Spring Fling

So I had a fling with spring today. It was warmer then it's been yet (mid 50's= t-shirt weather here) and I spent a little bit of time outside. The tulips are starting to poke out of the ground and the trees have buds. Spring is truly on it's way. At LAST!!! So to urge it on a little I decided to make a couple of spring-y pieces of wire wall art for my etsy shop. I just listed two of the items, the third is still in the works.

Here they are- a flower,

 

and a little bitty bird on a branch- So Sweet!

 

 Happy Spring Everyone!!!

It's all good... New Wire Art from Etsy Artists

Wire and fabric birdcage by PenniesForPets

It's been a while since I've searched Etsy for items like mine. When I started there were only 3-4 wire artists with stores and mine stood out because of the fabric. But today when I casually did a search I was kind of horror struck with all the marvelous gorgeous wire art out there now. :)

By Alive Wire on Etsy

I mean I know that there are other artists working with wire, and our styles are different, but the fact that I had market competition sort of threw me for a loop. Now if you're a jeweler, or illustrator you are completely shaking your head at me right now. I can feel it. ;) You're used to the market being larger,but it's something I haven't really had to deal much with.

Threesome by MyWireArt on Etsy

It's made me...
1) want to show you all the pretty pretty things by new artists
2) up my number of new designs and
3) take my shop a little more seriously.

To be honest, since I finished up my last big project I haven't put a ton of work into the wire. I needed a break and there are so many other wonderful medias to work in. It's just so tempting! I know you all understand the pull of the new.

Dress by WireDreams on Etsy

I really really do love all these works that I've posted and I think the artists are amazingly talented and I'm eager to see more of their work. I thought you might be too. I also know that competition is good, that there's room enough for everybody, I should hope that wire art is on the rise with my book coming out, AND that it's all good... But I thought I'd share. :)

Wall Flowers- New Art in Etsy Shop!!!

I had an idea a while back for a line of home decor accents called wall flowers. Little whimsical flowers you could buy in a set and then arrange to hang around a special photograph or art. They would hang simply- with just a finishing nail and add a sense of sweetness, uniqueness and of course- WHIMSY to your home decorating.

Sometimes when we have ideas and we envision something the reality just isn't the same. When I finished hanging these little blooms on my wall this morning and stepped back, I was so pleased with the result. They're sweet little embellishments and are just the right size to really accent the space. They really do add to the arrangement of photos and art I have them interspersed around.

Another first for my shop, I'm offering them with the option of finishes. They are available in the original anodized black, a rust color, and a vintage distressed cream. I'm envisioning the flowers in cream arranged over a little girls' bed, maybe around her first initial. So sweet!

So if you've been searching for that special element to add interest and that handmade touch to your home then consider these little wall embellishments. I'd love to have you head on over to the shop and take a look and then, have a lovely day!!

Tutorial: "love you" Altered Book Photo Frame

Wondering how to say I "love you" with an old book, wire and a bit of fabric and ribbon? Here's an idea- How about creating this hanging book photo frame?

In Taking Flight, Kelly Rae Roberts had a photo frame project that I took this basic technique of cutting out a rectangle from the front cover from. It's worth checking out her version- it has some lovely wire and tissue wings.

Altered Book Photo Frame

Tools and Materials
Old Book
Wire words, "love" and "you" of 16-gauge steel wire
Ribbon
Patterned fabric or paper
Embroidery floss
Utility knife
Awl
Needle
Scissors
Glue stick
Craft Drill

Directions:
1. Decide whether you want the front of your frame to be the front cover or back cover of your book. Sometimes the front is too distracting and the back cover seems to be the best option. Using an utility knife and a ruler; measure, mark and then cut a rectangle from the front or back of your book. I cut right into the book, no mat needed. Pull out any cut up pages from the interior of the book.

2. Cut ribbon strips and glue around your frame window. Position your wire word "you" beneath the frame window, and then use an awl to poke a few holes through the book cover around the word. Usually one hole on one side of the first letter, a middle letter, and the last letter are enough.



3. Using a needle and embroidery floss (knotted at end), come up through the first hole, cross over the wire, and then insert the needle back through the same hole. Repeat once more and then move on and stitch down the next letter in the same manner. For the word "love" repeat steps 2 & 3 stitching it to the top of your frame.



