Cynthia Shaffer

A Few Things I'm Thankful For On This Turkey Day!

Just a few things I'm thankful for on this day, my favorite holiday ....Thanksgiving!

A football team, my son's football team, that practiced early this morning then came together for family photos.

For the young men that serve our country so that we can be together as family and friends and feel safe and protected.

For a football coach that, even at a public high school, believes in the power of prayer and understands the importance of faith and family.

And for my son Corry, who without us knowing, has been leading the team in prayer before all the team dinners.

For my husband who works harder than anyone I know, often in foreign countries, so that the rest of us have a roof over our heads and food on our table. 

For my dinner table that was set yesterday, ready for family and friends to arrive for dinner.

 For small little pilgrims that adorn our table each year, a cute set of salt and pepper shakers, a gift from my mother years ago. And the Navajo rug that I use as a table runner, yet another gift from my mother ... from her extended family.

From my family to yours ...Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Oh So Cozy : : Studio Crescendoh

1-Day Workshop

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

9:00-5:00

Just in time for the holidays ... Come join Jenny Doh, Tracy Schultz and me in this fun and cozy workshop where you learn how to crochet this adorable apple cozy, an infinity scarf or a no-sew scarf including these rolled roses and then a few cup cozies ... all for this perfect gift giving season! Instructions will be given all day, with a small break for lunch and at the end of our time together you'll be able to mark a few of those gifts off your Christmas list!

 Come join us won't you?

Sign-ups are happening right now, and space is limited so click on over to Studio Crescendoh and we hope to see you on the 10th. 

 

Out and About In My Hood

I call them photo warm-ups.

For no real reason, except to get my creative juices flowing, I often grab my camera and head outside to snap away.

The sky was particularly blue today with a slight breeze and ...

the leaves in the liquid amber trees that line my neighborhood, have just started to turn these amazing colors.

I didn't have to walk too far to capture the beauty and the variety of colors that remind us all of the early days of autumn.

And yet the mexican sage bush is still blooming all over the place with bees buzzing all around it.

And then there are the bougainvillea bushes, one of the last to bloom in my backyard ... so rich in color and such a hard worker!

 And the delicate tiny clusters of flowers that make the lantana bush a favorite here in Southern California.

And then there's Harper, taking a mid-afternoon snooze, soaking up the warmth of the last of the sunshine.

And as the sun sets behind the eves of my house, I am thankful for the glimpse of the seasons that I sometimes fail to see ... right here in my neighborhood ...

And even right here on my front porch!

Cheers to the mild seasonal changes, here in So Cal! 

Corry and Dylan

Just a few photos of my oldest son Corry and his girlfriend Dylan ... all dressed up and heading out to the homecoming dance. Notice the corsage and boutonniere I talked about in this earlier post.

 Sooo cute don't you think?

As it turned out, I was taking Flora's painting class while my husband was snapping away here, hence the slightly silly photos!

I'm not kidding here ...

I don't think he snapped a single photo of them looking somewhat serious.

And apparently they were just killing time here and making each other crack up over absolutely nothing. 

Really! Now this is a proud mom moment!

And of course as it would turn out ... Corry has a broken finger, just like last year, same time, same place ... oh wait, of course ... it's football season!

Oh my how I love these kids ... so comfortable in their own skins and having sooo much fun during these last few months of high school! 

Mustard and Gray Houndstooth : : Knitting for a Rainy Day

I LOVE rainy days.

Not only because all my plants are getting a nice drink of fresh water, but also because it gives me permission to stay home with my pups and do what I love to do ... KNIT!

When the weather changed to chilly and breezy a few days ago, and knowing that lots of baseball and rain were in my future, I took a little field trip to my local craft store and scooped up this yummy wool yarn.

Having no real plan or pattern in mind for this yarn I did remember that in my knitting group my friend Anna was trying out a new pattern that slightly resembled houndstooth and I have always loved houndstooth.

So I quick like knit up  a swatch to check my gauge and to work out the pattern and soon realized that I loved the look of the high contrast and that it did look like knitted houndstooth but much more simple than reading a chart and tracking your rows ...LOVE IT!

Look how simple ...

1. Starting with the gray yarn, cast on an odd number of stitches. the amount you cast on will depend on what you're knitting. (Think scarf, prayer shawl or skirt.)
2. Knit 2 foundation rows. 
3. Add the mustard yarn and K the first stitch, K the next stitch along with the loop right below the stitch that's on the needle.
4. Knit the next stitch.
5. Repeat #3 and #4 until you get to the end of the row.
6. Next row ... all K.
7. Now bring the gray back up .. K 2 then knit in the pattern described above, except when you get to the end of this row, K the last 2 stitches.
8. Knit the next row.

Here's to rainy days, yummy yarn, fab houndstooth and sweet pups!

Soldering + Glass + Pearls = Homecoming Corsage and Boutonniere : : Tutorial

Another high school dance has come and gone and guess what ... the corsage and boutonniere still look as good as the night they were worn!

You may remember this post last year when I announced to my son Corry and his girlfriend Dylan that I was pretty much done purchasing flowers for the dances when I discovered that they take them off when they get to the dance anyways!

This is what this years handmade "flowers" looked like. Of course they would be soldered ... that seems to be what I'm into these days and if I say so myself ... I think they turned out pretty fab!

Here's what I did:

• Using tinned copper wire, I first created a large heart shape and then another loop, just to make it look a bit abstract. 
• Then using fine silver wire I strung fresh water pearls, glass beads and some silver beads, twisting each bead in place on the wire. 
• Next I wrapped the thin wire around the heart shaped tinned copper. 

• After the heart shape was wrapped, I wrapped the curly ends and then went back and secured the center area. (Notice that at this point the red floss in the middle is gone ... since I was designing as I was going, not all the photos are super accurate and things change and I forget to re-shoot some steps.)

• Next I glued a little square of text from a Bible onto a 1" square of glass and then glued a little red heart onto the text. 
• Then I soldered just the top and bottom edges of the glass squares.

• And to anchor the wired heart to the glass, I soldered just a small spot at the top.

• Then sandwiched the wired bundle between the 2 glass squares and then soldered the outer edges several times.

• And to finish off the corsage, I cut a portion out of large jump and then soldered them to the sides.

• Then I  finished it off with a couple of lengths of cream rayon ribbon to wrap around the wrist then tied.

• The boutonniere was of course, much simpler. First I made a heart with the tinned copper wire, then wrapped the beaded silver wire around the shape.
• Next, I soldered the center to secure the shape.

• And to finish it off ... a short length of rayon ribbon wrapped around the center and a long pearl pin.

Photos of the lucky couple ... to come!