POW

Here is my photo of the week. Look at the eyelashes on this wee one. I photoshopped it a bit to get the look.

POW

Well........last year I vowed to post and contribute to my blog more often........didn't happen. I only had about 20 posts last year............so, I'm going to try again.....I follow a blog where the creative and eloquent blogger posts a POD.....photo of the day........I'd love to follow suit, but I am going to be more realistic and post a POW.......photo of the week. I enjoy taking photos of bits and pieces of my surroundings, life, things and people that I love. Here we go with my photo of the week.........two weeks late! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

My Studio Tour

I'm participating in the Quilting Arts/Cloth, Paper, Scissors open studio event this weekend. They want to celebrate the release of their current magazine by getting folks all over the world to open up their studios! My "rhinestone workshop", as I call it, is ever evolving. I spend a lot of time creating my wearable art from vintage pieces and I love to be surrounded by things that I love and inspire me. I have a need to be organized, but I admit, my work space tends to get a bit cluttered up with shiny bits and pieces. One wall of my workroom is full of chains.........beaded and vintage. I'm always on the look out for unique and functional storage. My favorite is my jadeite green drawer box. It is from an old hardware store. A couple of coats of sealer gave it a nice sheen. It goes with me to all my art shows to hold supplies. Having a dedicated work space where I can leave out my work in progress is a luxury I apprecite. Visit my Etsy store to see what I create in my workshop. I'm off to check out other studios and get more creative ideas! Cheers!

Open Studio Tour

The good folks over at Quilting Arts/Cloth, Paper, Scissors are hosting an open studio event this weekend. They want to celebrate the release of their current magazine by getting folks all over the world to open up their studios! Sounds like fun…what a great way to see alot of studios!

promise

I promise I'll post something new soon. I'm taking pictures of some of my favorite vintage items.

Pickle Bucket Water Feature

I've wanted a little water feature in the flower bed by our front door for a couple of years. We get so much shade there that flowers just aren't an option. I wasn't sure how to go about creating it, so I just put my rock collection in the bed and hoped someday I'd get around to it. Well today was the day! It all came together. After doing a little research I came up with a plan. I discussed it with the husband (he hates to be mentioned in my blog!) and before I knew it this morning he was digging a hole for the bucket. We used a 5 gallon pickle bucket with a lid and buried it in the bed. We placed a fountain pump in the bottom of the bucket and drilled several hole in the lid. Two of them a little bigger, one for the electrical cord for the pump and one for the flexible hose for the water outlet. We cut a large square of heavy duty plastic and cut a hole in it just smaller than the diameter of the bucket. Once the bucket with pump was in the hole we draped the plastic over the bucket and snapped on the lid. Then we back-filled around the bucket with dirt under the plastic....being very careful not to get dirt in the bucket. The idea is to create a drain pool for the water to get back into the bucket. Then we filled the bucket with water. With helpful direction from family we arranged the rocks on the bucket lid and around the plastic sheet to hide it. My rock collection that I have been collecting for years came in handy. Some were from my Mother-In-Laws old homestead and some were picked up on trips and vacations. I had a couple of special rocks hand picked from Fish Creek, Wisconsin. We hid the plastic hose between the rocks and wedged it in between two flat rocks so the water would cascade down like a little water fall. With a lot of adjusting and rock placing we came up with a combination that worked. Once the fountain was complete we added a couple of ferns, some hosta and some mulch to the bed. A design on a nickle and pickle bucket project! It makes a nice welcoming feature by our front door.

Spring Bling

I'm starting a new line of neckware that resemble mini versions of my Vintage Collage Brooches. These new pieces can only be worn as a necklace, unlike my pins that can be worn as a brooch or a pendant. I always add a bead or two to one side of the chain. A sexy little sparkle on the side of your neck. These are smaller and lighter in weight, perfect for summer months when we often don't wear clothes heavy enough to support a brooch. Keep checking my Etsy Shop for new pieces. I've sold two already before I could list them! This is my version of upcycling!

Broken China Teacup Mirror

This was one of the first pieces my sister-in-law made. She cut the vintage tea cup in half and used handles from others on the bottom of the piece. I've had so many views on my broken china post so I thought I would post more of my favorite pieces. Hopefully it will inspire you to create.

Officially Spring

Now, I feel better.......it is officially Spring when my little patch of crocuses pops up and looks so beautiful! The sun was out today so they opened up wide for the photo shoot. They come back year after year without needing any tending, feeding or encouragement. I love these guys!