Monday, October 22, 2012

Wall Art: Dandelion

I enjoy making art with what I have on hand.  Christina and I have both agreed that we tend to be the most creative when we set limits when crafting, whether it is money or time.

I wanted something unique to hang on my wall and I already had an empty frame/shadowbox.  Burlap has awesome texture, but I honestly don't remember why I decided to try painting on it.  




This is not a perfect piece of art by any means, but every time I look at it it makes me happy, and (wistful?).  I saw this dandelion design on a quilt over at V and Co.  and fell in love with it, seriously when I start quilting I really really really want to make this one.  

My artwork was a lot faster than quilting and because it was practically free I won't feel bad when I someday get sick of it and throw it away (I just almost erased "throw it away" because living in the pacific northwest you are bred to reduce reuse recycle! :)  

Here is my little tutorial on how to paint quickly and easily without a brush!  Enjoy!









Looking back I am not sure that this project was worth the full-on tutorial, but it was good practice.  Taking decent pictures is HARD and using picture editing programs can really take hours.  My appreciation for quality blogs goes up every time I got through this process.



Happy Tuesday!

Elizabeth

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

In love with fall: jute pumpkin

This morning I was blessed with a few quiet minutes to brew tea. Delicious smells wafted through the kitchen (I was roasting sweet potatoes). Topping it off was a beautiful view out my kitchen window; a misty fall morning and my sweet little tree with fire red leaves. I am not alone in loving fall, but boy do I love it! The weather, the scenery, the smells...

I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating, but I did create something recently that I liked and wanted to share.



This is a CHEAP craft which is awesome if you ask me.

Here are the ingredients :)



Carvable Foam Pumpkin $1 from Dollar Tree



Elmer's spray adhesive




3-ply Jute


If your smart (unlike me) and don't want to feel like a troll with hairy fingers at the end of the project, I suggest wearing gloves :)

I suggest following the safety precautions on the spray adhesive and doing this project in a ventilated area. Protect your work-surface with something you can throw away (newspaper, cardboard...) and don't wear nice clothes.

I started by spraying the stem of the pumpkin with the adhesive and then wrapped the jute around. Little by little I sprayed and wrapped, until Voila it was done. I should say it took me close to a half hour, but I really liked it!

I added a few burlap rosettes, made by a lovely lady in my MOPS group.



Enjoy this season. 

I am often tempted to let my mind be overwhelmed by what I don't have or what is going wrong. This morning I was reminded to take deep breaths of the crisp air, drink tea, and give thanks for all of the blessings in my life.

Elizabeth