• Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    Gnome ornaments

    January 5, 2023 - By 

    I always like to have a little something to give to friends… usually it’s handmade…what else would you expect from me.

    Mini-me brought home a large spool of kitchen twine that she had used in an art installation last year. I wasn’t sure how we were ever going to get through all the yardage until I started making these cute gnome ornaments.

    I was inspired by a Pinterest video. https://pin.it/4wRPmea

    I wrapped the kitchen string around my hand until it felt thick enough. I tied the middle then slipped off my hand and cut the opposite side from the tie. I then tied a loop of bakers twine to serve as the hanger before beginning work on the hat.

     I made a circle template with a bowl then cut it in half. I used scraps of flannel from my stash for the hats. After rolling my half circle of flannel into a cone shape.  I used a hot glue gun to adhere first the hat together then stick the hat to the gnome body being careful to thread the hanger loop through the top of the hat. I then added a coordinating button or two to the hat and a wooden bead tucked up under the rim of the hat for the perfect gnome nose.

    Thankfully I also have a stash of wooden beads to make the noses.

    They turned out so cute and I used up the whole spool! Renew, reuse, recycle. ♻️

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Feeling the art journal love again

    September 27, 2022 - By 

    It’s taken a while but I’m getting the urge to create at least in my art journal.

    In fact, this was the second page I created on Sunday afternoon.

    While searching through my stash I found some watercolor color experiments. The colors spoke to me in that fall sort of feel.

    The lined page to the left was a shiny paper from junk mail. I didn’t want to cover the lines but at the same time didn’t like the shine. I used some glimmer mists to knock it back.

    Yesterday was a rough day for me. I was very emotional which is not my usual state of being. I’m a very stoic person…I’m Norwegian raised in the mid-west. It takes a lot to crack my shell.

    I did what I like to call a mind dump on my page. I like to write very messy and somewhat layer the words. This makes it difficult to read. This is purposeful. I need to get it out but I don’t want to go back and relive it later when I’m paging through my journal.

    I saved this label from a beer my neighbor shared. (using as my drink reference as well…it’s a twofer) The beer was really interesting. You could taste a hint of orange and copious amounts of honey. I’m not sure I loved it but I did love the label.

    It’s not my favorite page in the journal but it served its purpose.

    Today is a work day of course with some grocery shopping on the way home.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?