2013::Crafty & Bright January 1, 2013

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“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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*Welcome to a new year friends!

I fell behind in my postings for most of December

so in an effort to catch-up & and to jump-start the new year

I thought I would post a wrap-up…

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forest findings glitter ornaments

acorns & black walnuts found in le woods

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under construction gold leaf papier mache trinket bowls

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inspired by artist kelli murray’s diy

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I loved gold leafing so much I may gold leave everything!

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a papier mache whale ornament for my new nephew

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homegrown & harvested seed packets

compostable envelopes, washi tape {a new favorite}, stamped & up-cycled paper bags

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wildflower seed bombs

made with newspapers & the bags are compostable too!

the picture on the tag is of our 2012 wildflower patch

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a blooming hippeastrum

just in time for christmas & new year!

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vegan pho & vietnamese summer rolls

mr. d & I celebrate being 8 months plant-strong!

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may your days be crafty & bright

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paper wreath December 5, 2012

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i found this metal ring on a walk the other day & thought i’d whip up an easy wreath…

{you could make one out of craft wire or a wire hanger}

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make a leaf template with a piece of {repurposed} cardboard

and cut out a bunch of leaves.

i used white cardstock & a piece of white glitter paper that i had on-hand…

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hot glue the paper leaves to the metal ring

et voila! a simple & lovely paper wreath for magical holiday decorating…

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chalk talk & painting murals June 19, 2012

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hello everyone!

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firstly ~ i want to send out a hearty THANK YOU to chalktalk: a kindergarten blog

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for mentioning my printable magazine letters {for sale in le shoppe}

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since she mentioned them last week

the orders have been pouring in from teachers worldwide!

kinda neat to think about all those kidlets using them for their language lessons.

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so ~  between sending these orders out & the never-ending gardening tasks

i haven’t had a chance to show you pictures from when my family and i

participated in painting a community mural.

it was so much fun ~ who knew!?

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{the mural when we got there…}

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{scenes from painting a town mural…}

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{a wide view of the mural after we spent several hours painting}

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and the finished mural brightens up a plain fence & non-nondescript corner…

surprise ball! May 16, 2012

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i was thrilled to attempt my first surprise ball

novelties, candies & what~nots wrapped up in crepe paper streamers into a ball.

as the recipient unwraps the layers of streamers

they find the little doodads & gifts.

fun & hilarity ensues!

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so ~ here’s the surprise ball booty i picked out for my friend

all laid out pretty-like

{please note: the smaller & flatter the items – the better}

although it’s probably easier to use crepe paper sheets & cut

i used crepe paper streamers & cut them in half

{cuz that’s all i could find at the time – so plan in advance!}

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here’s the surprise ball all wrapped up!  so cute!

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put a sticker of some sort on the end of the last strip so it doesn’t all unravel

before you loved one opens it! {that would be so sad}

viola! surprise ball!

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i stuck it in a box & sent it on to the birthday boy. yay!

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creative may May 14, 2012

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howdy! sorry i’ve gone m.i.a. again.

between gardening & commissioned art ~ i have been quite busy!

i hope you are having a lovely & creative may!

here are a few recent fun projects…

honoring a big old tree in the front yard {that will mostly likely need to come down very soon}

i planted wildflower seeds around it & whipped up this rustic driftwood star…

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i had lots of fabric scraps & some old jewelry pieces

so i made up~cycled brooches for mother’s day gifts…

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i {finally} made my first “surprise ball” for a friend’s birthday {it was so much fun!}

i’ll show you that later ~ after they open it.

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a big seller last year in my barren river emporium shoppe 

were the forest findings that i collected in the woodlands around le homestead.

unfortunately i didn’t get a chance to collect as much this year ~ but i’ve been putting more sets

together & they should be available in the shoppe in a day or two!

they’re perfect for natural crafts or for filling a vase, bowl, or dish…

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here’s a collage of pics from my BIG project – Le Garden 2012!

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it is a big job but so rewarding.  i have our main garden almost all planted

& gotta get cracking on the  melon/squash/pumpkin/gourd garden!

happy creating!

moss grafitti April 17, 2012

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i’ve had this picture of artist anna garforth creating her moss topography for a while

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with the intention of figuring out how to do something similar.

since living amongst wonderful woodlands~ my obsession with moss grows

& i found this make moss grafitti how-to over at apartment therapy

so i thought i’d finally give it a shot!

