vintage holiday art kits

i have been shopping all year for wonderful old vintage holiday treasures. each time i would find a glass garland, some flocked jingle bells, or strings of tinsel i tucked them in boxes waiting for today....

last night i got out my boxes and spread their contents all over the carpet as i unpacked each lovely, sparkling thing. i started organizing the pretty bits by color and put together my first three vintage holiday art kits.

if classic red and green is what you adore this tiny velvet stocking would be perfect on your tree.





if whisper pink sets your heart all aflutter then this collection is for you. glass balls and garland, crepe paper ruffles, and the tiniest silver tinsel string wrapped around a vintage playing card.






or open the vintage flocked ribbon bag and find inside these beautiful old gold garlands, german paper stars, and metal tinsel.








i just couldn't wait to share them with you. happy tuesday wishes, julie

little art kit.....

i have always adored sending out little packages. this little art kit went to one of my favorite students headed back to school. i tucked in a few of my favorite tiny art treats to keep her busy (when she is not studying....)



i can never resist the feel of a new journal. the paper is smooth and clean, the binding fresh. this darling hand bound journal came from huishbooks on etsy. i love the tiny grommets and the waxed linen thread.

these little pop a point pencils are my silly fixation. i used them as a little girl, marveling at each new sharp point when i tucked the old one in the end.



vintage dennison office supplies are another one of my weaknesses. i would love to travel back in time to a five and dime store just to see their display of gummed labels, holiday paper decorations, sealing wax, and crepe paper. whenever i find a whole drawer full of this old stuff dumped into a box at an estate sale i swoon.






sweet little ruffles are at the top of my favorites list. i have been making piles of these vintage crepe paper ruffles in every color. trying to figure out how i can make some gold and silver ones for the holidays.



all nestled together and tied up with ribbons and strings it makes going back to school decidedly fun. your back to school student will surely thank you...
(scalloped oval punched from a vintage whitman playing card)

healing...

i began this summer biking up my canyon every morning uphill into a stiff headwind. i would curse the wind and wonder everyday if i could make it to the top of the trail.
each day i would return. each day the wind was always blowing.

i have had so many lovely notes wondering how things are going, why my last blog post was the first of may. thank you for your thoughts and genuine kindness.
without knowing why i knew i needed to take some time to heal myself, to find a peace and stillness that was missing in my life, and to make a place for something new.

some days i would click on my blog and stare at my last post and wonder if i would find a place for it again, if i would feel the connection and desire to share again my journey. then i would walk away from the computer feeling sad and confused.

the floor of my studio piled up with things, dust gathered around and wispy cobwebs attached themselves to my glass glitter bottles in my window sill. i became afraid that maybe this part of my life was over, that i had let it dry up.

i didn't even really know why i was drifting...





i watched the flowers bloom alongside the canyon trail, the sun rise each morning, the colors change as the grasses dried in the heat, and watched the path of the sun as it traveled across the sky.

i learned to be still.

i feel like now a few months later i understand a bit more why i followed that voice inside that said make a little space.

i had to learn again how to lay in the fresh summer grass gazing up at the leaves fluttering in the wind, losing myself in the beauty of the trees. there have been too many voices in my head. i had to be still until they all went away.

i had to learn again how to look and see the people around me. not as they are when they are simply passing by with their voices trailing behind them but as they appear before my eyes, glowing with life and dreams, and sometimes aching and broken.

i had to learn again how to care for myself so i had something to give. i needed to heal my own aching heart so i could feel brave enough to share it.



today i headed up the canyon for an early ride. the wind was blowing. i felt it gust against my bike and blow across my face. as i came to the first long climb i realized i was smiling as i cranked the pedals. i called out loud to the wind 'do your worst' and then pedaled on to the top.



these are a few photos of the book 'Living Praise' i created after my husband's father died just before Christmas. it was published in the first issue of Art Quilting Studio this summer. it is one of my favorite pieces of work and i am so happy i had the opportunity to share it.



the folded linen pages were sewn to a wool felt backing that i glued to the inside of the book.




self adhesive book binding tape being applied to strengthen the spine.



spreading tacky glue to the book binding tape just before pressing in the wool felt backing.

(photos 4 and 5 are from Art Quilting Studio)

the song 'little pieces' by gomez

felt bon bon ring tutorial

yesterday i went up to salt lake to the ABC channel 4 studios and filmed a live segment for the Good Things Utah show. first time ever on tv and let me tell you it was totally cool! (but it still stressed me out...)
i went into the green room to wait until it was time for me to set up. there on the wall was the 10 foot poster with the Lost cast. i set up a table with beautiful wool beads and little dishes of supplies with all the steps ready to show the felt bead rings from my book. i had only just got a mike on and stepped behind the table when the camera man said '10 seconds and you're live' i thought ok, here it goes.

i decided to post a tutorial here so you can make one of the felt bon bon rings from the show for yourself.

i love working with wool felt. it seems i always have a stack of felt scraps stacked on my desk next to a pretty tin filled with wool beads. i guess it isn't much of a surprise then that one day while playing around i made one of these bon bon rings. my first one looked so much like a little jello mold i had to laugh.


it was so satisfying to cut apart the wool balls i started adding felt, beads, ric rac, trim and vintage millinery flowers to my collection of little candy rings and they all ended up in my book pretty little felts.
the first step is to cut the wool bead in half with a pair of sharp scissors. i love the colors and selection of wool beads from Ornamentea. the ones i have used here are the 2 cm size.


