Upcycled Shabby Shrooms Christmas ornaments

I obsessively made 45.

Roses, hung with embroidery cotton and a small button.



Red with white spots, paired with a small german spun cotton shroom and sitting on a clothespin.



Same as above but pink.



Red one in the hibiscus tree:



Made with my childhood bedspread (50 yrs old) which really fell apart last time I washed it, and wine corks which I have plenty of!

Thanks for looking.

Check out some amazing creations at Motivate Me Monday over at Keeping it Simple and at Stephanie Lynn's Sunday Showcase and Thrifty Things Friday at the Thrifty Groove.
Kathy

More flower brooches

I just can't stop folding petals.

What to charge for them is the hard part.



Linking up to Lit and Laundry's Finished for Friday again. Check out the other projects there!

See Wednesdays post for the link to instructions and explanation of my little changes.

Kathy

Kanzashi flower brooches

This is what I've been working on the past couple of days. I found very detailed instructions plus a video to make fabulous Kanzashi flowers. I just did the big flower part and took the easy route by using buttons and what have you for the centers. They are about 3 1/2 inches across.



Making the flowers is fun - kind of like origami with fabric. One thing that I did differently - I didn't iron the first fold after the first flower. So much faster. And it came out exactly the same. I'm not trying to win a contest, just to make some pretty brooches.

Added later: Another thing I am doing differently is I do knot the thread so it is easier to keep track of and I don't accidentally pull it through. I may try leaving the other end on the needle when I tie the final knot. Sometimes it is hard to see.

Let me know what you think!
AND check out other projects at Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, and Finished for Friday at Lit and Laundry.
Kathy

Painting plates to use in garden art

I'm linking up to Bunny Jeans Bunny Hop Party. And the Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence. Check out the other projects!
I've been painting plates lately, mostly small ones to use as centers for my plate flowers:









I've never painted much. It is fun. I'm going to do ivory accent lines on the sunflowery one to make the petals sharper. Pebeo 150 paints. Baking in the oven makes the paint glass-like and hard.

It just occurred to me when I was looking at one of the little cups that they would be very nice Christmas ornaments. I may hang my small painted plates on the tree this year.

The pebeo paints are expensive but the plates are often 25 cents or less! I started with 3 colors, and black pen and a gold outliner. With a Michaels 50% off coupon for one item the total was around $20. If you bought a kit instead of individual you could save even more with the coupon!



Kathy

Another dog outfit

I have mentioned that my little dog gets cold very easily. I found this gap sweater at a thrift store for $4.00. Its cotton, mens XL.

 
I cut one of the arms off...I cut it so that the stitching holding it to the body came with the arm, to help prevent it from unraveling.
 
 
Then I cut along the sleeve side seam starting form the shoulder and moving toward the cuff. I saved enough near the cuff to make a rolled turtle neck and a breast piece. I used another doggie clothing article to measure how far to cut. But you could measure your dog. It needs to open up just before his front legs.
 

Slide it on over his head! Its pretty fashionable don't you think?
I may crochet around the edges to finish it off and perhaps a little flap and button under the belly to help hold it in place. He wore it yesterday in his crate on our trip to Boston. Very comfy for sleeping in the car!

Kathy

I've been painting saucers

Pebeo porcelain 150 paints.

These are my initial experiments, not yet baked in the oven.

I'll post a pic after the cooking. Since the paint is dishwasher safe once cooked, I'm hoping they will last in the garden as plate flower centers.

 

I am not a painter. I wouldn't know what to do with a big plate, but these little saucers were fun! Since the paint is expensive I bought only 3 colors, plus a black "pen" and a gold outliner.

Thanks for looking.

Kathy

Quick dog coat

I'm making a winter coat with a breast piece and everything from a womens XL quilted jacket for Iggie, but I needed a quick coat yesterday. So I had noticed that the sleeves of the coat were basically the right shape for a doggie cape. Here you see I cut out a scoop for his head. The long ends will be velcroed in the front of his neck.



