Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

to you all

 

 

May both your Christmas and New Year

be merry and bright!

 

xxx

Annie



Sissy Envelope Art

Once again I am inspired by so many envelope artists and I just can't resist playing too.  I'm always drawn to collage art, so I tried that first with this envelope.

 

This is shamefully a very cheap envelope.  **GASP**  But it bothers me not at all.  With my luck, if it were an expensive quality envelope, it would have ended up in the trash.

 



That was fun, and I wanted to decorate another envelope. I wanted to get some more use out of those largish face stamps I bought.  I thought this one would be a struggle since it's just the facial features and it's been collecting dust because of that.  However, I got inspired and this is the result.

 

This one is a little better quality paper.

 



Scanning does nothing for the bling I added to this envelope.  Extra ounce postage leaves a lot to be desired too.  George Washington is it.  We sure could use some variety in the 20cent stamp category...or even in the 66cent category.  Again, one choice...butterfly.

 

I like how she went and wanted to have another go at her in that style.  This is that result...back to the cheap envies.  It turns out I love them.  I even like how the inside security design works into the outside design.

 

 

I just can't seem to get enough.  This one came next.

 

It seems I'm kinda hung up on these colors for now.  I must branch out.  And sometimes I get the envie a little too wet and they dry a tad lumpy.  I see it as a beauty of the beast.  **GASP**

 

The square envelope has been mailed out.  Now I just need to figure out where I can mail the others to.  Any ideas?

 

Wishing everyone a Good Mail Day!

Annie

 



Altered Dictionary - I and X

This is it, the last two letters of the alphabet for the

Altered Dictionary Challenge.

 

I and X

 

With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we've been given the last two letters together.

 

 I couldn't resist a delicious ice cream cone for the word(s) ice cream.

 

Not many X choices, so I chose X-ray

 

Then just for fun I went back to the beginning of the book where I left off under A and altered the page with the word absurd.

 

Many of you dear followers have put up with me and this challenge from start to finish.  Thank you.  I doubt that I will join the new alpha challenge in 2014, but I'll continue to alter pages in this dictionary and bore you with them a few at a time now and again.

 

It's pretty cool to thumb through this book and happen across the variety of bits of art and altered illustrations.  Although it was rather difficult to take the first step to alter this dictionary, I've not been sorry I did.  This long forgotten book has an amazingly fun new life.

 

xxx

Annie

Art Journal Calenar - December

Here we are in

December

 

 

I think I'm back to enjoying filling in the blocks this month, because November turned into such a mess.  I couldn't wait to be done with it!

 

 

I so wanted to just toss it out.  But, it's done and I've happily moved on.

 

So now let's be merry and bright!

xxx

Annie

 

 



Altered Dictionary - S

S is our letter for this fortnight and I had trouble deciding on a word...there are so many S words that are easy to illustrate.  But I finally settled on Skeleton.

 

 

Then I went on to stamp as in postage stamp.

 

I also did some stenciling.

 

Two more letters to go!  Finally, this is one of two challenges I took on that I will manage to complete!  Amazing for me.

 

XXX

Annie



Altered Dictionary - Q

It's time now for the letter Q in this

Altered Dictionary Challenge

 

Q is or Queen

 

I found several Q words to illustrate, but first I had to work with the "queen" of all Q words...because I can't resist an opportunity to play with my largish face stamps.

 

xxx

Annie



Art Calendar Journal - November

Now, here's November.  I really have lost steam for creating these calendars by this time and sadly, it shows.  **sigh**  What a turkey I am.

 

 

 I'll have to brighten it up with some colorful markers for the journaling.  It's hard to believe the holidays are upon us once again .....already.  Time passes so slowly as a child and waaay too quickly as an adult.  Where is the fairness I ask you?! 

 

 

October really was trying to fly by as fast as it could.  I struggled to keep up with my daily blocks. 

 

 

That would be why the lack of some creative journaling that could have been really fun being Halloween month.

 

xxx

Annie



Altered Dictionary - N

We've been assigned the letter N for this fortnight.

I've chosen the word(s) next-door

 

 

 

Boy was this one fun to do!  I do love making these tracing paper houses.

