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. . .

wonderland

i'll set up a tea party and we can sit in the sun on a threadbare quilt and drink lemonade in tall vintage glasses.
we can listen to the little girls with their dolls on the grass and remember wonderland.

one last valentine. . .

just before i put all the valentine things away i couldn't resist using the vintage image i found this year to decorate some little whitman sampler boxes. here they are all dolled up. after the chocolate is all gone some sweet vintage treats!
after checking out this gorgeous basket by Lilia i am definitely ready to start making things for easter!

black and white, then red. . .

what a great relaxing weekend i had!
i worked for hours reorganizing my studio, sorting through fabric and paper and making piles of things to trash, recycle, and list on ebay. i still have a ways to go and am hopeful for some shelves, but i am thrilled today. my studio looks very inviting with the southern sun streaming in reflected off a new blanket of snow. it is almost blinding, but great natural lighting for photography.

i went to a wedding reception friday and was out of wedding cards, so in about 2 minutes flat i made this tag for the gift out of little bits i had organized in a cool anthropology box on my desk just for such an occasion.
the black and white flocked paper was from target, i wrapped a big bow of pale grosgrain ribbon i just found at the thrift store (a whole spool!) then tied my tag on the gift. it was so fun to take my present to the wedding, everything was black tie fancy with red and pink roses.


also thrifting this weekend i found a mate to this suitcase. the little red train case i found up in salt lake and have loved storing my vintage jewelry bits in it. when i brought the big case home i was so surprised the color matched perfectly. i filled the big one with my wool felt collection. it is so much more fun to open up a cool suitcase and dig through for a treasure than to lift the lid on a storage box don't you agree. . .

tasty wool felt

i have always been a sucker for wool felt.
it simply drips with color, feels so soft in your hand, and sews like a dream!
i am seeing wool felt everywhere i look now. these tasty samples are from ornamentea, this very cool store that has stocked everything i would have picked for my own store.

these make-make kits were in the emmacreation booth at CHA. darling little felt purses.

and here are some gorgeous felt purse patterns from noni.

to celebrate sending off a big project yesterday i bought a lovely bundle of hand dyed felt pieces in spring colors and plan on sewing a bit tonight.

love, chocolate, and kisses

i love being a teacher on valentines day, sending home each child with their decorated valentine boxes stuffed full with cards and treats. i still remember sitting at my desk by the window making a big valentine heart in 2nd grade. it was as big as my desk and opened to hold valentines as they were delivered. it was covered with construction paper hearts and crepe paper ruffles. i think that i why i chose such a cutsey image for the valentine postcards i made for our exchange.
i made 10 of these valentines and sent them off to far away places like New Zealand, France, and Lithuania. I hope they all arrive.
yesterday i got a surprise valentine from laurie !
so sweet and the little bag of goodies were fabulous, i love the vintage cream and pink trim.
also this week a very cool valentine from lilia , it arrived in time for the day! the tag is amazing close-up.


wishes of love, chocolate, kisses and big heart shaped valentines for all. J.

suitcase dr suess style

i was junk shopping at my favorite antique mall and found an old doll suitcase and this 1959 dr seuss book "happy birthday to you". the book is quite worn, but i even like the red tape along the side. i have always liked the imaginative creations of dr seuss and was determined to try to cover the suitcase with seuss-land images.

after checking alibris to make sure that the book wasn't valuable i went to work planning the front and back of the suitcase and selecting the images i wanted on the sides. it took more planning than i excpected and lots of detail cutting of the creatures. i started with the front of the suitcase modge podging the background image, a full page spread, and then added cut outs over the text and anywhere the images looked fun. i even decopaged on the inside of the trunk over some of the worn white and blue star paper.
you can tell a little from the side view that you have to plan which edges will fold over to the top to keep the design flowing around the sides. some old train cases have this wonderful stitched edging that would break up the image for you perfectly.

to protect the suitcase i tried a very cool acrylic latex clear coat. it clouds a little and then dries clear. you can't over work the stuff though or it pulls up the modge podge. just brush in on thick and let it dry overnight. i did three coats over the outside and noticed the clear coat even looks great if you get a little on the hardwarde. the final finish is glossy and tough without any stickiness!


so maybe soon i can download everything from CHA for a full report. . .

a week with candice

at the beginning of the week my friend candice sent me this fabulous package . such a bundle of lovlieness!
the blue sash is tied around the greatest funky apron. the collaged card on the left is sewn paper and fabric and there is a stack of beautiful napkins tied with lace and secured with a rhinestone pin.
then our art group met at candice's house for a wonderful dinner and a whole evening with art and friends. when we arrived she had a table set up in front of the fire for us to work at. i had to wander around and look at every beautiful thing she has arranged in her home. a magical winter display set up in the entry and her office was filled with so many cool things to see. it was all so inspiring.
candice put together a little kit for us to get started on. inside was a gorgeous blue box with a page from a bird book, a collection of twigs and feathers from nature, and other lovely bits to decorate with. this is how four of them turned out.

this is only the second time our art group has met. already i feel such a connection to these girls. thank you to each of you, sherri, sue, candice, rena, and amanda for such an amazing evening! i really can't wait for macrame rings everyone. . .

birthday fairy

the birthday fairy is officially stopping by here to wish my sister kris the happiest of days! i am hoping you made it to your cabin retreat and celebrated both of your birthdays with a bit of chocolate vegan cake covered in festive candles.
a package is on its way, but i won't post a picture just in case you are looking before you get it!



the big flower on the left is quite the yummy flower i found at my fav antique store, a piece of grannys wallpaper is the background (still in her house also), the card i bought from misty mawn
and the tiny box has a surprise in it for the birthday girl! now you are intrigued.

the birthday fairy is the first of my attempts to remake the little vintage cotton figures that were orriginally made as christmas ornaments. i have sent away for some fiber samples to see if i can match the little ball of fluff i found at a vintage store. i love the color and the loft. i am also using vintage cotton pipe cleaners for the arms and legs.