Happy Easter

Flowers...blue skies...children playing on the beach...and Cadbury chocolate.

Easter Biscuits

Chloe made this Easter Bunny biscuit...sadly it never made it to Easter...Chloe ate him!

I made this Easter chick and baby surrounded by hot cross buns.
By
Tracy Waller

Magnificent Magnolia

Signs of spring. After a long cold snowy winter, it's good to see this magnolia in full bloom. This tree shares a sheltered area with the North End Cemetery in East Hampton.

By John Neary

Decorating With Decoupage

These decorated eggs were very easy to make. Decoupage was very popular in the 1990's on the television craft shows...and I joined the craze by buying a giant jar of decoupage glue. That one jar was used in a wide variety of projects and lasted forever! I love crafts that involve using things you already might have...like ribbon and tissue paper from the gift wrap box. I emptied the eggs by making two holes (top and bottom of egg) and blowing out the contents. I brushed on a layer of glue, placed small torn pieces of tissue paper onto the egg, overlapping them and patting down with the gluey brush, then brushing more glue on top, while the glue was still wet I sprinkled it with some glitter. The ribbon was held in place with more glue.

Interview Of The Month

This months interview is with photographer Stefan Neary from Los angeles California.

Question 1. Who or what introduced you to the world of photography?

"I think my interest started back in St. Albans when Brian built his own dark room to develop his black and white photos, I remember helping him with it's construction a bit and then was amazed at how the image slowly appeared in the chemicals. I also remember running to town to buy film for him and thought it was a pretty important job to get the right roll. I also remember a photo Brian took of a swan and it's reflection, I really liked that photo."

Question 2. Do you remember your first project?

"I was out at the motocross track with a racer friend of mine and was just snapping some fun photos of him riding etc, some of the pictures were decent, but one in particular stood out, he was rounding a corner pretty fast and was throwing a lot of dirt from his back tire, it just looked especially cool and was action packed! Unfortunately the photo was out of focus and pretty much unusable, I started messing around with it in Photoshop and ended up with an amazing image, highly stylized with saturated color and modern edge.....to me anyway:) I showed it around here and there and received a lot of compliments, it was then that I realized that I could do more than just take a picture, I could take it even further with my imagination and some creative editing. Since then I've taken thousands of photos!"

Question 3. If you were stranded on a desert island and allowed an endless supply of a certain photography item, what would it be and why?

"I think I would need two things.....batteries for my camera and my Macbook pro.....and Chopper!"

Question 4. Is there something you have always wanted to learn?

"I would love to be an expert in Photoshop, takes a good photo to the next level and then on from there.....I love that."

Question 5. What project do have going on right now and what is the next one?

"Well, I just put a new website for all my photo and media work http://www.agrmedia.net/, I am working on some equestrian stuff right now and doing some car/hot rod shots too. But everyday is a new photo opportunity around here, so I always have my camera with me, if I come up with anything you'll be the first to know."

Lots Of Bobbles

With the third and final yarn my Auntie sent me I crochet a scarf. Keeping count for the bobble stitch slowed me down and despite doing several rows a night I felt like it was taking forever. The spring sun is warm but the wind off the ocean is chilly keeping it in the 40's so I wore my newly finished scarf today.

Kellys Cupcakes

Rainy Saturday Cupcakes
By
The Willows

Arts And Crafts Night

Chloe and Harry

Things My Auntie Should Have Told Me

In my adorable basket of crochet themed gifts was a pair of shiny wooden knitting needles. Little did my Auntie know that she had planted a seed of addiction. But I couldn't remember how to knit! Thank you YouTube...after a long search I found a tutorial on how to knit from someone I could understand and got to work knitting this scarf. The yarn was lovely to work with but I was very careful not wanting to slip a stitch having no idea how to fix that issue. There was enough yarn left over to make a crochet hat, but I had never made one before so I searched for an easy pattern on YouTube. It was stitching up too large so I decided to salvage it by continuing to make it larger turning it into a beret. Even though it's now March there's still plenty of chilly days left to wear and show off my newest projects.

