Fall Fabric Owl

“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more (s)he saw the less (s)he spoke; The less (s)he spoke the more (s)he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”

I haven't created any Fall decorations for a while, so this year, I decided to revamp some of the the things I already have on hand. I really love the work of Dana Engemann. Her patchwork creatures are just adorable and I got the inspiration for my little cutie from her.

 Everything I used came from what I already had. 

My favorite kind of project! 

 The wise "Miss Hootie" is made of pretty fall colored fabrics, 

vintage lace, doilies and other assorted embellies.

Her stand is a small brass candlestick found for .99 cents 

at Goodwill. I painted it and the base with copper and gold metallic 

paints. I arranged a small paper pumpkin, silk flowers and leaves

and an autumn spray on top of a vintage doily I bought this

summer while antiquing down South. 

Happy Fall Everyone!!!! 

Millie

Summer Vacation Junk Journal 2013

We took a road trip down South this summer and I decided to make a vacation junk journal to hold our memories. We stopped at several places along the way so I wanted to be sure to have plenty of room for ticket stubs, brochures, and other items.

Love this ad. It reads, 

"Vacations are for Father but Mother makes the plans."

 Anyone else remember traveling this way?

I inserted photos of various roadside attractions along our way.

So sorry we missed the Stoogeum. Haha!

Quote from one of my favorite movies.

Celebrated the Fourth of July while we were

away so that's what these pages are for.

 Also celebrated my husband's birthday. :-)

Actually got to see this guy and got a shot of my 

boys standing under him. 

 Included this tag for journaling about 

the wrong turn we were certainly going to make. 

Yup. We did.

We took a ton of pictures so now I need to decide which ones will go in! Fun project and it was fun collecting our souvenirs and memorabilia. 

Blessings,

Melissa

Altered Paintbrush Swap

I participated in my first craft swap this month! This was a one on one swap and the project was an altered paintbrush. We had three themes to choose from: Vintage, Shabby Chic, and Halloween. My style is somewhere between Vintage and Shabby Chic, but I asked my partner to create something Shabby. My partner requested something Vintage so off to work I went!

We had to use an ordinary chip brush, 3"-4". After much searching, I finally found a 4" brush. Who knew they were so hard to find around here! Sheesh!

My partner gave me free reign as far as color choice. Starting out, I had no idea what colors to use but after a while, the color palette emerged: greens, browns, and yellows!

The brush went from this:

To this! 

I used some laces, beads, and flowers from my stash 

 as well as some cherry blossoms purchased at MB Treasurista. 

I dyed the flowers with various Adirondack Color Washes.

The pretty lady is an image found online. The "Beautiful" sentiment

was stamped on some vintage looking paper. 

It's hard to tell, but I used a floral mask (also from MB Treasurista) 

and modeling paste to give the handle some texture. 

Backside of the brush. I embossed the handle, then covered it

with gold embossing powder, again, to give it some texture. 

Lastly, I die cut a tag and included my information. 

This was a super fun swap and I look forward to many more! Check out all the very talented folks at Creating the Crafty Life. Blessings!

Millie

Special Order Projects!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD." 

Colossians 3:23

A few weeks ago, I had two people ask, within days of each other, if I could create some special projects for which they would gladly pay. 

It was my first real experience at creating ''commissioned'' projects. Until now, anything I made for others has been given away. 

If you're a craftsperson, then you'll understand the joy of having someone actually pay for your work. You'll also understand the pressure of getting things ''just right'' and delivering on time. Although both projects were generally small, I labored over each, "as unto the LORD", wanting to make sure they met the expectations of my customers. I'm happy (and relieved) to report that both customers were satisfied with my work. Below are the finished results.

The first was a three dimensional easel card. This one is 6" x 6" and 

was created for someone who is a huge Wizard of Oz fan. 

I used Graphic 45's "Magic of Oz" paper, of course!

For the second project, I was asked to create a centerpiece for a boy's 1st birthday party and 

a keepsake box to hold cards and such. I actually got my Cricut out for this project. 

I used it to create the "Happy Birthday" sentiment. 

I learned a lot about myself as an artist/crafter while working on these. I found out what I like and what I don't like, how I handle the pressure of a deadline, and other valuable lessons. Not sure if I'll get more opportunities like this but, overall, I enjoyed and am thankful for the experience.

