WOYWW 172

Welcome!

By now most of you know that Wednesdays are pretty much reserved for Julia Dunnit's  What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday and you know it is a huge and amusing (humusing?) blog hop around the world where we hop from desk top to desk top, snooping, and spying, and leaving love notes behind.

 

A couple of weeks ago, Deb posted to WOYWW about using her sewing machine for her scrapbook pages and she said, "Originally bought about 20 years ago to make my bridesmaids' dresses, all it stitches these days is paper!"  Well, that was a true slap-my-forehead-epiffaninny moment for me.  Thanks, Deb!

 

You see, it was 42 years ago that my dearly departed MIL gave me her old sewing machine, a little Singer Featherweight.  It was on that machine that I made my two bridesmaids' dresses out of royal blue crushed velvet and my wedding gown ~ yes, true, my wedding gown!  More about that later.

 

So thanks to Deb, I remembered that old sewing machine was out in the garage, being of no use to anyone, so I brought it into the Playhouse:

 

Isn't it too sweet?

 

That thread could use a little tension check ~

 

The foot pedal

 

The case, complete with spare parts, zipper foot, and oil.  You might notice the torn leather around the bottom?  It's worse on the other side.  That was caused by a little tiny yellow Labrador puppy named Salty.  Unfortunately, the sewing machine case was sitting on the floor one day, within puppy's reach, and it must have been mighty tasty chewing while mommy and daddy people were out running errands. 

 

Luckily, he didn't suffer any ill effects, but he messed the heck out of that case.  The whole caboodle might be worth something without that damage, but that's okay.  Him was only a puppy and now I can sew on my cards if I want - zippee!!  A new technique I can do!

 

~~~

 

Would you like to see my dress?  Back in 1968, there was a popular movie called "Romeo and Juliet" and the people at Simplicity Patterns took note, making patterns with empire waists and long sleeves, some with many "puffs."  Shirley, you remember Juliet's gowns?  Well, some of you must do.  It was 1970 when I made the gowns for our January 1971 wedding and I was still into Juliet. (I was not what you'd call ah courant.)

Here's a favorite photo from our little album.  (The Mister and I snuck off into the tiny church office  and the photographer caught us!)

I like it for the obvious reason, besides being a good picture to show you the dramatic sleeves, which were a booger to sew.  If I do say so myself, I did a good job considering I only took a semester of sewing in a high school Home Ec class.  But what I really love about this photo is the conventional picture of Jesus in the background.  In this case, doesn't He look like He is rolling His eyes heavenward as if to say, "Oh, God, please help these two young goofballs!"  I hope it's not sacrilegious of me to say it cracks me up every time I look at it!   And His prayer worked, considering the life we've had together.

~~~

 

Lastly, for those of you who saw my recent WOYWW posts about Rae's pressed flowers, the cards I made from them and (thanks to Annie) framed, and my decision to take the framed art over to Jerry for him to hang on his wall, I thought you might like to "meet" Jerry.  He loved it and we both had a good cry.  Needless to say that was a gift that I know felt better to give than to receive!

 

 

Enjoy your WOYWWing!  I know I'm late to the party being out here on the California coast, so thank you for stopping by to visit.  Special thanks to you if you stayed for today's entire episode!

 

WOYWW 170 ~ Pressed Flower Card, Pardeux

Hi gang! 

Today is Wednesday.

Want to see what's on my workdesk?

Want to show me what's on your workdesk?

Then click here to link up with Julia Dunnit's What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday (WOYWW)!

 

I apologize in advance, but I'm reporting on a process and so my post today is very long and photo heavy and sub lime ~ some might say sub lemonal ~ but you can just peek in and out and move along.  S'cool.

 

 

If you only visit me on Wednesdays, at first glance my desk looks like I did nothing all week.  Not so, dearies.  It all got put away from last Wednesday, other cards got made, and then, well . . . let's back up a bit.

Psst, if you want to hop off the Dippy Train and go visit other workdesks, this would be a good time.

 

If you want to ride through to the end of the line, first, a quick reminder:  I recently inherited the pressed flower collection that belonged to Rae, my friend and neighbor for 30 years, who passed away over 5 years ago.  Last week, I made my first pressed flower card, which would have been difficult to mail to anyone.  My blogfriend, Redanne, suggested that I frame my card as a keepsake, which I thought was a fantastic idea.

 

So while I was out and about last Saturday, I found a frame that I thought might be deep enough to work.  The only problem was that it was for a new baby, with three cutouts for two photos (maybe of feets and hands) and one sentiment.  In order to use it, I needed to make another card, which I did yesterday:

 

I have to say I'm enjoying this.  I turned the little ferns backwards because I loved the yellow color on the "wrong" side.
 

Next, I spent some time removing that hard cardboard leaning part screwed into the back of the frame since it was a table-top frame, not a wall frame.

