Author Archives: maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Joanna Vaughan!

Joanna Vaughan (JojoNH #566) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level of the Quilting Merit Badge!

“Learned how to sew the quilting squares together by hand. Using 2 1/2″ squares, I assembled the top to a table runner. The runner measures 31″ long by 15″ wide finished.

Learned an easy technique to add the batting and backing to the top. Learned which stitches would be best for the binding edge, and then decided on a tied top for finishing the quilting.

Since this was all done by hand, it took between 24-28 hours from start to finish.

I’m now obsessed!! I have always loved hand-sewing. Now, knowing how easy this was to do, I’m ready to tackle a larger project by hand as well. I could not be happier with the end result of my table runner!”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Erin McBride!

Erin McBride (notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning the Beginner Level of the Geography Merit Badge!

“I have a couple globes, and many maps of the world, and the United States.

Having worked as a trainer for an airline for 8 years, I have what I would consider more than a basic level of knowledge of national and world geography. One of the nice things about homeschooling is that when your kids learn something new, you have to learn it too. We are currently studying the United States, and have learned all of the capitals (I did know these already) along with their locations on the map of the U.S. Now we are learning geographical features, including mountain ranges, lakes, bays, rivers, trails, canals, deserts, and other prominent features, along with their locations.

YouTube is full of resources for learning more about geography in fun ways. We are using maps and songs to learn these features, which I would recommend to anyone of any age! It’s fun to learn and you gain valuable knowledge about the world you live in.

We also used this book to study cartography and map out the U.S. We all enjoy drawing, and this was a fun project to help us learn more about the geography of our country.”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is CJ Armstrong!

CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning the Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert Levels of the Jewelry Making Merit Badge!

“BEGINNER: I’ve been making jewelry for about 10 years and have accumulated all manner of tools and supplies. I have quite a selection of beads, which include plastic, glass, wooden, metal, clay, ceramic, stone (semi-precious), etc. in every size and shape. I also have tiger tail, nylon, elastic, waxed cording, chains, memory wire and all kinds of pin backs, ear wires, jump rings, split rings, a variety of clasps, etc. Some of my favorite things to work with also include charms, ribbons, and even buttons.

I have already established that Celtic design jewelry is my favorite, but I also like simple designs using semi-precious stones. I used to have a lot of costume jewelry that I wore for work, but since retiring, I hardly wear any of that and gave most of it away. I had some pieces that were turquoise, made by Navajo silversmiths; most of that I gave to family members, except for a few favorite pieces. I do not try to replicate these pieces because I’m not native. But I still have all my Celtic-style jewelry, which I plan to keep and still wear and I’ve made some of my own Celtic-style pieces.

INTERMEDIATE: I am a self-taught jewelry maker, but learned quite a bit from my husband, who is a silversmith himself and has made a lot of jewelry as well. With what I learned from him, some printed material, and trial and error on my part, I became quite skilled at it and have made dozens of pieces in all kinds of styles and combinations of beads, wire, etc.

I like to buy a lot of my supplies from Fire Mountain Gems and have been able to learn a lot from the info they provide. I have made more than the required beaded and spiral-wired piece of jewelry

EXPERT: I have made bracelets, necklaces, earrings, cell-phone charms, keychains, zipper pulls, lanyards, pins/brooches, and stick pins, and have used beading/wire/charms to embellish papercraft projects such as cards, journals, and tags.

I have sold many pieces through the local farmers’ market and a variety of craft shows/bazaars. I have made custom orders for folks wanting a particular style or color and I have made many pieces for gifts, usually either a matching necklace and earrings or bracelet and earrings. The cards, journals, and tags were also sold through these venues. I have made matching sets for my daughter and we have matching breast-cancer awareness bracelets (more than one) and lanyards. The rings I have made were using elastic cording and beads.

The necklace and bracelet in the photo are a Celtic design set that I made for myself. The necklace uses waxed cord and a section of memory wire with the beads and charms. I have had a lot of fun making jewelry and it’s been nice to sell some pieces—that certainly is a compliment to me. Perhaps there is more of that in the future!!”

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