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If we brave the stores at all, our black Friday shopping usually consists of hitting the sales at Jo-Ann Fabric, and that's it.  

But for those of you gearing up for a BIG day of shopping, here's a little Grace Livingston Hill to inspire you.  

Marjorie seemed to get it all done in one day; hope you are as successful!


First of all she had it in mind to get a warm lovely negligee for her mother, and comfortable pretty slippers to go with it. The doctor had given them hope that she might be able to come downstairs to dinner on Christmas Day if she was reasonably careful beforehand. She needed something to wear down. Marjorie chose a charming one of wine red wool, exquisitely finished with soft, silk facings, a rich sash girdle, and frothy lace ruffling falling deeply from the wide sleeves and surplice neck. It was such a lovely thing that she couldn't resist it.




 
She hurried to the toy department and reveled in the bewilderment of delights for the children there displayed. She wished she could buy them all. A doll for Bonnie of course, blocks and some wind-up toys for Sunny, and an electric train for Bud.



After that it didn't take much time to select a warm house coat of brown for her father, a nice leather coat for Ted, and a thick warm sweater for Bud with a bright Roman band of colors in the roll of the turtle collar.




She stopped on the way out of the store to get a five pound box of candy and another of salted nuts. Those would be things she couldn't well purchase at the little grocery store near Aster Street.

~ selections from Brentwood
by Grace Livingston Hill

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34



Paul Cesar Helleu
A Family Dinner At The Ritz, New York, 1920
 written in the corner of the sketch:
"Le Centre De La Famille: Les Trois Enfants Regardent Leur Mere"
"The center of the family: the three children watch their mama."



Hotel Jones Menu
Thanksgiving, November 28th, 1895
Winston, North Carolina

New River Raw Oysters
Iced Olives
Celery

SOUPS
Oxtail Broth
French Medication

ROASTS
Beef Fricandeau
Roast Loin of Pork with Apple Sauce
Roast Spring Lamb with Mushroom Sauce
Baked Ferris Ham
Roast Turkey with Chestnut Dressing
Prairie Chicken Steamed

ENTREES
Spaghettie a la Italiane
Veal Patties
Mock Duck
Pressed Chicken
Fricasseed Rabbit with White Sauce
Oyster Short Cakes


VEGETABLES
New York Boiled Dinner
Corn Pudding
Hot Slaw
Scalloped Tomatoes
Potatoes Surprise
Perfection Carolina Yam
Green Peas
Turnips with White Sauce
Lima Beans


RELISHES
Pickled Peaches
Mixed Pickles Chow Chow
Cranberries
Tomato Soy
Watermelon Pickles


PASTRY
Salted Grapes
Cheese Straws
Cream Cheese
Larabee's Snow Flake
Crackers
Deception Pumpkin Pie

DESSERT
White Citron Cake
Coconut Layer Cake
Fruit
Layer Cake
Plain Cake

JELLY
Cox's Gelatine with Whipped Cream

ICES
Pine Apple Ice Cream
Lemon Water Ice

FRUITS
Malaga Grapes
Bananas
Layer Raisins
Layer Figs
Apples
Florida Oranges
Mixed Nuts

Coffee
Oolong Tea
Milk
Belmont Water 


~ from Korner's Folly Cookbook by Beth Tartan ~

Autumn Leaves by John Everett Millais, 1855

"Lovely bonfire!" Sally said, poking it so that the flames shot up with a roaring, crackling sound. "The French call if feu de joie --I think that's an awfully good name for it, don't you? Is this a feu de joie or is it just burning rubbish?"

"It's a feu de joie," Barbara replied incautiously.

"Oh! That makes it ten times nicer," cried Sally. "Let's pile on more sticks until it's as high as the house. What's it for?"

"Well, it's for me," Barbara said lamely, "I can't tell you exactly--"

"A secret?"

Barbara nodded.

"How too marvelous!" breathed Sally. "Oh, I do think it was good of you to let me come and help you with it."

They worked away happily, piling more sticks onto the feu de joie so that the flames sank down for a minute and then leapt up higher than ever. It became so hot that they could not go near it. They poked at it with long sticks and laughed and the smoke poured into their lungs and made them cough; it was tremendous fun.