4. Using a craft drill with a 1/16" bit, and drill two holes, one in each of the top two corners of the book. Drill through the entire book block. Open book cover and glue in the patterned fabric or paper in place behind the frame window. At this point some instructions suggest you use matte medium to seal the edges and cover of the book closed. I find that inserting the wire for the hanger wires the book closed very securely- no glue necessary.


5. Using the 16-gauge steel wire, insert the cut end through the top right hole and then pull through, insert through the hole on the left side of the book and then wrap cut end around wire at the top of the book. Leaving some slack in the wire, cut the wire on the other side and then wrap the end up and around the wire as you did on the left side of the book. Place your photo of choice in the center of the window attaching with glue dots, and then hang on the wall. Enjoy!!!

Scribble Heart Giveaway!!!!

Hey all- A quickie post to mention that I am currently participating in a give-away over on Liv Lane's fabulous blog, Choosing Beauty. I love that her blog is all about the beauty in our lives- both within us and without. So head on over, enjoy her blog, and leave a comment by this Friday. You could be the lucky winner!!!

Creating My Own Fall Garden

It's been a crazy summer weather-wise this year. Much cooler than usual. We seem to have gone from Spring right into fall with maybe a few odd days of 90's. Yesterday I saw my first orange leaves announcing the advent of fall. I do enjoy fall and fall colors are my absolute favorite to play with especially when I was doing weddings. Orange red callas with deep purple mums and chartreuse little kermit mums make me swoon. So this week when I decided it was time to restock the Etsy shop I created some fun springy blooms of wire and then indulged in some fall colored fabrics. I just loved working with these. So here's a photo of my springy-fall blooms and maybe the colors and patterns will get you thinking it too! The majority of them will be listed soon in my shop as well. YAY!

Some Thoughts on Motivation

Lately I've been shamefully neglecting my blogging goals. Which was basically to blog all the time. Have to say though that I blog when I'm creating and excited to share what I've been working on or I blog as a way to explore ideas through writing. Neither of which motivations have been happening the last week. I hit the deadlines I'd been working towards and kind of just stopped everything. I did that thing that we did in college after exams. You know push and push and push and then CRASH!!!

I would feel horribly guilty about it, knowing the next deadline IS just around the corner, BUT I think I needed the time to seperate. Get back to life a little and relate to the other people who live in my house (husband and son).

A couple nights ago I had a friend staying with me and we got to talking about goals. How important are they? Do they just set you up for feeling badly when you can't meet them? There are the specific goals- like blog 3-4 days a week. And there are the unspecific goals like treat my self well. Then there are the really big too far a way to be sure of goals like "take art classes in Italy and paint in Provence". These are great dreams but as goals.... Yeah I'd like to work towards them but I'm fonder of my more specific and immediate "to do" lists. They make me feel good. I'm rather shameless when I make them too. When I sit down in the morning at breakfast and make it I put down things like, "take a shower, make breakfast, write to do list..." Then I can cross some things off right away and I feel like I'm off to a great start.

Although I argued for setting some mid term goals as well. When I started to play around with the wire and fabric I set a few goals. My first was to let myself learn without constantly critiquing my work. Another was to submit to a magazine within the next year. One was permission to play and the other was a challenge to work towards. I completely committed to both. For maybe the first time in my life I was determined to try for something real. Hard to kid yourself with the "someday" I'll make a difference in my life when you have a concrete timed deadline you've set for yourself. Hopefully, this makes sense to you all. I admit I'm trying to work through my thoughts on all of this myself. I've been trying to identify what was different about this time. I've tried things before but never gotten as far as this. Usually I'm a get excited and try, hit resistance, fear failure, and retreat sort of girl. But something has changed. Maybe it's a sense that the impossible is possible. Maybe it's a willingness to be gentle with myself. Maybe it's my newly found sense of discipline. I don't know. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks!

At Last! New Listings on Etsy

Seems like it's been forever- but I now have some new items listed! There a bunch of new wire words, some wall size and some embellishment size. I love these stitched to either canvas or my mini art quilts. There's also my favorite of the new listings- a scribble pear and scribble apple. They're the perfect "pear". Ok sad thing is I used that in the listing too.

