What have I been doing?

That question was asked of me recently.  What, if any, art work have I done recently.  Well, here are four pieces I completed this week.

 "Serenade"

An old book cover is the backing for this old postcard and vintage items mixed media collage.

"Love's Dream After the Ball"

Used the same material for this mixed media collage.

"All Dressed Up!"

Lots of old and newer trims used on the mixed media collage.  This was an old photograph I had collected years ago.  Loved this image because of her hat and Sunday best clothing.

This journal is covered with vintage flocked wall paper on both the front and the back covers.  This front has an overlay of lace as well.  Then I added the image (from Paper Whimsy), corner covers, vintage flowers and buttons.  Simple yet pretty.  Great journal for a young lady.

And that is what I have been up to lately!  Hope you like it.

New art work this week . . .

I had some "forced" stay at home days this week and used that time to create some new art work.  Decided to use old book covers that were on nearly destroyed books.  Here's what I did:

I have a number of different "hangers" for this kind of mixed media work.  Love these shabby white ones.

Sisters

 This is one of my favorite Paper Whimsy Beautiful Faces collage images.

Closer up you can see the stitching around the photo, the fabric and laces used and the trims.  

I tried my hand at resin as well.  Love this bezel by Susan Lenart Kazmer.  Another part of the Paper Whimsy Beautiful Faces collage sheet.

Going Fishin'

This is an actual old photo of this darling little boy holding a fishing pole.  Love his overalls and that cute, cute hat!  Isn't he just too stinkin' cute???!!  Love the wire hanger on this picture.

On this collage I just glued the original picture to the old book cover and added the trims and old buttons.

 Do You Like My Hat?

Next is an old photo that I just love.  I have had it for years and the things I like most are her hat and her blouse!  Beautiful!  And those partial gloves are fantastic!

An old book cover, old lace and cheesecloth.  Trims, ribbon and a pretty vintage crocheted flower.

I love the bit of pearl and lace trim at the top.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope to do more blogging in the future.  Please be sure to check out my Facebook page for more found items and updates on happenings around town and at Merchant Square.

It's hot out! So I am inside doing artsy things!

I have been busy.  Am trying to get some things made for my booth as well as for my own curiosity as to what I could do with some items.

I have been collecting up tiny compacts, pill boxes and other small vintage containers.  Here are three that I have collected recently.  The little Estee Lauder compact on the bottom left was plain and simple.  I added the religious picture (actually an old lapel button) and encircled it with rhinestones.  The little blue box on the bottom right is a vintage Stratton pill box that has a shabby necklace clasp piece on it.

This is a vintage tin face powder refill box.  I covered the tattered paper lid and then added an old tintype and encircled it with rhinestones.  Sorry the tintype picture didn't turn out so well.  Tried several shots and this was the best one. 

I really enjoyed doing these.  Am still on the lookout for small containers that I can embellish.

Here are two small gift bags that I embellished this week.

This pretty little lady is an image from Paper Whimsy.  The owner, Gale Blair, had offered this image for free on Facebook and I took advantage of the offer.  Paper Whimsy's images are really beautifully done, sharp, clear and can be downloaded from their website immediately after purchasing any of them.

This is the second gift bag I put together yesterday.

I covered it with vintage bits of lace and trims, rose ribbon, a doily with pink and off white flowers.  Then I added an old key embellished with rhinestones and other trinkets.  Had fun doing this one!  Going to do more over the next few days.  Feels good to get back to creating!

If I stay home . . . .

It's amazing what I can get done -- and quickly!  Here are some of my latest creations.

I dyed the tags, stamped the fabric, sewed the stamped sections down to red and white ticking, wrapped the tags with vintage laces.  Yes, I know that Stampington & Co. sells these fabric tags, but they are easy to replicate.  Especially if you have the Bonjour Cavallini stamp set.  Short story on that Bonjour stamp set:  I had bought a duplicate set several years ago.  Listed it on Etsy and it sold immediately.  Since then I have had three inquiries from Etsy people wanting to know if I had any more sets. Hmm!  Cavallini doesn't make that stamp set anymore.

