Favorite Projects of 2013

I spent some time last night going through my blog posts from the past year, giving myself a chance for a little retrospection.  I thought it would be fun to collect some "blog favorites" over the year to share with you.  Today, I am highlighting some of my favorite projects from 2013. 

I didn't keep up with my Christmas in [Insert Month Here] series as faithfully as I had hoped, but it did yield a few project favorites that I will be doing again.  Besides finding ways to reuse all those Christmas cards, which I enjoy doing every year, I also really liked the patchwork/collage effect of the paper stockings I made back in September. 

I gave several of my acrylic and ink painted glass Christmas ornaments as gifts this year.  The results are so varied and unexpected that I can see myself making more just to see how they turn out.

Before I learned proper bookbinding techniques at the CREATE art retreat this past summer, I made these adorable little raisin books using electrical tape and rubber bands.  I've made tea box books, too.  My next books will be from soap and butter boxes with some proper stitching, so stay tuned!

One of my very favorite projects this year has been carving my own rubber stamps.  In fact, I am considering a major rubber stamp carving project for this next year, which I'll tell you more about soon!

Some cute little "object stamps" that are perfect for mail art

The silhouette stamps are some of my favorites!

Though the tag and clipboard stamps are right up there, too!

I'd like to try some more houses on a hill to perfect that design a bit.

And, ah, the Dennison label-style stamp!

More house stamps...I can't resist!

I really enjoyed learning a gesso resist technique from a Claudine Hellmuth video that created the designs on these hearts back in February.  I have whole books full of paint techniques I haven't tried; hmm....I may have to work that into my plan for the new year, too!

Scripture journaling was another new project I tried this past year.  It's hard work to translate Bible passages into visual representations!  It is such an effective way to internalize the message of the Scripture, but it takes real discipline to stick with it.

Learning some of the symbols, fonts, drawings and designs associated with Sketchnotes has been a fun part of the project, and applicable to other drawing and note taking projects besides just scripture journaling.

I absolutely loved the birdhouse charms I made from a kit from Heather Alexander last month.  I ended up giving a couple as Christmas gifts, and have several more on my craft desk, half-made.  My husband noticed that the wooden crates our clementines come in have triangular wood pieces that could be trimmed to size for additional roofs.  Reduce, reuse, recycle!





And, of course, throughout the year, my love for collage and mail art continued.  My glue stick and sewing machine continued to work overtime to create postcards for friends and just for fun over the months. 

from "Finally!" post in November

Paper scraps, fabric, postage stamps, rubber stamps, stickers, decorative tapes, buttons, ribbons, photographs, text pages, postcards, musical scores, vintage documents, book illustrations--all were pressed into service for collaged mail art through the year.

from "Feeling Stitchy" post in October

 

from "Stitchy Vintage Collage" post in October

 

from "More Mail Art & a Giveaway Winner" post

from "More Mail Art & a Giveaway Winner" post

And finally, I continued creating Zentangles this year, even taking a workshop on the subject at a local arboretum.  The tangled borders on the postcards below were a great exercise in various tangle designs.  With six or seven Zentangle books on my shelves, I'll be revisiting this calming drawing practice again in 2014!

Going back through my blog posts gave me a chance to review my projects, my excursions, and the swaps and challenges that filled my creative year.  I'll be back with a couple more retrospective posts, and some creative plans for 2014 very soon.

Wishing you all the best for these final days of 2013!

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

In my last post, I shared with you the adorable birdhouse pendants that I purchased from Heather Alexander's soon-to-close Etsy shop, Art by Heather.  I have made a few more birdhouses myself to add to the neighborhood!

Heather sells kits for making the pendants, including the wooden pieces, collage ephemera, screw eyes, and directions.

I used some of my own postage stamps, and inked rubber stamped images to some of the bare wooden surfaces using black Staz On ink.  I stamped the underside of the roof and the bottom of house itself, as well.

Heather's directions call for drilling a little circle for the door to the birdhouse, but I tend to stay away from power tools, so I simple created black Sharpie circles for my doors.

I ordered some ball chains from her other Etsy shop, Art By Heather Supplies, so I will have three new completed necklaces.  My daughter Katy calls the owl image above "Hedwig" from Harry Potter, and wants it for herself!

I've already let my husband know that I'll be looking to him to cut some more wood pieces so I can make some more of these adorable birdhouses.

Be sure to swing by Heather's two Etsy shops for some deep discounts on beautiful art and awesome supplies!

