Black and Green Mermaid Necklace

It's a special time of year - a time of year were it is not only acceptable to play dress up in public, it is rather expected and celebrated. For me - I love playing dress up and embrace pretty much any reason to do so. It also means this girl needs a new costume and all the trimmings (yes, any reason for a new outfit is a good one) and I have been working on the pieces that will make my whole costume complete and will be sharing the process.

I needed a new necklace for to go with my new outfit and decided to use a mermaid charm that I had gotten a few years ago at the Renaissance Faire a few years ago, some green seed beads (yes, the beads from  that package I picked up at the dollar store just keep showing up), and black wire and jewelery making bits.

A Little Drawing

A little drawing I did ----

Picture Frame Thank You

Picture frame I made as a thank-you for my aunt. (She helped me every night with my hair for a 60s-70s themed show.)

I started with one cardboard/pressed paper picture frame that I gently took apart.

Then decoupaged with pictures and words cut from the program. (Seal well and let dry.)

Accented with blue glitter paint. (Then let dry.)

Using a hot glue gun, reattach front to back. Make sure to leave opening unglued. (Mark it when you take it apart of needed.)

When everything is dry and put together - add picture. (I added a  picture of her and I backstage with me in full costume.)

Flower Pillow for Mom

I made this pillow awhile ago for my mom and decided to share it.

It's a round pillow embroidered with a flower. Each petal represents one of my mom's kids (five kids = five petals) with miltiple hearts in the center. Around the edge is embroideered the phrase "The Power of a  Mother's Love is like an ever-blooming flower."

Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 7 (More Embellishment)

After the five pieces were sewn together and ironed, I added more embroidery and fleece hearts. By adding more embellishments AFTER the pieces were sewn securely together allowed me to add images and words spanning more than one piece as well as reinforce the seams where they were sewn together.

I used a flower, more hearts, and a few words ("love," "dream," and "hope").

Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 6 (Piecing it Together)

I pieced the small blessing quilt together, first laying it out, then sewing the three pieces of the left side and two pieces of the right side before sewing the right and left side together.

It's starting to take shape... literally.

Ceramics Flashback

This jewelry box was from my eighth grade art class. (I re-found it recently packed away in a box.) Once upon a time it had a square lid with a handle that fit it approximately. The lid seems to be a casualty of time, but the box itself is in one piece. It still is engraved with my last name and class period on the bottom (from before it went in to kiln) as well as my full name, year, and what appears to be y teacher's grade penciled on the bottom of it. (Pretty sure it was an A.)

 It may not have been perfect but for a kid it was my way from the shape to the heart on one side to the rough rainbow on the other and the green and brown glaze.

I have a lot of great memories from that lass... it seems some that even have something to do with art. It was the last art class I took in school choosing to spent my high school arts in music.

SNake Bracelet

This was a gift a friend made. She makes all sort of jewelry designs from wire. (The snake was one of my favorites, without question.)

Fiery Top Hat

Sometimes we all need a little fire in our life. This hat was a plastic top hat that I painted with a combination of red, yellow, and orange paint to give a fire appearance. I'm sure I'll fine the perfect costume for it. (I always do.)

A Tisket... A Tasket... A Basket..

Sometimes it's fun to go back and find things you made years ago that you still have around and still get some use. This basket is one of those things. I remember making it, but I don't remember where or how. It could have been 4-H, Girl Scouts, or something else. (I do come from one of those crafty type of families.)

Creativity = Rebellion

Rebellion means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The merriam-mebster.com online dictionary defines rebellion as

               1: opposition to one in authority or dominance

               2 a : open, armed, and usually unsuccessful defiance of or resistance to an established government  

                  b : an instance of such defiance or resistance 

I find a  sense of truth in the art of peaceful rebellion. True rebellion does not seem fed from destruction but from the creation of something whether something tangible or a concept. We create and therefore we take a stand against or for something, even in the smallest forms. We rebel against a world that might otherwise take away our individuality or our sense of self. We create and something new emerges, even in the creation of a new version of something else We create because we chose to grow and because we chose not to destroy. We create because it fills us with pieces of ourselves and our abilities.

In honor of this mind set check out this article about entitled A Rebellion of Substance and Style: The Arts and Crafts Trail.

Decoupaged Elvis Picture Frame

I LOVE Elvis! For those who know me well, this is not a big surprise. I have a nice collection of Elvis memorabilia, but as with any collector they always have room for more. My love of Elvis reaches far before I can remember into early elementary school. No is one really sure how it started, it just did and it stuck. All these years later and it's still stuck... which led me to decoupage this pressed cardboard/paper picture frame with Elvis images.

Doing a project a project like this an be done with a thinned out white glue (the kind that dries clear) or a Mod Podge and an old paint brush. I have both on hand.

1) I started with one picture frame. (This holds a 3 1/2  5 inch picture.) I have a small stash of the that I picked up in a craft section. They have different shaped openings but for this project I liked the star. I then removed the plastic photo cover from the inside. (This keeps the paint off of it.)

2) I then gently seperated the front from the back. This is totally optional. They were glued together to start, but I figured it would be easier for what I was doing.

3) I collected my Elvis images cut from a magazine and laid them out to work.