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i collected some fresh & wild, woodland moss…

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rinsed & removed the plant matter & junk…

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i prepared the moss mixture according to the apartment therapy how-to’s,

picked out some stone slabs that were hanging around outside

and painted on the moss…

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i didn’t get fancy & use a template like ms. garforth & apartment therapy

i just free-handed it…

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moss is so welcoming…

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i put them in a secluded spot in the woodlette in my back yard

where conditions are perfect for growing moss.

now i just have to be patient & water them occasionally

& hopefully the moss will start to grow.

my plan is to relocate them to the base of a shady tree in the front yard.  stay tuned!

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custom plushies February 7, 2012

are you looking for a new way to display your child’s awesome artwork?

 well check out the clever creations by child’s own studio

they turn your child’s drawing into fantastic plush toys…

from the artist:

“Child’s Own Studio started with a simple idea: to make a recognizable

comfort toy for a 4 year-old boy based on his drawing.  

It was an idea that launched my home-based craft business.

since then, I’ve custom made a few hundred personal softies,

each one as unique as the child who drew it.

The child’s drawing, a wonderful expression of childhood,

is the starting point of the collaborative project.

Details and color choices are reproduced as closely as possible

so that the stuffed toy that arrives in the mail

is immediately recognizable to the child who designed it.  

It’s a fun, rewarding process, and kids love seeing their drawings come alive.“

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here are a few favorites…

prices range between $60 and $130 CAD & production takes about 4-6 weeks

see more plushie creations at the child’s own studio flickr photostream

art on globes January 30, 2012

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i just love these whimsical globes from ImagineNations

by artist wendy gold.

she uses vintage and up-cycled globes & decoupages hand-cut artwork onto them

creating one-of-a-kind global art that will mean the world to you!

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diy::wine cork stamp January 10, 2012

i had to {finally} do some thank-you notes for the christmas/birthday booty

& thought i’d try doing a homemade stamp out of a wine cork.

making stamps out of wine corks is super-duper easy!

and it’s a whole lot cheaper &  more craftacular

than buying those A$$pensive stampers at craft stores.

i love banners – so i thought i’d do a simple banner design…

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all you need:

a design idea, corks, a marker, exacto, some stamper ink {or paint} and notecards…

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draw your design and carefully cut with exacto…

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test your stamps a few times to see if you like & to try out the ink saturation…

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stamp your notecard…

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add a message if you’d like & viola!

see!? so simple & quick to make your own handmade cards

and your recipient will feel extra special just because you’re so crafty {& thrifty}!

have fun!

surprise yourself December 29, 2011

hi lovlies! wow – the holiday season is just flying by, no?

i, for one, am excited to use the new year as a jumping off point

for getting many goals & endeavors accomplished this year.

{artistically & personally}

i’ll just come right out and say this one:  i vow to be a better {and hopefully prolific} blogger.

{whew! there, i said it}

i wish you the best in achieving all of your new year goals.

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{found on pinterest ~ source unknown}

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okay…here are some busies & doings…

you may recall the sweet giraffe head i made for a friend’s new baby room.

so, i made a 1st christmas ornament for him…

{like i said – i’m sticking with the giraffe theme for little xavier}

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{paper mache & acrylic paint}

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and here’s a  project i’ve been meaning to do for quite a while.

my brother is a “deep sea” commercial diver

{see Pro Dive if you’re curious}

and he has a collection of all things vintage diver paraphernalia.

so i made this paper mache relief painting of a vintage deep sea diver under water…

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{2′ x 3′ canvas, paper mache & acrylic}

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the shoppe had a bunch of mustache orders in the last month or two

i don’t know if it had anything to do with the book or what

{but a lot of orders went to europe}

here’s a fan photo i received from one of my customers…

so fun!

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and looky here!

an iPhone app designer in the UK is making

a *ransom note generator* app out of my magazine cut-out letters!

neato!

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hey, check out my clever valentines section  in the shoppe

{i know, i know, “we just had christmas!”}

shake up that droll & unoriginal valentine gift {yawn}
with this one-of-a-kind papier mache heart trinkets {OoohAhhh!}

anyhoo ~ all items are discounted as they are left-over from last year.

have a great day!