Roly Poly Snowmen

I use a product called 'Creative Paperclay' quite a bit in my work. It's gorgeous stuff. Light weight, air dries, can be sanded or carved when dry, takes paint like a charm, magnificent for detailing... but pretty pricey for an old cheapskate like myself.

I've been trying to come up with a recipe for my own version for the body/bulk of larger pieces to reduce costs. The first batch I made was really heavy and, although touch as nails, not the smooth light material I was looking for. Below is my second attempt.

An improvement over my first batch, this dried lightweight and was fairly smooth. In the end my biggest issue with this batch was that it was too papery when dried and not quite smooth enough for my needs. BUT I did manage to make these fellow with it...

Roly Poly Snowmen! I used the commercial product for the noses and lips and my homemade concoction for the rest. They're fairly big, standing at around 9 inches, so using my own mix cut costs significantly. And yes, I did knit those little scarves, but I am TERRIBLE at knitting so it's not much of a feat :P

ALSO, I know that my American friends are looking forward to Thanksgiving. If you're lucky enough to be entertained (rather than entertaining) why not take a bottle of something nice as a hostess gift and gussy it up? This 'thank you' tag was created using products from Alpha Stamps November 2013 Kit - Fall Foliage

The Miniature Pine Cones are adorable!

Spring is in the air?

It's warmed up. No frost in sight this morning. And here I was getting giddy for snowfall! Geesh!

Anywho, the warmth seems fitting with Graphic 45 revealing my little Secret Garden project today.

Whenever I visit the craft shop I always make a stop at the bargain bin to pour over the broken wares. Those beat up and mangled pieces call to me. Damaged, dinged, and discounted they beg me to save them. And I do. I grab them all! And while my husband shakes his head, my mind races with possibilities. 

This pretty little garden, overflowing with Petaloo flowers, snails and moss, began life as a 37¢ broken box, odd chess piece and little wooden candlestick. A bit of paint to the base materials, add some darling Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers, Petaloo flowers to finish it off… “Ta Da!” a sweet and sentimental treasure created from a forgotten box at the bottom of the bargain bin. 

Hop over to the Graphic 45 blog for more photos (and a stunning dreamcatcher made by Miranda Edney) AND here's the full supply list if you'd like to create your own bit of spring...

Secret Garden  > Seed Fairy

Secret Garden  > May Flowers

Secret Garden  > April Showers

Olde Curiosity Shoppe > Butterfly Specifics       

Assorted Petaloo flowers

Tiny white paper roses

Small wooden box

Small wooden candlestick

White chess pawn

Stringed pearl trim

Cotton lace

Snail shells

Moss

Ivory acrylic paint

Good Morning: Just like that....

I am asked, often, where I get my inspiration from. Truly it comes from everywhere, everything and everyone. Buttons, music, messes, old folks, young kiddies... but mostly from the riding lawn mower.

Today, for example, I saw this little piece of birch bark curling away from this fallen trunk and thought 'Surly this how faerie books are made!' Which leads to the thought 'I wonder if there are words already scribed on that strange paper? Maybe they peel away as they are completed?" and on and on it goes. Those thoughts bump around in my head. They become forgotten. They are remembered again. Then one day I'll get around to making something that kind-of-sort-a had to do with stories on birch bark.

P.S. To the ladies taking a stroll down Bullis road at 8:30 am, if you happen to be reading this, I pinky swear I was taking this photo and not crouching to pee near the trees this morning.

Scrappy little things

Finished up this piece this morning. It's a bit different than the other pieces I've been working on but I'm sort of smitten with the scrappy little frames made up of the tiny bits of Graphic 45 papers that were nudging to be used. 

I've used this particular girl in another piece a couple of years ago and am starting to feel a bit sorry for her brother who gets omitted from the pieces. Perhaps he needs his own scrappy playground.

For far too long the bird feeders at Pixie Hill have been empty. This weekend I stocked up on seed and filled all of the feeders around this old place. Today the birds finally took notice and swarmed the joint!

Crows, chickadees, woodpeckers and about a dozen blue jays were all fluttering about and enjoying their meal this morning. It's quite a thing to see several different birds feed at the same feeder at the same time.

If you don't have blue jays where you live, they are pretty rough and tumble birds. They are quite beautiful but have an awful song voice. I swear, sometimes they sound like a kid with a broken whistle!

Before long the squirrels came out and I remembered why the feeders were empty to begin with. I don't mind them taking SOME food but the little buggers eat EVERYTHING from every feeder and chase away the feathered things.

I suppose you can't blame them. If someone left free food out for me I just might gobble it all up too!

Fetch me some clover

I've just completed this piece. Mixed media on 12" x 24" canvas. Quite big for me. I love the intamcy of small pieces but the impact of the larger scale is growing on me.

I'm really enjoying mixing up my mediums. Papercrafting, painting, collage... all smashed together! Sort of a banana split of art.

The four leaf clovers on the piece are real. I have a knack for finding them and have a whole collection of them in an old tobacco container.

On the bottom edge of the canvas, out of view, is a line I cut from a children's book which reads "Fetch me some young clover leaves" I was going to put it beneath the leaping hare but it didn't quite look right so I hid it.

Chances are no one else will notice it, but we will know it's there :)

Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day.




That fellow on the left is my husbands grandfather. On the top right is my own granddad. Both men served and survived.

This is my great-granddad. He survived service too but was not unscathed. He lost the ends of both of his feet to frostbite. He was also stabbed with a bayonet while pretending to be dead as opposing forces checked bodies for survivors in the trench he was laying in.

A few years ago I attended a Remembrance Day service and the veteran who spoke said something that deeply affected me: the grief and remembrance demonstrated on this day should extend to ALL who have served and ALL who have suffered in the name of war. Today is not a glorification of war, but rather a reminder of the consequences of it.

And so today I'll remember the past (heaven help us all if we ever forget) but I'll hope for the future too.

Lest We Forget

Snowballs and cottages

My house is starting to look like Santa's workshop. I don't mind one little bit but the dog is annoyed. He's a bit neurotic and doesn't like things to be placed in places he likes to lay. Sitting on the floor, watching the telly while painting toadstools drives him batty. He sits in front of me and gives me the stink eye until I give him a scratch behind the ear.

 

Despite all of the belly rubbing and ear scratching, I have managed to get quite a bit done. A small batch of cheeky snowballs are complete with lots on the way. I've put a listing up in the etsy shop for those who would like to pre-order a set of 4. $65 for a set of 4 handmade 3" ornaments. Single balls will be listed (after pre-orders have been filled) at $19.50 each.

I've also made a batch of bottled Christmas Magic and a set of these adorable Snowy Cottages. New faerie specimens, thimble gardens and little fairy landscapes are in the works too.

I know some people don't like to think about the holidays until such-and-such a date, but as a maker I'm already feeling a little like the white rabbit and checking my watch. The holiday spirit stirring already and I'm sure that by December I'll actually turn into a proper Christmas elf.