Treasure Hunt - My Thrift Store Finds

I have been looking for cheap material, and I have discovered so many uses for vintage bed sheets. Vintage sheets are affordable and come in so many lovely colors and prints. Today I was especially lucky to find three unopened packages of vintage sheets! I found a couple of pillow cases as well. One of the pillow cases is fairly worn, but I plan on using it to make burp cloths or cloth napkins. Can't wait to stock up on these treasures!

Recycle Your Kid's Art: A Quick and Easy Tutorial

Every now and then I like to pull out a nice new piece of watercolor paper and let my son create an original work of art. His watercolors are so pretty and I like to hang at least one on the refrigerator, but they tend to pile up and I don't have a clue what to do with them. This is a quick and easy craft project that will help you recycle your kid's art!

Materials:child's original watercolor on watercolor paper
ink pad
ribbon or string

Tools:scissors
paper cutter (optional)
stamps
hole punch

Step 1: Select one of your child's original watercolors, preferably one with a lot of blank areas. Cut into squares or rectangles. I cut mine into 2" by 2 1/2" rectangles. You could also use some decorative punches to create your tags, but I wanted to keep things simple.


Step 2: Choose stamp with desired message. I created these tags for birthday gifts and chose my birthday wishes stamp. Stamp each piece. As you can see, the stamp shows up best on areas with mostly a white background.


Step 3: Punch each card with hole punch and thread a string or ribbon through the holes. Decorate your gifts with your child's mini originals!

If you enjoyed my tutorial, feel free to leave a donation!

Butterfly Garden

I had to use the mica flakes, I could not resist. And I just love how this one sparkles!

Available to purchase here.

Hey Diddle Diddle

This was a very daring project for me. When I on the layer of India ink, I became nervous. I had to remind myself that it could be wiped away with some rubbing alcohol. I am so happy I did not skip this step! Putting the coat of red on the wood base was a little out of my comfort zone too. But, I must say, I love the results!

A Little Nostalgia

A couple months ago I was paging through some old books my mom wanted to toss out and I found the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". I thought it would look beautiful in our baby's nursery. So I scanned it in and made a copy. But the image seemed too dull for the nursery and I set it aside.

So, the other day, I was paging through the January/February 2010 issue of Somerset Studio and I came across a beautiful work of art by Karen Michel. The colors of this particular piece were so vibrant and I fell in love with its rustic quality. I went back to my vintage book page of "Hey Diddle Diddle" and knew it would be perfect for this project. I have just completed all of the mini wood collages and I will be gluing them down soon! I can't wait to see the results.

Still Life Flowers

Last night was my last class. I was able to finish my painting. In the end, I added a few splashes of paint to the flowers, made a yellow wash for the background, then a blue-green wash for the table. It added some warmth to the paintings dull brown background. And I love the contrast of the blue and the yellow. With my next work of art I will be experimenting with a different technique and some bright colors. Cadmium red and yellow ochre, such a wonderful color combination!

An Artist's Story

This was somewhat of a challenge. I needed to keep this piece interesting without going overboard. My subject was important in this one. The story was simple and I did not want to overwhelm the viewer. Sometimes a work of art speaks to you and tells you when it is finished, sometimes you have to decide when to stop.

Available to purchase here.

Fitting the Pieces Together

My current project has a few small surprises. The letters measure just over an inch. They were inspired by this blog post. Each one has been coffee stained and aged with ink. Slowly everything in this shadow box is coming together.

Spring Memories

A soft white glow from a spring morning...

Available to purchase here.

Lucky Favor Bags: Freebie and Tutorial

With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, I wanted to send a little luck to my family. This is a simple project with sweet results. The lucky tags to be downloaded, printed, and used to embellish your St. Patrick's Day favors.

Materials:
burlap(you bay substitute any fabrics you have on hand)
thread
chocolate gold coins
twine, ribbon, or string
Lucky Gift Tags

Tools:
ruler
scissors
pins
sewing machine
hole punch

Step 1: To create burlap bags, cut a 4" by 10" rectangle of burlap.

Step 2: Fold burlap length wise. Iron and pin.

Step 3: Sew a 1/2" seam along each raw edge with any color thread. (I used green, of course, for St. Patrick's Day!) If you like, pull threads to create a frayed edge.

Step 4: Cut your printed Lucky Gift Tags along dotted lines and punch with hole punch.

Step 5: Fill each bag with chocolate coins, while carefully resisting the urge to eat all of them. Embellish with tag and tie close with twine. Now send a little luck to your family and friends!

If you enjoyed my tutorial, feel free to leave a donation!