At last, worn out with their efforts, they retired to a short distance and sat down on a log to admire their handiwork.
~ from Miss Buncle by D.E. Stevenson ~
Last Christmas I was running behind . . . it happens . . . almost every year occasionally. My intentions had been to complete a handmade gift for each of my daughters.  Since that was going to be a sure fire recipe for a super stressed-out holiday, instead I bought each of my girls an embroidery project with a note attached that *I* was going to do the work later on.

For my cat loving girl . . . you know the one . . . I bought a set of pillowcases stamped with a winking cat snuggling under a quilt.



For anybody out there that feels compelled to follow packaged directions explicitly, (I know you're out there because I used to be one of you), break the bonds and be free. Change the colors to suit yourself. Change the pattern if you want.  The blue stamped ink will wash out, and the new embroidery design will be left behind.

That's what I did on this project.  I changed several of the colors and tweaked a couple of design instructions.  Once I wash it, no one will ever know that I broke the rules.


Sweet and colorful. It matches Bridget's sunny disposition!

~ Jodi
No I'm not traveling the world trying to grandma-ify places I visit!

Two things my parents always asked us on our way out the door . . .
1. Did you bring something to do?
2. Do you have a sweater? (I grew up in Florida; it would take a whole post to explain this one!)

Habits formed in our childhood die hard!

At 50, I still hate getting stuck somewhere with nothing to do. I like to keep a little handiwork in my purse to fill those gaps.  It makes me feel productive which is especially nice when other things feel like they are out of my control.  



So I've been carrying around this doily for a while. It's slow going because I do it in dibs and dabs of time.  But all those little bits add up to one finished doily and one 3/4 done. 


I wasn't sure of the color combination at first, but I have fallen in love with the chocolate and mint; it makes me think of Andes Candies.  I'm using bamboo crochet thread, and it is lusciously soft!

So . . .

1. Did you bring something to do?
2.  Do you have a sweater? :)

~ Jodi


I indicated in my last Small Bear post that I was constructing a home for Small Bear . . . on paper, of course. Before I reveal my sketch of his kitchen, I thought I'd share the story behind the why of his house.

My first paintings of Small Bear were in a very minimalist style; think lots of white space. If you're familiar with the British cartoon Kipper, you'll know what I'm talking about.

As his personality developed I began to paint more detailed pictures, but sometimes my finished product felt like something was missing.


 This is the picture that sparked the idea for Small Bear's house.

Notice anything? Yeah, me neither . . . and that's the point.

The problem was that I didn't have an established setting. This left the pictures short on detail and looking bland.

So I decided to create a home-sweet-home for Small Bear. The purpose of his drafted home is to provide a framework for the background in my finished artwork.



Last time Small Bear invited you into his Living Room. Today he wants to show you his kitchen. Please keep in mind that he hasn't painted yet.


See Small Bear up there on the left? He's still reaching for his honey pot.I think Small Bear might need a stool!

This drawing shows three different walls in the kitchen. There's a little diagram in the top right corner that displays the layout. Small Bear's kitchen has an old-fashioned charm.  He has an antique oven at one end of the kitchen, large pine tables for rolling pie crusts, lots of shelving to hold his favorites sweets, and quaint wallpaper in a soft green.

I'm afraid we'll have to conclude this behind the scene tour now because Small Bear needs my help getting his scones out of the oven!

~ Brittany

I wanted to share another peak into my sketchbook with you.  I drew this tiger and cub from a picture I found.  My focus on this was to create a border around the picture.  I looked up flowers found in India and used those as my inspiration.

Hibiscus (top right corner)
Plumeria (bottom right corner)
Peacock flowers (bottom left corner)
Azaleas (top left corner)

I need a reference source for the flowers that shows them all in the same context.  Because I used a jumble of online resources, I'm not sure if I got the flowers proportioned to each other properly. But otherwise, I really enjoyed the process and liked the end result. 

What are you drawing?
~ Bridget

My older brother is a huge pocket journal fan, and he asked me to jazz some up. I created six different designs for him; this is how I painted the mountain design.


What you'll need:
A notebook 
A sheet of clean paper
Black India ink
#00 round brush
#2 fan brush
pencil



Lay your journal flat on a sheet of white paper to protect the pages ( Don't use newspaper! The ink will rub off on your pages.)  

