Marie's Mouse...

Marie shared her completed needle felted project from our Craft Day last weekend. Isn't this wee mouse adorable? It reminds me of Feivel from the movie. I think it's the cutest thing ever, and I told Marie I think she's a natural at this.

I think it may be a while before we see Adrienne's projects. It seems her cats were extremely interested in them and there may have been needle felted massacres. She said she is still unable to find parts for one of them. Yikes! 

I know Claudette was awfully intrigued with my fox. I showed it to her when I saw her staring at it, but not soon after, I placed it high on a wall-hung shelf where she can't access it.

I'll see if I can get photos of George's projects, and will wait for those from the other ladies who attended. I really loved this project, and will likely do another soon from the kits and wools I have, but you well-know that I have a few other projects to complete first.

I'm heading to an appointment this morning with an orthopedic doc to see just what I may have done to my leg when I got tangled up in the dog bed six weeks ago. It still hurts like the dickens, so I need a diagnosis and hopefully, relief.

When we get back home, I'm going in to work for my boss. She went to urgent care over the weekend and was diagnosed with sinus and lung infections. She would usually work a double shift on Mondays, but I told her I'd work the 10-4 shift and she should go home and rest. We came to an agreement, so even though I don't think she should work the first shift, at least I got her to go home for second shift. 

We'll see what I can accomplish once I get home. I'd like to have some "play time" if I'm up for it. I'll let you know tomorrow.

March Craft Day Project...

Our project this month was themed for Easter. We created alcohol ink-dyed Easter eggs! These were done with plastic eggs and all of us really dug into this project. All these eggs are mine...cute story to follow...but everyone's eggs were vibrant and beautiful using this process. I'll get back to my story after sharing a couple more photos.

Sara (on the right) was our project leader this month. She's a friend of Marie's from church, and this lady is multi-talented. She also knows how to make baskets (perhaps a project for another time), and is an avid quilter. We have lots to chat about when we're together.

The eggs in containers that you see in the foreground were examples that Sarah brought with her for inspiration. Even Adrienne's son got involved with this craft!

As I said, plastic eggs worked best for this project so that the inks could flow on the surface of the eggs. We also tried "dyeable eggs" from Hobby Lobby, but they have a matte finish and the inks just soaked into those. We set all those aside for another time.

Our group was smaller this time. Linda K, Nancy, Adrienne, Sara, Marie and I were the crafters this month. Debbie, Linda P., and Kim had other commitments. 

Now for my story...When I got home, Handsome was waiting to see what I'd created this month. I showed the eggs to him and he loved them. We have a friend who plays in the Fond du Lac Band with him, and lately this friend has brought eggs from their chickens to give to us. They're delicious and greatly appreciated.

Handsome thought it would be nice if I could do a dozen of these eggs that he could give to our friend at tonight's rehearsal. I said I'd love to do it, but I'd only picked up plastic eggs from Hobby Lobby on my way home, having plans to purchase the inks from Amazon (where they were considerably less expensive). I told him eight colors at Hobby Lobby were nearly $25, while the inks at Amazon came in a package of twenty four colors for the same price as HobLob's eight. Even so, he wanted me to do the eggs, so he drove me back to the town so I could purchase the rest of what I'd need to make more eggs. 

As we were driving, I texted the ladies in Portage to tell them we were on our way back to the craft store to buy supplies - and it was Handsome's idea! Linda K. and I have been friends for nearly fifty years. She commented "this is a first for those two!". She's right. Usually he's trying to talk me out of craft supplies, and this time, he was actually driving me to get more. It was a day to write down in my diary. lol

Anyway, I dyed Easter eggs for our musician friend, and also for my girlfriend/boss at work. I had shown her what we were working on and she loved them so much I decided to surprise her with a dozen, too. She was mentioning that she hadn't crafted in so long, she couldn't remember the last time, so I invited her to join us some time. She's going to go with me next month, so I'll get photos and introduce her to you in April.

I'm sure by now you can tell just how enthused we all were with this month's craft. I'm definitely going to make more, and I'm going to experiment with some other ways to use the alcohol ink. If you haven't tried it but are intrigued, maybe I'll do a live video to share the technique. Let me know if you'd be interested in participating. It could be fun!