Donating Mom's Biblical Quilt to First United Methodist Church of Dearborn

We had the most wonderful time at the 30th Annual (though, now it is Bi-Annual) Quilt Show at the First United Methodist Church of Dearborn, Michigan this past weekend!  My Sister, Brothers and I decided to donate Mom's Biblical Quilt to the church where Mom showed her quilts for so many years.  It was bittersweet to let the quilt go but such an honor to know that there will be many who will be able to share in the joy that Mom's quilt brings.  My friend, Allie (from Allie Oops Sweet Happy Life) wrote a wonderful blog entry (including many lovely photos) of the donation quilt and if you're interested, here is the link to Allie's blog post.  Allie Oops Sweet Happy Life Blog Post about Mom's Biblical Quilt  Oh, Mom's Quilt won Viewer's Choice Third Place!  Such an honor to win this ribbon!   I hope you will pop over and peek at Allie's blog post, too!
Have a blessed week.
Lots of hugs,
Janice

New Booh Bear!

It's been several years since I've used loc-line in one of my creations and it's been a while since I've made a 14" bear, too!  My latest little bear features both of these anomalies!  Joufflu (meaning chubby in French) is made of a vintage Tissavel (from France) luxury faux fur coat.  It's the prettiest color - pure white with black tips scattered throughout.  I placed the pattern pieces in such a way that her face would be mostly white with a few black tips by her smile, above her nose and by her temples!   Her loc-line neck gives her the cutest poses!   For my teddy bear artist friends, you can find beautiful vintage Tissavel faux fur coats on eBay.  They make the softest bears!
I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
Hugs & Blessings,
Janice

Neglectful Blogger!

Oh goodness, it's been way too long since I've posted to my blog!  I've created a few new Booh Bears and Friends since the end of May and my last post!  We've been on a couple getaways, one to Michigan and one to Colorado but I'm home for at least a couple months now!  I have lots of ideas to start  and hope to be posting more over the next couple months than I have in the past couple months!   Have a wonderful day!
Hugs & Blessings,
Janice

A teeny little Booh Bear!

It took two weeks, but I finally finished my tiny little bear!  Tiny Dancer is made of viscose and every stitch was hand sewn.   She is one of the tiniest bears I've ever made (I think 2" was my tiniest) and once I began making her, I realized why I don't make them this small very often!  They are so fiddly  :o)    But, I feel the finished wee girl was well worth all the fiddling.  I hope you like her as much as I do.   Tiny Dancer is on her way to Mississippi!  I'm sure she will love it there!

Have a blessed and happy weekend!

Hugs,

Janice

Another Mother's Day ....

Another Mother's Day has come and gone and it does not get any easier.
If your Mom is still with you, please give her an extra hug on her special day!
Happy Mother's Day.
Lots of hugs & blessings,
Janice

Altered Decanters - Annie Sloan Chalk Painted

I've been having so much fun making altered decanters that I thought I would share a sampling of some of the decanters I've painted and altered over the past few months.   For those who are wondering if you can use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on glass ... yes, you can!   Starting with a clean, dry decanter, (preferably one with a lot of texture) paint with one coat if you want the glass to show through for a shabby finish; use two coats if you want full coverage and stipple if you don't want any glass to show through at all.  After the paint has dried, spray a matte finish over your piece to protect the paint.  Next, use a coat of light wax and then a coat of dark wax on top.  Using a soft cloth, wipe the dark wax from the raised portions of your glass and allow the wax to settle in the indented areas.  For some of the decanters, I added a finish with either Jacquard Lumiere Powdered Pigment or Liquid Gilding.   Some vintage rhinestone buttons, ribbons, millinery flowers, etc. were added for the final touches!

The next decanter was painted with White Miss Mustardseed Milk Paint

They sell a product to prime glass with prior to painting

but I did not use their product ~ I just used a matte finish spray afterwards.

I hope you enjoyed peeking through my altered decanters and if you decide to make some yourself, I would love to see photos!   Happy Creating!   Hugs & Blessings, Janice

Dream of Mom ...

It was one of those dreams that when I woke up, I was confused and grief stricken - it was almost as if I had just learned that Mom was no longer here.  In the dream, I was at my childhood home.  Dad still lives in this home, so I am still there at least once or twice a year.  In this dream, I was following Mom up the porch stair to the front door.  Off to the side was a planter filled with beautiful geraniums, just the way Mom used to decorate the porch!  Geraniums, little deer and bunny garden statues and some little "Hens and Chicks" plants. Along the front of the house runs a garden in bloom with Iris, tulips, daffodils and other beautiful flowers.  So welcoming and lovely, just like her!   We walked in and we sat together on the landing and I started to weep.  I put my arms around her and told her that I miss her.   Even though the house is the same, it is not the same at all.  I love my Dad to bits but there is something about a Mother's love that knows no bounds.  Mother's Day is coming up and though I know she is enjoying the gardens of Heaven,  I sure wish she were here to tend to the garden at "home".

 A photo that Mom sent to Jessica one Spring of a couple of her tulips!

  A photo of Mom's Kitchen table taken during a visit one Summer.  

The flowers were gorgeous on day one of the visit 

but started to lose their "oomph" by the time the photo was taken!

She had a wonderful "green thumb"!

  

I love her so very much and I miss her even more.  xoxo

Precious Little Chubby Cub Makes His eBay Debut!

