Painting With Smoke

I bought an art book this week that I've wanted to buy for several years.

It's called "Art from Intuition" by Dean Nimmer.

My daughter and I took a workshop from Dean (& friend and artist, Jane Davies) when he was in the process of writing this book. We had a great time that day and were able to try alot of the exercises that are in this book.

One idea of his is to draw with smoke. Sounded like fun to me -I must have some latent pyromaniac tendencies - and I knew that my 15 year old son, Jamie would like it.

Here is my finished piece

Too bad I didn't think about taking pictures while we were making it.

The basic process though was to light a candle, hold the paper (I used poster board) upside down and touch the tip of the flame to the paper. Depending on how you move the flame, you really can get some cool shades of smoke and shapes on the paper. After you have all the smoke you want. he suggests spritzing it with water, erasing some of the marks, and/or adding some charcoal or ink.

I couldn't find an eraser to remove some of the smoke marks, so I used a piece of polymer clay. (worked great). After removing some of the smoke, we then applied a second layer of smoke in places. We also tried misting some water on the paper to see how the second layer of smoke would work on wet paper.

After all that was done, I used my "polymer clay" eraser to make the circles and the sets of horizontal lines.

This was really fun and I already have more ideas for my next smoke drawings. Not only would it look good in my "black/white art only" entryway, I think these sheets would be great to add to collage pieces.

Here is some more information about painting with smoke (called fumage) and more detailed directions. Take a look at Wikihow

Who Knew You Could Do So Much With Covered Buttons

I was looking at some blogs tonight and saw this post and tutorial on Little Birdie Secrets about making thumbtacks and magnets with fabric covered buttons. I like it!

I've always been a fan of fabric covered buttons and I've used quite a few in my years of sewing. I've even had fun playing with them by embellishing them with beads or some hand embroidery. I have several sweaters in my closet that would probably look incredible with some custom fabric beaded buttons. Hummmmm... (I feel another project coming on)

Until today, the only real crafty thing I've seen done with these are some ponytail holders. So, I did some research and thought I'd share some of the fun things people are doing.

The Etsy Shop, Designs by Christi, has several products with covered buttons. She makes ponytail holders and embellishes flip flops with buttons that have your monogram in thread or crystals. -very cute!

Smashed Peas and Carrots has a great tutorial to make this fabric button ring.

Suzanne's Crazy for Collars has several projects and tutorials using fabric covered buttons.

Here's her feather and button brooch

and here's a tutorial Suzanne has for making this colorful covered button choker.

Your Every Color makes these pendants and earrings from covered buttons

these get me so excited for Spring!

Another jewelry item is this bracelet made by Etsy artist, Button Maniac.

Should you be inspired like me, I also found a couple of Etsy stores that sell supplies for making fabric covered buttons and for making jewelry and household items with them.

Tobys Mom has a wide variety of button sizes, bails and adjustable rings.

Start to Finish Supplies has lots of things you can put buttons on -- including cuff links, bracelets, bobby pins, earrings, tie tacks.

If you know of some other craft projects that people have made with fabric covered buttons, let me know.

(now I'm off to look for some mint colored fabric to go with that sweater).

More Curtain Pictures

Here's another picture of our momentous curtain hanging last weekend. In total, we have three windows in our living room.Two small ones and this double window. Now I want to make a couple of matching throw pillows for our sofa.

Our New Living Room Curtains

You know the story about the cobbler's kids and how they have no shoes? Well, in this case, it's the sewer's living room and how it hasn't had any curtains in close to five years. I bought this fabric (11 yards for $25 on ebay- wohoo) after seeing it at Calico Corners, bought the trim. altered the pattern so that the scallops perfectly fit our windows, cut out the fabric and started sewing.....

I didn't like how the trim was looking on the scallops so, I stopped sewing... My poor husband. He wanted the curtains so badly and I had developed a big psychological block against finishing them. It got to be such an issue between us that it became even harder to work on them. What was I to say? "I'm going to go up to the studio and work on the curtains".? There would have been way too much anticipation and pressure. Anyway, David went to Florida for five days and it gave me the time and opportunity to bring them back out. I went to the lumber yard and had the 3" cornice boards cut to size. I took the trim off the one that I had done and I whipped them out. They weren't as bad as I had remembered and getting rid of the trim helped alot (I had visions of hand sewing all the hems).

