I Spy.....

This is MY fl0ral Album. My pers0nal pr0ject fr0m a 0nline w0rksh0p by the 0ne and 0nly KC Willis. This is my 2nd pr0ject fr0m her w0rksh0ps. My challenge with this pr0ject was t0 use 0NLY “stuff” I had 0n hand, since I have s0000 much JUNK! G00D junk, 0f c0urse. This is s0mewhat 0f an adult versi0n 0f “I Spy!” It t00k me f0rever, with stuff scatter EVERYWHERE, t0 c0mplete this. I have t0 admit…I’m addicted! I c0uld just make pages and pages and pages, but I still have 2 m0re pr0jects t0 tackle.
The c0ver, 0f this adventure, has a sterling and fresh water pearl bracelet that I abs0ultely L0VE, but it br0ke. Why didn’t I just take it t0 a jeweler and get it fixed? Well, it’s strung and I figured they’d have t0 take it all apart and kn0wing me, I’d just never get it d0ne. Yes…I pr0crastinate when it c0mes t0 fixing br0ken jewelry…we just w0n’t g0 there. S0, I added it t0 the c0ver al0ng with all the 0ther g00dies. The “M” is actually a m0n0gram fr0m a linen napkin. The napkin under the d0ily it’s 0n is 0ne 0f th0se m0n0gramed napkins. I screwed it up. I sewed it 0n backwards! I panicked until I f0und I had an0ther 0ne. I just cut that “M” 0ff, glued it 0n the d0ily and napkin and I was g00d t0 g0! The rest is just vari0us trims and lace. The 0ld pink c0vered butt0n is the cl0sure f0r it. Again, s0me chenille trim that just wraps ar0und the butt0n.

As y0u 0pen the b00k, y0u’ll see I wanted t0 tie the 0pp0sing pages t0gether. The next tw0 are all ab0ut birds. The needle p0int birds I f0und in a bag fr0m a thrift st0re. Wh0 c0uld disp0se 0f s0mething s0 beautiful that they had put s0 much time in? I sh0uldn’t be asking, because it’s my gain! I had t0 use it…frame it with seam ribb0n. Added vintage wall paper, c0rregated cardb0ard, a small d0min0, etc. The 0pp0site page has an 0ld lace dresser scarf, fl0cked paper, trims and butt0ns and a stamped nest. That didn’t stamp well, s0 I had t0 draw 0ver it with a sharpie and put my 0wn twist 0n it.

Ahhhh…the “w0man wh0 f0ll0ws the cr0wd…..” A qu0te by Einstein. She wears a single fl0wer in her hair…a page taken fr0m an 0ld b00k. Again fl0cked paper, vintage fl0cked wallpaper, vintage millinery, cr0cheted lace, and trims. There’s a tag taken fr0m a bl0use I b0ught. I’ve been saving tags kn0wing that they will scream at me 0ne day t0 be used in s0me pr0ject. I made the fl0wer fr0m a strip 0f linen, an elastic hair band, and butt0n 0ff 0f a shirt. Last, but n0t least, I HAD t0 frame her face!

“Fl0wers are l0ve’s truest language”…0ld chenille, millinery fl0wer and cr0ceted trim. The p0stcard ph0t0 was transferred 0nt0 fabric and I wr0te the q0ute by hand. I sewed it t0 fabric, then paper, then chenille. It’s all ab0ut the layers. Just rand0m stitches. I didn’t want anything t0 be perfect, as I am far fr0m THAT! The 0ther page is a keepsake page with a p0cket f0r cards, letters…whatever. I have a card fr0m a fl0ral delivery f0r M0ther’s Day fr0m my daughter. Name 0f the fl0rest…”Fl0ral and Hardy”…L0VE IT!!!

An0ther fun qu0te ab0ut 0riginality. N0thing is 0riginal. We steel fr0m 0thers f0r inspirati0n. Very interesting th0ught and I just really liked it. I hand wr0te it and stitched it 0n a piece 0f beautiful M0da fabric I had in my “stash.” The 0pp0site page c0uld be 0ne 0f my favs. That pe0ny is a paper napkin. It is sewn 0n a thick piece 0f lint fr0m my dryer! S0me0ne f0rg0t t0 clean the vent and this is what I pulled 0ut! I th0ught, “C00L! I can use this!”

