Tomorrow: GNOME HOME Bag tutorial

 
                 Previews of coming attractions...
tomorrow I think we will make Gnome Homes from a Paper bag. Wanna? LET'S!!!!!!

I need RIBBON Tutorial.

Let's make this TODAY!!!!

Ok. Settle down Class. ( I have always wanted to say that...like I was a teacher...giggle)
Today is a further exploration of our painted paperbags that we started yesterday. I am sure that everyone painted them right UP!!!!
(NOT)
I have at times wanted a Lovely Ribbon, something that says "This is a SPECIAL GIFT!"
I have One trillion ribbons in my studio, but I like this idea that even the smallest bits get upcycled, have a new purpose, have another LIFE!
I paint dryer slips, save little bits of paper, and Lovely little snippy bits from my sewing and they all go into a bag. Periodically, I scrounge the studio floor for little this's and that's...You get it. I am a complete NUT CASE.
Well, what am I saving this stuff for anyway?Today I will show you.
Take that paper bag that you have handily painted.

With your Pinking Shears or whatever scissors you have, cut your bags into long strips, lengthwise.
Dip into your Lovely Snippity BITS BAG. Don't be afraid to include paper, lace bits, string, stamps, Quilting bits...You get it.
I try sometimes to coordinate colors. Sometimes I just let it happen and allow my intuitive SELF climb out and not think much about it.

There are lots of interesting things in my pile, and the idea is to Layer them together, sewn back and forth...Soothing....

Ok. (SNAP OUT OF IT)
 I use a zig-zag stitch here again, in a coordinating color. The thread color matters but if you only have a few choices go with BLACK!

Start at one end and sew your foundation of long bits to the bottom. LIKE THIS:

                                   SEE?
There are NO MISTAKES HERE...you can't make one and I love that about this ribbon...it really all looks LOVELY in the END.
It is easier to add the smallest BITs at the end. Just add from one end to the other....building a substrate that you find PRETTY!

 

 

 

    

            I have used bits of old quilts and lace here.

 Here it is! Folded up and tied with a piece of yarn, and a scrap of an insect Book. I will add the finishing touch, a tag to write upon...VIOLA!

OK Class. That's it for TODAY! Hope you have a lovely Sunday.

Paper bag Tutorial

When the grocery bagger asks me "Paper or Plastic?," I smile. Inwardly I giggle.
I say "Paper PLEASE!"

My Creative self eyes these bags with Pleasure, and a KIND OF ITCHY FINGERED CAN'T WAIT FEELING! ( I am also a fan of FREE) (Warning: These envelopes are RUSTIC looking)

So what can be done with a paper bag? Well, I have made party hats, collage envelopes, and Gift bags. For a start. I think about packaging more than most folks I guess, and How I would feel about receiving a pair of earrings in an envelope like this for Christmas:

 

I WOULD LIKE IT!

Today I would like to show you a Gift Envelope or "Secret Keeper."
Ready?
Ok, under your kitchen sink are bound to be paper bags, stored, folded up.
Get those bad boys out and cut the bag along a side crease down but NOT into the bottom of the bag. Cut around the bottom of the sack so you have two pieces when you are finished. It should look like this:

Well, those are the bottoms. The bag stretched out with paint on it looks like this:







Paint them. Keep in mind what you have for trims, die cuts, stamps, fabric, or what look you are going for. DON"T FORGET TO paint THE BOTTOMS of the bags because that is what we will be working with today.
They should come out looking kind of like this. Don't worry about the little jagged edges or places that do not seem well glued. This project is going to look Rustic and handmade which it is!
HOORAY for HANDMADE!!!!

Bag Bottoms. ( maybe upside down...please stand on your head)

Ok, this might be the Hardest part of the WHOLE THING!!! You have to wait until they DRY!
Then....
Snatch up one of those bag bottoms!

Fold it into Thirds. No measuring necessary here, just a rough guess. The top lip should fold down like a envelope lip.
( I know you are looking at my dirty fingers...)


I usually start with with the lip of the envelope, adding lace or fabric or additional embellishments. So, get your Thread Pusher ( sewing machine) threaded with a coordinating thread and set it on a satin stitch. A straight stitch will cut the paper, and you Don't want that. It is better to use a wide zig zag stitch. GOT IT?


