Final project in the art room fix-up (I think)

You saw the new desk installed and heard all about the new lighting and now I am just about finished with the last project.
Genealogy is another one of my hobbies and I had a big sheet of butcher paper tacked up on one door as a quick reference. I re-painted the door with two coats of black chalkboard paint then quickly discovered a chalkboard makes a BIG MESS. I abandoned the chalk idea and used Sharpie Poster Paint pens instead. They wipe away with rubbing alcohol without removing any of the chalkboard paint. Gosh I wish Sharpie wasn't discontinuing those! They are fabulous because they behave like paint and don't soak through paper. I could swear I received an ad in my email that said they were replacing them with something new they call water based paint pens but so far I haven't found them anywhere.
Yikes, I got way off the subject.
Okay, the other door was a bulletin board before only everything was attached with scotch tape so I couldn't move things around without tearing something. I covered the door with those squares of cork board that you hang with double-sided tape. Now I can layer without damaging things. Love it!
The shelf above the door is new, too. It was wasted space before and, well, we can't be wasting space. That is wrong. I am slowly working on the re-arranging to move some things up there and make room elsewhere. And then not be able to find things for awhile - ha!
Oh, I forgot to take a picture of the door next to the closet doors. I used to have one of those travel toiletry bags with the clear pockets dangling from the moulding above the door. It was packed full of vintage linens and frequently slipped off the moulding and landed in a heap on the floor. I replaced it with rods that are mounted directly on the door and then layered the linens over the rods.
That's it - DONE!

Rain be GONE

Two months of record breaking rain up here in Portland. We had a brief respite last weekend that coaxed some of the soggy flora into bloom so I dashed out Tuesday night and snapped a few pictures before the next round of rain moved in.
One perfect oriental poppy. So beautiful it doesn't look real! Tall, leggy peonies reaching for the sun. So sad to see the rain make them hang their heads - kind of like most of Portland after this relentless string of storms.

They are predicting we will achieve our first 80 degree day this weekend so we're all hoping the tide (!) is turning at last. I, for one, will be spending my day outdoors.

Before and After

Everybody knows how I love the hunt and the rescue! I found these little boxes at the Volunteers last Sunday morning. I have no idea what I am going to put in them but I know they will find a place somewhere in my art room.
They were a little worse for wear and then the Volunteers had wrapped tape around them, like they do, to keep the drawers from falling out and getting lost - Grrrr. I don't have to tell you what happens when you pull off the tape. A roll of wrapping paper I had laying around and a little Mod Podge and they are good to go!

Now all I have to do is figure out WHERE they will go.

Channeling Rebecca Sower

Rebecca Sower posted a fascinating tutorial on her blog last week as part of her Red Thread Sessions. Where does that woman find the time while making her own art and running Haiti By Hand, and how lucky are we that she does!
The tutorial was about crochet and bead necklaces. Her instructions were great and she made it sound so easy. Of course I had to try it.

I am not a beader but I have accumulated a stash over the years. Those things happen. This was the perfect opportunity to finally find a use for them. I also had a little #10 ecru thread on hand so that is what I used for the blue necklace in the foreground. I just sorted through my stash and pulled out a pile in various shades of blue. I worked really hard at being random and not over thinking the sequence of the beads. Random is very difficult for me so I put all the beads in a saucer and did my best to just grab the next one.

I was pleased enough with the results to try another one. I had to purchase more crochet thread so I got #3 this time and used it for the blue and green necklace. Both sizes of thread have their pros and cons so, for future, I likely just base my choice on the size of the hole in the beads.

Since the necklaces are so long I didn't use a clasp at all. I just knoted the ends and woven in the tails with a needle. These are pretty long so they can loop two or even three times. Since I'm de-stashing I haven't spent any time so far on counting the beads and figuring out how to make them come out a specific length. Just using what I have.

The one in the wooden box is in progress and it is made from red and purple beads. I have pretty much exhausted the usable color combinations in my little stash and this is so much fun I might have to go out and buy more. Oh, oh. I wonder if that makes me a beader. No, I don't think so. Real beaders know what they are doing. 8+)

Magic of Mod Podge

I was playing around with the camera tonight, trying to learn how take pictures at more interesting angles and getting the knack of taking pictures without a tripod. Oh. my. gosh. what a challenge for me! It is a good thing I don't make my living as a photographer or I would starve to death. I do love that we have digital now so at least I don't have to wait a week and spend a fortune to find out I need a LOT more practice! Delete, delete, delete.

