Hello, it’s me, the pink felt bunny that needed a name. There were great name suggestions given: Barnaby Shmittles, Ralphie, Mr. Cotton Candie, Linkie, Cutypi and Mr. Cotton Ginny. After much thought, the name Ralphie seemed like a good fit for me. And guess what I am going to do? In the next few days I’m going to take you on a tour through Christine’s workspace and give you a behind-the-scenes look into her works in progress. I will be your tour guide and possibly become the spokes-bunny for Christine’s blog.
Here I am, amidst all of the many pieces that Christine has recently been working on. Lately, she has been casting new pieces in resin, cleaning/sanding the cast pieces, and hand-painting other already cleaned pieces. Lots of goings on and lots of clutter, but it is a creative clutter, which is the best kind of clutter!
Upon viewing the photo above you can see a tray of pieces being cast in the handmade silicone molds. In the middle section there is a conglomeration of white pieces that are some of the newly cast resin pieces waiting to be cleaned. The third section contains pieces that are getting prepped for attaching magnets to the backs. Stay tuned for more “in the studio” updates from me, your humble correspondent, Ralphie the Bunny!
You can see inside the studio updates by clicking any of the links below:
I’ve created a variety of felt pieces for my nieces and nephews from the book “
I am addicted to stitching with felt. One of the things that I like about creating felt projects is that the supplies needed are minimal and they are not messy. These qualities make working with felt, a very portable craft, which means that I can bring my felt projects along with me when I’m away from home. I have brought along my felt supplies when I’ve been visiting my sisters’ houses out of state. Once on the way home from my sister’s in Tennessee, I stitched a felt piece in the car. Now that’s a great way to pass time while on a long car ride home. Stitching felt is so much fun no matter whether on the road or at home stitching on the couch. The photo below shows my nephew, Andrew, along with some of the felt animals that I created while visiting them.
With the unseasonably warm temps here in Wisconsin, it’s hard to believe that Spring has just begun. Lately it has seemed more like summer. The sunny and warm weather has inspired me to work on a few summer themed designs for the magnets that I create and sell at my Etsy store, 
In Create & Decorate magazine I show how to make three primitive style bird ornaments. It was so much fun to create these little birds named, Amberly, Lita and Mavis. After I made them, I was hooked on creating prim style pieces. If you’re interested in learning more about my birds please check your local bookstore to find these issues. I might also be giving away a free issue of Cloth Paper Scissors at my blog this week on Thursday to celebrate my birthday. Stay tuned!
That’s me showing off the awesome Rhett and Link patch and cute handmade t-shirt that I got from a fellow Mythical Beast, Robin.
These are the magnets that I made for the recipient, Rene, of my Rhett and Link exchange gifts. Rene is also a Green Bay Packers fan so I made him a Packers magnet along with the Rhett and Link Mythical Magnets. He made a video on Youtube showing my mangets that I sent to him.
I love handmade gifts and ornaments, so when I discovered the 
These are the Gingerbread Boy ornaments that I sent out as my handmade ornament for the exchange. I packaged each of them in colorful circle pattern treat bags and then packed them into boxes to travel to their destinations.
I also gave Traci and Mary at the 
And I could not leave out one of the “handmade gift queens” that I have been blessed to know. She is my “Glitter Gal” kindred friend, Caroline. She sent me a second delightful package for Christmas which contained some of her delicious Gingerbread cookies along with the recipe, some spiced cider mix and a cute handmade Gingerbread boy pin/card. Yes, I did say “second” package, I will have to devote a separate blog post to her first package that she sent to me.
Since this blog post has a handmade and Gingerbread theme, I could not pass up sharing a photo of the cute handmade Gingerbread people that my nieces and nephew decorated this year. Can you guess which Gingerbread cookie was decorated by my 3 year old nephew?
One last item that I’d like to share is a photo of a handmade project that I made when I was in grade school. It’s made from burlap, felt and yarn and I’m glad my mom saved it and made it into a pillow. I only wish I knew what year I made it. I think I might have been in forth or fifth grade.
They are so fun and easy to make. Also, a very addicting cozy weekend activity. Thank goodness the kit offered plenty of supplies to create a lot of ornaments. As I was putting together one ornament, I began to think of other color combinations and designs to create. It was also enjoyable to see what designs my nieces and nephew thought of.
The photo above shows our collection of ornaments that we all made during the weekend.
The photos above are the ornaments that my niece Katrina created. The last two photos show the front and back of the second ornament that she made. I like her patchwork of colors all over the ornament. She also added more than one bead to the pins to give it a different look. I also like her orange and green ornament. Lovely!
This is the ornament that my nephew Jordan designed. He was reluctant to make ornaments with us because they probably looked too “girly” with the sparkly sequins. After seeing us working on them, he decided to give it a shot. Since he is a Chicago Bears fan he made his ornament in the team colors of blue and orange. He did a terrific job on his striped ornament.
This is the three piece ornament that my niece Kristin created. Isn’t it pretty? Kristin loves sparkles and crafting just like me. We are crafting buddies!
The stand that the ornaments are displayed on is a wire and bead stand that I made. It makes a nice stand for our ornaments. Love the sparkle!
The other day I 
An artist who aspires to become a children's book illustrator. Stays young at heart and an avid daydreamer. When the weather permits, I enjoy visiting/biking on the nature trail near my house. Visiting the trail has brought me many hours of enjoyment and relaxation. My camera is usually by my side while on the trail. I like to try to find the small and unnoticeable as subjects for my photos. And of course flowers and plant life encompass many of my subjects.