 

 

xxx

Annie 

 



Happy Halloween!

I have been sewing for like, ever, but only blogging for a couple of years.  So, I thought I'd share some of my older Fall and Halloween themed projects.

My most favorite Fall wall hanging.

 

 

A fun skinny wall hanging 

 

 

A mug rug to test the spider pattern before the wall hanging.

 

I couldn't seem to get enough of those spiders...a postcard too.

 

 

My Halloween Squared quilt

 

A friend of mine made those gorgeous pumpkins for me.

 

From the quilt scraps I made this table mat.

A mug rug for a swap.  I don't think it was appreciated but I thought it was pretty fun.



 

Another wall hanging

 

and another

 

A couple of small accent pillows

 

 

 Wishes for a beautiful Fall and a wickedly Happy Halloween!

xxx

Annie 

 



Altered Dictionary - L

This time the altered dictionary letter is L

and my word choice is Look

 

 

No fancy new word to learn but it was fun putting the scene together.  I wanted to put the word in the window but it was too far down the page to work it out nicely.

 

I've only 5 more letters to complete this year long alpha challenge.  And after that, only about 950 pages remaining to be altered.  hahaha  I've got a feeling my followers will be glad when I'm done posting these (me too!).  But I'm at least back at my sewing machine part of the time too.

 

Enjoy today!

xxx

Annie



Some Postcards

I have been inexcusably lax in mailing out some postcards.  I've been a bit lax in making them as well, but I do have a few I haven't mailed yet.

 

Who's There? (paper)

 

Blue Chip (fabric)

 

Ma'am (paper)

 

Big Catch (paper)

 

and finally,

 

Share Space (fabric)

 

Have you seen one you like?  If you have, tell me which one and in a few days I will choose recipients and mail them out.

 

This favorite, Sissy, has already been mailed to Renee. 

It is a fabric postcard printed from the Sissy envelope that never arrived to Renee.  I wrote on the postcard that I hoped the postcard would find her since the envelope did not.  I hoped to make the postal system feel guilty for poor delivery and apparently it worked. :-)

 

Whatever it takes to create a good mail day **heehee**

 

xxx

Annie



Pretty Pinwheels

 

Once upon a time, there was a quilter named Annie...  I love pinwheels.  They are my all time favorite block.  Every fabric collection is considered for a pinwheel quilt.  But none has ever been right.

Until one day in February, Carol and I decided to purchase and split a Fat Eighth bundle called 2wenty Thr3e.

When my now Fat Sixteenth arrived, I knew it would be my long awaited pinwheel quilt.  BUT would there be enough fabric for enough pinwheels to make a quilt?

It was March when I finally decided on a design plan.  I actually NEVER have a total design plan...only a start.  I then dive in and fly the rest of the way by the seat of my pants.  I decided to make both 6.5" and 4" pinwheels.  The 4" pinwheels would be sashed with two different widths and then turned and placed at random between the 6.5" pinwheels.

Then a border of all the 4" pinwheels again.  It turned out to be the perfect sized throw quilt for me.  As I prefer quilts as accessories to beds and chairs and such rather than as a bedspread, I couldn't be happier.

I still had small scraps of all the fabrics and decided on a pillow.  But not with tiny pinwheels!  Just some small squares placed in a fractured arrangement.

I wasn't sure about not using pinwheels in the pillow, but it turns out that I love the design contrast.

 

 

I am SO happy to have my pinwheel quilt!  And even happier that I'm completely happy with my end result...even seven months after it's start.  **sheesh!**

 

 

 

It doesn't bother me at all that this looks more like summer than fall.  I prefer summer and I'm happy enough to hang on to it as long as possible.

xxx

Annie



Art Calendar Journal - October

I finally brought myself to try a month of non-regimented days and weeks.  It only took me until

October

to brave this change.

 

 

It will be interesting to see how these blocks look filled in.

 

Here is how September has come out.

 



May October be filled with wonderfully wicked fun!

xxx

Annie



Altered Dictionary - J

J

is the assigned letter for this fortnight for the altered dictionary alpha challenge.

 

Jockey is my word choice.

 

 

Off to the races!  Not really.

xxx

Annie