50's and 60's Sock Hop Dance!!!


I had sooooo much fun this weekend!!! I did not know that so much dancing was humanly possible!

A friend invited me to a Rotary Club Sock Hop and we had to dress the part - she and her friend did way more so than me - especially Dana who dressed in a Poodle Skirt she made herself along with an embellished blouse. She even had a poodle purse she won at last year's event - Dana won first prize this year for her awesome costume! Way to go Dana!



I searched high and low for some black capri's to wear, but for some reason they weren't to be had - I found a great black flowy skirt and wore a white blouse. I needed a scarf to top off the outfit and Aleene's Fabric Fusion came to the rescue. I took a scrap of black and white fabric, hemmed the edges with Fabric Fusion and I was set. I discovered that in hot, hot, hot weather the Fabric Fusion dries almost instantly! Thank goodness because I was running behind schedule!

I thought I'd share the centerpieces from the party - I was the lucky recipient of one when we left - it was adorable! It was a Coca Cola lunch pail with a Coke glass full of candy and an ivy plant along with some red silk carnations and polka dot ribbon. Adorable!

I had a most wonderful evening Friday with my friend Frances. We no longer work together, so it was great to have a nice, quiet dinner to kick back and find out what's been happening in each others lives. The evening was a reminder how important true friends are - something I can't loose sight of even with the hecticness of my life. Friendships are too important to let life get in the way! It was great to hear about her new studio that's shaping up - we're planning a trip to San Francisco to hit galleries and get inspired for more creativity!

My family had brunch with my sister-in-laws family for Father's Day. Nice! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and I played games with Brandon, my nephew. He loves to craft and asked me to bring him some crafty supplies when I am in town later this week - I'm always eager to help out with that kind of request!

Now, to fit more crafting in this week - I went to a Keith Urban concert last week and I wanted so badly to wear my T-shirt from the concert, but after seeing the great ideas for altered T's at http://www.duncancrafts.com/ I just couldn't wear a plain ol' T-shirt. So, I want to alter my T this week and wear it for casual day at work this coming up Friday. That's my crafty challenge for the week!

Make it a great day!
Joan

• Cool Color Summer FUN
  
  OK, I snapped this shot just before leaving for work....
  
  Tulip Cool Color Spray for Fabric made this project super easy and I'll let you in on some techniques I used to make it even easier!
  
  Here's the scoop:
  
  What you'll need:
  ~ 100% natural fabric shirt
  ~ Rubber gloves
  ~ Tulip Cool Color Spray for Fabric (2 colors)
  
  1. Prewash shirt using no fabric softener. Do not dry shirt. Leaving the shirt wet will help the colors to 'melt' together.
  2. (here's a great tip and it saves on cleanup time!) Place a large plastic bag in your SHOWER (Yes, your shower) crumple up your shirt and place on the plastic bag.
  3. Wearing rubber gloves, spray on one Cool Color leaving white areas.
  4. Spray other color on shirt to fill in white areas.
  
  You're done! Let it dry and it's ready to wear.

Gettin' Back in the Groove

OK, so I'm back in the groove - it's been a month of fun, adventure and excitement but I am thankful to be settling down and getting back to CRAFTING!!!

I found these ceramic letters and butterflies (there were other shapes) at a local craft store for $2 each. They were plain white and I wanted to spice them up and knew that paint wouldn't stick long term. So, one day, I saw the beautiful napkins I'd gotten at a store on my vacation in Carmel. They were perfect to cover the shapes. Here's how I did it...

Express Yourself Paper Napkin Applique

• Remove and discard non-printed plies of napkin.
• Brush Aleene's Paper Napkin Applique Glue on top and sides of shape.
• Place napkin over shape, smooth on surface and on sides with your fingers - wrinkles add character.
• Brush glue over napkins.
• Let dry. Trim excess napkins on back.

You're done! I love it!

I enjoyed a lot of kicking back and relaxing over the last month and wanted to bring a little of that into my home life. I glued pieces of travertine marble (leftover from a remodeling project) on a ceramic ball (it had a hole in the top) with Aleene's Platinum Bond 7800 All-Purpose Adhesive. I grouted the ball and spread the grout on a bowl. I added a fountain pump and now I have a relaxing fountain on my deck - I love the trickling sound!!!