It still needed a little something.    I had some of the light gray paint left so I brushed that onto the outer part of the letters first.   Once I was sure I liked that I added the green.    Just want to make really sure everyone could see that Jersey Made was O P E N. 

 Next week’s project will be to figure out how to hang it right by the front door.    I have a few ideas but need to make sure the sign is secure and still easily removed each night.  

As usual thanks for reading!

Come on over to Jersey Made …..

The sign will be hanging every Wed & Fri from 11-6PM, Thurs 12-6PM, Sat 10-6PM, Sun noon – 4PM.

Jersey Made, LLC

Mill Race Village

33 White Street

Mount Holly, NJ   08060

609-914-1536

So while I was the Kibry’s Mill last week, on the day that I fell down at work and hurt my knee, I was busy getting the Museum Shop ready for the upcoming quilt show.  In the course of this I needed some help.  So after a quick glance around the 1st floor of the Mill for something that would assist me in my task.   Here it is….

This cast iron fork-like thing on a stick was what I found.   Can you guess how I might have used this tool?   I don’t really know what it actually is … so I printed a copy of this photograph to I can interrogate the curator next time I see him – hehehe – he will just love me pestering him with more questions!   Plus I have a few more tasks in mind for using this antique unknown gadget on a stick!

Meanwhile I am busy getting things ready for the quilt show.  The Museum Shop will have a feed sack theme.  www.OriginalAbbie.com has designed a logo for our sack-like items and I can’t wait to see them.   Stop by to see – I will blog about them soon but you’ll want to see them in person.  Thanks Abbie!

I have signed up for a few shows starting with the Art, Wine & Music Festival in Medford Village on the 1st Sunday in June – see my events calendar for particulars.  So I have been getting prepared.  Last evening I set up my tent in the back yard to make sure it was in great shape and today I purchased some new lightweight and sturdy tables.  It seemed like a good idea to revamp my whole display and go with the rustic recycled flair that is the new direction I have chosen to be my focus.  I have alot of items all ready but of course there are a few more that I hope to get finished as well.  Finish – oh that is a big word in my world….  Today I am making graduation cards – this is a new project since I have an order for 10 plus a special order for 1 more.  Graduation time is just around the corner so I think they will be a big seller.  Tonight the finishing touches will go on and I promise to blog about them by the end of this weekend.   These will also be available in my Etsy store.

Did I mention that I am the proud new member of the Etsy NJ team?  It is great to be able to meet other artists from New Jersey and hear what is going on with them.  We meet at shows but that isn’t always the best forum for a conversation.   There is a wealth of information there and it has been encouraging me to continue pursuing making my creations and getting the word out about what I am creating.  I haven’t linked my Etsy shop to my website yet – more for me to learn in that area but I will get there eventually….  www.creatinginslippers.etsy.com

Thanks for reading my tale – Happy Memorial Day - make and keep memories every day…..

Stop and see me – it’s easy to find me – see my events calendar.   As usual, mention my website and you get a free gift – FREE GIFT – hehehe.  I am still losing the battle of ‘real’ comments vs spam.  Why do they think I want to buy that much amoxycillian?   I can only spell that word cause I see it so often.   It is all worth it when a real comment comes in between.  So take a moment and comment – bring a smile to the bloggers of the world who really do appreciate it!  

There is inspiration all around us.  Sometimes it leads us in the opposite direction but nevertheless it gets us moving.  I have chickens on the brain.  Been playing with MyFarm on facebook a little too much these days.  Been building up my fields to make enough money to buy a chicken coop and begging my friends to send me chickens.  Finally I got the coop on Monday and my first chicken arrived on Tuesday.  You could hear me hooting and holloring from miles away.

So when it came time to pack up my stamping stuff for a creative evening with Abbie, it was easy to decide what I would pack.   All kinds of stamps and papers and inks and supplies to make some chicken cards.  Also I brought along a picture from a magazine with the egg pattern that I had blown up to 170% the original size.  I am sure you will see more egg-citing cards that were ideas that started to ember in my brain from that little sample in a Papercrafts magazine that I recently picked up although it was from a few years ago.

My other inspriation is my Mom.  She lives in a retirement village and is loving it.  Recently she took over the position of manager of their little gift shop.  The shop sells toothpaste, greeting cards and other little items to the residents and staff.  Their biggest seller is candy – hehehe.  I decided it would be nice to donate a few cards to the gift shop.  My Mom would have fun telling everyone her daughter made them and it will help the cause as well.

With all this inspiration it was easy to create these cards…..

Things got a little over the top when I decided to add the peeps on the left hand side of the envelopes…..

