winter porch

 AND IT'S ABOUT TIME - SHEESH!

It took me a looong time after the holidays, to even think about my porch - I'm not even sure why.

Usually my porch is a favorite thing of mine to do, but I felt overwhelmed and under motivated :/ 

Several weeks ago, some ideas finally floated into my head - and boy was I grateful!

I needed to get outside and DO something, and golly, it was a fun project (thank you John for helping!)

My main mantra was: Color, Texture, and Levels.

So this is what I came up with - - - 

(and a new gnome... I mean a gnew gnome)

TA-DAAA! :)

fare thee well

Today is Monday (my Davy's 21st birthday!) and you don't know this, but I'm driving home today.

I left for Utah last week to be with my beloved Shell, and to attend her father's funeral services.

My wonderful, jovial Uncle Gerry passed away unexpectedly, and of course we are all so sad :(

He was always so fun, so good to everyone, so loving to all his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

My own boys grew up hearing him talk to them like Donald Duck - a favorite memory of ours :)

He was loved by all who knew him, and will be missed by every one of us, always. 

Here he is at a party several years ago with my lovely Aunt Jeanne, whom I adore. 

Here they are at Shell's 50th birthday fiesta, looking like the darling couple they always were.

I will always be grateful for all the love he showed to our family - what a wonderful man.

He went above and beyond for my parents especially - even at times when they weren't so lovable :/

I don't know what we would have done without Gerry - and Jeanne! 

(and he looks so handsome with that gotee!) Aw, I love you so much Uncle Gerry!

You will be in my heart always, always, always :)

xoxo

score

 Remember how I mentioned something about an antiques store?

SCORE!

I found the cutest, coziest quilt! YESSS!

 Just browsing around a local antiques mall I enjoy... it's very much hit or miss there...

But over the years I've found some fantastic things to have in my home.

I rounded a corner, and saw this small quilt hanging up! 

A generous twin/full size, and in excellent condition - no stains, holes, or even a missed stitch!

Doth my eyes deceive me?! Is this tag really the price?! 

Now, I know it's not ancient, and it doesn't have perfect quilting or pristine fabrics,

but I loved it's geometry and color and feel instantly. And it was $59.00! Are you KIDDING me?!   

 Machine pieced and hand-quilted... with LOTS of different fabrics from various eras.

Most of the fabric looks like it's from the 40's (help me out here, Wendy!) but theres a wide variety.

 If you look at the above photo, toward the bottom left, you can even find a DOG!

(Golden Retriever? Irish Setter?)

I also really like the skeleton keys on the pink background, and a pink/orange paisley pattern.

 The above pic had one of my favorite fabric pieces - it's gotta be late 60's or early 70's!

Love the flower pattern, colors, and especially the texture!

 The above pic shows more fabrics I really liked, especially the center red, gold and light blue.

 And one more paisley pattern that I liked a LOT - pink and lavender and blue too -

how could anyone not that THAT fabric pattern and color combination!

You know, I've always thought to myself, how ironic it is that a quilt is made up of so many fabrics.....

gorgeous, plain, colorful, interesting, flowers, stripes, and the list goes on and on..... 

some of them are even downright HOMELY when you really check them all out! 

But you put them all together and magic happens - all of the sudden they're perfect together! 

All the pieces combine to make something that couldn't be more beautiful!

I think quilts are a lot like people. 

There's room for everyone. Differences are good. Everyone needs each other. 

We're special just how we are. Combined together, we make the world beautiful. 

chick magnets: the sequel

 I LOOOVE MAKING CHICK MAGNETS!

It's been a while since my original Chick Magnets post, so you may or may not remember these.....

click ----------> HERE <---------- to refresh your memory or just to check 'em out :)

These are also very similar to the Hope pins I made for all the church girls ----------> HERE

So now my Chick Magnets are BACK, and just as cute as can be! HAH! 

I put together a quick little tutorial to show how I made them, so keep-a-reading.....

 First off, I take out all my scrap book paper, and start punching shapes.

Then I figure out what looks good with what, and place all the matches together.

Then I use a glue dot applicator to lightly adhere the small shapes to the large shapes.

Easy enough, right? And fun too :)

 I only have a few paper punches, and these are what they look like, above.

The red case contains the long strip of adhesive I use to stick everything together.

(it's the same adhesive I use to attach my photos to my notecards) 

 I use this Diamond Glaze because it dries absolutely clear (you could also use Mod Podge)

The glass discs I used this time are DIFFERENT than the ones I used w/ my first Chick Magnets!

The same size - 1 3/4 inch..... well a little over that..... perfect for my 1 3/4 inch punch -

but thinner, and perfectly clear glass. I found this was both an advantage and a disadvantage!

I'll tell you my reasons as we move along.....

 First you use the Diamond Glaze right smack on the front of the paper set you've created.

Use enough to cover it well, but not so much that you lose more than you use.

I had to experiment a bit..... less is more, as long as everything is covered.

And keep some damp paper towels near, cuz you'll want to wipe the disc and your fingers!

 Flip the pretty side over and smear it on the flat side of your glass disc.

Don't lift the paper on and off - just slide it around until glue has covered everything.

