This Week in Crafting

This week has been a steady crafting week for me.  I have been fortunate enough to have good friends and fun projects all week.  I am smack in the middle of Christmas creations (gasp!)  I know, it's not even Halloween yet, but when you make clothing and run a boutique, you HAVE to stay ahead of the curve.  I keep getting emails reminding me how many days until Christmas.  Eek!  That works as an automatic countdown to the half way point of this TDY.  Not bad!

On to this week's fun!

I started the week off in the Dollar Spot at Target.  It's pretty much my favorite place ever.  I challenged myself with a re-purposing project this week.  I took canvas wine bags with awesome typography and made them into a Thanksgiving table runner. This project rang in under $4 with a coupon and using old supplies from home!  Woo!

This one cracked everyone up.  Then, all the kids asked what gobble meant.  That was a funny conversation and then of course learning to wobble and gobble like a turkey.

Every year I manage to find Easter or Halloween buckets at Wal-Mart for $1.  I didn't look too hard this year and really didn't have anything planned until I ran across a blog challenge from Ellison Lane.  It was from back in July, but everyone was talking about how cute the bags were.  I had the fabric on hand and started cutting.  Of course, I didn't read all the directions all the way through...which we all know is a no-no.  In turn, I ended up making my own version of the quilted Halloween bag.  The kids picked their fabrics and I quilted their designs.  It was a super quick and rewarding project.

 

On Wednesday, I went to an art class with my friend and her daughter.  I totally thought we picked the typography class and was all ready to paint my ampersand, but as it turned out, we picked the swirly tree.  I put book pages under mine and plan to add some buttons to the tree and hang it for Christmas.  :)

Mr. Connor is the unfortunate child that receives all the hand me downs from his big bro.  For whatever reason at 5 years old, Kristjan busted through just about every pair of pants I ever got him.  Most of them were turned into cut offs one summer, but a few select pairs made it in the box for Connor.  I recently bought a ton of felt on sale for a mermaid project for Miss Stella and thought a monster patch would be a good way to make his torn jeans look new and special again.  He picked the face and together we patched up the hole.  He has already brought me all his other jeans requesting aliens and more monsters.  Hooray!

I had one graphics project this week with a special request from my sister.  They moved into a swanky new house and they needed a classy moving card to go along with the new address.   They are big Georgia fans, so there was no question that their design would be red and black.  I used a fabric that she liked a lot and made a ribbon embellishment with a medallion.  It is ready to post on Facebook and print 4x6 photos to include in her Christmas card.  

It has been a productive week and that's exactly what I needed to keep my mind off Mr. B. being out of country.  We are doing great and have a bunch of fun fall activities planned this weekend.  I can't wait to see the leaves start to turn here.  Mr. B. is solving global problems and doing his own laundry (which is super attractive if you ask me).  :) 

xoxo

b.

imagine

Sometimes art happens when you least expect it and with the most bizarre items.  I recently picked up the newest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, which happens to be my new favorite magazine, and fell in love with the cover art.  I decided I wanted one of my own and gathered up my box of scrap paper, an old sewing pattern, and some glue.  With a little direction from my four year old ("Put that there mom, no, RIGHT THERE,") I managed to create my very own recycled art! 

I began with a Huggies box - no joke!  I tore off the side and painted the brown side of the box, then began gluing down random pieces of left over scrapbook paper.  I took an old sewing pattern, tore it up and also glued it down.  (Hint:  look for the darts, telephones, and instructions on the pattern for a cool look.)  I used a little white paint over the top of everything to bring out the crinkles in the pattern. 

For the paper flowers I cut random stacking circles, drew on them with Sharpies, and stitched them together with floss and a button.  Then, I crinkled the edges to distress them, used a Sharpie to draw a stem, and stuck 'em down.  Once all the flowers were done, I punched three holes on the left and added ribbon, brads, and a butterfly embellished button.

It needed one more thing in the upper right corner to balance the ribbon, so I stamped the imagine stamp by Autumn Leaves with my Black Stazon Ink and colored it in with the new Blueberry Sharpie.

It is on the art wall in my house and I have to say for a recycled project using scraps and leftovers, I think it turned out pretty cute!  I wish you luck and hope this project inspires you to make something beautiful out of your junk!

Summer Time! Summer Time! Sum, Sum, Summer Time!

It's officially summer time in our house and I felt like making a page to celebrate.  Yes, I know summer doesn't actually start until the 21st of June, but when the pool comes out - it's summer right? 

For this page, I machine stitched a crazy border on a piece of plain white card stock.  Then, I used pool blue acrylic paint, an old paint brush, and some paper towels to make a smudgy mess up in the corner.  I tore the edges of the pictures to make them just as messy as everything else and then hunted for some embellishments.  I ended up using some Recollections dimensional stickers, Sassafras Lass layered blossoms, Prima flowers with Glimmer Mist, and some random buttons.  I made my own feltie by stitching a big yellow button to some felt circles and then adhered it to a recycled layered blossom.  I also stamped with white acrylic paint on a piece of left over fabric and used it in the corner as my date. 

Overall, this project took about an hour - mostly the sewing and finding just the right embellishments.  That reminds me - I need to clean the scrap room!

Well Begun is Half Done

I am a crafter. I paint, glue, smudge, ink, and distress just about anything I can. Blogging is not in my repertoire, but I was informed that if you are a somebody, and you wanna be a big time scrapbooker, you have a blog! So - for the two of you out there reading this - I am making an attempt to write creatively and post my newest projects and ideas. Here goes nothin'!

Recently, I have been in class, which takes up any time I might have left over after taking care of the kids, house, etc. Thankfully, I am in art school and have gotten the opportunity to take an actual art class. (In case any of you are considering art school, don't be disappointed when they require you to take math and chemistry before you actually get to make art). I have been studying Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement from the early 1900s.

In an attempt to complete a previous project and come up with a creative idea to complete an assignment, I made a chair. Now - let me set the record straight - I bought a bare wooden chair from IKEA and painted it laboriously, put a few screws in place with the help of my four year old, and then poly coated the whole thing. I did not turn wooden spokes on a lathe or anything! This chair is for Connor - my 11 month old. It's too big for him, but he'll grow into it and I'll get some cute pictures out of the deal.

So the goal is to paint six chairs and make my table like the one in Monica Geller's apartment on Friends. My chairs are all the same, but will have new shiny paint in each family member's favorite colors. We shall see how this project unfolds...