Shabby Lane Shops

First, I'd like to thank everyone who left sweet comments for my mom!  I'll help her reply to your messages during the week.  I'm just thrilled that you've all taken to my mom so much.  I know that the kindness you've shown her has helped her to cope with her BiPolar and her Depression.

I'd also like to say a special thank you to my sweet friend Lynn Stevens for taking the time to be my Guest Blogger earlier this week.  Lynn has been under the weather but despite her discomfort, she put together a wonderful blog post for me on her Steampunk Art Work and How To Submit Work To Magazines.  Thank you so much Lynn!

I recently decided to join the wonderful online shopping mall called, "Shabby Lane Shops".  If you have a love for handmade, if you love shabby chic, cottage style, country, victorian, romantic and beautiful seasonal items, you will love visiting this site.

 There is so much to see and so much to do and the community is wonderful!  This is a group of very gifted shop owners, many I've already met through blog land and all are just sweet and helpful as can be!

There are free ECards to send:

 Free Postcards to download:

 And recipes:

  
Here's my little corner of Shabby Lane Shops:

Many shop owners, including myself offer coupons through SLS.  You can find the coupon codes here.
I've also added the link to the coupon code page to my sidebar.

If you're a magazine junkie like me, you may have already seen the ads for SLS:

Really, there are so many fun things to do here, grab a cup of tea and please hop over to take a look-see!  If you're a shop owner, you may want to consider joining to help promote your shop. 

I'll leave you today with my latest creations.  I've been making felted art brooches:

 All are available in my Etsy shop.  And don't forget to grab my coupon code from Shabby Lane Shops.

And The Winner Is........

We've reached our goal of 300 Followers!  Thank you everyone!!!

My husband drew a name from the basket last night.  Here is the winner:

Anne at Anne's Phamily Blog

Anne, please email me with your street address so I can mail your prize to you!  Congratulations!!!!

Guest Blogger - Lynn Stevens

I've been taken, for quite some time now, by Steampunk Art.  I see it all over the beautiful Somerset Studio magazines that I love and I see it online.  One of my sweet blog friends, Lynn Stevens of Trash To Treasure Art blog, does the most beautiful Steampunk Art that I've ever seen!  I invited Lynn to be my Guest Blogger for October 1st.  Lynn had to have emergency surgery and is now recovering so we're a bit late on my Guest Blogger post for October 1st but as I told Lynn, her health is the most important thing.  Lynn was feeling well enough last night to send me her post so here it is.  Please welcome my friend, Lynn Stevens:

Steampunk works and How to get Published

by Lynn Stevens

I was thrilled when Pam asked me to share with you all a little about my Steampunk work and how I
go about getting my work published.

Steampunk has been around for quite some time and has found its way into the Art field. Its a mix of
Victorian meets Mechanical if you will, think Jules Vern. Often made up of watch & clock parts,
Airships, cogs, light bulbs, corsets, salvaged vintage jewelry. just about anything mechanical can be
taken apart and used in Steampunk. That's the fun of it !!! discovering found objects to use in your art.
I Love doing Jewelry, altered art, cards, ATC's, etc.

I really fell in Love with the idea of Nautical Steampunk. The fun of putting together some contraption
of something you might have found delving deep in the waters with an old Sea Captain. I came up with
"Under the Sea" A combination of stamps from Oxford Impressions. (One of the Design teams I'm on)
and bits and bobs I gathered along my creative journey. A did and entire collection of Sea Faring
pieces.

Steampunk can also take to the land, I did an entire series of Train themed pieces for Artistic Outpost
(another one of my DT's I'm on.)
Using the traditional cog and watch parts for my creations.

Or the Air, Yes Airships or flying machines have such a fun bit of whimsy. A few pieces I did when
asked to be a Guest Designer for Alpha stamps.

A few of my jewelry pieces available on my Etsy site.

 The best thing about Steampunk is ANYTHING goes. Just have fun!!!
Getting Published
I've been fortunate to have been published in many of Stampington's publications, Somerset Studios,
Somerset Gallery, Belle Amour Jewelry, Belle Amour, Somerset Home, Stampers Sampler, Take Ten,
Catch Up issues. Altered Arts, and a few others. I'm most excited about a collaborative project with my
local stamp group coming out in Somerset Galley that features several Steampunk Birds we created
together. I included a how to so you can create your own birds. So watch for it in December.

The best thing I can tell you about being published is just do it!! You'll never know if you don't try.
Submit original work, familiarize your self with the type of art each publication is looking for. There's
so many out there, your sure to find one that fits your style. Most magazine will have a call for entries
listed on their website for upcoming themes or challenges. Keep in mind they work many months
ahead ,so something you submit may not come out for 8 to 9 months. They often will hold your work
for an extended period of time for possible future issues, So if its something you can't be without don't
send it. You'll need to send return postage if you want your art returned. You need to keep a list of
everything that went in to making your project along with detailed instructions on how you put it
together. With credits given for products used. Attach it to the art itself. I usually put all my information
on a 3 x 5 card. Include your name, address, phone #, email address. Name of art piece and
instructions.

