Rusting Fabric/Collage - WOYWW #231

No, these are not steaks cooking on the grill, but rather rusted things being used to rust fabric!  I use a concoction of vinegar and salt, rusted objects (in this case a horse shoe, piece of rusted iron, spark plug and a rusted hinge...along with bottle caps and whatever I can find).  Canvas or cotton ducking is dampened and then added to a plastic bag with the concoction.  After leaving the bag outside for about a week the fabric should be ready to dry in the sun and use in my art!

Aren't they beautiful!  It's kinda like Christmas when opening the bag to find the wonderful patterns of rust on the fabric!  Be sure to add the vinegar or your fabric will grow mold spores!! Like this!

Or some might call these mildew spots!  In any case,,,they too add some great patterns to the fabric!
Here are a couple of examples of how I use my rusted fabric in mixed media fabric collage!

Sooo, this is what's on my workdesk today!  What about you?  To see more of what others are doing around the world just click the link
www.stamping-ground.blogspot.com
Because blogger won't allow me to do it any other way!  :(

Have a great Wednesday y'all!

WOYWW 230 - Wrap Bracelets and Halloween

Good morning here in rainy Central Texas!  So blessed to be getting some moisture in our area.  Working on some sari wrap bracelets and thinking about Halloween!

These are made with scraps of sari cloth cut into ribbons. Usually the focal point is a handmade ceramic ornament fired in my kiln! A variety of beads are also added as embellishment!

This scary illustration came from a vintage children's book titled "Chatterbox" published in 1896! Probably scared some poor child at bedtime no doubt!
To see more of what others are doing around the world just go to www.stamping-ground.blogspot.com and see Julia's blog!
One more pic.  This one is of what remains in our summer garden....delicious peppers of all varieties.  The plants suffered from the scorching heat but have really thrived during our cool Fall days.

Have a great Wednesday y'all!

WOYWW Faces and Birds

Hello everyone!  Just a quick note to let you know I actually do have a few things on my work desk today!  I'm working on some fun faces and some very fun little birds to use in my art.  The little birds are painted on sheet music and will be used to enhance some happy little greeting cards.

I used a nice little scalloped punch to cut the ovals from the sheet music.

Guess what I used as the kraft colored backing for the oval?  The cup holder thing from Starbucks!

This little lady was started while on our trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Those acres and acres of huge sunflowers inspired me.

And galivanting around up north was lots of fun.

And Mt. Rushmore with DH was lots and lots of fun.  Very interesting monument....Crazy Horse memorial was equally was astounding!

To see more of what others are doing around the globe....just visit Julia at
www.stamping-ground.blogspot.com

Beach Time!

Hello Friends!  I've been away too, too long!  Beach time got in the way of things.  Destin, Florida was fabulous. The bluest water I've ever seen. And the  prettiest white sand in the world!

Returned rested and ready for July and yet a little more beach time!  Several days at the Texas coast with dear friends and a good time was had by all!

We built a sexy mermaid in the sand!  And yes,,,her scales didn't hide much!
Having a great summer!  How about you??
By the way, Fritz and Frieda and Hunky and Francine said to tell you all hello!

It's In The Bag - WOYWW 206

It's in the bag this week! That's right I've been creating gift bags using a plain brown paper bag disassembled and smoothed out.  Then I painted it  on both sides with pink, orange, and peach colored watered down acrylic.  I let that dry and then cut out flowers of different sizes, crumpled them up for texture,  and glued about 3 or 4 together using just a dot of glue in the center of each.

Some metallic copper acrylic paint was added to create some swirls.  The centers of the flowers are sequins/confetti!

And then you just add a few sheets of tissue paper and you're ready for gifting!

To see what others are doing around the globe click HERE and visit Julia's blog.  In the meantime it's back to the workdesk to create more flowers and bags for the new shop in town!

Blue Monday Collection

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all my sweet mother friends! And Happy Blue Monday, y'all!

(I've tried 12 times to get this picture right and this is the way Blogger wants it, so...here it is..sorry!)  Nevertheless, isn't it a cute plate? Found this at my favorite thrifting place on Friday!

(Same thing here with the handpainted gift cards.  thank you Blogger!)
To see more blue just hop over to Sally's blog HERE!
Check back later in the week and see what other things I am creating!

Sheet Music Daffodils - WOYWW 205

I will apologize in advance for not having a finished product to show you!  But I will share with you my new project which is creating gift bags using a purchased bag from the dollar store (Dollar Tree here in the States) and using one of my handpainted pieces of sheet music as the embellishment!  Of course,,,I love to go through my junk jewelry stash and will probably add a piece of bling or two as well.

(I can see I need to fiddle with my camera and take better photos in the future, so sorry). 
Also on my work desk is a little mermaid I painted ! She will go on a Happy Birthday sign for my little great-niece to hang at her Mermaid Party on Saturday!

While on the patio this morning doing my photographing, I decided to take a few extra photos to share with you.  Things blooming at my house!  The yellow blossoms are on an Esperanza bush planted in a pot. For those of you who don't know Spanish,,this means "Hope"!  Also blooming is a fabulous Amaryllis.  They usually bloom in pots inside the house around the Christmas holidays! But here in Texas they might bloom twice in one year!  Yea!

So, Happy Wednesday to you all and please feel free to hop over to Julia's and see what others around the world have on their work desks!  Just click HERE!

More Warrenton,Texas - Happy Blue Monday

Happy Blue Monday to y'all!  So much fun was had at  Warrenton, Texas the last part of March I just had to share a few more pics with all of you.

 Here is yours truly posing beside this vintage Chevy pick up truck.  Two guys were trucking around Warrenton and Round Top on that particular day.  They stopped to get gas and I jumped in front of the camera!

This polite "heirloom" of a  gentleman was all too happy to pose for the camera with his blue watering can!

To see other blogs featuring blue on this Blue Monday just stop over at Smiling Sally's and click HERE!  Have a great week !

Keepsake Box for the Bride - WOYWW 204

A keepsake box for the bride is on my work desk today.  It must be finished by tomorrow so I can present it to the bride or at least take it to her mother's house!  The wedding is Saturday! 

I started with a purchased box and painted the sides with acrylic paint and covered the lid with burlap. A friend gave me these fabulous spools of lace and I chose the darker one as a background for the lid.

Then I made several roses from various textures including burlap, wired paper ribbon, gauze, and silk sari ribbon.

Then I began gluing the bits and pieces of lace, vintage doilies, and vintage lilies of the valley around on the lid.

Finished!  To see what others are doing around the globe and to see what might be on their work desks just click HERE!