Made from the Printed Page - Three Cards

Hello friends,
Have you noticed all the items out there in the marketplace that have a "bookish" feel? As a "librarian for life," I have an affinity for all things "wordy" and there's lots out there to see. The emphasis on up-cycling and recycling certainly contributes to the longevity of book pages, sheet music, dictionary pages, document text and the like being incorporated into home decor, clothing, textiles, and more.

Here's three cards made using book pages . . .

Hearts were punched from various book pages and mounted on black paper in a "specimen" design. A red heart was added as a focal point. Then the hearts were outlined freehand with a black pen for emphasis and the panel was mounted on a gray card. The inside is blank for a personal message.

For the second card, an origami dress folded from a dictionary page has been mounted on a black card. Accented with red - ribbon and tape - as well as a lace-like strip punched from a book page, this is a simple but eye-catching design.  I left space at the bottom front to mount a strip of paper for the appropriate stamped or handwritten greeting such as Happy Birthday or Congratulations. When using a black card, I attach a piece of light paper inside the card to have an area for writing a message.

The third "bookish" card was made using a Scotty dog die cut from Sizzix, embellished with a ribbon and mounted on a dictionary page. Framed in black and adhered to a gray card, it is a clean and simple design. Inside is blank for a message or greeting.

Til next time . . .

S.

Bunnies to the Attic

Hello friends
I am putting away the few Easter/Spring decorations I scattered around the house this year. As I was gathering them up and admiring my work, I decided to share their make-overs with you.

This large bunny was found at JoAnn's on sale and with a coupon. He stands 9" tall from surface to ear tips; both his stance and size appealed to me but his paint job was reminiscent of a case of the mange.  I was so eager to start his make-over that I neglected to take a "before" picture. Trust me, it wasn't pretty.

Some of the best patterns and designs can be found on paper napkins, especially cocktail size ones. I buy the ones I like whenever I see them. I've found pretty ones at both TJ Maax and Home Goods, and at after season sales in gift shops.

Looking into my stash, I found the perfect design and decoupaged it onto the body. Simply separate the layers of paper napkin, using only the single, top patterned layer. Then paint the Mod Podge onto the bunny and smooth the pieces of napkin onto the body. Wrinkles are OK - they will not show and "a man on a galloping horse" will never see them. I worked the napkins around the eyes (so no re-painting there) and used brown paint for the nose.

Adding white paint for the bow was the finishing touch to make him much more handsome . . . now this bunny has a high-end decorator feel rather than a poorly painted Made in China look.

Here's a four-side view. I had thought for a millisecond to paint his tail white but decided against it. All in all, I was pleased with this handsome guy.

The little bunnies (4" tall) seen below were found at the Christmas Tree Shop. Each was spruced up with a new look using the same decoupage method. 

None of the four I bought had perfectly clean fur (what do you want for $1.29?) so out came the Mod Podge, napkins and tissue paper. Here's the before and the after in their Easter finery:

The French script bunny is covered with tissue paper I rediscovered in my supplies. I used some green napkin for the base and painted the flower and nose with nail polish. 

Paper napkins were used to make a twin to the large bunny and for the more feminine stripe bunny. Again, I worked around the eyes on all of them so I didn't have to repaint. Nail polish nose.

The bottom of each was covered with coordinating paper to minimize furniture scratching.  I added a postmark from the tissue paper to the green bunny base for a bit of whimsy.

 Now that they have ushered in Spring, they are off to the attic 'til next season! 

If you happen to have a decorative piece you like but are tired of its look, try the Mod Podge and paper napkin makeover. It's pretty simple and fun to do.

Cheers!

Susan

Birthday Tees

Hello friends
Recently my grandniece celebrated her 1st birthday.  I put together a bag of goodies for her (or her Mom) to open the party which happened (unfortunately) while I was on vacation in Pinehurst, NC.

These are the tees I embellished for her . . .

I drew the U-shapes on paper, fitting them to the shirt, then placed the pattern inside the shirt as a guide. Using fabric paint and a pencil eraser, I stamped the beads on the shirt, then went back with a fine brush and added the "string" between the beads. Next was to add a light shadow on each bead with white paint, giving each bead some dimension.  Last step was to fashion the flowers from circles of fabric (fold circles in quarters and stitch the points together), sew a button in the middle and sew to the shirts.  I was quite pleased with the result. What do you think?

The gift bag held the shirts, two pairs of coordinating leggings, a funky hat purchased a the Farmer's Market in Richmond, a bunny I sewed, and a book.  I hope she liked them!

Cheers til next time

S.

It's been a while

Hello friends
After many months of silence, mulling about blogging, I've decided to attempt to be a more regular writer. However, the posts will be briefer and will reflect what I've been making (or thinking about making)  :-).

So . . . I happened across some cards recently online that struck my fancy. They were made with a Stampin' Up set called "Sketches" and after investigation I learned the set was "retired" in 2003 (!). The "dog with a bone" in me came out and I hunted around on eBay, found it (ta-da!) at a reasonable price and it flew into Connecticut last week.

Here's a card I made using one of the images in the set - stamped, tore around the edges, and added a bit of color with Tim Holtz Distress markers and a wet paintbrush. Found some paper among the thousands of sheets in my craft room and there you have it.

I was quite pleased with the results and sent it off to a friend . . .

Til next time . . .

Cheers!
Susan

What's up with the girls?