But then there was Neil and the bunny!!!   This “Gotta Hop” bunny from Hallmark sings this catchy tune while his ears wiggle all around.  It had Neil dancing around the room in a hop-like jig.  I was laughing so hard as I watched him that I had to take a few pictures – which of course added to his excitement and kept him pushing the button on the bunny’s foot to keep it going non-stop.   Even Hendrix, the family angora rabbit, seemed to get excited about all of it and came out to hop along.  It was pointed out that I should be making bunny cards and not chicken/peep cards.  Guess I will use this inspiration for another Easter related card another day………

Hope all you peeps have a hopping good Easter!!!

Stampin’ Up! started a new program last year where I can have a demonstrator based website.  Current catalogs can be reviewed, orders can be placed online or you can get in touch with me to schedule a workshop or attend a stamping event.  Plus it is a great source for ideas.  So I started researching it further.  Yes, I know it is February and a little late to still be working on my projects for the new year but I really put alot of thought into this.

I love being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.  I have been doing it for almost 7 years and am now a Senior Demonstrator.  It is so fun to help others make creative greetings cards and scrapbooking pages and show them all the neat tricks that they can do with the SU products.  So for 2009 I will be moving more in that direction.  The economy may not be in great shape but we still need to feed those inspirations and keep on making something handmade.

A wise woman once told me ”If it sits still long enough, stamp it”.  So I am borrowing this phrase and following these words of wisdom.  Rubber stamping rocks!!

http://creatinginslippers.stampinup.net

I try to make Christmas gifts that are inspiring to the person who receives them.  Often when I tell people this they haven’t a clue what I really mean.  So I thought perhaps a few pictures of the gifts made for Christmas 2008 would be helpful. 

This is Bebe – the cutest dog ever!   It is pronounced like French for baby - I taught her to answer to Doggie too cause I don’t remember to speak in French.    As the office dog,  I decided she needed some decoration for Christmas.  When the inspiration struck me of course I went right to Carole.  Tuffi, her dog, has quite the collection of neckware.  I used one of Tuffi’s scarves as a pattern to cut the fabric.  The next day at work I took my cut fabric to try it onto Bebe.  She kept trying to eat the point off the scarf so alterations were made and the point removed.  Bebe’s scarf is made of 2 fabrics – gold holly leaves (of course, holly leaves) on one side and poinsettias on the other.  She looked extra cute wearing her new gift – of course it came with all natural bowWOW doggie treats too!!!

One of my bosses has 2 checkbooks.  Both of the standard blue plastic checkbook covers are in horrible shape.  I have tried taping them together many times yet still I get cuts on my fingers every time I try to write out a check.  So I had to make him a new one (the other is planned for a future gift to him).  The stamped images are from Stampin’ Up! from the Peachful Wishes set and are embossed in green and brown, including the phrase “potential means you ain’t done it yet” embossed in brown.  He looked puzzled when he opened it so I asked if he knew what it was and he said no.  So I handed him the checkbook and he smiled and said he loved it.   Of course my next question was if I could put the checkbook in it.  My gift was getting to throw that old hunk of plastic away.

I have many part-time jobs so this gift was for another boss.  The old historic building where our office had been located had a fire this past August.  Much was lost including an old desk that had belonged to their father.  The drawers were brought over to our new location but when we found out the desk could not be saved they were headed for the trash.  So I rescued them.  The drawer was blackened from the smoke and fire damage but I was able to clean it up pretty well with some rubbing alcohol and lots of rubbing.  I used some of my wine cork collection to make a corkboard for him along with a card to explain the meaning of the gift.  The hardware for hanging it were attached to the back (an old trick I learned from a friend when giving a gift – the nail and picture hanger were in a baggie for easy hanging).  He was very touched by the gift and to my surprise he immediately found  a hammer and hung in on the wall right next to his desk.  The card I made is now displayed on this memory cork board.

You could probably guess that this is for another boss.  She the biggist Bo Bice fan.  The large network of fans that she keeps in touch with constantly call themselves the Bo Peeps.   Bo actually recognizes this large group and their website www.BoBice.com and calls them the Peeps.  So I had been carrying this image around in my mind and finally put it to fabric to make a T-shirt for her.  It didn’t come out exactly as the image in my mind but she loved it anyway!!!  I used special markers made for fabric to draw the design.

This one was quick and easy to do but probably my favorite.  One of the offices where I work has a handyman who can fix, repair or replace anything that is needed.  In addition to these many talents he also has a warped sense of humor that keeps me laughing whenever he appears.  One day I arrived at work and it seemed a little darker around my area.  The sun was not really shining brightly so I figured that was the problem.  After a few hours though something just didn’t seem right.  At this point I looked up to see that the lightbulb above my desk was not just out – it was gone!   I announced “no wonder my light is not shining” which set him off.  Apparently a new light had been installed and my bulb was removed to test this new light.  I made a huge scene about it – jokingly of course and it was pointed out to me that I had missed the new additional light.  He assured me that my light does shine brighter than the rest even without the bulb.    So I took an old lightbulb (yep, I can’t throw those away either) and spray painted it red.  The holly leaves were cut from felt and the berries from an old candle ring.  The hanger is made out of recycled computer wires (no clue why I have these hanging around the house – hehehe).  It cost me nothing to make and was incredibly fun.  I hid it on top of his table saw so he will find it next time he arrives to fix something.