I know it might seema  little weird to sew lace or fabric to paper but it will be ok.

 

 

Add embellishments as you like. layers of them with a place to write when you are finished is nice!

If you discover some not well glued areas in the construction of you envelope, satin stitch those areas together. Then sew up your side seams.

 

You should have something that looks like this, well it will look like yours...

 

Iron IT. That's RIGHT. Cover it with a dish towel if you like and put it on steam and IRON IT!

 

It is now time for a grommet. ( NOT VOMIT)

 

 

 

I am not a measurer, so eyeball it. If you don't have any grommets I will send some to the first 5 people who ask me for some. I am Grommet Rich.

I finished this one with a butterfly die cut and a rusted safety pin. So now it looks like this:

 

 

 

Ok? I am sure that you can think of a million better ways to alter this...So have at it.
and have a lovely day! I will answer QUESTIONS if you have any. Just leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

 

 

OFG Welcome coupon!

I remember those last days of summer; ambivalence reined supreme. I was happy (sort of) to have the kids back in school so I could "get things done" and have some peace and quiet. I liked my children. MOSTLY. and I have always LOVED THEM.  I have enjoyed being a Mother, and felt oddly a little sad about seeing them go off. Not too sad though.
Not like medication sad.
 I knew the other side of the PEACE and Quiet was the hustle and bustle of homework and bedtimes and hurried meals and arguments over grades...some of which were STUNNING.
That's another story...
I knew that there would be hassles over "NO CLEAN UNDERWEAR," and "I can't find my SHOE!"
and I knew that there would be those days where I would get Played, Letting my "I am so SICK, TOO sick, TOO SICK" child stay home from school, too tired to argue with them about going that day.
So.
MOTHERS.
This coupon is a WELCOME BACK for you. Welcome back to some moments of peace before the school calls and says your kid is throwing up in the lunch room. Welcome back to the quiet before you tear apart HER BEDROOM and clean out YOUR DAUGHTER'S CLOSET....OMG.
Welcome back to the times of Guilty pleasure...surfing the web and drinking coffee in your PJ'S. ( Maybe that's my guilty pleasure)
SO WELCOME BACK!
From the participating members of the Old Farmhouse Gathering.
10% off anything in my shop and I will wrap it up in a PRETTY package for you. Just type OFGwelcome into the coupon code at the time of sale.
It starts on the 9th. That's tomorrow. It goes through the 16th. Other Old Farmhouse Gathering groups will have the same coupon code. Type OFGwelcome  in the space bar at the top of the ETSY page and you will find us gals...waiting for ya. Coffee in hand. and some of us in our PJ'sTOO!
peace out.
Baggaraggs  LINKaroo!

September

Here it is: SEPTEMBER!
can you believe it?
The fall is here and I have such a feeling of vague disapointment in myself. I have been off all summer with my shoulder recovery, and I just thought I would Make and MAKE!!!!
and I have made...
I HAVE....

But somehow, I have the feeling that I have not accomplished what I thought I would like to.
Well, I have accomplished a New Shoulder.
and what I haven't accomplished I will Get that DONE TODAY!
HAH!

There are NO unrealistic expectations there.

So...
Let's fly on into Fall...

Grace Tenderstitch

in my Brain, where the Baggaraggs sometimes sleeps and sometimes plays, sometimes has a party and sometimes has a war...
I think about Grace Tenderstitch...( I have not written about her in a long time, long time)
and I wonder if anyone out there is interested in checking in on her and Murray her DOG and her Friends in The Land of the Baggaraggs. I have been thinking about re-vamping the story, Editing it, and continuing her journey...
I would be interested in what you think?
Thanks. Robin

