A Week of Birthday Bliss

This past week has been an unforgettable celebration filled with love, laughter, and thoughtful surprises. Here’s a recap of the wonderful moments that made my birthday so special:

Monday

My sweet friend Carol kicked off the celebration week, treating me with a lovely lunch and delicious cake. A perfect start to the week!  Carol & I have been friends since 2000 and she will always have a special place in my life.

Tuesday

I was delighted to receive a thoughtful gift from my Florida friend, Susan—a puzzle to keep me entertained and challenged.  And I do mean challenged!  Yikes 500 pieces!!!  Susan gifted me a puzzle back in 2017.  You can see that puzzle post here.  

Now that I'm trying to work on the puzzle, I'm wondering if this was a gift to drive me nuts or to see if I am able to put together a puzzle!  HA  I think I have 10 pieces for the border together! 

I set the puzzle up on a card table next to my mixed media table.  The table sits right by the patio door where the dogs go in and out.  So while they 'sniff' I can grab a puzzle piece!  That's about all I'm doing now is grabbing pieces!  HA

Wednesday

Midweek brought double the joy! My dear friends Jan & Larry, also from Florida, surprised me with a box of decadent chocolate-covered strawberries. OMG...they were and are so good!!!!  The berries are huge!!  But so sweet and the chocolate is delicious!  Jan said it's strawberry picking time in Florida.

To top it off, my son and his family sent a stunning bouquet of yellow roses mixed with other gorgeous flowers. Yellow roses have always held a special place in my heart, so this gift was extra meaningful.  These don't photograph well enough to show the beauty of them.  I love roses and the yellow are beautiful.

The funny part of this gift...I was volunteering at the library and my phone rang.  They were trying to deliver the flowers.  The florist driver actually drove to the library so I didn't have to leave to pick up the flowers at his shop!  That was a kind gesture!

Thursday
First confession!!!  This is a picture of the three of us at my BD dinner last year at Escamilla's!!!!  Yes, I forgot to take a picture this year!!!!  

We had dinner at Lucky’s Steakhouse, Davison and each had the Chicken Tenders, which are fabulous. And enough food for two more leftover meals.

The food was fantastic, and the company was even better!  Donna gave me my Solar Return for 2025.   She is so thoughtful creating this document to help direct me in my life for the upcoming year.  I know it takes a lot of work and I so appreciate it.  She also gifted me some moisturizer and body cream.  So sweet of her!!  

Sue & Chris (front) & Dawn and I in the back.  

 Friday
  The week ended on a high note with a wonderful reunion. I met up with a dear friend, Sue, who I haven’t seen in years—someone I worked with back in the '80s at EDS.  Sue and her friend, Chris, stopped by the house first to see some of my art work. We then headed to Q Quilting in Ortonville.  

My daughter met us at Escamilla's for a delicious lunch & margarita!  Together, we reminisced about our quilting adventures, including classes, a round robin project, and creating items to donate to Outreach East in Davison.  

 My daughter  made the day even more special baking a homemade chocolate cake (so moist and rich—leftovers are the best!).  We each enjoyed a piece of cake!  Yes, we made room for cake!!

 

AND Dawn gave me this gorgeous bouquet of yellow roses.  They are just so beautiful.  I love looking at these when I walk through the house!!  

I am so fortunate to have such special, thoughtful children.

Throughout the Week

I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love. From the many heartfelt cards in the mail to the kind messages on Facebook, each one brought a smile or tear to my face.

A Special Note
Of all the birthday wishes, the one from my sister was the most special and funny.  For those who follow my blog and facebook, you'll know the struggles my sister and I have had working on our knitting projects.  This is what my sister posted on Facebook.  What a hoot:

"Happy Birthday to my favorite baby sister. You are the best sister anyone could have. I love you so much. You make me laugh, you make me cry, and you make me knit hard things."

Her words truly warmed my heart and made me laugh, which is what my sister and I do when we're together.  We laugh so much.  

This birthday was a beautiful reminder of the love and connections I cherish. Thank you to everyone who made it so memorable—you’re all part of the reason this week was so special.

---

Christmas Cards 2025

 

OK, I am getting really silly about finishing these projects, aren't I!!!  I made cyano Christmas cards in 2023 and in 2024 I did not send out any cards.  I did feel bad this year but I'm old so I can do what I want to, right!  HA

 I have some older Christmas Fabics and picked up a few fat quarters at our new Quilt Shop in Ortonville.  So I started to cut the fabrics into strips.  

Then I did some strip piecing diagonally; then I used decorative stitching long ways and crosswise.

I fused the cut rectangle onto some Pellon 808 fusible.  It's pretty sturdy and worked out great.  I use Strathmore Photo Frame cards to insert the fused fabric.  

Before I insert, I stamp with my Robbies Paw Print stamp I had made several years ago.  It's wooden and I love the bugger.

