Kitty at Play Mug Rug Pattern

Yes, you can tell I've been on a mug rug kick lately.  With Christmas coming I'm wanting to make little gifts for my friends that will not break the bank but will make them smile with joy.  I love this one.... of course I'm a kitty lover so how could I not love this little kitty sitting down with me while I munch on some cookies!
Your can get the pattern HERE.

This Little Piggy Mug Rug

Yes, I did, I just had to create this cute little mug rug.  I love mug rugs and thought this pattern would fit the bill for my snacking needs.Time to sit down with a cup of coffee and some tasty snacks while I read my new book.  Won't you join me?
You can find this pattern in my Craftsy store Here.

Cow Pot holder

My new pot holder pattern.  It's a cute little cow, how fun is that!  If you liked the pig pot holder then you are sure to love this whimsical little cow.  Perfect to make as gifts for your quilting friends or of course for yourself!
You can find the pattern on Craftsy  Here .

Sewing Etui for me.

I've always wanted a little sewing box, a Antique French Etui with little antique sewing implements would be just the best thing ever to have.  Well, if you have ever looked for one you, like me have found that you need to have lots of dollars to get one.  Sad but true, and there is probably one in someone's attic sitting there getting all dusty waiting for someone like me.  One day, maybe just one day I will come across one I can afford.

In the mean time I got a bee in my bonnet again and this desire was on my mind.  I was looking online to see if I could find one I could afford and of course I couldn't so I rushed upstairs to make myself my very own little sewing box.  This is my first one, so of course after I made it I thought of many enhancements to this design.  I will be making more just so I get it perfectly the way I want.
But in the meantime here is my little sewing box.  I wish I had some really old things to put in it for my picture.  I found a few things around the house, so now I'm on a search of old sewing tools for my little box!

Napping Kitty "Bertram"

Here is my latest 3D plushy.  I found the pattern here http://dollmakersjourney.com/kittykat.html.  She has lots of great patterns so if you love making dolls etc be sure to visit her page.
I still have to put the whiskers on this one.  I made this as a special treat for Tera, an Artist (and I mean Artist) friend who was so kind to send me a surprise painting.  Yes, she did something so sweet and "just because".  I love that, I wish more people were like her.  These little expressions of kindness make me smile.  You don't see this sort of kindness as often anymore.  Anyway, it made my day, and I wanted to do something kind in return.  Something she also would not expect.   I hope she like her new kitty...  it is also a pin cushion so if she ever decides dig out her needle and thread, well she will have something cute for her sewing room.
Anyway enough blabbering.... here is the kitten, with out whiskers.  I'll take another picture when I get those in.

Update:  Here are three pictures of Bertram finished.  So so cute!

Another bird house

I enjoyed making the little quilt shop bird house again and still had the bug to make another one.  I used my biscuit joiner and glued up the front and back some time ago and those glued up boards have been calling my name ever since.  So finally I dug them out of my wood pile and began the process of figuring out how to make a rounded roof bird house.  I had this picture in my head since I glued up those boards!  I didn't feel like driving to the home improvement store to get more wood to make this little birdy house so I used my biscuit joiner and glued up some more wood.  Now mind you I don't have a planer and my joiner is still in the box two years later.  Crazy I know.  My garage at the moment is a big mess.  I even have a roll of garage floor covering taking up one entire side of the garage waiting for me to get it installed.  I'm a procrastinator!!!
Anyway here are some pictures of the rounded top bird house so far.  On the back side I've decided to use my carving tool and carve out faux details.  I'm hoping to have time for that today.
** Update, here is the finished bird house.  This one was so much fun to make.

Noah's Ark Tiny Scroll Saw cut out

Here is a tiny piece of art.  It's cut out using a scroll saw.  This was very difficult in that not cutting a finger off took lots of patients.  I wanted to show you how tiny it is.  It was fun to make and paint.  Maybe you'd like to give such a thing a try?   I've placed a nickel next to this piece to give you an idea of the size.

Ole Bird Quilt Shop, make your own bird house.

Building an ornamental bird house.

