Tiny Tim & Winter Fairy

Using white glue, I re-did this frame to get a weathered, crackled look.  The top pic shows a close-up.  Underneath is the Tiny Tim framed picture with its "new" frame.  Tiny Tim came from a flea market purchase years ago; it still appeals to me, although it is cut from something like a magazine, very thin paper.

Above is a picture (from Oct. or early Nov.) of a cloth and clay doll I just couldn't like.  I'd already done the clay over the cloth head, but the body shape (and I really had an idea in mind for this) just wouldn't work the way I wanted.

The other day, I decided to finish her as a Winter Fairy.  I liked her much better painted and dressed, so I added a halo and put her at the top of the tree.  Her dress is from a woven metallic napkin from Pier One several years ago.  I knew those napkins, which were purely decorative and not for real use, would come in handy some day.

Today, I'm really going to finish the sachets.  Yes?  

(More) Christmas Decorations

The third crumpled paper bag has a beaded handle and another Graphics Fairy image of a reindeer in the snow.  Fee's carved Santas are always my favorites.

 The finished little bread tin, all covered in moss; a small plant looks like it belongs.

Using what I have and natural greenery from the garden makes it feel more ours.  Not that I don't have some artificial greenery, including the tree!  I just like having the mix. 

I wrapped some pretty ribbon around an old wooden spool and put out an old wooden darning tool.  After taking the picture, I added another wooden spool (a tall one) and later a child's wooden shoe last to the group. (didn't take another picture after adding the shoe last).  I love the way the old wood has such soft patinas from being handled often over the years.

Michael's had these tiny ornaments in "mint," and into a glass bowl they went, looking nice and shimmery.

 Isn't it nice to bring out all the old, tried and true decorations?  It is satisfying to see them again.  Then finding something new to add to the mix, like the tiny ornaments in a glass bowl, to keep things fresh.

It's fun to visit other blogs and see the creative way different people decorate for the season and to get inspired and creative.  I'm editing all during the weeks leading up to the big day...moving this here and that there, adding another vase of greenery, a bow, a bit of lace, adjusting, straightening, re-arranging...

Today, I'm planning to do a bit of last minute grocery shopping (and it probably won't be the last "last minute" grocery shopping this week, but I've thought of a few things I need.

We've warmed up again, and it is supposed to reach the mid-70's today, so I also need to get out and plant the pansies we bought Sunday.

 Have a great day!

'Tis the Season

I've not had much time lately for the computer, and I have a lot of catching up to do.  So many blogs to visit!

I made 3 bags using images from The Graphics Fairy and filled them with greenery from the garden.   Using brown wrapping paper that I crumpled and ironed flat, I printed images directly on one bag and onto muslin for the other two.  Added a little lace, sewed them up and added handles, then filled them with greenery wrapped in a wet paper towel and covered with plastic wrap to keep them fresh.  Need to get some candy canes to add to them.  Forgot to take a picture of the third bag, but will get that one later.

In the top right corner is Laddie's hat with a little holly for a reminder.  I love that hat; he always looked so sporty in it, and the addition to the hat band gave it a Christmas touch.  The  flower ornament on the top bag is just left-over scraps of muslin, lace, and brown paper sewn together.

  Found a bag of moss purchased for another project a while back, and began adding it to a tiny foil baking tin and a small tin can to hold a plant and a candle.

(the text should read "Wet paper towel to keep moist;...")

Wrapped some bark around a green candle and put it in the can with moss, feathers, and berries--perfect fit.

  An old book cover that I've had for years and that only sees light during the Christmas Season, oranges and lemons, beloved soup tureen:

 Another image from The Graphics Fairy on sheer fabric and framed.  I'm not terribly pleased with this and may change this out later.

My favorite time is at night with just candles and tree lights, some Christmas music, and a cuppa green tea. 

Welcome Home, Major Chandler

 Chris didn't make it home for Bryce Eleanor's birthday party.  However, he arrived today!

Amelia and Bryce Eleanor greeted him at the airport.  Amelia says she hasn't let go of her daddy since he arrived.  We are all so grateful to have him home!

