It is Fowl Friday with Fran & Freda! Freda has fully recovered from her jump last week (the grass and pillows cushioned her fall from that very tall tree), a slight leg sprain was her only injury. She may have to forego dancing this weekend, just a little tapping while sitting will be allowed! Once she has a drink though it could be trouble. If you have been following us then you may remember the wild weekend with the rooster from Cape Breton she met on Hatch.com!

We were perusing some photos and came across one which made us chuckle. We are posing with our pal Oliver. Now occasionally he teases Freda, she does get somewhat annoyed. The photo we were posing for was to become artwork for fabric. Our illustrator friend Deborah Peyton was drawing us in the original pose. See below. Then Freda became very anooyed to the point of...well see below, below! and that is how art is sometimes made! (and a few feathers lost!) Follow the Fowl!

Fall is in air and crafting takes on the colors, the inspiration of the season, warm rich, vibrant. New on the Crafts 'n Coffee blog three beautiful fall wreaths.

My approach always seems to with a touch of whimsy. A Hobo Owl I designed is an online bonus project with the latest issue of Create & Decorate. The baby ghost was published last year in Creative Homearts. However you craft for fall let the crisp air and changing leaves inspire you!

The Designer Crafts Blog Connection hops today. This month's theme challenge was a design related to a celebration, birthday, holiday or any other special occasion. I chose a baby shower theme specifically "baby girl". I was inspired by some beautiful papers I was given at the summer CHA show from KaiserCraft, adorable Bazooples appliques and buttons and I must admit being the mother of two girls I love everything girly! I created a whimsical welcome sign for the door. Setting the mood for a celebration begins at the door!

Materials: 2 co-ordinated papers by KaiserCraft from the Miss Nellie Collection
               12" x 12" x 1" sheet of STYROFOAM TM brand foam
               4 Bazooples flower buttons by Buttons Galore
    Bazoople Alphabet letters & 2 pink check heart appliques by Expo International 
               1 yard each of green check and pink plaid ribbon
               2 yards blue sheer ribbon
               Punches, spiral, flower, large heart
               Cardstock scraps pink, blue and green
               9" x 12" piece of pink wool felt by National Nonwovens
               Embroidery floss, green and yellow
               2 fabric brads
               2 mini green clothespins
               Power Adhesive Tabs & Mono Aqua by Tombow
               Non Stick Scissors & Multi Purpose Trimmer by Westcott
               ruler, embroidery needle, paper cutter, knife, cutting mat, pencil. 

How to: As with every design the most fun in making it is making it your own. The tiny night gown could be created from paper, be a onesie or diaper. Size needs to be about 3". Choose colors to complement your special baby celebration!

1. Cut foam in half lengthwise. Cover one foam piece with floral paper. Cut two more pieces of paper 4" x 8" (green pindot) and 3" x 4" (blue dot). Adhere as shown to front of foam covered piece.
2. Add ribbons and glue in place. Add narrow ribbon for clothesline. Fasten at ends with brads. Make hole through foam and paper, glue brads in.
3. Punch out three spirals and circles for each flower, three for each one. Punch out two hearts for leaves. Assemble with popdots. Make stems from 3" piece of green check ribbon. Clip shank off flower buttons and adhere to flower centers. Glue flowers to left front.

4. Create or add premade baby outfit to clothesline with tiny clothespins. If making your own garment from felt cut a front and back 3" x 4". Cut 1" heart pocket. Blanket stitch pocket to front. Accent with yellow french knots. Blanket stitch pieces together. Add green french knots to sleeves. Tie tiny bow and glue to center front.

5. Tie bow from sheer ribbon with three loops. Add another small bow to center. Glue heart applique and button to center of bow. Adhere to lower right of front.
6. Cut a piece of sheer ribbon 24". Tie ends at 2" and glue to top corners. Glue two spirals with heart applique and button to center of ribbon. Glue BABY letters to top over clothesline.

Create other items to complement. Use other half of foam standing upright for a centerpiece, decorate both sides, add baby items like booties to bottom for stand. Make mini versions for place cards. Celebrations bring us together in the special moments life offers, a cherished wee one arriving is truly a time to celebrate with joy!

This month's give away is a DVD set of the new TV show, Scrapbook Soup, Series 100. As you hop around look for the Scrapbook Soup logo which appears in eight blogs in the ring. Post where you saw them in the comment section of Julie McGuffee's blog. You have until the 15th to enter. Happy Hopping!

