Quick Holiday Project

I love projects that are quick, cheap, and useful, don't you?   The last few years, I've kept all the Christmas cards we received in basket on top of the piano - they're contained, but not really easy to see or read.  I've been wanting one of those wire card holders you hang on a wall, but didn't want to spring for the $25 or more (plus shipping).  I recently saw something in a catalog to display cards or photos made from old barn wood criss-crossed with twine.  I came across some birch branches in the backyard and decided to modify the idea.  This is what I came up with:

 After cutting the branches to size, I tied them together at the corners with florist's wire.  Then I strung some ribbon back and forth between the side branches and added some bows and clips.  Couldn't be easier!  It makes a nice display on the back of the front door and all the cards and photos are easy to see and read.   I can take it apart for easy storage to reuse next year... And it cost nothing!  I love it!

"Here to stay is a New Bird..."

Don't you just love seeing the cardinals in winter?  That bright spot of red among the winter grays, whites and dark greens is so cheery, I just love it.  And they are so perfect for a Christmas tree!  A whole tree decorated just with a vast variety of cardinals would be really stunning, wouldn't it?

In my bird-stitching experiments this fall, I didn't attempt to make a cardinal because I couldn't figure out how to get the crest into the folded circle pattern.  But I recently came across this website, with lots of free downloadable patterns for bird ornaments stitched out of felt, which I love. I'll probably make a bunch of these for Christmas.  However, most of her patterns are kind of flat, with just wings added and a little bit of stuffing.  I wanted the cardinal to have a bit more dimension so I found another one here.  No free pattern, but I went to the drawing board and came up with a prototype.  I decided to make his wings out of plaid flannel, and also added a stripe of it to his tail.  Isn't he cute?  I was going to give him away, but I like him so much and I have the perfect spot for him:  Here, in the middle of my ivy topiary near the kitchen window!  I have two of these wreath topiaries, so I'll have to make another one for myself.  I love these quick, satisfying projects!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to mail out Thanksgiving cards this year, with the above artwork, but I only just finished the final stitches a few minutes ago so I'll send it out electronically.  I hope this Thanksgiving finds you healthy and safe, together with friends and family, counting your blessings!

The Artistic Process

Sometimes I look at a piece of art on a greeting card or in an artsy souvenir boutique and notice the simplicity of the piece.  I often think I could make something like that so easily, but my recent experiences have made me realize that it's not as easy as it looks!  I was surprised at all the decision making that went into it, and all the many choices I had to make.  

Here are some of the tumbled rocks, shells, glass, and wood I had to choose from.  I also pulled out some fabrics that reminded me of the beach in some way and started playing around. 

I originally came up with this arrangement of rocks, driftwood and fabric.  The center arrangement reminded me of the lotus meditation pose in yoga and the calm pale blue background was reminiscent of the sky and and the central shiny fabric more like water.  The texture of the burlap brought to mind the sand.

While playing with the arrangement, I decided I wanted something lighter and airier - a vision of blue sky with clouds popped into my head, so I switched out the background fabric.  But everything seemed to be floating, so I looked for a way to ground it.

I decided to turn the piece into a landscape orientation and added a narrower strip of burlap along the bottom.  I debated about adding the word "serenity" somewhere on the piece.  I wanted it to convey serenity, but did it need to be labeled?  I played around with a few options and then decided to bend the word serenity out of brass wire and attach it to a piece of driftwood, as shown at the bottom here, where it's pretty subtle.  I also added a small piece of ribbon at the top, which had gold metallic strips woven into it, to add some light and sparkle.

I played around with what should go next to the central square in those spaces on the side.  I auditioned some rectangles of burlap and some pieces of twig.

I finally decided to just add some simple cross stitches out of a variegated metallic thread.  I also put some cross stitches into the burlap at the bottom to be even more reminiscent of sand.  I added large stitches around the beige rectangle in gold metallic thread and a small piece of sheer gold fabric at the very top.  The natural objects are held on with gel medium as well as stitching.  Here is the final piece:

I have plenty of other tumbled rocks, shells, and driftwood, so I'm thinking I can make more of these and have a series.  Now that I've made these basic decisions, maybe the next few will be easier!

Are You Ready?

Spider webs and eerie lights on the railing...

Check!

 Cute little ghost hanging near the front door...

Check!

Bags of candy in a bowl near the door for easy access...

 Check!

Whimsical Halloween banner hanging in the entryway...

Check!

 Fake jack-o-lantern glowing in the front window...

Check!

Miscellaneous horns, ears, tails, wigs and hats just in case...

Check!

Some orange and black cupcakes, just because...

 Check!

Halloween, bring it on!

Wordless Wednesday

Here & There, This & That

The last couple of weeks I've managed to squeeze in some creative time here and there, making this and that.  I recently discovered this recipe for Pumpkin Bran Muffins on the Women's Day website.  I altered the recipe slightly by adding a half-teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cloves as well as about 1/3 cup each of raisins and chopped walnuts.  They are delish!  They taste more like cupcakes, but between the pumpkin and wheat bran, are pretty healthy treats (you don't even know the bran is in there!).  They are perfect in the morning with a smear of cream cheese!

I've also been adding to my little flock of fabric birds.  Below is another Christmas-y bird made of that cheerful flannel print, with a plaid beak:

And here are two more - a sort-of blue jay (without the crest), and my favorite so far: this autumn print bird.  I continue to tweak the pattern with each one and they are getting better and better.  These two are a bit smaller than the first few I made because I think they'll look daintier on a Christmas tree.  I've also found a smaller beak works better than a larger one.  I'm having fun playing with different fabric combinations.

 Finally, here are the last two swap squares I received at the last FANE meeting. 

The one on the left was made with the materials I put in the bag (here's a shot of the fabric and miscellaneous embellishments I threw together):

 I think she must've supplemented them with a lot of her own stuff because I'm not sure any of the stuff I put in the bag is actually on this piece (oh well).   My friend Vivien's piece is on the right.   She also found it very challenging to work with the materials she received.  One of the supplies in her bag were little cupcake liners in a variety of colors and you can see a portion of one that she flattened and stitched on with various threads.

The overriding sentiment of the group was that it was very challenging to work with another person's materials!  I think I was one of the few that didn't have a lot of trouble with that (I got my supplies from Vivien!)

I finally started (and almost finished) a new piece inspired by our beach vacation on Cape Cod this year, so stay tuned!