Hello October! Fabric Pumpkins , Leather Leaves

Hard to believe it's October already yet here it is. Even though I'm not a Pumpkin Spice fan, I do love to decorate with pumpkins from Halloween through Thanksgiving. I've had fabric pumpkins on my to make list and finally made some! 

October Lettering Doodle

Everything's new when it's the first time you do it right? My twist on these was to add leather leaves. 

Supplies: 

• Fabric of choice: I used my never ending fabric dropcloth from the HW store, and some black and white swirl fabric from my stash
• Embroidery thread and needle
• Fiberfill
• Leather Scraps
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Jute Twine and Cotton Cord
• Charms
• Twigs

For the dropcloth pumpkins, I used a standard size dinner plate as my template. For the black and white pumpkin, I used a charger.

Trace your pattern and cut out your fabric:

Using embroidery thread, do a loose running stitch around the edge of your fabric, and then pull to gather together. 

I didn't care about the contrast in thread color because I knew I'd be covering up any exposed stitching. You'll have a little sac ( which reminded my of my favorite Taiwanese dumplings). 

Stuff your dumpling, I mean pumpkin, with fiber fill until you are happy with the size etc. I kind of rolled mine around to make sure the fiberfill was even. Then pull you stitching tight and tie off. 

I chose to do this step before adding my stem but I suppose you could add the stem and then do this. For the stems, I used a cedar branch I'd cut during the Summer that was now thoroughly dried. 

Leather Scraps

A while ago, for no specific reason, I bought a bag of leather scraps at Michaels or JoAnns. Now I knew the reason! I grabbed some coordinating colors and cut leaf shapes from them. 

I glued in the stem and attached the leaves and then used twine to wrap around the bottom of the stem and cover up my glue schlubs. I then added some ribbon and charms from my stash to finish. 

I used the same process for the black and white fabric pumpkin, only instead of wrapping the stem with twine, I used cotton cord and maple leaf charms insttead of hearts. 

BFF Open House All Party , No Features

Happy Friday Jr. / Friday Eve all! It's the crazy stubborn lady who has an insane full time job and who should just plan that the last party of each month is going to be featureless, again. We'll catch up next week!

In the meantime, wishing you all a wonderful last weekend of September and please stay and enjoy the party! 

Hugs! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

September Celebration Cards

I make probably one or two cards a week during non-holiday times and don't post them all but sharing two special ones. 

My two oldest ( as in length of time, not age!) friends happen to share the same birthdate. Same date, one year apart. So my birthday "twins" each got this card, using washi tape one of them gave me for my own birthday last year. For the birthday cards, I used the "Confetti Stack" by DCWV that has coordinating birthday papers, and cut layers of a cake in two different colors using my Silhouette Cameo. I alternated the layers of the cake and glued them together then added to the center of the card with foam dots. 

The second card was for a friend celebrating Rosh Hashanah. Since apples are a prominent part of celebrating Rosh Hashana, I had fun doodling an apple and then using the Recolor app to color it. 

After I colored the apple, I chose coordinating papers from my stash to make the card. 

I had this gorgeous brocade looking paper ( Recollections, Michaels) that went w/ the colors,  accented w/ coordinating glitter papers, printed and layered the sentiment as shown. 

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday and official start of Fall Eve all!  I think we can all agree "Mother Nature, the world has had enough of you for a while". 

Thinking of the people in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean who all got hit this week, along w/ FL , Houston and everyone recovering from recent weeks.

Let's take our minds off things with some pretties OK? 

I love tiered things. Height always seems to bring depth. This DIY Modern Farmhouse Tiered Tray  from Diane at An Extraordinary Day is so perfect! 

If this mantel doesn't scream Fall, complete with the perfect F A L L letters, I don't know what does. See it all at Vintage Paint and More

Would you guess that these birch candles are faux? Check out Chas' Crazy Creations to see how! 

Now, let's see what everyone's been up to this week!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

These Boots Aren't Made For Walking: Funky Witch Boot Printable

My nightly doodling continues and so does my obsession with the Recolor App. I decided to try my hand at a Witch Boot so I drew the outline, then filled it in with random doodles and colored in Recolor. The steps to do that are easy. 

