Fabric.com

OK, I wanna' toot a horn for this company. A couple of weeks ago, someone in one of my fiber arts yahoo groups mentioned that a certain fabric designer's (Lonni Rossi) fabrics were on sale 50% off at
Well, not having anything better to do at the moment ;), I thought I'd see what they were. Well, I find out that this line of fabric from this designer happens to have one of my most favorite pieces of fabric I think I've ever purchased in a store. It's called "brown onion". Now, fabric.com didn't have the brown but did have it in a deep mustard yellow and there were several others that were gorgeous! So, I proceeded to order 1/2 yd. increments of pretty much each piece in the line. Then, I found a couple of batiks half off too so I placed my order. These 1/2 yard pieces of fabric ended up costing only about $2.50 each! OK, so my order comes in and there is no yellow onion but a piece of yellow "mushroom" which I didn't order. I noticed that it was mismarked and the tag said onion but it was clearly not the onion although it was a pretty piece of fabric. So, I call the company to see if they were out of the yellow onion since that was the one piece that prompted my order in the first place. They were closed and when they called back, I wasn't home. So, it took a couple of days and then I got a very nice lady on the phone who said they would ship out a piece of the yellow onion pronto and to keep the yellow mushroom. She kept apologizing for the error. Well, later that day she called me back saying that the piece of fabric in her hands was indeed the yellow onion but is not really the same color as the yellow mushroom and she didn't want me to think they had sent me the wrong fabric again. They didn't have a picture of it on their site so I went and looked at the red onion, which I wasn't crazy about. They didn't have brown onion, which I would have died over. So this sweet woman kept me on the phone while she sent me a scan of the fabric in an e-mail just to make sure it was a color of fabric I'd be happy with! I love the color even more than the yellow mushroom so I was thrilled. I got notification that it was shipped that day so I should have it in my hands probably today! I just have to say that I have never had a more pleasant experience dealing with a company and such top knotch customer service. They went way beyond the call, all for a piece of fabric that was on sale for a couple of bucks! I highly recommend shopping with this online company. They have a very nice selection and you can sign up for e-mail notification of sales too.

Pajama day

Today was one of my favorite kinds of days... those where I go no where and stay in my pajamas all day! It was a busy weekend so today, I just hung out. Saturday, I did some big time cleaning in my house which is why I got to be lazy today! We had friends from out of state here yesterday so it was nice to catch up with them.

Yesterday, while sitting in church, a problem I've been tossing around in my brain and throwing up to God, was solved in a split second. No, I can't tell you what the pastor was saying at that moment but God met me and answered my prayer. It is about a special project that I wanted to start and I got to wake up early this morning and get started before anyone else got out of bed. And, the project has to remain top secret for a while... even from my best friend. Sorry Fran... when you finally get to see it, you'll understand! :) Keeping a secret from Fran will be the biggest torture ever... especially when it has to do with art!

I put together all my trades for Art Unraveled this weekend too. I didn't want to make stuff for trades...too lazy. I did put together some hefty ephemera packages that measure 9x12 inches! And also some little fabric/vintage lace gift bags for all the women taking Katie Kendrick's doll class. Every year, I always seem to wait until the very last minute to make some sort of name badge for the retreat, but today, I almost have it finished! I refuse to spend a lot of time on a name badge. I did mine out of found objects this year. My base of the piece is a bit of an old computer board. I added on a shift key from an old keyboard and then did a patina on it. AFter that dried, I added some rusty meta. and an old chain with a lobster claw clip that has a natural patina. I still have to stamp my name on the computer key but the badge looks pretty cool. I'll photograph it tomorrow and post the photo.

This afternoon, I sat down and watched a movie rental with my boys and it was such a good movie! It is called "A Wrinkle in Time" and it was so good that I actually got out the case to see who wrote the movie! When I saw the author, I was like "Ohhhhh,, that explains it." It's Madeleine L'Engle. I highly recommend the movie. It was very thought provoking and well done, in my opinion. However, because I love books so much and they are always better than the movies, now I need to get the book!

Speaking of books, I just finished a great one! It's called "The Glass Castle" and was written by Jeannette Walls. It is a memoir, however, I didn't realize this until I was into the story a couple of chapters. Her childhood was really bizarre. It was a great book, fast read, and one I couldn't put down.

