Tiny Farm Chicks

There's a lot of "peeping" going on at my house. These little chicks came in a "Lot" of tiny farm animals from ebay.

They reminded me today not to forget them.

So did the spring lambs...

and the bunny brigade. Soooo...

I baked up some cup cakes so they would feel special and that made them happy as you can see. I'll tell you, I had a heck of a time getting them all to look at the camera at the same time.

Lambie-love.

The bunnies told me they prefer pink!

Did you know chickies like to peck sprinkles?

As you can see, I got my ducks in a row for this picture. Now, I believe I will take myself and my rich fantasy life into the kitchen to clean up after the animals!  Now if you would like to see some really sensational cupcakes, I suggest you visit Karla's Cottage and see hers. They may not be edible but they are incredible!  I'm so glad you stopped by today. I hope you'll come again.  -Derrith

I DO Love Cherries!

I can't resist cherries when it comes to kitchen or quilt motifs. They are so unfailingly cheerful! I am always on the hunt for cherry dishes for the shop and then I'm sad when they sell.

A couple weeks ago, Gary and I were wandering around northwest Washington, and I found this cupboard in a thrift shop. Gary took it pretty well, when he saw me heading for the car with it.  It says "Studio 56" on the label on the back. I don't know if it was sold this way or if the checkerboard and cherries were added by someone after market. The glass from one of the doors was missing so I replaced it with Plexiglass on both sides.

I love the hand painted cherries. As you can see, I have the cupboard down at the shop and filled it with some fun red and white dishes.

The cupboard inspired me to design a dish towel to match. Well, I must get some housework done today, since I have done more playing than working this week. My quilt group had a very fun field trip yesterday to a wonderful quilt shop in Chehalis Washington called "Sisters". I did buy a bit more fabric in spite of a promise to myself not to. That's what happens when you put yourself in temptation's path! Thank you, friends for stopping by.  Love, Derrith

Tags and Postcards

I think it is exciting to get ANY letter in the mail these days, but imagine how thrilled I was to get this envelope with foreign stamps all over it! It was my Give-A-Way prize from Fleur at Yokko Bears all the way from the Netherlands.

She sent me 30 hand made tags! So Cool! Each one is different and the backs have an aged, antiqued look to them. THANK YOU, Fleur! I love them!

I haven't shown you the quilted postcards from our last quilt group meeting yet, so here they are...enjoy!

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world.It means so much to have you stop by! -Derrith

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Happy Sunday and St. Patrick's Day, friends. These are some Pyrex bowls that belong to my daughter-in-law. We have them down at her shop, and I thought they were quite fitting for today's festivities!

More vintage bowls...not Pyrex, but quite cool. (I realize those are 4-leaf clovers, but we can use our imagination)

Spring really is just around the corner! Please visit again anytime. Love, Derrith

Playing With Bunnies

This is my little friend Buffy, the bunny. She was a rescue bunny from Goodwill.

When she came to me, she was buff colored with a dull green bow and drab brown basket.  Drab colors aren't welcome in my house, so I had to do an intervention.

She had a light sprinkling of glitter so I sanded that off.  It may be the first time I've actually removed glitter from anything!

Then I gave her a couple coats of white paint.

Then I added back in the shading and painted her bow and basket. Next, I painted the whole thing with Modge Podge so the paint would smear when I put on the glue for the glitter.

I realized that once she was covered in glitter, I wouldn't be able to put any candy in her basket, so I thought I'd better fill it first. I made eggs out of PaperClay, painted them and glued them in. Then I had to pick what glitter to use. I decided on one that stayed white and wasn't too prizmatic. Now Buffy is perfectly pastel and glittery and enjoying life on my coffee table.

These two cuties were also rescue bunnies. I didn't mind their original color too much. My philosophy has always been that anything can be improved with glitter, so...

They got the treatment and...well, I guess it's possible that perhaps there are times when my philosophy doesn't hold. I used German glass glitter and I think the flakes were too large for the size of the figurine. I did clear their eyes so they can still see, but they give me that look, like "Why did you do this to us?" Oh well, not every project works out like we think it will! 

I really appreciate your visits and I hope you will come again.   Love, Derrith

Dazzling Show and Tell

Two friends from my quilt group went to a quilting retreat and learned how to make these "vessels". They were so spectacular! They were created from painted "conso cord", then beaded and embellished. This one was Candy's.

Lorali made this one. I love all the details. She also added glitter (a girl after my own heart).

This is another one of Lorali's. To me, they look like they came out of an enchanted forest, but I do tend to take flights of fancy. (Does anyone say that anymore?)

 

One of the fun things about our group is that we show off and share all our needlework projects in addition to our quilts. Margy created this pillow on her embroidery machine. I think it's gorgeous.

Darlene, our professional quilt and fabric designer and talented machine quilter, created this wonderful handbag. I'm sorry the picture cut off the strap, but it is so fun. Notice the cute quilting she added. Love it!

My friends do some amazing things with their embroidery machines. Margy embellished these towels for a wedding gift. Quite stunning!

This is Margy's too. It is a fun cuff or collar. It was a new technique she learned in a class. I don't think she has decided exactly what she will do with it yet. As you can see, there is so much skill and imagination in my group. They really inspire me to challenge myself. Thanks again for stopping by. It is so fun to share with you and I really enjoy your comments. -Derrith

March Quilt Group Show Stoppers

Our March meeting of "Sisters 'n' Stitches" was quite a showcase of beautiful quilts and other projects. I will show the quilts first and some of the other really special things will be in my next post. Candy was especially prolific this month. These first four quilts are all hers. This red and white quilt was gorgeous.

I loved this "Shadow Play" quilt. It's such a wonderfully graphic technique.

I loved this bright, fun quilt. It was an original design from Candy.

This was a modified "Jelly Roll Race" or "1600" pattern. She used bright batiks and added the black "coins" to great effect!

I enlarged this photo so you can see the detail on Pat H.s quilt. It was so lovely. It took us a while to realize that each block is actually the same pattern. So pretty!

Michelle made this fun earth tone Americana quilt. Loved it!

Lorali made this darling quilt. Irresistible!

Pat K. showed us her fantastic quilt in progress. We all love her work.

Our hostess, Margy had her beautiful Christmas Quilt on the wall. It is amazing. Thank you so much for visiting. I will have more to see soon. Love, Derrith

Too Early For Easter?

Like many of you, I am anxiously anticipating spring. Since Easter is early this year, I am now officially in Easter mode. I found this precious lamb cup at Goodwill. It really is so dear...not very practical for a child because it's breakable, but just right for Spring-y pictures. I had a dish towel I had dyed pink for valentines that I hadn't used yet, so I bleached it out a bit to soften the color and appliqued the lamb on it.

Isn't this the sweetest thing! It makes me sad that my youngest grand children are 8 years old (three of them) already.

I'm not sure why anyone would want a lamb on their dish towel, but nevertheless, there she is.  I hope your day is a happy and fulfilling one.  Thank you for stopping by.  -Derrith