skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I stumbled across an old carpenter apron at one of the local antique stores and had to have it. For one, it was from one of the local hardware stores in town and two, it had the word "bird" on it. I love birds, especially bluebirds. Also, the price was less than $5 so the apron found it's way home to my house.
I have amassed a considerable stash of vintage lace over the years and knew I had the perfect one to accent the apron. The lace has a darling strip of blue ribbon running through it which complemented the blue in the apron. I added a doily, some seam binding and a handmade flower that has a vintage earring center. I also added a flower petal with the word "dream" on it from Jenn Hayslip's Once Upon A Dream event, a rhinestone clip and a silver sequin shoe clip. It took me less than an hour to throw it together and I am in love with my boho tool belt. I can't wait to wear it to my next art workshop/event. Since it was so easy to make, I may have to make some more to sell. Anyone interested?
I was so inspired by the latest Paper Source catalog. It featured my second favorite dessert, French macarons. (Cupcakes are my first.) Yum-e! I created this mixed media collage using an image from the cover of the Paper Source catalog. A paper doily, a page from a vintage recipe book and some washi tape was also used. It's fun and quirky and will complement my collection of Everyday is a Holiday pieces perfectly. I don't know about you but their artwork makes me so happy.
Over a year ago, I decided to participate in an arts and crafts show at a local church. I spent hours making hair accessories, jewelry and digital prints for the show. I spent hours on designing the right displays and marketing materials. I spent 10 hours the day of the show setting up, manning the booth and taking it down. I had put so much effort into the show and made less than $80. I was bummed to say the least. I packed up everything and went home.
The hair accessories stayed in my garage in a box for at least a year. Then one night I had a dream of a little African girl dressed in a plain sackcloth type dress wearing one of the hair pins in her hair. She had the biggest smile on her face. Why? Regardless of her dire circumstances (abject poverty), this little girl felt beautiful because she was wearing a hair pin I had created. That's why she was smiling.
When I awoke the next morning, I retrieved the box from the garage and took it to one of my co-workers who participates in Operation Christmas Child. I gave her all of those hair accessories, nearly a hundred of them, to put in the shoeboxes for little girls all over the world. When I told my co-worker the history of the hair bows, she said something very profound. She said, "Marian, you realize these hair bows were never meant to be sold at that craft fair? They were meant for little girls like you saw in your dream. God had a different purpose for these hair bows." Wow. I hadn't thought of it that way.
For my 40th birthday a friend of mine gave me a gift certificate to Thirty-One. It took me for-ev-er to decide on which bag I wanted. Finally (after a couple three months) I ordered a monogrammed dark denim cross body for me to take on my junking adventures. Once I received it, of course, I could not leave well enough alone. The bag was a little too plain Jane for moi.
So, I added some vintage lace and crochet trim as well as a handmade floral pin to give the bag a little more personality. What do you think? Personally, I cannot wait to use it!
Before kids I used to paint quite often. Life happened and now I don't really have the time to focus on my oil paintings. I miss painting but I have found solace in mixed media for now. Mixed media is faster in a way. I can also stop and start as needed which I could not do as easily as with painting. Here is one of my favorite paintings.
I fell in love with the image of this cherub from an old Happy New Year postcard. I adore how the fabric flows around and down. To emphasize the blue of the sash, a blue velvet ribbon was placed down the left side of the canvas. Then the ribbon was overlaid with a length of lace and accented with pearls. Pale pink paper roses are held in the cherub's hand to accent the other pale pink flowers in the piece. A crowned bird flies away in the lower right of the canvas while the word "hope" is highlighted in the background. Another one of my favorite creations.
At my work, employees adopt families at Christmas. We raise money year round by have hot dog or spaghetti lunches, a motorcycle run, raffles and more. Our biggest fundraiser by far is the online auction we have right before Thanksgiving. Our company has a lot of talented bakers so desserts are usually the most bid on items. This year I decided to offer a custom mixed media collage to the winner. The winner would have a one-on-one consultation with me before I began work on the collage. Debra's only specification was to use angels in the piece. Otherwise, I had carte blanche in creating the rest. Below is what I came up with. The image of the three angels really inspired me and was the basis of the whole piece. Debra was so thrilled with the collage that she showed it off to nearly everyone in the office and proudly displays it in her workspace.
Custom mixed media collage are available upon request. Just message me. Thanks for dropping by!
Posts
