My SWAP ENVIES ARRIVED!

Some days going to the mailbox is pure pleasure. Like today. I opened the door, and riffled through the pile of junk mail, giving all of it a silent "Pffft!", until I came to this:


What is that?! I wondered, and then I remembered the Decorative Envies (envelopes) swap. Oh! Oh, goodness. Sarah's decorated envelopes for me. Do you know what self-restraint I exercised? I turned the letter over, and the back was even better than the front:


And then...and then...sigh. I couldn't open it! I was on my way to pick up Ceili from the dog groomer. Opening the envelope might damage it and I didn't want to risk that before I took pictures. Dang. I put the letter on the front passenger seat, where it sat and lured and tantalized until Ceili and I got home.

And then...more delay. Find a nice background to lay it on... Get the camera... Free up the camera card so I could take it out of the laptop and put it back in the camera...Finally!

See? I get a fabulous envie I can send to someone else, too! I love the row of old cars. Which reminds me, the theme of this swap was Parade. Didn't Sarah do a wonderful job of conveying it?


Those old cars remind me of my childhood, county fairs, drive-in movies with my family, and yes, parades.

Can you tell I spent a good deal of my childhood out in the country? The picture on the back reminded me of all those things, too! (Well, except for the drive-in. Don't think I ever saw a tractor there. Maybe a flatbed truck, though.)


So, thank you, Sarah! My envies are delightful, and my mind is asking, "Who? Who is going to get a note or letter tucked inside?"

I hope Sarah likes the ones I sent her. I can tell I have a ways to go before I reach the level she's at, though!

And on that note, I think I'll go to bed. Smiling.

A SMOKIN' LITTLE PURSE

Okay, truth in titling: My friend, Buddy, did the smokin'.

Then he gave me the cigar boxes to prove it, and they were the awesomest cigar boxes I've ever seen, bar none.



Never have I been so glad that someone I knew was a smoker! Unfortunately, never, also, have I been so busy, so the Big Bag o' Boxes lay in my sewing room floor for several weeks, lurking in the corner of the room, and tiptoeing into my head whenever they saw fit.

Then, the other night, I was sitting with my laptop, minding my own business, when DH declared his intention to go to sleep. I shut my laptop, and the thought was there, instantly: Okay. I have to make something now. ( If I go too long without creating, I get kinda itchy inside, somehow. Do you ever have those moments, when you just have to make something, have to let your creative impulses hold sway?)

Downstairs I trooped, and this is the result of that "make something now" moment:




This is, as it were, a prototype, and there are a few things I'll do differently next time, but on the whole I think the bag turned out really cool. I'm looking forward to doing one with lots of lace, a plaid one, a polka dot one, a floral....

WATER BOTTLE CRAFT

It's not exactly a secret: I hate to throw anything away. I do recycle as much as I can, but see it as just a greener way to discard something. I also have issues with buying water, especially since our water here is so good, but the recent heat, coupled with a two-day long outside show sent me to the store for a case of it. (Hint: Freeze at least half the water you plan to take. It will keep the other bottles cold, and melt as the day goes on, giving you lovely ice water to drink, and/or a cooling bottle to hold against wrists and neck.)

So, there I stood yesterday, with a cluster of empty water bottles on the kitchen counter. What to do? Why, make squids, or dangles, or whatever you want to call them! It's an easy craft for older kids or grown-ups who don't like to make garbage.

You need:


The Materials

• Empty water bottles


• Scissors


• Small things to hang inside the bottle neck


• Wire or string

Begin by making a long, spiral cut the length of the bottle, starting wherever you want. I began my cut just below the bell shape. My water bottle was quite thin and flexible, so to begin the cut, I just kind of squished the side flat. You might have to poke a starter hole in a sturdier bottle.

Here's the path my scissors took:


A Spiral Course

As you can see, the trick is to cut almost all the way around, and then angle your cut down. I pretty much followed the indentations around the bottle itself, including where there was a kind of wave pattern. (I thought it would look cool to "catch the waves", but it didn't actually show, so you can just do a plain spiral.) Go all the way to the bottom of the bottle, but don't cut the bottom off.

When you've finished your spiral, you'll have this:




Do that to three bottles, and nest the neck ends together in a stack, so that the curls hang from three different places.

Now take one of the little items you've gathered--a large bead, a key, a small toy, whatever you like that will fit inside the belled top of the bottle, but not go through the neck. If it has a hole in it, run a string or length of wire through. (I used wire, just because I knew where I had a good stash of different colors. It took about 18" (46 cm).) If there's no hole, just tie it around the piece.

Run the string or wire up through all three bottle necks. Your bright object will add a bit of color, and provide a stopper so you can hang the "squid" up.

When you have the string through the top neck, you can spread it to each side, and screw the top on. It's an option that doesn't affect anything. In fact, without the lid, you have transparency all the way up, which might be even better. But here's what I did:



Up, Through, and Down


Here's are close-ups of my bottles. I used an old Christmas ornament and a big red button.





Take your squid outside and hang it from a tree, or arbor. Or dangle it from something in your room. (I put a single, spiral-cut bottle up for the neighbor's kitten, and she loves it. It's very bouncy. The bottle. Not the kitten. Well, actually, both of them.)