I gave them to David for Valentines Day and he was so excited. He still is pretty excited about them and comments how great they look all the time. (Personally, they're a bit more formal than what I would pick nowadays). They certainly look better than the bare windows.

Now I just need to make some new cushions for the glider.

Cool Design Site For Tea Lovers

Everyone that knows me well, knows that I love my coffee - especially my iced coffee. I drink it 365 days a year despite living in the cold state of Vermont.

I came across the site, Toxel.com, that has a post about creative tea packaging and tea bags. The different designs it features just might turn me into a tea drinker. Here we have an origami bird tea bag.Take a look at the other designs and let me know your favorite.

My own handmade Christmas

Here I am always encouraging people to either make or buy handmade presents for Christmas. I bet you think that I go to Walmart for all my gifts. So, here is so proof that I actually practice what I preach.

Jamie got my favorite handmade gift - a papercut portrait of Victor Wooten. I got the idea from a tutorial on a great blog, Dude Craft. I sent Paul Overton, Mr. Dude Craft, a picture of my Victor portrait and he actually posted it on his blog today. Jamie also got 5 passes that he can use to get out of doing dinner dishes.

I made Kinsey a wristlet from some fake leather (actually I think it might be car upholstery vinyl) that my Mom got at a tag sale several years ago. I knew I'd eventually find a use for it. She had wanted a cute Juicy Couture one for $79. (sorry honey). I did the strap so that she can useit as a wristlet or convert it to a regular short strap.

I think it turned out pretty well given I didn't use a pattern and it was last minute sewing. You can't see it, but I even put a pocket on the other side.

I think her favorite handmade gift was my stocking stuffer, a bottlecap keychain with an image

of her new crush, teen singing sensation, Justin Bieber. If you don't know of him, you can see his You Tube video here.

On niece, Mei, is totally into horses right now. We sent her all of Kinsey's old horse books (recycled gift, next best thing to a handmade gift) and a bottlecap keychain with a cute horse image. Seth has become a skateboarder dude. So, he gets all of Jamie's too small skateboard t-shirts and a personalized skateboarder themed notepad. His initials are BSB which I related to Born to be a Skate Boarder (get it?) Rhys at nearly age 2 gets a polarfleece quillow. They also each got one of my handmade ornament kits so that they'll be ready for next holiday season. Here's a picture of Seth's notepad.

My parents are always tough to get presents for - my siblings are smart and get them food products. I, on the other hand, keep giving them handmade items. I hope they like them. Their gifts had a morel mushroom theme this year. I made them a needle felted morel mushroom tree ornament, felted them a bar of soap and made my Dad a bottle cap keychain with the Yankees logo on it. I also bought them an adorable morel mushroom ceramic tile from another Etsy seller, Lesperencetiles. I had an extra day to wrap their presents and was able to spend more time on it. Look at these cute packages - I love the morel mushroom foil hangtag.

Some of the other handmade items that made their way to people this holiday season were zipper pendants and brooches, felted soap, handmade ornaments, many bottles of our "famous" caesar salad dressing that David made, felted acorn package toppers and ornaments and packages of post-its that were covered in decorative papers.

What a wonderful holiday season it was!

A Handmade Christmas - More Project Pictures

I've been busy, busy making up samples, writing instructions and generally getting organized for this weekend's workshops. Thought I would upload some more pictures of projects to whet your appetite.

Here goes...

Several posts ago I showed a picture of my CD paper circle ornament. Here are two pictures of some variations. One has glue and glitter on the edges and the other one has cutouts in the large circles, some additional smaller circles and a jingle bell.

Then, I've made up some projects perfect for young crafters. One is a beaded candy cane and the other is a beaded snowflake. Here are some pictures of these.

