Pins & Needles

Social Crafting Network

Lillie Mae's Crafts is pleased to announce our new Social Crafting Network

"Pins & Needles."

A forum and crafting network for crafters of all kinds. So...please join in the fun. Make new friends who share your love of crafts.

Hope to see you there!!!

$2.50 Sale

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Tid-Bits page

where everything is $2.50

New at Lillie Mae's Crafts

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Pattern Mart

Etsy

Happy Belated 67th Birthday to Janet

October 24th, 1942

Hi,

I was born in Normal, IL.

I do enjoy doll making and have joined a Halloween challenge.  Right now on my thread stand I have 5 completed (except for hair) Witch heads.  I have 4 doll bodies and 1 set of legs (woot - they all are demanding this pair) and 1 set of arms (wire through fingers).  I also have something else that I have elaborately made but cannot show or tell yet. It has been fun making up a story for this project and it will be an adventure completing it.  I just completed a prim witch (on my blog), my first. But if you saw the pattern, she looks nothing like it!!!!  I've been making cloth dolls about 3 years.

I also am in an apron swap.  I enjoy making different aprons. Just as I do with the dolls, I never can follow a pattern completely and it becomes a work of art. . . most of the time.  

I'm widowed and retired.  I enjoy every single God given day.

I live in a condo and am not happy with it b/c I cannot have a pups or any pets. I cannot have a garden (I feel that's where the world is headed).  I've been in FL over 20 years (West Palm Beach).  I retired on Friday, the stock market crashed on Monday and Tuesday I found out what little monies I have went into AIG.  So, I am a BIG believer that God knows what He is doing and everything will be OK. I married and raised two girls, Tambra and Debra.  Now I have 6 wonderful grands.

Daddy is 93, healthy but too weak to be back at residential care. He is in IL, I visit every year. My sister and her hubby take good care of him (he is in a nursing home).  He loved being in residential care, but not so much the nursing home.

Please visit my website, you will get an idea of who I am and most all my dolls are on it. The intro doll is my very first doll. http://jkwart.blogspot.com

Blessings, 

Janet Wilcox

http://jkwart.blogspot.com

jkwgalleries@gmail.com

Birthday Gifts

For her birthday gift from Lillie Mae's Crafts, Janet has selected Ima Good Witch.  Enjoy!!!

If anyone would like to wish Janet a happy birthday just drop me a note at lilliemaescrafts@yahoo.com and I'll be sure to post it in the next newsletter.

Craft Room Design

http://www.theartfulcrafter.com/craft-room.html

Easy Clean Floor

First you will want an easy to clean floor surface like a durable concrete floor paint, ceramic tile or linoleum. If you stand a lot while crafting, cushioned linoleum would be best.

Craft Room Furniture and Fixtures

Next consider the furniture and fixtures you need in order to optimize your work space. The largest one will probably be a large work table or desk where you can work clay, make jewelry and perhaps even do some of your painting.

Decide where this piece will go: in the center of the craft room so you can work around from all angles; or against a wall. That given, figure out how to best light this primary work space.

Next consider where you can install a sink for paint clean-up and the “other messy stuff” in the craft room. A utility sink doesn’t cost much and would be money well spent.

Think of the steps you’ll save not running back and forth to the kitchen or nearest bathroom for clean-up.

If you work with polymer clay, you may want to have a dedicated toaster oven and pasta machine. If so, you will need at least one kitchen-type counter: smooth and heat resistant. Have a few drawers under the counter to hold your rolling pin and clay rollers, extruders, clay blades, etc.

Be sure your craft room has a comfortable chair. A desk chair on wheels is ideal. You can just scoot from station to station when you need supplies or to check a work in the oven or something soaking in the sink.

You probably want to visually separate your craft room from the rest of the garage. This can be done by building a non-support wall or simply by putting in some tall shelves with solid backs.

Whatever wall space remains can be used for storage shelves and cabinets. If you paint on large surfaces like canvas or panels, you may want to leave an open space under the counter with vertical dividers to hold them upright.

If you keep files of design ideas or instruction booklets or other papers relating to your crafting, you’ll need one or two file drawers.

Put closed cabinets in the craft room to store messy stuff like jars of paint, glue and spray cans. Leave open shelves where you want to stack things, arrange books or place labeled boxes of supplies in clear view.

I save all of my craft magazines intact because they are so full of great ideas I want to try “someday”. I don’t cut out and file the articles because there are so many. Rather, I have a notebook in which I jot the magazine title and date, followed by project title(s), page(s) and a brief description of the one(s) I want to do.

My magazines are shelved by title and date; so whenever I have time to try a new project, I just skim down the list in my notebook to locate the magazine and project.

To design the rest of your storage components for your craft room, you need to analyze your materials and work habits. Think about how you craft (or ideally would craft in your newly-designed space) and list all the rest of your craft “stuff”.

At the top of your list would be things you use almost every time you craft, like pencils, scissors, glue, craft knife. At the bottom would be things you use infrequently or can be easily grouped, like Christmas-related items. 

The things you use every day belong right on the desk or table top in desk organizers, mugs or baskets. I have all sorts of baskets in my craft room. Small one-handled baskets on the counter hold scissors, grommet tool, leather punch, rulers, paint brushes and crochet/knitting needles.

