My first Design Team Project

I have sung the praises of Say It With Letters for years....I love their shapes and letters because they are so well made and easy to work with. I am thrilled to be included in the current Design Team. I am in with a great bunch of uber talented women and I hope you'll take some time to visit their blogs and see what they've done with their assignments, and visit the SIWL Etsy store for your own shapes and letters.

How lucky and excited I was to see my first assignment....leaves!!

I always say that the hardest part is choosing the papers to use in any project. I wanted a fall look but also wanted it to coordinate with my spiffy new dining room. We R Memory Keepers had the perfect line with Autumn Splendor which I ordered from this on-line retailer, Scrapbook Steals. I loved the fall colors of these papers because in addition to the golds, oranges browns, etc., there was my beautiful blue, too.

Trace and cut the papers

Mod Modge all of the papers to the shapes and then Mod Podge again on top of the papers...it gives it a nice finish.

The leaf and acorn embellishments were made using the Cricut (Storybook cartridge to those of you who are interested in such things) Twine was tied on to the middle leaf and some berries added as well.

More views showing how I'm using them on my table...

Do you use flamless candles? I bought some to use at the Craft Show last year (didn't want to burn the place down) and I really like the look of them.

Here is the rest of the design team:

Dawn Gallop

Laurie Griggs

Julie Ann Shahin

Raechelle Bellus

Joyce Gleason (that's me :D )

Julie Masse

Stacy Rodriguez

Kim Schofield

Cathleen Smith

Pamela Young

I don't know what you have on the docket for next time Deb, but I just want to say Thank You for sending me wonderful shapes to play/work with. I had a lot of fun

 working on them while humming.....  The Falling Leaves!

XOXO

Joyce





I (finally) Pinned It and Did It!

I'm sure by now, many of you are familiar, if not obsessed with Pinterest. It is a mechanism for capturing and saving inspirational ideas to bulletin boards that you create. On my sidebar, you can see a link that will take you right to my Pinterest boards. On of my dearest friends, Marie of Spun by Me has started writing posts called "I Pinned It & Did It", showing projects she has created using inspiration found on Pinterest. I thought this was a great idea and wanted to jump in too! It's taken me a while but here is my first attempt.

Mamie Jane's blog is so inspiring that I think I've pinned more from her site than any other. Jane can take the most unassuming item and repurpose it to be extraordinary. I have named her The Queen of Repurposing! Click the link and hop over there...you will be amazed! I always come away scratching my head and thinking, "Wow, I never would have thought of that!" There are so many projects that I would like to recreate but I started with an easy one.

Jane posted the tutorial and the photos (here)  for this adorable pumpkin made with a skein of crochet cotton

How cute is that?

My take on that pumpkin....

a piece of branch, gathered from the yard for a stem, wrapped in coarse twine so that the stem doesn't slip right through the hole. The stem is wrapped in wire and the wire curled around a pencil to make tendrils, and then ribbon and a plaid paper leaf are added.

It is a dark and gloomy day today so the lighting is not what I'd like but I think you can see the details.

Thanks for your inspiration Jane! Your projects with crochet cotton alone could fill a book chapter....a book, that's what you need to do....write a book!

Thanks for stopping by today. Now go find some inspiration to pin!

I'm linking to this party...

xoxo

Joyce

Thank you, thank you and a Wedding

THANK YOU #1: I want to thank all of you who took the time to leave words of encouragement over my joy at being chosen to be part of the Say It With Letters design team. Your words mean so much to me! I hope you've had a chance to visit Deb's blog and see the wonderful work of the other design team members. I am so honored to be counted in with this group of talented women. New things will be popping up in the SIWL Etsy store soon  and next week I will be able to share my first project with you. I'm having so much fun!!

THANK YOU #2:  Everyone was so helpful in voting for the "knob" choice for my repurposed glass jar. Some of you were very firm in your choice and I considered all of your suggestions. I was leaning toward the glass knob and then I read my friend Meri Wiley's comment, "It depends on what the purpose of the jar is going to be, I guess. Personally, I like them both and can't really pick between them." The purpose of the jar...Aha! I wanted to use this wonderful jar as the storage for all of my beautiful bits and bobs of lace. When I placed the lace into the jar the choice became very clear to me...

The flower is the perfect knob I think.

The Wedding:

David & I are just back from a trip to Wilmington, North Carolina where we attended the wedding of the daughter of very dear friends.

We had a wonderful, relaxing trip. The photo below is the view from our hotel room. We had perfect weather while we were there.

That solitary figure is David soaking up the sun. I can't spend a lot of time in the sun because I burn to a crisp while he could stay on the beach for hours.

All of the festivities took place at a beach house that the bride and groom rented for family and friends.

After everyone left town, we were able to spend a day with our friends (the parents of the bride) before we all left to go home.

David and Gary got some fishing in...

Style setters...no?

My sweet friend Sims.

 Of course we didn't manage to get any photos of the 4 of us together!

OK-I'm off to get caught up on my blog reading and working on 4 different crafty projects.
I'm trying to limit my on-line time so I can get some crafting done in preparation
for the upcoming craft fair.

XOXO
Joyce



Some exciting news!

I've been keeping a secret...

for a while now...

I couldn't talk about it or blog about it...

but now.... I don't have to keep it a secret any longer!



I've been asked to be a member of the

Say It With Letters

design team....

excuse me just a moment...

YIPEE SKIPEE!

I just need to catch my breath!

I have loved using Say It With Letters shapes and letters for years,

and have featured some of the things I've made right here on my blog.

(Can you tell that I really love the birdhouse theme?)