For middle school and high school kids, I have some good ideas. I have materials to make notepads for friends or family that you can stamp with a name, nickname or term of endearment. Or you can make your own stamp and use that to stamp a design on each page before you assemble it. You can even make a cover for your note pad or for a package of post-it notes. $1 - $4

Another project is a bowl made out of a record albums. This is a great gift - it can be used as a bowl for objects, a planter, or as a gift basket. $3

One teen project that Jamie thinks is totally cool are my items made from bottlecaps. You take a 1" circle cutout of an image, glue it in the bottlecap and then add a clear coating. You can then either turn it into a necklace, a keychain, a zipper pull or a magnet. I have amassed quite a collection of images that I think kids will like - teen celebrities, Twilight stuff, Red Sox, Yankees, hockey and soccer, batman, spiderman, monkeys, family guy, peace sign, cute animals, BFF, skateboard, ski.

You may also bring a picture that we can cut out into a 1" circle. Here's a picture of three - a Twilight necklace, a Red Sox magnet and a Family Guy key chain. $2-3

Here's the God's Eye ornament. This has its origin in Mexico. This picture shows the basic God's Eye. There are also some variations that you can do based on how the yarn is woven around the sticks. Due to this, this project appeals to a wide age group. $2.

The last picture I'll show tonight is similar to the Embossed Foil Tag that I previously posted about. Here I've made the foil into an ornament. It is embellished with a small mirror in the middle and rhinestones to up the bling factor. It really sparkles on the tree. $2

Tomorrow, I'll post about some others. I hope you can come this weekend. Remember, that it doesn't matter how long or how short you stay - you decide based on what you want to make and how much time your schedules allow. If you're too busy to come, come by to pick up a kit or call me and let me know what kits your interested in. Most of the kits I've made up are $5 and have all the materials and instructions to make 1- 5 ornaments or gift items, depending on the item.

A Handmade Christmas - Certificates and Recipes

In a craft camp I did before Christmas last year, I was blown away when nearly every 8 and 9 year old wanted pretty much the same things for Christmas that my 17 year old wanted - new cell phone, new Ipod, and new Uggs. The other item on my daughter's list last year was a new digital camera. This year, now that she's in college, she wants a 22" flat screen TV for her dorm room instead. Note that all those items (except this year's desired TV) have the word New in front of it. That's because my daughter has also had those items on her Christmas list for a number of years.

Poor Kinsey had to wait though until 8th grade graduation to receive a cell phone. (not 8 years old!) I will forever love the fact that she wanted either a cell phone or a goat for graduation that year. Knowing how close we came to getting her that goat makes me realize how much I dislike the latest electronic gadget or fashion must-have.

I digress..

Anyway, instead of spending lots of money on gifts that will become obsolete and need replacing within a year or two, let's try to think of ways that we can come up with more personal, handcrafted gifts.

Certificates are a great, and free, gift to give friends and family members. There are many templates available on the internet that you can use.

Two years ago, I gave Jamie seven "get out of doing the dinner dishes" passes. They were the biggest hit! Each pass had a different quote printed on it that had something to do about doing the dishes. (I had lots of fun finding good ones). He also had to tell us that he was using a pass prior to dinner (so that it couldn't be a last minute, see how dirty the kitchen is, decision). He carefully saved them for many months and we had many lively dinner table discussions debating why we had that "stupid" rule about having to plan ahead. Not only were those passes a hit when he got them, they are definitely a gift that Jamie will always remember.

My kids have made me certificates for both Christmas and my birthdays. They have included things like: hugs, foot rubs(a personal favorite), back rubs, 30 minutes of cleaning, car washing, show shoveling, etc. You get the idea.

Another one of my ideas that has been treasured by a big group of family and friends has been, "This Year's Favorite Recipes." I type up some favorite new recipes that I've made over the years and send them to my list of recipe recipients. I haven't done this in a few years now, but I did for more than 10 years. I still get people calling me, emailing me, or now facebooking me, saying that they just made one of my recipes for this or that event.

