A bookish idea...

Recently, I was able to obtain a variety of art papers By Jane Davenport.  I already have a huge stash of papers collected over the years.  So my friend and I decided to swap books. The theme was hearts and flowers.  I had a chipboard book here for ages and went to work. I used a glue stick, tacky glue, a glue gun as adhesives.  Fun project I think.

The cover is built up layers of papers and cutouts, ribbons and yarn and a piece of recycled cardboard that was in a package I received.

There is a bracelet in the book attached with safety pins and the ribbon lifts up to reveal hearts underneath.  I added paper clips and other clips along the edges.

A recent drawing I did was used in various ways.  As much as I like using  art papers, I like to add my own art work, too.

This was an easy project that could be done on paper as well.  I used up a lot of scraps and odds and ends. My goal was not to buy anything for it.  I am going to start another project soon and use what I already have.

To be honest, it is difficult to feel creative right now.  The topsy-turvy nature of the national mood has affected my ability and mood  to get up and get going and create.

Are you creating? I know some of you have made little dolls and I need to  make a little doll, too.  I made one doll for a swap recently called "winter."  This is a very poor photo of it...kind of like my mood that day.   And so it goes...I need  to make another and take a better photo!  Until then...

Be creative!

Enjoy the day!

Hello new year!

Time flies!  We are halfway through the month of January!  Spring cannot some soon enough for some of us. January is a cold month for sure.  Today I  share a few photos as I sip on a hot cup of tea and the furnace lets its presence be known!

Here is a tin that I decorated.  I left the polar bear exposed since I was  using one on the inside of the tin.  I really love these tins and love decorating them.

Here is another little item that was gift. I used the mushroom tutorial and the house tutorial by Pixie Hill and used a spool rather than a teacup or thimble. 

We have been out and about as always. In addition to the day trips we take, we also go to indoor soccer games for our grandson half an hour away. So the weekends seem to go by in a flash! We have been trying different restaurants and not getting out of the car to take photos because it is too darn cold!

What is your January like?   Is it cold? Or are you in another hemisphere enjoying the summer sun? Have you made soup?  I have made a LOT of soup.

I must tell you that the dolls here have been very social and begging for photos.  But, we need to wait for just a little more light in the house and also a little motivation on my behalf before the photo shoot happens.

Stay warm,

happy winter 

or whatever season you are in,

and as always,

enjoy the day!

Still waiting...for spring!

Although the weather is so much better, we still lack leaves on the trees and warm weather.  This morning the furnace clicked on. The colder weather just wants to hang around!

Despite that, we have had some nice days and nicer day trips.  This windmill is in  CT and up for sale for around 2 million dollars...two bedrooms, complete remodeled home with a magnificent view of the water.

We have had very little rain so we welcome it right now.  Without rain, the trees don't seem to bloom as quickly.  We are scheduled for possible rain this week.  This was Saturday afternoon...our first rain in weeks.

And then... there was the book I made.  It was for a swap with a friend and combined many design elements including some of Teesha Moore's techniques to make the cover.  Lots of hand-sewing, machine sewing, hand embroidery and embellishment.  It is about 6 x 8 inches with blank paper pages inside.

Front

back...

Our grand daughter is on a crew team 

so we still have been enjoying regattas 

 on the weekends.

Still drawing...

still playing with dolls...

still waiting for warm spring!  

Next time I will show you what I bought for little Edie (my 4 inch doll I made) who some of you know for years and years.

Hoping that the season 

is treating you well

and as always,

enjoy the day!

Stuph I made in July....

Let's face it...July has been hot and humid.  As a result,  I spent much more time indoors with the a/c going during the week.  (And lots of time in a/c in the car when leaving the house.)

Early on, I decided to be creative if I could be.  No time to waste bemoaning and not creating... so here are the fruits of July's labor, although I also did many many little drawings.

This is a little book made mostly from cereal boxes for the pages that were gessoed and painted. The theme was "Paris" and I am swapping it with a friend.  My thought was to use lots of summer color and embellishments.

Earlier I made a skinnier book about gnomes and fairies. It was TOO skinny!  But it has a lot of my original art work used in it and is one of my favorite themes.  In addition I made an ATC embellished with some of the same images I used in the book and you have seen here before.

