Custom Journals and new dominoes

 These were special order journals.  I find it more difficult to come up with products for men and boys because I don't see the appeal but the buyer was happy, and that is all that counts!

The two dominoes on the right were a special order, but the others will soon be available on the etsy shop.

Faux Mercury Glass, Book Trees and Make-overs

Remember these? I made them a few weeks ago with my friend.  Here is what I did with them...

Two of the votives are in use--one under the tree and one under the hurricane lamp globe. The base of the hurricane is a piece of masonite covered with foil. The candle ring is actually three floral picks that I took apart and glued together on the foil.

Here is a new custom item I will be offering on the etsy shop.

The photo really does not do justice to the lovely colors of this domino. I am going to offer the Scrabble letter pendants as custom orders so people can choose a color and a letter.

Here is one of the new L-O-N-G Stocking ornaments all finished up...

and here is one with a little more tame flavor...

and finally, here is something I made for myself and Mickie. I found something like it on Pinterest...

Lots of fun happenings in the studio this week!

Special order Dominoes

This month my little etsy shop has been a happenin' place!  I just completed a special order for 14 dominoes. I sent photos with the shipping notice and got back a wonderful note:

They are gorgeous - - this must be the quicket turn around on anything I have ordered. Be sure and keep my e-mail address and send me a note next year - - we'll do it again. This is my third year of ordering the Dominoes from different vendors and yours by far are the best.

While I was shopping for embellishments, I was thinking how much more fun it would be if I had made them myself.  I am thinking that next year, I will start working with some clay and see what I can come up with.

New Directions!

It seems like I have been doing the same old thing forever, although I am sure given my propensity to change things up that can't possibly be true!  I have noticed that this fall I have really given some time and thought to new directions. I am not just sitting still and making cards anymore.

I have added new dimensions to my dominoes, mixing colors like I never was brave enough to do before...

I came up with an original idea--although I did borrow the ribbons on the clip idea from someone else...

I started using more stamps and punches on the cards I make--and of course the addition of those lovely crocheted flowers...

I have started helping Ornery with his wood crafting.  He makes all the cuts and I do the finishing. Here is a set of baskets he made...

Folded books, faux mercury glass, alcohol inks blown on glass--all new arenas for me!

I have even started working with fabric again!  It has been years since I was interested in it, but lately I am starting to amass a stash--although it doesn't come close to rivaling my paper stash for size!

I made these little tags for my daughter's entry into the cookie exchange I am hosting in December. (She is making a cherry shortbread cookie) While this isn't really a new thing--it is different from any I have made before. Each project has been a learning experience.

I am in the process of painting a garage sale table with a real picture on the top. I have procrastinated on it because I am afraid it won't look good, but I am slowly working my way up to the top, at which time I will have no choice but to just do it!

Tastes and styles change over time, and I seem to have had quite a bit of change in my life this year!

New cards

It has been a while since I sat down to make some cards. My new granddaughter is due in a few days, and I needed to make a card for her, and while I was at it, I started on a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law, who loves getting a full year's worth of birthday cards to send to all the family members. It is times like this I am glad she has a fairly small family!

I saw a really cute card on Pinterest that was similar to this, and I adapted it to the product I had on hand.  It took two tries to get the rub on letters right since they are so small.  Ale is doing Makayla's room in pink and green, so I chose those colors. I was pleased with the end result--hopefully she will be too!  I didn't put any sentiment on the front, in case she wants to frame it to hang in her room.

 Paper by Chatterbox

Basic Gray Paper

 Crate Paper, Creative Imaginations (I think)

 Crate Paper, Creative Imaginations (I think)

Only a few cards left to make for this set, then it is on to Christmas cards!

Pumpkin Porch Decor

These fun little pumpkin porch decorations were inspired by a Pinterest Pin.  Both sets were from one landscape timber ((about $6.00 from Lowe's)

Ornery cut out the leaves out of the Masonite back of an old Picture frame--the same piece he used to make another project.

He made some gouges with a chisel, then we painted them.  He helped us put a couple of screws into each one through the base piece and we wrapped a dead grapevine around them, hot glued some Spanish Moss around the base and cut some branches off a dead bush in the back yard for the stems.

Each one is a little different, but we had so much fun making them!

Catching Up

It has been a long time since I posted anything new here, so I am playing catch up.  I have only done a couple of cards this summer, since we moved in May and I have been "nesting" ever since! The house is coming together nicely, though, and I am almost ready to get back to crafting "full time" -- or as full-time as a homemaker can get! Here are a few of the things I have been working on besides painting walls and rearranging furniture...

I have continued to create these fun little stocking ornaments. I decided not to use them in the ornament exchange except as prizes. The rest are going to be gifts and a few may end up in my etsy shop.

One evening I decided I wanted to do a little crafting, so I whipped out this monotone paper (it is double sided, so the stripes and snowflakes are from the same sheet) and decided to do something a little different. I stained the back of the wooden stocking with brown alcohol inks instead of painting it, and I used lace to embellish it. Simple but I think pretty.  The little heart is something my husband cut out just after he got his scroll saw.  It had been wandering around in various containers in my stash so I decided to do something with it. First I stained it with pinks and purples (alcohol ink) then spritzed some glimmer mist on it. I backed it with paper then added the little ruffle and a beaded hanger.  I hung it in my little gallery outside my studio...

