Fantasy Fabric Flowers

Make sure you click on picture to see all the detail.

 I have been having so much fun with fabric. I call these little cream puffs of fabric "fantasy flowers". When you look at all the different textures and colors you can't help but wonder, who's garden they were picked from. Right now I'm making and stockpiling. I'll be showcasing the whole collection of fantasy flowers on everything from lampshades to handbags, pillows, and hair clips. That's going to take a lot of flowers. My favorite store "Serendipity" located in the Village of Arroyo Grande will be selling them. I so love that store!  I'm so proud to be associated with such a cool group of women and such a creative  retail space. In my next post I'll be sharing more about this store and my involvement with it. It's kind of a dream come true.

Pewter Candlestick Makeover

What do you get when you cross store bought candlesticks with a bag of trims? You get a whole bunch of wonderful! Last Friday I came across these plain, but beautiful pewter candlesticks. They looked so sad and lonely setting there on the shelf. As I came closer, they seemed to be saying "take us home and make us pretty".  I stayed up late last night stringing the last seed beads and sewing on the last bit of trim. This morning I was happy to find them all dressed up and ready to be delivered to my favorite store. I love it when a project comes together. God is Good! All the Time!

Crimson Valentine Event

Yummy Pink Food

Entryway with my new mixed media canvas.

One of my favorite props.

Love pillows and 12x12 artwork

Dinning room to the right of the entry.

This was my favorite table.

I used an old window as a shelf.

These are the pictures from our first ever "Crimson Valentine Event".  Holly, Melissa, and yours truly (with help from my wonderful hubby), put together our second home show.  Last December, we held "A Crimson Holiday". We are finding these events to be more fun and profitable than the art shows we have been doing. The thing with this, is that you have to do art shows to build a following.  We really want to thank all of you who stopped by.  The "make and take" table was always busy, sorry no pictures of that.  The cake pops were a big hit. I have to tell you there is a learning curve to making these.  We had a bowl, full of 'friends and family' rejects. My son and husband never once complained on their appearance as they popped them into their mouths! We are talking about having a "Mom's Fun Day" type show the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. Let me know what you think about that. Thanks again for your attendance. Without you, we would have been standing around all day eating cake pops! 

Wool Sweater Makeover

Handbag made from wool sweater.

Cute as a sweater, but oh so much better as a bag.

I spent a lot of time sewing embroidery floss in all the grooves. 

I love the bright colors with the cream wool.

I whip stitched in a canvas lining to give it more body. 

I cut open one sleeve and used it for the bottom.The other one was used for the handles.

I love me some sari silk flowers.

My favorite source for sari silk. http://store.darngoodyarn.com/

Every now and then you finish a project that leaves a big fat smile on your face. Well this is one of those times for me. I found this great wool sweater last December at the thrift store my brother and his family own. Ya you heard me, I have a thrift store in my family. Lucky me, I just wish we lived in the same town so we could hangout and work with them more often. Every time we go for a visit, we take them a bunch of our stuff, and I always find a few treasures that I can't live without. Well this sweater was my favorite find from the last visit. Any second hand wool sweater is a joy to behold to most mixed media or quilt artists. But this one was better than most because of it's unique bell shape. As soon as I got it out of the dryer, I knew it was destined to be a handbag. I simply cut the sleeves off and turned the body of the sweater into the bag. I hand stitched embroidery floss in all of the grooves of the wool. This was the longest part of the project.  I used one sleeve for the bottom and the other for the two handles. Next I whip stitched in a canvas lining. The cherry on top of the cake came when I sewed on the handmade sari silk flowers. I make and sell them as pins, but this is one of those times when more is better, so I put every last one I had around the top of the bag. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.  What is your favorite thrift store find?

Dollar Store Journal Makeover

I like to buy these little dollar journals. Sometimes I find them at the Dollar store, sometimes a Michaels. I simply make something new to glue to the covers. I've done many different things in the past, such as adding handmade fabric flowers, using wool roving, and my favorite, sari silk. But these are the latest ones. I painted several pieces of canvas in different colors. I then cut the canvas to fit the covers, sewed, painted, and glued. Voila, new journals with cute handmade covers. PS I got these journal on clearance for 50 cents apiece.

Polymer Clay Lockets

As you can see, I'm still working towards the Crimson Valentine's Event. It's going to be here at my house on Feb. 4th, with two other artist friends. It's our first annual. We also held our first Crimson Holiday Event in December. We set out to host something that people would enjoy and hang out at. So we had fun and creative food, lots of great shopping, and my cute and creative daughter Annie taught a make and take. She is a great teacher. Everyone is always amazed by her. So we are doing it again, but with hearts. What more could you want? Hope you enjoy my polymer lockets. They are wired together with a lot of beading, and tied off with recycled sari silk. The colors are bright and cheery, like I hope your day is.