Fluffy Puffy Shawl

My Auntie Christine got me three different kinds of yarn for my birthday. I made a shawl with this one, it was difficult to crochet with the size hook they suggested, but switching to a much larger hook solved the problem. I crochet three rows of single crochet then three rows of double crochet skipping every other stitch to give an open look (remembering to chain in place of the skipped stitch). To make the shape of a triangular shawl I decreased at the beginning of every row. I kept crocheting until the two balls I had were finished. My plan was to make myself a pretty shawl for the summer nights that get chilly here living near the water.

Snow Drops

I hope my bloggy friends will send me photos of their "signs of spring". An eight foot deer fence was between me and these snow drops.

Painted Pots

You don't have to be a gardener to have fun visiting your local nursery, back in the 1990's I couldn't resist their tiniest flower pots. I painted them using oil paint that came in small containers (just like the paint-by-numbers paint pots) I bought at a craft store, then sealed them with a coat of decoupage glue. I usually display them on a window sill with other decorated store bought flower pots.

My Fancy Scarf

My Auntie Christine knitted this scarf for me. It's ambition in life was to be a blanket, but it had very expensive tastes and therefore became a lovely comfy scarf instead. I will ask Christine if she remembers the pattern and put it on here at a later time.

Creme De La Creme

Spring is almost here but besides the birds singing and our neighbors snow drops I haven't found anything to take photos of yet...until I discovered these two special little babies, I made sure they were warm and comfortable and hope that one day they will produce many more!

Jeos First Tattoo

I got this as my first tattoo at Garrett's in Centereach, N.Y in August 2009, shortly after my 20th birthday. The cross has a little bit of a Celtic edge as I was going for a more Gothic design, and is wrapped within the flowering and budding roses, the banner contains the name Kaz, which was my mother's nickname, stepping away from the stereotypical "mom" tattoo and the common full-name spelled-out approach. While the four-year-old me might have protested, the fifteen-year-old me would have asked why I waited so long, and after finally getting inked can't say one bad thing about the experience. Upon reaching the shop I was a little nervous but 90% of the emotion was excitement. Nick, the newest artist in the shop greeted me and got right down to business; asking specifically what I wanted and the story behind the idea, before going to sketch my description from scratch. After showing me the original sketch we did a little brainstorming on how to put a personal edge on it, ensuring I was a part of the creative process before transferring the outline of the drawing to my arm. Once everything was sterilized and prepared, including my scrubbed arm, I stepped up to my chair where Nick gave me a first taste of the needle to see how I'd handle it. With a minor pinch followed by an inquiring voice, I agreed to continue what would be a two hour job. Despite what many people think, the experience was not bad at all, and I almost fell asleep in the chair listening to Nicks iPod over the shop speakers as he did every detail free hand with grace and artistic passion. Once we were done and my arm was wrapped like a deli-sandwich, I was good to go and quite satisfied with my first tattoo.

By Jonathan Neary

Chloe And Harrys Creative Clay

My Grandma came to stay with us for a week and my brother and I did clay modeling with her. I hope you like them.

By Chloe and Harry

Kellys Valentine Fish Pie

Poach some fish in milk. I use smoked haddock, cod, salmon and king prawns (the prawns don't need poaching, just add them when you add the fish to the white sauce, they will cook in the oven). Drain the fish when cooked and reserve the milk. Make a white sauce using the fishy milk. Chop up six hard boiled eggs. Add the fish and eggs to the white sauce, stir really gently. Squeeze two lemons and add the juice to the sauce. Season really well. Top with mashed potato. Put in the oven til hot and crispy on top. Done!

By Kelly Willows

George

This is George. I was given this wee Quaker parrot by some wonderful people I used to work for, the Turreffs, as a birthday present a few years ago. I was so surprised as I never thought of owning a pet of my very own, I was delighted and named him George. Every morning when I woke up I would take his cover off and say "good morning", within a few days he would say "good morning" back to me! I even taught him to say "goodnight", but the best part was when he called me "mummy", I loved it! At the end of the working day (If I didn't have him on my shoulder) I would go to my room and he would say "hello mummy", then I would let him out to walk all over the bedroom floor while I put my jammies on and got comfy on the couch. When I would sit down he would come looking for me and walk up my leg until he got to my shoulder and there he would sit for the night. I would take him away for weekends to my sis-in-law's house as Carole loved him too. I had him for 2 years, then he died, he had a bacteria around his wee heart, my poor wee baby, he was a fabulous wee bird. I just loved him and still think of him. If I could get the exact same bird I think I would get another. To my wee George, lots of love from his mummy xxx.

