My First Tutorial

Hello my dear Friends.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was working on a tutorial for the little flowers in the salt-shaker vase. Well, it is ready.

So, here we go!

First get all your supplies together.

You will need everything in the picture below:

 

- Modge Podge

- Tacky glue

- A toothpick

- A foam brush

- Book pages/music sheets

- Corsage pins or larger pins (I like to use white pins)

- Flower punches in 2 sizes ( I used Marvy Uchida punches sold at Michaels)

- A small salt shaker

 

Cover your book pages (which shouldn't be to old or they will be too brittle for this) with a coat of Modge Podge on both sides. Make sure you let each side dry completely before trying to punch out the flowers or the paper will just rip.

 

I used two different older books with different shades of colored pages. Punch out small and large flowers from your pages.

 

 

Take a pin and push it through the center of the small flower first and then push the pin through the large flower. Be sure to use a toothpick to add a drop of tacky glue to the center of the flowers before pushing them all the way up the pin. This will make sure your flowers stay in place. And that is all.

 

Now you just have to make enough to fill your little saltshaker 'vase'. I found the shaker above in a thrift store on one of my many treasure searches. The pins were a bit too short for this one, so I added a piece of old book page into the bottom of the shaker to give the pins something to stand on.

 

This is another way you could display your beautiful blossoms! The pins were yet again too short, so I filled the bottom of the shaker with some pearls from a previous project.

 

Last but not least, these little gems were made from sewing pins and an envelope I had received in the mail last week! You could use any other paper (different colors, different textures...) and if you prefer different colored pins. I also made the cute little 'chocolate' pin cushion above!

I hope you will enjoy making these as much as I have enjoyed making this tutorial!

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

What Do You Do On A Snowy Day?

Hello my dear friends.

So what do you on a snowy day? ....

Well, you take pictures of your back yard - isn't it beautiful?! Our big willow is named Salisbury - after the town Salisbury in England where we lived; there is a big willow at the river Avon downtown that looks just like ours. This willow tree is a very speacial one, it was hit by lightning in 2009 and survived it, which made us very happy.

What else do you do on a snowy day? ......

You try and tidy your very messy craft room! As you see in the picture, it would seem I had a tornado in there, but fear not, this is me gathering all my crafty things from all over the house and getting ready to organise it.
I know, it looks horrible!

And last but not least .... you CRAFT. Today I started to put together my very first tutorial! Check in tomorrow to see what it is for! Also, my daughter has her own blog - why not drop by and take a look? You can visit her at:

http://www.everything-is-better-with-sprinkles.blogspot.com/

Have a peaceful and creative day,

Karen B.

Oops - I made a mistake

Good morning my dear friends,

I am sorry, but I made a mistake in my post yesterday. The company that makes the daisy punches isn't Martha Stewart, but a company called  "Marvy Uchida" and I bought them at Michaels.

I am so happy you all like my creations. My heart gets this really warm fuzzy feeling when I read your so very
kind comments.

Have a peaceful and creative day

Karen B.

I would like to start this post with a thank-you to everyone who has become a follower of my blog, and to those who have left me all of the wonderful comments - I can not guarentee that I will be able to get back to each one of you individually, which is why I am thanking you here.

This is one of my latest little creations after I had discovered the Martha Stewart line of punches! I used a little crystal saltshaker and corsage pins that I had picked up on one of my adventures through the various second-hand stores. I then punched out these delightful flowers from old book pages and voila!

On the same adventure, I found this cute silver heart trinket-box. I decoupaged old music sheet scraps on the inside, and decided what better treasure to put inside than a delicate little birds nest (which I made from paper, wire, berries and feathers) with pearl eggs! I am very pleased with how this piece turned out.

Yesterday my daughters and I took a walk in the winter-wonderland of Ontario. As you can see above, they are feeding the rather fiesty ducks who were apparently VERY hungry.

That is all for to today my dear friends,
I wish you all a peaceful and creative day!

Karen B.

My First Pictures

Here are a few of my first pictures! The picture above is taken from my work space - as you can see it is pretty messy but some of my best ideas blossom here.

These are one of my first very own creations - Cupboard Mice - named by my daughter Caylagh. These little critters tend to live in warm, dark kitchen cupboards and pantries - as you can see, this little guy above has decided to snuggle up in one of my tea cups!

Last but by no means least, let me introduce you to Else (the large bear). I made her in England while we were stationed there 5 years ago. I made her out of muslin and finished her with a coat of acrylic paint. I then dressed her in a little delicate Victorian-style dress, and added a bow made out of lace for the finishing touches! (The two smaller critters were made for me by my daughter Ashleigh). I hope you have enjoyed these first glimpses of my creations - there will be plenty more pictures to come so please check back in soon!

I would also like to thank the fellow bloggers who messaged me and welcomed me to Blogger, thank you for your kind words and welcoming wishes, they are much appreciated :)
That is all for now,
Hugs,

Karen B.

My first post

Hi there,
my name is Karen Bailey and this is my first time as a blogger. I have so much more to learn, so if anyone has any advice, tips or ideas for me, I would love to hear from you!

I decided to create this blog so I can share my love for crafting and old treasures. Crafting has always been a big part of my life. I have been married for 20 years now to a British soldier and have two beautiful daughters. We spent most of our army life all over the world including Germany, England and Canada - finally settling down here in Ontario. Despite the constant uprooting of our lives every 2-3 years, crafting has always been something I could take with me wherever I go.

I get my inspirations from many sources such as books, websites, blogs and once in a while I come up with a design of my own and that is the only time I will put my name on it. My favorite blogs are by my friends Dawn at "The Feathered Nest", and Barbara-Jean at "Treasures from the Heart" - so if you get a moment, please head over and take a look! 

I plan to 'blog' whenever I can, so please come back and see if I have posted anything new!
That's all for now,

Karen B.

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