You guys know me--I am a sucker for all things modern. I like my furniture minimalist. I like my art abstract. I like my Christmas trees aluminum.
But then there is china. There I come down squarely in the lover-of-all-things-flowery category. When I was a little girl my grandmother started collecting Old Country Roses china, and I was enchanted--by it and her. I still am.
What's not to like about all those cherry reds, vibrant pinks and eye-grabbing greens? Nothing, I say!
That's why I picked those same colors for this bit of inky fun.
Today I did something pretty silly. For the past several years I've had this table in my craft room. It holds my Silhouette machine and my laptop. It's a nice table, but it's really, really low. Whenever I had to use my computer or feed my machine I had to scrunch over.
I finally decided that I needed to buy a real big-girl desk, so for the past couple of weekends, I've been scrounging for one. I finally made Captain America take me around in his pickup today so we could bring one home. And we did.
So I got home, and I went upstairs to move the table out of the way, and it was at that point that I noticed that the legs were expandable, and tje tab;e could stand as high as all my other tables and my new desk.
I kid you not. Sometimes I can be so dizzy!
Speaking of dizzy, I've been folding books like crazy the past couple of weeks, but in between I managed to make this swirly, twirly heart.
There is something about iris folding that just makes me happy. My eyes keeps following one swirl and then find another one and go off in another direction.
This one made with pages from two different dictionaries and two atlases. I love the subtle colors and how they all blend.
In the middle of my heart is you...of course. What else would be there?
If you're looking for a gift for an anniversary, wedding, or your Valentine's sweetheart, it can be yours. Go ahead. I can make more. I have twice the table space in my craft room that I used to. Doh!
Thank goodness the holidays are finally over! I spent last weekend putting up all my Christmas decorations. And then I spent all last week gathering up all the things I forgot to pack. I have an entire table filled with the forgotten stuff. I kid you not.
I was going to put them up in the attic this weekend, but I forgot to do that, too.
Isn't there a pill for that?
Well, it wasn't so much that I forgot to put them up, I just got busy doing something else--like playing with my new fancy-dancy camera that Captain America got me for Christmas. It has more buttons than I know what to do with right now, but this is the year I'm gonna learn.
Here is one of my first pics.
Which reminds me--Valentine's Day is coming up. If you're looking for a book that makes a statement, this beauty is for sale in my Etsy shop.
Or if you're a DIY kinda person, you still have plenty of time to fold your own book just like this one. The pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop, too!
If you've never folded a book before, you can get the Love pattern as part of my Folded Book Kit. The Kit includes instructions and a book to fold along with the pattern. If you're already an experienced book folder, you can also get just the pattern.
It's February! The best month of the year. Why? Because everyone's all full of love and kisses--and HEARTS! Here are the hearts I made for my house this February.
One of the things I love about working with old books is the endless assortment of fonts and page colors. It sounds silly, but I really do get mesmerized by it all. So for this project I decided to show some of them off.
Check out the whites, tans, and ochres. Tight font, loose font. Big letters, tiny letters. I heart them all!
So in honor of Fabulous February, I am introducing <insert fanfare here> my first tutorial!
How to Make Book Page Mosaic Hearts
What you will need:
Three 8"x8" square canvases
Red acrylic paint
Pink acrylic paint
Book pages of various colors
Mod Podge
Cardstock
Paint brushes
First paint your canvas. I used Martha Stewart Glossy Acrylic Paint for this project. I started by painting my canvas a bright valentine-y red.
2. Next, lighten up the canvas with a dribble of pink. I just added a couple of little dots of paint and then...
swiped it back and forth a few times.
3. Then just to add a little more depth I added a couple of dots of red and swiped everything again.
4. Let the paint dry. This takes about an hour, so go do something fun. I went to my son's house and watched his Mastiff try to dance upside down. Her sister, the German Shepherd, was having nothing of it.
5. Once you come home, make a heart template out of cardstock. You can find a heart design on the Internet or in your favorite word processing program. I made mine so it was about 6" across. Print it on the cardstock and then cut it out.
Lay the heart template on the dried canvas and use a pencil to lightly outline the heart on the canvas.
6. Now for the paper part. Remove some book pages from their books and tear them into strips about 1" wide.
I chose pages from four different books and took about five pages from each. I chose pages that were different colors and with different fonts sizes.
Tear the strips into pieces that are roughly 1" square.
7. Next, Mod Podge the paper squares to the canvas. I used the glossy Mod Podge, because. That's right, because.
I started by gluing the first square right below the point of the heart. Then I glued the second one right below that. Alternate the color of the squares as you work your way down to give the heart a mosiac look.
When you get to the bottom, align the edge of one of the squares with the inside edge of the heart.
I found it easiest at that point to continue working along the edge of the heart, lining up the edge of the paper squares with edge of the heart.
When you get to the curve, shape the squares by tearing off little bits at a time until each matches the curve you need.
Once the outline is done, Mod Podge away until you fill in the middle of the heart.
8. Let the Mod Podge dry. It takes about an hour. I spent that time thinking about my recent Hawaiian vacation. If you don't have any memories like that, you can borrow mine. Here's one.
9. Finally, add some romantic lyrics to your canvas. I chose lyrics from Love Me Tender, because it has been one of my favorite songs since I saw the movie of the same name at the drive inn when I was about 5 years old. I mean, c'mon, remember this scene at the end?? Isn't it everyone's favorite song after that?
I cut the lyrics out of a dark grayish-brown cardstock using my fancy-dancy Silhouette machine. I thought about cutting them out of vinyl, but then I asked Babette whether I should use paper or plastic and she said, "Paper. Duh." Well, actually, that's not exactly how she said it, but regardless she was right. That's why I call her for advice. Duh.
The font I chose is called Dancing Script OT, and I think it is swell. I made the first word on each canvas (Love, Love, Never) slightly larger than the other words. And then the words and I had a Mod Podge party all over the canvas.
10. Repeat for the other two canvases.
I'm sorta in love with how these turned out. They really were easy and I was able to finish them in an afternoon. I think I see lots of little book page squares in my future.
Here's some more fun for Valentine's Day. This first one is actually a custom order I made a few months ago. The buyer wanted a special gift for her husband.
I like the way that Love looks in this font. Isn't that a great curve? And the heart-filled endpapers make a great background!
So this particular one is gone, but I can make you one just like it if you'd like. Just let me know on Facebook or Etsy.
So it's the new year and I promised you pictures of all the Christmas frivolity I got to make last month, so here's one neat project. There are some very fun ladies at my church who frequent the choir and like to refer to themselves as the Divas.
One of them commissioned me to make the rest of them books to show her Diva love, and here's what we came up with.
Hearts!
We covered the endpapers with sparkly paper because everyone knows Divas love sparkles...
...and then we added more sparkles because...
we could!
And then we made a sparkly Diva so everyone would know that these books were for very special people.
Hearts would make great Valentine gifts! Especially with shiny red endpapers. Want one? Request a custom order on Etsy.
