Generosity!

 

This is a story about the generosity of our blogger friends!

I’ve never met Julie who lives in Florida, in person, but I know I will like her if I ever do! 

We share a common love of gardening…..she, however, can grow things year around!  I live in Oregon where you can NOT grow things year around (I’m jealous)!  She, also, does crafts with paper, has some really cute grandchildren and makes really cool beads!

Recently, Julie mentioned on her blog A Succulent Life that she makes paper beads.  I wondered if she sold them.  So, I e-mailed her and asked….no, she doesn’t sell them but she would send me some!  And, she did….you can see them in the photo above.  I have a vague idea how these are made but I don’t know the particulars…I know I LOVE them.

Julie was curious about how I was going to use them….I just got them a few days ago, but here are a couple ways I’ve been inspired to use them.

Today I made this flower, to decorate a package, with a mix of Julie’s paper beads, along with glass and wood beads.

I’m, also, adding them to the spine of a book I’m making.

I am really liken’ these beads and I want to incorporate them in some collage soon!  On the other hand, I’m fighting off the urge to hoard them and just keep these “pretties” for myself!

Thank you so much, Julie for your generosity and for the beads and for the renewed inspiration.  You made my Christmas a little brighter.

The devil is in the details…..

 

It’s interesting how we become so close to our art work that we can’t see it!

Here’s an example of something I thought was done until I blogged about it, then, when I read it the next day…..I don’t think so!  I had “floating” tomatoes…..don’t worry it’s not contagious but it is an example of my not seeing the details.

This is what I thought was finished…….

See that white space under the tomatoes?  They need a shadow, something dark to “ground” them or they look like they are floating….but you knew that!

That’s better!  I, also, shaded around the word tomato to give the letters depth and make them stand out a bit more!

See, the devil is in the details!  There is a fine line between being too picky and fixing, sometimes……given a few days I’ll probably see more things I need to “fix”.

Making major progress……

 

I’ve been getting things done the last few day, so I’m feeling a little less stressed about Christmas being in two weeks. 

Still no real decorating but I can do that in an afternoon, it was all the things I thought I wanted to make for Christmas gifts that was making me a little crazy.  So, if I can resist making just “one more thing”, I’m close to finished.

Here is a sneak peek at a book I am making for someone…….

And a print for someone else…….

And my VERY non-traditional Christmas cards……

I still want to make a couple pieces of jewelry and I have gifts to buy for children, wrapping and I’ll be ready!  Yeah!!!

Fabulous read……

 

I don’t, normally, recommend books but I enjoyed this one so much I can’t help but suggest you take a look.  If, you are into art, this is a woman who can express so much emotion, so simply, it touched my soul…..I kid you, not!

This is not a newly published book, it came out in 2001.  Sabrina Ward Harrison has published four books, I believe.  The first book, Spilling Open, was published when she was around 20 years old.

The whole book is written in Sabrina’s hand drawn calligraphy and is a very easy, quick read about a trip she took to Italy, by herself with a back pack, when she was in her early twenties.  It is about regrouping and experiencing life…simply.

How’s this for a daily journal/diary!  I would love to be able to achieve that kind of controlled, planned messiness without it looking contrived.

Example of simple with just a touch of detail and texture.

Beautiful sense of color and design.

Now, you know what I like…..how about you, have you read any of Sabrina's books?  What did you think of them?  It is O.K. if you aren’t as enthused as I am, I like to know what you really think.

Free, Easy to make and fun!

 

It doesn’t get any better than that…..here is a wreath I made to hang by the front door.  All the materials were free and it took about ten minutes to put it together.

  I picked up the birch branches off a neighbor’s sidewalk, one day when I was out walking the dog.  I brought them home, straightened them out a bit and tied them with a string down about 10 inches from the top.  I had dried the hydrangea heads, but you could just pick them out of the yard and insert behind the piece of string along with some rose hips I cut from a rose in our front yard! 

Easy Peasy, as they say!!!!

  You could add ribbon, if you want, but you wouldn’t need to, the hydrangea blossom is full enough to cover the string.  You might like the more finished look of ribbon streaming down, I am fine with the casual appearance. 

Take a walk, gather some materials and have some fun.

I’m hitching this blog to the Vintage Inspiration Friday party at Common Ground and another favorite at The Answer is Chocolate.

Stamp carving……..

 

Who knew this could be so fun and relaxing!  I love carving stamps, don’t know if I care that much about using them…..but I really do like to carve them.

Bought a book, Saturday, at the flea market and it has the greatest full color photos of fish….it is wonderful.  I was inspired to carve a fish stamp……look at thisl

Book jacket show some of the great illustrations that are inside……I redrew one of the fish examples onto a piece of rubber eraser like material called “Speedy Cut” and carved it.  This stuff cuts like butter not like using a linoleum block, also, more fragile but will hold up a long time.Then stamped onto white paper and added the touch of red for effect, I used StazOn black and red inks.

I, recently, did a reduction print with this sunflower and used it in an altered book.

And this is from my recent “leaf-period”……you remember, I spent the fall playing with leaves, well, this was something else I used leaves for….FUN!

I have some beautiful handmade paper and I am going to print these stamps on it and frame them for Christmas gifts.

One man’s junk is another woman’s “junque”

 

Estate sales are few and far between this time of year but this morning we hit the “one and only” and I picked up a few goodies!

Even I have to laugh sometimes…..really, I bought that and I’m excited that I did!  I know some of you can relate, not everyone, but for those who can I’m sharing these pics…..

I’d have been excited enough if I had only found the brass drawer label holders but there were the two cool metal funnels, the wood box and the thermometer.

…..not to mention, the bonus odds and ends in the cool wood box!  As if that weren’t enough………

I found this old leather, remember leather, key holder and the incredibly ornate keys.

All this goodness for the grand sum of $2! 

Woo Hoo!  In case you really are scratching your head….I use these things in my altered art.  I have some plans to try making a few assemblages this coming year.