In 2009, Deb Damboise (the owner and all 'round sweetie of SIWL)

 asked if I would do one project as a guest designer.

I was so nervous about which shape or letters she would send...

when the package came I was delighted to see that it was a fun, fat pumpkin.

This is what I came up with...

On one side was a vintage-y looking pumpkin and on the back side....

a whimsical, funny guy...with braces! (I do work for an orthodontist in real life)
I wrote a tutorial about this project here.

So now I'm waiting for my first assignment...

nervous again but so excited to be a part of this amazing team

of talented women.

Please take time to visit the Say it With Letters blog here...

and the Etsy Store...

You will be inspired!

xoxo

Joyce
Note: I am posting this while on vacation...oh the beauty of being able to create these posts ahead. I will be back next week!

Please help me decide...

Do you remember this bargain I found at the thrift store?

Well, I painted the lid a gloss black and added a flower drawer pull from Anthropologie which I already had

Then I saw this drawer pull at Joann's and loved it, too!

So which one do you think?

Ceramic flower or crystal knob?

Thanks for your help!

xoxo

Joyce

Don't forget PJ's giveaway here



An amazing opportunity for a wonderful gift from a generous friend!

I have spoken many times on this blog about the friendships that I've made through blogging. I have sort of a blog bucket list....a hope to be able to meet, in person, some of those women who I've come to know and care for through this crazy "hobby/obsession". One of the women who I hope to meet...maybe this year, is PJ Johnston of Seens From the Back of My Eyelids. PJ is one of the most humorous, kind-hearted and generous women I've come to know and respect. If you read her blog, and I hope you do, you know that she is often a "seed planter". She plants seeds of thought that you carry around in your head until they take root and grow. (She sometimes also plants the tune of a long-forgotten ditty that you can't get out of your head all day no matter how hard you try!) She has been a wonderfully supportive friend throughout my trials this year and I am deeply grateful.
In July, PJ's brother Henry, lost everything to a fire. She wrote about it on her blog, here, and suggested ways her readers might be able to help. Maybe you said a prayer, maybe you sent a gift card or maybe this is the first you're hearing about Henry. The response was overwhelming and now she would like to say thank you with a random drawing. You only need to hop on over to her blog, leave a comment and sign on as a follower. Oh, and if want to read some really good, common sense advice for kids, read her "Letters to My Kids" posts. There is a link to the archives of these posts at the bottom of her blog. I've copied and sent many of these to my kids. So...enough from me, here are the details for PJ's giveaway!


On next Wednesday evening, September 7th, PJ will have the computer randomly select three names from her Wednesday blogpost this week.

The first name selected will win a $100 e-certificate to Amazon.com.

The second name selected will win a $75 e-certificate to Amazon.com.

The third name selected will win a $50 e-certificate to Amazon.com.

All you have to do to enter my drawing is be a follower, leave a comment and MAKE SURE THERE IS A LINK TO YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT. Easy peasy, right?

Before the end of the day on Thursday, September 8th, PJ will contact the winners and before the end of the day on Friday, September 9th, she will have the e-certificates sent from Amazon to the winners.

xoxo

Joyce

Some Deliciousness for Today and a New Magazine!

My blogging friend Kathy at Katie Did Stitches wrote a blog post yesterday about picking peaches....and not just any peaches, but Red Haven peaches...and making peach pie. Her post made my mouth water for peach pie and then I remembered,

"I'm not a pie person."

 I love to eat pie but pie crust intimidates the heck out of me.

 I need to get over that and just practice, practice, practice making pie crust...but in the meantime, I decided to make one of my favorite recipes for Peach Crumble. This recipe came to me by way of my sister Barb, who originally made it with rhubarb. It's good made with rhubarb but that isn't going to fly with David so you can substitute apples or peaches. (I know he has diabetes but the Educational Counselor he's meeting with on Monday said not to worry about diet until they met...this may his last hurrah)

This is my original recipe card, written when I was about 25 years old...the stains are so interesting and there's a certain crispness to the card. (Oh what would the health department say?)

 I had Red Haven peaches from our local farm so I thought I'd use them before they got too ripe.

I agree with Katie, the Red Haven's are the best. When you just eat one out of hand, you literally have to stand over the sink because they are so juicy.

See how juicy this peach is....oh yum!

 While I'm writing this post, I can smell the finished crumble from here.

The recipe calls for brown sugar and I prefer the dark brown sugar...I think it gives a richness to the dish.

This is what the crumbs look like before going into the oven. Can you have too many crumbs...I don't think so. In crumb-speak, I always feel that the more the merrier!

Completely cover the peaches with crumbs....reserving one last spoonful to eat while no one is looking.

Bake it for 40 minutes and take it out when it's nice and bubbly and brown on the top.

Now, you can pair this with good vanilla ice cream or whipped cream but I like mine naked and warm. I think I'll go downstairs now and have a little scoop while I read this.....

It just came in the mail today. 

 I will pour over it while sitting on the deck eating warm peach crumble...m-m-m-m-m-m!



Barb's and my recipe for Peach Crumble

• 3 C sliced peaches (or rhubarb or apples)
• 3/4 C sugar (I always use less, especially when the peaches are so ripe)
• scant 1/4 C water (more or less depending on the juiciness of the fruit)

Mix together and pour into a baking dish

In a bowl,combine

• 1 C brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1 1/4 C flour
• 1/2 C cold butter, cut into small pieces

Mix together using a pastry blender (I use my fingers) and sprinkle over top of peaches.

Bake at 350-degrees for 40 minutes.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk or iced tea and a new magazine!

xoxo

Joyce