[Aside:  Did you know the author of "Fifty Shades of Gray" also designed the backs of cheap table-top picture frames?  Just saying.] 

I then nailed one of those teeny picture hookies to the top of the frame and cleaned the glass.  Oh, and I made a sentiment for the third compartment.  Then, finally, I moved my bulletin board over a scotch to make space for my new memorial art where I could look up from my desk and see it, like so:

 

 

Here is a close-up of the sentiment:

 

 

Cool, huh?  I apologize for the glare on the glass, but there are windows everywhere (praise be).  I need to get a piece of non-glare glass.

 

I put away the hammer and level, cleaned off my desk, and while doing so, I kept glancing up at my new artwork and pretty soon I found myself tilting my head a lot in that erhn? way that dogs do, when they are trying to speak a question, but they can only use their eyes. Something wasn't quite right.  Hmmmm?  Lots of hmmmming and tilting.  Then, AHA! 

 

Down came the frame, everything was unhooked and untaped, and boy, was it taped well, and then it was retaped and rehooked and rehung and Fang Shaway was once again restored to the Playhouse, like so:

 

 

Can you spot the difference?

~~~



 

I can't get them side-by-side without messing with the margins on the whole blog, but you get the idea.  Is it just my eye, or does the lower photo look more pleasing to your eye?  Or does the inserted card on the left now look upside down after you've seen it the other way?  You can be honest.  I'm trying to learn here.

 

Here is a final close-up of it sitting on the floor where there were no windows for glare.  I still managed to get the glare of the flash, duh, but it's a less murky picture. 

 

I mean it's not perfect; it would look tons better if the one on the left had the same matting as the one on the right, but you know, it's all about the flowers and I'm happy with how it turned out for a beginner.  I have to say it was a nice break from my normal card crafting. 

 

I should email a picture of it to Rae's daughter, the one who gave me the flowers, so she can share it with her four siblings and their father, Jerry.  However, as I'm typing this, I'm thinking again.  Better yet, I will take it over to Jerry so he can put it up on his wall in the retirement residence, where it can remind him of Rae every time he looks at it. 

 

Thank you so much, Annie, for your encouragement and advice!  I think together we will end up making one sweet old guy very, very happy!

 

~~~
 

Thank you, too, if you've stayed with me all the way to the depot!  If you ever get the opportunity to work with pressed flowers, go for it.  It's so pretty in real life!

 

As always, thank you for visiting.   Enjoy the rest of your WOYWWing!  Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

 

WOYWW #169; Repeat Impressions DCC829 ~ Pressed Flower Card

Howdy Readers!

 

If you're a regular reader, you know that Wednesday is the day for What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday (WOYWW), whereby I post a picture of my workdesk in the Playhouse to let you see what I'm working on right this very minute.  Then, after you look at my desk ~ and please comment, of course ~ you go back over to the Host S. Julia's site and hop on or hop up or hop down the bloglist and visit another desk and so on.  That's a lot of hopping (Mary, take it easy!), so it's air robotic, too!  Settle down.

Walla:

 

 

Before Myrtha came to visit for a few days, I was showing you the lovely pressed flowers I inherited from my friend and neighbor, Rae.  In the meantime, my blogfriend, Redanne, sent me a few pages from a book she has with instructions for making a card with pressed flowers.  What a generous and thoughtful friend she is!

 

So with the help of the pages Redanne sent, I worked today and made a card.  I'd like to enter it into a challenge, but I can't find one that's fitting.  I did find a challenge called "Joanna Sheen Challenge," which is cool because I understand that she is the prom queen when it comes to pressed flowers, but my card doesn't fit the current challenge there either.

I could just tease you with it and wait for a challenge, but I would more than likely put my card in a "safe place" and then forget where that was.  And by the time I found it, you would have forgotten I ever talked about pressed flowers and been confuzzled, so here it is!  Live!

 

  

You guys, seriously, I hadn't been drinking or anything, but this is what I stupidly did.  I made the card, right, which wasn't all that easy.  Still, it turned out well for my very first effort at this sort of thing and I liked it very much.  Except it wasn't quite right without a sentiiment or more layers of pressies.  Now you know I lean towards gravit CAS, so I didn't want to do more layers.  But who, I ask you, WHO would make that fragile pressed flower arrangement and THEN add a sentiment?  A fool, that's who!  I am one lucky, lucky ducky!!  That could have gone so wrong!

 

Okay, off you go then.  Enjoy your visits!  Link up while you're at it and let us see what's up your workdesk!  As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

Edit: 

Another blogging friend, Allisa suggested that I take a look at the challenge list located at Felineplayful.blogspot.com.  I did and I found "Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge 829 ~ Flowers" from The House That Stamps Built and so I am linking my card there.  Thank you, Allisa!!
 

Paper:  PTI fine linen, white
Stamp:  Miscellaneous stash
Ink:  Marvy plum
Pressies:  Rae