Inspiration

While I still plan to post my trip to NYC- I have a super cool experience to share- I wanted to post this picture of my inspiration.

This is my 96-year-old maternal grandmother, Geraldine,  making aprons a few weeks ago.  She hasn't been doing much crafting in the last 10 years but she has picked up the sewing needle a few times and this just amazes me.

This woman has created her entire life and like me, used all sorts of media.   I mentioned before that she is an excellent seamstress.  She made the bridesmaid's dresses for my wedding and dozens of gorgeous square dancing dresses that she wore over the years when she danced with my late grandpa.   She decorated amazing Fabrge- type eggs back when it was difficult at best to find supplies.  I recently asked her how in the world she found the eggs and the ephemera in the days before Hobby Lobby or Michael's.  She told me that the local craft store had the eggs and would order what she wanted.  I marvel at what type of glue she used since we have seen such an explosion of glues in the last few years.

She made many Christmas ornaments for me which I still have and put on my tree every year.  Grandma worked in ceramics, fabric, and needlepoint.   She also made beautiful ceramic items including Christmas trees (the kind with the plastic light pegs that go in the end of the branches and light from light bulb attached to the base).  She also made my mom a gorgeous antiqued gold Nativity Scene that looks better than most anything I have ever seen in a store including those that cost thousands of dollars.  Her work was always sophisticated and her ceramic work was no different.

I would love to see what she could have made if she access to the supplies and media we have today.  My grandfather made beautiful stained glass items and produced great things with wood in his wood shop.  The two of them together would really have produced spectacular projects if they had what is available in 2012.  Can you imagine what grandma could do with metal clays or what grandpa can do with different types of woods that are so really available, even at Home Depot, today?

Grandma will always be my inspiration and its does my heart good to see her working on a project at 96.  I have tried very hard to provide her lots of homemade decor for her room in the faculty where she lives.  I have sent her wreaths for each holiday and several banners.  I think it is about time I sent her something new.

Laters Baby…..

Easter Eggs

Happy Easter

These pretty little Easter eggs are made from Wooden eggs- from Michael's- and scrapbooking supplies.  

I used rub ons, adhesive-backed rhinestones & pearls, and glitter.  That's it!  But oh what an impact these simple supplies make on a basic white egg.  

I used Basic Grey brand rub ons because they are so detailed and the colors are beautiful.  Any floral-ish or flourish-y rub ons will work for this project.  I prefer to cut the rub ons apart and apply them in a haphazard new pattern.  This gives me a unique... one-of-a-kind... look from a mass produced product.  You don't need to go to this extreme....it's just the way I roll.

The nice thing about this technique is you can take it from sophisticated…to charming…to whimsical...to cute...to outlandish.  Whatever fits YOUR aesthetic. Find the rub on that fits your design ideas and go for it.  

Keep in mind that this technique relays on rub ons.  You can decorate eggs using stickers, decorative paper cutouts or tissue paper but they give a very different look. 

I don't always cut apart the rub ons.  Sometimes even I use them as intended.  

The bunny and flowers came off the same sheet of rub on and I applied them as is…no scissors involved.  

The same for the jellybeans egg.

Another cute- and very simple- egg is decorated with a monogram and crystals. I used a Making Memories alphabet sticker with my daughter's initial and added adhesive-backed rhinestones as polka dots. How cute would this be used as a place setting card using the initials of each guest?  Set the egg in the center of the plate with a pretty napkin or a circle of shredded paper (or edible grass) forming a simple nest.  You could also put the egg in an egg cup .  A simple white egg cup like the one pictured is relatively inexpensive ($2 online) and widely available.  Simply set it on the plate or centered above the plate on the table.

This egg is sort of a hybrid of the two techniques using rub ons. I kept the butterfly and bee intact but did some minor plastic surgery on the flowers to make my own design. 

I love the way the eggs look when clustered together.  The center egg (below) was made by making polka dots using a product that I cannot for the life of me remember what it is called.  I thought it was water-droplet-something-or-other but I cannot find it.  You could get the same effect using adhesive backed rhinestones/pearls or rub on circles.  

There is a new product called Candi which would be cute as well.  