Anyway, I picked this little Altoids tin that I made several years ago to practice with and it made me think of a story. A story about the magic of Mod Podge.

The photograph and text were both adhered to the box with Mod Podge and the entire thing was sealed with more Mod Podge after the paint was applied. I had this little box sitting on a shelf above my workbench. One day I noticed it was missing. Well, I thought and thought and I couldn't remember moving it. Hmm, sometimes I forget things but, but... So I called my daughter-in-law and I asked her if she had been over and moved things around. No problem with that, just trying to figure out where my little box went. No luck. Tried the husband next. You can imagine how that conversation went...
[Me] Did you go in my art room and take my little box?
[Him] Huh?

Okay, now I'm getting freaked out. Robbers came into my art room while I was gone and they left the computer and the TV and they took my little mermaid box. Yes, that must be it. Some creepy cult that steals altered Altoids boxes.
Now I'm getting frantic. Are we safe in our own home? Is it Alzheimer's?
So I start searching again. Then it dawns on me that the water jar I use to swish my paintbrushes in is directly below the shelf where the box was standing. The water was cloudy gray because I rarely rinse it out until I'm starting something new. By now I'm sure you know where this is going.....

Sure enough, the little box was soaking in the bottom of the water jar. I think it had been in there about 3 days based on the last time I painted. I pulled it out and it was a cloudy white and kind of soft. I figured it was a goner. But not being quick to throw in the towel, I rinsed it off and propped it open on a paper towel. The next morning everything had dried and it was good as new except for a few rust stains that made it look better than before.

When the bottle says there is nothing that will remove Mod Podge once it dries - they MEAN it! I'm surprised the government doesn't use this stuff. Well, maybe they do. Good stuff.

What's going on around the art room...

It was another busy week with my mind racing from one thing to another like I do. I have been enjoying Kaari Meng's new book, "Treasured Notions". Oh. My. Gosh. Her mood boards never fail to take my breath away! I can look at them over and over and so I do.

I have been working on some new things for my Etsy store and listed them last night. I made up a few packets of these vintage book pages and bundled them up with soft, yummy rayon seam binding. It looks so pretty juxtaposed against the aged paper! There are lots of foreign languages and other goodies included so it was fun putting them together.
I also put together a couple of new inspiration kits. You might remember this vintage Peter Rabbit book cover from my post about the Stars Antique Mall. Surely that little boy must be the Farmer's son.

Tonight I am sorting through a button box that arrived in the mail today. Big sigh. There's nothing like a button box. Life is good.

Another Party

Well heck! I was in such a hurry to get my little cards in the mail to CRESHENDOh that I forgot to take a picture to post here. Luckily I have a couple of duplicates because I didn't cut them straight enough so these will have to do. You can also see what I did with the back side.

I was pretty happy with how they turned out so I ended up mailing off 21 of them. I just had the fronts color copied on the heaviest paper Staples offered then the back side in black and white on the same paper. I glued them together then cut them out. I'm not sure I'd care to make hundreds but this little batch was pretty easy and fun to make. I'm sure I will make at least a couple more sets to have on hand.

With that, I'm on to the next party... Last night I signed up for Karen Valentine's "Where Bloggers Create II" (I put a button over on the left, too). I'm not late to this party since it isn't until June 19th but 330 people RSVPed ahead of me. Wow! I can hardly wait to see all the art rooms and creative spaces. I'm always looking for new ideas and hoping I can offer a few, too.

My son, Andy, came over today to help me with the pictures. He has a much better camera than I and spent a couple of hours snapping here and there and talking about what I wanted to offer for show and tell. I wasn't expecting him today so I was scurrying around trying to tidy up. It looks so much better now that I kind of hate to mess it up! This is a sneak peek at one of the "whole room" shots. Neither one of us has a camera that's capable of taking that kind of wide angle but I think this looks pretty good. I folded down the leaves on the table so it doesn't look so cramped and the top of the table is EMPTY - what's up with THAT???

