Longest Day of the Year

Last week we ventured out to The Griffith Observatory to watch the sunset on the longest day of the year. It is one of my most favorite places in Los Angeles. I love this building. A few years ago we painted on location here. Flashback blog post here. On a clear day the view of the city is fantastic. You also have a great view of the Hollywood sign.

Inside is a free museum. All about space, stars, orbits, gravity, seasons. They have a Tesla Coil. And of coarse, the giant telescope.

This is a monument to James Dean. The movie Rebel Without a Cause was filmed here. I love the actors, but don't really like the film. I was named for Natalie Wood, after all. 

Waiting for the sunset. While the day had been nice and warm, temps had dropped and it was a little chilly. I definitely could have used a sweater.

Handmade Birthday

This is just a small portion of D.D.'s birthday (the actual day). We started celebrating last weekend and will continue through this weekend. Why limit yourself to just ONE day? 

I've been teaching myself embroidery. And I've been reading about Jane Austen, so when I came across her signature I decided to give stitching it a try. It was a little tricky, but satin stitching the cameo was fairly simple.

You're probably wondering WHAT this is. It is what D.D. asked for when I asked her what she wanted me to make her for her birthday. I'll explain. Since she was diagnosed with Graves Disease a few months ago she has had to start taking quite a few medications. She has been carting them around in a gallon ziplock bag. She asked me to make her a drawstring bag to keep all those pills and things in. It's quilted, lined and turned out better than I thought. She was delighted. It exceeded her expectations. 

I was feeling like I didn't have enough. You have to understand that growing up our mom always made a HUGE deal out of birthdays. She still does. So the night before D.D.'s birthday I decided to make a bunting banner. I used materials I had on hand. I would have done it a little different if I had thought about it sooner. But still, I like how it turned out.

And I LOVE so much how it looks on the living room wall I just might have to make an everyday banner to keep up year round! 

I had a few ideas about birthday cake. Last year I made a Boston Cream Pie that was kind of a disaster. But we're heading to San Diego this weekend and any cake would dry out before we could finish. And mom is baking her a cake. We have NO freezer to speak of so I couldn't make my specialty ice cream cake. Plus, I'm especially low on funds. Sooooo, cheap and tasty won out. Yep, rice krispy treats! Always a hit. 

P.S. the rice krispy treats are almost gone!

Good thing I know my sister so well and that she loved everything I did. Another successful handmade birthday.

Happy Birthday Desiree Dawn

This my gorgeous sister Desiree Dawn, or D.D. as I call her. She's a great sister, a great friend, a great roommate, a great business partner, and SUPER funny. She is very talented and creative. I LOVE her!

We did a photo shoot last weekend. This is her being silly.

I'll be posting the birthday gifts I made her later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Painting with Coffee part 2

Maybe you remember my post last Fall about painting with coffee? Well, I never got around to painting anything on my coffee prepared paper. And then I did and forgot to share.

This is the house where I grew up. (Not the best photo---taken with my iPhone---sorry). I was going to frame it for my dad for his birthday, but it just wasn't working. The coffee made the paper too dark and when I tried to lighten it with white (read frustratingly opaque) it just made the whole thing muddy. So I chose to not overwork it, leave it in an unfinished state, and sew it to the front of some card stock for Dad's birthday card. 

I still have a few more coffee treated papers that I will try to come up with better subjects to paint.

Cancer Update

The Wilde men at Grandpa Wilde's grave last weekend for Memorial Day.

I haven't done an update on Dad's cancer for a while because, quite frankly, there hasn't been anything good to report. Before Christmas his PET scan showed that his chemotherapy was working. We were ecstatic! But a few months later his next scan showed that it had stopped being effective. So his doctors tried a different chemo drug. We haven't known how well that was working until last week---although thankfully the side effects have been less severe.

Dad's latest scan showed that the cancer has grown bigger in some places. The good news is that it is still not in any new organs or in his bones. He will begin a NEW chemo treatment this week. He will receive an injection every 8 days for 3 weeks and then have a week off, as opposed to the injections he has been getting every 21 days. He will have another scan in 2 months time to determine if this is working. We can only keep hoping and praying for the best. At least his Shingles are clearing up. It just seems like he can't catch a break. Although he is out golfing today, so for today he is a happy man!

Music Monday:::SWEETER

Okay, I'm a little late to the party. But I LOVE Gavin DeGraw. I vaguely knew who he was before Dancing With The Stars. (DWTS is my guilty pleasure---the ONLY reality TV show I watch.) Cue premier night of DWTS---Gavin was completely endearing. His smile *swoon*. The week he performed the Rumba I became absolutely smitten. No, he wasn't the best dancer and he knew it, but I enjoyed watching him nonetheless. 

So of course I had to look him up on Spotify. Wait? He is a singer AND songwriter? MAJOR talent. If I could have my dream job it would be a MUSICIAN. But FIRST I would need some talent and SECOND I'd need to overcome my incredible shyness. 

Imagine my excitement when I found out he was coming to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Free concert? Perfect for my budget! Premium tickets? Even better.

This is Gavin arriving. There was a crack in the fence right where I was standing. After I took one picture I felt  little like a stalking paparazzi, so I didn't take any more. Speaking of stalking, Mr. DeGraw has some crazy stalker fans. Those girls are CRAZY.

Sound check was AWESOME! We saw the whole thing thru the fence. Then we got a front row place right in front of the stage. This guy is AMAZING live! That gravel in his voice is so sexy. And so appreciative of his fans and his band. What a sweetie!

Did you catch me behind Jimmy Kimmel in the beginning? Lower right corner. D.D. was next to me, but got cut out of the shot. Gavin DeGraw is touring this Summer. Check him out. Or check out his newest album Sweeter if you haven't already.

Animal Folks

INTRODUCING: 

ANIMAL FOLKS!

Adorable, right? I've had this idea for awhile---combining my love of crochet and sewing. And I would be lying if I didn't say this project wasn't a little like playing paper dolls---another of my major loves.

Mr. Fox was the first. I combined a few of my crochet patterns to make the doll part. Then I sat down with some paper to sketch out shirt, vest, and jacket patterns. After making sample clothes out of scrap fabric, I was ready to choose his wardrobe. DASHING!

Mr. Elephant came next. D.D. has always loved elephants. I had to pretty much create his body making up my own pattern. I don't know if you can tell, but he has a little belly paunch---D's idea. 

I couldn't find gray yarn in the same brand I made the fox out of, so the elephant is a little smaller. That means I also had to tailor his clothes to be smaller. I LOVE his jacket! My Mom used this corduroy to make matching outfits for us girls when we were small.

Mr. Rabbit came third. His blue velvet jacket is so soft! (I have a Sylvia-Louise handbag made out of it!) I have other animals in mind to try. I'm not sure if I will be making these to sell or not. Much of the clothing is hand stitched due to the nature of it being so small. And these are not child safe toys. (Plastic eyes, small buttons)

So far I've only made gentlemen. I'm not sure if I could make ladies outfits to equal those of the men. We'll see!