Bottle cap wind chime

I've been working on this project for longer than I care to admit. I found that I couldn't work on it in the morning because I was too shaky from numerous cups of coffee to bead and bend jumprings. By afternoon, I just wasn't interested in working on it.


As you can see I put my own spin on it. I used an old CD for the top of the wind chime. I also included beads with the bottle caps for interest. I'm so happy to have actually used a bunch of the caps I've collected over the years as well as all the ones friends save for me.

Now I just need to find the perfect spot for it. Mr. G and I were talking this morning about making a tiki bar on the deck or the patio. I think it would fit in quite nicely!



Here's the original "pin" that
inspired my above creation:

Source: flickr.com via Halle on Pinterest

 

Journal pages

Over the weekend I was inspired to do a bit of art journaling. 

Not sure that it will actually become a "project" but it was nice to play.

 

Sweet package and more flowers

Quite a while ago, after posting my Travels handmade book, Margaret asked me if I had an postcards from Switzerland for my collection. 

Since I didn't, we decided to do a little trade of items from our areas. 

Just look at all the fun items she sent!

I'm really looking forward to using the pretty napkins.

And this postcard is an awesome addition to my collection! 

It's very Scandinavian looking...love that! 

Have I mentioned that I'm 100% Norwegian!?!

Thank you so much Margaret!

I also wanted to share a couple more bottle cap flowers I made the other day.

They are a fun addition to my garden.

UFO's--finished

Since we've been pretty much stuck in the house lately I've been exercising my creative side by attempting to finish some UFO's...unfinished objects.


I have a stack of these type of projects. Some just have a background finished. Others are a train wreck and are in need of a do-over. 

This small canvas board was one of those. Whoa! You can't even imagine how ugly the background on this baby was. I didn't take a before picture...it was too awful.  Now I happen to like it.

This puzzle piece was another that had been abandoned sometime last fall when I ran out of steam after gluing papers to the backs of a dozen or so pieces.  I used my scrap bucket for most of this one.

I'm also working on a mixed-media painting. So far I'm just layering and layering...no photos yet.

Patty's Tip-ins

Quite a while ago Elizabeth facilitated a swap between Patty and I. I was in need of a few more pages for my Quotes AB and Patty was thinking about possibly doing a chunky book.

Just look at the wonderful tip-ins that Patty created!
**I have been so neglectful in actually posting these.**
                          Sorry Patty!!!

This is a gorgeous piece. I've never been good with "white" but here it is done so well.
Such wonderful quotes were chosen.
"The universe sings to those who listen"
Love that...

And just take a gander at this one!!  The colors are amazing together. The texture in the photo pales in comparison to the real deal.

The quote:
"Happiness belongs to those who are easily contented."
            ~Aristotle

Patty has included one of her little nests that I admire so much.

Patty gave me free reign to do whatever came to me at the moment for the chunky pages.
Sweet!
I'm pretty random most of the time so that suits me just fine.
Since I forgot to actually take photos before sending them off to her...she was kind enough to photograph them for me.

And if that wasn't enough...she sent a wonderful package of "goodies" to play with. Although it wasn't planned...when I looked through the lens of my camera...look what I saw.

A Heart! 

It was a gift from the heart from Patty!
Thank you my dear.

Quote pages

After a little nudge...I thought I'd show some of my pages. Some of these have been shown on the blog before quite a while ago. The rest were made in my pre-blogging days.

I'm only showing my pages as I didn't ask permission from the others to display their work.


Please forgive the weird formatting...not sure whats up with the pictures and why they won't go where I want them!

Illustration Friday: Warning

When I saw the topic for Illustration Friday this week I knew I had the perfect ATC.

A little bit of luck

Another fabric collage!

These are definitely going to be something you'll be seeing more of. Love all the texture and movement you get with all the layers.

You can find this one in my esty store.

Sneak peek at something new

I felt totally inspired this morning...I'm sending this off to a friend who reads my blog so I'm only going to show a little snippet or two until it arrives.

Friday Freebie

This week I'm sharing a couple of images that would make great background or accents to your artwork.

Check out the price at the top of the first image.  I'm sure at that time $3 was a lot of money...and a cabinet card photo was a luxury to be afforded only by the wealthy.

Friday Freebie

I think these would make interesting backgrounds for ATC's. 

Another use could be on a greeting card for a man. It's always a little harder to find something masculine.

No matter how you choose to use these images...Enjoy!

                                           Click on image for larger version.

Friday Freebie

This week I'd like to offer two images for your personal use. 

One postcard with writing and another blank.

I'd love to see any work you've made using any of my free images.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Glass Bead Magnet project

For December, UHU sent me some glass beads, magnets and twist & glue to create some more glass bead magnets.

These glass beads were about 1/2 the size as the ones I had previously used. It was fun finding different words and pictures to use with this size.

Go check out the other design team members magnets as well on the UHU blog.

Random Inspiration

This entire book used scraps of book pages glued to the board book in a random fashion. I then use paint, stamps, markers, correction fluid and colored pencils to create my backgrounds.
This is a Kelly Rae Roberts technique that I have absolutely fallen in love with.

Before becoming a member of the UHU design team, I used to think gel medium was the only glue that I could use for this technique. After getting my sample glues, I discovered that the UHU twist & glue works perfectly! No more messed up brushes or the oh so wonderful...walked away and left the top off the jar of gel medium. I was famous for that one. Did I mention I'm easily distracted...?

I tried something a little different with the spine. I sewed 2 scraps of fabric together using decorative stitches on my machine. I put a couple of large eyelets near the top so I could attach some fun fibers and charms. I used the UHU twist & glue to attach the fabric spine to the front and back covers.

I love how it turned out!

Dream world

I love playing in this board book. I've been using a Kelly Rae inspired background technique on all the pages. The book has no other theme or direction. Maybe I should call it Random Inspiration. Hey, I like that!








The little girls came from a sewing book. The watering can girl reminded me a Alice in Wonderland. It all came together in my mind after that.






It feels a little trippy to me. All it needs is the caterpillar with his hookah.

Treasure box

I have no idea what or how or even IF I'm going to use any of these items but I put them all together in my own little treasure box.


Just look at the tiny little glasses! Real glass lenses.


An itty-bitty sterling silver spoon...


A mini pocket knife.


Treasures.