Fun Projects to Make in Just a Few Hours

Where does the time go?  Here it is Black Friday already and I don't even have my shopping list together!!

I had planned and made a promise to myself after my last blog post that I would pull up my "socks" and post more regularly.  The spirit was definitely willing... the body however, not so much!  I've spent the good part of the last three weeks down with a wicked cold, sore throat, laryngitis and ear infection that plunked me firmly on the sidelines covered in Vicks, slurping hot toddies and sleeping round the clock.

Honestly, I can't remember when I felt so miserable and had a "bug" that wandered on its own "merry" (ugh) way through my body in slow motion!! The pain in my ears (and the fact that I could hardly breathe) got so bad one night, I ended up in the Emergency dept. at our local hospital.  All they could do, after a good "look see" was tell me it was going around, give me antibiotics, told me to steam, stay in bed, keep warm and sent me home.  I was back at midnight again... this time with blood seeping from one of my ears as in "ruptured ear drum"!  I will spare you the nitty gritty's but it hasn't been the most pleasant couple of weeks in my life. However, today is the first day that I have felt like myself again (by gosh, I am actually going to live LOL) so I decided to pull a few fun things things I've made out of my art/sewing room to share with you.

First up are some pillow with neat French graphics on them.  Kinda the "in thing" this past year.  I purchased some good pillow inserts at the local fabric store (I was surprised at how expensive they are... even on sale) along with some Osnabruck fabric.  I messed with the graphics to change them slightly to make them larger and darken them up to ready them for fabric transfer with HP T-Shirt Transfer paper. I dug around in my lace stash to find some antique lace (had just enough for two pillows) and decided to make the large, two and a half inch buttons from polymer clay.  And here they are, all finished, gracing the antique chairs and couch in my living room...

You can find some neat French graphics at The Graphics Fairy if you are so inclined to make some for yourself or as a "different" Christmas gift for a friend or family member.

Remember all those Reader's Digest books I inherited?  Well, I found another use for them.  I was visiting an antique store this past summer and saw a book that was all bashed up but decorated with fabric roses.  It looked interesting just randomly sitting on an old side table in the store.  At $25.00 a pop, I decided I could make it myself!!  It sits "nonchalantly" on a table in my living room that is covered with my great grandmother's beautiful lace tablecloth (and was on my wedding table when hubby and I got married).

A couple of years ago I inherited a whole box of fabric flowers and ribbon from my sister in law who was clearing out some of her "stash".  She thought I'd be able to use them so gifted me with the lot.  I sorted out what I wanted and stashed it away in one of my translucent shoe boxes that I keep on the shelves in my sewing room.  I knew that some day a project would come along!  Don't they always???? LOL

So here's how to make one of these books yourself.  You can't be squeamish about bashing a book up to do this. Use a book that has no meaning for you or is so bashed up all ready that you are "recycling" it into art and giving it a second life.

Tear off the cover and the spine.  Take some brown ink (Tim Holtz has some great ink pad colours) and splatter it all over the book... spray it with a fine mist of water to spread the ink around.  I took a page from an old German book, crumpled and inked it,  tore it to size to fit the front page of the book and glued it down.  Once everything was dry, I simply took a wide piece of wired ribbon to tie around the book and hot glued some roses to the top of the book.  That's it!!  A quick and very easy little project.

Now I must get my list ready and get out to those sales today... Hope all my American friends had a lovely Thanksgiving and happy hunting in the Black Friday sales...

Cheers,
Sharon

Art.. On the Tip of a Pencil

Hi!  I'm back... vacation is over (sigh)!  The kids have come for a visit and are back home.  Our visit up Island to spend time with some old, dear friends was wonderful.  The rest of the past month has been spent doing one of my favourite summertime pastimes...hanging out on the beach getting some beach therapy time in. LOL.  It still amazes me how a good dose of beach therapy is so highly beneficial to my "art making" process!  I get some of my best ideas  there.   I just let go and go with the flow... something that is dead nuts simple to do while you hang out at a quiet (sans noisy kids or teenagers) beach... and ideas bubble to the surface.  I just have to remember to write them down! 

Tilly at the Beach

The weather in Victoria has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of weeks and there is no place in the world I would rather be in the summer than hanging out at one of my three favourite beaches here...reading, sleeping, eating some fruit, admiring the view, snoozing, thinking about art, drinking ice tea, snoozing again... Here's a photo of me enjoying the relaxing sound of the waves at China Beach in the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park and along the Juan de Fuca hiking trail on the very west, west coast of Vancouver Island.  I was actually sound asleep in my chair, my Tilly hat covering my eyes,  when hubby took this photo.  I think it's a great photo and I call it "Tilly at the Beach". 