I have a reference picture that I already designed, and I use that as a "guide". My guide is a tool of inspiration, not a dictator. Each journal is unique.



Here is what it looks like sketched on the journal.
I always draw lightly, that way if I don't like the way something is turning out I can erase it.

Since watercolor paint bleeds when it gets wet, I use India ink. Because it's permanent ink, it allows the journal to live up to its outdoorsy name . . .
"Field Notes
... durable ..." 



Using my #00 round brush I outline the mountains first.
I'm always a little nervous when I start with the ink, but that turns out in my favor. Shaky hands make a more realistic mountain!



Then I fill in all the crevices with the same brush.



To paint the grass I use a DRY #2 fan brush (If you get the brush wet then all the bristles will stick together and there won't be separate blades of grass). I dab just the edges of the brush in some ink and then pat them on a dry portion of the plate. Then I gently brush the ink onto the journal using the pencil line as a guide. If you drag the brush you end up with long blades of grass; Dab the brush and you'll get short blades.



 

Let it dry for a few hours and then it's finished!


~ Brittany
Hand painted journals available in our Etsy shop.


God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, 
but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.
~ Martin Luther ~

This pincushion started with the rose fabric.  Once I chose that fabric, I cut out a 9-inch circle and then matched my embroidery floss to the fabric. I used the following:

DMC #961, rosy pink
DMC #221, wine red
DMC #3052, light green
DMC #3051, dark green
 

I cut a 9-inch circle out of coordinating felt and also two 9-inch circles of interfacing.




With one circle of interfacing on the back of the cream felt, I embroidered eight rambling roses evenly spaced around the circle. I used the rosy pink floss, #961.

The interfacing is optional, but I do find that it helps keep the back threads hidden from showing on the front.  It also helps stabilize the knots, so they don't pull through.



Here's what it looks like with the roses all completed and evenly spaced.



To add the greenery, I started with the light green, #3052.  I made a small straight stitch, angled upward, about half way down on the left side of each rose  I then made three lazy daisy stitches, one on each side of the stem and one at the tip of the stem.



Using the dark green, #3051, I repeated the exact same steps on the right side of each rose.  Then I added two lazy daisy stitches (with no stem), peeping out from under the rose, each at a slight angle.



To round out the design, I added French knots scattered about (not always the exact same number, but about seven or eight).  I used the dark wine color, #221.



Here you can see the progression of each step. 



Embroidery all done . . . 



. . . ready to sew together! 

~ Jodi

Small Bear's house has been under renovation these last few weeks.
There is now a floor plan for his home, and there will be detailed sketches of each room.

The living room is almost finished. 
I still have a few small changes I want to make,
 but the furniture arrangement will stay the same for the most part. 

I filled in this sketch with  colored pencils just to start playing with the color choices

However, the color palette is still a work in progress.
 I wanted Small Bear's house to have a cozy, informal feel to it. The brown fireplace in the first drawing seemed too dark and formal.  So I drew three other options and have been playing around with coloring and flooring.  The watercolor stripes on the lower corner are all colors that I know I'm using in his living room.  I think, the fireplace on the left is the one I prefer.

~ Brittany
Embroidery completed.

Trim the fabric leaving about 1 inch around the hoop (just to make it easier to manage).

 Hot glue around the edge of the inside hoop, and ...

 pull fabric tightly and press into glue.  Be careful ... the hot glue can come through the fabric.

 Press around the edges to make sure glue is tight.

 Trim the excess fabric by running the scissors along the edge of the hoop.

 Here's what the back will look like.  It can be hung just like this ... or ...
cut out a felt backing the same size as the hoop.  Add a thread hanger to the felt.

 Hot glue the felt to the hoop frame.  A glue stick makes a nice smoothing tool.

Happy fall!

~ Jodi

I start a new hoop art design by tracing the outside edge of my inside hoop.  Then I lay out my design lightly in pencil.  When I'm happy with it, I color it in so I can tweak my color choices before I start embroidering.  I sometimes use lined paper because it helps me to center my design.

The embroidery on this project is actually completed; I'll share that tomorrow ...

~ Jodi


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