By Christine Neary

Sheena The Sheep....Baaaaaaa!

Betty's Pretty Cards

I got this lovely CD from my daughter Tracy at Christmas time. I made some cards from it and sent them to my family.

By Betty McCreadie

Click on photo to enlarge

Loving Message

Happy Valentines Day
to our bloggy friends around the world
with chocolate kisses
from
The Craft Basket crew

Slow Growing Amaryllis

This is one of my favourite plants, the Amaryllis. I bought them in the grocery store and planted them right away in the pots (pots come with plants). Normally they grow very quickly but these two plants took forever and ever and ever! I watered them every two days and they still didn't grow, then I forgot about them for a couple of days. Then all of a sudden I noticed one of them grew about an inch, couple of more days then another inch or so, then it just kept growing. The other small one is beginning to grow but very slowly. Then one night when I came home from work I noticed that one of the flowers popped out, on the next night the other two flowers popped out and surprise, tonight the fourth flower popped out YIPPEE!. Now I am just waiting for the wee one to flower. All in all it's a very beautiful plant.

By Christine Neary

Interview Of The Month

This months interview is with sentimental needle crafter Suzy Neary from Long Island New York.

Question 1. Who or what introduced you to the world of sewing?

"My introduction to sewing was in primary school in England where there were classes that taught a variety of sewing projects. I remember making a yellow Humpty Dumpty pajama case, an applique collage where I chose to put in my favorite animal a horse, working on a hexagon quilt and learning how to knit. Going to school in America I made a stuffed heart for my parents that I still have. I remember wanting to do a good job because it was a gift. A couple of years later I made a skirt in Home Economics class, this stressed me out because sewing machines scare me! In my teens I would buy little inexpensive needlepoint and cross stitch kits from Woolworths. As an adult I enjoyed exploring many other sewing mediums like silk ribbon embroidery, quilting and applique with felt. I also love to crochet."

Question 2. If you were stranded on a desert island and allowed an endless supply of a certain sewing item, what would it be and why?

"Everyone is picking clever and creative things to help them survive. I'm hoping my desert island is not too deserty so I would choose something that I will never grow bored with and that is cross stitch. I would bring an endless supply of floss, aida cloth, needles, scissors and the largest book of patterns on the planet! My grass hut will not be very strong but will look very pretty decorated with all of my projects."

Question 3. Is there something you have always wanted to learn?

"I would love to learn how to use a long arm quilting machine, owning one would be nice too. The women I've seen who use them make it look so easy and relaxing, but I'm sure it takes a lot of practice. It would be the ultimate experience in helping me get over my fear of the sewing machine!"

Question 4. What project do you have going on right now and what is the next one?

"My current project is crocheting a blanket with the wool my brother Jonathan gave me for Christmas. I finished the crochet part last night and will now be chain stitching a floral design on top of the blanket. My next project is to complete a special quilt I started last year. It is made with some floral cotton material my mother bought for me many years ago that I didn't know what to do with. I have been looking forward to finishing it, I was just undecided on what design to use when stitching all the layers together. Now that I know I can happily get back to work on it."

Jonathans Cross Stitch

I was thrilled when Jonathan wanted to try cross stitch too. I can't remember how old he was when he made these projects but it was in the 1990's. His most recent endeavor is an Oasis tribute.

My First Pie

This is a recipe from Neenies nephew (Jonathan) I thought I would try it. I loved using the rolling pin to roll it out and make it a pretty big square then I put it on the baking sheet and poured in the ingredients. There was one thing missing which I love and that was BACON, but I am afraid to say there was no bacon left, I must have ate it all or my brothers ate it, anyway I put it in the oven to bake and when it came out it looked yummy and cheesy. Neenie had a piece of it and I tried some but I didn't really like it, there was too much cheese. I think it would have been better if we had bacon, but it was my first pie and Neenie said I did a great job, I just hope she remembers to buy bacon next time!

By Logan Richman