The little paper dots are applied using little pop-dot type adhesive squares but you could use Glossy Accents.  I would use Glossy Accents on the top to make the little dots shiny before I used them.  Though the idea of a paper circle seemed silly to me I thought the little dots were actually fun when I used them on the pennants on a project for this  Things Crafty   

The blue circles with the silver stars are Candi.

The eggs are pretty clustered together like this but would also be pretty if all, or some, where in egg cups. 


A word about rub ons.  I have found, much to my dismay, that Michael's and Hobby Lobby aren't carrying them as much as they used to.  In fact they only carry a few and they are usually themed out- wedding,family, baby.   I assumed the companies were no longer making them.  Not true.  Rub ons are available online and there is no lack of designs or variety. In fact I think there are more interesting designs today than last year.  The Frantic Stamper has a HUGE inventory of rub ons from a wide variety of companies.  Christy at Scarlet Lime carries a number her favorite designs. Two Peas in a Bucket carries a good variety as well and I scored a ton of Basic Grey rub ons on Ebay a few months ago.  You may have to go searching but you can find rub ons that fit your design. 


Laters Baby….

I'm Back…..Easter Decor

I have been away from my blog for over a week and it feels weird; I am happy to be back.  My family took a trip to NYC to attend our niece's Bat Mitzvah.  I had good great intentions of blogging the trip but the universe conspired to keep that from happening…. I was busy most of the time we were gone, our hotel internet connection was a confusing disaster, and my kids are sick- meaning I ended up spending a fair amount of time playing nurse.  Finally I just gave up and stayed off the net entirely.  Though I expected to need some sort of intervention in order to keep me offline I was thrilled to discover that after the first day I didn't even want to be online.  I'm pretty sure this is a healthy reaction; my kids on the other hand were high-fiving each other when they got back online.  My time away was good- I was busy- and now I am ready to be back.

My in-laws live in New York City.  In fact, they have lived there as long as I have been part of the family.  In the past I would occasionally want to visit a store (Pearl Paint and Kate's Paperie) and they would take me...even though they had no interest whatsoever in these stores.   The issue wasn't their lack of interest but my health.  I suffered from debilitating headaches and migraines from undiagnosed Chiari Malformation.  Now that I am doing better physcially  I have lots of cool stuff to share including things we did, places we went, and foods we ate.  But…..before I get into all of the amazingness from NYC, I want to share my Easter decor and some really cool eggs I made (look for those tomorrow).

 This is the top of my bookcase.  

The charming glass egg was a gift from my mom; it is one of my favorite pieces.  Behind the glass egg is a beautiful print called Dream Upon the Midnight Song by Vanessa Valencia.  I have several of her prints and each work is unique and elegant.  I love how she manipulates paper to convey movement and graceful exuberance.  You can see more of her work at her blog  or her Etsy shop A Fanciful Twist.

The sparkly eggs are paper mache (Martha Stewart brand from a few years ago) that I covered with glitter.  

The mantel looks great but you will notice there is no garland, no banner, no handmade paper thingies. I left the crystal lights from Christmas in place and added a string of tissue paper egg lights.  I had great plans for garlands and lollies and glittered eggs and paper flowers….. but as you may remember my health has been an issue…a big issue... and I spent most of March in bed.  Great plans turned into…..great plans and nothing more.  At one point I wasn't sure I was even going to get anything decorated so I am thrilled at how it all looks.  Be assured there WILL BE more paper crafting in the near  future.

 

The trunk that sits in the office area has been a new favorite little space for quirky vignettes.  Right now it looks great and it was completely an accident.  I had the Kelly Rae Roberts print sitting there after I took it down from its place on the wall at Christmas time.  It ended up sitting on the trunk and I liked the way it looked for Valentine's Day.  The green shadow box is from a Mouse Paper Scissors class and to be  honest the hardware for hanging it has never been screwed into the back, so it has sat on random horizontal services for months before finding it's way to the trunk.  The combination of the print and the shadow box look terrific- they colors are great together.  While I like the two together…. when I added the nest….Perfection.  The greens and browns from all three pieces look spectacular together.  Eggs are "spring" so I can drag this display out for a few more months. 

Laters Baby….