My third idea is great for grandparents or extended family members. In the days when we all had to go to the video store to rent movies, my brothers and I would each year jointly make up a list of movies that we thought my lovely "but clueless about movies" parents would like. We would also give them a gift certificate for 10 free rentals, but that is optional (and not free). My parents now subscribe to Netflix and I actually added some suggested movies to their queue last time I was home. Bummer! I missed my chance to give them a list this Christmas. For them, this is a great gift as they not only don't know what movies they want to see, but they get overwhelmed on the Netflix site and navigating the internet.

I will have some generic certificates that you and the kids can use at the Holiday Craft Workshops taking place on December 12th and 13th. Think about what activity people either really love or really hate and think about how you can do it for them.Package these up nicely and they will be a much appreciated gift.

A Handmade Christmas - Drop In Holiday Craft Workshops for Families

During the weekend of December 12 and 13^th, I will be opening my studio to offer families an opportunity to make holiday crafts together.

Parents and children will be able to choose from a number of different craft activities to make handmade gifts, holiday decorations and ornaments, cards, gift tags and package toppers.

There will be projects suitable for all ages – toddlers, children, teens and adults. Drinks and snacks will be provided.

The workshops will be held each day from 11 am - 4 pm. You may come for an hour or stay all day.

The cost of attending is $3 per person, plus each project will have a materials cost associated with it.I decided to offer this workshop to provide busy families with a venue where they could come together to create. “Many families don’t have the time, the craft supplies or the creative confidence to make things by hand. By offering a drop-in workshop with a variety of projects, all the necessary materials, and lots of instruction and support, I’ve tried to eliminate these obstacles.” For those unable to stay, carry-out kits for several projects will also be available.For younger folks, projects will include beaded candy canes, beaded snowflakes, printed wrapping paper and gift tags, paper garlands.For older kids and adults, projects will include record album bowls, bottle cap pendants and magnets, personalized printed notepads, metal foil embossed gift tags, felted acorns, gods eyes, topiary kissing balls and more...

Here are several pictures of projects. I'll continue to post more as I make up the samples.

Come have fun and make it a handmade Christmas!

Embossed Heavy Foil Gift Tag - I have a very heavy aluminum foil that I've embossed a Xmas tree design on. Then I've colored it with permanent markers and glued to several pieces of paper. I actually just used this as a gift tag for a present I mailed out yesterday. These little foil designs would also be great for tree ornaments or on the front of a card. $1

Paper Strip Ornaments - These are so easy to make. I've cut strips of paper. Used a hole punch to punch holes at either end and in the middle and used brads to hold them in place. The strips will already be cut and I'll have templates to show you exactly where to punch out the holes. $1

3D Paper Circle Ornament - Another great easy paper ornament. All you have to do is take 6 circles of decorative paper (I'll already have tons cut), fold them in half and then glue them together with a ribbon in the middle. This is the easy version. I'll also have a more difficult version for those more comfortable with the concept. $1

Directions to Studio:

From Manchester: Follow Route 7A South for about 2 miles past the Equinox Hotel. Turn left on Muddy Lane (just after Equinox Valley Nursery). Take First Right onto Hard Farm Rd. Take first left into driveway - #93 Hard Farm Rd. The studio door is the one that sticks out into the driveway turnaround.

The Pocket Mod

I am forwarding this link for the PocketMod. It is a little personalized notebook that you can make online with a single piece of paper. You can customize each page with a variety of templates in different categories such as calendars, to do lists, reference guides, games, etc. They even have sudoku puzzles that you can include. I just made David his very own Pocket Mod. I think he was impressed - especially with the conversion reference page that included things like the speed of light in a vacuum. -something you might need to know on any given day. Also, did you know that 1 cubic foot of water weighs 62.32 lbs? I had no idea.

The tricky part of this little book is in the folding. I have actually folded paper exactly like this for several kid projects at the Arts Center. It's great for making blank books and you can even add a separate cover to make it a bit fancier. In one case, we made Valentine Books and included "Things We Love" on each page. Another time, we hiked the Botany Trail and made leaf prints on the pages.

Let me know which template on PocketMod is your favorite.