WHAT I FIND INSPIRING RIGHT NOW...

Greetings dear reader!

I have been away due to a horrific dental issue...I'll not sicken you with the gorey details, but suffice to say I have been in too much pain to do ANYTHING but medicate myself and pray for relief. My face is swollen and I believe I resemble Magilla Gorilla...(who remembers HIM, hmmmm?) Anyway, many THOUSANDS of milligrams of antibiotics later, I am feeling some relief...and so I thought I'd let you know what I've found to keep me busy and inspired during these weeks...

As you know, taking my little vintage Camper Mary Lou is a great joy in my life. I have dreamed of our retirement when we will be on the road more than we're not! 

 

Anyway, I have such a love for these tiny spaces...and just SWOON over them being used in photoshoots and such. Have you EVER seen a more beautifully sweet engagement shoot? I LOVE these photos by Shannon Boettcher of fotoNovella

You can see the entire photo story here: Hippies and Hearts . I may try to get something like this together for my youngest son and daughter in love when they come to visit us this summer...

Also, I've been perusing shops that are contained within little campers...SO vintage, SO tiny, SO inspiring! Like the sweet peach Oh So Lovely Shop:

Just look at that little camper! Their shop is wonderful too! Another great find was this: 

Haberdash Vintage...a great little Etsy shop housed in a little vintage trailer! Sweet! I am just so inspired by women (mostly) who find their passion and then create a way to make money doing what they love! My love of travel and all things vintage allow me to live vicariously through these and others (on my sidebar) until we can afford to do the same ourselves! 2.5 years to retirement and counting! WOOT! Check them out when you have time...be prepared tho. It may be HOURS before you come back!

More soon!

Paula Clare

CRAFTY GOALS FOR 2012

Greetings, dear readers!

Well, as many of you know my New Years Eve Craft-A-Long was a bit of a bust....couple the fact of lots of folks not having the time/ambition/money to craft all evening, and the fact that my computer crashed MID Craft-A-Long (ARGH) and you've got an uneventful, crafting fiasco of epic (ok, less than epic) proportions.

SOOOOOOOo, moving on....

This year, I want to be more intentional about my crafting...since I am still in recovery mode from the economic meltdown of 2011 (which shall hencetofore be known as "The Year From Hades") I have to be very selective in what I choose to purchase or create. However, because I want to make more GREEN crafts, I have no excuse when I can repurpose, upcycle and reuse. So, THAT being said, ON TO THE LIST:

1. As many of you know, I have a niece (actually I have several nieces) but one in particular who likes to create for UTILITY. She sews her own clothes, and is something of a lean, mean (not very) green fashion making machine. 

She has an Etsy shoppe: Emileigh's Shoppe, where she creates hair accessories that are made from thrifted, and upcycled goodies. But these lovelies, as great as they are, do not accurately reflect her level of creativity when it comes to making things that are USEFUL. 

I have exactly the OPPOSITE problem...the things I tend to create as art are, as  my dear friend Deb used to say, "Ars Gratia Artis" Art for Art's Sake...no purpose really...just ... PRETTY. Well, THIS year, 

1. I want to make some things that are USEFUL as well as decorative. One thing I'd like to make is some version of a crazy quilt. I'm envisioning something like this...that includes SOME embroidery also, because another thing on my list is...

2. Improve my embroidery skills. I absolutely LOVE samplers...but I either do not have the patience or the nimble-fingered ability to create such lovelieness: How great is THIS?! A "crazy quiltesque" kind of pattern, in the shape of a deer head! Oh how I love it! I cannot fathom my being able to pull it off, tho. Ngaire Bartlam has been a long time Aussie inspiration...her new blog, "Fox and Deer" is chock full of amazing, drool worthy pieces...

Le sigh...if only she lived in the states! I could show up on her doorstep and plead with her to mentor me! (I know, I know, you're thinking, "Those things aren't very USEFUL...." well they WOULD be if I'd put them on a cushion or pillow or in the middle of a quilt or tablecloth, right?) I'd love to have the crazy-quilt deer head on pillow cases.Wouldn't you HAVE to have lovely dreams?

3.  I want to make some type of mason jar lighting for my home:

Maybe for the patio/hot tub area? I even like the ones with "faux fireflies!"

4. I want to create some meaningful wordart for my sisters...LOVE this...

What are YOUR craft aspirations for the new year? Hmmmmmmm?

CRAFT ALONG PROJECT 2: COWGIRL GLAM JUNK JEWELRY!

Okay, Happy New Year to you all! I hope you enjoyed our first little project? This one is equally fun and can be customized to your personal liking...here are a few images to get you started:

 This is my favorite...I just love the way the gals have been colorized...