I use my iPhone so these steps are based on that. 

• Take a picture of your image using your phone
• Open the Recolor App
• In the upper right hand corner you'll see "Import"
• Click, and then you can choose where you want to import from ( eg. Camera Roll). 
• Use the options to clean up your image if you like
• I've been using "Despeckle" which whitens and brightens your image. 

Then proceed to color your image! There are free options and pay options. I love the colors in the pay options but haven't purchased any yet. 

After I was done coloring my image I pulled it into PicMonkey and then added some additional graphics from my collection and voila! 

I duplicated the boot and flipped the image to make a pair, added a coordinating Witch Hat, Sentiment, and Frame  which  are all  from Designbundles.net Crafter's Delight Bundle. 

Image is free for you to use. It's sized to 8x10. If you do, I would love to see what you do w/ it!

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Mid September Friday Eve all! Hoping that those who've been impacted by Harvey and Irma are recovering. Fall is almost officially here and there were lots of great ideas shared last week so let's take a look. 

I was just reading in the paper today that here in the PNW we have a great crop of Fall pears so this recipe from 3Winks Design is well timed and looks amazing! 

Nothing says Fall like Pumpkins and these fabric ones from Vintage Paint and More are perfect for any room. 

Halloween will be here before we know it and this Easy Tulle Wreath from Foxy's Domestic Side is just the thing to get you in the haunted mood! 

The first time my parents took me to a "grown up" restaurant as a kid, I fell in lifelong love with chocolate mousse. This recipe from Marilyn's Treats looks like just the way to end a special meal. Or an ordinary meal. Or in place of a meal. 

Now, let's see what you've been up to this week! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Peacock Feather Anniversary Card and Envelope Art

Hard to believe that my oldest (as in number of years we've been friends...since 7th grade) is celebrating her 30th Anniversary! They got engaged before I left for a study abroad program in college and got married shortly after I came back the following year so I missed a lot of the wedding planning. I don't have pics but let me tell you, she was DIY before DIY was what it is now. 

She made her wedding dress, our bridesmaids dresses, the groom's tux, her mom's dress... basically EVERYTHING. Each of us bridesmaids wore a different jewel tone color and they used peacock feathers in the bouquets. 

I wanted to capture elements of day in their Anniversary card. 

I found a peacock feather design in the Silhouette online store that I downloaded and cut from gold adhesive foil. 

I dreaded weeding these because I hate weeding. Love vinyl. Hate weeding. Did I mention how I hate weeding? Fortunately these weren't as bad as I feared. 

I layered these on different colors of cardstock and trimmed. 

Layered onto coordinating papers as shown using foam dots, and then finished with self adhesive rhinestones. 

I also wanted the envelope to be special. One of the reasons I started playing with hand lettering is because I wanted to make the envelopes as special as I hope the cards are . 

I did a simple laurel wreath and mixed faux calligraphy and printed lettering styles. Fortunately the Post Office didn't get snippy with me and it arrived just fine! 

Equally exciting is that this time next year, my friends will be recovering from their daughter who's getting married 2 days prior to their 31st Anniversary. Cannot wait to see what she does for her daughter's wedding!

Digitized Doodles

Everything old is new again as the saying goes. A few years ago I became obsessed with Zen Tangling. I don't know that what I like to do fits the official Zen Tangle definition. Like most things I do, I adapt it to fit what feels right to me so I have not mastered "official" tangles and I tend to like to mix things up and be very organic about the process.

At some point I stopped doing it for a while but in the process of practicing my hand lettering, I've picked it up again. Sometimes combining it w/ lettering and sometimes on its own.  As with my lettering, I thought about what to do w/ all of this ( still haven't totally figured that out) and started playing w/ different digital options.

For this version, I scanned the image in to my computer and played around with it in PicMonkey adding different transparent layers. 

One thing I like about this option is I can keep the original black and white image once scanned in and explore different options while not losing the original work. 

I also discovered an app for my iPhone called "Recolor" ( it's FREE!!). It comes pre-loaded with lots of images you can color or, and this is what I was really after, you can import your own images into it from your photos and play around. 

