Catching up on summer fun

 My Birdsong Tagbook, at home on its rack

Ever since Lisa taught me how to weave at the Birdsong event, Jeanelle and I have been wanting to get together and use the same method to weave a cuff bracelet.  But it's been such a busy summer that we've had to cancel or put off crafting together.  The other day I got to choosing fabrics, cutting the strips we would need to make the cuffs, and finding fibers and things to use.  Once I had the basketful I just couldn't wait -- I had to get started!

Here's the cuff, sitting in the basket of strips of fabrics.  There are enough pieces for 50 cuffs, I think -- I went a little hog wild!

I tried my best with the weaving method, but we had learned how to make a pouch so I had to adapt it to a cuff...and it didn't go as well as planned.

I ended up sewing the woven part to an old piece of linen, which I folded around to make a sort of binding on each short end, and then a ribbon tie.  Also -- buttons and a layered fabric flower for decoration.

I can't take credit for the pretty bird above; it's on a framed scrapbook page that I bought from Michael's at Christmas and finally put to use for buddy Rebecca's birthday.

I scoured through my older photo albums until I found just the right photo to put in the frame for her; it shows her daughter, my son, and her son at a baseball game in 2004 -- it was opening day.  I love the photo, and so did she.

Especially with the contrast these days -- here are the same kiddos, 7 years later!

For Rebecca's birthday, we celebrated at Splash!

That's the place I blogged about before, where you get a painting lesson and create a canvas, as you sip cocktails!

We had some champers...

It was so much fun!  Rebecca is an artist in her own right, although her specialty is watercolor.

The picture was supposed to be a wine bottle pouring out with wine words beneath it; Rebecca did non-wine words, and I didn't do words at all!  I did a Napa Valley wine country scene, instead.  We were both happy with our finished pieces!

See: you can tell by Rebecca's piece that she is talented!  My wonderful husband was our taxi, and he brought us home to ice cream cake.  I do believe in celebrating birthdays!

I'll leave you with this photo of some of the plump, juicy raspberries in abundance on our vines!  This morning when I was picking some, they were literally falling off into my fingers when I touched them!

I really love summer, don't you?