I have a roll of wonderful vintage wallpaper that is white with a heavy flocked pattern.  I created a fancy envelope sometime back and posted it on my blog.  Well, I was wondering what to do with a small left over bit of the wallpaper.  Here is what I did first:

I made another envelope and decorated it.

On both sides.  This is front since the flap is on the other side.

Then I decided to cover a composition notebook with the same wallpaper and this beautiful Paper Whimsy image.  Now, I have a question for you artists.  The glove is an orphan and even though it is made of thin nylon, it is still a bit bulky in order to glue down the image.  Any suggestions on what to do?  I am afraid that since the image sits above the surface of the notebook that it would catch on things and eventually be torn off.  Should I cut the glove up and expose only the fingers and the ruffled cuff?  Should I mount the image on bits of chipboard so that it sits above the glove?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My stars!

Started working again early this morning in order to finish these stars.  There are 5 in all, but I am just going to feature these two.

One again my inspiration came from Nancy Maxwell James and the images are from Paper Whimsy.  The stars were recently unearthed in my attempts to clean up my workspace.  I have had these stars for years.  They came in dark brown tin already perforated.  I thought they would sell as Christmas decorations, but they didn't.  So when I saw Nancy's stars on the Paper Whimsy website a year ago, I decided to paint the recently discovered stars and decorate them similar to hers. 

They turned out better than expected.  Once again, thanks to Nancy and Gale for the inspiration!!

My latest creation

I had one more clipboard to basecoat and finish.  And Paper Whimsy's newest digi collage download spoke to me.  See what I did!

I thought this young lady was so pretty and so elegant.  I had a ball creating this latest clipboard.

Nancy Maxwell James of Sugar Lump Studios was the artist who got me interested in an online tutorial she was offering and I signed up.  Thanks to Nancy and to Gale Blair who is the force behind Paper Whimsy.

New additions to Vintage Recycled on Etsy

These two journals have been added to my Etsy shop, Vintage Recycled.  I am trying to do a variety of journal covers since not everyone likes cowgirls -- although I don't know why!  LOL!!! 

 This is Nora Wadeley.  You saw her in Sew Somerset, but on a larger scale!  Here she is with plenty of rhinestones and an old bit of a bracelet.

I call this journal Sister's Secrets.  I love this image.  It comes from Paper Whimsy.  They have so many beautiful collage sheets and downloads.  Take a look at their website.

Little Lady

This is a project I worked on this last weekend. It is hot outdoors and when it is, you stay in and do other things. This was my "other thing." I got the idea from the Paper Whimsy website under the "Inspire" tab. They have a lot of cute projects featured there as well as lots of goodies to purchase. The flower at the bottom is from Paper Whimsy.

Anyway, this is actually a 6"x6" canvas. You do the project on the back of the canvas. The first one I tried, I didn't have much luck with the crackle paint. But, this time I painted the wood with black and then applied gobs of the crackle paint. It took a while to dry. Then I used alcohol ink diluted with blending solution to tone down the color of the paint. Worked great!

Time for a give-away!

As I near the 17,000 visitors mark (as I write this, the number is at 16,930 visitors) on my blog I am going to do a give-away! This is a big thank you to all who read my blog, leave comments, and have posted my blog address on your blog! And here is the piece I am giving away:

It is a little journal (3 1/2" x 4") that I created before I went to Virginia last week. I ordered the image from Paper Whimsy. Isn't she just the cutest little girl??!!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this July 29th blog, and on Monday, August 3rd (by noon), I will pick a winner's name out of the hat and post it on my blog. Then as soon as I get your mailing information, I will put your little journal in the mail to you! So leave a comment! Be sure to check back with me by Monday, August 3rd! Get in on the drawing!