I haven't mentioned my 18" girls in a while . . . well, they are excited to be going back to school and to see their friends.  They have new comfortable outfits suitable for sitting on the floor or at a desk and for moving around on the playground. My good intentions of sewing spectacular clothes for them were supplanted by the lure of the golf course, so I did some Etsy shopping. Here they are - all dolled up and posed in Annie's wing chair: Molly, Eva, and Marie-Grace are standing, while Caroline and Nellie sit.

Two outfits were chosen from Circle C Sewing (the navy/pink stripe and the pink/white dot) and the other three were purchased from Unending Treasures. I was pleased with the construction of all of the pieces, but I am not wild about the velcro closures that are standard issue on most 18" doll clothing.  The stuff gets caught in the dolls' hair. Sigh. But I understand it's done so little girls can dress their dolls easily. 

Just a FYI, there are vendors on Etsy who make couture and period clothing for 18" dolls - aimed at adult collectors - gorgeous garments in fabulous fabrics with real fasteners - and the prices rival those of adult clothing. Some of these garments are spectacular. But back to reality . . .

Once the clothes arrived and were tried on, I had to readjust my plans for which gal would wear what.  I bought the navy stripe for Eva, but she has such broad shoulders (from Cross-Fit), the top was way too snug. And it was borderline on the AG girls. Actually, this top would fit only Caroline well - her Madame Alexander body is slimmer than the three AG gals and Eva's Our Generation shape. So Eva wears the confetti outfit, which fits her body but not her tomboy personality. However, she loves the lime green leggings and her fish necklace.

Speaking of necklaces . . . Nellie is wearing her original American Girl heart necklace, but the other girls didn't have necklaces so . . . I made one for each of them using some supplies I unearthed from my short-lived jewelry-making phase. The beach-themed necklaces add a bit of pizazz to the outfits - Eva's is fishy, Caroline was partial to the sand dollar, Molly chose a scallop shell and Marie-Grace liked the starfish. I did have some supplies remaining and made a few additional necklaces with magnetic closures that I'll be selling. Exactly where, I'm undecided. :-)

Sweet Caroline

Nellie

Eva

Marie-Grace

Molly

Cheers til next time!

Silhouette tags

B-Line Designs is a stamp company I recently discovered through Beautiful Impressions stamping store. The many vintage style stamps in their catalogs fit with my mindset at the moment.  The catalogs can be viewed here.

I used several of their silhouette stamps to make these oval gift tags/hanging ornaments or decorations which were added to gift packages sent off recently.  Neat, aren't they? In another colorway they would look fabulous on a holiday tree.

Cheers!

S.

Color me amused . . .

 Crayons and coloring books were a staple of my childhood. The books could be had for $.25 or less at the local variety store and a box of 8 crayons was about $.79.  We spent hours filling in the blank outlines with bursts of color as well as bickering with our siblings or friends over the use of particularly popular colors. Remember, this was a predominantly TV-less life back in the 50's . . . and if there happened to be a television, it offered up four channels in black, white and shades of gray. Color was in our crayons.

The girl or boy who brought a box of 16 Crayola crayons (or gasp! a box of 64) to school, in a world of 8 fat crayons with a flat side, was the object of second-grade envy. Then coloring books lost popularity as "coloring outside the lines" became a popular mantra. "They" said that coloring books stifled creativity in developing children and kids should be given blank pads along with their crayons. Well, guess what. These creativity-stifling books are back  - for adults - and they are everywhere.

Browse the book area at BJ's after buying your super size whatever and this you will see -

Walk into Michael's  and this display is facing the entrance . . .  the sign reads "On Trend - Coloring Books for Adults" . . . hmmm . . .

 Back to BJ's . . . for a mere $8.99 each, you can purchase and take home something that promises to color you happy, calm, or relaxed. You can choose to color "amazing" mandalas, "beautiful" blossoms, as well as  Chinese or Japanese designs for fun and relaxation. 

"Magic" seems to be popular in coloring book titles and there are designs of the orient in Eastern Magic, beautiful floral designs in Blossom Magic, amazing mandalas in Mandala Magic and fantastic flowers in Magic Garden. The Mindfulness Coloring Book offers "anti-stress art therapy for busy people."  OK, then.

When I stopped at Michael's for magnetic clasps for my doll necklaces (more on that another time), I photographed the display facing the entrance shown above.  I had spent way too much time (IMO) looking at the coloring books at BJ's, so walked on by. I have my own stuff to color at home.

The adult coloring book phenomenon has not gone unnoticed in the media.  The librarian me has found some articles for those of you interested in "reading all about it."  

The Huffington Post article published April 21, 2015 is titled 10 Adult Coloring Books to Help You De-stress and Self-express.

The CNN featured article published April 24, 2015, leads off with  Adult coloring books topping bestseller lists. 

The New Yorker magazine published  Why adults are buying coloring books (for themselves) in the July 12, 2015 issue. 

And most recently posted on August 19, 2015, mbg (mindbodygreen.com) website offers a selection of six coloring books for readers with descriptions in their article The Anxiety-Reducing Activity You Haven't Tried Since You Were a Kid. (Click on the titles to link to the articles.)

Dover Publications has been selling coloring books for children and adults for decades as well as sponsoring coloring contests. The coloring books section of their website offers numerous themes including one called "Creative Haven," a best-selling series of coloring books for adults. Dover mentions articles in CNN, Fox News, and The Huffington Post, touting coloring as a great way for adults to relax and beat stress.

So, from stifling creativity to relaxation and beating stress.  Change happens. Color me amused!

Cheers!