And last but not least….

My best friend is always having trouble with his Palm Pilot.  Some days it works but sometimes it goes for weeks without working right.  All of his contact information is stored there along with notes and a calendar.   So this last time he informed me that his Palm Pilot had gone on vacation again.  That was enough inspiration for me to create the Palm Vacation kit.   The cover is decorated with “Palmy Breezes” another stamp set from Stampin’ Up!   It closes with a twill ribbon and snap closure. 

Inside the Palm Vacation kit I included a small address book for contact information.  The center section included a posty pad.  The flashlight was a fun additon and has it’s own slot to be stored – just in case he needs to use the kit in the dark.  Some paperclips are attached on the right side and I cut an old ruler so he has inches and centimeters for simple measurements.  The right hand side includes an emergency sewing kit – everyone needs one of these – and this is a feature his real Palm Pilot doesn’t include so it was fun to add my own touch.  The sewing kit is made in the matchbook style. 

So this is my idea of a creative Christmas.   None of them cost too much money.  Many of the items included were recycled from discarded items.  Yet all will be appreciated by those who receive it, bringing a laugh or a smile or a recollection of things past.  

It’s the little things that keep the joy in Christmas!

….and they’re not made out of ticky  tac and they don’t all look quite the same – so stop singing!

So a few weeks ago I blogged about the little boxes that I made.  I will attach a link to that blog in case you want the pattern or more info. http://www.leafpile.org/blog/2008/11/11/little-boxes/ Well I took the little boxes one step further.  I made 25 boxes out of dark blue linen cardstock and stamped them with the mistletoe/berry stamp included in “Peaceful Wishes” copyrighted by Stampin’ Up!.   I used the fingertip dauber to put silver ink on the edges.  These boxes were then filled with 10 Hershey’s kisses and given out at my sterling silver open house.  My sister (Amy of course) was caught stuffing extra boxes into her purse on the way out the door.  Since I made way more than I needed I had extra and have been enjoying giving them to friends that I’ve seen since.   Everyone seemed excited to receive one.

The funniest story of my little silver boxes happened at church.  I had given a box to a few friends who couldn’t come to my open house.  Plus one to a lady who has been having a hard time of it lately.  It was nice to see her smile and kiss me on the cheek.  Well another lady sitting with that group leaped from her chair and came running over to the table where I was sitting.  She demanded to see the little silver boxes and informed me that she wanted 2 of them.  I had stuck a bunch in my bag so there was definitely 2 more and I couldn’t think of how to say ‘no’ to that one.  So I scooped out 2 and handed them to her.  She then quickly informed me that now she wanted 3 and she was going to give me 3 dollars.  Still not knowing how to say ‘no’ I told her to look in the bag and if there was 1 more she could have that as well.  The group at my table had been busy making cards for the shut-ins using my painted drawings from last Sunday’s bulletin (there’s a blog on that too) so I couldn’t stop again to help search at the bottom of the bag.   She oohed and aahed as she scurried from the table with her boxes chattering about them the whole way.   A few minutes later she was back to place 2 dollars (not 3) in my bag next to me and off she went.

So now all the women at my table, who had been busy making greeting cards for the shut-ins, were now at a standstill.  They had been watching all of this happen and the giggling was too much.  The progress of cutting, gluing, stamping and labeling had halted while we all pondered what I would do with the new found income.  I was busy calculating my hourly rate which I estimated at 30 cents per hour, not including the price of the chocolate.  The more we went on the more we laughed.  I figured that amount wouldn’t take me too far on a trip so I walked if over to the donation basket.

So create something today and see what kind of story you come up with in the process.  You just never know what will happen but when you give away something you’ve created.  It makes a difference to people (sometimes in odd ways but nevertheless it is a difference).

A silver box is in this for anyone from church who can guess the mysterious 2 dollar woman with 3 little silver boxes — just cause I do this blog for fun – hehehe!

I had a odd thing happen to me these past few days.   I got an email from someone I don’t know saying “Hello Rubber Dubber”.   I have never been called that before so it got my attention. 