Cut down a neck tie with one end sewn on top middle and the other velcroed across after passing under his tummy to hold in place: Voila!



Some of the edges should be finished, but because of the way the coat was made some of them don't need to be.

Thanks for looking.

Kathy

10 more plate flowers

Now I have 40 new ones. All need hangers attached, not the most fun part of it.





I'm giving the 5 turquoise ones to a friend on Saturday.

TFL
Kathy

Too much glass! Work in Progress

I'm trying to clean out my study. I'm not sure what I will do with these when I'm done, but I'm making plate flowers. Attaching the hangers for so many will be a huge job, but at least I've gotten the glass out of my study! I will also add embellishments to many of them.



TFL
Kathy

Mosaic works in progress

Here is my current mosaic work in progress, sitting on a lazy susan for easy turning. I was using this clay pot upsidedown on my porch as a plant stand. I am using thinset to apply the glass, but I don't trust the cheap clay pot ($12 at Biglots) out for winter, so I will keep it as a plant stand on my porch.
My concept is a luna moth on a tree trunk, and on the back of the tree a little birch tree grows. I'm going to mosaic a saucer and attach it to the top, not sure how that will fit with the theme, maybe just cover it with leaves.





And here are some bricks that my friend Susan and I mosaicked to go into the corners of a planter in our downtown. I call them, Bright Lights Big City Rubicks Cube





Thanks for looking!

Kathy

Iggy is growing up, and I'm having trouble posting comments!

 

Here is little Iggy. He is almost 6 mo. old and weighs 20 pounds.

I have tried to post comments on several blogs such as Stephanie's, and I end up in an endless loop of being directed to the google account sign on page even tho I am signed in and I went to the blogs from my dashboard.

So I'm giving up for a few days! I'll try again and hope the problem is fixed.

Kathy

Mosaic Lamp completed

I took a mosaic class at the local art gallery with a couple of friends last winter. My class project is hanging on our back porch. Since then I've made a little mosaic table. And I've been saving plates with roses on them because my grown up foster daughter loves roses. In my last post, I showed the beginnings of the lamp I am making for her.

Here it is with everything glued on, ready to grout:



And here it is grouted:




She likes it. Yay!

The Process: Its easy, just takes time. Lots of time. I find it very restful, fitting the pieces together. I used the wheeled nippers that I got in my class mostly, to cut the dishes. Then I tumbled the shards in a little rock tumbler with water and a drop of dish soap. The pretty white glass tiles were at HD for $5 /sheet. I cut some of those in advance and tumbled them too. Anything that I cut to fit as I went, I filed the sharp edge. Glued everything down with Weldbond (for inside or covered porch objects only - it is water based.) Then grouted with sanded grout. I wish I had lightened up the grey just a tad. But generally I like it. I also really wanted a 6 sided shade in white, but I couldn't find one (only cream), so I settled on this 8 sided one.

Thanks for looking.

Kathy

Work in Progress: Mosaic Lamp

I have a bunch of lamps from when I used to decoupage them.
I've been collecting plates with roses for a while. And I chopped them up the other day and realized they looked good with the shimmery glass tiles I'd picked up at HD.


So here is an ugly lamp with 6 somewhat flattish sides, and I have the lower half of 3 sides done...


I want to have it done by Wednesday to give as a gift. That means to have it ready to grout by Tuesday. But I had to go into work this weekend, so I'm off schedule!

Thanks for looking.

Kathy

Mosaic Table, new puppy and I'm glad to be back.

I've had to be on line less for a while, but now I'm back. I was scared I wouldn't have any followers left. Thank you for sticking with me.

I'm linking up to Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, check out the great craft projects there!

Here is a mosaic table top that I just finished grouting. My concept is that a bird has flown out of a stained glass window to grab a bug out of the mosaic table. The hunt for dishes to break is a lot of fun. And now when I break something in my kitchen I'm not upset any more because I pick up the pieces and put them in my mosaic box.

