Altered Spoons

I tried my hand at altering a spoon.
Since these weren't the cool antique silver ones, I decided to completely wrap mine in vintage papers then wire/bead wrap. I picked a sunflower girl and used copper and amber to accent. Hope the girls in the swap enjoy these.
Below are two that I received...the big cool spoon with seashells and pearls is from Jeri
and Gloria sent the silver with gold wire and beads...just love gold and silver combo! Thanks girls!

I-Beam Collage

I call it an I-Beam because it is shaped like a capital I....hubby says it is a floor joist. When we did our remodel last Spring the carpenter mismeasured and had to cut 1 foot off every joist and was going to toss them...so, I snagged them with the thoughts that they would make great free-standing base for all types of mixed media techniques.
Recycle....and another cool thing, it can be reverseable or viewed from both sides if you choose. And if you don't have any lying around, you can get them at the lumber yard cut to size, if you take a whole beam, at about 2 bucks a foot... much cheaper than canvas.


I also wanted to mention that the barbwire is one of Tim Holtz's Masks and I used the throw-away waste and used it like a stencil.

Taking Flight...with new book!

"Taking Flight - Inspiration and Techniques to Give Your Creative Spirit Wings"

Remember a few weeks back, I mentioned Kelly Rae's new book was due to come out?
My issue of "Taking Flight"arrived and I have been having fun and learning some new things. The book is very well put together with great techniques and wonderful guest and contributing artists that I really admire such as DJ Pettitt and Judy Wise, just to name two. Buying this book is the result of my pity-party that I had when I had to turn down an Art Retreat this summer...and I was substituting by buying Kelly's book and having a home workshop of my own. I also Participated in Sharah Whitmire's Soul Journaling online challenge and I am amazed that two different types of art can inspire with the same purpose....Learning to Soar!

Below is my first effort...
What I rarely see in Kelly's work are Hands or feet for that matter, so to enjoy the techniques and the style without imitating...just learning, I also challenged myself to adding hands.

The Bird Nest

Weird bird day for me!!
This morning I decided I was late enough sending Melissa at Lazy Day Creations a "bird" creation for her Design Team Gallery.
So I got this Urge to do something using my handemade nests. Just as I started out, a bird hit my studio window. Then there was little pitter-pattering on the deck just outside my door. Weird....I never have birds on this side of the house, but what was going on was a grasshopper fest. Yeah!!! Natural insecticide!!
Then a show came on about the Olympics...it was about the architecs, the design and the construction of the stadium in Beijing. The nickname for one of a kind stadium is THE BIRD NEST!!
So I guess it was my muse, a weird omen or just a big coeinky-dink, but I finished them and wanted to share them before I put them on Etsy.




Here's a neat picture. I know in a few weeks this will be old news and some will be sick of all the coverage...but I can't wait!


The Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing is a work of ART!! It is hailed as the finest arena in the world and the centrepiece of the most expensive Olympics in history and it is full of hidden symbolism.
It's architects also claim it is one of the most environmentally-friendly stadiums in the world, as undersoil geothermal pipes help heat indoor parts of stadium in winter and rainwater is collected and stored in underground cisterns for irrigation and to flush lavatories and the solar features

Mini Canvas Altered Art

I wanted to share a Mini Canvas I did earlier this year. Is was being submitted to a publication so I had to wait. It's a 2x2 inch little deal that I wasn't sure about, but it turned out kinda fun.

Altered Recipe Card

I wanted to share an Altered Recipe Card...Indian Tacos.
I made a dozen of these to swap out...and it sure was fun trying to get an ethnic look to them. When I get the other recipes from all over, I will bind all the cards together for a cool recipe book.

In this country, SD, WY and MT, the Indian Taco is a big treat. You can find them served at outdoor events like Arts in the Park, Festivals, Rodeos and MaPa cafe's in and around Indian reservations. They are a full meal as they fill your whole plate and when they are made right with the fried squaw bread and rest of the taco toppings, you will never pass them up!

"Buffalo" Bill Cody

Lil' Cowboys....
There's a show in town!
Read all about it!

