Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Hopping right down the bunny trail...

I woke up the other day with that song going through my head.   I figure it was my inner art calendar just taking a gander at the date and giving me a "heads up"... in the event I wanted to play and make something for Easter! 

Earlier this year I had decided that I wanted to make some little bunny earrings and a necklace for my granddaughter for Easter. Being just seven, I think she'll get a big kick out of wearing them "out and about".  So gramma got out her clay "stuff" and away she went. 

It was pretty easy and quick to make these lop eared bunnies... a couple balls of white clay for the head and the ears, a smidgen of pink for the nose and ears, some fishing line for whiskers, little flowers for the head and two black seed beads for the eyes.  "Cooked" them for 30 minutes and when they were cooled glazed them with Future to give them a nice shine.

So before I package them up to get sent off in the mail, I thought I'd share a photo of them with you...

The necklace was put together with some small white beads and larger pink pearls I have had in my stash forever. However, it was not before I managed to let the beading wire slip from my fingers as I was putting it together and spilled most of the beads onto the floor.  Hubby heard me screech "Oh NO!" and, bless him,  came to help rescue beads as they scattered across the room on the hardwood floor.

Do you have any projects planned for Easter?  Would love to hear what they are...

Till next week, when I will show you some pretty cool polymer clay beads I made this week and what I did with them.  I have another project with "bunnies" that I want to do... and if I get it done, I'll show it to you as well.

Happy arting,
Sharon

Cute as a Button.... and a challenge

The other day I needed a change of pace so I did something that I haven't done in a number of years.... cross stitch!


This little piece, done on 32 count linen,  was inspired by something I saw in a "button" store on a "let's go poking around" day with my friend Karen the last time she was in Victoria.  We both love buttons and we both have large stashes of them waiting to be used for "something".  Many of them are vintage... some have "stories" behind them and some are just ones we have seen along the way that we like!

I have a particular fondness for the old pearl and "bakelite" buttons...  the tinier, the better.  The two tiny pearlized buttons in the photo below (top right hand side) are actually from an old Edwardian vintage lawn dress that was literally falling apart from age (it was about 100 years old).  Every button in the piece is different.

This piece looks big in the picture but in actual fact it is quite small.  The squares themselves are less than an inch.  To give you some perspective... the large button at the bottom is about an inch.

I haven't quite decided how I will eventually frame it... guess I need to take a trip down to the framing store once I get the piece stretched and let the muse decide!!

I really enjoyed the change of pace of doing something different. Cross stitch is such exacting work and you really do have to concentrate on what you are doing.  Discover that you are one stitch off and out comes the "stitch ripper"!

I used to love to cross stitch and do hardanger (a "white work" form of Norwegian stitchery).     I even won many a blue ribbon at the State Fair in Raleigh, N.C. for some of my pieces that still adorn the walls of our house.

 Just doing this "button" piece, renewed my enthusiasm for cross stitch again and prompted me to get my "rear in gear" and finish off a couple of pieces that have languished in my cross stitch box for more years than I can remember!

Here's a photo of the Santa that I finally finished... look how tiny those stitches are!  Thank heavens for magnifiers LOL  Once it is framed, it will look great with the hardanger "Christmas House" I did a number of years ago.  I'll take a photo of the Christmas House soon and show it to you.  It is one of my treasured pieces.  I'm just not sure how well it will show up in a photo as it is "white on white".

What "unfinished" projects do you have tucked away in a bag shoved into the back of your closet or a shoe box that hasn't been opened in a long, long time?

• Mitts that you started that need another one to make a pair? 
•  Polymer beads that need to be sanded, polished and strung?  
• What about that dress you started last spring that never got finished?  
• Or the scrapbook page that needs a few finishing touches?
• What about that book on your shelf you keep meaning to alter?

I challenge you to make this the week to "rescue" an unfinished project from its hiding spot and lead it to the "finishing" line.  Let me know what you re-discover and how you make out!!

Art on my friends,
Sharon

Maxine and me...

And a Happy St. Paddy's Day to You...

I love the Maxine cartoons!  Maxine just tickles my funny bone and  her antics are good for the soul.  Today I thought I'd share a couple of my St. Paddy day favourites with you.  Enjoy!!

Cheers,
Sharon

Little Row Houses

It's been quite awhile since my last post.  Thanks to all of you who have inquired as to whether I am still alive.  YES, I am and thanks for asking!!

The silence on the blog has not been due to my incarceration, institutionalization, hospitalization or expiration. Nor was it an extended holiday in some place hot and sweaty, drinking margaritas a la Jimmy Buffet although that obviously would have been preferable to the other options I have just mentioned.  Nope, just lots of stuff going on in my life... some good, some not so good... taking up tons of my time dealing with it.  At the end of the day... blogging has just not been where my head is at.  I'm also taking a semi break from art right now, patiently waiting for my "mojo" to blossom once again!  Spring is coming... that should help!  I am not a winter person... my arthritis does not like it when it is cold and rainy and I get cranky and ornery!  LOL

This past week though I couldn't resist signing up for a swap for some little row houses in one of my mixed media groups. I love those little houses and decided I'd put a morning aside this weekend and get busy to make some.  Joining a swap put the fire under my feet to get them done.

I always admire the pretty little houses that lots of ladies make but personally I like to make grungy ones!!  There's just something about vintage papers, ink and old images that appeals to me and the messier my desk gets, the better!  Go figure....  It felt good to play with paper and ink again.  I didn't realize just how much I had to choose from in my stash.  Collecting it bit by bit sure adds up after awhile.

Here are a couple of photos of the finished houses.  One of the "rules" is that each house contain a number.  I tried to find different ways of including the number that wasn't what you would expect.

It was a fun morning making those little houses.  I am sure I will be just delighted when the houses from the other participants in the swap begin to arrive.  I have already decided that I am going to make a little accordion book with pockets to store them in... and perhaps make a few more houses while I am at it. 

Wishing you all an artful week...

Sharon