Peek at My Week: Jan 27 - Feb 2

It's always a bit of a shift when one month passes into another in the middle of the week. For me, this meant several challenges ended and thus it was time to begin thinking ahead to new ones, along with finishing up some of the ones on which I've dallied a bit too long.

 The Use It Up Fill It Up 2 Challenge from @SouthernGals_Designs on Instagram ended on the 30th, and I finished right on time.

However, I wasn't able to keep up with Allegory Gallery's Bead in New Year challenge for January. I do hope to finish out the challenge prompts in the next week or two. And, I've got a few here to share, as I completed them through the week.

I worked on this felt keychain on Sunday as part of the prompt to make a non-jewelry piece with beads. It's not the prettiest thing, but I like the idea.

Also, on Sunday...

I upcycled some several-days-old banana bread by frying it in butter for breakfast. Tasty!

I wasn't feeling well on Monday, so the day (and I) moved slowly. When I finally made it out of the house, I took a couple of envelopes with me to leave as Random Acts of Kindness, another Allegory Gallery prompt.

It felt so nice thinking that someone would have a fun surprise!

I was in a mad rush on Monday and Tuesday to work on my Moon Phases pendant for the Art Elements reveal.

In my frenzy, I ended up pulling out ALL the tools.

It was worth it, in the end, to have that hinged piece made.

While we weren't expected to get the insane temperatures that those in the Midwest were getting, we were going to have a freeze. So, I made sure to head outside and pick the citrus that was close to ripe before the cold set in.

I really hated to pick my poor, lone lemon before it was completely ripe, but I felt like I didn't have much of a choice.

As usual, I was headed to my mom's on Wednesday, but first I wanted to finish out #UseItUpFillItUp2 with a bang.

Such a complete change of materials from the previous day!

While in Mobile, I was able to visit two locations of Hobby Lobby to check out their amazing clearance deals.

I scored big!!

Thursday was all about the Art Elements: Moon theme reveal.

I spent much of the day blog-hopping to see what the other participants made.

Despite the chill in the air, it was a beautifully sunny day.

Zoe made sure to take advantage of that.

I happily spent the evening watching The Great British Baking Show (my newest obsession) with a tray of beads in my lap.

Like I said, I'm still behind on the Allegory Gallery challenge and am hoping to catch up!

Though I was able to play with my new art supplies a little on Thursday, I didn't really dig into any art journaling until Friday. With the Use It Up challenge over, I was happy to dip back into my journal on Friday morning.

And, I finished the piece for Allegory Gallery for Day 24's prompt to use vintage materials.

Saturday began with a little art journaling.

After that, I went into town to check out a quilt show. I hate to overload y'all with pictures of quilts, but they were so inspiring! I really seemed to be drawn to the quilts that brought in unusual materials/techniques. You need to see these!

So yeah, this one is awesomely trippy, but look closer.

That fabric is HAND-DYED!

These butterflies were made from handkerchiefs and had little, embroidered heads and antennae.

Check out this beauty.

Again, hand-dyed elements but also rainbow-colors and check out the texture achieved with the stitching!! Wow!

There were 496 quilts in all at the event. They were everywhere!

Yes, it was in a local church. 

This ancestry quilt was made with old pictures photocopied onto fabric.

How cool is that!?

I'll share one more.

This one had hand-pieced actual houses from Gulf Shores. And, the stitching included clouds and seagulls. I mean...pretty stinking awesome. I could post more quilt pictures, but you get the point. I was impressed!

While picking up lunch a few hours later, I spotted a small scattering of dandelions, all in perfect round puffs.

I had to pull over and appreciate the scene completely by taking a few pictures.

 Loads more could be said about this week, but I'll stop there and leave you with some links to inspire.

• This video of a boulder opal being split open is so pretty!
• Whip up some Heart Friendship Bracelets.
• Nunn Designs shares a tutorial for texturized crystal clay. 
• I love, love, love this rustic heart painting. 
• 15+ Valentines Embroidery Patterns
• I adore the idea of this planner zippered pouch you can make yourself. 
• EB Creations shared a great bezel-making tutorial.

I hope you have an inspired week!

Summer Vacation and Giveaway Winners

I had fully intended to write a few blog posts while Pat and I enjoyed our two-week vacation. Somehow, though, that just didn't happen.

Instead, I spent many hours in and around the pool.

I crafted with my nieces.

One niece was seriously stuck on making slime. So, we made several versions. This was version #2 as she was mixing the ingredients (school glue and laundry detergent) together.

The other niece that stayed with us just wanted to make art. We each grabbed a canvas board and set to work. This was how mine turned out. She went in another direction altogether with acrylic paint, abstract bubbles, and splatters. I won't share without her permission, which I haven't asked for yet.

Pat and I spent lots of time outside doing yard work, working on the garden, and picking the wild grapes growing on the property.

I'm still giddy that those annoying grape vines are actually producing grapes.

Pat bought an old golf cart and got it working. He'll use any excuse to drive around the property on it. Boys!

The majority of the last week of our vacation was spent on one project in particular: QUILTING! I discovered the #BrooklynKnitFolkQAL video playlist when Lorelei Eurto showed off her completed quilt on Facebook. I was smitten! The videos are done by Jaclyn who goes through the steps simply and thoroughly. She made it look so easy! Learning to quilt has been on my bucket list for ages, and I've got loads of fabrics saved for when I learn to quilt. So, I took the break from most everything else to learn and do this. You can watch the videos for all the steps and supplies, but here are a few shots of some of the steps as I went through them.

Drying my fabrics after washing them. I used about three packs of fat quarters for the quilt top.

Cutting the fabric into 6x6 inch squares. This step was by far the longest and most tedious.

Sew the rows. I just loved this glimpse of all my rows stacked one on top of the other.

Pressing (ironing) the backs and attaching the rows to each other.

There were a few more steps in there before the final quilt came together. It's smaller than it looks here and is really just a lap quilt. But, it gave me a good idea of the process, materials, time, and cost it takes to make a quilt. It's much more than I had imagined.

And, while I had the sewing machine out, I made replacement bean bags (rice bags really) for our cornhole game.

Of course, I'm pretty sure I did other things than craft, swim, and garden...but I can't recall any of them at the moment. HA!

I also forgot to do the giveaway for Earrings 81-100. Oops! Before I get to that, I never heard back from the winner of the Earrings 61-80 giveaway. So, I've drawn again and the winner for that one is Kathy L!!! Kathy, I'll be contacting you about getting your prize to you shortly. Congratulations!!

Now for the 81-100 giveaway.
The names were collected

And a random number generated.

The winner is phinner!! Congratulations!! I'll also be emailing you about getting your prize to you.

Thanks to everyone who played along with these giveaways and offered up so much support during The 100 Day Project. I enjoyed stretching my creative muscles, and your encouragement really helped to make it fun as well. Thank You!

Now, here's hoping I can get back into a routine! How's your summer going? Do anything fun on your vacation?