Isn't She Lovely?

Sort of? She started life as one of four designs on a fabric panel by Alexander Henry Fabrics called "The Ghastlies." You can see her friends below. They just made me chuckle and reminded me a bit of the Addams Family. Do you remember them? "They're creepy and they're kooky; mysterious and spooky; They're all together ooky, The Addams Family." That was their theme song. I dressed her up a bit by using fabric markers, colored pencils, glitter glue, silk flowers, glitzy trims and beads. Then she was stitched and stuffed with fiber-fill up top and white rice on the bottom to allow her to stand upright without toppling over. She's a tall, willowy beauty. She was such a fun project, that our Fiber Art Bee is going to do a challenge based on the Ghastlies. Members will each get one of the characters and then use it in an embellished project- a doll, pillow, wallhanging- whatever they want. It should be fun to see what creative ideas flow and to see them all together! But I think this girl needs a name now that she is done. Any suggestions?

Here's what the panel looks like. And now that she's had her makeover, you can get a glimpse of the "before" photo.

Here are the other two figures included in one panel- a pouty, angry woman, and a family with questionable parenting skills. They just make me laugh. This is not a new fabric line, but one released in about 2011 or so. There are some other coordinating prints that go with.

I thought I'd also show you this. I have a number of mixed media projects that hang. So many that I was running out of door knobs to hang them on. So I spotted some small, clear Command hooks in the office supply aisle. It occurred to me that they would work way better than cup hooks or anything more permanent to suspend the pieces from  the ceiling. These now occupy one happy corner of the sewing room- a small forest of birds, hearts, and snippet rolls. I'm sure I'll add more.

Pockets Full of Memories...

It hasn't escaped my notice that many blogs and websites are full of storage tips and ideas at this time of year. I'm especially sensitive to the topic when I look around my sewing and craft room and notice the myriad little things I can't bear to part with. They do pile up, but there is no doubt in my mind that they are staying right here. So here's my solution to round them up and give them a safe place to be- residing together in Pocket Memory Journals! I've made two so far, and I'm pretty sure I'll need at least one more. The journals are fun to make and they, too, use up small bits of pieces of fabric, trim, charms, and more. The journal cover at the left, above, has an artist trading card sent to me from Robbie at Robbie's Paw Prints blog. The journal is made from decorator fabric. The one on the right is denim and lace.

These are the pretty bits I'm talking about. There are small pieces of art, pretty hang-tags, artist trading cards, colorful promotional materials. Just looking at them is inspiring to me.

There are projects made in online classes while trying new-to-me methods and materials. All of the flowers above were made as part of Joanne Sharpe's Bloomin' Doodles class in 2016.

My journals are four-fold fabric ones made with wide spines to accommodate all of the loose pages and photos that get stored in the pockets. I inserted narrow strips of watercolor paper in the spines to give some body to the journal.

Anything goes while sewing the journals, and they nearly invented themselves once I got creating. They'll hold a lot of items since they have seven roomy pockets- four inside, and three outside. Only the cover is without one.

It's challenging to get a photo of the entire journal unfolded, so this will have to do to give you the idea of how it opens out from the center. I'm toying with the idea of adding some bound in pages to the spine as perhaps an index of the pocket contents. I'm so happy with these journals and especially with having a safe place to store these small items together. Looking through one of the journals is like looking through a family photo album. It's satisfying and prompts such happy memories.

Wishing a happy and healthy New Year to all!