Breathe!!

I've been working so hard for this day, I haven't had much time to stop and breathe. Now I can relax a bit, at least after I finish my Christmas cards and do a bit of grocery shopping, which I plan to do today. But yesterday was a far different story when Kathy came to help me finish my journals and spend some quality time shopping for her Christmas present.



When Kathy got here yesterday, I had this sign all ready for her! See Halle? I really did tell her what you said!


Kathy always brings things in this bag. Yesterday was no exception. She brought me some awesome scrapbook paper she didn't want anymore, a couple of Sew Somerset magazines, a bunch of paper scraps, and two punches she is loaning me. She also brought me a wrapped gift that, when opened, revealed a rocking horse she painted, which I will show on Wednesday.

When the bag was empty, she set it on the floor and it wasn't long until Bleubeard spotted it. He loves that bag and wants to snuggle in it every time she brings it. Yesterday was no exception, but this time, I was able to catch him on camera. However, it was so dark in that corner of the kitchen, I had to lighten it in Photoshop. When I did, it turned my blue cat into a black one.

Next it was "breakfast" with homemade cookies brought by Kathy, and coffee I made while waiting for her.


After discussing our plans for the day, it was off to the craft room, where we added straps to two covers I had not finished. Kathy sewed two ribbons together because I didn't have anything that actually matched the covers.



Here she is finishing the second cover.


By this time, my back was starting to ache, so I brought a chair in, then got distracted and started doing something else. When you snooze, you lose, and Bleubeard wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to be close to Kathy.


It didn't take Kathy long and all five journal covers were finished.


Then it was time to add the signatures. That was when the real production line started and I simply didn't have time to take photos.

It was great though, and Kathy did a super job of sewing the signatures to the pages. We measured and she sewed the first set of signatures into each of the books. After she finished that, she changed the foot on my machine and put on the zipper foot. The problem with my machine is, each foot has to fit onto the same shaft. You have to remove one foot, place the other on the shaft, then put the original foot back on the same shaft. That is something I simply couldn't do, and Kathy had a hard time getting the zipper foot on this time, although she had made it look so easy the first time she did it several weeks ago.

After we assembled each of the second set of signatures and she had sewn them into the books, it was time to eat. I had prepared some stuffed fish, but in the end, I decided I didn't want to make the rice and green bean casserole, so decided to take Kathy to lunch instead. The fish will be my meals for the next few days, along with the green bean casserole and the cookies Kathy left.

Kathy decided there had to be a better way to put on the zipper foot, so we went to the Singer store in my neighborhood, where they had a zipper foot that fit my machine that was already on a shaft. Now, all I have to do is loosen a screw and replace one shaft with another. Kathy even bought it for me, since she said it was part of my sewing machine she had given me two years ago. How's that for a deal? What an excellent Christmas gift, too.


After a really hearty meal, where I ate positively too much, we went to Mrs. O'Leary's, an awesome scrapbook and altered art store. Here Kathy is admiring a torso that was being altered,


as well as an altered art doll. This one looks SO like something Kathy would make.


For some reason, Kathy was drawn to the tree you see on the right. They were selling kits for making your own, so Kathy bought a kit, mainly for the pattern.


Here she's drawn to another torso, where this one opens at the bottom, revealing decorations inside. There were others that opened at the top, too.

It was well after five before we finished looking. I bought Kathy a gift certificate and the gal handed it to her at the register while I took one last look at the dies, the new Tim Holtz die cutter which looks like a suitcase, and his masks. They didn't have anything on my list, so I let Kathy do all the shopping.


At one point, I went into another room and realized the lights were out in the rest of the building. It was official. We had closed the place. The poor woman who (bless her heart) was good enough not to say a word about having closed quite some time before, waited patiently for us to finish shopping.


As I was removing photos from my camera, I realized I had not taken photos of the completed books. Here are five, ready to scan the contents, then sell. I can finally breathe!!

Today's artist is the multi-talented Brandi Strickland. Whether you enjoy mixed media, collage, digital art, or photography, you will be totally impressed by this artist who lives in Virginia in the US. Both colorful and unique, Brandi's art should keep you busy all weekend. So drop by her site today, and be prepared to stay awhile. There's a lot to see.