Msaicking is a learning process and I hope to keep improving. Next I may mosaic the sides or I may take a break and mosaic a wooden bowl. Note added: Actually I have decided to use the plates I've been collecting with roses on them to mosaic a lamp for my grown up foster daughter who loves roses.

All you need are wheeled nippers, some dishes, and some weldbond glue! I'm not giving instructions because they are all over the web.



AND I have a new puppy, here is Iggy sleeping next to Zorro. As I type this he is next to my other cat Ringo. I feel very fortunate that the kitties tolerate him. He's been a lot of fun.



Here he is on my lap:



Thanks for looking!
I'm off to catch up on some blogs.
Kathy

Best use for Kindle AND Many projects but no camera!

I've somehow destroyed another memory card for my camera so no pics. I just don't feel inspired to post without photos which is partly why its been so long.

The Kindle: Dh got me one for Christmas and it is wonderful for reading in another language if you are studying one! I bought a Spanish dictionary for Kindle from Amazon and made it my primary dictionary. Then I downloaded some books in spanish. Amazon has some free books and then there are places like Manybooks. I like to read children's books for the moment because of the more limited vocabulary. So I am reading The Secret Garden (El Jardin Secreto) in spanish. The great part is that when I move the cursor to a word that I don't know, the Kindle looks it up in the Spanish Dictionary! No more flipping through books while I (attempt)to read in Spanish! (It misses a few words and doesn't recognize verbs if they have pronouns atattached to the end, but generally speaking it is great.)

I also have Isabelle Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and other spanish writers loaded in. But I have an idea, probably not true, that with books that I loved so much as a child the words will stick with me better. We'll see.

Projects: I am mosaicing a little table, crocheting a scarf and painting trees on a closet door. Hopefully will have picture capability back soon!

Kathy

I made a fringed zippered pillow.. AND use what I have self-challenge!

I'm hooking up to Whatever Wednesday at Someday Crafts! Check out the fun projects there.

 

I really should have gotten longer fringe for such a big pillow. Well live and learn! This is just regular cotton fabric, not upholstery fabric. I'll see how it holds up. Hoping since its in the woman cave, it will be more gently used.

I decided to write a tutorial for one of those how to sites just for fun. I'll post the link here when I finish it. I'm sorry its not done yet, had those camera problems yesterday.

The longest I've ever left my Christmas tree up was .....

Valentine's Day!!

So Dolly is the latest, but Shawna and I are also in the February club. I took mine down this past weekend this year.

I had trouble with my camera yesterday - took hours to recover my photos from a defective card which I have now thrown out. I finally gave up and bought a recovery program because this has happened before. I have to say it worked amazingly well.

January and February I am doing a use what I have craft challenge. My pillow uses a zipper from grandma's zipper box which I was lucky enough to inherit. I've got some crochet projects lined up AND even though I really really want to go buy new yarn I am not going to. I've just got too much stuff and I need to use some of it up, to make room for more, of course.

Gotta go shovel show! And thank goodness I can walk down to work.
Stay safe if you are experiencing this storm. Its beautiful I must say.

Kathy

PS The pillow is Laura Gunn fabric. This is part of a lovely larger print line for Michael Miller.

My Christmas Tree is still up!

I've been obsessively playing with the Kindle that dh got me for Christmas. I was in a lull from studying spanish, but now with Spanish books and dictionary loaded I can read and just move the cursor to words I don't know, and with luck, the dictionary recognizes them and tells me in a little screen at the top or bottom of the page.

Plus I've been buying or loading free books. Yikes! Its a time sink!

Meanwhile my beautiful pillow fabric sits waiting to be sewn.

I'm making a commitment to myself to post the newly made pillows and other things next week, Tuesday. I do so much better with deadlines.

I didn't see one of my friends until after Christmas, and Ididn't have the right size box for her gift so I made a little house with a roof that opens up out of some old file folders. I glued stones on the eaves so the box would stay closed. Little houses could be decorated differently for other occassions. Here it is:

 

 

What's the longest you've left up your Christmas tree? I'll tell my date next post.

Kathy