What 'cha workin' on Wednesday???

In my quest for a less cluttered studio, I came across these paintbrushes so I decided to make them up and put them away for my fall shows.  I have already written a tutorial on how to do this (look it up in the archives by date:  October 2012 or simply type paint brush into the search bar at the top of the blog)  But I thought I would revisit it by showing you my pics;

These are easy enough for kids, but there is some hot glue involved.  You could use a tacky glue if you want, but you then have to allow time for the glue to dry and set up.  The mustache could be made of teardrops or squares, or triangles, etc., but I had a load of these little hearts, so rule #1.....use what you have.  You can really get creative with these too, different colors, different designs, trims, etc.  You could make them more primitive or more modern.  Have fun with them.

A little tip.  If you make ornaments for craft shows like I do, store like items in baggies.  For these large ornaments, I store them in gallon zip lock bags.  If you start mixing items, they are harder to find when you are restocking and they tend to tangle. 

Have a great day, my peeps.  Sis is taking me to breakfast for my bday tomorrow.  Can't wait!

Birthday Week!

This, my peeps, is my birthday week.  No big celebrations planned, just excited to have made it another year.  Before my daughter Brandi went to Heaven, she and I always celebrated birthday week.  We always did little special things for each other each day.  I miss that.  Its times like this when I miss her most.

Over the weekend, I was going through some of my stash (I listed some doll making supplies on Etsy) and I ran across some chair spindles that I saved from the trash last summer.  They were from a couple of chairs that were sitting on the deck and were being ruined from the rain.  I tore them apart and threw the badly damaged pieces in the kindling pile and salvaged the spindles.  I really didn't know quite what to do with them but here is what I came up with:

Here is what I did:  I drilled a hole into a large wooden ball that I had on hand, just big enough to fit the dowel end of the spindle.  I cut the spindle off so that the widest part would be on the bottom (for stability)  I freehanded the wings and cut them out of very thin plywood (I had the scrap)  I painted the ball flesh tone, the wings and base (a scrap of 1 x 3" cut into a square) white and put a coat of crackle over the already brownish colored spindle.  I recoated when dry and where needed.  Paint white over the crackle but make sure it is really dry before you do that.  Add glitter to one side of the wings.  I use modpodge to adhere the glitter.  Assemble.  I screwed the spindle to the base and put wood glue in the drill hole on the head.  I glued and screwed on the wings.  Then trim.  Moss and tiny grapevine wreath on the head, draw in eyes with black sharpie, blush cheeks.  I put pearls around the "neck" and glued on some rusty bells.  What do you think???

I have a bunch of spindles, so I am going to try some shorter ones, and vary the wings a bit.  Any ideas?  Let me know.

I also finished one of my big angels:

I added a candle box and a hand tipped silicone bulb.  I really like her but I worry about transporting her to my shows.  Any ideas???

Better get to work.  I have so many projects in the works.

Thrifty Thursday

If you know me, you know that I am thrifty.  I love to coupon, repurpose and reuse.  I've been working on doing some cleaning and organizing in my studio, aka my third bedroom, and I was amazed at how much lace I have.  I did purchase a stash from my friend Jean, but I have so much.  Now, I'm not really a lacy kinda gal, but  do like some shabby chic and Victorian items if they aren't too ornate.  So.....drum roll, please.....my new ornie:

The ornie is made of antique white felt and is trimmed in lace, assorted trims, buttons, and even some pearls.  While I was at it, I decided to try my hand at making a pattern.  I have sold patterns before, but never an e-pattern.  So, since this is my first crack at it, I am offering it to you for free!!!  Just click on the pic of the ornie on the side bar and the pattern is yours.    I am going to walk you through it just in case you have an issue with it:

I used an antique white colored felt.  You could use any color or could use flannel, terry, warm and natural batting or even fleece.  Just be careful that the fabric is sturdy enough.  I used three thicknesses of this light weight felt but with a fleece you might get by with two and you may have to use four thicknesses if you use a lighter weight fabric such as flannel.

For this size star, I cut three rectangles approximately 5 x 7 1/2 inches.  I traced the star onto one thickness of felt only.  Then I flipped over the rectangle and laid out my lace and trims on the unmarked side.  I totally covered the rectangle with a large lace scrap and then added my ribbon and smaller scraps randomly.  I pinned them in place and sewed along the small pieces to keep them in place.  I guess you could glue them or hand stitch them, but I used my machine.  Then I flipped it back over and stitched along the traced line. 

 

Cut out the star a little outside your stitching line.  About a quarter of an inch is about right.  Then place your cut out, lace trimmmed star right side up on top of your remaining two rectangles.

If you are going to make this as an ornament, cut a piece of ribbon or lace and insert the loop between the top and second layer.  Pin in place and sew entirely around the star on the stitch lines.  Cut the bottom two layers, using the star on top as your guide.  I used a pinking shears to give it a jagged edge.  Also, if you are using a fabric that ravels, you may want to pink to reduce the fraying.  Fray check can also be used for fraying if you want to use a scissors.  Felt, fleece, batting will not fray. 

Then finish!  Be creative.  I used two buttons.  Either sew or glue them on.  I added a ribbon bow and some pearly beads to finish it off.  If you want to make this a brooch, simply glue or sew on a pin back.  If I were going to make this a pin, I might even add additional lace ruffles to the back.  You could use old jewelry, charms, sequins, bells, etc.  Have fun with this!!!

Baby, baby, baby......shoes, that is!

I love babies, and their antique clothing and shoes.  Whenever I can find vintage baby things, I get them, even if they are mismatched shoes.

I wipe them clean and remove the laces.  Then, I just let the shoes kind of "speak" to me.  I like the retro feel of this shoe that I added some lace and painted with regular acrylic paints:

Then just put a little tea lite in the top.

I also like the idea of the old-time bronzed shoes.  I got this effect from mixing some brown paint with some bronze metallic paint and added a tatted lace tie.

 

 I made two of these.  I had one shoe left, so I stuffed it with tissue and white washed it.  I like a bit of the age to show through.  The ties are white organza ribbon and then I sparkled it up with a craft crystal and some teeny, tiny glass beads:

These shoes will be available on my Etsy site......and don't forget about my 20% off sale.....all items are included!

Spring Sale!

I NEVER do this, but since I have decided not to do any spring shows, I am going to put my spring items on sale.  One of my best sellers last year were these little bunny sachets.

I sold them at shows for $2.99 and they flew off the shelves.  In my Etsy shop, you can buy them for $2 each, or a dozen for $20.  In addition, I am giving you an additional 20% off any order of $25 or more.  Just be sure that you mention SALE20 in your order comments.  I will refund the difference through paypal or you can email me ahead of time with your order and I will prepare a special invoice for you.  This will apply to anything on my site!  Happy shopping!