Next on the to do list- I have 5 finished book projects due soon (luckily I also have a mom and dad who are willing to babysit next week).

I'd love it if you'd check out the shop to see the rest of the new items! Thanks!

Tinned Treasures

It started as a challenge to my creativity. I'd asked my Dad to pick me up some old lunch trays I'd seen at a garage sale he'd organized. When he brought over the trays he gave me a box of old cookie tins too. Thought I'd want them too. I think cookie tins are kind of pointless and I really had no use for them- but it's my dad and he'd got them for me so I mumbled thanks and tossed them in the garage. But later I was thinking about art and how really we should be able to make amazing art out of anything. So I started to play around with the tins. I did a post a while back with my first experiments altering their finish. I'd crackle painted one and spray painted another trying to see what I had to work with. Then I dropped it to do the book stuff.

So a couple of days ago when I needed to try and quick come up with a submission idea for the next Sew Somerset my eye fell on the tins and I thought I'd give them a try. Anything can be art right? The tin on the right is my first attempt. I really struggled with it at first. I knew I wanted to use some fabric and wire- :) and I knew I needed to include stitching, and because of the depth I thought it'd be cool to have things at different levels. So those were the parameters.

It turned out kind of fun. The central flower is actually fabric petals that I cut, coated with gel medium and then stuck to a mini plastic easter egg. To attach the wire, I used my handy dandy crop-a-dile and punched holes. The little silhouette at left is courtesy of Singlestone Studios. I was trying to channel the whole cameo look.

So there you have it- a little creativity and now I'm looking at the tins in my garage in a completely different light. Thanks Dad!

New to the Shop!

I found a little time to play the other night and came up with these two designs. One is a jewelry display and the other is a photo holder. The photo holder just makes me laugh when I look at it because it's an image that I've noticed a lot lately while out driving and that it came out during my play just shows how single minded I can be. So I have a bird atop a tree. Then because I felt like it I added the nest. Have to admit that nest isn't all that practical. It's small and wouldn't hold much but the little birdie seemed to want it. It said "please please make me a nest!" So I did. Besides, who says even functional art has to be completely practical? As long as it's lovely!

I also did this little mixed media piece over the weekend. I painted the background and stamped on it before I left for North Dakota and then added the stitching and doodling while I was there. I like it and it's happy but I think it might want a few more 3d elements. I'll let it sit for a while and see.
I hope all of you are enjoying your spring and thanks for letting me share some of my play pieces with you!

On my mind- Construction and Clay

A quick look in a new direction-I made this piece this weekend. I had a ton of orders and work to do but needed a creative break. So I grabbed a piece of bark from the garage and went to town with some new flower forms. The rose in the middle started life out last week as a little bird's nest but I liked the look of the form so much I kept it as is (there's a close up if you scroll down a bit). Lately all my creative dreaming has centered on two ideas.

The first is a constructed piece. I want to continue to develop my construction skills. It started out with the birdhouse assemblage I demo'd for you all a few months ago. But now I'm thinking of framing the wood all around and using a teal crackle medium to coat. Maybe with a cream on top- or below. Haven't decided yet. But then I want to wire on some more flowers. And here's the revolutionary part- I'm thinking of painting my wire. Not with a spray- hate that look but by hand with some metal compatible paints. I just have such a yearning for color lately. We'll see. Soo stay tuned on that one!

Now that I know you're riveted I'll let you in on the other idea as well. I've been playing around with clay and wire pendants (see Paris- a few posts ago) and want to start sewing into the clay. Maybe wiring elements like buttons or beads. I've just got a strong feeling it could really develop into something I love.

Part of the art of art I think is to continue to develop as artists. Sometimes that might mean just learning a new technique. Sometimes that entails a complete shift into a new direction. But for me, right now, my art is branching. I'm continuing to stick with some of the images I love but starting to use them in different ways. I can't wait to see where this all leads. Hopefully you all will stay tuned and help me along the way with your comments. I really appreciate knowing when something you see here on the blog strikes a chord. Or if you'd like to see more something.

Thanks again to all of you who have stopped by and have commented on my work. I love getting the reaction of others to what I do!