What's a Tilly hat?  Well they are an "institution" on the west coast of Canada (and are quickly becoming that around the world).  The fabric they use protects you from the sun and UV rays.  The hat actually floats.  It has a "secret" pocket inside the crown to store valuables when you are at the beach.  It even comes with an owner's manual.  These hats are so durable, they never wear out.  People have been known to consider them "family heirlooms" (BIG chuckle) Everyone just HAS TO HAVE a Tilly. LOL.  Want to learn more? Click here

1..2..3...A...B...C

As our granddaughter has been telling us over and over and over again, school is going to begin in a couple of weeks.  She is about to enter Grade 1, is really excited to be going to "big kid's" school and can hardly wait for school to begin.  Naturally, the ABC's are on her mind... and she sparked gramma to think about them too!

So with that in mind, allow me to share with you, nine small 4 x 4 inch canvases I painted and collaged awhile back. 

All the letters in the alphabet were designed and printed on heavy watercolour paper, cut out (very patiently) with cuticle scissors and painted either with watercolours or acrylics.  I added old dictionary paper to the painted canvases, then embellished the canvases with whatever struck my fancy LOL.  Tags, fibre, marbles, a touch of glitter, paper and clay beads are just some of the things I randomly found in my stash of "stuff" to add to my little masterpieces!  I am planning on putting them on the wall above the top of a double door closet in our family room... that is, of course,  when I can con my TALL hubby into putting them up there.  I'm afraid these SHORT legs of mine just don't cut it when it comes to putting stuff up high.  Ah... just another thing to add to the "honey do" list on the fridge!

Art on the Tip of a Pencil

Another treat I have for you today are some fantastic photos from a most amazing Brazilian born, micro sculpture artist, Dalton Ghetti. A professional carpenter who lives in Connecticut, Dalton carefully carves the tips of graphite pencils into fantastic little works of art.  Dalton has been perfecting his art for the last 25 years using only a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife!  Some of his tiny sculptures can take anywhere between a few months to a few years to complete.  Can you purchase his art?  Well no, he doesn't sell them... he only gives them away to friends as gifts.  Look closely at this first photo and you will see the alphabet! 

Many thanks to my friend Nancy for forwarding some info and photos for me to share with you.


Hope you have a wonderful, arty week ahead of you!  As soon as I finish this post, I am about to get arty in a different way. 

Today I am going to turn the twenty pounds of peaches I got from the Okanogan yesterday (the wine and fruit tree capital in the interior of British Columbia) sitting on my kitchen counter into ten peach pies for the freezer, another extra pie to nibble on today, some peach and blackberry crisp (we have tons of blackberries practically in our own backyard... HUS-BAND, go pick! LOL) and if there is anything leftover, some peach and mango chutney. 

I'll make sure, like I do every year, to open the windows while I am baking those pies so that the mouth watering wafts of smell from baking fruit floats about our neighbourhood. One of my neighbours once told me he can always tell when fall is approaching.  I start baking pies.  He loves the smell of the baking pies and gives a knock on the door every year.  And yes, he gets a piece of it when they are done! 

I really enjoy baking pies and pie is something my hubby loves eating.  He is particularly fond of peach pie whereas I am a devoted apple pie fan!   Hmmm , even still  I can taste that warm peach pie with a dollop of ice cream on top already.  Oh yummy says my tummy!!!  Gotta go... see you soon.

Sharon

Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips - Old Business Cards and Plastic/Paper Grocery Bags

59 great recycling ideas submitted to the September 2008 Brainstorming Recycling Contest by Terry Howard, Martha B., Leslie, Donna Zamora, Susan Marie, Kelsey Jones Evans, Stephen du Toit, Moon Willow, Christine Bell, Pam Yee, Pam Crawford, Donna Hall, Alicia Edwards, Elizabeth and some from yours truly!

Save those old business cards and

1. blend them together with other paper to make great handmade papers.
2. Use calligraphy, stamps or tiny cut out word to make a quotation on an old business card and fill a business card holder for instant inspiration.
3. Use an old business card to add a layer to a collage.
4. Save those old business cards and alter them like an ATC.
5. Save those old business cards and paint or glue pretty paper on them, add a name and you have a place card for a dinner party.
6. Glue two together to make them thicker cut them into inchie size and make inchies.
7. Save those old business cards and use the reverse side for sentiments on greeting cards.
8. Wrap business cards in interesting cloth or paper scraps as 3-D embellishments
9. Decorate with paint, beads, clip art, drawings and use as "found" art or bookmarks.
10. Paint and cut out shapes with paper punches.
11. Collage them as art pieces or alter them to become YOUR business card.
12. Use old business cards like a squeegie when painting backgrounds, etc.
13. Make a fan book out of old business cards.

