Halloween Matchbox Swap

 

I haven't participated in a swap for a long time but recently I signed up for a Halloween Matchbox Swap on the Yahoo group Sharing Our Mixed Media Art.  I had participated in a Christmas Matchbox Swap a number of years ago and loved it.  All 25  boxes are mounted and proudly on display in my studio. 

 

I had no idea it would be so hard to find matchboxes.  I finally found them at store # 4.   One store said they no longer sell any matches,  2 others only had books of matches,  but I finally found the small boxes I was looking for.

 

Here is the box I made complete with drawer pull.

 

I tucked some Halloween confetti inside the box.

 

 

I then had to decide how to mail the box without it getting crushed.  I searched my studio and found this jewelry box from Penneys.  I used two of my Halloween stamps to embellish the outside and signed my name.

 

I then covered the Penney's name with a Halloween stick-on and added a few others and placed the matchbox and some cute Halloween earrings in the box.

 

 

Now I'm ready to mail when partners are assigned. 

 

Boite et Petit Livret Vintage

Book and Small Vintage Box

Last spring I signed up for the Artfulgatherings event to be held in July.  They were to be offering a variety of classes featuring various techniques.  We I received the class listing, I knew that I wanted to take Nancy Maxwell James' Boite et Petit Livret Vintage.  We are making a book and box following Nancy's wonderful collage techniques.  The book features vintage photos, laces, buttons, jewelry, and vintage gloves on the front and back cover.

I have finished my two interior pages but the front and back cover and box will be completed next week.   

Another Fabric Heart

I just had to make another of these fabric hearts.  For this one, I added a layer of lace on top of the batting.  The lacy fabric is from a top I bought at a thrift store on Saturday.  The cost was $1.00.  When I saw the top hanging on the Dollar Rack, I knew I could use it in my altered art.  So I bought it and brought it home and washed it. 

It was the perfect color for the batting hearts.  Other embellishments are from my stash.  I think I'll make a few more as Valentine's Day gifts for friends.  See yesterday's post for more info on the Smitten class or click on the link to the right.



My Countdown to Christmas is Complete

My Countdown to Christmas Match Box Swap is complete.  I started working on the little boxes quite awhile ago but just completed them today.  The top shows the outside of the boxes with embellishments.  The bottom shows the little surprises I have included in each box.  They aren't necessarily in the same order that they will go into the covers.  I have not tried to match the surprise to the outside cover.  They will be assembled randomly.  Items include game pieces, buttons, vintage jewelry, erasers, brads, and small Christmas decorations.

In December, I will post each box and it's contents along with the box I receive and it's contents.  What a fun swap this will be and it will last for 25 days.  My boxes will be packed and mailed next week.

Halloween Altered Book Pages

As promised, here are the first two pages of the Halloween Altered Book.  The two beautiful fairies are my GDs.  They were sitting on a block wall surrounded by their carved pumpkins.  As you can tell from the photo, Halloween in Arizona is very warm (not your typical Halloween weather.)

 I added falling leaves and a vintage witch on each page.  I found the copper wire in my studio and decided to add it to the pages.  More pages tomorrow.  Ballgame this afternoon.

My JOY Flag

I had been thinking of designing a Healing Flag.  A creative prompt this week "Sprouting Joy" gave the inspiration for this JOY flag.  I used lots of recycled items and other goodies I found in my studio.  I'm thinking I'll make more and hang across my studio window.  What word should I do next?????????

Countdown to Christmas Match Box Swap

I recently signed up for the Countdown to Christmas Match Box Swap.  I purchased my match boxes at the Dollar Store this week.  Today made my first box.  I wanted to try out my ideas and see if they would work.  I painted the inside sliding section with green paint and added a ribbon hanger and a drawer pull made from a gold brad and pony bead.  I covered the outer box with Christmas sheet music, added Stickles glitter, gold trim, and a Christmas embellishment.  I distressed the edges with Ranger Distress ink.  I'm quite pleased with the prototype and think I'll use this basic idea for my other boxes.

We are to put a little something special in each box.  I working on collecting my special items to include.  What a fun way to celebrate the holidays.  We will receive 25 match boxes from 25 different people. 

Completed Magnetic Memo Board

I completed the magnetic memo board for my son's Father's Day gift today.  The GDs spent the afternooon and we took pictures to put on the board.  I also added the word DADDY in Scrabble letters.  They are also magnets.  The girls were thrilled with their gift for Daddy.  We wrapped the board and placed it in a large gift bag. 

I had purchased a white and blue cowboy hat last weekend in Payson.  They were perfect for the picture on our front porch.  I also bought the quilt at WalMart in Payson last weekend.  It looks great on  the white porch bench.  The blue wooden pony also has a special place on the front porch.  I thought the photos turned out great.  The oldest is 7 and you can see where she is missing some teeth. 