Then begin applying pressure - from the inside out - to get as many air bubbles out as possible.

This step is CRUCIAL! Air bubbles are the bane of any project like this!

I discovered that, because I was working with paper on top of paper, there WILL be air bubbles!

After narrowly escaping a nervous breakdown, I finally had to just ACCEPT the inevitable :/

And the thinner, clearer glass discs are beautiful, but they WILL make the bubbles more obvious.

Just squeeze as many out as possible and GET OVER IT, cuz they will still look adorable!

 SEE? SEE? SEE? ARE THEY TOO CUTE OR WHAT!!!

Yes they are - bubbles and all :)

CUTE!!! I LURVE THEM!!!

You'll want to finish them by attaching a small, strong magnet on the back - like the ones below:

If you're an anal type, you'll punch out card stock and glue it to the back first..... then the magnet.

If you're really anal, you'll trace and cut felt circles and glue those to the back before the magnet.

And if you're so anal that everything must be perfect, you'll throw them all away cuz of the bubbles :/

I may or may not be one or more of the above  :D  but most of the time I can enjoy what I've made!

I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM TOO!

It's a really fun, easy project - and something useful you can have for yourself or give as gifts!

I hope this inspired you to give it a try yourself!

My 2 best sources are on Etsy - great prices and service - I highly recommended them:

*Sun and Moon Craft Kits*

 *Willow Run Crafts*

a rendezvous with the Rendezvous

It's been a while since I've posted anything about my son Davy's band, A Basement Rendezvous.

They've been performing often lately, so I wanted to catch up on a few performances.

 First I had to throw this one in of them practicing at our house beforehand though,

because you get an *oh-so-rare glimpse* of Davy actually smiling, hehehe :)

 This first performance is at the Guitar Merchant in Woodland Hills, CA. 

It's a great place to perform and the band put on a terrific show that night!

And yes, that's the Mouse (Matthew) on banjo, far right :)

 I love it when Davy plays the mandolin

Mouse sang a song as well, and did a fine job :)

A Basement Rendezvous is:

Davy Walker, John Sanchez, Henry Webster, and Jimmy Melnarik

~

 This next performance was amazing :)

A Basement Rendezvous recently performed locally at "A Brave New World". 

It was for singles night and it was a great crowd - loud, but awesome!

I think they had at least 4 encores + Mouse went onstage to sing a number too!

It was truly a fun night - they even ended up in the paper - photos & all, hehe!

The *funny* thing about this performance was,

between the band's energy and the bright lighting, most of my pics make them look ghostly!

At first I was so disappointed, but then I was like, wait - this is SO COOL!

See for yourself.....

 Here we have John only partially there, and Davy with NO HEAD.

 Now Davy is back, but John's head is missing!

 This is a fave..... right in front of the "Haunted Love" comic poster,

John appears as though he's a ghost himself. AWESOME!

 Here we go, losing Davy again!

And we've almost completely lost the Mouse! Yikes!

Well, we all had fun, that's for sure :)

Below is one of their BEST songs - I don't think I've ever posted it here before: "Plainview".

ENJOY!

YAYYY!

And don't forget - you can always look up their EP on iTunes, CD Baby, and Facebook :)

more shtuff

 I looked up from my kitchen counter the other day, to see all these adorable smiles, and notes,

and postcards from dear friends..... all on the side of my fridge..... and it just made me so happy :)

I don't think I've ever posted this pic before, but if you've been in my kitchen, you'll recognize it! 

 I got a late Valentine's Day gift too..... John sent me some *way* cool headphones - PINK!

 They're called Urban Ears - they come in all kinds - and they're just too cool for school!

Thank you John - that was such a welcome and thoughtful surprise! :)

 I can't help it..... I take pics of my beautiful Luna whenever possible :)

 She's so photogenic, it's just amazing to me! But the irony is, she HATES being photographed!

I have to sneak nearly every single photo I take of her or she will immediately run away!

She's got the cutest profile :)

HAH!

Some of you asked me after my previous post, if Matt's hair was blonde now.....

Does this answer your question?! This was literally the 3rd time we bleached it

and I was pretty much ready for his hair to start melting :/ 

I made him have this pic taken because he looked like he had a Dutch hat on, hehe :)

 And NO - he did NOT ask my permission the first time he bleached it!!!

But doggone him - it looks pretty good and that kid gets away with everything!

(hoping some sense will fill his brain the longer he stays upside down.....)

Awwwww..... my sweet little Angel, asleep with her tongue sticking out.

Pretty bad photo, but all I had was my cell phone and I just HAD to take it :)

 Last but NEVER least..... Davy with Jenn!

Jenn is the daughter of my childhood friend Lauren, whom you've seen here many times before. 

Jenn will graduate in Film from Pepperdine in April - exciting!

She's such a darling girl - smart, funny, talented, unique, pretty - and we love her :)

Davy and Jenn have sooooo much in common, and they enjoy being together a LOT! 

These cute pics were taken when they went out for Valentine's Day, after Davy's band performed -

you'll hear all about that performance and one other..... in the very..... next..... blog post! :D

~

Stay tuned for some way cool posts coming up this week!

Band performances, an antiques store score,

and even a sequel to one of my most popular craft posts!