Using this same image I played around and did this which completely changes the look and feel of the same image! 

You can color everything or just portions and you can color the background or leave it blank. 

For this one, I also applied a colored pencil filter : 

So many possibilities. But I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do w/ all this stuff lol !

BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday Eve once again. Sadly once again it's a week where we're watching awful devastation from nature. To those in the path of Irma, Jose, still recovering from Harvey, dealing with fires in the West, be safe and smart! No material things ( not even craft supplies) are worth it! 

Let's take a break and see what everyone's been up to as we gear up for Fall. 

What better way to prepare for Fall than with a new wreath? Leslie from Playdates to Parties has got you covered with a roundup of ideas. 

If you're still enjoying some outdoor weather but transitioning to Fall, check out this idea from My Thrift Store Addiction. Coffee and cupcakes? Yes please! 

Fall is the start of candle season to me. Sure they are year round but those cooler and darker earlier months are perfect for a cozy glow from candlelight. Chas' Crazy Creations has a wonderful way to display a Fall Candle. The secret's in the corn! 

And for this week's chocolate feature, what's better than a frosted chocolate cupcake? A frosted chocolate cupcake with a BROWNIE inside! From Sugar, Spice, and Family Life. 

Now on to this week's party! Thanks for being here. 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Fighting Words: Do Not Mention Pumpkin Spice ( Printable)

Believe me, I know this will be unpopular. I love Fall. Everything, well to be truthful, ALMOST everything about it. The one thing I don't love about Fall? PUMPKIN SPICE. There I said it! Fighting words I know.

Sorry Pumpkin Spice because I know that you are loved and I have nothing but love for the Pumpkin Spice lovers (some, to my own perplexion, in my own family). I just do not share your passion. And by do not share I mean I loathe it. It was bad enough when it was just lattes. But now it's EVERYTHING! 

Pumpkin Spice beer. Pumpkin Spice savory foods. Soups, pastas, etc. Pumpkin Spice cookies / cakes / donuts / chocolates / breads. Let's put it this way, I love chocolate with the equal and opposite loathing I have for Pumpkin Spice and since I'm known ( hello blog name) for the chocolate thing, well you get the picture. 

OK Carol. We get it. Why are you screaming about this? Can't we PS lovers just go on with our PS obsession and smother the world with PS in peace? Are we actively doing something TO you? No, and I hold no one's love of the stuff against them. (Mostly. Just kidding. Maybe a teensy tiny bit. OK no, really. ) 

But I can't possibly be the ONLY one who doesn't love the stuff. So I made a printable for me in my lonely  dislike of PS,  but also  in the off chance that there are others of you out there who feel similarly; probably more rationally, but similarly. 

BFF Open House Link Party

Hi creative friends. I know we are all reeling from what we're seeing unfold in Texas. To those located in the zone of the hurricane (or who have family and friends there) , first and foremost I hope you are all safe. 

I know tons of creative peeps (including me) are figuring out how we can put our maker skills to use to help. If you have any ideas to share, please leave in the comments! 

I decided to go ahead and put the party up because maybe looking at some pretty things will be a welcome distraction. Be well friends! 

True confession: I am not a fan of Pumpkin Spice anything ( pumpkin anything for that matter) BUT I know it's super popular and so many people love it. I am a fan of the pumpkin image in this printable from The Organized Dream so featuring this gorgeous printable for all you Pumpkin Spice lovers ( and me for that pumpkin image) Win Win but even better, she's got two more gorgeous Fall themed printables at the link. Go get them!

Who loves the $1 Spot at Target as much as I do? Repurpose and Upcycle does for sure and look what she did with a wooden  toolbox she found there? How perfect for a Fall Farmhouse look. 

This intrigued me because of PhD boy who is a craft beer aficionado. I on the other hand do love a Pina Colada and here the two meet in a combo I would never have put together. From Craftbeering, I give you the IPA Pina Colada! 

This week's chocolate feature is from Jay Tried and True: Cookies and Cream Filled Brownies! Look at all that ooey gooey goodness. 

OK let's get busy seeing what you've been busy making. 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up