An added bonus is many companies offer incentives when using their products and will send you free
merchandise. Just check with the companies you use and ask about their incentive program. If your
piece is chosen for a special write up the magazine will contact you for more information or photos and
ask for an electronic version. So keep good records and photos of your submissions. You also receive a
complimentary issues or voucher in the magazine your published in. It sounds like a lot of work but
believe me it is well worth the effort!

I currently work on several design teams. Alpha Stamps, Oxford Impressions, Artistic Outpost,
Gingersnap Creations. and usually guest host on a different design team each month. I keep a up to date
blog http://trashtotreasureart.blogspot.com and sell some of my pieces on my Etsy site.

I'd like to thank Lynn for being my guest blogger today.  I hope you enjoyed reading about Lynn's Steampunk Art and how to submit work to magazines.

On a final note for today, I have reached 300 Followers!  Yeah!!!  We will have our drawing when Scott gets home from work tonight and I will post the winner's name for my Sewing Art Quilt first thing on Friday morning so please stop back to see if you won!

Crazy Quilting For Newbies - Resources

Today, I thought I would talk about where to find supplies. 

Fabrics:  Walmart, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn Fabric Stores, Hancock Fabrics - all have a nice selection of fabrics to choose from.  Keep in mind, with crazy quilting, you don't need to buy yardage!  1/8 yard pieces will go a long way!

Satins, Silk, Brocade, Velvet & Velveteen are traditional fabrics for CQ.  I also use cotton prints and anything else I like. Look for things with texture and things that are reflective or shiny or sparkly.  Variety is the spice of life when it comes to Crazy Quilting.

I find all sorts of fun things at Flea Markets and Antique Shops.  Vintage damask napkins are nice to cut up for CQ work.  Vintage handkerchiefs, vintage embroidered linens and old lace are all easy to find at Flea Markets and usually quite affordable.  And there's always Ebay if you don't have access to antique shops and flea markets.

An excellent and affordable source for fabrics is through my friend Karen South.  Karen lives in Louisville, Kentucky and she has the most wonderful fabric store available to her.  I've been there!  Karen offers Fabric Packs that are perfect for crazy quilting.  Here is the link:  Karen's Fabric Packs.  She hasn't updated her site in awhile but you can email her for more information.

Lace & Trims:  I for one, cannot walk away from a pile of old lace at a Flea Market.  I love it all and have way more than I will ever use but I don't care.  Old lace is wonderful on crazy quilts.  Of course, there are plenty of beautiful new laces available too and I have some of those too.

You can of course find old lace at Antique shops and Flea Markets and there's always Ebay and Etsy.  Another source that offers tons of beautiful laces and trims is Flights Of Fancy.  Here, you can find all sorts of beautiful treasures for your CQ work.

Carolyn at Evening Star Designs offers fabrics, lace & trims, threads and other embellishments and CQ kits.

Maureen at Maureen's Vintage Acquisitions offers a huge and wonderful selection of Crazy Quilt supplies including antique Cigarette Silks.

And here's another link for beautiful fabrics, trims and embellishments.  Crazy Quilt Silks, Fibers & Embellishments.

Beads - You can find beads at all the usual places like craft stores and Etsy but one of my favorite sources is Fire Mountain Gems.  When you go to their site, be prepared to drool!  LOL!!!

Sequins - I have purchased the majority of my sequins from Cartwrights Sequins & Beads.  They offer a huge variety of sequins, they ship incredibly fast and they are very affordable!

Silk Ribbon - I hand dye and hand paint my own silk ribbon but many stitchers would rather not mess with dyes.  A source for beautiful hand dyed silk ribbon is my dear friend Pat Winter.  Be sure to visit her blog and then you can email her for information on her hand dyed ribbons.  Pat also has an Etsy shop that you will enjoy visiting.  She offers little embellishment kits that would be perfect for a newbie crazy quilter.

Buttons - What can I say about buttons?  You can find them everywhere!  All the usual places like craft stores, antique shops, Ebay & Etsy.  You don't need a ton of fancy buttons to get started but if you would like a few beautiful and unusual handpainted buttons, you will enjoy visiting Gerry's Etsy shop. 

So, that's a good list of places for you to start with.  It's not a complete list of resources but it definitely gives you a lot of good options for supplies.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment here or you can send me an email.

Italian Soup Recipe

I thought I would start sharing a few of my quick & healthy meal recipes with you.  I always say I can't cook but the truth is, I can.  I would just rather stitch than cook!

I have some really nice things that I make.  All are healthy and easy.  And let's face it, pre-packaged things are so full of chemicals & salt these days that we really have no choice but to cook from scratch if want to feel good.

This is my Italian Soup Recipe:

2 pounds Ground Sirloin
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium Onion finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic minced
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1 - 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatos
1 - 8 oz package frozen chopped spinach
1 - 6 oz package finely shredded Parmesan cheese
4 - 14 oz cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth

Heat olive oil in soup pot.  Saute onion and garlic.  Add ground sirloin and brown.  Add chicken broth, crushed tomatos and spinach.  Add Italian seasoning.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Add Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy with a piece of Garlic Bread!

This recipe is low fat, low salt and low carb!  And it's excellent so give it a try and let me know what you think!