It's Fowl Friday with Fran & Freda! So been a full week, Debra has been feline sitting for Amanda, thankfully the felines are not here! We do not miss the pitter patter of furry feet at all! Freda has finally after a full year stopped sleeping with one eye open. All her feathers have grown back in too, she is quite vain so missing feathers were an issue. She was always backing out of the room, caused some breakage of items apparently of value to Debra!

So Freda has been inspired lately by friends who are running marathons and doing all kinds of exciting and challenging events. She has decided to attempt one of her own by climbing and then flying down from a very tall tree near by. When I say tall well these trees are very tall! See picture below.

For the event she is going to borrow Amanda's roller derby helmet. It is a little big and the knee pads slide off her rather skinny, um thin oh slim legs (she is looking over my shoulder). Not sure how easy it will be climbing with all that gear on and weight wise not thinking her flying down with the gear works! Anyway she is determined so I will support her but only for the first five feet then she has to climb the rest on her own!

It is very soft grass under the trees and I am plopping a few pillows around too. So wish Freda luck, have a Happy long weekend peeps! Follow the fowl Fran & Freda!

One of my favorite new blogs to read is Crafts 'n Coffee featuring all kinds of great crafting with STYROFOAM brand foam. Even though I have designed with the foam for ten years I am constantly amazed by the variety of beautiful projects, especially the home decor ones.

Yesterday's post features a variety of ten autumn projects to create. One of my designs a whimsical teddy in a pumpkin suit is featured. I love the stacked Halloween blocks and the numerous ways to create a pumpkin. With Thanksgiving in early October here in Canada I will be decking out the place with fall decor in another week!

September is just around the corner! Summer is ending, school beginning and clubs, classes start up again. September is also National Sewing Month, a personal favorite!

I am excited about this fall, our Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop has some great creative challenges coming up the first Monday of every month, September's is party time designs. A new blog hop starts in a month with the new Sizzix Vintage Fresh dies designed by talented designer friend Eileen Hull.

I am working on several new projects. Here at home new classes and workshops for the fall, full schedule will be posted by Wednesday. This month I am featured as a designer for Fairfield World with a whimsical holiday stocking to make. The stocking is created from their so soft Bamboo Batting and a recycled sweater. The birds are needle felted with wool from National Nonwoven. 

So here is to a very crafty creative fall full of inspiration! What will you be crafting or sewing? Debra, CEO!

Well it is Fowl Friday with Fran & Freda! Been an exciting week around here with an earhtquake shaking things up a little! Freda is now running around with a Bible under one wing and an Emergency Kit under the other. 

Debra has to keep shooing her out of the tub when she wants a shower. All the cans and foodstuffs are in there too. Soggy chicken feed is NOT tasty! Now with a hurricane on the way Freda has plans to move into the rubber boots in the closet. She is possibly over reacting a little. We are very lucky living where most of these major weather occurrences are tired out by the time they travel all the way up the coast. 

I just have to get Freda to stop watching the weather channel and get out of the tub! I cannot spend another day eating soggy feed!

Seriously though we are very lucky and we wish all of our peeps are safe and sound through the storm coming! Follow the Fowl, Fran & Freda!

Wandering the aisles of the local dollar store is a source of inspiration and also my bribe for walking some days! I was strolling through the kitchen aisle and saw a package of six brightly colored scrubbies. The way they hung in the package immediately reminded me of a caterpillar, (which probably also says something about my kitchen skills!)

I purchased a package along with a few other interesting items. Fun with those later! With a chenille stem, glue, a couple pompoms and eyes my crawly cutie was created! A very fun and easy kid craft. If strung together with yarn or string the scrubbies could be used making it a great gift.

One of my favorite booths to visit at every trade show is Clover's to see what new tools and products they have. At the summer CHA show the most delightful young woman was demoing Clover's new Kanzashi flower templates. Diane Gilleland or Sister Diane as she is known online is the author of a beautiful book Kanzashi in Bloom and the popular online blog CraftyPod, "a blog and podcast about making stuff".

Clover developed the templates to create the flowers from Diane's book. The templates are easy to use. The folded petal flowers are an ideal embellishment and a great way to use up very small scraps. In her book Diane has twenty lovely projects from wearables to home decor. A stunning black and white check scarf is punctuated with vibrant red flowers.

I took some scraps of fabric with me and the templates on vacation, it makes for a very portable craft! While visiting my good friend Marie Browning in her studio and who was also preparing for her daughter's wedding kitchen shower I sewed up several flowers. A plain oven mitt became a designer original gift package with the addition of a Kanzashi flower and buttons in the wedding color scheme of bright orange and pink!

Thank you Diane and Clover for your inspiration! Create JOY always! Debra, CEO!