pastel easter

i ordered some mache eggs from blumchens this year and have been waiting for a time to decorate them. easter is only a week away so time to get busy. this is my first egg in a nest of crepe paper garland.
lots of pastel lovlies to be had this week as the yard sale season has begun again. so many pretty old things, where am i going to put all this stuff?

the easter bonnet i bought for the flowers. tons of the tiny velvet ones that i like to use. the lace dress is the one great grandma wore to aunt peggys wedding 50 years ago. i have the matching hat in a pale hat box shaped in an octagon.

new ribbons from my shopping day on tuesday. had to wrap them up so i could look at them on my desk.
this whole bag of crotchet and tatting threads was $1, the pale blue 3 tier jewelry box was also$1. i feel wonderful about buying this stuff because i know it is going to a good home and i will use it!

i have been thinking today about all the friends i know who are at artfest right now having such an amazing week. i have been to art and soul and loved the whole experience, can't wait to go to artfest next year!

random house

i bought this book last year at art and soul vendors night and have been waiting for the right inspiration to hit me.
i have decided it will be my random house, an address book of all things houseful. . .
i didn't paint over the cover as i liked the original blue and yellow fabric of the book so much. i've decided it will be my lucky book since the vintage piece of shamrock lace was found on st. patricks day. i think i would like a giant shamrock growing outside my window.

art for the day. . .

all the gals met for our art group on thursday and i decided to make a day of it.
candice and i headed out for lunch and then shopped some antique stores for some great junk.
here is the stack of suitcases she got to organize her cool stuff in her studio closet, $40! i took the shot right in the antique mall by the checkout, so they thought i was a bit weird.


the crazy quilt would make a great apron we decided.
candice also got a great bag of sewing stuff for a dollar and she let me have the tomato pincushion that for some reason i felt like i had to turn it into a pumkin yesterday.


art night was spent looking through marilyn's cool alphabet book she is working in, tasting desserts(ok, so we might need to plan the pot luck thing if we all bring desserts) and making crotched rings from sherri's book.

we only started taking photos at midnight so sorry marilyn we did not get one of us all. we made some great plans to meet next month and then started working on plans for a cabin art retreat this summer up by Park City. i can't wait to see which teachers say yes they will come!! oh and i know this is not the best photo, what do you expect with the camera propped on a cake stand, but look at the smiles ladies. thank you for really making our art group work, it is such a dream for me.


then saturday we went a little crazy after eating lucky charms for breakfast to celebrate st patricks day and went a bit green. love you both!

easter eggs

lame, i havent been able to upload photos for a bit. blogger had a tiny vacation i think.
i found these two vintage german paper mache eggs this past weekend out junking. inside the eggs is the most beautiful, fragile paper lace surrounding little images of chicks and eggs.


i love the vintage wire egg basket from a yard sale years ago. back then i bought it even though i couldn't think of a thing to do with it. i usually have it on my deep window sill with an ostrich egg inside. the wire basket folds inside out to make several different shapes. it is really rather bizzare.


i sent a trade off to dorte in denmark this week. the paper for the tag and trim pack are from Cosmo Cricket the dutch girl:sofie line. such wonderful designs and colors. i sent off a few of my favorite blue, red, and cream trims and a small flower girl postcard i made from the paper quilt image.

infestation

vintage doll pantaloons nicely moth eaten.
sewn and burned collage.

so maybe i'll start a new group called 'termite art'
the outward expression of the inward horror of having your house eaten from the inside out!
i honestly couldn't believe how fast i whipped out this piece. wonderful to channel some of my frustration into something tangible. the burning felt very satisfying.

i am not a squeamish person. i was not the one tearing the house apart when the blow snake i caught and brought home escaped out of its cage. i have an extensive insect collection, i never scream when i see an enormous spider, and i even raised monarch caterpillars once.
but this termite infestation has me freaked out!
we have heard them at night eating the walls. at first we thought it was mice. i am actually sparing you the very gory close-up photographs of the carnage because i don't want my site tagged for censorship. oh yeah baby, no pretty pastel chickies on this post today.

peep.

feeling like spring today, thought i would drop by to introduce you to one of my favorite peeps.
i started a little series of easter baskets 3 inches tall using vintage trims, wallpaper, and hankies. i am inviting 12 ladies in my neighborhood over this month to dinner and to make a bit bigger version of these baskets for an easter gift. after i get the invites made and the kit ready i'll give you a peep.
happy spring, Julie

paper quilt 'flower girl'

i found this vintage hat last weekend. i usually get such a great price from the dealers since lots of these old hats are squashed and faded. i take them apart and use the flowers, leaves, net, and silks in my art work. this hat inspired the color scheme for a paper quilt submission that i sent off today.


i dropped it off at the photo lab for a large format scan and really missed the piece in my studio.
this is the second submission i have sent off in a month! the waiting part is the hardest. . .

a photo of my wool felt palette. . .