Apparently after 6 years of being a Stampin’ Up! (SU) demonstrator I am now an orphan.  The email came from Pennie who has over 400 people in her downline.  Although there are 4 levels of upline between us, none of them are active Stampin’ Up! representatives.   Other than my direct calls to the company I haven’t really had an upline checking in with me or letting me know about upcoming stamping product specials.   Trish was my immediate upline but she was very busy with her family and other stamping adventures.  She and I live an hour apart so that didn’t make it easy to just run over when I needed a fix of info or whatever but she was always a call or email away.   I did know that she would not be continuing with Stampin’ Up!, however I didn’t know that had officially happened.  

So now this orphan stamper is part of a huge group called the “Rubber Dubbers”.  I sent another email to introduce myself and tell her about me and my SU business.   I told her about the things that I was doing and she emailed me back about her new granddaughter and her website address  www.stampingwithPennie.com.   After just a quick glance this evening I know this will be a valuable asset to see all the great things she creates with SU products. 

At first I thought “Rubber Dubber” was a silly name but it has started to grow on me.  I do enjoy my rubber stamps and have quite the collection.  SU has helped me to develop that collection and teach others many techniques to make great greeting cards and scrapbook pages.  Plus I’ve made a few dollars in the process.   During my time with SU I have added some awesome gizmos and gadgets to make the creative process a bunch more fun.  I never recruited anyone with SU and I have always refused to be my own best customer.  Yet somehow I have met my minimun requirement each quarter.   I have a large group who like to stamp also, including a Scrapbooking Club that meets every 6 weeks or so.  Sometimes I have card making workshops.  My customers are now my friends.   We play music and stamp away our troubles.    We joke about the need for ”stamping therapy” but it really is true. 

So this orphan is happy to be included in Pennie’s group of “Rubber Dubbers”.   It will be nice to know I can call upon her for help or inspiration or whatever.   It’s not so bad being an orphan and I am thankful that there are Stampin’ Up! leaders who care enough to scoop us up and offer to be our adopted upline.  

This Rubber Dubber is off to stamp something…   I promise to post pics!

So I have this friend, Karen, who comes up with all these ideas.  Usually they are larger than life kind of things.  A few examples are quilts for every child that needs the comfort of one, feeding all the people who haven’t had breakfast, shoes for the multitudes of people without them, 20000 pencils for kids needing back-to-school supplies and that’s just a few…..  We crack jokes about how I am her implementer.  This time she thought for sure I would start running quickly in the other direction.  I should too!  When Karen starts a sentence with “I had a great idea…..” warning signs should be flashing through my mind.   But, well, they were all for a good cause and filled a need.  This idea really got me going.  She wanted to made all natural dog biscuits to raise funds for an upcoming mission trip to Mississippi.   Even though I am a foster cat parent of 5, there are a few dogs in my world who deserve treats too and since I couldn’t go on the mission trip I still wanted to support it somehow.

The plan was to make them dog bone shaped and put them in a container with a tag.  That’s where I started helping.  So I dug out my old dog bone cookie cutter that I had used about 18 years ago to make cookies for my nephews grammar school class and traced it on paper.  A quick note to NOT use a permanent market to do this.  I had to use rubbing alcohol to get it off and then use lots of dishsoap and hot water to get off the rubbing alcohol.  I passed the cookie cutter to Karen and she gave me some sample treats to share with my canine friends.  

Karen participates in a Golden Retreiver rescue program and has 2 really cute dogs, Rusty and Patina.  But she claimed that they would eat anything so it wasn’t a very good test.  So I made up a little survey for the canine parents to fill out.  Just a few questions that I thought would be helpful for Karen.  Are all natural dog treats important?  Would you want to know the ingredients?  Did your dog like them?  What breed is your dog?  And of course a place for additional comments.  Off I went with my little heart and gingerbread man shaped dog biscuits.  I packed a few cookies in aluminum foil each time I went to visit a friend with a dog.  Being a cat person I had no idea that there were so many dogs in my world.  In a week I had completed 3 surveys and was out of biscuits.  I reported back to Karen that even the pickiest of breeds really liked the treats and all the owners would like to purchase more.   Off we both went to prepare for our parts in this venture.

Today after discussing and working on this for a few weeks, I gave Karen the tags that I had made in the shape of the dog bone cookie cutter.   The all natural and homemade doggie treats will be called bow WOW and the first batch is going into the oven this week.  Next Saturday they will debut.  We’ll see what happens!   Meanwhile lots of dogs are extra happy to see me – I think the word is getting around in the canine network.  My cats would be jealous of my secret ventures so I’m just not telling them.  They’ve gotten lots of extra treats this week so it’s all good! 

So this is why I can’t get excited about keeping the tidiest house on the block.  There are people and animals out there and I can’t help getting myself involved in their worlds.  The dishes will wait and the carpets can stand another day without vacuuming.  I have a friend named Karen with great ideas to make the world a happier place and I’m glad she asks for my help!