Tempted...

These felted bags caught my eye in the gift shop at the Denver Botanical Garden. The color combinations were so startling and gorgeous that it made me want to start felting! I didn't buy any as I really don't have a use for this type of bag, but I was tempted to purchase one and use it as wall decor!

Good Rockin' Tonight

I love making these trashy shrines! They are constructed from a CD, cat food can, bottle lid, bottle caps, soda can tab on back for hanging, Mardi Gras throw beads, themed ephemera and themed photos, all stuck on with super glue. I've made five so far; two Madonna shrines, a Gypsy shrine, Cactus shrine, and this Elvis shrine. I learned this technique in a class last summer given by Cindy Kovack. They are fast, fun and funky!

Altered Paper Collage

Occasionally the planets line up just right and I am able to spontaneously decide (well, almost spontaneously) to take an art class at the last minute. Such was the case recently when I saw an announcement for a short Saturday afternoon class by Cindy Kovack and I quickly signed up. I've taken classes with her before and really like her style, so I knew it would be a fun afternoon, especially since the class was to be held outside in perfect weather. This piece is my completed work from the class.

The reasons I like her classes are:

All supplies are included in the very reasonable price. No muss, fuss, or gathering and hauling supplies. Just show up and get to work.

Low drama classes! Simple enough to do by just about anyone, regardless of experience, and plenty of help and advice. Cindy follows a linear instruction method, which suits my style of learning.

Funky, offbeat projects using a lot of recycled components.

Cartoony Charms

Vintage greeting card characters + scissors + eyelets + Art Gel + card stock + jump rings = some simple, cute charms that are surprisingly durable. I've made over 30 so far, using faces from a box of old 1930s to 1950s greeting cards. These little cartoonish characters seem to have been a very popular card subject back in the day. They remind me of some of the old comic book characters--Archie, Betty, Veronica, Nancy, Sluggo and others from my childhood in the 1940s and 1950s.

There are little kitten characters on many of the cards, as well as flowers--mostly roses. I stuck mainly with people when looking through the cards, but I may go back through them again and look specifically for kittens for a kitten themed charm bracelet.

Playing with Dolls

I had lunch with a friend recently and afterward, I decided to stop by an antique shop right across the street. It was the usual consignment place, with vendor booths thoughout the large space. I always go through all the old photos, looking for ones I can use in art and assemblage creations, and I found three 8" x 10" 1920's era photos. I thought the pose, dress, and expression on the person in this photo could be used in countless ways. This is the first of several applications I plan for her.

After copying, matting and cutting out this gal, I lined a small box with paper, inside and out, added matte medium, then glued on paper flowers and a feather butterfly with E6000.

I added a quote to the bottom of the box:

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.

May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.

May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue,

and may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through."

~Irish Blessing

Paper dolls, flowers and butterflies are not my usual themes and the whole thing is kind of out of character for me and what I usually do, but it was fun to try something different.

The next "doll project" will occur when I leave for Mexico this weekend to attend a workshop on making found object assemblages reminiscent of dolls. Although Mexico is not a place I look forward to visiting, the workshop sounded too interesting to pass up.

Eggstravaganza

"Change is constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix"

~ Christina Baldwin

There's something about growing up on a farm that can affect the senses of overly sensitive kids. I always thought I was a tough tomboy, but basically, things affected me that others would take in stride. Living on a farm changed my viewpoint--from neutral to negative--on eggs and milk. I quit drinking milk at age seven, and quit eating eggs at nine. I can't tolerate the smell or looks of either. But...for some reason, I love to collect eggs of every sort (except fresh ones) and have quite a collection.

"What the hell, put all your eggs in one basket!"

This basket is quite large, and although not detectable in this photo, it holds about 45 eggs made of glass, metal, semi-precious stone and even wood. Some of these eggs go back to the 1960s when I began accumulating my collection.

"It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard"

~Dorothy Parker

This is a hand painted quail egg, purchased in an obscure little shop in Ambleside in the Lake District in England. I dropped it once while dusting and it has a tiny hairline crack.

"The present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell."

~ Zora Neale Hurston

Glass paperweight eggs, Waterford crystal eggs, hand blown eggs, lucite eggs with gold nuggets embedded in them--there are so many eggs that I really have nowhere else to store them, so I stopped adding to my collection a few years ago. Over the years I've culled my collection of the less desirable eggs and the really damaged ones, but I can't bear to part with the remainder, so I can't add new ones. It's just as well. The older I get, the fewer things I want cluttering my life. But, it's hard to dump the stuff I already have and that I really like.

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"What is my loftiest ambition? I've always wanted to throw an egg at an electric fan."

~ Oliver Herford

Happy Holidays and a Bit of Bah Humbug!

This is a fabric card I made for a Christmas Card Swap in one of the Yahoo Groups I belong to. The recipient featured it on the Group home page.

It is old upholstry fabric, ribbon, custom dyed felt and the bells are on a canvas transfer with some minibells attached as an adornment.

I've waited for my swap card to come, but I've come to the conclusion that the person who drew my name didn't bother to send one. This is not the first time this has happened with this group, so I probably won't be joining any more trades there. First time, shame on me, second time shame on you! If I went for a third time, then I'd consider myself a fool!