The item on the left is made from an Altoid tin.  If you take the box apart you can alter the two pieces with paper and paint.   This is one of the chickens I drew earlier this year.  The item on the right is a piece of wood from my husband's throwaway wood in his workshop downstairs.  Paint, paper and rubber stamps with some sparkly jeweled accents transform it.  (Very cheap art to make!)

Last but not least is this tiny mouse. I found the pattern here.  It is 4 inches tall from toes to top of ears. The patterns says "5 inch mouse" so I must have printed it out wrong.  It's sort of cute for a first effort but I am not fond of the gray wool I used.  Need something with a mixed texture. On the other hand, he has become a companion that needs to be hidden from Zephyr, our cat, who caught a real mouse last week and terrified me with it!  I need to make a scarf for my mouse.

So that's what I have been doing...along with laundry, housework cooking and all that good stuff. No vacation but day trips on the weekends and artsy stuff in between.


What have YOU been doing?  Have tried to visit blogs this summer and catch up on blog reading.  Any of you still feeling unwell, hope you return to good health soon! We still have a lot of summer left ...

so stay cool...

enjoy the day!

A little glue and paper...

Just popping in for a moment to give you an idea...something fun to make.

I have been seeing decorated/altered bottles around for a while. It was just a matter of time before I tried one. (To be honest, I made similar bottles in the 70's but they were empty wine bottles and with far less embellishment and imagination!)

No empty bottles around here...so I was forced to purchase some.  The rest of the components were already here in my art supplies.  Using handmade papers, German prints and white glue, I set to work. Sari silk ribbons, wire and beads were added. The cork is embellished with beads and pins and a vintage spun cotton German mushroom.

This could be a fun project to do with children or do yourself for a gift.  You could add words, photos, gauze, more wire and all sorts of frou-frou. It could be decorated for a holiday or used as a vase. Let your imagination soar!

This past weekend we had the most amazingly wonderful weather.  Can't wait to share some of my photos with you from our trip north of here.  There are not many perfect weather days in New England so cherish them we must!

Until then, as always,

enjoy the day! 

Time flies when...

Time flies! Whether or not you are having a good time...or any kind of time. It seems like time just flies by these days.

A few more day trips, lots of hot weather, a bit of creativity, people coming and going, phone calls, e-mails...even if a person works at home, the days go as quickly as they did when I worked outside the home or was in school. Still going to the gym five days a week and feeling quite fit these days. And so it goes.

Though I have made many things in the past few weeks I did find time to make a few more little matchbox chests. They have since moved on as gifts to their new owners.

 

Most things I didn't have the required good lighting  or the patience to photograph. I did make a little pendant book with these drawing of mushrooms which I made into a composite here. The book was embellished and hangs from a black cord and can be worn.

Of course there were drawings galore along the way. Most don't appear here in my blog  but I use them in other places.

What have you been doing this summer? As always, I never have enough time to do all things necessary or fun.  When did this happen that time sped up?   Did time speed up for you, too?  

The weekend is just around the corner.  Tonight we will dine with our friends at favorite (and authentic) Mexican restaurant. How about you?  Does time get away from you? Did you notice we are almost hallway through August?  Summer as an adult is quite different from summer in childhood.  Excessive heat and drought have made this a summer to remember.

Happy weekend,

and as always.

enjoy the day!

 

Staying busy In the summer time...

First we had this...

 which turned into this...

The violent storm delivered rain and a lot of wind to to Connecticut yesterday. We lacked rain here for many weeks so it was a "good thing" ...though it looked like a wall of water.

Since it has been incessantly hot, staying indoors has been pretty much obligatory.  There is always plenty to do so it is not unpleasant.  (I am most grateful for air conditioning and worry about those who don't have it.)

My friend and I are making little chests...out of match boxes.  We have  made other things from match boxes in the past...ornaments and boxes with little illustrations in them.  This is a little more complicated.

We were inspired by a chest 

we saw here at Alpha Stamps. 

I have since added little seashells

 to the drawers and some charms.

