So once again I’ve been away from my blog for too, too long. But for good reason. Well… at least I think so.
I’ve been spending a lot of time at school in studios-one of the three I’m occupying this semester. Weaving. Surface Design. And Glass. And I LOVE them all. Well, as long as I don’t have to do a double weave? Then its all good!
This is the loom I’ve been working on for the past couple semesters. We’ve been doing lots of samples, which has been great and really opened my mind the the possibilities…..endless! 
I’ve also spent a lot of time in the lampworking studio watching demos from our instructor, Emilio Santini. AMAZING I tell ya!
I feel so extremely blessed to be where I am right now, taking the classes I’m taking, and learning from such talented folks! Awesome.
So that means, unfortunately, that I haven’t had much time for making things beyond class projects. But hopefully soon I’ll have a better handle on school and family life.
Be blessed!
So I’ve been seeing lots of t-shirts refashion inspiration around blogland and decided to give it try myself!
I picked up a couple matching long sleeve t-shirts at Target on the clearance rack for $2.75 each. Score!
Sorry I don’t have step by step instructs but my hubby got a hold of the camera and, um….deleted my pics be accident! Ugh! Oh well, it happens.
Basically what I did was cut the sleeves off of one of the t-shirts and then cut up the arm seam and laid it out flat. Then I cut the one sleeve, long way, into one inch strips. Then I gathered those strips, pinned them down into my desired pattern and sewed that to the other t-shirt.
I’m very happy with the results. And I still have the now sleeveless t-shirt that I can refashion as well! I’d say that’s pretty good for $5.50 and a little time at the sewing machine!
Linking up to…
Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage
and
This recipe comes from the O’ Taste and Sing cookbook put out by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA several years ago. My family and I enjoy it quite often during the winter months!
Creamy Broccoli Soup
3 bunches broccoli, cut into small pieces
4 Tbsp. butter
2/3 cup chopped onion
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups light cream or milk
1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Cook broccoli in boiling salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid. Melt butter in large saucepan. Add onion and cook until soft. Blend in flour. Add broth and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Stir in 1/2 cup liquid from broccoli, cream, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Add broccoli. Heat to boiling. Stir in cheese. Serve. Yields 8-10 servings
ENJOY!
So this is the view from my back deck on Saturday morning. More snow! This is the 3rd snowstorm to hit VA this winter. Craziness I tell ya!
And, of course because we aren’t use to getting this much snow around here, EVERYTHING pretty much shuts down and we are stuck at home.
So what does one do when stuck in the house for DAYS!?
We make things we’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t had (made) the time for!
I made this scarf from two thrifted t-shirts I picked up for $1.00 each. I attended a workshop over the summer doing reverse applique and then I found this tutorial over at Joy Beadworks. I love being thrify and I also love doing embroidery! It turned out really cute.
Then I played with synthetic fabric and a flame to create this adorable flower pin. I came across this tutorial at Transient Expression and had to give it a try! I used a vintage clip on earring for the center. The polyester fabric is a sheer drapery panel I picked up at the thrift store. I think it came out really GREAT! I WILL be making more!
Gee, who knew being stuck inside for a couple days could be so productive! Hmmmm…..maybe it should snow more often?! Ummmmm….I don’t know if I could handle that.
I hope you are having fun creating too!
Have a blessed day!
I love how cute this candy dish/jar turned out.
This is what the poor guy looked like when I brought him home from the thrift store. He was tucked back on a Christmas shelf, all dusty and sad looking. He was only a buck so I couldn’t just leave him there!
After a VERY good bath and the addition of some yummy candy, he was looking marvelous! 
I whipped up this little guy too for my coffee table!
I pulled together a small glass plate my nephew had given us for Christmas, glass marbles, a votive and a little Valentine’s Day bucket I picked up at Target for $1.00! Don’t you just love the $1.00 bins at Target!?
I sat the bucket on the glass plate and sprinkled the glass marbles all around it and inside and plopped the votive down in the center. Viola!
Super easy and cute!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
So Izzy and I would like to show you what we’ve been up to while we’re snowed in here in VA.
I had this little pillow I picked up at a thrift store for .99 cents and two napkins from Target ($2.50 for the pair). Izzy and I decided it would be cute to make an envelope cover for the snowman pillow for Valentine’s Day!
I measured the pillow so I would know how much to cut down the napkins, which were 17″ square. My pillow was 12″ square.
I cut napkin #1 down to 12.5″ square, cutting off all hemmed edges. This is the front of my pillow cover. (Cutting to 12.5″ will give you 1/4″ around the edges for hemming.) With napkins #2 I cut it lengthwise to 12.5″, removing the hemmed edges along those sides.
Then I cut napkin #2 in half along the remaining 17″ side, leaving the hemmed edges along this side. (See below)
So these two pieces from napkin #2 are 8.5″ x 12.5″ with the original hemmed edges along the outer edges.
Lay out napkin #1, face up, and position the two pieces from napkin #2, face down, with hemmed edges to the center and overlapping so that all outer edges of the two napkins line up.
Pin along the outer edges and sew napkins together.
Once you’re done sewing, trim all for centers at an angle for neater centers when you turn the pillow right side out.
Ta-Da!!! You have an adorable Valentine’s Day pillow!