I have eight cards made!  A long way to go as I usually send out between 60-80....changes each year.  I plan to make at least 60 if possible.  Can you see why I want to start now!  I can do a little at a time and make a production line of it. 

So that's my little project for the week.  I'm excited to get into some of the other Christmas fabrics I have.  I think they'll also work up to make a nice card. 

I plan on getting a Christmas Stamp saying 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holidays'.  Whatever I can find left in craft stores.  With all the stamps I have, I can' believe I don't have one!  HA

I did get my swatch made for the sweater.  It's wet here so doesn't look very good.  But the yarn is working up nicely.  Now to see if I can remember how to do some of the stitches!  

Bookmarks Finished!

Yes, I have been a busy bee of late!  Setting an allotted time to do chores/art is working out so much better for me!  Will I keep it up!  I sure hope so.  

I posted last week on my working on bookmarks that we give away at our library book sales.  I volunteer at our library at book sales and I try to keep up with sorting and boxing donation books given to us by patrons and our library. 

 Folks seem to like the bookmarks and when something is "free" they like it even more!  HA  Fine with me, as I get to use up poster boards I've painted in the past.  

My worktable is beside the patio doors where I let out the dogs.  So if I have a minute while they 'sniff' around, I can use markers or paints and fill in.

You can see I stamped a lot as well as drawing.  HA

I had some old, old, old mixed up procion dyes!  Will they last?  Who knows, but after I painted both poster boards I did use a sealer that I purchased from Hilary a few years ago.  It should seal all the paints/dyes/etc.  Let's hope!

I then cut up both poster boards and then cut 3"x7" in pieces.  I then stitched wrong sides together and used a decorative stitch on my machine.

Some are brighter than others but it gives folks a choice.  Patrons will look through the box I have to pick out one they like!  Makes me feel good.

I only got a little over 30 made.  Not sure if I'll make more or not.  I do have some extra poster board from last year so if I have time, I'll cut those up and stitch. 

But....I did buy some yarn to remake the pink sweater I made last year.  It's the one I shrunk....ugh.....had to order another circular needle.  My one I used on it broke and even my hubby can't put it back together!  HA  More on that project later!

Cyano Print Finished! Woohoo!

 Back in February, 2024, (yes, it was a long time ago!), my friend, Bonnie, sent me a beautiful piece of cyano fabric she printed.  Wasn't that so very kind of her!  Well, I struggled with how to design, sew, quilt...you get the picture.  You can see one of the first blog posts here.

So here is the finished piece!  I actually finished sewing on the binding while watching our Detroit Lion's win the NFC championship!  Woohoo...they now have two weeks off before the final match to see who goes to the Super Bowl!  Sure hope it's us!

I do love hand stitching and being able to pick it up for 5 min. here and there at least makes you feel like you're doing something!

Hard to see but I did some stitching around the hex's in the border.  Didn't want to do anything to take away from the hand stitching in the print!

So on to the next project which for now is creating background for the book marks I give away at our book sale(s).  Our next sale is in April, so I need to get busy!  Also, I bought yarn to make another sweater that I shrunk this past summer...dumb on my part...

And look what Bonnie sent me now!  It's a Cyano print book mark!  How cool!! 

And check out the fabric on the back!  Remember the days of the library stamping when your book was due!  HA

A few finished projects!

Still trying to make sure I do some type of art work or sewing or whatever daily!  I may not reach my goal 7 days a week but I'll be happy to just have a few days of making some type of accomplishments!  

My friend was looking at buying a little bag for her great grand daughter's teen BD.  I couldn't see her buying a tiny little bag for over $10 so I said I could make one for her.  Heaven knows I have tons of quilts or vests to cut up!  Donna said she likes blues so I found one piece I had already quilted and leftover hand dyed fabric that I quickly quilted up.

Trying to find the right binding was harder than picking out the fabric.  HA  I bought this fabric years ago while in Florida with my Q Bud, Susan.  I've used most of it up but had some pieces leftover.  BUT...I couldn't decide if I wanted the binding to match or....

not match!   I decided I liked the 'not' matching better!  Just added more to the bag...my thought!

I had some pretty purple floral print for the inside of the bag.

So this was the finished little tote.  It's 8"x6".

And I found in my stash a little silver heart to add to the zipper pull.  It looks gold here but it's really silver. 

Now to hope the teen likes it!  Have to run...I'm taking time out of my 'hour' to do art work!
 

Mixed Media Day 1

 I actually set my timer for 45 minutes to work on mixed media on New Year's day!  I think I need to do this to ensure I'll do some type of art work daily.  I might not get that much time but every few minutes is good.  I am fortunate I have my table set up in our workroom (which I share with Bob!).  I can leave my work out so when I have a few minutes I can work! 

I had these pictures in my sketch book so I took some tracing paper to copy.