Make a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul

A long, long time ago, I bookmarked a link to Heather Alexander's Etsy shop, called Art By Heather, where she sells the very cutest wooden collaged birdhouse pendants. 

I was poking through my old bookmarks recently, and discovered that she is closing her shop on December 15!  I quickly placed my order for a couple of her adorable birdhouse pendants, along with a kit that will allow me to make a few of my own. 

What a delightful package to receive in the mail this past week!

Along with the two birdhouses, which I absolutely adore, I also ordered a writer's pendant.  I am very interested in applying myself more diligently to my writing, and I thought:  why not encourage myself with a little writer's talisman?

I have become quite smitten with typewriters of late, and have created an entire Pinterest board in their honor, so this typewriter charm was especially compelling!

So now I have the happy task of using Heather's kit to create some birdhouse pendants of my own.  I'll be back another day with the results!

I encourage you to take advantage of Heather's impressive store closing sale on her two Etsy sites.  One shop is focused more on her own finished art pieces, and the other shop provides a really exciting collection of collage, assemblage, and jewelry supplies.  I've just now placed my second order with Heather to her supply shop.  Be sure to place yours before the 15th!

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For those of you who didn't pick up on it, the title of my post comes from an awesome little song by They Might Be Giants that always reminds me of my high school friends.  Take a moment to watch the YouTube video here.

Holiday Stitched Collages

The stitched holiday collages I've been creating combine a few of my favorite things:  vintage images, paper scraps, and stitched paper!

I made a couple of Thanksgiving-themed collages, and the rest are Christmas-focused.  These Thanksgiving postcards are from 1911!

(Now I just need a lesson on how to photograph art through glass!)

Many of the Christmas images came from the greeting cards I found in the albums at the Briggs auction recently. 

When I first got the greeting card collection, I wasn't sure how I was going to use them, but found the perfect destination for them in these collages!  Most of the cards are from 1936 to 1941.

It's always fun when things come together!

All but the last of these collages are 5"x7".

This last one is 4"x6".

I will have these collages for sale tonight at the Mom-Hosted Holiday Bazaar in Downingtown, PA!  I will give you a full report of the show later this weekend.

I wanted to share one other item I will have for sale at my table.  It is one of two collaged birdhouses, intended for indoor/decorative use.  I created it awhile ago, but made some additions and adjustments:

Wishing you a safe and creative weekend!

What's New from Studio 791

Everything! 

Very recently, I decided to give an "official" name--Studio 791--to my creative endeavors, before participating in a holiday bazaar in November.

Over the course of a few posts, I thought I would share some of the things I will be selling at the craft show.  I have collaged birdhouses, embellished bottles, all kinds of cards, holiday gift tags, magnets, tag books, framed collages--all sorts of varied goodies with the hope of offering something of interest to everyone who comes by!

There are actually several pieces that are not technically "new"--things I crafted over the past couple of years just for fun, without any clear plans for selling them.  Now that the bazaar is happening, I think it's time to find them a good home. 

For example, here is the front of one of the birdhouses I will have for sale. I used Diamond Dust on the rooftop to give it a little bit of a wintry look. The text page you see on the left there is a piece of handwritten text from the 1850s, part of a great find from an auction several years ago:

And here are the other two sides of the same birdhouse, collaged with many of my favorite things:  maps, text pages, music scores, photos, and stamped images:

Here's another birdhouse I will have available at the bazaar:

And the back:

It doesn't suit my usual style, but I really love pom-pom fringe!  And I love the color of that flower, which is just a magazine image, but makes a huge impact on the back corner of the house.

I am also going to try to sell my Christmas tag canvas:

I love each of the individual holiday collages on each of these tags.

I am also putting my embellished vintage bottles in the sale:

I have made tons of magnets.  Some are little collages on wood pieces, and some are even smaller collages showing through from the back of accent gems:

I also have an on-going love affair with Scrabble tiles, and have made a number of different fun magnets from them:

I also have some pieces made from Scrabble tiles set onto Scrabble racks.  They can be used as magnets, too, or simply as shelf decor:

One thing I am learning as I share my work and think about offering it for sale is that I could definitely benefit from improving my photography skills!  There is a big difference between trying to capture cute snapshots of your kids for a photo album, and trying to capture a piece of artwork or a craft item to the best effect! 

I have many, many more things to share with you that will be available for sale at the Mom-Hosted Holiday Bazaar on November 11.  Stay tuned for future Studio 791 posts!

What do you think?  Do you see anything here that you like?