This project was super easy and super fast. It honestly took me longer to upload all the photos for the tutorial than it did to whip the pillow up!
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ~Pslam 62:5-6
I hope you have all had a wonderful week. We’re snowed in here in Virginia….again. That’s twice so far this winter. WOW! Crazy. I’m loving it though because I’m getting some much needed time in the studio to work on school projects. Be blessed and be safe!
- Virginia Commonwealth University-Fine Arts Building
This past Tuesday I started my Senior year at VCU! That means that this building will be my home-away-from-home for the next five months. And believe me, I will be spending A LOT of time here not only attending the four classes I’m taking this semester, but also putting in lots of hours working on projects in the various studios. I’m very excited about my classes this semester.
I’m taking a new course offered for the first time this semester called Intermediate Seminar. This lecture class is described in the syllabus as class where “we will talk (a lot) about all of your curiosities…and we will look hard at how other designers, makers, and artists have utilized their curiosities in their work. We will read articles, write down our thoughts, feelings, theories and our wild conjectures (and read them aloud in class).” And then at the end of the semester we’ll be required to give a presentation meant to “articulate our individual curiosities”. Yikes. Both exciting and scary for me. I’m not a get-up-and-talk-in-front-of-people-person! But hopefully by the end of the semester I’ll be ready!
In addition to this lecture class I’m taking three studios: Fabric Design II, Pattern Weaving and Lampworking II. Fabric Design II continues our exploration into various printing and dyeing techniques as well as fabric piecing and construction. Yes! Quilting! I can’t wait to put my new sewing machine to good use! Woohoo! Oh, and we also had to select a “theme” for the semester-something that our work would revolve around. I chose to continue exploring ocean life so you’ll be seeing a lot of octopi, squid, jellyfish, etc. in my work this semester.
Pattern Weaving is going to be great too. And of course our professor has us diving right in! We’re already working on our first project, called “Green”-either as a color and/or from an environmental awareness perspective. We’re also dressing our looms for our first samples. I’m honestly amazed at how comfortable I’m feeling in the weaving studio considering that I felt like I was all thumbs last semester! LOL I pray that comfort continues!
And then there’s Lampworking II. In this class we’ll be building on the skills we learned in part one but we are also free to choose the direction of our work. If we want to explore sculptural work, jewelry construction, etc., we are able to! Now, I just need to choose! I’m thinking about working with images on glass. I’d like to incorporate some of my husband’s photographs into my work!
Oh, and then on top of this course load, I found out Tuesday that I got an internship at the Virginia Center for Architecture helping with Education and Program Development!!! I’m really looking forward to it. I have a passion for non-profits, especially in the area of education and program development. And Architecture!? Oh yes! I’m hoping to get the opportunity to attend a few lectures and learn A LOT from the wonderful people there. I’m so freakin’ blessed! God is just too good!
Now, I just hope I can keep my sanity through it all and still produce good work, learning and growing all the way!
I’m going to try my hardest to post, at least weekly, about school and things going on with projects, lectures, shows, etc. I hope you’ll stop by!
I found this great tutorial over at JesseKate Designs for a Valentine’s Day Candy Sundae Centerpiece. She’s got some right stuff on her site so check it out.
This sundae was very simple to put together. My supplies were a little different. I couldn’t find any pink saltwater taffy so I used the Valentine’s chewy nougat mint candies for the top. I also couldn’t find the Pixie Sticks so I just used a real drinking straw and cut it off a bit.
Oh, and the sundae glass? He was rescued for the dirty shelves of a local thrift store for .75 cents and received a VERY thorough cleaning!
My son thought it was SUPER COOL and begged me to take this picture. I’d say its another successful project!
I was in Michael’s the other day and saw an adorable Valentine’s Day ribbon wreath for sale. Instead of purchasing the ready-made one, I decided to try making my own!
So I pulled together all the supplies:
1 wire clothes hanger
Craft ribbons, 5/8″ width (3-4 spools), 1/8″ width 6″ in length
a decorative heart for the center
hot glue gun
scissors and wire cutters
I started by using the wire cutters to cut off the hook part of the hanger. I then shaped the wire hanger into a heart shape with LOTS of twisting, pulling, pushing and FINALLY….a heart. It doesn’t have to be perfect because you’re going to cover it with ribbon anyway! (I love projects that don’t require perfection!)
I used wire cutters to create hooks to connect the ends and closed them firmly.
I cut the ribbons into 5-6″ strips. It takes about 3-4 spools of ribbon for one wreath, depending on how tightly you tie them on.
Simply tie the ribbons onto the wire hanger. You’ll want to tie them tight. Polyester ribbon doesn’t want to stay tied otherwise! Keep tying the ribbon on until you have the desired fullness.
Fold you 1/8″ piece of ribbon in half and attach with hot glue to the back of your wooden heart. Tie onto the ribbon wreath in the center.
Cut a piece of 5/8″ ribbon to hang your wreath. The length will vary depending on how long you want it to hang down from your hook. My ribbon was probably about 6″ long and I just wrapped it around the center of the wreath, tied a knot there to help it stay secure to the hanger. Then tied a knot at the other end of the ribbon to hang it.
VIOLA!!! You have a cute ribbon wreath!