Next page…She has a secret and she’s N0T TELLING!!! I l0ve t0 swing and she just has that l00k 0f pure bliss 0n her face. She is stitched 0n a 0ld “Can0n” kitchen t0wel fr0m the 50’s. There’s an earring, magnet, br0ken piece 0f necklace, even a c0ffee stained used dryer sheet! D00dads! L0ts 0f d00dads! The writing 0pp0site is ab0ut 0ur j0urney as a human being and d0ing things 0ut 0f 0rder…ME…MY LIFE!!!

The last pages have the c0l0rs that s00the my s0ul! The shades 0f the 0cean. M0re crazy stuff! A piece 0f an egg cart0n, stick pins, a playing card, b00kmark, crepe paper, 0ld hankie…even a little “Thank y0u!” n0te pad, just in case any0ne w0uld like t0 leave a n0te after l00king at this album.

“There are n0 days in life s0 mem0rable as th0se which vibrated t0 s0me str0ke 0f the imaginati0n ~~~~~ RWE

I h0pe this inspired Y0U t0 see “stuff” in a different light and use what y0u have. It’s a great way t0 “spark” y0ur imaginati0n! Thanks f0r dr0pping in……

Children are the hands....

I recently discovered the wonderful artwork of K.c. Willis. The moment I saw it, I fell in love. I then discovered she offered online classes and I was over joyed with delight!!! More than that...I've come to know her a bit, via the wonderful world of cyber space and she's giving and fun and has this wonderful way of looking at objects that most of us would just toss away. Well...not me! I have more junk, but now I'm seeing it's not exactly the "junk" I wish I had...rats!







As you've probably guessed, I signed up for her collage workshop, along with another class. The workshop was a pre-requisite to the other class. I can see why. There's a lot of information and instruction regarding technique and such. I had to watch it a few times to absorb it all.





My goal with this project was to only use what I have. No more buying! Use up what I have. I thought, "oh this will be easy"...not when you want MORE! lol! I stuck to my guns and this is how it came out....VIOLA! I must admit, I'm very happy with it. I'm sure I had moments where I spent too much time "analyzing" instead of just "doing."


I hope you enjoy the layers of love I put into this collage. You should see the MESS I turned my dining room into, not to mention my office/studio. I can barely walk in there. I'm thankful I have a husband who doesn't mind the mess, because he loves to see me creating again. It's been a long time.



Thank you, K.c. for sharing your gift of collage with me and the rest of the world. You are truly an inspiration!

A Perfect Day

Last summer, before I got sick, I paid for 2 online classes in mixed media. I started one and never even got to the other. Since then, the website has shut down and has opened up into something new. Those 2 classes lost forever. This is what I started in the first class and have NO idea what I was supposed to do with the rest of it! lol It's been sitting in a closet just waiting for me to attack it.




I pulled out some tricks of the trade and just started putting things together. I have so much junk! My goal is to use up what I have. No more buying unless it's a supply I need like glue, ink, etc. I have a huge jar of gesso, so I'm happy about that!





I just started playing and laying things out on the canvas. I found the tree image on the Internet and the other images came out of an old book, as did the print the birds are made out of. I used a really cool technique of putting clear packing tape over the printed page. Then you run water over it and rub the paper off and the print stays on. I then took my bird template and cut them out. I really like the effect it gives to the piece.






I used pieces from an old sheet music. The #5 is stamped from an old printer's block I have. The "stick" with the jewels, which are old earrings, is an old "cake tester" that my bff sent along with all the lace, from my previous post. The piece at the top is also from that collection. The costume pearls are an old necklace. I used a charcoal pencil and distressed ink to highlight and give depth here and there. The last thing I did was paint some melted beeswax all over it.



I hope you enjoy my "A Perfect Day to Fly"...as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Lace...lace...and more lace!

It's 4am and I SHOULD be sleeping, BUT, I'd much rather read through endless blogs and search for creative ideas and on and on and on....

My wonderful bff, Janet, who lives in Southern California, is the Queen of estate sale and garage sale finds. (Love you, girl) I happen to be the lucky recipient of such finds..well, some of them, anyway. Last week, I get this box from her stuffed with lace...lots of lace. All kinds of lace! Some pieces look like they've been cut off of a garment. Maybe the hem of a dress or a collar. I'm a lover of many things and lace is at the top of the list. I will let the photos speak for themself.



Isn't this old paper spool of lace to die for? I wonder what my first project will be with this lace. Hmmmm...any ideas?