The heart is hanging above the framed cards on the left side. The other things are projects I have made--I am especially proud of my first "painting" using mixed media. The shadow box was from a few years ago, and here is the "Z", in its previous state:

It just seemed so plain--especially after I made this "A" for my niece:

Another project my husband and I did together was this frame for some clock dipping bowls I bought at Pottery Barn a couple years ago. It was his first attempt at a frame, and I thought he did pretty well all things considered.

I painted it and lined it with black velvet, then glued everything in. It was the perfect accent for the wall I hung it on.

I am working on some other ornaments for the exchange using old hymnal pages to decoupage on glass balls. I will come up with some sort of fancy tag to put at the top. I also bought another box of clear glass ornaments and will experiment with some alcohol inks on those. I have about twenty projects on my list; as soon as I get things made, I'll be posting.

Funky Stocking Ornaments

Here are the first few ornaments for 2011.  I started out making them for my ornament exchange but decided they were so fun and different I would try to sell a few, too.  Click on the photo to go to the etsy listing.

In the photos they look pretty big, but they are only six inches long.  Each ornament comes with a curly hanger. They all have little bells on the toes, and most have a little light on the hanger.

 SOLD

I love the blue and green together.  I have used several different fibers on the top of this one, and it sort of looks like the sock is wearing a scarf.  This stocking is sold.

 This one has several buttons glued on it, with glitter embellishing here and there to add some sparkle.

 I let the paper do the talking on this little sock.  It is very Christmas-y with stockings, ornaments, and candy stripes.  There are little spots of glitter here and there to add some sparkle, and (you can't see it in the picture) a polka-dotted ribbon on the hanger.

 I love this paper combination.  It is Christmas without being red and green. Under all that wild fiber there is an orange Christmas light hiding. This is really fresh and funky!

This is spoken for so it isn't for sale, but I wanted to show it off, anyway.  Rather than add toe and heel, I added a sole in pink glitter paper on top of the flocked background. Then I added feathers and flowers, and tied a black and pink ribbon to the hanger.  It is bold and a little wild!

I have used bits and pieces of this KI Memories Christmas paper for several years, and I have never tired of it.  I love the non-traditional look of the pink with green.  The lights let you know it is still Christmas paper, and I have added a little bit of ribbon with some reindeer on it around the cuff and a little light on the hanger.

This little sock is glitz and glitter all over the place!  All the papers have glitter on them, and I have added bits of glitter to the seams of the toe and heel.  I took a piece of crocheted lace and tied it together to make a bow, then made a little pom-pom out of the fiber to put in the middle.  The photo just really doesn't do it justice--it is a cutie!!

This one is spoken for. Another non-traditional color combination but the bells and lights let you know it is a tree ornament.  This has glitter, metallic spritz, and rhinestones on it to make it shine on the tree.

I have sixteen cut out, nine are finished, and one more that needs some additions to it.  I will be making another 16 once these are done.

Gift Card Tin and Note set

Map from 1958 National Geographic Society of the British Isles.  Top is Ireland, bottom Scotland, inside Ireland and Isle of Wight.  The top and bottom have an acrylic sealer on them to help protect the map from tearing. The outside edge has a black velvet ribbon attached.

Recycling Old Frames

A couple of years ago I got a harebrained idea to frame a whole bunch of photos in different styles of frames and put them on my office wall.  I liked the look for about a month, then it seemed cluttered and just "off" somehow.  When we moved, I was all set to sell all the frames that weren't black, and in fact put them in my little booth at the antique mall.  Since none of them sold, I brought them all home and decided I would recycle them into something for my new decor.

Today my friend came over to craft with me and helped me create these beautiful frames.  Most of the ideas were my own, but she interjected several excellent suggestions that all enhanced the project considerably. I took pictures along the way, in case any reader wanted to recreate them at home, so those photos and a tutorial follow. Enjoy!

Click on the image to see better.  The large frame still needs something in it, but I put together the contents of the two smaller ones today.

 This was the large frame that I started with.  First take the glass and mat out and set aside.

 I used Making Memories acrylic paint, but I think latex might have worked a little better. Also, priming or scuffing the surface some would have helped the paint to adhere better.  I started with white paint, putting two coats on and letting it dry thoroughly.

 I wasn't too worried about getting it perfect since I knew I would be smudging other stuff on it.

 Next, I sponged on some very watered down brown paint so it would get into all the crevices.  This I wiped off with a paper towel, leaving it sort of smudged and dirty looking. While it was drying, I removed the inner wooden piece around the mat opening and used some pages from an old hymnal to decoupage onto the mat.

This is a picture of the mat after I had it decoupaged and reapplied the little wooden inner frame. I used the ink and that little tool to sponge on some walnut ink to the frame, then I put it all together.

Here is a closer look at the other two frames.  I did pretty much the same thing for them, only instead of sponging on the walnut ink, I spritzed on glimmer mist (green) and Smooch (gingerbread).  Each layer of different medium gave it a different look.  I think I could have kept on adding things all day!

I used a piece of printed paper cut to size then stamped and embossed the three images onto a page from the hymnal.  Then I tore around the edges to make it fit the frame better, as well as deal with a few tears that were already there.

This other one has a little bit of three dimensional look to it with the raised bird and rubberized leaves.  I will print out a little text box to put in the upper right hand corner when I decide what to put in the third frame.

Here they are amid all the tools and trash of the day!