When this lil'cowgirl was 8 or 9 or so...she used to play basketball in the huge loft of Buffalo Bill's barn. The lower level still housed the horse stalls, the tack plus various old farm implements, but the loft was clear of hay and was big enough for a full size court and two hoops. What stands out in my memories were that the barnwood walls were papered with the huge posters of the Wild West Shows. These posters were glorious and I would go from one to the other just like in a museum. Some were in color and some in black and white with names of towns and cities from all over. I'm sure I had no idea of the rich history and how lucky I was to run and play and explore the barn, buildings and home of the famous Bill.
The 'posters' are what inspired the 3 collage canvases below.





A few years later the family turn the homeplace over to the State for restoration and it is now Scouts Rest Ranch State Park, in North Platte, Nebraska. This was the headquarters and resting place for Bill and his family as well as the troupe between all the shows....thus the name.
"http://www.richgros.com/Cody/scouts_rest_ranch.html"

Romantic 'Gift Giving Cones'

I have a new favorite blog to visit!
A wonderful and fabulously creative person, Ruth Rae, had a fantastic article in the special publication Quilting Arts Gifts. (Holiday issue Winter 2008)
She described how to create these wonderful fabric and paper Cones.



This is my attempt....Perfect for Valentine's Day or May Day surprises of a gift where the container or vessel holding the gift could serve as the gift itself.

In the article, Ruth presented the directions and example in her own glorious style and I knew immediately that this was a process that I was going to enjoy!



I used pink felt as the interior core and then layered on tea dyed batting, cheesecloth, organza, tulle and silk, vintage girl photos, sheet music and text from vintage books. I stitched pockets to tuck vintage pearls into. The center focal point is a vintage rhinestone flower button and then silk Oliver Twist One-Offs complete the closure down the front.
After pinning all of the layers together, I machine stitched hearts and practiced my free motion embroidery stitching to add even more texture! Fun!!

http://ruthrae.blogspot.com/

4 x 6 Heart Quilt Journal

by Connie Hippen Altered Route

Belinda Spiwak, also known as Crazyartgirl made a call-out to fellow artist for a collabortory project of a fabric Art Journal for submission to Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. We were to incorporate silk Oliver Twists One-offs and have hearts. Above is my 4 x 6(both sides)page. Belinda will make covers and bind all the 8 other girls pages to make the journal...the 9th to go to CPS.

The lady stamp I used on this was one of the prizes from Inka at
Inkastamps
for my shrine challenge entry...Thanks Inka!

Quilt Journal page...
2 layers of 4 x 6 muslin, one painted and stamped with swirls, the other left plain. Back is a print fabric used in reverse.
2 layers of 3.5x 5.5" heavy pellon sandwiched between layers for stiffness. Front has text and Bird stamp on muslin pieces that are chalked, machine stitched on, then One-Off threads are used for heart that is french knotted. Back has the Lady stamp on muslin piece and a heart couch stiched with metalics and One-offs. All fabric edges are unraveled and machine stitched random quilt style.

Coffee Filter Angel

I've been wanting to do something with the coffee filters I'd been saving since they were talked about on a couple of forums last month...so when my son said he needed an angel for the top of his new Christmas tree that he and the boys were going to set up for the first time...I said, "Let me make it!"
I stamped old words and memories, three crowns for the three kings and other Christmas stamps all around the filters. I used a muslin body and lots of lace and tulle and she came together in less than an hour. I used two little dolls with the boys names on the front to make it personal,James called them,"chocolate boys". Then I attached her with wire from her halo to an old bedspring that fits nicely on top of the tree...wish the pictures were better!

Band-Aid Altered Albums

I spent all day Tues going through my new stash....I feel like I have a store at my finger tips!!

Today I listed a few auctions on eBAy. Seems like it took forever. I haven't listed in a while and I forgot some of the quick-steps. The trick is to list all the time...lol

I also added to ETSY...
I listed a couple Band-aid tin Albums for Mothers Day. ...or Grandma...or anyone special. Fun projects for sure!