Save those tags on new, store bought clothes and

1. You have a ready made tag for your art, along with the hanger. Start by gessoing or adding a collage background, then proceed to decorate as you would any tag.
2. Stencil or stamp them, the hanger thingy makes a great way to display small 4x6s, add to make depth, use in a collograph.
3. Cut up the tags to make Inchies or other small items
4. Add altered tags to books, pages or cards, gifts
5. Alter and use as bookmarks or decoupage material in your art.
6. Use the tags as a template for quilt designs or book inserts
7. Paint unusual shapes as a base for your new embellishment designs
8. Save those tags on new, store bought clothes and if they are pretty or have catchy phrases, cool looking fonts you can use them in any collage. If they are big enough you can use them as a base for ATC’s or Moo cards. Some tags are really pretty and need just the right picture or embellishment.
9. Save those tags on new, store bought clothes and paint, collage, embellish to make ornaments.
   

Save those plastic shopping bags and

1. iron them together to create a "fabric". Use at least two or three bags, iron between two craft sheets, allow to cool, and peel. You can sew on them, or just use them as the entire background. If you are in a swap, they are light as air to mail.
2. Save those plastic shopping bags and mash into wet stuff for texture or dip a wadded one into paint and apply backgrounds.
3. Cut plastic bags into strips and crochet/knit a shopping bag. Tape one side to your worktable top leaving one side open; handy to scoop trimmings, and other refuse into the bag.
4. Using two plastic bags, insert one into the other. Tie off the top, trapping air inside, and use as a cushion for packing items to store or mail.
5. Run an ATC-size chipboard (cut from a cereal box of course) through your Xyron sticker-maker, then wrinkle a piece of the bag and brayer it onto the sticky side of the chipboard. Paint, gesso, ink or use as is.
6. Save those plastic shopping bags and use to make cool designs by cutting them flat and squishing them into wet paint. Lift when dry.
7. Weave them into mats to protect a work surface or ease you bottom during those long work sessions or in the football stands during long games.
8. Save those plastic shopping bags and melt them together with an iron into layered "cloth" to dress scarecrows
9. Save those plastic shopping bags and make beads out of them. Cut into triangular long strips and wind around a bamboo skewer blast with a heat gun and there ya go!
10. You can cut them into strips and knit or crochet them into tote bag, purses, or pool side slippers.
11. Cut into strips braid and make a rug or kneeling pad for gardening.
12. Save those plastic shopping bags and iron them together and sew them into your newly created art bags/grocery bag/etc as a liner.
13. Save those plastic shopping bags and crinkle up to use with paint for great backgrounds.
14. Split them apart and use to cover your work surface to keep it clean.

Save those brown paper grocery bags and

1. Make mini-books.
2. Create background papers. Crumple and place in a mixture of glue and water, then remove, wring out, and add bits of mica powder and paint while still wet. Hang to dry. When dry, swipe black or dark colored dye ink over the hills. Iron if you choose.
3. If you are lucky enough to get brown paper bags with cool pictures on them, cut out the pictures and incorporate in an AB spread or art journal.
4. Save those brown paper grocery bags and unfold them to make book covers, whole books or just a page or two.
5. Make envelopes and home-made tags, good for ATCs.
6. Cut into smaller sizes for Moo cards or inchies.
7. Tear and collage onto background for ATCs Cut selected words to use on collage, altered books, cards.
8. Cut brown paper bags into usable sizes and use as you would any paper stock
9. Fill brown paper bags with a few inches of sand, insert candle, for a lovely outdoor lumineria for parties or holiday decor. Fold the tops down into a cuff to stabilize the top and punch/cut decorative holes if desired.
10. Save those brown paper grocery bags and spray with Walnut ink. Gives a nice aged look.
11. Use to protect work surfaces when painting/crafting.
12. Use them for wrapping when mailing gifts, boxes, etc.
13. Use them in brown paper mache to create covers for altered books.
14. Use the paper from brown paper grocery bags for layered and distressed pieces - it's strong!
15. Use as background paper. It is very versatile and can be painted, inked, chalked, embossed, glued etc.
16. Brown paper bags make terrific homemade prim style wrapping paper tied up with twine.
17. You can wet brown paper bags and mold it around items, let it dry and it holds the shape, much like paper mache’.
18. Tear into pieces and incorporate into a design with other paper and fabric
19. Make faux leather paper from brown paper bags. Spray it with Perfect Ink Refresher. Crumble it. Spread it out and go over with with an ink pad.
20. Print on it for wrapping papers of all kinds.
21. Crumple and spray paint it.
22. Crumple and web it.
23. Use brown paper bags as blotters, to cut templates and patterns. Use to cover books.

Happy Arting... see you on Halloween!

I will be in Vancouver this coming Friday and over the weekend watching hubby pound on his drum (he's a tenor drummer in a military pipe band... you know the guys that twirl the sticks GRIN) in the Salute to the Military at the B.C. Lions Football game. Ah he looks so cute in his kilt...and boy you should see him twirl those sticks! I wouldn't want to miss it LOL!

Sharon