I didn't post pictures of B.E.'s birthday party on Saturday, but it was a huge success.  Amelia outdid herself with the decorating and all of the kids (and adults) had a great time.  The theme was Under the Sea because of B.E.'s fascination with Ariel.

I loved Amelia's chandelier...dinglehoppers, according to Scuttle...

dinglehopper

noun 

1. A fork
   
2. A fork misused to straighten your hair
   
3. • Ariel: What? What is it?
     

     Scuttle: It's a ! Humans use these little babies . . . to straighten their hair out. See - just a little twirl here an' a yank there and - voila! You got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that humans go nuts over!

     Ariel: A dinglehopper!

Etymology: From the Disney Movie The Little Mermaid when the seagull Scuttle calls a fork a dinglehopper.

dinglehopper

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workspace Wednesday

Jessica over at Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping! features Workspace Wednesday, and since I'm such a nosy parker (love that English term, so Agatha Christie), there is little I enjoy more than seeing what other crafters are doing and where!   Hmmmm....she doesn't have this week's up yet.  Christmas is such a busy time!

Anyway, this is my first Workspace Wednesday...

 I bought the 3 boxes at Target and hung them on the wall in the studio.  I really like them and think I'll get some more.  The ironing board with sachet project stuff and the floor with some wrapping going on.

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Where In The World Is Chris?  Somewhere in the Middle East, trying to get home in time for Bryce Eleanor's birthday.

Speaking of whom, Amelia switched days again this week, so B.E. will coming on Wednesday afternoon again.  It is Workspace and B.E. Wednesday!

Guardian Drawing

There were 13 entries and the Random Number Generator came up with #7:    The winner is Kim! I'll need your address and will get her in the mail as soon as possible.  Hope you like her!

The largest Guardian I made is 12 1/2 inches; this one is only 5 ", but she is a sweetie.
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Finished the light fixture girl today.

  I like her messy red hair in the turban.  I love using the two light fixture parts that I picked up in a couple of junk runs.  Here she is in one of her earliest incarnations;  the two fixtures are taped together while I tried to decide what she might wear.

 It took a while (over 2 months) to get her finished, but I'm pleased with her.  She waited patiently as I ignored her for other projects, but she finally got her turn! 

The fabric beads on wire make her arms flexible, so she can pose more easily. She looks a little medieval, I think.  Love the richness of the quilted skirt.

Monday Musings

I've been able to find a little time for the studio this morning, but so many ideas have kind of stalled.  I did gather and attach the quilted skirt to the light fixture girl who has been waiting impatiently, but that is about all.

I used fabric that I'd discharged several years ago, quilted with a variegated thread, then with a metallic copper thread, and then beaded.  All that effort and the neither kind of bead really shows up much, but they do give a nice texture.

Tonight, after yoga, I'll do the drawing for the little guardian.  The one on this blog and the one on my book blog.  I haven't forgotten!

 Haven't put a tree up yet.  Since The Triad climb the artificial palm, they are going to be a problem when it comes to a tree.  Must get a refill for SssCat!!!  Love this product. 

Lots to Share!

Here is a tutorial for the cutest needle felted snowmen ever! (found via The Magic Bean)

I love these and haven't done any needle felting for a while.  Where's my wool?


 In the Wishing Wood has the most adorable bunnycoats!    Visit her Etsy shop for details.  I love the shape and imagination in these precious coats.

Just Something I Made has great images and ideas.  I think I need this EPHEMERA label!

Michelle Palmer has the most enchanting little designs on baby clothes, doll clothes, cards, and doilies and is offering this lovely journal as a give away..

 Visit her Etsy shop for more of her hand drawn beauties!

Craftily Ever After has a tutorial for the cutest pasta angels you have ever seen.  I'm not kidding, you would never know these little angels had anything to to do with pasta.

And...


Don't for get to check my Give Away on this previous post.  I love the little guardians; working on them was such fun, and this one needs a new home.

Saturday Cookies and B.E. Adventures

Around this area, we are pretty familiar with the oil field.  Sugarbelle has created the most adorable gingerbread cookies with an oil field theme, complete with derricks and hard hats.  Such a great idea for oil field country.