I make book marks for our library book sales (in spring and fall) so I thought this would be a good way to get back to art work.  

I tore the tracing paper then applied matt medium to the paper and adhered to two pieces of poster board.  

I started to outline and add some dimension to the flowers using a micro pen.  Seemed to work on top of the matt medium.   

I plan on mixing up Procion dyes, paints, as well as stamping to add color/etc. to the background.  I just hope the pen won't bleed...it shouldn't as it's a permanent marker but you never know!  HA

I use the large poster board you pick up at Michael's or JoAnn's for my substrate.  I'll then cut to 7"x2'1/" pieces when I'm all finished with 'playing'.  

Then I lay the pieces back to back and stitch around each edge.   This is just one piece I had leftover from last fall before I stitched the edges.  They turn out really nice and I give them away at our book sale.  Even the adults seem to like them!  I make around 50 and always run out!  

Figure our next sale is coming up in April...so I best get started...and what better way to get back into mixed media work, right!

Happy New Year 2025!

Nothing exciting  New Year's Eve for the Payne's!  We're not ones to go out and are quite content to stay home, get in bed before midnight, then watch Two and Half Men or Everybody Loves Raymond!  It was a sad day with the death of 10+ folks in New Orleans's to wake up to.  So, so sad.

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions...but I have been giving a lot of thought to my not doing art work, whether mixed media or art quilts, as I have in the past.  Yes, I've been knitting but I can do all of them, right!

I did  get in some quilting early December and made two little totes for my friend, Donna's, daughters.  I cut up an old vest I made back in the 90's!  I actually have 2 or 3 more that I'll cut up at some point in time.  The black was the front of the vest!

I printed a large leaf on fabric to then quilt and use on the back of the quilt.  It was really nice but I used wool batting and to be honest, it always felt so strange on my back!  I felt like I had cotton against me!  HA 

Each tote is around 8"x6" with a zipper closure.  I made some of these for gifts two years ago when I visited with relatives in Ohio. 

So now I want to get back into doing some mixed media work.  I got out some of my older sketchbooks from my classes with Hilary.  They were a good inspiration for me to get moving!

These were fun to put in a sketch book for ideas for a quilt or just to 'warm' up!

I started with this collage....our 'lesson' was to merge the two pictures into one using paints, pencils, etc.  I started at the top...

And this was the finish.  Not great but it did get me excited to start back into 'playing'!!!  

I also added some color to the bottom, which was a separate picture from a magazine.  

Still stitching on the Cyano Print piece too!  See I can multi task!!

Onward and upward!  

Christmas 2024

We had a wonderful, fun Christmas Eve with the kids.  And we ate way...way...way too much!  But worth every bite!  I know I'm missing some of the pics but you get the idea!  

We had more laughs this year than I can remember from the past.  It was a hoot and I love spending time with my kids!!!!

We missed Bob's kids/grands but we did get to Zoom with all but Ian and Talissa!!  We'll have to do a New Year's Zoom with them!

 

My kids!!!!  Love them so much.  They decided we wouldn't do pics in front of the tree this year!  something different!  HA

Darrin"s family!

Dawn and Jeff!  

Dawn gave me this beautiful centerpiece.  There are cally lilies in it!  Lovely!

Yes, we never want more food..and I didn't even put all the pics of the appeptizers out that we had!  Girls even brought both of their air fryers so we could have cooking all done at the same time!

Kris gave Dawn and I each a huge basket, which she called A Thank You basket!  In mine was:  salted, dark, chocolate, caramel candy, two bottles of wine, some bath soaps, a pair of slippers, a beautiful candle and a lovely, soft, white throw!  Such a unique idea and a wonderful gift!  Kris and Dawn are both so thoughtful!!!

These are Kris' famous sugar cookies!  She said the recipe is from her grand mother,  Nancy (Kris' mom) makes the dough and Kris cuts out/bakes/decorates the cookies.  They are the best cookie ever!!!!  Not sure what's in the recipe but they are awesome!

I also forgot to take a picture of Dawn's homemade Cannoli's!  She makes the fried pastry dough and the sweet cream cheese filling!  They are delicious.  Bob and I shared one last night! 

AND MY KIDS ALL TOGETHER!!

Nick and Braylon.  Nick has had a cold for awhile and just wasn't up to par...I text him today and he said he's feeling better...took some of his sister's meds!!!  Yikes!!!  But guess they helped!

I forget the name of the bakery Dawn gets this bread from.  It's sour dough and delicious!  She also gave me a fabric wax bread bag to keep the bread fresh in!  I don't think I'll need it much since Bob and I eat bread at every meal.  HA  

We had some Christmas Day for our late/breakfast at noon!  And again this a.m. with our cereal!  SO GOOD!  

As are all so blessed with our lives and health.  It was a wonderful time with family...hope everyone has a fantastic 2025!!!