OOAK!!!! Really!! No More!! LOL

Really!! This bracelet took over 10 hours to make. Sure it's the first one but I can't see shaving more than 2-3 hours off over time. I did it for me as a challenge to see what I could come up with. No books, no patterns, just my brain, eyes and hands. I'm happy with the results but certainly not practical for me to make to sell.

#28 wire, #5 double pointed knitting needles and the finished wire mesh

#26 wire to bind the edges. The mesh rectangle was unstable and wouldn't have supported beading without this edge.

 

Wire mesh rectangle with finished edge

Let the beading begin. End clasps have been added already

Finished bracelet; about 7 1/2" long x 2 1/2" wide

Gold earwires wrapped in silver with dangle to match bracelet

Beta Fish with Beads

Beaded Beta Fish on Fold-up Back Pack

Just finished!! Hot off the press!! A stylized Beta Fish with waves and beads! Made for a private customer.

I have a couple more unpainted fold-up back packs just waiting for you to design and for me to paint. Base price $30 plain; with beading $35.

without beading

back side, shoulder straps zip up for shoulder bag or unzip for backpack

close up of beaded bubbles

close up of waves with beads

finished and folded up, a small purse

Update on the Upcycled Messenger Bag

You know how you make something and look at it and you know something is not exactly right but you don't know what? That's what was happening to me with the Messenger Bag. I couldn't get out of my head that I wanted to put the 'vintage' pin* that I had found at the flea market a couple weeks ago on this bag but it would be too much with the gold pins already there. (Check the June 11, 2011 blog for original story.)

*probably not vintage as I look closely at it. LOL

I dug out the yucky feathers and made a place for some new feathers. After the glue set and the pin was moveable, it positioned it on the front flap of the bag. Moved it around some to find the right place and then voilà, sewed it on. Gold pins are saved for another project.


Next were the beads. In the meantime one of the glass beads had worn through the thread and a couple beads were dangling. I had some new plastic thread, like fishline but very thin, that I used to sew alllllll the beads back on. I added some medium sized and some quite small black seed beads and extended the area a bit

Now it feels finished. Take a look.

Completed version

Lower left side of flap with spaces filled in with the seed beads

"Vintage" pin with new feathers. It's probably made from filo dough but it is just right for this purse

4th of July

July 4th always gave our household a great feeling of celebration.

It was midway through our summer vacation and just when things were getting boring, boom!, came July 4. Our family, plus Mom's sisters and their families, and sometimes the more extended family of cousins twice removed etc would all get together at Stony Lake for a huge pot luck picnic. After the food was gone and the visiting done, we all headed to our favorite 'secret spot' with hundreds of others to watch the FiReWoRkS!! As a kid these seemed pretty anticlimactic after all the build-up hype. They were over in 20 min or so and it took much longer than that to get out of the traffic jam and to get home. 

And then there was Mom's birthday. The story goes that she was born on July 4, 1913 in the kitchen of their house. BUT the doctor was PO'd that he had to deliver a baby on July 4 so he didn't file the birth certificate til several days later.  She eventually got it changed to her rightful birthday and we, plus the entire populace of the US, celebrated her birthday on the nation's holiday ever since. She never failed to remind us of that fact either. Hahaha!

I am looking forward to seeing fireworks on 4th of July for the first time in many years. I hear that Gulfport has magnificent fireworks. I'm already planning my 'secret' spot from which to watch. Probably will have to get there early though.

My new July 4th cards:

Using wet-on-wet technique for a softer look

Fireworks at night; wet-on-wet

Upcycling

What do you do when your brother gives you boxes of your mother's things that he saved from her house when she died? Well... sort it out of course...keep what you can use...keep some things because you can't bear to throw them out...sell or give away the rest right!!

I found lots of broken necklaces and other jewelry, lace doilies, crochet collars, and other items I thought might be used on my cards or ...

Here's the first creation, a nice sized Messenger Bag with extra features like a cell phone pocket on the outside and a place for pens, business cards and check book just under the flap and a full, large interior.

I love the Egyptian motif with the eyes. But the flap needed something more. A broken black bead necklace from my bead box plus some old buttons I also found in my mom's things were added at random on the lower left side. The gold pins were also a find among my mom's things.

There are 5 buttons and the rest are black beads - maybe glass mottled with white.

I have used the purse for a while now and think I'll add some more beads but I'm not just sure where yet.

The top pin is part of a  larger piece  but was intact as a separate unit. It is pink gold. I sewed it on the back side to prevent it from coming loose. The bottom pin is yellow gold and is complete. Since they were so similar I decided to use both of them.

What suggestions would you make?

Beaded T Shirts

So Sunday a friend and I went to a larrrrrge flea market. I hadn't ever been to this one. Because it would be HOT later in the day, we went at 8 AM. Fooey! It was already hot! Much of what we wanted to look at was in full sun. Lucky for me I had a wide-brimmed straw hat. 