Summer pain

Last night during a dream I was blogging, and the words just flowed like I had tapped into a fabulous Fountain of Words. I was Molten lava, erupting into a stream of red hot positive thoughts and humor. I was on word fire, able to explain my absence from my Blog in a most amusing fashion, in fact I woke myself up laughing.
Ah yes, I remember how all those thoughts  just streamed from me...last night.
Well, despite my best efforts to reach backward into the word stream, I find myself struggling to tell you all what is happening.
I am in Pain.
I am working on recovering from my shoulder joint replacement surgery and am in Physical Therapy.
I have a lovely little physical therapist and although I like her, I think she might be a closet sadist. I have repeatedly responded to her maneuvering of my arm by telling her that I would confess to everything, and that she could have all my money, possessions, and that all I really wanted was my dog.
She said she didn't really want my dog any way.
So let me tell you how I have been managing.
I truly believe in distraction as a method of coping with chronic pain, and so I have spent many hours in the studio, slowly working at small things, birds and feys and small dolls. Nothing overwhelming. while I worked, I listened...to my IPOD, and more recently to books on CD's that I have borrowed from the local Library. I am currently listening to the Fellowship of the Ring. I have read the trilogy front to back at least 11 times but there is something very comforting to me about being read to and in so doing allowing myself to be transported to the Company of Old Friends.
And that's what I am looking for: COMFORT!.

I also have tried hard to remember what I am grateful for. I am grateful that these summer days have not been fraught with the added burden of having to work at my job as a nurse. I am so grateful for this...it fills my heart with Thankfulness. I am also grateful to have a pool, beat up as it is. It has also been a source of Comfort and now a part of my Physical Therapy exercises.
I don't talk about my husband much, But I am grateful for him too, bringing me endless bags of ice and asking me if I have taken my medication for pain. I am also Grateful for my son's help mowing the yard, and my daughter's phone calls.
Support.

I am also grateful and feel blessed to have the support of my blog friends and Internet buddies, many of whom have sent care packages and cards...
and I am grateful for the prayers lifted on my behalf, some I am sure, that I would simply be struck dumb so they would not have to listen anymore to my complaints of pain...
I tell God in my Morning prayer that I am grateful to Him also.
And finally, I am allowing myself to sleep when I feel like it, eat healthy food and some not so healthy.
I have rediscovered my love of cereal and organic milk as a midnight snack and Lying in bed eating cherries.
Right now, I need to believe that this thing called pain will turn a corner, and that I will simply remember this as the summer I got "lennie," which is what I have named my joint replacement.

Right Now I think I need to Believe the direction and caution of my therapist, that my shoulder was very shabby for years before I had the replacement and so I am starting at a place far behind the line of others who are recovering.
Today, after I was finished my "therapy," and I use them terminology with some reservations...
I watched another patient while my shoulder was iced.
He was learning how to walk again.
He was not able to raise his leg unassisted, and so in some kind of sympathetic gesture to him, I raised my own two legs out in front of me. My therapist smiled at me and asked what I was doing...
I said,"Sending him sympathetic assistance."
He then raised his arm and placed his hand on his head, something I cannot now do...and I laughed and showed him my own limitation, because I think he thought I had None.
He smiled, and acknowledged my weakness in return.
We will have to help each other I said.
We will have to help each other Indeed.

SUMMER SALE AT THE BAGGARAGGS!!!

Hey FOLKS! happy Summer.
 I hope your summer is filled with magical moments, Lightning bugs, watermelon, Peaches, swimming....and BBQ's...hmmm most of the things I have listed are related to FOOD. You can tell what summer means to me. Giggle.
I am offering a 20% off sale at the Baggaraggs.
Just because.
There are some new items and I am working away to to make more birds and Fey and and other Baggaraggs' Folk.
Just Type in summer12 in the coupon code when you check out.

have fun...and No spitting peach Pits...just watermelon seeds...

OFG GIVEAWAY!!!!!

