I’ve never won anything at the aforementioned benefit auction, but this year I did! I came home with this beautiful decoupaged pumpkin made by an artist name Alyson who is also in my writing group and this gorgeous handmade necklace made by a busy mom, teacher, and grad student named Linda. I decided that the pumpkin could wear the necklace for the rest of the autumn season, because “Joy” and “Thanksgiving” go hand-in-hand, right? ♥
My Shantilly frame got a makeover for February! The inspiration was this fun suit-on-a-hangar bookmark from my BFF Susan, and the words are letters snipped from alphabet fabric glued onto rectangles cut from last year’s February calendar paper. Here are the ones for November, December, and January. Happy new month! ♥ 
In autumn I bought a fun chicken-wire frame at a craft show from Shantilly, and since then I’ve had fun restyling it for different holidays and seasons. November’s design reminded us to give thanks, December’s spoke of joy, and January’s is all about snow . . . a clip-art mitten illustration mounted on scrapbook paper, letters snipped from alphabet fabric, and tiny clothespins to hold everything in place. ♥
In my Sleepover! post I told you about Shantilly, a new crafty business launched by my daughter-in-law Shannon and her sweet mom and sister. Their popular handmade items include different sizes and colors of chicken-wire frames to use for memo boards. (My friend Karen bought one for each of her nieces for Christmas!) With mine, I made a new wall decoration for our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. The letters are snipped from a remnant of the burlap I used for my mini-screen bag, the teeny wooden clothespins are left over from my t-shirt garland kit, and for a-la-mode I pinned on one of my fabric flower brooches. I just love it, and the best part is that I can update and reuse it for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and more! Thank you, Shantilly! ♥
I love making a gift basket for the silent auction at the Arts and Crafts Mission Market at my church every November, which this year will benefit the Downtown Daycare Center here in Wichita, KS. This time I decided on a music theme.
Click here for gift baskets from the past few years. It’s my secret ambition to go into the gift basket business someday! (Dave, you didn’t see that, right???) ♥
I had so much fun on Saturday at the Kansas Barn Sale! (See FB photos here.) We drove out to a beautiful farm near Hesston, Kansas where the organizers, Beki and Stacee, offered dozens of amazing art and vintage booths as well as live music and all kinds of delicious food. I made a purchase . . . a gorgeous pink hand-crocheted scarf made by one of the vendors, my friend Tamara of Crochet with Tamara (click here to see her posting about it on her blog) . . . aaaaaaaaand the pattern was designed by my friend Jill of Nice Piece of Work (click here to see some other versions)! How cool is THAT??? It was chilly enough to wear it around at the sale, and I got lots of lovely compliments on it. Thank you, Tamara and Jill! ♥
I got my undergraduate degree at Wichita State University here in Wichita, KS where Dave and I now live. WSU has a huge basketball following, which grew even larger when the Shockers went to the Final Four last year! So I decided to make a WSU apron for a youth group silent auction fundraiser this fall. I love how it turned out! Then I made aprons for the other two state favorites–the Kansas University Jayhawks and the Kansas State University Wildcats. Fingers crossed that they raise lots of money! P.S. Both black/yellow fabrics and the three ruffle fabrics on the purple apron are from my bloggy friend Laura’s LC’s Cottage Etsy shop. All other fabrics are from Jo-Ann. ♥
I absolutely love to send people cards made from original art and photography reproductions, so I was very excited to find these in the Redbubble Shop of my blogging friend Rita from Australia! Rita has her own studio and gallery, teaches classes, hosts exhibitions, and has MANY creative irons in the fire including quilts, fibre and textile art, mixed media, and collectibles. Here are Rita’s links, which you can locate anytime in my Shop Love! page above:
Thank you for the beautiful cards, Rita! ♥
Here are the tags for this year’s donations to the silent auction at the Arts and Crafts Mission Market at my church. It’s such a worthy cause . . . all the money goes to a local daycare center for families in need. Click here to see how to make the Christmas wreath pillow and here to see the Americana pillows. P.S. Below are my gift baskets from markets past, each based on . . . you guessed it . . . a pillow! ♥
My pile of giftable pillows was getting quite tall, so I was really happy to discover an opportunity to donate a dozen or so to a fundraiser craft show that’s coming up in August! I hope their new owners love them as much I as I loved making them! Then, silly me, I spotted a remnant in my stash that I knew would look pretty with our loveseat and the plant beside it and just had to take a few minutes to stitch up a new one. No a-la-mode needed this time . . . but it provides a nice splash of scenery and is cushy enough for a nap. And about that tomato . . . well, it’s the first (and maybe only!) one this summer. It’s tiny but mighty, having overcome a hail storm, high winds, and the ongoing Kansas drought to appear and redden on our plants. You’ve got to admire that kind of persistence! P.S. I’ll bet it makes the best mini-BLT ever! ♥
Here are the finished gift baskets for the Art and Mission Market this Saturday!
(Click on any photo in the gallery for a larger view.) ♥
Although we’ve only had a few flakes so far, some of you have already experienced your first blizzard of the season. One of the perks of working at home is not having to worry about driving in iffy weather . . . but I’ll admit I’ll miss hearing the early-morning news announcer say those magic words: SNOW DAY! this winter. As much as I loved teaching, this pronouncement always brought on a giddy anticipation . . . fireplace, hot chocolate, good book, nap . . . The front of this pillow was a decorative dish towel, and I simply embroidered the word as a little a-la-mode and chose a matching solid red for the back. The finished 12 x 12 pillow is now part of a gift basket for the upcoming Arts and Crafts Mission Market. Now . . . stay warm, everyone! ♥
My friend Janet gave me this pretty Christmas print square. I added a little a-la-mode by outlining the pictures and designs in embroidery and sewing on red wooden beads for holly berries, and it’s now sitting in one of the gift baskets awaiting the silent auction at the Arts and Crafts Mission Market at Calvary United Methodist Church on November 19 from 9:00-4:00. All the money goes to the prenatal program at GraceMed! They’ll also have craft booths, baked goods, and a German lunch (homemade bierrocks . . . yum!). Maybe I’ll try a booth next year? Or maybe I’ll have a brand-new hobby by then! (insert groan from Dave . . .) 🙂
Needle in a Haystack Fall Festival
I had the best time at Needle in a Haystack on Saturday! Everyone was so friendly and chatty . . . I’ll admit that I bought more from the other vendors than I made! The shop itself is amazing. The lovely owner, Cynthia, bought two of my pillows, Chic Chicks and Pooh. My mother-in-law Vida gave me this remnant, which included a perfectly-centered picture of Pooh, and I added a button from a long-ago sewing project to the flower. The finished pillow is 16 x 16.
Now (surprise, surprise!) I’m hatching yet another plot. The upcoming Arts and Crafts Mission Mart at my church is selling donated gift baskets by silent auction with the proceeds going to various community-assistance projects. So . . . I’m thinking I could choose a couple of pillows that have the same color or theme . . . add some other small, related gift items . . . arrange them in a basket . . .
PILLOWS A-LA-MODE 