I'm building another bird house much like the one I did for the guild raffle, only this time I'll post it for sell.  This bird house could be used outside to house blue birds that visit your yard however, why would you.  These things are so cute you'd want it to last a life time right?

Anyway, I decided I'd post some pictures of the progress so you can see how I built this one.

These three top pictures are of the parts cut out and sanded ready for assembly.  The middle part of the bird house consists of 4 pieces of wood while the sides are only 3 side because they attach at the sides of the middle or main house.

Cut list

Middle section

2 -  8 (which is about 7.5 inches actually) x 24 inch pieces that are mitered at the top at center of each board so that they stay 24 inches in length.  Cut two holes about 2 inch diameter and drill 1/2 inch holes under these holes going only half way through.  You will use the bottom holes to add the dowel perch. 

2 - 21x8 compound mitered at one end.

Side sections

4 - 8x 8 and 7/ 8 inch pieces compound mitered at one end

2 - 8x11 inch pieces  that are mitered at the top at center of each board so that they stay 11 inches in length  On each of these boards cut one hole about 2 inch diameter and drill 1/2 inch hole under this hole going only half way through.  You will use the bottom holes to add the dowel perch. 

Middle section roof

2 pieces cut at 7 and 7/8 x 6 and 1/2 inches with compound miter at one of the long ends so they stay at 6  and 1/2 inches in length. 

Side section roof.
4 pieces cut at 7 and 7/8 x 4 inches with compound miter at one of the long ends so they stay at 4 inches in length.

3 - 1/2 x 3 inch dowels to use as perches. 

Columns

Cut one stair spindle to 21 inches and then cut in half lengthwise using a band saw

Sand all pieces on all sides including the bottoms and tops of the boards.

Begin by gluing and nailing the two  8 x 8 and 7/8 inch pieces  that are compound mitered at one end to one of the 21 x 8 compound mitered at one end. as shown below.  Make sure when you assemble these that the compound miters on all sections are facing out.  I hope you can see this below or in one of the following pictures.  If you nail these up incorrectly your roof will not fit properly.

Do this to both of the 21 x 8 compound mitered at one end. as shown below.  Notice the compound miter direction of all these boards.

Now attach the two 24 inch front and back to these two side pieces you've made.  The front and back fit inside of the two sides not on top as shown in the picture below.

Now if you have placed the compound mitered boards facing the correct direction your roof should fit perfectly onto your 3 sections.   At the now using glue and nails.  Do not worry if there is a gap at the top.  You will fill this with caulking later, and you will be adding shingles that will hide this gap.

Now add the stair spindles to either side of the middle house covering the seam.  You will have to notch the spindles so that they will fit around the side roof on each side.   Notice my notches I cut out of the spindles.

Next you will counter sink all nails and using a wood filler you will fill all the holes.  You will use caulking to fill all the gaps around the roof and on the roof line and any seams that seem to not fit perfectly together. When you paint, the paint will not hide cracks so this is important.  Let this dry over night.  Then hand sand the excess away so that you don't have lumps.  Lumps can not be hidden with paint.

Adding shingles and staining them.

Staining the shingles

Paint the main body one side at a time.  Let each side dry before moving on to another side.  Add 2-3 coats on each side sanding in between coats.

Decorate and paint as you wish.  Here it is finished.

Learning to Paint watercolor, just dive in!

I'm really enjoying learning to use water color paint.  Mostly I have been doing ATC's which are the tiniest little paintings.  But since I've found watercolor canvas I've done a couple larger paintings.  I have many different mediums that I could use that would probably be much easier since there are tons of classes for acrylics and oils and pastels but no classes on water color that I've found in my area.
I just dove right in and am teaching myself how to use watercolor paint.  There are many techniques I have not tried yet but have heard of such as masking.  I will at some point give that a try.  Preserving white space is very difficult I agree.
Here is my second attempt at watercolor, while I'm not extremely pleased with it, I can see that I am getting better with practice.

Gate fold cards

I'm really only posting this so I never loose it.  I love this card design.



Update:  My order for this template came in...yaaaaaaaaaaa meeeeeeeee can't wait to make a new card using this technique.