Sneak Previews

A few days ago I told you that I had some ideas brewing for making baskets using alternative and/or recycled materials, so I thought I'd give you a preview of what I've come up with so far.

My daughter liked this one so much, she had me make another one for her friend's birthday...it had a really cool buckle, but alas, I forgot to take a picture before she went off to the party!

Try to guess what this one is made from....

It's a plastic kitty litter jug with the top cut off and spokes sliced into the sides, then woven with reed!  The rim filler is baler twine (for hay bales, of which we have a never-ending supply!).

Have a great Sunday!

Junk Journals: An Earth Day Celebration

As you might remember, a while back I mentioned that I have another hobby that I absolutely LOVE, and that is book-making.

I don't often have the time to spend on book-making since basket-weaving had always taken top priority, but ya know, sometimes you just have to take the time to do something different to shake things up, get yourself out of a rut, and just PLAY!

So over the past couple of weeks, I've been turning "junk" into blank books and journals.

Here is a sampling of what I've been up to lately, just in time to celebrate Earth Day!

How cool is that?  Who uses those 3 1/2" disks anymore?  I don't know about you, but we still have hundreds of them, and I hope my husband doesn't mind, but I stole a few from the deep dark corner of the basement and turned them into something useful! 

This one is made from corrugated cardboard, top layer peeled off to reveal the corrugation.  The pages are sewn  into the cardboard using a long-stitch binding, and the decorative touch is scraps from an old gift bag.  Oh, and  I took the suede lacing closure from a belt I never wore!

 This one is made from two OLD photographs (also known as "cabinet cards") that I found at an antique shop.  Look at what you get when you open it up:

Two separate smaller books, bound together with thin ribbon...these are removable, too!  The paper I used for the smaller book covers is scrap-booking paper!

This one is made from an old game board....front and back cover are bound using a coptic stitch (same stitch used on the floppy disk book).

Inside there is a pocket to hold whatever, with a game card glued to it.

The next one is a small pocket-sized tablet made from.....an old auto air freshener card bound with coptic stitch.  (It still smells good, too!)

And last, but not least.....can you guess what this book is made from?

Look closely...click on the picture to enlarge it.....

Did you guess?  It's made from a broken umbrella!

I just finished this one today....I got the idea from a special and unusual binding technique I saw that used bamboo skewers to hold the pages together, so I thought...why not use part of the umbrella frame instead, and use the nylon fabric for the cover?

I'm really happy with how it turned out!

There are so many ways to recycle, and book-making is just one of them. I've been having so much fun with this!

I have plans and ideas for using recycled materials in basket-weaving, too....if I can tear myself away from the books! 

Christian Homeschool Co-Op Class

This past week, I finished teaching the six-week basket-making class with the Juniata Christian Homeschool Co-Op students!

I wasn't sure what it would be like, since I had never taught young kids before, but despite a few challenges, I enjoyed it immensely!

The kids ranged in age from 11-17, and I do believe I was the luckiest teacher there, because they were all so friendly and polite and funny and interesting!

Here they are in action:

 The whole group of seven!

Ellie and Mary....

Shane and Reagan....

 

Ellie, Mary, Gabby, and Marybeth...

And  Elizabeth.....

 

After the last class, there was a closing program where all the classes showed off their handiwork.

Here are all the beautiful baskets my class made...I am so proud of them!

 

Another class learned how to grow plants...

 

Yet another class learned String Art...

 

There was an arts and crafts class...

And one class built a to-scale model of Noah's Ark!

They used the instructions from the Bible....I never knew the Ark looked more like a barge than a boat!

It's three stories high, and can be taken apart to view all the living quarters and animal stalls.

Amazing!
 

There was also a drama class, a Pennsylvania History Class, and a Civil War class.  The Civil War class set up a model of a Civil War Camp outside! (sorry, I didn't get any photos!)

These kids all worked very hard, and from what I could tell, they truly enjoyed it and all did a fantastic job in whatever class they took!

I hope they ask me back next year!

New Page Added: Baskets For Sale

After I left my rental booth at the little antique shop where I sold my baskets, I had some remaining inventory left.

There is a limit, even for me, on how many baskets I can actually keep and use in my home!

I decided to offer them to you at substantial savings, so I have created a new page (see above) titled "Baskets for Sale".

All of these baskets are "onesies".  That means there is only one of each in stock, and I will not be taking orders or making more.  When they are gone, they are GONE.

The first basket you will see is my original design, the Yarn Dispenser basket, which I will be making as I receive orders for them.  I plan to add some other baskets that will be more or less "permanently" for sale.

Take a look, and if there is anything you like, click on the "Add to Cart" button, where you will be taken to PayPal's secure  shopping cart and checkout.

If you are local, send me an email and let me know what you would like (to avoid shipping charges!).

Thanks for looking!

Happy Easter!

Just a short walk from my house stands this old country church.

I took this picture last fall when the trees had lost their leaves, and the crunching sound they made underfoot reminded me that the cold and bleary days of winter would soon arrive.

We all know that, although the plants look dead and lifeless through the long winter, that they are really just "resting"...lying dormant for a time.  

But as sure as there is winter, there is spring.

Life is renewed.

And every year, the earth demonstrates the message of Easter to us in the long-awaited warmth of a spring breeze, the  vibrant colors and intoxicating scent of daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses,  the happy songs of the birds, and the playful buzz of the bumblebees.

To me, spring is the evidence of the promise God made to us for eternal life.

I plan to revel in that promise!

Wishing all my readers a Happy and Blessed Easter!