Art Medley

I finished up the sale this weekend. I think it went pretty well - but more on that later.  Right now I want to tell you about a cool thing that I was asked to participate in (while I was working the art and garden sale on Saturday)!

It's called "Art Medley". It is an incredibly great fundraiser for Fredrick Arts, Inc. in Fredrick, Wisconsin - whose mission is to enhance the appreciation and production of art in our area.

Art Medley goes like this:

An artist is given a wooden shadow box (I think it's about 10" x 10" or thereabouts). The artist is asked to create anything inside that box that they wish - with whatever medium they wish. The art must fit inside the box with the exception that it can protrude from the front of the box.

All the boxes are put together to create a wonderful piece of work and is displayed at different venues throughout the summer. The boxes are then individually sold - but the buyer does not know which box they will receive. They are randomly distributed and the buyers are pleasantly surprised at which box they end up purchasing.

I think it's such a great, creative idea - and am tickled-purple to be asked to participate!

I'll keep you updated!

Check out Art Medley 2010. (The photo only shows a small portion of the pieces.)

Photo taken from Fredrick Arts, Inc.

What I've Been Up To, Part 3 - The Final Chapter

The Art and Garden Sale is starting today! If you're in the area - stop on by.

I got my table all set yesterday. I'm ready to sell, sell, sell!  :-)

So, what else might you find at my table?  I'm glad you asked....

Pin cushions made with knitted and felted "bowls" as their base.

More pin cushions.

Peeps. Of course.



And more peeps.  Look at the face on this one....just hoping to be adopted!

Big honkin pin cushions made with recycled wooden bowls as their base.

Little Miss Doorstop. (She has an actual repurposed brick in her belly for strength and stability. I think she needs an antacid!)

Flower stems.



What I've Been Up To, Part 2 - The Lavendar Tree

As promised, here's a look at some of my other recent wool projects for this weekend's sale.

Hmmm....I don't recall exactly, but I think I made a little over 20 flower-power-pillows!  Something that I did differently with this group of pillows, is incorporate some knit/felted flowers that I had done earlier this year during the cozy-warm-inside-because-its-really-cold-outside days of winter. I was quite pleased with the results - and ended up using most of the flowers I made. Guess I better get knitting again soon!

The following are different flowers on some of the pillows. Enjoy the little wool-garden tour!

The next photos show a group of pin cushions that are made with recycled tea-light-tin-holder-lids. (Did you follow me with that description?)  Just like the Snapple pin cushions I previously made, I spray painted the metal lids and used them for the base of the pin cushion. It's quite fun making these little buggers!  One of my Etsy customers who purchased a Snapple Pin Cushion, said she got hers for her granddaughter. What a great idea - for little hands to have a little pin cushion!

What I've Been Up To, Part 1 - The Lavendar Tree

I think I've been busy getting ready for the Art and Garden Sale this weekend.

I say that I "think" I've been busy - because it sure seems like I've been busy working on my wool, but when I pulled it all together on Monday evening to mark it for the sale, it didn't seem like I had enough product. I guess that's the it's-never-quite-enough part of me talking. Also, it's always a little difficult participating in a new sale because I am never quite sure of the expectations for that particular event - so, of course, the first thing I do is question myself.

However, rather than frantically working up until the very last moment (which often is what I typically do), I've decided that, this time - it will be enough.....good-enough, product-enough, quality-enough. Is that what they mean by enough is enough?

Anyway.....here's a little peek at some of my sale items for this weekend.

First, I wanted to have a few low cost items. I decided a simple little owl key chain might be nice. I used a thicker wool for these and pieces of recycled leather for the eyes. You can't see it in the photos, but I also used a "seam" piece of wool (sewn securely to the top of the owl's head) as a loop to hang the actual key ring on.

Then - sometimes I get a great wool sweater to felt, but it's incredibly thick. For many of my projects, it's difficult to work with that thick of a fabric. However, I was pretty tickled with myself for deciding to create some functional-fun coasters out of the otherwise unused felt.

I simply cut felt circles and began sewing a continuous spiral onto each circle piece (boy, they take a lot of thread!) - I made a sets consisting of 4 coasters. I then tied each set of coasters with a thin twine and adorned with two leaves with eyelets.

Since the sale is being held at a coffee shop/cafe, I think coasters will be a nice fit. Imagine them paired with a great bag of coffee beans as a nice gift for your favorite coffee drinker!

I'm hoping that they are a hit - and if so, I'll make a few for my Etsy shop. (I really love the striped ones!)

Stay tuned, next time I'll share a bit more of what I've been busy with!

Scratch and Sniff

I wish you could scratch and sniff these photos. If you could, you'd smell the sweet fragrance of lilac...and purple.

I wonder who named lilacs, lilacs. Was the flower named after the color or the color after the flower? Whichever direction it went - it was right.

 

Finding An Old Lid

I was watching an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies this week (yes - I love that show!).

Miss Daisy Mae (Granny) Moses was disgusted that some of Elly Mae's kittens were laying in one of her dresser drawers - on top of some of her best nightgowns that were part of her "hope chest". Jed asked her why she needed a hope chest at her age. She responded, "Just because the pot is busted up, don't mean you can't still find a lid to fit it." 

Ha - she cracked me up! You can learn a lot from that gal.  :-)

Irene Ryan in her younger years (I have never seen a photo of her as a young woman! She's adorable!). Taken from tvrage.com.

Irene Ryan as "Granny". Taken from tvrage.com


Hmmmm.....sometimes I wonder if I'll ever find a lid to fit my pot.

All You Need Is Love

My nephew graduated from college in December but just participated in the graduation ceremony this last Monday. What fun!

We're so proud of him - and I'm so proud of my family. We may be a small family, but we have a lot of love! :-)

Steve (my son), Jake (my nephew), Anna (my niece)

Sue (my sister), Ken (my brother-in-law), Jake, Anna, Steve, Aleah (Steve's girlfriend)

Who Knew?

Ya know that old saying - you learn something new every day? It really is true.

Today I learned that you can dye buttons with Rit dye. I never would have thought to even try it. Now the possiblities of Rit dye are even more endless!

Check it out!

Taken from ritdye.com.



Give Me Flowers

Slow at coming - but I do believe the blooming season may be upon us.

I believe I will pause a moment and take a peek at some things blooming around my house...