My Newest Painted Rose

Native American Basket

Since I have been visiting so many ancient Indian pueblos in New Mexico and learning about their culture, I wanted to try my hand at one of their crafts........basketmaking.  I found the kit at the Salinas National Monument, which included raffia, pine needles, and a blunt-ended embroidery needle.  Instructions and drawings were included.  Obviously I need a lot more practice! This is just a little basket, but it was quite challenging.  I have plenty of supplies left over and plan to try again.  Hopefully I will be able to work out some sort of pattern with the raffia on the next basket.  This definitely gives me a greater appreciation for native American crafts.

Madrid, New Mexico

I saw this creative fence outside a bed & breakfast in the little town of Madrid. 

Mini tea set

 Beverly's enthusiasm for her doll house work motivated me to see what I could create with this mini tea set.  It's all inside a 6 inch square box!  The jeweled lid it sitting on top of the box.

Gathering of Nations Indian Pow Wow at the UNM "Pit" in Albuquerque.  Hundreds on tribes were together from the U.S., Canada and Mexico to dance, sing, shop, eat and visit with other tribes.  It was an incredibly colorful and happy event.  Loved to see all the costumes and the work that was done on them.  

My Painted Rose

One day I got creative and decided to take down the art that came with the RV and replace it with my own.  It's tricky taking photos of art within a glass frame.  Gotta keep working on these photos.

Altered Book

     Many years ago when I was in college I took a fascinating class called "World Religions" which included visiting churches in the local area (I lived in the San Francisco Bay area at the time).  It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the beliefs and practices of others without feeling pressure to "join".
     When I started studying how to create an altered book, the first suggestion was to pick a theme.  This subject is interesting to me, so it's the theme I chose.
     I started out with a little old book (not a collector's edition!) and glued about 1/3" of the first pages together with decoupage.  Then I cut out the compartment through the front cover.  I used leftover lace, ribbon, jewelry, ink, and scrapbook papers to start decorating the pages.  I've ripped out pages of the book to make room for the altered pages.  Some pages are ripped or folded or sewn to reveal extra compartments.  Making the collage was fun too!
    So now I study, then add my notes and thoughts to this book.  I've already finished Hinduism, and am now working on the teachings of Confucius.  I'm not looking to join a religion, but instead trying to understand what others believe.  

Shadow Box Re-Do

I've had this little shadow box for a few years and finally decided to do something with it.  It held some old corn and dried flowers, which I tossed out.  The whole piece sort of fell apart when I tried to remove the contents.  Next, I glued the wood back together and cleaned the glass.  To cover all the scratched wood and glued on left-over paper, I used decoupage and pages out of a book.  Messy but it works.  I even added that to the sides and back.  The inside compartments have dried flowers from my garden, keys, and old heart pin I got in a jar of jewelry pieces from a thrift store, plus scrap-booking left overs.  Finally, I trimmed the edge with old lace also found at a thrift store.  

My driftwood mobile

I collected sea shells and driftwood on the beaches in Oregon and put this together with fishing line. The trick is to drill 2 parallel holes through each piece. This keeps the wood from spinning around, maintains it's design, and adds durability. extra sea shells dangle at the bottom.

This project doesn't mean anything to anyone except us. We have the memories of collecting on the chilly shores of Oregon.

Crafts found in Oregon

This is from a shop in Eugene, Oregon. She makes her own bird nests from natural materials she collects on her walks.
This is an artist's canvas covered with papers, then old letter game pieces were used.

Crafts I've picked up along the way

The folded tree was a craft I picked up at a wonderful little shop in Farmington, Utah called "Just a Bed of Roses". It was my first inspiration to working with old books for crafts.

Junkmail Journals

Here are two new journals I sewed together with fabric scraps. The blank pages are ready to be filled. I like the size of these journals. They fit in my suitcase or even purse very easily and are not heavy.

Junkmail Journal

This has been such a great project for me. I took an on-line class from Mary Ann Moss (dispatchfromla.typepad.com). She gives such complete video directions . This was very easy to put together. The "gist" of the project is to use fabric scraps, paper scraps (junkmail in particular), pages from old magazines, maps, registers, and leftover bits and pieces of scrapbooking papers and supplies. Then she taught me how to sew it all together to make the journal. Who knew my old Singer could sew paper!!! Thanks so much Mary Ann!!!
Once the journal is sewn together it's ready to take on my travel adventures to fill in. Initially I didn't really know what to add other than photos, then my friend Kathy suggested I use the journal to not only keep a record of where we've been and what we've seen, but also to give opinions and impressions, making suggestions of possibly returning in the future. She suggested adding places we missed with the idea of getting there on another visit. These ideas have helped me nearly fill my first journal, and I've put together another with even more pages to fill.
As we have more ability to travel at this time of our lives, I wish so much I had a travel journal from our early-married years, when the children were younger. There's so many places I can picture in my brain, but I just can't remember WHERE they were!!! If only I'd made a travel journal back then.

I Just Keep Folding Old Books

Folded Heart Valentine Book

This little book is titled "A Time for Tenderness". It's a bit thinner than my other books but still just as precious. It's an older slightly worn book that was published in 1962. I've lined the inside covers with beautiful papers, then tied it together with a gold colored ribbon. I also made the rose that is on the cover. A glass star bookmark hangs over the binding. A great gift for your sweetheart or even something special just for yourself.