LIFE'S A STITCH

A Fabric Accordian Book

I made this little fabric book for the Mini Scrap Book Trade on FAT (Fiber Art Traders).  Wanda the hostess posted a link to Teesha Moore's website where she demonstrated these stitched covers.  The instructions for the trade were that we could fill the entire scrap book or leave some space for our partner to embellish.  I decided to leave a few spaces for my partner.  After studying various mini-books, I decided to make an accordian book with fabric pages. I used Pel-Tex as a base for the pages.  The title "Life's a Stitch" is stamped on the first page.  Since it is a "scrap" book, I used scraps from my studio to embellish the pages.  The fabrics are actually leftover quilt bindings that are stitches to the pages.  The stamps are from the Sew Special collection by Clear Art Stamps.  I made the butterfly on the front cover a few years ago with my embroidery machine.  A button and silk flower complete the fabric book.   This trade enabled me to again "use my stash".  One of my goals for the year.  Thanks to Wanda for a great trade. 

CINCO DE MAYO QUILT

The theme for our May swap on Fabric in Altered Arts 2 is Cinco De Mayo.  The swap is hosted by Norma.  We were to create an art quilt approximately 12" x 12" for the swap.  This is my quilt. 

I discovered a link to the video instructions for Teesha Moore fabric journal techniques   When I saw the videos I knew I wanted to use this technique for my Cinco De Mayo quilt.  A big thanks to Wanda from FAT for the link.  I am pleased with the art quilt.  It's a great way to use up those little pieces of fabric left over from previous project. 

Letter "I" quiltie - Inked Image

This is my March quiltie for Fabric in Altered Arts 2.  We are doing the alphabet and this month's letter was "I".  The theme was inked images with embellishments.  This is my nigthscape.  The background and moon are "inked" with Paintstiks. They were samples from a class I took last year.  I came across them while organizing my studio and thought they would make a great quiltie.  (My goal is to use "stuff" in my studio.)  The embellishments are crystals and Stickles.  The moon is red paintstick over yellow fabric. 

"E" is for Eagle

I'm trying to work ahead a little on my quilties for Fabric in Altered Art 2. We will be on vacation this fall and I wanted to still participate in the quiltie swap. This is my "E" quiltie for October. The eagle was made on my Janome Memory Craft 11000. It is one of the built in designs. I really love my Janome. I've also been making monogramed items the past few weeks using this machine.

I'm seeing a bird theme here in my quilties. So far I've done "B" is for Bird, "D" is for Dove, and now "E" for eagle. Need to think about "F".

Great Mail Day - Trimmed Tags and Fabric Postcard

Today was a great mail day. The postcard is from Norma. Isn't it great. The Trimmed Tags are from Kathie, Cathy, and Marilyn. Both swaps are with the Fabric in Altered Arts 2 Group. It's always fun to get these little treasures in the mail. You can see one of my trimmed tags here.

Recipe Holder

I'm making three of these recipe holders. They will be gifts for friends. I'm putting together a package for three friends with a kitchen theme. I've already made aprons and now I'm finishing up these recipe holders. The clipboards are from the office supply store. I covered the front of the clipboard with scrapbooking paper and the back with pages from old recipe book. I added images from old apron pattern envelopes and stamped the word RECIPE. The entire clipboard is sealed with a multipurpose sealer and then ribbons were added. I will include a recipe enclosed in a plastic holder.

Hope my friends enjoy their recipe holders. I took my inspiration from Jane's Apron. She makes clipboards with the entire pattern envelop but I decided to just use a copy of the apron image and scrapbook paper. Check out her blog, she does some great things with vintage patterns and other vintage items.

August Fabric Postcard

This is my August Fabric Postcard for Fabric in Altered Arts 2. I used a blue oriental fabric and embellished with Stickles, gold iron-on trim, and an old button cover. I'm quite pleased with this little fabric postcard with an oriental flair. It will go in the mail tomorrow.

July Fabric Postcard

This is the postcard I made today for the July postcard swap on Fabric in Altered Arts 2. The fabric was left over from a wallhanging kit I purchased from Fat Quarter Shop. The fabric is called Bistro. The vintage image is a free image from Dover. The image was printed on an Ink Jet Fabric Sheet and fused to the front of the postcard. The cups were fussy cut from one of the Bistro fabricsand fused.

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Good News from Altered Couture

When we returned from vacation, I had emails from Altered Couture magazine. Two of my items have been selected for publication in their Fall issue. I sent in two items and both were selected as technique articles. I very pleased and now I have to write the techniques articles. One item was an embellished wool sweater and the other a child's denim.

House Pendant

Some of you have wondered why is this pendant called a "House Pendant". I have attempted to show how the pendant represents a house in these two photos. The scissors may obscure the idea but the front and back cover of the pendant represent the roof and the inside pages represent the house. Hope you can see it from these photos. I made this one for a Fiber Arts group and that's why it has the sewing theme. You could do pendants with any theme.

Mini Housebook Pendant

This is my mini housebook pendant for a trade on FAT (Fiber Art Traders). Leilani is hosting this trade. We were to make the front and back from an old book cover. I used an old dictionary from 1953. These are the house roof. The rest of the house is made from three mini pages. I made mine from Timtex.

Three of my pages are fabric designs, one a scissors, a button, and a quilt square. I also used the words: pendant, fiber, and art on the covers.

Pretty Party Dresses

These six wonderful little "Party Dresses" are from a swap on Fabric in Altered Arts 2. They arrived in the mail today. Aren't they wonderful. I have them hanging above my studio door and they look so festive. I think this is one of my favorite swaps. Cathy, the hostess, even included little clothes pins to hang the dresses. You can see my Party Dress here.