Our Clay Pendant Class

Well, our clay pendant class at Elmcroft was a great success! I had a crowd there (about 12 residents) and even the daughter and granddaughter of one of the residents came to help out! The residents loved making the pendant because they had no trouble kneeding the clay (which was good exercise for their hands) and flattening it out. Some of them wanted to make round pendants instead of square, which was fine. I prefer to let them be their creative selves instead of telling them they have to do it my way. That way they "own" it and love it even more! We made about 20 pendants all together. Some of the residents had to go to the doctor and couldn't be there, so I said we would make them one, and they were happy. I guess I will have to do another clay craft real soon. The centers of the pendants are kind of hard to see (especially in a photo on here), but that's what makes them unique. In real life, people like to peer into them and figure out what the image is in there. At Elmcroft, my residents are from 85 to 92 years old, and they did a great job!

Journaling anyone?

Okay, so I came up with something else to attach my tatting to. I have always like embellished journals and have wanted to do this for a long time. I wish the journal was a pastel color, but I'm not complaining because it was a great price and I love the word "faith" in the middle of it. That word says alot to me. We all need to have faith, right? The slogan, "Keep the faith, baby" has been around for a long time. I am thankful that I have faith in God and Jesus Christ, because that is all I need in this life to keep me going. I can't have faith in my government, because look what has happened. I can't have faith in people, because we are all human and we all fail sometimes. I can't have faith in things, because they decay and go away. So, I enjoyed working on this book because it says something positive to me, and I hope to others.

Angels Watching Over Us

I have always loved angels! I believe in them and feel that they really do protect us from harm. I have made various angels over my lifetime and I have a very creative sister who has also made many angels. This is one she made about 10 years ago for me. It is covering an air freshener--remember when those were popular? It's about time for them to come around again, right?Everything old is new again. Anyway, this little angel has such an innocent quality about it. I say "it" because I don't think angels are male or female. But I have tried to make a male-looking angel in the past, and I just couldn't make it look good. So I gave up and now, all my angels have a female look. I make angels because I want people to look at them and remember that they have a Heavenly Father who watches over them. And, these days, we need all the help we can get!

Clay Pendant for Craft Class

These are pictures of the clay pendant that we are making at Elmcroft next Tuesday. I wore it to work this week and all the residents were excited when I told them that they were all going to make one just like it. It's going to be fun to make. There is not much to it and that is good, because some of the residents have arthritis and a hard time using their hands.

I am sorry that the picture is not really clear, but there is a picture of a little bird on the pendant. We will be using all kinds of pictures--some butterflies, birds, flowers and maybe even a pretty victorian picture of a child or woman. I can't wait to do this craft!

My Little Dresses

Well, I've been working on something other than tatting lately. I made these little dresses from rubber stamps I designed. I love to make all kinds of designs. I stamp them on cardstock, color them in with all kinds of markers, cover them with a very shiny thick acrylic sealer called Dimensional Magic and then cut them all out. They are used to make greeting cards and are added to my scrapbooks. I guess I could add my tatting to them also. Hey, I might try it! I'll have to make some small tatting because they aren't too big--maybe about 3-1/2" tall.

Memories of My Mom

This past week has been very sad for me. My mom passed away suddenly on Memorial Day. I had to fly back to Portland, Maine last Tuesday and the Memorial Service was on Friday. My sister, Wanda, flew in from Wyoming and my brother, Stan, drove up from Pennsylvania. I flew up from Tennessee. My other sister, Pam, lives in Portland and we all stayed with her. I learned all my craftiness and desire to make things from my mom. She was a very talented artist, seamstress and was good at everything she tried. She knitted very beautiful and intricate sweaters and afgans. These pictures are of the tables that we had at the reception after the memorial service and we laid out some of her creations so that others could know a little more about her. She was a very quiet person so I think many were very surprised to see this side of her. I'm glad we did it. It was s comfort to us, also.

Where do you tat?

I have a question. Do you all tat in public places?

I tat when I'm at the doctor's office, when I am waiting for my order in a restaurant and also tat when I am in the car (not when I'm driving, though. I haven't mastered that yet!). I don't make a big show about it, just quietly tat and most of the time, people want to know what I am doing. Recently, I had an older man in a doctor's office (who bragged that he was a Master Plumber) make a comment about how he couldn't stand to do something that is so repetitive and boring. I told him that I look at the big picture when it is finished and enjoy the process of completing it. I guess he had a hard problem understanding that. (Besides, I'll bet as a plumber, he does many repetitive things!) I also told him that (believe it or not) I do make money with my tatting. He couldn't quite understand that, either. Oh well, I'm glad I don't get comments like his very often. Most people have never heard of tatting and are amazed at the delicate lacey look. I love to create pretty things and enjoy it when someone else enjoys it, too.