Spring is in the Air!

"Create a project that calls to mind how one or all the senses respond to this new beginning time of year."

This is the Challenge (made by me!) set forth before the Blogging Business Artisans for the month of April.

I love this lush, gorgeous time of year when the Earth comes alive again and is filled with the scent and soft velvety beauty of blooming flowers, bird song, and insects buzzing.  Greens like parsley, lettuce, and mint, growing in my garden are being harvested for delicious salads and tea. All my senses are heightened by this heady delight.

This time of year inspires so much creativity.  I've been making  a lot of cards lately, and Spring has definitely influenced my creations. 

I've been working in my garden (mostly weeding) and am about ready to pot up some perennials to give away.  My friend Kelly made a lovely card and shared the template for the flower pot.  This will be given to my Mother-in-Law for Mother's Day.  I chose her favorite colors.

The blue background of the card is cuttlebugged.  Images are stamped, and colored in with marker.  I stamped the white ribbon with golden yellow flowers to subdue it some and attached it to the top of the flower pot.  

This was a very simple card to make.  I love that!  The lavender background was cuttlebugged.  I rubbed violet ink around the edges.  Three punched butterflies were attached with rhinestones glued on their heads.  The purple flowered ribbon was tied in a "Naomi Knot."  (how to video on my friend Peggy's blog Bubbe's Biz)

a birds' nest in my hawthorn tree.  We think it may be a hummingbird nest. 

I folded this card and cuttlebugged a design on the inside bottom.  I then stamped a leaf pattern all over with Versamark.  It's very subtle.  I stamped the bird and nest with chocolate ink on a leaf patterned paper.  I colored the design in with chalk and inked the edges.  I hand wrote the sentiment.  The flower was made as follows:

3 (very) rough circles were cut out of ribbon.  I then carefully singed the edges with a flame.  This seals the edges and curls them inward. 

 


The ribbon circles were glued down one on top of the other and a pearl bead was glued to the center.





This card is a favorite and was inspired by a card on Pinterest.  (See it HERE--Lynda Benden's Stamp Act)

Here's how I made it:

First patterned paper was glued to a white card.

Vintage lace I happened to have around was attached to light green cardstock with double sided tape.


 
I burnished the tape down with the scissors handle in order to be able to remove the plastic tape covering easily.

This light green cardstock was then attached to slightly larger dark green cardstock.

Two types of yarn were tied onto the lace.

I found a turquoise button in my stash.  I placed it on the card where I wished it to go and lightly marked the beak, legs and tail with a pencil.  Yarn was then tied through the button holes to make the wing.  I cut a beak out of paper and glued it in place.  The legs and tail were drawn with marker.  The button was attached with double sided tape.  I then hand wrote the sentiment. 

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Besides cards, I've been working on dyeing and painting silk.   Both of these items call to my mind the joyous revival of green growing things.

It's fun to play with dyes and techniques.  This is a detail of a scrunchie which can be found in my shop HERE.

I dyed and hand painted this scarf, Spring bamboo.

 

creamy white Spring flowers 

The whites of Spring seem so fresh and delicate.  The lovely white pearls in this bracelet are reminiscent of that delicateness.

Spring also makes one think of birth--not only the rebirth of the Earth, but of all the baby animals being born.  Of course, I know baby humans are born all year long, but I recently made this baby bracelet for a friend's granddaughter.

Intrigued by our team challenge?  Come on over to our BBA BLOG, and see what others have made!   

QUESTION:  Have you made anything lately which challenged you artistically?     

photos by me © 2012  all rights reserved       

New Mittens, Old Sweater! a challenge!

A new etsy team--Blogging Business Artisans--was launched last October. This team was formed to support and help its members grow artistically and professionally.  It's been a great joy to be a member of this team.

The idea was conceived of holding monthly challenges to help us grow and stretch our imaginations.  Team members must complete 6 of the 12 challenges within a year.
The first challenge is presented by Deb of storybeader and is called New Techniques.

"This first Challenge was set in motion because I'm always wanting to try new projects but stress about where to find the time?  So, BBA members are hereby given permission to set aside time to work on a new project you haven't tried before. It can be within your field of expertise, but doesn't have to be. This Challenge also asks members to blog about your New Technique at least once during the month of January and talk about your progress." 

Last year, I became interested in creating new items by cutting up and re-working old sweaters.  I began to collect mostly wool sweaters from thrift stores. I looked online and brought books home from the library.

 

Soon, I had a first project in mind-mittens.  I found the perfect sweater.

(sorry, I don't have a photo of the sweater before I cut it up.)  

The first thing I did was to felt it in my washing machine.  I added hot water and detergent.  I put the sweater in a zipping pillow case cover to control the errant pieces of felt fuzz.  After washing, I put the sweater (inside the pillow case) into the dryer on hot till dry.  There was no scientific method to this procedure.  I would take whatever I got.  What I got was a nice soft wool fabric. 

yes, that's me.

About this time, my friend Nancy Gamon, invited me to come to a "sweater chop shop" at her studio.  Four of us attended.  There was soon a mound of sweaters on her large work table.  We chopped and chopped and some of us sewed.

I made a paper pattern by drawing around my hand and added about ¼ inch for a seam allowance.  The pattern was pinned on the front of the sweater and through the back as well, wrong sides together, in order to incorporate the snowflakes.  The mittens were then cut out.

Now for the part I'd been temporarily avoiding.  I got out my new sewing machine (which I've barely used) and the manual. 

Directions were studied, the bobbin was threaded, mittens pinned, and I began to sew.

It was a little tricky sewing around the thumb.  For one thing the fabric is fluffy and dark.  I was able to mark a stopping point (at the base of the thumb) with a white marking pencil and that helped.  I'm not used to this new machine yet and the foot pedal is still a bit difficult for me.  Also, I've sewn extremely little in many years. 

Next I wanted to add the red binding from the front of the sweater to the cuffs of the mittens.  I decided to hand sew this on because I didn't want any stitching showing.  Before adding this, the mittens had a nice finished cuff edge because this was the bottom of the (now former) sweater.  I wanted to preserve that.  I also machine sewed the raw edge a couple times to keep it from raveling.  (Was this red yarn wool?  hmmmm... The sweater tag said it was made of wool, so why is it so loose?  This is the unknown you get with a thrifted sweater.)

the finished mittens!  soft and warm!  (sorry for the bad photo)  

This was a challenge to complete.  There were definitely times when I was out of my comfort zone.  However, now I have some cute new mittens.  I would like to make a matching scarf.  I just have to think how to cut up the remaining sweater and how I'd like to put it together.  I'm dreaming of some other sweater projects as well!  (a pillow, knitting needle holder, more scarves, wine bottle bag.  I may make some flowers and add them to a sweater I have already.)

Intrigued by our team challenge?  Come on over to our BBA BLOG, and see what others have made!   

QUESTION:  Have you made anything lately which challenged you artistically?     

photos by me © 2012  all rights reserved