Wire and Lace

I have been making these wire and lace hearts from patched up pieces of old lace.  Here is a large one with a vintage antique chandelier crystal hanging from it's tip.  They really look lovely hanging in the window catching the light but we haven't had much light these past few days.

Loving Crepe Paper

I am having fun dying crepe paper with glimmer mist and various paints and dyes.  It's sort of addictive to see what colors turn out.  I love the crinkly edges.  I might have gotten carried away with the brown at times.  My studio has been overtaken with streams of crepe paper garlands drying in the breeze.  Why don't I do these things in the summer??

Here is a little hand stamped cloth ribbon.  Getting in the mood for Valentine's Day.  I love making all things Valentine-y.

And here are some award ribbons I made using my crepe paper, glitter and old letters and fabric.  They are delicate but so much fun to make!

I edited these using Picnik which I just discovered is going away!  I am so bummed because I really like using that photo editing software.  It is so much easier and cheaper than photoshop and it has so many more features than Picasa.  Does anyone know of an easy to use photo editing software that is comparable??  If so, I would love to hear about it.

Snow and Light Under Glass

Here are my finished Snow and Light Assemblage Boxes inspired by taking Terri Brushs' on-line workshop.  These were so much fun to create.  I love obsessing over each detail.  They look so beautiful lit up but my photography skills for this kind of work is very wanting.

A little Valentine Snow Box

This one is tiny,  just 2 1/2 square inches.

Work in Progress

I am taking a delightful on-line workshop from Terri Brush.  These little guys will be living in their own special little worlds eventually.  I love taking workshops because you always learn new things even if you have been doing similar work.

   

 A little Valentine Snowman

   

Corsages and Gnomes

It all began with finding this amazing vintage holiday corsage at the church bazaar.  I had a tip-off from a friend who helps organize the fair that there would be something there that should come home with me (nice to have friends in high places).  I got there early and found this great corsage which had been mounted on an amazing image of this lady from the 1960's? posing with the same corsage and a really cool Christmas tree hat.  And all this was mine for $2.00?!

Now I just have to make the hat and you can be sure that I will for next year.

But this year I saw this corsage designed by Kay Whitt who wrote the book Sew Serendipity.  The corsage was featured in the premier issue of a new magazine called Stitch. Craft. Create.  I just loved the pin and the technique she used to get all the scrunchy woolen petals.  And it was just lucky that I had the exact same hand-dyed silk ribbon in my stash that a friend has sent me several years ago.  In addition,  I actually had some over-dyed wool very similar to the wool that was used in the example.  So I made one of these wonderful corsages for myself and have worn it every chance I get.  It's over the top but I feel so very festive wearing it with my favorite white coat.

Here is a little of my obsession with gnomes and a little gnome display that I put together for the holidays.  Lighting is a little weird and the best I can do with my nine year old digital camera (that's practically vintage in camera years!).  This gnome village is a happy little place.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

My daughter had a request this year for a crazy tacky Christmas sweater.  There are some very cool ones out there on e-bay but incredibly expensive so off to the Thrift Store I go.  I found this nice red cardigan for $5.00... all wool too.  A bonus.

After some sewing and scrounging for tacky, jingling and sparkly embellishments  I came up with this:

You gotta love the pom poms.  I think everyone should wear more pom poms don't you?  Have a festive holiday season!

12 Days of Joyfulness

Are you looking for something crafty to do this holiday season?   Check out Dottie Angel's 12 Days of Joyfulness.  I am sure it will be lots of fun.  She has a great vintage-y crafty style that I love.   Happy Holidays!