She wanted to look for vintage jewelry from which she makes upscaled jewelry. Her work is outstanding. I just wanted to look. I was somewhat interested in beads, like seed beads, or other interesting beads that I could sew on to T shirts or accessories after I'd painted them. But mainly I just wanted to look. 


I found the necklace of black glass that I will put on the T shirt as mentioned in the previous blog. Also I found a vintage pin which is a bit ugly but perfect for a purse I'm creating for myself. 

Later in the morning my friend gave me about 25 little bags of seed beads which she doesn't use in her art. And boy did the juices start to flow. Ideas were whirling around and I realized that everything I had beaded when I lived in Germany had sold. The bead bug has bit again. 


Below are the three T shirts painted this week. 

What's in a T Shirt?

From a white woman's T Shirt, a bottle of black fabric paint, a brush and a delicate black beaded necklace what can be made?

My original idea was to paint a tribal design on the back center, sew black glass beads around the neckline, and then sew the center motif of the black bead necklace to the front center. Then embellish with other small black beads as necessary. 

But when I began painting, I realized the quality of this t shirt was not good enough to warrant all that bead work. So I changed my mind a bit and did the entire design in paint with just a few beads to make it unique.  This accomplished two things: 1. I can see how the design worked out (and if I want to change it), and 2. This t shirt can be sold at a lesser price.  

                                  

Back of shirt

            

Front of shirt

Dots were made with a special paint liner that I brought back with me from my recent trip to Germany.

I like the looks of this and am now anxious to get to the store to get a 'just right' shirt to put my original design on.

When the other shirt is finished, I'll include a picture so you can see the comparison.

Back in the Swing of Things

Can handmade art/crafts be profitable these days?

In this depressed economy I find most of my art/craft only sells "on sale". My prices are good and I try to have things at all price points. Lots of lookers, lots of good comments, few sales. Tis also true of other vendors this season.

So what makes you buy at an Art Walk or an Art Fair? 

I'd love to hear your comments. Be brutally honest, please.

Finally Friday

Where has this week gone? Just flew by. I spent yesterday knitting a rasta hat for a Christmas gift. I am enclosing the link to  to Tail Spinner's pattern.

Here are the few changes I made:

1) I forgot and did a  K2P2 rib. Don't think it made any difference.
2) I worked to end of Row 45 before I decided it was big enough.
3) At the end, when I had to switch to double points for the crown, I had to use the #5mm/#8US, as I didn't have a small enough #10.5US circular.
4) The ribbing was a bit big so I single crocheted a long cord which was then run every two stitches (K2P2) along the inner edge of the ribbing. The cute bow feminizes the hat and will serve to help keep it on her head if it is too big.

Otherwise I used the pattern as is with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in color 404 Lagoon.


http://www.tail-spinner.com/Mango-Moon_Rasta_Hat.pdf

The left side with bow about eyebrow height.

The right side.

Detail of cord around ribbing. You can't even see it. Just looks like a bow was placed there. 

I am very happy with the outcome of this project and I hope the recipient likes it too.

Wow! It's Wednesday

Once in a while something extra special flies by your eyes. That's what just happened as I was looking at a blog that a blogger friend had posted on FaceBook.


It's called 'The Toy Society Christmas Drop.' People all around the world make toys and secretly hide them in easy to find places with a tag that says "Take me home. I'm yours." How cool is that. Here's a link to their blog so you can read all about them.

thetoysociety.blogspot.com/p/christmas-drop.html

This is the best Christmas present I've had so far. Now I'm thinking what can I make all year long so I can do a drop next Christmas too. Hmmmm...

You Gotta See This...

In an earlier blog (April 14, 2010) I showed pictures of a red/white Waldo sweater I knit for my brother to give as an office gift to a co-worker who was about to go on maternity leave. Here are pictures of the actual baby in the sweater and hat; bootees too small now. Enjoy!

Here are  a couple other great creative blogs


: 
and



kittycatsandairplanes.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-gift-ideas.html

Monday Magic

Red nose! Blue fingers! Gulfpole! What's this??


Tonight in Gulfport (alias Gulfpole) the town Christmas tree was lit in typical small town fashion. Not to think that I'm going to bash this custom! I walked nearly a mile in coooold weather just to go see it. The Pre-K sang but were unused to microphones and laughed and giggled and yelled into them while the teacher was trying to get everything ready. Priceless! An after-school group sang a jazzy version of "Run, Run Rudolph" and did pantomime to it. Nice job! The mayor spoke. A lady led the community singing of "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Here Comes Santa Claus" which she pitched so high no one else could hit the high notes. We all sang "Jingle Bells" to welcome in Santa who arrived in the fire truck with lights and sirens blazing.

It doesn't get any better than this. 

=^.^=

Finally Friday

Just finished sewing and decorating the cutest little jeans purse, for a young girl who is just starting to carry purses. This is a custom piece which I thoroughly enjoyed doing, collaborating with her grandmother all the way through. It's about 9" x 7" just big enough to still be sweet.

