an unexpected present

When I came to work yesterday, there was a big Panera bag on my desk, which housed a sizeable vintage fruit cake tin... don't you just love this image?

Inside there was something even better than fruit cake (especially if it were to be the original one :D) - namely, several pounds of old buttons.

Yay! Last night I touched every single one of them, threw out a few that were old the unpleasant way, and the vast remaining bunch will be washed and dried soon. So much fun!

I also have a little bag of buttons from Poland which my Mom gave to me, but I'm too attached to them to use the them for anything and potentially part with these beauties. I start thinking, "Oh, this was my dress, and that was my Mom's apron" - and I'm done, can't even think of anything beyond just touching them and bringing back memories.

And then there is the button jar which i got from the Kids last Christmas... these I can use, no problem. There is just so much joy in those little colorful pieces of plastic!

Floral experiments continue

This morning I experimented with a crepe paper flower based on this recipe - I just changed the button in the center to a little felt circle with some beads. And yes, there is glitter on the edges...

I'm wondering how to incorporate this flower into a card, where it will most likely end up - I've tried some felt components, but I'm not satisfied with this arrangement. Incidentally - the background is the guidebook about Canada, since we are going there next week (hoping to see a lot of nature, including some wildlife encounters, and some man-made highlights, like perhaps the Royal Mint in Winnipeg?)

And here is the whole family of recent experimental florals - the two smallest ones are made from used dryer sheets :) I think they need a little more umph, maybe a bead or at least some stitches.

An experimental flower

Earlier this week I found a tutorial for a cute little flower, so yesterday I brought paper, thread and buttons to work to do some crafting during lunchtime. Here is the result:

It turned out quite decent, except these beautifully yellowed pages from an old book (another Second Chance Store find) are a tad too fragile and when folded like this, they become brittle and tear easily. I shall experiment with some more stable materials (hm, I wonder if fabric would work as well? without the folds maybe, and with some stitching...)

I did not make these...

...I received them in an exchange where we swapped clothespins. My present is all decoupaged, which is exciting, because I don't think I've ever had a decoupaged item in my hands! And it's also cool that when clipped onto something together, they form one whole flower image, so it's like a little puzzler.

Mine were all different - I covered one with tissue paper, one with a napkin, one was painted purple with nail polish (!) and had some glitter glued on, and the navy blue was decorated with heat-embossed letters saying "I'm keeping it for you", which is a play on words in Polish, since it also means "keeping my fingers crossed for you".

The blue background in the first photo is Fiskars' texture plates - I found them last night, while organizing the craft room closet. I guess they would be great with clay, but maybe I can use them for cold embossing with a stylus? Hm, will need to test this idea.

And, last but not least, I'm ordering a mountain of sticky notes to convert them into little purses. A couple of stores I've visited didn't have any in larger bunches, and the smaller sets tend to be pricey. So, I'll be pursing right after I return from Canada!

post-show post

The show yesterday was fun - talked to a bunch of very nice people (met a lady who is going to Poland in a couple weeks, happy travels!), played with paper, craft-babysat sweet little Amanda (we used some heat-embossing MAGIC to make Mrs. Cat, Mr Snowman and some bookmarks) - and also made a little money :)

This is what the setup looked like...

...and the table...

...and the purses, my biggest hit - will be making more soon!

So - thank you to the folks that stopped by my table, and and even bigger THANK YOU to those who made a purchase!

navigare necesse est, or the joy of discovering new stamps

The theme of the other stamp set brought from Poland is Sea Voyage, and it's been a little voyage in itself to use them! The first couple ideas didn't work out, so then some adjustments were made, and below are a few cards in progress:

Even though you can see exactly what image is on the stamp, there is always a little surprise in seeing how it actually comes out on paper, how it looks in this or that color of ink, on lighter or darker background; will it need more color (painting? chalk?), or maybe it will be nice just on its own. Maybe as the focal image, maybe as the background.

Changing the subject - a few more Christmas cards, with backgrounds that were originally included in a fall paper pack, but I like how they look with the old-fashioned illustrations and burlap.

Also, preparing the necessities for the craft show - the money box and some business cards:

One more night... and that's it! Gotta pack and go!

Christmas photo-cards

Three wintry photo-cards were born this morning, and as soon as the glue dried, they went to the balcony for some morning light + easel experiments.

This first picture was taken by my husband in the nearby Starved Rock State Park - plenty of inspiration there in their canyons, streams and forests!

The second one is from my kitchen window - I have a little picture there painted on glass and one winter subtle frost appeared around the contours:

The third one was taken in my town in Poland a couple years ago:

The photos are printed on thick glossy stock (I think I used Kinko's services - the whole printed page has been sitting in my stash for a while) and then I sandpapered the edges for a more interesting, sort-of-antique look:

Tonight's session in the craft room must start with some cleaning and organizing. There will still be piles, of course, but I'm beginning to have problems finding stuff, so I need to apply some method to this madness.