"Hey, if I had somewhere to go, I certainly wouldn't be in Cleve-Land." -Howard the Duck

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Hello Spring! Tag Swap...done!


The Art Swap Sisters at Red Lead Paperworks are at it again...there's always a fun swap going on in that group.  You can sign up to join the Yahoo group here.  The latest swap is Hello Spring! tags...and since Spring has teased us a few times, but Old Man Winter isn't moving out yet...I needed some spring relief from the frigid cold we cannot seem to escape.
Tags are a fun way to make small collages & use some fun embellishments...like Easter Grass from last year's basket.  The little eggs in the nest above are simply plastic speckled eggs that I had leftover from a fatbook page years ago...and I dyed them up using some Ranger Alcohol Inks.  That cute little chickie was a little goodie from when I ordered some paper posies awhile back...and it's great to find a use for it.
My last tag above is way more embellished than my usual style...but it works...the ribbon roses were a gift from my previous swap with Sandy in A Swap for All Seasons...thanks for those, Sandy!  The filigree butterfly is another Red Lead beauty.

And last but not least...the bows are my own hand dyed ribbons...I just can't get enough of those!  I'll be listing more to my Etsy shop today or tomorrow.

*   Rubber Stamp Buttercup Bunny artist trading card size stamp
 
There's still time to join in the fun of this swap...join the Red Lead Yahoo group & sign up...tags are due before April 25, 2011. Each person who plays will also get this adorable little Buttercup Bunny stamp...a Red Lead exclusive image.

Until next time...be creative & make time for some art every day!


Saturday, March 19, 2011

I'm addicted to dyeing...


This is the rainbow of ribbons that is drying on my kitchen counter this morning.  You should FEEL them...the tactile experience is awesome & the colors are spectacular.  I'm an addict.  This is almost an entire 100 yard bolt of white ribbon, dyed up last night & into the wee hours of the morning.

As soon as I figure out some color combos...and dye some more, of course, they will be up for sale in my Etsy shop, KittenCreates.  Hop on over sometime...help support my habit if you can!  I'll send lots of love with my ribbons, too.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

A gift for St. Patrick's Day...

And what a fine gift it is, indeed!  A bit of natural green, embellished with shades of lavender & yellow...a welcome sight for sure to give me hope that SPRING will be here soon.  It's even 67 & sunny today...but the air is still a bit too chilly for me.  I can't wait for balmy breezes...even if they no longer come to me off the Pacific Ocean.

These crocus bloom quite faithfully each March...over the years they have naturalized throughout the front lawn of this house. I remember the first year they came up all over the lawn...the summer before, my Dad had planted a new lawn & in tilling the soil, he had chopped up Mom's crocus bulbs with the tiller...so we didn't know if we'd even have crocus the folowing spring. They used to be in a circle in the middle of the yard...I'm not sure why, but they were. Much better scattered casually across the entire lawn, I think.
Until next time...enjoy these crocus that have grown into a free form heart...Springtime Love!


Saturday, March 12, 2011

It's beginning to look a lot like Easter!

Well, even with the heavy snow that got dumped on us yesterday, I'm trying to think SPRING around here.  I used to decorate like crazy for Easter, but now I've edited my collection down & I'm selling the rest over in my Etsy Shop.  I've listed just a few things to get started.

This adorable little musical bunny is one I made back in 1983...when I did a lot of sewing of pretty little things.  My creative style has changed, but I have to admit, this bunny is still terribly cute.  She's all handcrafted & has a wind-up music box that plays a bit of "Easter Parade".  She's wearing her Easter bonnet in the spirit of the music & of her favorite springtime holiday.
Her little friend is in need of a new home, too.  Created around the same time in the early 1980s, he's good & plump & just too cute. 

Then over in my jewelry category, I recently created this bracelet full of hand painted floral eggs.  The eggs are wooden & make a delightful soft noise as you move your wrist. 

Then because it's just too early to start dyeing eggs, I've been busy dyeing ribbons.  And tags.  Oh my!  This is just one of a collection that's also available in my Etsy Shop, KittenCreates.  They're the same ribbons that I love to use to add a special touch to gifts, and people who have received some tell me it's great stuff.  I know I love the colors & crinkled texture of these ribbons & I hope you will, too.

Now all I have to do is wait for Spring to really arrive here in NE Ohio...this snow is starting to melt, but that doesn't mean it will be our last...after all, Clevetown is where your baseball home opener can be called on account of SNOW...in APRIL! 

I'm hoping for the snow to be over once this stuff melts...when it melted recently, I could see the crocus & narcissus starting to poke their little green shoots out of the ground.  Spring...I can't wait!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Swapping with my Red Lead Art Sisters...

After a bit of a hiatus from art swaps, I needed to get back into the swing of things & the "Welcome to my Cottage" swap sponsored by the girls at Red Lead Paperworks was simply irresistable. 

Each Swap Sister is taking 3 of these chipboard cottages & altering & embellishing them to create artsy bits of springtime beauty.  Since SPRING cannot come soon enough for me, this was just the thing to have me really thinking of warmer days & nature springing back to life after the all too long & bleak doldrums of winter.  Winter in NE Ohio lasts for half of the year...and one day of it is too much for me!

My favorite of the cottages I created is the "let yourself fly" one above.  We feed the birds here all winter long, but soon there will be even more of them around & the dogwood in our backyard will begin to bloom.  It truly is one of the most beautiful sights after a dead winter.

My other 2 little cottages are shown below.  They will all be mailed in to the Red Lead Swap Sisters & I'll receive 3 cottages from others in return...along with a vintage paper pack as a gift for playing.  You can't beat that. You should play with us sometime...the Yahoo group can be found by clicking on the button at the top of my sidebar.  Sign up for the weekly newsletter, too...all sorts of great ideas & often a contest to enter to win a fabulous goodie bag.  From the shop home page, just click Mailing List & you can sign up.  

Counting the days until SPRING...we've been teased with some warmer weather & snow melting, but that ugly snow stuff came back over the weekend...we've had snow as late as April here...which is a cruel, cruel joke by Mother Nature!  Let's hope that groundhog was right & it's an early spring.