Larger two-handled baskets sit on the floor and hold my craft magazine collection, the various plastic and glassine bags I use for packaging and odds and ends I’ve collected for possible projects (like wooden cigar boxes, cedar mothballs and glow-in-the-dark stars).

You probably already have a good storage system for your jewelry-making, but here are a few ideas that work well for me. I have a couple of rolling carts with slide out baskets to hold bead collections that came in their own divided clear plastic boxes, as well as a couple of hinged plastic boxes purchased empty to house jewelry findings. The rolling carts slide under my work table when I’m not beading.

Those plastic systems with tiny drawers designed to organize nails and screws are also very good for beading supplies and fit nicely at the back of a counter. They’re also stackable.

The items that you use infrequently can be organized and stored in labeled boxes. Rubbermaid storage boxes are very convenient. Least used boxed items go on the top shelf. More frequently used boxed supplies go on lower shelves.

Finally, you may want to reserve some wall space in the craft room for a bulletin board, calendar and/or inspirational artwork – perhaps some of your own work.  

Need more ideas?  Here are some craft room pictures:

Amber's craft room

http://myaimistrue.com/2007/07/the-craft-room/

pictures are under – amberscraftroom –

Tara Anderson's Craft Room

http://www.flickr.com/photos/taraanderson/sets/72157594479484839/

Nancy's Craft Room

http://stampinat6213.blogspot.com/2007/07/my-craft-room.html

Organized Craft Room Ideas

http://www.hgtv.com/organizing/organized-craft-room-ideas/index.html

Craft Room and Home Studio Ideas

http://www.home-designing.com/2009/05/craft-room-home-studio-setup

Craft Room Images

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1W1GFRD_en&q=craft+room+ideas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=WlPQSvb2OIjwMaaTrJQD&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCUQsAQwAw

Top 12 Ideas and Articles for Organizing Your Craft Room

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/ideafile/tp/ttcraftroomorg.htm

A heartwarming Christmas story from Ronda:

Our daughter-in-law came to visit over Christmas while our son was in Iraq. We go a friend's home every year. My friend's parents are always there as well. Our daughter-in-law was, as you can imagine, feeling very lonely without our son. Our friends made her feel so welcomed. She really had a great time. They had presents for her as well. When we went to the airport the next day, I am crying that she has to go home. We get to the ticket counter AND SHE GOT BUMPED FROM HER FLIGHT!! We were so happy. We go back the next day and asked if she could be bumped again. The ticket agent said no, but that he would change her flight to let her stay two more days and not charge us!!! That was the best. We were so excited. It was just an awesome family time, we made the most of it with our son being gone. Last year, what was really special, he and several other of the guys in his shop, got to return from Iraq early. He actually got home just a couple days before Christmas! Sorry, no humorous stories, just heartwarming.

I made snow people ornaments with names embroidered on the front of them.

The girls are my friend’s daughters that we go to for Christmas.  I made Snow People out of store bought gloves and ear muffs

Thank you Ronda...I love this!!!

Here's a humorous Christmas tale from Aunt Pitty Pat:

A Funny Christmas Tale from Aunt Pitty Pat:

Christmas was ruined by the Grinch.

For about 34 years I have held my annual Christmas tree trimming party. I have this huge 10 foot Christmas tree.  That needs to be trimmed with lights and ornaments.  Lots of friends come and help me trim it for Season.  We watch Christmas movies, eat wonderful baked goods, homemade Summer Sausage.... and any other treat we can think of to throw out there on the table. Usually the party starts around 7 pm and ends when the sun comes up :) Yes we party until the cows come home!!!

No one drives home if they were drinking, they have to stay over.  This particular year....The weather was bad outside. Cold, snowy and icy, but it didn't stop the friends from coming. I have held this huge party for years.  My friends started asking about the party along about Halloween. Are you going to hold your usual Elf Party? Why yes is always the answer. It's always so much fun!

There is always a huge turn out.  One year I had 70 people in my house. To enter the party... it was sort of a thing, you would bring in a handcrafted ornament to hostess for putting on the evenings events.  This was my way to give all of my friends a wonderful Holiday gift ;) Fun, food, laughter and lasting friendships. 

One particular party comes to mind when we were just getting ready to light the tree. The house was dark!!  When all of a sudden there was a huge boom and the house rocked. Of course everyone ran to the front door to see what was the clatter. I looked out and where my porch was... there was a car. The streets were slick with ice and I lived on a curve.  LOL!!!  Do I need to say more?  The car ended up running in to my house. This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase party crashers!!!

The two occupants of the vehicle were trying to scramble out the broken windows and trying to get away...the cops were in hot pursuit behind them. The two men had quite a surprise as they tried to flee from the vehicle. I looked up and some of my friends had came out the back door and were standing around the vehicle with guns drawn. Yes most of my guests were COPS!!! I bet the bad guys were surprised. It turns out the two men were felons fleeing from an armed robbery. Yeah!!! Don't you just love it when the good guys win! This is one tree trimming party that will never be forgotten by all of my friends or by me.

Blog: http:auntpittypats.blogspot.com/
Etsy: AuntPittyPats.etsy.com
Etsy: cowgrlup.etsy.com
Don't Squat with yer spurs on!!!! 

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