4) I then went to work on decoupaging my images in a collage on the front of the picture frame, layering it securely between layers of thinned glue and Mod Podge. (My Mod Podge is running low so I stretched it with some thin white glue, but I made sure the top layers were all Mod Podge.) You want to make sure the keep everything nice and smooth, the edges sealed nicely under the glue or Mod Podge (or whatever else you have on hand.) Don;t be afraid to use enough layers that it is nice and thick and white. It will dry clear and you want to sealed in.

5) Let dry completely.

6) I then re-glued the front to the back, making sure to leave the opening at the top to insert the picture. (I have a few ideas for what might go inside it.)

Yes, I am an unapologetic Elvis-loving freak and I love every minute of it. And I really do not care that some people might not find it "cool" or whatever else. I say, embrace who you are and love what you love. Life is more fun that way.

MIni Braided Rug

Need a a mini braided rag rug? Maybe one for your glass? Or a dollhouse? This little rug is a great size for use as a coaster or to fit inside a dollhouse.

Inspired by the larger braided rugs: For a mini rug use thin cut strips, made the same way as a larger one, just stopping a lot sooner to sew off the end.

Beaded Bracelet

With the last bit of wire and beads, I made this rainbow themed wire bracelet. A little color is good for the soul.

A Puppy from my Past

Years ago (no need to get exact with numbers & ages), I learned a little about ceramics by making a ceramic puppy for a Girl Scout fair entry. It was exciting to make something that wasn't out of popcicle sticks or salt dough.

I got to go to the ceramic shop and pick out something, then take it back to the house where my aunt taught me how to clean up the edges and paint the eyes. I even got to learn to a painting technique of dry brushing to accent the brown with white to make it look more like fur.

I don't what or if I placed on it when I entered it in the county fair that year, but I remember it being a chance for me to take on something new and to learn new techniques. It still sits on one of my shelves, initialed and dated on the bottom.

Bottle Amulet on Beaded Necklace

Yes, another beaded project from cheap little set of beads and wire I go not long enough. This time it's a beaded necklace with a small glass jar amulet.

I used one piece of wire of desired length, the beaded a small section in the central point to wrap around the top of the bottle. (It's held in place by wrapping it around the narrow point, leaving the wider sections above and below.) I secured with a twist, then beaded the sides of the necklace. Using a small section of jewelry making chain and a clasp I finished off the necklace.

For a little more flair I used extra pink seed beads (like the ones used in the necklace) to embellish the lid, attaching them with my mini hot glue gun. I'm a bit torn on how I feel about the lid, but for now it stays.

It's all ready for perfumed oil or a "secret potion." It is that time of year again to think about Ren. Festivals.

Pin Cushion Jar

Anyone who sews or crafts knows how important the tools they use are. Taking a little inspiration from Queen Martha (as in Martha Stewart and her website), I made this to keep on hand and as a handy gift for other sewers in my life (Mom, Grandma, Aunt someone or other, or just a best friend). I use this one as a button jar. (Something we can all use on hand.)

So, use one of those jars you might have on hand (especially if you or someone or know is into canning), a scrap of fabric, a bit of cardboard, a little extra bit of filling/stuffing and make one for yourself (or someone you know).

Beaded Rings

Sometime ago I was wondering through our local Dollar Tree looking for candy and treats to put inside my carrots for Easter and I came across a 'Bead Ring Kit' for a dollar. It came with over 2500 beads and about 120 inches of memory wire. I figured for that I couldn't lose, even if the instructions were horrible or non-existent. Well, I was right on the instructions, but I am now armed with new wire and little beads. (Oh, the possibilities!)

I came up with a way to make a couple beaded rings. (A red flower with green band & pearl-like center, a pearl cloud burst on blue, and a fiery peace sign.) It took a little bit of trial and error, some creativity as I laid the beads out on a re-used black tray (from my recycling bin). The tray gave me a work space that I didn't have to worry about beads rolling away. It took a little playing, but I managed to figure out a way to make them. The rest of the wire and beads will be used... just not exactly sure what for yet.

Flower Ring

Fiery Peace Sign Ring

4-H Woodworking

Bulletin Board

Book Shelf

I grew up doing woodworking, I took a cedar chest to state fair, I helped with 4-H State Fair judging, and I taught woodworking basics at camp. It seems the carpenter bloodline showed through. 4-H gave me great opportunities to build things and to learn new woodworking skills. It also let me build things for my room at the time, many of which I still use.

The blue bordered bulletin board was a 4-H woodworking project that I made for my room in elementary school and now use in my Craft/Sewing Room. At any time it can be holding any selection of instructions, patterns, sketches, projected (completed or in process). It was made with my woodcutting advisor in his wood shop, using the same pattern his daughter had used to make one before me.

 The year I made my bookshelf, most of the kids in that project had made a full size bookshelf, but I had a small bedroom and limited space. Instead, my advisor helped me come up with a smaller shelf that could hang from the wall or sit on my head board. (My bed at the time at build in bookshelf as the headboard and the width was perfect to sit this shelf on top of it.) I got to learn about making drawers. The shelf now holds many of cookbooks and herb books, a treasured piece that I use everyday.

The basket was a Club 4-H project on trees. We did all sorts of tree projects and activities; that included tree planting, trips to see the process of apple cider and maple syrup, and creating something from wood - in this case it was making baskets from wood strips.