Lilliputian

I won this hand made book from an online giveaway that was sponsored by Wee Bindery which is an online store located at http://www.etsy.com/shop/WeeBindery. This is a little book which fits in the palm of your hand. It is great for notes, quotes and so much more. I intend to use it for ideas for my jewelry creations. I love the merlot wine colored leather with a black button that keeps this book securely closed. The paper is heavy weight, hand torn, archival Italian paper. The pages are hand sewn into the binding using linen thread. You have to see this tiny book which is approximately 2 3/4" x 3 3/4 to believe the craft and care that went into it. It is a book that has been given love and attention.

To win all I had to do is to tell my favorite word for small. Some folks came up with words like minuscule or petite . Being a librarian helped me to win. I came up with the word "lilliputian" from one of my favorite books "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift.

Cats versus Dogs

I just shipped off another order of my children's necklaces and some of my adult crocheted jewelry. It is a good feeling to finally have it off my dining room table. The order included 36 cats and 36 dogs along with some other animals and sea life. I always make a mental note on the cats and dogs. Everyone who knows me, knows that I do love my cats especially Siamese. I happen to be the proud and crazy owner of 5 cats. My first order for these necklaces was an order for more dogs than cats. I was curious about that. I am happy to note that the sales are now even. I am going to include this cute bulldog for the first time in my next order. I am looking forward to seeing how he is greeted by my young customers.

Sewing By the Sea

I had a great weekend of jewelry making at the Grand Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland. I made a crocheted bracelet and necklaces. I attended Sewing by NeedleArts Adventure which is put together by my cousin Sandy. I am always amazed at these artists. Most are fiber artists.

They create amazing quilts, vests, jackets, dolls, books, and creative handy work! There are all different kinds of classes offered. The artists charge a minimal amount just to cover cost of materials. The photo shows a great class on new transfer paper. Using TAP (Transfer Artists Paper) you can make permanent iron-on transfers onto any fabric, with ink jet printer inks, without pre-treating. You can transfer pictures to make unique fabrics. You can also draw or write or stamp on TAP using art supplies like crayons or markers and transfer your work. You can transfer to other surfaces like wood, and metal. This technique is great for quilts, wearables and mixed media art. You can also transfer to paper for books and journals and scrapbooking. There was a short demo and time to work together on a few samples and then experiment on your own. There is a Spring adventure that I plan to attend.