little angel swap...

i had the most lovely email from margaret bloom at we bloom here. a while ago. she wanted to host an angel swap and had seen some of the angels that were inspired from the little angel pattern in my book. of course i was thrilled with the news and signed right up. here is the image from pretty little felts~



i didn't make the december 1st deadline and only just this weekend was able to sit down and make my little angels. i have enjoyed so much receiving the lovely angel creations from around the world. i am hoping the sweet artists in my group will forgive the late delivery. and i hope to plan a bit better next year....

i wanted to use this sweet vintage paper angel made in japan for my inspiration.


we started out using a wooden base, i liked these from darice that i bought at hobby lobby. you can also buy them online at the silver penny.



they are super easy and fun even for kids to make.
step 1. paint the head and body. when the paint is dry on the head add the features. if i mess up i just turn the doll around and paint another face. the
hair covers up my mistake :)
step 2. glue on gown using felt, fabric, wool, or batting i used this great vintage twinkle mat i found that was used as snow for the tiny paper houses.
step 3. decorate the gown using trim, beads, sequins, glitter, etc


step 4. add the hair. use paint to paint on the hair, glue on wool, or glitter
step 5. glue on pipe cleaner arms. these great vintage ones i found on etsy
step 6. add wings. use german paper scrap wings like the vintage angel i bought, pressed paper or silk leaves look gorgeous, or this year i used tiny ribbon bows.
step 7. add a halo. use metallic paper or pipe cleaners, punch out a paper disc, or use a large vintage sequin.
step 8. add something sweet to hold. a jingle bell, a wreath, a paper banner, some stamens, or even a candle. this one was made from a cut toothpick, painted and glued in a vintage glass garland bead.



these are the sweet angels that were mailed to me.
Anna from Australia made these wonderful wool angels nestled in a little wool nest.
beautiful silver stitching embroidered on their wings.... lovely!


Ronnie from Australia made this delicate and lovely paper angel cut out, just stunning!


and here is her crocheted angel chorus...



Margaret sent these glittered angels with the darling faces and sparkling halos...



and this adorable snow angel was made by Angie in Wisconsin~


so sweet! hope you are all having a lovely week baking, sewing, decorating, caroling, and loving your dear ones.
warm wishes for your holiday, julie

paper mache class with terri brush....

there were a few snowflakes falling this afternoon when i finally caught a minute to take some photos of the projects i made at my paper mache class with terri brush.
this little snowman necklace has a glass bottle filled with vintage pearls and mica snow. its so tiny the whole thing measures 1-1/2 inches tall!

i am still a beginner working with clay, it is such a fun change from fabric--i just love it! in fact i have been having so much fun i decided to sign up for terri's online holiday workshop that starts today!


here is the jolly santa box i made. he is holding a tiny bell next to the little pink bottle brush tree that started my whole tree dying extravaganza...
i didn't do a very good job gluing everything down before i soldered the box and now santas hat is shaking around inside... oops...
i like how the soldering finished off the edges though. it just doesn't come off for hat fixing :)


so i decided to leave the glass front off this snowman. he has a little bottlebrush wreath collar, a glittered snowflake hanging beside him, and a wee little bottlebrush tree all decorated from top to bottom to keep him company.
the little tree was a vintage earring i rescued. (that thing would have been scratchy!)


the outside of the box is decorated with crepe paper ruffles, vintage trim, and a little lacquered holly leaf sprig.



lorraine had a beautiful tree on her landing that was decorated with little plaster angels. i was so taken with them i created a couple of my own. dusted with mica they turned out so lovely. the next ones i make i am going to add little hangers to the top so i won't have to drill them.



the two of them are very different but i like them both.



here are some of the gals in my class and their pieces. cute em and her santa.


shannon with her lovely piece.


terri helping aimee with her box.


the gorgeous box olga made with her paper mache queen.


deb with her darling snowman.



these two images are by lorraines daughter in law. such cool faces.




and here is terri's snowman that was on the counter all decked out in glittered glass dome for inspiration. it was a wonderful 2 days at your workshop terri, thank you!

a beautiful mess....

i blame lorraine, she gave us all the sweetest tiny pink bottle brush tree to use in our paper mache class with terri brush this past weekend at her lovely home. i tucked mine in with a wee santa and then i had none :(

i came home saturday night to a quiet house and promptly made a beautiful mess...
got out every bottle brush tree i had and bleached and dyed them all. next morning i had blue fingers, a pink countertop, and all these pretty trees!
i dont' know if i can stop....

can't wait to post photos of everything we made.

artful thursdays #29 spun cotton snowman winter shadowbox tutorial

this little spun cotton snowman just stole my heart away! i couldn't even wait till after halloween to make this little scene... i used lots of little pieces from my holly jolly decorating kit to make this winter shadow box, just listed today in my etsy shop.

i first saw these boxes by tim holtz decorated for a birthday treasury swap my friend amy at inspire co hosted.
i just took one of them to decorate my little winter scene.

step 1 paint the inside two side walls and ceiling of box with acrylic paint
step 2 cut paper scraps to fit the back and bottom of the box. glue in with a glue stick.


step 3. cut squares of paper to glue to the top, sides and outside back of the box.
i think it helps to put the glue right on the box and smooth the paper over it, trimming the ends off if necessary.


step 4. glue 4 round beads to the bottom of the box using a generous amount of tacky glue. let the glue dry a while before turning your box over.


step 5. for the top half-medallion decoration cut a paper circle to reinforce the foil garland. fold it in half and glue together. gut a piece of foil garland and glue it in a fan shape over the paper circle. glue in place the holly leaves, tinsel nest and glass garland bead.



step 6. dig through your pretty trims and cut 3 pieces to go around the two sides and bottom glue in place.


step 7. now glue in place your foil half medallion. you may need to support it in place for a few moments until it dries.


step 8. make a tiny winter flag with a piece of book paper glued around a paper wrapped wire and topped with a little pearl.


step 9. remove the chenille stem from your snowman and glue inside your winter box.
right next to the winter flag. spread a bit of glue around the bottom and shake some mica flakes inside to coat.



step 10. make a mini bottle brush tree by cutting a piece of bottle brush wreath and trimming with scissors to a tree shape. add a bit of 'snow' to the top cut branches with some white paint. add a few mica flakes to the tree and glue in place.
shake out the excess.


and you are done!
happy winter wishes, julie

an artful thursday with netties gnomes....

today my darling friend renette barnett was hosting her annual witches ball. i stopped by to leave a few things to sell and took some photos of her wonderful witches. she has been making these gorgeous dolls for as long as i have known her, her studio is amazing! it is so fun to go to her house when it is all decorated for the holidays. her website is netties gnomes where you can see more of her work.

i love the painting she has done in her home!


the glass coffin on her piano with a skeleton inside....


a sweet little baby in a basket. love the fur lining and branch of blossoms....


love this great green witch, and how cool to have a moon hanging in your living room!



i made some of these stuffed cats to sell, this is coraline. the little vintage pumpkin cupcake topper in her hand just makes me smile. the tiny half sized cats turned out just darling.



gave this one to my art friend lorraine for her birthday at our witches night out and kept the other one to keep dolores company :)



happy halloween, julie