VINTAGE PHOTOS - CHILDREN

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MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES CHALLENGE (APRIL 2/14) EASTER (OR FLOWERS)

It's time for the 1st of Heather's monthly challenges at MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES !  Make sure you check out what Heather, Helene, Carol and Shea are doing for this challenge - I am working with such a creative group the ideas just keep coming!

Have you been to Heather's Etsy shoppe?  Run over there and check out the goodies!  It's a great place to shake out those "crafty voices" you are hearing!

I love crafting holiday projects and chose "Easter" as the theme to go with.  I had to do a "spring twist" on the Christmas themed peat pots I have started doing.  Vintage of course!  You might notice that I get onto doing a particular project and twist it every way possible until the next project captures my imagination.  And as luck has it the Vintage Dragonfly Easter swap is altered peat pot baskets, so my little bit of fun already has a home.

I used Heather's Vintage Easter Eggs to create the main focus in my basket.   Each egg is double sided, I stuffed them with a tiny bit of cotton batting for dimension.  I used Glossy Accents Crackle and Distress Ink to age them and Stickles around the edges for more sparkle.

The base is a 3" peat pot which I painted with white gesso as my first step.  Make sure you let it dry, the peat pot will be doing the job it is supposed to do and sucking up the moisture LOL  I cut an embroidered doily apart for the next layer.  I used DST (double sided tape) to adhere the doily and ribbons.  At the bottom are two layers of trim; ruffled gingham topped with a pansy trim.  Next I punched the holes on each side (Crop A Dile) for the handle which is two chenille stems twisted together.  I trimmed the top edge of the pot with some mini purple tinsel garland (E6000 glue) for a little bit of sparkle to show through the crocheted doily which I then lined the pot with.

I have stuffed my basket with white waxy paper grass (more like the Easter grass from my childhood) some tiny speckled eggs, a chenille chick and tiny flocked flowers.  A satin ribbon bow finishes it off.

MIXED MEDIA CANVASES

I have been having an "arty blast" creating canvases using the monthly videos from Christy Tomlinsons' "The Art Society".   Check it out.

Almost all of the supplies I have used were already in my stash.  Learning new techniques to use what I already have on hand is great, makes any new art supply purchases quilt free.  hmm  That does sound convincing LOL

Here I painted over a 6x6" canvas that I had never been happy with. (Reuse is good!)  The writing is a stencil from The Crafters' Workshop which I stencilled on using white pen.  Love the "chalkboard" look.  I used Graphic 45's "French Country" for the feathers and rolled flowers.

This one is a 6x12" canvas with the background created using napkins.  I topped that with several layers from a vintage lacy dinner napkin.  I covered this with a sepia toned finish.  The center is a metal piece from my stash mounted on vintage French text.  I used a Martha Stewart mold and Model Magic to make the bird and Distress Inks to colour her.  I think a day creating with different molds and building a stash of these would be fun.

Another 6x6" canvas, this time covered with fabrics.  Vintage ric rac, a sweet doily topped with a molded and stamped heart, the metal bird is from Tim Holtz.  Vintage, homey goodness.  Do you hunt the thrift shops for supplies?  I often find packages of ric rac and seam binding for a few cents.

MY ARTISTIC ADVENTURES (ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS) CHALLENGE - MARCH 16, 2014

It's time for the second of the two monthly challenges at My Artistic Adventures!  On the 16th of the month Heather offers a Christmas Challenge, the theme this month is "On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me" and you must use three of something.

I hope to have 12 peat pot ornaments by the years' end!  Basically I have set myself a challenge within the challenge LOL  For this project I have used Heather's Vintage Angels collage page.  She has incorporated all of my favourite elements into this sheet; a sweet vintage image, music paper and birds!  Heather gets wild and crazy creating new sheets so be sure to check on her Etsy shop often!

My project was created using a 3" peat pot painted with white gesso as the base.  I have covered the pot with bits of lace and trim, topped the rim with antiqued silver tinsel trim and used an "evergreen" tinsel stem for the handle, which will blend in with the green of my tree making the ornament appear to float.   I have filled the pot with satin and pearl flowers (liberated from a bridal piece), light blue vintage stems and blue mercury balls from my stash of vintage Christmas bits.  I used a plastic snowflake as the base to build up the stars (each one is popped up with foam dots) as the background for the angel image.  Two of the cardinals are wired to "fly" in front of the stars.  I have used Stickles on all the edges of the images for that extra vintage touch.  Bows front and back are the final touches.

Note:  I have a large stash of glitter products but the one that I go to consistently are "Stickles" from Ranger. The fine nozzle  allows me to lay down a nice edge, which is my preferred look and I find that less glitter drops off  than when using other products.

Come and play along with us, check out the lovely projects from Heather, Helene, Carol and Shawn!  See you there!

CHRISTMAS IN THE BANK (03/2014)

The inspiration for this little bit came from the monthly video club I now am subscribed to "The Art Society" created by Christi Tomlinson.

In my stash I have a set of Cavallini Christmas Washi tapes and a number of 4x4 inch shallow canvases, which I used to create a half dozen of these.  I covered the canvas with the tapes, no adhesive.  Shaded between each line a bit.  Covered them (I actually did 6 of these) with Mod Podge and then glittered them up with Stickles.  The "evergreen", tiny red balls and ribbon went on last.  I think these are the perfect bits to add a a little holiday decor on a shelf or bookcase, as filler in a bowl or gift basket.

Building your own "Christmas In The Bank" is easy and fun when you "save it up" a little each month!