artful thursdays challenge and flower clip tutorial

thursdays have always been my favorite day... this year i have started a new feature on my blog. it will be titled 'artful thursdays' and will come with an open invitation for you to join me every thursday this whole year. it all started with three things:

1. i am a wonderful shopper of vintage treasures. i enjoy sifting through old grandma sewing baskets, crumbling cardboard boxes filled with old letters, and dimly lit antique stores. this has resulted in #2.
2. i am being buried alive with all my cool stuff. the carpet has surrendered to towering piles. this leads to #3.
3. my studio is slimming down this year. it is time to either use the cool stuff i have collected or send it on its way.

here is the artful thursday challenge: pick a project you have been wanting to try or an idea that has been patiently waiting for just the right time. gather your materials, experiment a bit, and post about it. your post doesn't need to be a tutorial, just show us how your artful day went.
dig into all those cool treasures you have collected. then at the end of the year we will both have 52 cool things made out of stuff that would have just been otherwise hanging out in a dark box or suitcase. i love the idea...

hopefully you will think this is just the inspiration you need to live a more artful life and you will take the artful thursday challenge. send me an email at juliecollings2003@hotmail.com and i will add your blog to the artful thursday blog list on my side bar reserved for the regulars.

or if you want to just post once in a while leave a link to your post in the comments section of the most recent artful thursday post so we can visit. here is my artful thursdays button made by my talented niece rachelle:


i thought of a few things that will help me get ready for thursday each week. pick up my sketchbook again and start writing and sketching ideas. one friend i talked to about this project said she was worried if she got digging through her stuff she would spend the whole day sorting. right, i can see myself doing the same thing so i plan to gather the supplies i will be using during the week so they are all ready on my desk thursday morning. also how about a little wednesday night straighten up in my studio. all that is left is to pick a time for thursday and plan not to answer the phone.

the inspiration:


i bought this sheer dress off the $5 rack from a vintage clothing store. it has gorgeous aqua flowers but the dress was stained and fraying beyond repair. i have kept it around thinking it would make the greatest little flowers. well today is the day especially after getting the january anthropologie catalog yesterday. love this sweater!


here is my collection of things i thought might be fun to use. circles cut from the vintage dress, an old wedding veil and some lovely silk. i also set out some glass beads, velvet flowers, thread, tinsel, and some funky old hair clips. (i bought all they had and have been storing them all ever since. that lady worries me.)


first step is to set up an old birthday candle and lightly melt the edges of your circles. this glitter bottle worked just as well as some sand and was handy.
any man made fiber will melt and curl: polyester, rayon, and nylon. natural fibers just burn and turn to ash. wool, cotton, and linen. burning plastic is toxic so ventilate.


the circle on the left is perfect, the circle on the right got cooked a bit too much and feels crunchy. each fabric will melt differently so experiment and plan for a bit of shrinkage.

here is the hair clip with the first two circle sewn on. sew around the clip several times to secure and use a dot of tacky glue if needed to hold in place. (no glue gun)


i even burned around the tulle a bit. hold the tiny circles in a set of tweezers to keep your fingers happy.


layer on a bit of tinsel, tulle, and more sheer flower petal layers.


here is how the silk burns. just rub the edges with your fingers to remove the ash.


sew on the tiny seed beads for the center. i like the blue thread in the taupe beads.


finished clip on a vintage music paper oval. try a bigger flower for your hair or a pin for a scarf. hope you will join me next week. julie