baby photo album covers

A few of my co-workers commissioned me to create something creative for these clam-shell binders that we filled with archival photo sheet protectors.  We turned them into photo albums where the new mothers can print and store photos of their newborns. 

The first was having a baby boy, but I didn't know what colors she was using in decorating the baby's room, but the baby boy blue still worked out just fine.  This was my first try, but I think it looks pretty good.  I used two old shirts (the two striped pieces) and three swatches of new fabric in the design.  It needed some more interest so I added the ribbon and buttons.  I used HeatnBond Ultrahold fabric adhesive to adhere the fabrics to each other.  Then I used a low-temp glue gun to wrap the fabric around a matte board I pre-cut to place on the binder's cover.  I did not want to puncture the binder itself because that would weaken the cover and open holes for pests and dust. It was dull looking with just the fabric, so I decided to stitch down some ribbon and buttons for interest.  I probably could have done this prior to gluing it to the board, but I also think that stitching through the board secures the buttons and thread more.   I then glued the finished cover to the front of the clam-shell binder, and voila!  Baby Boy Blue Cover for a photo album.

The second one was for a co-worker having her first baby girl.  The new momma-to-be is all about pink and bling, so I knew that it needed to have a little more glitz than the Baby Boy Blue.  I used to have a pretty pink button-down shirt that had some clear sequins stitched in the front, so I cut two swatches of this fabric, including the gem snap-buttons.  I used this for the top and bottom sections of the design.  The middle swatch of fabric comes from a pink knit shirt I found in Goodwill years ago.  I dug around in my beads and found a few that seemed to match and add some bling to the overall feel of the cover.  The beads on the ribbon in the middle section can slide up and down a little on the iridescent ribbon.  The beads and ribbon at the bottom half hide a rough edge in the pink plaid, and it was stitched down in-between each bead section.  I am not a big fan of pink, but this one turned out quite well, I think!  Hello, Baby Girl Pink Cover.

breaker-switch

It has been a long time to feel
the electrical current flow,
strike through this stagnant blood
and spark fire in a kiss or touch:
arms enclose, shoulders hug,
silent love murmurs red.

Daydreams of inappropriate 
matches, smolder in my guarded
words, hide-and-hide moments,
wait for a match to ignite and
burn the dreamed love letters,
stolen evening wishes.

---
Over-worked emotional babble. :P

bird

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings." - Victor Hugo (1802-1885; French Romantic Poet, Novelist, and Dramatist)

"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941; Indian Poet, Playwright, and Essayist; Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913)

"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn." - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862; American Essayist, Poet, and Philosopher)

"I wanted to know the name of every stone and flower and insect and bird and beast. I wanted to know where it got its color, where it got its life - but there was no one to tell me." - George Washington Carver (1864-1943; American horticulturist, Chemist, and Educator)

secret treasures

I forgot I have a few things I am not supposed to have.  I kept them for decorative purposes, but now I don't know where I'd put them in this house?!

Fourth

I have no plans today for the Fourth of July.  I don't believe I am even going to go anywhere to celebrate.  If I were still in Mississippi or Kentucky there'd be gatherings I couldn't avoid being part of because that is what family and friends are for - cookouts, potlucks, living room jams, front porch ramblings.  But I've not yet found that niche here in Oklahoma.  I may go to Lake Hefner around sunset and see what's happening there and take pictures.  Probably will be a good many sailboats out.  I wish there were fireworks somewhere near the lake; The reflections on the water surface would be spectacular.

Just a little while ago a friend posted this infographic for Gumbo.  It made me crave Louisiana cooking, and New Orleans culture especially.  I have never made Gumbo before, but my mother has made it from time to time.  Just like red beans and rice recipes, whenever I asked her for the one she references her response is nearly always, oh, I just do it.  She knows it by heart and knows the art of cooking so well that if she doesn't have what is required she knows how to substitute ingredients so that it is still an marvelous and adventurous meal.  I'd like to learn that intuitive art of cooking.

Birds in the kitchen

I have also added a few more flying birds to my kitchen... Here's a few bird-watching moments:

The birds-on-a-wire idea along the top of the backdoor and window frame.  There's my little coffee maker corner.  I still need a curtain for that window but I haven't found the right one yet.

I felt the gaps between some of the pots and pans hanging on the wall needed a little color and flight.  Nice, huh?  I need to add a few more pots and pans, too, anyway.  :)

Oh, I finished the flowers since this picture was taken.  I also added some flying birds to the upper cabinets.  I still want to add some "grass" below the flowers and creeping animals on the lower cabinets, but this is a good enough peek.  I have been considering replacing the kitchen rugs with solid green ones, but it doesn't really matter. This picture was taken in March when it was still really cold outside and I had a draft-stopper rolled up in front of the back door. I'd love to have the light fixture in the kitchen replaced.

Birds in the dining room

Last night I cut out more flying and perched bird silhouettes to put on the walls in the dining room.  I saw on several blogs these picture frame walls and I wanted to mimic the idea, but I also wanted to tie the room in with other adjacent rooms... The best, easiest, and most fun way was to incorporate these birds.  So below I have included some photos from my dining room in progress.  I have not yet filled the frames with the pictures I intend to use... Some frames have photographs from a recent exhibit.  I will fill all the frames with some of my own favorite photography, though in sepia-tone.  I plan to accomplish this by August 1st!