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    A second look: Productive Wednesday

    March 2, 2016 - By 

    Secondlook

    Let’s take a look back at a post from 2 years ago. Typically I go back further for Second on the 2nd but as I was looking back through posts I remembered how much I liked (and still do) this journal page. I also remember that my creativity was running in high gear at the time. I was loving every moment of it.

    eyes

    4/24/2014

    Productive Wednesday

    I had so much fun making the first journal spread yesterday, I went back for another.

    Wednesday

    Once again I worked in my white journal.  Boy, I just realized that I have 4 journals going at once. And I have an idea for yet another. I should probably wait on that idea at least until I fill one of the currents to capacity.

    Wednesday texture

    Tissue paper was used as a start for this page as well. It had been crumpled over and over again. Lots of tiny little creases. It started out very purple…or maybe violet. The color was a little too “in your face” for my taste. I used a couple of mists around the edges to tone it down to a dull roar.. The aqua washi tape begged me to use it with the new deeper shade of purple. The black and white just helped everything else pop on the page. I have this thing about circles…I use them all the time. They just make me happy I guess.

    So last evening I still hadn’t had enough creativity for the day. My sewing machine was still calling me.  I grabbed bits and pieces of fabric, paper, fiber and trims to sew together for collage cards. I didn’t give it much thought…just went for it.

    collage card marathon

    I made 21 mini collages that will eventually become greeting cards. Some will be left blank…others will have sentiments…some collages may not make the cut. Who cares…it was all scraps and bits laying around.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Some of these mini-collage cards led to being asked to write an article for Sew Somerset magazine. That could be another reason I like this post so much.

    Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me today. Do you have a favorite project from the past?

  • Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: a second look edition

    February 1, 2016 - By 

    Welcome to T stands for Tuesday AND Second on the 2nd…both hosted by Elizabeth.  Hmmm…I wonder how she’s planning on keeping these links straight. 🙂 Anyway…lets get on with it, shall we…

    long shadows tea | Halle's Hobbies

    First I have to take care of a bit of business. I apologize to my T Tuesday friends for not getting around to visiting. I had to abandon sitting at my desk with the exception of short bursts. Sitting for long periods just does a number on my body. I need to stay active or everything sort of cramps or gets stiff or all crunched up. I’m sure it’s my posture at the keyboard. I’ve started doing yoga every morning and stretches throughout the day. It’s really helping. Of course, since I didn’t get up early enough do my yoga over the weekend (I’m too embarrassed to do it in front of my family since I still really suck at it) I’m a little stiff today.

    vintage button stack pendants | Halle's Hobbies

    I also wanted to show the pendants I posted about last week. They turned out quite nice. I’ve a bunch more set aside to create more pendants. I’ll be listing some in my etsy store soon.

    Now on to Second on the 2nd… I looked back through my blog and realized that I started what I would call an art journal now way back in 2007. I considered it a “no theme” altered book then. Really they are sort of interchangeable terms to me unless you are literally journalling in one.  This post kind of cracks me up. I was very critical of myself. Looking back I still know which pages I wasn’t find of but now I can appreciate them all and truly like them!

    Take a look at the post from November 10, 2007…

    eyes

    I picked up a this book at a local thrift store the other day. I had originally intended it for something completely different but decided since it was small that I should just dive in and play!!

    I

    I really like 3 of the 5 pages. The other 2, I am not so pleased with. I don’t actually hate them enough to cover them up but may go back and revisit them later to see if I can make any good changes.

    Can you guess which ones I like??

    I still have plenty of room to play some more in this book. It’s very freeing to work without a theme…at least for today. 🙂 Sometimes I need a theme to get me started. In fact this book was planned to be a book in which each spread dealt with one of the senses. Yeah…that changed pretty quickly.

     

     

  • Around home - Blog - Crafts

    A second look: My favorite quilt

    January 2, 2016 - By 

    To start out the year we are looking back…wait…didn’t I say I was looking ahead in the previous post?

    Secondlook

    We are looking back because it’s Second on the 2nd hosted my my dear friend Elizabeth. Each month on the second she asks that we dig into our blog and reshare a post that deserves a second look.

    Sewing is a passion of mine as well as recycling. In this post from August 2008 I share my favorite quilt and a little about it’s creation.

    We still use the quilt today. It’s now 15 years old and is very well loved.

    Take a look…

    eyes

    This denim quilt was my very first large scale recycling project.

    I carry it in my van for picnics, beach days, a stop at the park or one of those dreaded winter emergencies. After the latest trip to the beach I hung it on the deck rail to dry. I was taken aback by how many memories this quilt holds for me. I love how it has frayed over time. Maybe others would think of this as a flaw but to me, it shows it has been throughly loved.

    I made it when my first born was an infant. Oh, to have that much time on my hands again! I wanted to make something that he could lay and play on, that would be durable, washable, textural and colorful.

    I had a ton of jeans that were never going to fit again plus my hubby’s worn out ones to cut into circles. I used a plate to trace each and every circle by hand then carefully trim with scissors.


    The colorful squares (trust me there are squares under there) were from a stash of fabric I had gotten as a teen when my “grandma” across the street moved from her home to her daughters in CA. She knew I loved sewing and crafting more than her own granddaughter.

    My mom had somehow collected tons of small spools of thread in various colors, not sure why since she didn’t sew but did own a machine. Maybe just wishful thinking on her part. Anyway, I figured that I could make the quilt even more colorful by using different spools of thread throughout the quilt. Generally the bobbin thread and the spool didn’t match as I sewed.

    If you’re curious how I made it check out this tutorial. I think I got my instructions from a magazine but the tutorial has excellent instructions.