When I was little and we lived in Wyoming (Laddie was an engineer with the Houston Oil Company), I remember driving across a snow-covered prairie one December and seeing the rig where we were headed lit up with  lights.  I thought it was a Christmas tree; on that dark night, seeing that derrick rising above the snow-covered landscape, sparkling with lights...it was like a gift.  I was in four-year-old awe, and after all these years, the image is still there.

Back to the cookies.  Sugarbelle makes the most brilliant, imaginative cookies I've ever seen.  Check out her blog and her Flickr page.
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Bryce Eleanor and I went for a walk this morning, and she filled her pockets with leaves and acorns and acorn hats and berries.  We've read, played, napped, and watched the LPB John Denver Special.

And danced!  She especially loved "Thank God, I'm a Country Boy." Watching an almost three-year-old dance is a lesson in exuberance.  Knees pumping, arms waving, stompin' and rompin', and rollin' on the floor.  Whew! 

Her Mama and some of her friends went to Natchitoches for the Christmas Festival.

B.E. and I looked at the lights in the neighborhood.  Much less crowed, but fun!

Printing on Fabric

One of the projects that I was working on before Thanksgiving was printing on fabric.  Using images from The Graphics Fairy, I experimented with printing on linen, muslin, and a sheer.  I was a bit worried about the sheer, but it worked fine, even if at least half the ink ended up on the freezer paper.

Then I needed a way to use my fabric prints.  I had a lovely pink tee that just happened to be in the studio awaiting a transformation, so I ironed  the sheer image of this bird nest with eggs onto fusible, and then onto the tee.

Here is the original image.  You can tell that printing on the sheer lost a lot of detail.

 I really like the shimmery, glittery, translucent quality of the sheer fabric. Not at all sure if the sheer will hold up in the wash, but we will see.  Some small images of a reindeer on linen will become sachets or little bags.

Really need to begin working on the sachets (I have lots of lavender left from some previous sachet projects), but I'll be keeping Bryce Eleanor today, so there is no way that is going to happen until at least Sunday afternoon.

Don't for get to check my Guardian Give Away on this previous post.  http://bayouquilts.blogspot.com/2010/12/guardian-give-away.html

Inspiration Needed

 I have to get back to organizing the studio.  Since I haven't been crafty since just before Thanksgiving, cleaning and organizing usually puts me back in the mood. 

  Buttons, beads, pearl cotton...waiting for me to come back to them.

  Bryce Eleanor stayed Wednesday night this week as Amelia was busy giving a baby shower for a friend on Tuesday.  Here she is leaving for "school" Thursday morning with Stinker watching from the window and Edgar watching from the front door. 

  Can you see all the nose prints on the glass?  It is a hopeless cause trying to keep the windows half way clean.

Amelia's birthday was also on Tuesday.  I spent a large part of the day wondering how my baby grew up so fast!  Now, I look at Bryce Eleanor and see how much like her mother she is.  She's a builder, a schemer, busy all the time, aware of the power of her smile, loves to "freed" (Amelia would bring a book and say, "Let's freed!"), full of songs and nursery rhymes.  Like Mother, Like Daughter these two.

Today's Hopeful Plans:  library, Michael's or JoAnne's (I have coupons!), continue organizing and hope that the creative urge hits.  So many WISPS (works in slow progress; love this term Michelle!) that need attention, an idea, an inspiration.

Don't for get to check the Give Away in previous post.  I love the little guardians; working on them was such fun, and this one needs a new home.

Guardian Give Away

I'm finished with all of the guardians and will be giving this one little one away on this blog (and another one on my book blog).  All you have to do is leave a comment if you'd like a chance to win.  Neither you nor I have the time to do all of the multiple entry (comment on Facebook, Twitter, Become a Follower, etc.) rigmarole.  Things are already busy enough!  I'll use the Random Number Generator on Dec. 6 to select the winner.

She is a tiny thing--only 5 inches tall.   Good luck!  Oh, and be sure that I have a way to get in touch with you if you do win, so I can get your address!