Once again, I've been neglecting my blog but I am back and I have a very sweet little guy to share with you!   Dooley is made from a vintage Tissavel Faux Fur Coat - he is the color of a malted milk ball! Chocolate tips with a malted milk ball center!   I've been playing with editing software today and decided to try the pencil feature on Dooley's photos!  That was fun but I better get busy on my patterns.  I promised to have my felt bird patterns in my etsy shop a couple weeks ago and I haven't even come close to finishing them!   Wish there were more hours in a day!    Here is Dooley in pencil and if you have a moment to peek in on the real Dooley photos, I know he would welcome your visit! Dooley's eBay Auction Link    He will be on eBay until Wednesday.

 I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with joy and blessings!   Hugs, Janice

And yet another little puppy!

Just finished another little puppy from Eileen Seifert's pattern.  I think I am done with this pattern now!  I usually only use another artist's pattern once but with this pattern, I couldn't decide which fur to use, so, along with Rosella, Margot was born.  Both Rosella and Margot derived their names from early 1900's famous ballerinas.  Thank you, google search, for making it a breeze to look up things like early ballerina's names!  Margot is currently on eBay and her auction will end on Tuesday, March 24th.  If you like to try other artist's patterns,  I would recommend mine first (tee hee) .. but then, I would recommend Eileen's!  

 I aged the top photo (since Margot's name is so old, I thought it would be fun to age her photo, too!)

I hope you will take a moment to peek in on Margot and then have a lovely weekend! Margot's eBay Auction ending Tuesday, March 24  Hugs & Blessings, Janice

New little Booh Puppy on eBay this week!

For many years I have designed my own bears, bunnies, puppies, kitties, etc. and even sell a number of my patterns but occasionally, I like to try another artist's pattern.  This week, I gave Eileen Seifert's little "Mimi" Yorkie pattern a go and I adore the way this wee one turned out!  A big shout out to Eileen for sharing her lovely designs!   I hope you like my rendition of her puppy as much as I do!  My little "Rosella" is on eBay and her auction ends on Saturday.   She will go to her new home with a little cone tussie mussie that I made.  She fits perfectly inside and insisted on hanging on the wall in my sewing room from the tussie mussie until she goes to her permanent home!   Rosella the Yorkie Puppy on eBay

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Hugs & Blessings,  Janice

Booh Bear Slideshow ;o)

I've been having fun playing with my ProShow Gold Slideshow Software and decided I would make a new Booh Bear video.   I randomly picked photos of several bears and uploaded the slideshow to Youtube.  I should really try to come up with a way to organize my photos to make it easier to create videos but after losing so many in a computer crash last year, it's difficult to organize.  There is a gap between what I backed up before the crash, what I lost, and what I've added since the crash.  I did learn my lesson about backing up, though, and I am much better about it now!  Maybe this time next year I will be able to make a semi-organized slideshow!  For now, I hope you enjoy the randomness of this one ...
Booh Bear Slideshow
I'm working on a new bunny this week.  She's made from vintage Tissavel faux fur from France.  I hope she turns out the way I imagine her in my mind ... kind of like a chubby arctic hare!
Have a blessed week!
Hugs,
Janice

My Neglected Blog!

Goodness, where is 2015 going?  I've thought about posting a few times this year but the days and then the weeks slip by and here I am at the end of February wondering why time flies the way it does and why am I neglecting my blog?!   I've been working on creating two new patterns for my etsy shop by the suggestion of a lady who has several of my patterns.  She asked if I could make a bunny sort of like Thumper and then someone else wanted a Flower skunk to go with the bunny!  So, I designed and listed both patterns in my etsy shop.  If you are interested in taking a peek at what has taken a great deal of my time so far this year, here they are!  Booh Bears etsy Shop

I also finished a little brown bear named "Lyza Jane" who is currently on eBay.  Here is her link if you are interested in peeking in on her auction Lyza Jane on eBay - Auction ends Sunday!

Not sure what I will tackle next!   Looking forward to playing with all of the new fabric I purchased last month!   I will try to keep up with my blog a little better in March ... we wouldn't want cobwebs to grow!  Have a wonderful weekend!   Hugs & Blessings, Janice

First Project of the New Year! Altered Decanter Painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

Oh my, what a beginning this has been!  My very first bear this year ended up in the garbage :o(  Hopefully, bear number 2 will come together.  Seems I get increasingly picky as time goes on ... if the little one does not do what I want, out it goes!   I decided to change gears when the little bear refused to cooperate and make an altered decanter instead.  I purchased the decanter at the Goodwill and painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint.  It is the first time I have used Milk Paint and I love the way it turned out.  I know the look is different when you use it on wood but I have been enjoying painting glass, so I thought I would give it a go.  There is one drawback with the Milk Paint...it comes in a powder and you have to mix it yourself ... on the upside, you are able to regulate the consistency depending on your likes.  If you want more of a whitewashed look, just add more water.  They also sell a powder mix to add to the Milk Paint if you are using it on glass.  I did not buy the mix as I wanted more of a whitewashed, shabby chic look on the decanter.  After the Milk Paint was dry,   I used my fingers to blush the raised areas on the bottom of the decanter and the stopper.  I used Jacquard Pink/Gold Pearl Pigment.  You can barely see a hint of pink but if you look close, you'll notice a hint of pink on the raised areas.  The most fun comes with the addition of vintage and antique millinery flowers, leaves, lace, ribbons and finally, a vintage rhinestone earring!  Voila ... there you have an altered decanter!   If you have been thinking about trying Milk Paint, I say go for it!   I ended up painting a few glass items and each one turned out a bit different, the decanter is my favorite.

 Here's to a Happy New Year filled with plenty of fun crafting days!   Hugs & Blessings, Janice