WE INTERRUPT THIS CRAFT-ALONG FOR A LONG-WINDED EXPLANATION:

My computer died! Right in the middle of the craft along...it died! Just went BLACK! No power, no warning...NOTHING! I was hysterical at about 2 a.m. and awakened the hubs to see if he had any bright ideas as to what happened. We feared the worst...a dead motherboard. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!  I was in the middle of creating JEWELRY for the Craft-Along for crying out loud!? Is there no unwritten law that forbids technological disasters in the midst of CREATING?!?!

We went immediately (Monday, January 2) to the "computer guy" who (like banks, the mail and many MANY other businesses) was CLOSED. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!  I had family come in on Tuesday, so the computer sat DEAD and unattended...but today, the hubs took it to the computer and....glory of all glories, IT"S ALIIIIIIIIIVE once more! It was a bad (dead) power "brick" or some such. Not a dead motherboard as we feared! HUZZAH! SOooooooooo, here I am, to complete this project instructions and the rest...albeit several days later than anticipated. :-(  SO SORRY about that! But now, back to the cowgirl jewelry!

SOOOO after you have printed out your image(s), use mod podge, or any craft glue to adhere the image to the inside of the jewelery...thusly:

The top is just a two sided pre-made metal jewelry "case". The Bottom are Scrabble tiles, painted black and then crystals and french hooks are added. Easy peasy and FUN!

I have a pocket watch somewhere...I want to use the colorful cowgirls in the first image on it...I just can't seem to lay hands on it at this moment...I've torn the craft room apart looking for it :-( . Ah well, perhaps you have an idea for jewelry ? I'd love to hear about it...

COWGIRL ART CANVAS

Greetings cowgirls!

Here's a few free vintage images for our first project. These are actually family photos from a book I've recently published "A Sharecropper's Daughter" Feel free to use them in your projects tonight or whenever!:

You will need a vintage image like these for the main part of your cowgirl canvas. None of these photos are "cowgirl" specifically, but the vintage-y look of them can easily be translated as cowgirl glam!

You will also need waxed paper and an 8.5x 11 piece of muslin, canvas or (light) solid color fabric. Cut a piece of fabric and waxed paper to about 8.5 x 11 (or smaller depending on your canvas size) Also a blank canvas or sturdy piece of chipboard the size of your project (9x12 for this one)

Then, with the shiny side of the waxed paper face down, iron onto the fabric. (The reason for this is to make the fabric stiff enough to run through your ink jet printer, where you can print out the vintage image)

Right click and save any of the above images, then print to size. Make sure your printer is set to QUALITY or PHOTO print settings (extra ink is needed because the fabric tends to absorb).

Feed the fabric "page" through your printer, and when it's done printing, cut to size. Leave the edges ragged and stringy...it adds to the charm! Set aside.

Now to make the background of your canvas. (This was my favorite part!) Using snippets of fabric, trim and old buttons, lace or whatever else you can find, glue, stitch, or even pin a collage of fabric pieces to your canvas as background for the image. As you can see, I used bits of cardboard, mattress ticking, old ric rac, paper, lace and old milinery flowers on mine.

Here are a few photos (not very good ones mind you) of the details of my piece:

One of my favorite details (besides the quote by Annie herself) is the silk strips tied on at the bottom of the canvas. I just used my handy dandy crop-o-dile (if you do not have one, I cannot believe you have lived in the altAred art world this long without...beg, borrow, steal or BUY one...STAT! Handiest tool I own!) Anyway, just punch a line of holes in the bottom of your canvas (mine was one of the cheapy flat canvases, no sides or depth to it) and tie the strips to the bottom. OR if you don't have a crop-o-dile or something that will cut holes easily, just tie the pieces of fabric and hot glue them to the bottom! It's a great trick that adds a unique elegance to the piece...don't you think?

Add vintage buttons, stitch lines (or the real thing if you're ambitious) and voila! Done! A FABulous art canvas made out of leftover supplies. DO share a link and post your creations won't you?

ON TO THE NEXT PROJECT: COWGIRL GLAM JUNK JEWELERY!

NEW YEARS EVE ALL NIGHT CRAFT-A-LONG

Howdy Cowgirls! We are about ready to roll on our New Year's Eve craft along! Here's the list of materials you'll need for our projects...scramble! Times a wastin!

A blank canvas (any size really)
Vintage buttons
solid color fabric (for printing on)
garden variety wax paper
vintage trims (lace, flowers, binding ribbon, whatever!)
junk jewelry pieces (pins, brooches, watches)
glue stick
beacons glue or tacky glue
fabric strips
favorite scrapbook papers
scissors
pens, markers, stamps, ink pads

There are a few more odds and ends...but have these at the ready and you can get started! Will be back at 7:00 to begin our first project! WOOT!


CHAT PASSWORD: COWGIRL