Celebrate... July 4th 2022

 

Residents of Lakeview Village (where we live) started the activity

with a parade, which went right past our front door.  Yes

we had ring side seats, but I stood so I could frame up

each photo.

This was Don's favorite vehicle... a  shiny GMC

70' ish half-ton pickup decorated with glitter ribbon.

(Remember to click on any photo for a closer view.)

This couple decided to to go tandem,

as did another couple a few "vehicles" back.

This parade reminded us of when we lived in AZ, as

the participants tossed us candy as they passed by

during the Fourth of July parade!!!

Another  creative individual  used "ole glory" as a festive

hood ornament, 

while one lady simply looked calm and beautiful decked

out in RED,  WHITE & BLUE on the back of a red motorcycle.

Don cleaned the BBQ and cooked the "Ball Park" bun

length hot dogs

while my 37 year old "stuffed monkey"

decided to take a ride on our wooden whirly gig Buzzard,

but forgot to hang on and got the ride of his life, 

 and ended up on the ground.

His name is Monk and you'll learn more about him

in an upcoming blog... "Once Upon a Monk"

Time to eat those    

yummy Chili Hot Dogs!!!

After we ate all that we needed a walk.

And, we noticed we weren't alone... as we followed

footsteps in the sand,

as we walked around the pond in an effort to work off

some of those CHILI DOGS!!!

Xmas Bear - Too Cute

Last Christmas, about 8 weeks after we moved into our

home here in Citrus Heights, whenever we entered the park

we saw this cute bear at one of the neighbor's home.  I would

always wave back!!!  I finally stopped one day and took his picture.

About 10 days ago after I finished my Thanksgiving "Turkey Applique" 

I thought about this cute bear again.  So I created a black/white 

reverse image enlargement on my computer to use for my

pattern pieces.  (When doing applique with a non-symmetrical 

image, your pattern pieces have to be a reverse image.

At the fabric store I selected this mottled Christmas green fabric

for the background and some other Christmas colors

to complete the project.

When appliquéing all the red, pink, red, black

and candy cane patterned fabrics I stitched each with a

different color thread: pink for the ears,

red for his scarf and hat, and

grey for the bear's body which was 

created with a delicate white and grey floral print.

The candy cane's were the easy part because I just

happened to have some fabric (above) that I purchased

as part of a grab bag at a quilt show, that I thought would

look great.   So I designed 3 different sizes and shapes,

and let the fabric do all the work.

As you might imagine, the hardest parts were the tiny black  

eyes, paw and nose.   (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

 I designed this happy bear to hang on the wall where 

I hang a rotating display.  This little guy will occupy

 the space for the Christmas Season.

And last but not least,  I used a wild black fabric with colorful

little polka dots for the backing of the piece.   I selected

this fabric because it looked like  Christmas lights to me!!! 

(I've folded the corner up so you can see more of the fabric.)

From the front you only see a 1/2" width as it wraps

from back to front to create a bound edge.

 

Paper Collage - A New Idea

Things are quiet so I decided to make a new paper collage from

some of the photographs I've taken.  To get started I created a grid

of 3 " x 3" squares on my computer and dropped the photos onto the grid.

Each photo was "cropped" to a certain size,  based on the particular

photo,  and placed on the grid on my computer so

I could determine which  photos  should be placed next to each other

based on their color.  I did a small "mock-up" first.

Then I created a "to scale" layout for each category, based upon 

the size... 3" x 3",  3" x 12,  6" x 6" or 3" x 9"

and then printed all the enlarged color photographs.

I found this great device,  a Fiskars Card Making Bypass Paper Trimmer-9"

at the local Michaels store which would allow

me to cut each shape to a precise measurement.

Since some of the photos  needed to be over 6"  in one direction,

 I had to use my 6" wooden ruler in addition to the paper cutter to

get those 9" x 6" sizes.  

I did have some 3" x 12" shapes which meant

I had to cut that photo  in two  3" x 6" pieces and then carefully glue

 them together, as I did with this photo along the lower left edge.

I'll tell a little story about this bridge:

Fort Knox Penobscot Narrows Bridge is located in 
Prospect Maine  I took this photo 9/23/2008. 
This State Historic Site was constructed in the mid-1800’s.
  It is the tallest bridge observatory in the world.  
The elevator takes you up 420’ for a 360 degree view 
of the Penobscot Bay area.

As you might imagine, each photo in this entire collage has it's

own story, but this blog would go on "adnauseam if I told you

all the stories!!! 

Following my original to scale printout, I glued each photo

to a large piece of cream colored matte board, which 

Don then trimmed to fit the actual shape of the 

 collage because, as you can see  it has some irregular shapes 

along the top edge.

To "frame" the piece, I applied some 1/4" Black Crepe Art Tape 

around  the entire 24" x 30" piece.

Then it was time to hang the piece on the wall space 

between the master bathroom door and our walk in closet.   

I used some tape to mark the placement of  the lower corners,

and then attached Command Strips to all the corners as well

as the bottom & top edge.

Once again Don helped my with his level to make sure

it was level.  Mission accomplished. 

 You know the story... for a closer

look click on any photo.

When we lived in AZ I made a similar collage.

However I cut any photo larger than 4" x 4" into separate shapes and

glued them on a  black matte board and left a 1/4" space between

the photo segments,

 

so the black would show around each individual shape.

For example the sunset photo across the top

required that I  print out 12 individual 4" x 4"

squares from my enlarged photo... which I also did on my computer.

It hung on the wall above the pull down murphy bed in

our second bedroom!!!  We left it there when we left AZ...

Maybe it's time for a road trip to take some scenery shots

and get out of this 7 day over 100 degree heat wave.

Hey Don, I have an idea...

Big Bird Update PLUS Colorful Turkeys

My last blog left off with a bald eagle and

a great white pelican (with no eyes).

Well the eyes I ordered from the taxidermy website and

the "Fabric and Craft Gorilla Glue" I ordered,  arrived on the same day

The great thing about this glue is that it dries instantly and you

don't have to hold it in place for 30 minutes.

So what do you think?

I just dabbed the glue on the backing paper on the

wrong side of the eye and pressed it on the fabric for

a few seconds!!!

Last Thanksgiving while walking around the neighborhood,

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this inflatable turkey.

Pretty Colorful...

And as you have noticed we have lots of wild (not so

colorful) turkeys around our community... some gather

for a visit on the park benches and

others strut there stuff in the greenbelt area behind

our home.

Then I saw this cute photo somewhere and snapped

a picture of it.  Colorful don't you think?

It made me think of that colorful fabric packet

that I purchased at a quilt show, 

which I partially used to create my houses banner....

So I stylized and simplified and created my own pattern

for this colorful turkey and laid out the arrangement on

the kitchen counter.  Looking Good!!!

So I went to my thread drawer and selected the right colors

red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple for the feathers

and brown, black and orange for the body of this cute and

colorful turkey.

I stitched each piece onto the background fabric which has a

light grey pattern which made the colors POP.  I used  a "blanket"

stitch around all the outside curves and a straight stitch on

the inside curves.  Sounds complicated but my new machine

can handle all that without me doing anything but stopping

the machine and dialing in the next stitch I want use.

Piece of cake, a little time consuming, but easy.

(Click on any photo for a more detailed look.)

I had also purchased this half yard of fabric at another

quilt show, just because I couldn't resist the wild colors.

I haven't finished adding the batting, binding and backing yet,

but this will give you an idea of what the final piece

will look like.  I think it will make a colorful addition

to our holiday decor.