Late to the Party

Well, once again I am late to the party! Jenny Doh put out a call on her blog today for Moo cards and a dangling carrot offering a shout out on her blog to those chosen. Well of course I had been meaning to get some Moo cards - everybody is doing it, right?? But now I don't have 10 days to wait for moo.com to make some for me so I spent this evening working on my own. Oh well, I like to make things you know...

Photoshop wouldn't cooperate and honor the size of the crops on a new layer and I don't have time to figure out why so I printed every. single. one. and wasted a ton of paper and glued up a page to take to the copy shop tomorrow. This is what I have so far. I cropped them out of the inspiration kits I sell in my Etsy store. If all goes well I'll post the finished project. Wish me luck!

Fun Finds

I headed on over to the VofA this morning, because that's what I do, and I scored a couple of fun finds. First is this adorable little birdie figurine. I already have 40 or 50 but I can never resist another one. Just too cute to pass up!
The porcelain doll parts we in one of those poke-sacks I love to sort through. You bring it home and it's like a whole new treasure hunt discovering the little bits an pieces that were hiding behind each other. These doll parts were mixed in with some floral stuff I really didn't need more of (LOL!), several tubes and bottles of beads and some fancy containers of glitter. Love those ballet slippers!

A Milestone and A Reveal

The milestone - BLOG POST #100!
When I started blogging a little more than a year ago I wasn't sure blogging would be something I would like to do and I certainly wasn't sure I would be able to stick with it. I can say now that blogging and reading blogs has become a integral part of my life.
When I began I was determined that my blog would be a place to share the things I love to do; making things, junking, gardening, and NOT a place to grumble and lament. The consequence was the blogging gave back to me by making me more aware and appreciative of the time I spend doing things that bring me joy. Slow down. Look for the goodness. Look for the good things that happened today. Really.

And now the reveal........
This is what I have been totally engrossed in for the past three weeks. I got this strange notion that I could make clothing buttons from my accumulation of vintage cabinet cards. A strange notion indeed! It turned out to be much harder than I anticipated. LOL - that's my M.O. I ended up spending the better part of three weeks problem solving. I'm calling these proto-types but in reality, MANY versions came before these.
They are actually a dome shape but they look really flat in this picture so I still have that one last thing to noodle through but I'm hoping I can list them in my Etsy store sometime this week. BTW... that woman in the upper right corner is my great grandmother - isn't she a cutie!!!

Stars Antique Mall

I spent a very relaxing and "authentic" day with a dear friend I hadn't had a chance to spend time with in way too long. We strolled the Sellwodd neighborhood, prowled the isles at Stars Antique Mall, had a marvelous lunch and just chatted our heads off. So good to not rush and to catch up with each other!
I was specifically looking for lovely lady cabinet cards and didn't find much - isn't that how it goes when you go to an antique mall with a shopping list - LOL! I did pick up these few tidbits along the way and always enjoy the hunt. I'll be telling more about the lovely ladies as soon as that project is ready for show and tell.
Here's to authentic days with good friends!

Fun with Bias Tape

I had so much fun experimenting with the ribbon work in Helen Gibb's book that I decided to see how it would translate to bias tape. So much fun! It is a little harder to push the needle through, of course, but I love the results. The wrapped roses are VERY sturdy compared to the ribbon version and I think they would hold up well on the top of a box or a basket handle where they get a lot of handling.
I used 'cover your own button kits' and the same bias tape as the petals to make the centers on the pink and orange flowers.
The red flower is my favorite and it is stitched to crinoline just like a ribbon version. I might still stitch a few black or brown beads on top of the coiled yellow center. It could use some seeds!
I didn't finish the little woven piece yet but it was pretty simple, too. I just used a thin piece of cotton for the backing then "tacked" the bias in place with Stitch Witchery and machine stitched it in place.
It's kind of hard to see in the picture but the shell button on the little blue bow has two clear beads sown on top to give it some sparkle.
I was inspired by Amber Demien's "Beribboned Bulletin Boards" article in the Spring 2010 Somerset Life magazine so I think my next project will be using bias tape in place of ribbon on a bulletin board. Fun with bias tape!