There is stack of books I want to read and dolls to make and so many other things to do.  (Still going to the gym five days a week, too.) So summer is passing by despite our many heatwaves and dry conditions. The rain was very welcome.  We are "stay-cationing" and going on occasional day trips when we can.

How is your summer going?   Are you staying busy?  Traveling?  They say "Christmas is for kids" but I think summers are, too.  They are not as much fun as they once were...and they sure are hotter!

Hope the summer is treating you well!

As always,

enjoy the day!

Still raining...

It's raining off and on...and feels like early spring still.

This past week my friend and I swapped dolls we made from stuff we had around the house--like junk. Here is the one I made. Found an opportunity to sneak outside between rain drops to snap a photo.

Her head is a Styrofoam ball and her face is paper clay.  Various other components are paint brushes, candle holder, cardboard, wood, paint and felt.  You could make one yourself...your only limit is imagination.

Went to the vintage textile show and possibly going to Brimfield later in the week...if it stops raining!  I ran into these fabulous people at the textile show...Tinsel Trading, Wendy Addison, Mimi Kirchner. This show is a fabric lover's dream.

Back to work here...my head is swimming with inspiration after that show!

As always, whatever the weather, 

enjoy the day!

Another Friday...

Can it be Friday already?  Where does time go?

This past week we had a record-breaking temperature in the 80's and 90's in New England. I would love to say it was pleasant but it wasn't too me.  Too extreme, too soon!  Schoolchildren off for spring break have had a most wonderful week.  The beaches don't open here until late May but people flocked to them to sun bathe.

My friend Carol and I continue to swap art every week.  This week we made some little books, 4 inches by 6 inches.  They are made of paper and put together with electrical tape. We used paper we already had in out art stashes and both books turned out really nice--or, at least, we think so!

 Carol's book

My book

 

My book cover

 

Our books together

It doesn't take much:  glue, paper, drawing, rubber stamps and/or writing and your imagination.  Books like this can be inexpensive gifts.  I have to remind myself to make more of them.  Why don't you make a book for yourself.  It doesn't have to be fancy--just have fun!

On one of  the pages of my book, I wrote "if  all we know of heaven is earth, we should take good care of each other and of the planet."

I think of this all the time.  A promise of an after life is something some aspire to but the life we have and the people we love on a day to day basis...these are heaven to me.  We should cherish every moment.  Carol, by the way, is going for some serious surgery next week and still made a very inspirational, happy book...

Happy weekend to all... and as  always,

enjoy the day!

Make this from that...

This past week, my friend Carol and I swapped out our weekly art challenge.  We have done hundreds of projects over the years and they really keep us motivated and challenged.

This week we used blank cardboard boxes 3.5 inches square with a plastic "window" in them.

The idea was to decorate them and turn them into art.  We seldom discuss details since we have a lot of experience with paper and altered art.  It is fun seeing what we come up with a week later.

Here is mine.  Seem to be stuck in mushroom world!

I painted mushrooms on watercolor paper and cut them out. I cut out layers of papers an created a dimensional back ground using adhesive foam squares to make space between layers.  The photo is somewhat poor but there are felt and fabric embellishments on the lid.

Carol, covered her box and created a lovely little  out of paper clay.  It is nestled in moss with a real branch.  Wonderful little scene!

Due to the fact the plastic window reflects the camera flash, I had to take the photos at an angle. I think you can get the idea though...one can make a small diorama out of a regular gift box and just leave off  the cover.  There are so many ways one can create something from what one already has! I save cereal boxes for perfect cardboard for projects and save small gift boxes with can be decorated in so many ways.  White glue, Modge Podge, even glue sticks can be used to glue paper to boxes.

Sadly, I had to add an extra layer of security to comment on this blog.  I have been bogging for a decade now and have had some "spam" comments over the years.  Recently I received one so vile my jaw dropped! It attacked religion, politics, was sexual and racist... quite scary.   It had nothing to do with any subject on this blog. I hope my regular readers were not exposed to it...totally awful.

On a different note, normal spring weather has returned here and I am not at all disappointed.  Call me a traditionalist, but I like the seasons to be in order and enjoy them as long as possible.

How was your weekend?  Are you working on any special projects?  As always,

enjoy the day!