April's Birthay Bash

Another birthday has rolled around for April.  She is hanging on to her 50's by a thread!  As has become our custom, we met at Stephanie's Cabin in Astoria for a birthday breakfast.  Our waitress was sweet enough to bring April a candle in a paper cup of whipped cream.  

The group went in together and bought her this Zentangle book, she was excited about that!

Pinky included some beautiful batik fabric in her gifts.

She received plenty of card making supplies, including these stickers.  The duck over her shoulder isn't quite sure what to make of all this gift opening.

Sorry I didn't get more photos but believe me, she got enough cool gifts to last her awhile!  It was a fun outing.  We were disappointed that our favorite art supply store, Dot's n Doodles, was closed, so we made do with 3 different thrift stores and JoAnn's craft store.    Next birthday will be Mary's in June.
Hope everyone is enjoying some fine spring weather!

More cards

 

 

 

 

 

Another fun day

We gathered at April's again on the 4th.  Above you can see some of the cards Karen was working on.  Cool images, Karen!

April was creating some card gift sets as prizes for a bunco party she was going to be participating in.

She was packaging them up in this recycled plastic container that had held some salad.  Great idea!

Mary was also working on cards, including some she was using her wonderful hand carved stamps on.

This is one she made using an image of one of Pinky's daughters  smiling face.  Cute!  The card is cute too.

Pinky was also working on cards, she loves making these iris paper folding cards and is quite expert at it now.  Lovely!

Jan continued work on her knitted hat, when she wasn't perusing these magazines.

More of the prizes April was creating for bunco.  These are a package of book marks.  Fantastic!

Everybody has got to get in on the act including April's cat Arnold, posing with a card that Mary made.  Her hand carved stamps are so well done!

When we first started getting together we always hauled our sewing machines around and were mainly into creating art quilts and sewing projects.  Then April gave us a workshop on card making, Pinky and Karen joined the group and the focus has mainly switched to paper arts.    Glue and B(eye)tch just doesn't have the same ring to it though, so we remain Stitch 'n B.

Fun at April's

Page spread from Karen's folded paper journal.
 
This week we got together at April's.  She baked up a pineapple upside down cake to share with us.  Wow, that was delicious!  Thanks April!

Cover on Jan's folded paper journal using one of her hand cut stencil/masks.

April's completed shell angel.  This will make a great ornament for her Christmas tree this year.  Only about 284 days till Christmas!

Here is Mary's shell angel, beautifully framed.  Nice work ladies!  Thanks to Sharon, Mary's friend, for donating the shells and beads and idea.  It was a fun challenge!

April has been enjoying some doodling on decorative card stock using her Signo Uniball gel pens purchased at Jet Pens, where they have great prices.  We all love the white gel pens, they are the best for writing over just about anything.  These will be great additions to her card making.

This is April's folded paper journal, as she works in it.

Karen was busy making Easter cards.

Pinky continued making the iris folding cards.

She is becoming quite expert at it!

Mary brought some knitting to work on.  This will be a wash cloth.  Pretty colors!

Jan too was knitting, beginning a new hat.

April has a unique characteristic:  She collects dead birds.  Yes, you read it right, she collects dead birds.  She doesn't kill them!  No, she only collects fresh ones that she finds dead.  Here she is holding a bagged Gray Jay she found on her deck.  Evidently it hit the window too hard.  She looks like the cat who bagged the canary!

What does she do with them, you might ask?  That is what we all ask her, anyway.  She has great plans for them although she hasn't fully decided just what those plans are as yet.  In the meantime she keeps them in her freezer.  Here you can see two Varied Thrush, one Stellar Jay, one Western Tanager, a Red Shafted Flicker and one Evening Grosbeak.  We tease her mercilessly about this hobby of hers.

When Jan came across this picture in a Smithsonian magazine she couldn't help but alter it a bit before giving it to April.

We love her anyway.  

That's it for this week.  Be sure and return in two weeks for our next exciting adventure in art!  Happy Spring break!! 

Meeting at Jan's

We met at Jan's this week.  Everyone brought the folded paper journals we have been working on.  The first photos are of Pinky's.  Above is her front cover.

Pinky's pages

Pinky's pages 2

Karen's cover

Karen's pages, her drawing

Karen's pages

Mary's cover

Mary's pages using her hand carved stamps

Mary's pages with more of her and carved stamps.

a card Mary was working on.

A card Karen was working on using some pages from a Citrisolved National Geographic.

April's journal pages.

A folded paper card Pinky created.  Very cool Koi!

Pages from Jan's folded paper journal using her hand cut stencils.

The quilt blocks Jan was working on.  They are ready to start putting together once she does a bit more arranging.

Mary had given us some shells to do something creative with and this is what Pinky made.

The other side of Pinky's shell angel.

Jan's shell dragonfly.

 Karen's shell work.

Mary, Pinky and Karen in Jan's messy cluttered studio.

Karen, April Mary and Pinky.  
That is what we worked on this week.  Next week we will probably be at April's, see you then!