O hushed October morning, and a RAK

O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled......
- Robert Frost

One of my very favorite poems, but then October is and always been my favorite month.
I made this little wallhanging yesterday afternoon after seeing Jamie's wallhanging on her blog and on Scrapgal. I used an empty cheese package - you know the kind that is sort of a very thick cardstock - for the center, glued a piece of scrap waterpaper on the back - on which I had painted and scribbled with watercolor and oil pastels in similar colors to the leaves, stapled the leaves on (from an on sale sprig at Michaels), and glued on the little resin top that had broken off of a wine bottle fancy cork and some leftover variegated yarn in bows; and onto the yarnends, I tied little gold leaf charms (not sure you can see them in the photo). The holder is a piece of old cream ribbon intertwined with the yarn. Finally I added 2 7gypsies word stickers.

And now ------Tuesday, October 6 will be my bloginversary so I am having a RAK. Please leave a comment on this posting and you may win the above prize. I wasn't sure what to call it - Purple People Eaters, Purple Passion, Lavendar's Blue, but I finally decided on Lavendar and Lace. it includes some lavendar and purple papers, lots of ribbons, Heidi Grace chipboard, 2 alphabets, a stamp (which I don't think you can see near the ribbons, some buttons, some lace, some fabric, some handmade yo yos, a handmade velvet flower, and a handmade fabric flower, and some other little coordinated stuff. SO...............leave a comment and you might win!!!!!!!

Fall is coming, a big thank you, and some sewing

I really should be tidying my studio but instead I am drinking a cup of tea and blogging - I guess my priorities are in the right place. LOL! I keep reading people's blogs about the coming of fall, the cooling off, the briskness in the air, etc. but we will still have another 1 1/2 months of heat although the sun has definitely moved in the sky. Anyway, I love fall and in my previous lives, always enjoyed the coloring of the leaves (we would always drive up for a weekend in Aspen when we lived in Denver), the smell of fireplaces burning, cider and apples, Brian trick or treating, and decorating the houses with pumpkins and leaves. Of course, having a birthday in October has always made fall pretty special too. LOL! I painted the above painting 2 years ago and I always hang it in our dining room during the fall season. (sorry for the glare on the glass).

I am sending out a huge thank you to Deana for surprising me with this fantastic ART teeshirt - I love it!!!!!! Surprises are always the best and I just love how perfect this tee is for my life right now. Thank you so much, Deana!

Lest you think I am only a scrapper and painter, I will show you that I can also sew. LOL! I made this bag from some scraps in my studio (one of my friends had this pattern so I copied the idea). I think it came out pretty cool, if I do say so myself. It was actually an easy project as you sew the fabric strips onto pieces of interfacing so the sides are soft but have a real structure to them. I lined it and put in lots of pockets, sort of like a Vera Bradley bag. It's a tote bag size; I used it when we went on vacation to carry all of my lingerie, teeshirts, and soft stuff.

This is a photo of some little bags I made a while ago - they have been hanging on the wall in my bathroom and unfortunately have faded some. I also used scraps here - the idea was to capture the way the ocean looks or the way the sky looks over the ocean at dawn (far right bag). I have been trying to think of something original to make to sell on etsy and I was wondering if bags like these might work. I have also done little fabric pictures like the fronts of these bags and framed them or used in in cards.

Unfortunately I have been thinking a bit about money lately - my painting class cost a bit and then I got the supply list and it will cost a bit more so .... it's not as if we don't have the money (I am not trying to cry poor at all) but things do add up and I am trying to think of ways to supplement my income right now. The goal is to sell paintings but that is a bit in the future so right now I listed a lot of books on half.com and ebay, and I am trying to come up with some items to sell on etsy.

Hope you have a good day and a fun weekend. I really do need to tidy my studio!!!!!