2021 Christmas 'Card": the Bright Spot

 

Bright spot  -  noun

a good thing that occurs during a bad or difficult time.

This year my Christmas 'card' will not hang on the tree. I was concerned with how much real estate my cards took up for people I have known for a long time and who have a big collection by now. This one is a magnet. It can be placed wherever:

In this year of third and fourth waves of Covid-19, heat domes, and the over-use of the word unprecedented, this year I made bright spots. They are small to be sure, but signify hope in a time that has been wearing. 

 

The (Traditional) Christmas Card Parade

 

Christmas at the Faery House

 

Advent Calendars

 This little project was inspired by finding a box of 250 little envelopes, left by the previous owners of our house in a nook in the furnace room. The idea is that each day the recipients will cut off the envelope corresponding to the day, open it and retrieve a very small prize. 

Let the fun begin. 

One Moose, Two Moose: In Which I Fold Cardboard

 A little card came with the newspaper the other day. 

"Hmmmm....." I thought, "I need to make a moose."

First came this guy. His body stands about 11cm high.

Then I thought he needed a friend.

I am waiting for them to tell me what kind of mischief they want to get into.

Birthday Number: 37

 A bathroom renovation shaped life in my son's house for some months, hence the theme. 

Art From the Unknown

 

I am a bit ambivalent about winning entry into a show - virtual as it is - that proclaims that at this stage in my life, I have not really arrived anywhere. 

Be that as it may, this is the whole site: https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/art-from-the-unknown

I am in the 'mixed media' section.

This goes directly to my spot: https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/aftu-mixed-media/rhonda-harder-epp

Hallowe'en at the Faery House

 

See the candies? 

Duvet Covers for Christmas

 Duvet covers are not the first priority for a 6 and 3 year old, but I had information that one would like a cover with the Winnipeg Jets on it, and the other would like cats. This is a simple enough project. It mostly involves miles of sewing, but there are logistics to handling so much fabric. The seams are all sewn, serged and topstitched. There are ribbons on the inside top corners to hold the duvet in place. And each cover has a little something special on the underside.

Mask for Singing

 A friend came to me with what was really an engineering problem: a face mask with enough room to open her jaw wide enough to sing. Others have solved this before me, but I thought I would document what I did. My pattern may need to be tweaked after my singer friend has gone to choir practice.

View from the top:

From the bottom:

From the side:

Here is the pattern:

Parts A and B are lined with polypropylene and a second layer of fabric. Part C is a single layer. 

In this case the elastic is a single length which wraps around the back of the head and the neck. My friend did not want ear elastics. 

Construction:

1. Cut out all parts adding a narrow seam allowance: A, B and C in the outside fabric; A and B in polypropylene and the inside lining, as shown.

2. Fold over and press the bottom (your seam allowance) of lining A. Fold over and press the sides of outside fabric for the elastic channels. 

3. Pin the polypropylene to the wrong side of the outside fabric for parts A and B. Pin A to B and sew together being careful not to make any pleats. 

4. Sew parts A and B of the lining together. 

5. Sew gathering thread between makers on part C. Gather slightly. Pin and sew it to the polypropylene/outside layer.

6. Pin the outside layer and lining together at the top. Sew. snip at corner. 

7. Hand sew the lining to the seam at the bottom of part A, covering the gathering seam. This could be sewn by machine but it will be hard to keep everything in the right place. 

8. Fold over the channels for the elastic and sew. 

9. Cut lengths of elastic, pull them through the channels and you are done.  

This makes perfect sense to me ;-)

The Disappearing Seasonal Installation

 The garden is harvested and the soil is turned. It was time for me to do something in the empty space. This is a work-in-progress. It is also the darnedest thing to photograph; the chickenwire balls disappear into the surroundings. The crow is a Hallowe'en element.

It shows up better at night.

You are ....... fabulous: the Hungarian map fold

 I put the Hungarian map fold to use in these little cards:

In slow motion:

The Book of Dachshunds

 The New Yorker magazine always has a set of "Spots" on some kind of theme. When I saw the series on dachshunds I knew I needed to share them with someone I know who lives with one. Credit is given to the artist who provided the content; I designed and made the book. 

Collection Books

 My grandson likes to collect photos of sports people and the occasional train. He cuts these from the newspaper and glues them into a book. The book is almost full. I set out to make him a new book using only materials I had on hand. Some are recycled and repurposed, others are just from my "stuff." 

The first supply to secure was the paper for pages. I had an old road map atlas (we have replaced it with an up-to-date version). The pages were a nice size even when folded in half. The maps make for a busy background, but as this will be used for collecting photos it should be OK. 

I decided that the book would be stronger if I made it in 2 volumes. I also thought that if he decides to diversify his collection, he will have a ready option for making 2 categories. 

Cheerios boxes and another heavier cardboard box were used, as well as the paper liner from receiving flowers. 

The band of bland looking tape that goes around the spine is glow-in-the-dark tape. You can't go wrong with that!

This is how the book will be used. I am including some fancy tapes in my parcel.

My granddaughter has not developed a particular interest, but clearly she will need a book as well. I used plastic CD/DVD covers acquired years ago for the pages.