The old Farmhouse Gathering (of which I am a member) is having a giveaway! It is in the form of a Shop Hop...FUN! You follow the link here http://oldfarmhousegatheringartisans.blogspot.com/, and click through the shops to find the icons...keeping track of THEM. The directions will be listed on the Blog. a Wee Bit of a Treasure HUNT!
I am Entered in the Giveaway...But I can't show ya YET! Pictures Tomorrow...and Good LUCK!!!OFG GIVEAWAY

Roma Fey

It is not a long walk that we are wanting, as it will soon rain and Albert is terrified of storms. His nose lifts upward to sniff the latest air, tasting it almost with his large black nostrils. It is nearly dark, and we stand there, waiting...deciding direction perhaps, or just listening.
There is a whispered flutter about my ankle and I reach down to swipe at it, accidentally snagging Roma's tiny wings.
She says to me "I would take the Right Path this Eve, this way, this way." She indicates, pointing right and rushing us along.
She adds, "A goblin comes, comes a Goblin."
I thank her and walk to the right path, because although Albert is terrified of Storms he Hates Goblins.
Roma Fey, is a tiny fairie, set with purpose to warn you of the Goblins in your Path.
She is has vintage trims, and has moss ribbon in her hair. She is coffee dyed, baked and painted.
There is a loop for mounting. Roma is 9 inches tall.

Roma Fey

Hi Everyone. Thank you for Prayers, Lovng Thoughts and KINDNESS from you all. All well wishes have been greatly appreciated. I am recooperating!!! I'll spare ya the gorey details...YUCK!

In the meantime I thought it might be worth having a look back at some past work...some of my former FAVS. Hope you are doing great!

Ok, I am going to have my joint replacement surgery tomorrow. I will be away for a while...but I will be back and so will the Folks from the land of the baggaraggs. Be well, until we meet again!!! in a few short weeks? Big HUgs, Robin

The Swapparoo

happy Monday Craft Peeps!
 Almost Everyone has received their SWAP...I giggled and OOO-ED and Pawed through MY FABULOUS Stash of sewing and crafting FINDS from CAROL of Firecracker Kid!
If you are not familiar with her shop then you'd better take a LOOKIE!!!
This is what she SENT:

                                                            Yummy Crochet...

               Very Cool Jars...which I am a BIG FAN off.
                Very pretty fabric, Neat Crafting Stuff, and a very Cool OLD WATCH face...OH Dear! Felt, paper twist, and Vintage Pipe Cleaners....

                       Thank you Carol!!!!!

Don't you Love this ?

This is Carol's WORK!

I want IT!!!!

To check out her Swap from Vicky of Paintspots and Splinters, Go Here!

Now Vicky's Stuff is fabulous Too!!!

                             I love those summer colors! and...I think those are my FLIP FLOPS... HMMM. OK Robin...the sign says RELAX!
                                                             

          My swap partner was Jacquie of  Hand of Bela Peck

                                
                                  Check out this WHALE!!!!!
                               I want that WHALE!!!!!
 Here is the Link to her Blog if you would like to see what I sent her...Click HERE.


                        And Natalie of Tins and Treasures.

                            This is her very Cool Rooster available at ther Etsy.
                   And her Blog Link is Here!
                                                                                                                              I thank everyone for participating...the ladies of the Old Farmhouse Gathering are a VERY talented group of Artists. Come check us out on Etsy. Just Type OFG into the space bar and you will Find all kinds of Prims and Whimsy and Stuff you CANNOT live without.

A New Shoulder for Robin

I have to confess to be a real Chicken, not a fan of pain. Which is really weird because I have had chronic shoulder pain for a long time now...many years. I think I am one of those folks who live with the "lets not make anything worse philosophy."
This year I made a commitment to myself to push back against the problems that were being unattended to in my body. My Physical state is starting to look like a fixer upper house. Kinda dilapidated and looking like my shutters are askew.
So, I am having joint replacement surgery on the 19th of this month. I hope that I am doing the right thing, that some suffering will lead to less suffering, and less pain and more range of motion.
Well, I am scared. Frightened about making things worse, but KNOWING that if I do nothing, my Shoulder pain and range of motion will be gtting worse anyway.
So. I would appreciate prayers, Metta, good thoughts, LIGHT and Love sent to me by my on line buddies and friends.
I appreciate ya!

Big HUGS, Robin

Swap partners!!!

Ok since we had five we will do a round Robin...little joke there. Randomly chosen goes like this; Natalie to Vicky, Vicky to Carol, Carol to Robin, Robin to Jacquie, Jacquie to Natalie. Please email me your snail mail addies and I will email them to the appropriate person. Robinridener@aol.com Here we go!