Blessings,

Millie

Lace and Fabric Collage Banner

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, 

“He is my refuge and my fortress, 

my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

Some people find rest and comfort in the LORD in a quiet, secluded nook or simply by taking a walk, surrounded by the beauty of His creation, all the while meditating on the faithfulness of His promises and the security of His presence. 

I most often find that precious place at the quiet spot in which I work and create. It has become my ''prayer closet'', the place where I am most often prompted to ponder, petition, and pray.

These last several months, the verses above have sustained and carried me through some pretty painful moments of discouragement. And they have also inspired me to create the project below. 

Recently, I was blessed with a large stash of vintage crochet pieces that included a pretty long piece. I immediately saw it as a banner and so I created a lace and fabric wall hanging.

The banner measures approximately 16" tall and 7" wide. The piece was created with various bits and pieces of lace, doilies, cheese cloth, fabric flowers, paper, and metal. 

The image of the little girl, peaceful sitting on her swing, was found online. The music on the left is an old hymn entitled, "In the Secret of His Presence". Tucked behind the photo is a small piece of paper with the verses from Psalm 91.

This is project will be a continuous reminder of the 

unchanging character of God 

and of His great love and care. 

In the secret of His presence

How my soul delights to hide!

Oh, how precious are the lessons

Which I learn at Jesus' side!

Earthly cares can never vex me,

Neither trials lay me low;

For when Satan comes to tempt me,

To the secret place I go. 

Blessings,

Millie 

Pink Art Dress 2013

"You feel very romantic when you're in a ball gown. 

Everyone should wear one once in a while."

Carolina Herrera, Designer

Although I didn't pursue my childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer, I still have a great appreciation for beautifully designed gowns and dresses.

The art dress below was inspired by the work of several, talented artists all of whom I've listed at the end of this post.

From straps to hem, the dress measures approximately 10".

The dress is a combination of paper, laces, 

and assorted trims I had in my stash.

 The bodice of the dress is a mini paper mache dress form purchased from Michael's $1.50 bin. I decoupaged bits of vintage book paper and layers of cheesecloth to give it added strength. 

Crystal Stickles was added to give it a little sparkle.

 The wide pink lace trim was purchased from The Jule Box a while ago. The white lace trim below is from a Goodwill score last year.

The backside. The underside of the dress is supported by three layers of vintage book paper, folded concertina style. I edged each layer with more vintage lace from my Goodwill finds.

I created the bustle using a pink rose made from vellum. I colored it with pink chalk and added Cotton Candy Pink Stickles for more sparkle. Next came a small piece of pale pink lace trim and a vintage crochet doily. The straps were created with just a small snip of some pearl trim.

For more inspiration:

Jeanette at Scrappin Happy XO (I used her tutorial for the construction of this dress.)

Sue at Messie Jessie (Absolutely gorgeous art dresses!)

Kellie at Kell Belle Studio (Currently, she is doing a series called The Corset Diaries)

Blessings,

Millie

CCL August Color Challenge 2013

Give me the joys of summer,

    Of SUMMER QUEEN so fair,

With wealth of lovely flowers

    And fruits and sun-kissed air!

This month, over at Creating the Crafty Life, they are hosting a color challenge! The rules are simple: design and create a project using the colors in the chosen palette. This month's palette is "All About Summer" and it reflects the beautiful colors of the season: 

I've been wanting to alter a matchbox for some time now and I thought this would be a great opportunity to do so. Below is my project for this challenge:

I used GCD's ''Funhouse'' paper stack for this project. It's an older collection but the colors were perfect for the challenge.

Found the image of the sweet little girls online. I made the ''sun'' by punching a circle then snipping all around to give it some ''rays''. I dyed the lace trims using my trusty Lindy's sprays. The shells and sand inside the box are souvenirs from our last trip to Florida. 

Side view. The teeny tiny wooden candlestick it rests on is a Goodwill find. 

Made the flowers using some of the paper and a couple of 5 petal flower punches.   The green bauble on top was created with some pretty beads (found at Goodwill) and a stick pin. 

Backside. 

Another fun project and a great way to preserve a bit of the joys of summer when winter rolls around! 

Talk not to me of winter

 With ice and frost and snow,

Nor changing spring and autumn

    When howling winds will blow.

No, I will take the joys

    Of SUMMER every time,

So to this Queen of Seasons

    I dedicate my rhyme.

*Visit Creating the Crafty Life by clicking on the link to the right. It's a great site full of creative people and tons of inspiration!

Blessings,

Millie