Monsoon season has apparently come to stay for this year. Yesterday, I swear, was the hottest day of the year. Maybe not temperature wise but you add in the humidity, and OMG, I felt like I was melting! It was the first day I've broken a sweat all summer, I kid you not! Humidity is so gross! It's thundering outside right now but if it's anything like the thunderstorm we got yesterday morning at 4:30, there won't be a single drop of rain... all the moisture will just hang in the air until it starts dripping off our bodies. YUK!

Tomorrow, mom is coming over for a haircut and I think I'll snag her and coach her through cutting a few inches off of mine too. Turn about is fair play, right? Then, we are going to get Sam some new tennis shoes and see if Max can find a backpack that he likes for kindergarten!

Well, I'm going to go lay in bed and read. I just started a new book today called "The Rapture of Canaan." Oh! What's that sound? RAIN! It's really raining! I don't remember the last time it rained... it was the last time I washed my van. That's sorta' the way to get rain in Arizona... wash your car.

more buildings!

I have three more buildings done and only a few left to do for this swap! Here are the latest additions to Industrial Parkway as well as a Jewish Synogogue, in honor of my best friend!

What's up with blogger?

Anyone else having trouble getting your images to show up? If you click on the title of my last post, the photo shows up. However, if you just look at the "view blog", the photo is not there... you have to click on the title of the post! WEIRD!!!

trouble posting

I just tried posting but the picture wouldn't show up. I'll see if it works this time. Here are another set of buildings finished today. I have another one in the works but think I have to wait and get kids to bed before I can work on it!
My first house in this photo (left) is using one of my favorite photos of a cactus skeleton. Then I added an actual piece of the skeleton on and embellished with turquoise beads. In the center is one I really love cuz it's more whimsical. I used a time card for the background and added vintage watch pieces and gears on it. I like the crooked roof. The house on the right is a photo I took of a dove sitting on her nest in a cactus. I just added a word and a feather roof. I'm almost finished with the houses I need to make for this swap!

more art and fun

Tuesday, Fran and I met our new art bud, Lynn, at The Creative Quest and then had lunch together. On the way to pick up my boys from my mom's house, we went in a bead store and emptied our wallets! :) My husband's aunt has asked me to make 6 "awards" for her 65th high school reunion! She wanted them made from felt like little pillows on cording. Initially, she mentioned sequins on them but I can't seem to get Vegas out of my mind when I think of them so I went with beads. I beaded one of the stars yesterday and timed myself doing it to see how long it would take. This 3-1/2 inch star took me 3-1/2 hours. I have a sore, stiff thumb today! While I love it, I don't know if it's too "fancy" for what Aunt Agnes is wanting. I sent a photo and costs so we'll see. She may have been thinking of something more "gag gift" type award, not really nice. Anyway, that's on hold. I did the star while hanging out at Fran's yesterday.



And this morning, I did a few more little buildings. Here is a metal set and also one using a photo of a cactus skeleton. I also glued a piece of the cactus skeleton on as well as beaded it with some turquoise.

More skyline structures

I had a great, pain-free day yesterday and I'm so thankful! I got caught up on housework and laundry (well, almost laundry) and got some more little house structures done. They go much faster when I'm not trying to make them actually "look" like houses with doors and windows. Anyway, the Tea House is made using a tea pouch from my favorite tea and then an overlay is done using the actual used tea bags. Isn't the color fantastic?! I did a quick sketch of my favorite tea cup and then created heat swirls. The other three houses are on Desert Bloom Lane. We have to either name our houses or give them addresses and since these three sorta' go together, I gave them addresses. I love the photo of the single wildflower with it's shadow on the rocks. Such determination growing in rocks! These are all photos I took this spring. I stitched french knots in the centers of the blooms. I just love doing french knots! I had one other house done however, a slight problem arose and it is now requiring some creative thinking to see if I can salvage it.

Anyway, today, Fran and I are going to The Creative Quest in downtown Glendale to meet up with another valley artist, Lynn. We are then having lunch together. We've been trying to get together for like, a year! My mom doesn't live far from The Creative Quest so I'm taking my boys over there. They are excited.