Well, it seems that holiday elves have invaded our house...and my art studio, so holiday fun and creativity is bursting out all over...
Beadwork on fabric on vintage hankerchief, mounted on stretched canvas. No title yet--any suggestions?
Four Inchies + mounted on a fabric covered stretched canvas. Working title : "Four-squared Flowers" and yes, they are re-purposed postage stamps, plus beads & other bits. I was aiming for a botanical theme on this one.
So here is my last 2 days of the CREATIVE EVERY DAY challenge.
This small "quilt" is titled HOMAGE TO TREES and is part of a series of small mixed media (fabric and paper) quilts I am making on the theme of the Earth and the Environmental Crisis. This is a creative work in progress or WIP.
I started with a vintage deck of Tree Spotter cards
---stitched some cards together, added batting and a fabric backing--and now I'm working on embellishing with buttons, beads and embroidery. I will use the green leaf fabric as a border---and plan to hand quilt the borders....
"I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do." --Willa Cather
First of all, I like to send you all over to the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog--where they have been posting great gift craft tutorials everyday for over a month. Awhile ago I answered their holiday blog meme questions in a post and today they chose to mention my Holiday Meme and Fruitcake post! This is one of the craft blogs I check out everyday because there is always something new and interesting posted, and some great links to other craft blogs...so do check them out!
I picked this fun vintage pin up at the Alameda Flea Market (aka the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire)---talk about vintage holiday decor! The Alameda Flea Market sure has that in November and December! If you live in the Bay Area, you might want to catch this once a month Antique Flea market---it is always the 1st Sunday of the month. This vintage pin is green felt--with many sequins and beads sewn on--with a "pearl" bead strand as the tree garland...I just love this! because it has a 50's vintage funky feel to it.
When I saw this so [awful] so kitschy holiday plate at a thrift store recently, I just had to buy it! Can you tell from my photos that the holly and pine cones are actually 3-d? what a great plate to serve my holiday fruitcake on....
Thought for the day (well, really a holiday reminder):
"If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?" - Stephen Levine
Only 28 days (yikes!) until that BIG HOLIDAY. Here are some books I think would make great gifts for most Crafters/Artists (most of these are on my wish list):
Kristin Knits by Kristin Nicholas.
Ah! Color for knitters! Noted knitwear designer and color connoisseur Kristin Nicholas encourages knitters to conquer their color inhibitions, learn a little basic color theory, and create personally satisfying fiber palettes. Kristin has created 25 designs for hats, mittens, scarves, socks, and sweaters in sumptious Nashua Handknits Julia Yarn. This book is eye candy I can't wait to own!
Heirloom Buttons to Make: A gallery of decorative fabric, needle-lace, crochet, and ribbon and braid closures you can create by Nancy Nehring. The subtitle says it all here. To quote one Amazon customer review : "If you knit, crochet, or sew and like to give your garments a little extra, this book will give you lots of new ideas."
Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave by Ann Budd (Editor), Anne Merrow (Editor). These 25 sock patterns are taken from various issues of Interweave Press magazines such as "Interweave Knits" and "Piecework" and "Spin-Off." Many of the original issues of Interweave Knits have gone out of print and Favorite Socks ensures these patterns are accessible for a new generation of knitters. Besides providing many classic patterns, this collection also includes a helpful tutorial on knitting socks on two circular needles, and instructions for both toe-up and top-down knitted socks.. However, I think this sock knitting book is not for the novice sock knitter---but aimed at more veteran sock knitters--if you have never knit socks, or never used 4 double pointed knitting needles you may want to watch a video or take a class to learn to knit a basic sock.
Crochet Jewelry: 40 Beautiful and Unique Designs by Waejong Kim and Anna Pulvermakher. The 40 crochet projects range from easy to complicated. The instructions at the beginning of the book are quite thorough and cover some unusual techniques not usually found in a crochet book such as hairpin crochet and cable techniques. "Featured projects include multicolored bead and crochet necklaces, lacy spider web chokers, delicate yarn and wire bracelets, lively cherry earrings, mohair flower pins, and pretty cocktail rings embellished with beads and stones." I am an avid bead crocheter, so I am quite intrigued by this book of unusual crochet jewelry.
I have just started working in a bookstore again! so I will be blogging about the store and more crafty books soon--now back to knitting those holiday gifts.....
What can I say? I just keep making them....these are fun to fabricate because each one is a miniature work of art. These are plus size inchies--each one measures about 1.5" x 1.5". Again these have become pins/brooches for sale in my Etsy shop, Borealis Beads.
These are "+ inchies or plus size inchies" since they are 1.5" x 1.5" in size. Sewn with fabrics and laces all layered, then embellished with buttons, beads, stamps---whatever I have that strikes my fancy.
These are so much fun to make, once I get going, I just can't stop! I love making these little miniature works of art---they are fairly quick to make, so I can make about a dozen in a few hours. I have sewn pinbacks onto them, and they are will soon be for sale on my Etsy shop--so if you like any of them, check there! They make lovely pins or brooches to enliven a hat, sweater, or winter coat.
A while ago--one of my projects was a series of "mini-quilts." These are about 8.5" X 11.5" in size, and fun to make---since they are fast to finish up! Mostly sewed and quilted on the machine--with bead embroidery and buttons, plus some hand embroidery for embellishment. These are a nice project for using up small bits and pieces of fabric; some of the fabric here is old vintage fabric.
This one has more handstitching and less beadwork...but I love the different orange-ish fabrics--some of these fabrics are I got from my quilter friend Kari (from Sitka, Alaska.) She has the fabric stash to die for! (thanks, Kari!)
I had six of these small quilts hung all on one wall--they made a lovely display. As I make more, I move them around---take some down, or add more.
Awhile ago I joined the Bead Journal Project (you can read more about this project here) -- started by noted beading teacher Robin Atkins---and so here is a peek at how far I am on my June bead journal page. Getting very close to finished--just 1/2 the border around the edge to go...
Yeah--I know, I know--it is July now--but I have resigned myself to the fact that I may not finish each beaded page during the month it is started. We are supposed to make one beaded journal page a month--and I will do this--but the creation of the various pages will undoubtedly overlap some months--and I am ok with that. Some journal pages will probably have more beading on them than others--so will take longer to complete --like this one! which now is about nine-tenth completed. I have decided to not start July's page before the June page is completed, however--because I know myself well enough to know that this one will languish, while I become enamored with the new one I'm working on. I think the Yarn Harlot calls this syndrome "startitus"---and I have the disease bad...always starting new projects, and so have several projects on my "WTBF" (waiting to be finished) shelf. I suffer from "too many ideas--never enough time;-)" and summer traveling, music camps, music festivals and so on seem to get in the way. I just haven't found an easy way to take all the beads and supplies I need for bead embroidery on a trip...it is so much easier to pack some bead crochet, or socks to knit...
and here is a close up (I find beadwork hard to photograph with my point & shoot camera... the colors just are not correct here, and the bead reflect so much light...and this whole piece is really very much greener than this photo--like the lush forest greens of Southeast Alaska)
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