lay your circle template over the wool bead to choose the size then trace the circle onto the back of a piece of felt with a pencil or a water soluable marker. (mark be gone is a good one)


cut around the circle with a pair of scalloped or zig zag scissors lining up the points with the edge of the circle. glue the half bead on the right side of the scallop circle using tacky glue and let dry.



gather together some ric rac, tiny beads, sequins, embroidery floss, and any other pretty embellishments you would like to use and sew or glue them onto your wool bead.
after decorating you felt bon bon use E600 to adhere the felt to a ring blank and let it dry.



here are some variations i have made. those fancy sew on gems were on an old hat i bought.


here is my little bon bon ring ready to be mailed to a friend tucked in tiny paper mache box and surrounded by a nest of crepe paper.

with a couple of flowers tied to the top it makes a lovely gift. enjoy, julie

little peeps...

with easter only a week away i thought i would share these photos of my little peeps, some fancy eggs, and two tiny easter baskets i made.
this little chick is our tiny baby bantam hen 'oreo' she was so patient for the photo shoot... we have three little chicks in a box downstairs, talk about constant peeping. i love it when they cuddle up together and fall asleep.



i ordered a bunch of paper mache eggs from blumchens. they have such a gorgeous paper design inside. it was so easy to add a bit of paint and some of my favorite millinery flowers. i ended up making a whole basket of them!
for the photo i nestled them together in a vintage creamware dish with a bit of tissue paper garland from bethany lowe.





these tiny baskets are just the right size for a handful of chocolate treats. the first one is made from a vintage crocheted nut cup holder. i found a box of these at my antique store. gladys anderson kept them in an old cummings chocolates box. she crocheted a set of these and starched them to hold a little waxed dixie cup. the old paper cups were still in the box. how fun to fill with a tasty treat and pass around the card table for the ladies bridge night.
the second basket is made with a tiny box made from artist matt board cut and glued together. the vintage cotton chenille stem makes such a sweet handle tied on both ends with a bit of ribbon. happy easter wishes, julie

irish gold

with two redheaded daughters, an irish gypsy as one of my long ago granmothers, and a love of the sea and all things green is it any wonder that i fell for these lucky little leprechans?
this morning was quite the flurry as i added a final dusting of green glitter to 10 tiny fingernails, served up neon green pancakes (mom these pancakes look scary!),
and posted a few more green things in my shop all by 8:30.

tomorrow i am teaching a reduce, reuse, recycle class. totally going green here in many different ways. thinking about the all green salad the hubby suggested for dinner....



the irish gold petite art kit i listed in my shop for march with some other green goodies. fern wool button cards, the new vintage green paper packs, shamrock wool bundle, and an 'i grow things' crepe paper flower kit. hope you are feelin the green today, julie

wonderful art nest weekend

here are the beautiful women i got to spend the art nest weekend with. i look at each of their faces now and feel so grateful for a few days of their lives spent with candice and me in the snowy mountains of utah. front left to right: Cassondra, Natalie, Laurie, Lorie, Caryn, Courtney, Julie, Beth, Gloria, Kelly Rae, Jane, me middle row: Kari, Debbie, Karen, Candice, Britt, Michelle, Denise, Deb, Jolee, Lorraine, Allyson back row: Mati, Maya, Heidi, Susan, Shelley, Jodi, Diane. i loaded the photo big so you can click on it to see better. :)
the gals that have sites on the web i have linked for you to visit. enjoy...


the day before everyone arrived our families were at the cabin setting up beds, carrying in food and supplies. both our husbands took most of the week off to help us get ready and to take care of everything at home while we were at the nest. what an amazing gift... thank you Matt and Rich.

here are a few photos of the what we had waiting for everyone to arrive.




we had four days ahead of us to spend with each other, creating art, and sharing our lives. each person came with their own story waiting to unfold. i believe for artists, art is the truest expression of our hearts. in those four days it seemed as if time stopped for us, focusing all our energy towards connecting with each other and our art.
candice and i have hosted the art nest five times now and before it has been a large part about the art for me. i desperately needed to learn new things to find out what was inside me.
this time was so different. i wanted to create this wonderful experience for someone else. i loved watching the art that flowed out of each person, cooking delicious meals for them, and hearing about their happiness and struggles. i am not sure i even know what has changed inside me. i just know i have been waiting for this my whole life.
the first night at our welcome nesters meeting candice and i both talked about what we hoped each person would experience attending the nest, an opportunity to open our hearts, to nourish and heal, and to feel gratitude. michelle took this fun picture of us wearing the aprons noelle made for us to match our toolkits.


such a big part of the art nest is the teachers that come and give to each of us a day to explore something new. they are generous and open, patient and caring. it feels as if you get to see inside their studio for a day and experience their life's work.
kelly rae was our first teacher. she set the perfect tone for the retreat. on each person's kit she taped a message. each one was different and personal, it gave us each permission to begin where we were. mine said 'the creative community needs your vision....don't be shy.' the art from kelly rae's class blew me away.


you can see here photos taken the night we all displayed our work.


mati began teaching on friday with the sun streaming in the window over her art. i am so drawn to her fanciful images and gorgeous saturation of color. i love that her art evokes such happy, childlike emotions from me. everywhere in the room there was brilliant color and spontaneous laughter. it was wonderful.


i decided to work on a smaller piece with flowers inspired from some funky fabric kari brought. i will be that little bird in my garden this summer.


jane taught the class on saturday. i have taken one other class from jane and was so amazed at her process working with metal pipe. she had a whole table filled with her jewelry at the artist sale it was so hard to choose! i can finally solder without burning everything so i had so much fun starting a ring.
a few more photos i couldn't resist posting. thank you all for an amazing experience i will never forget. i miss you, julie