 

 The lining is two small hankies sewn together to make a pocket, then hand stitched around the top. 

                                          

 There was just enough hankie left to hem along the

one side and tie to the back belt loop in a bow.

Sweetness , don't you think?

The back pockets are functional as are the ones in front. This pair of baby jeans is about a 1 yr old size.

                                                               

Here are a couple of detail shots: 

Left front pocket. She has a black cat and the flowers

are from the lining material. A bit of glitter around the

cat. 

 The pink teardrop beads are upcycled from an old necklace. Some beads are clear and some are not.

They are so delicate and add a bit of femininity.                                                                                  

                                                                                   

Hope you enjoy, Pussyfoots =^.^=

Technorati Challenge

I have to enclose the following code:   K5D2FADRFBAD  so Technorati can verify that this account is mine. Please be patient.

Wow! It's Wednesday

I'm scurrying to get a few new things ready for Art Walk on Friday. Art Walk is a twice-a-month art show here in Gulfport FL. Vendors set up between the street and the sidewalk all along Beach Boulevard from 6 PM to 10 PM the first Friday and the third Saturday. It's an awesome gathering of artists, art lovers, diners, tourists, locals, and kids and dogs. Little blue lights strung in all the trees along the boulevard give it a festive feel.

It seems like this Friday crept up too fast; I thought I had one more week. I'm thinking sweatshirts will sell well this week as it is quite chilly here for the rest of the week. Two white, one gray, one red, and one pink. Two have holly decorations, on has a snow scene, one has a string of tree lights and the pink one is getting painted tomorrow.

Art Walk here I come.

Pussyfoots =^.^=

 my display table

new display racks

another view

   







                           

Where have I been?

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. Let's see---May was a drizzler of a month; 25+ days of rain and coolish weather. I decided then and there to relocate to the USA - Florida to be exact. Once that decision was made, lots of details had to be taken care of. My good friend Silvia helped me with paperwork and contract cancellation, etc. I had to give 3 months notice to everyone to avoid penalties. OK, that done I then had to sort through 5 years accumulation to give away or throw away.

In the middle of the summer, I had company for two weeks. I worked hard before and after but relaxed and enjoyed the time they were there. Did a lot of visiting and eating out. It was the only two weeks of hot weather we had. Just after the company left it turned cool and rainy. Not every day but...

August was really busy. It was like tilting a line of dominoes. One thing right after another. It had to be this way so that I could still cook and have a place to sleep. All went well and then on Aug 30 three different agencies came and took it all away. I spent the next 3 nights with Silvia and on Sept 2, she and her husband took me to Frankfurt to board the plane.

I stayed with my brother for 5 weeks until I could find an apartment. Now I live in the middle of the Art District in Gulfport Florida. I can show my art twice a month or more. It is a fun, touristy area with a great Senior Center. I can be as busy as I want, there are so many interesting things to do.

Now I'm caught up and can get back to posting about creating.

Where Is Waldo?? Remember him...

Do you remember the "Where's Waldo?" books? I sort of do. They are newer than my kids read and way older than my g'kids read. This past week, though, I got involved with Waldo in a curious sort of way. My brother from the states wanted me to knit a baby sweater like the one Waldo wears. A strange request you might say.  It seems there's a woman in his office who has been nicknamed 'Waldo' and who is pregnant. He thought it would be a fun idea to gift her a 'Waldo' baby sweater and hat 'a la Waldo.' There was plenty of time but the idea got my creative juices going and I started to work. It's all done now; about 3 weeks after the initial request.

                                                                  Remember now?



Now comes the baby look-alike:


 

                                                       

                       This is about a 3-6 month size, with snaps on the left shoulder for easy on and off.

The hat would go easily over a grapefruit. There are no ear-flaps as this is going to a southern state.


And now the really cute things. I have no idea what kind of socks Waldo wears but I had to go with the stripes. See below.

  
                                                     Aren't they cute?  Just like mom and dad's.


Since these are gifts they will not be listed in my Etsy store. I prefer to do custom knitting anyway. So if you have need of a baby layette, baby sweater, bootees, or whatever for a baby, I can knit it. I will design something especially for you based on your ideas. Then I'll send you a drawing. When you approve it and we agree on a price, I'll begin. The above project took 3 weeks from the time I was asked until the finish.  It can be shorter or longer depending on the design. Pricing is also flexible. International shipping at about $8-10. You would pay only the exact shipping amount. (Within Europe, a bit less.)

Please let me know if I can design and knit something for you. Not just baby clothes. I knit personal items also. You tell me your idea and I'll tell you whether or not I can knit it.

Contact me at: purring42@yahoo.com.

Spring Shopping Spree

 Well it's time for the first major shopping spree of Spring. If you need a special shopping bag to put those purchases in, you've come to the right place. Just relisted the Poppy Collection natural cotton shopping bag. 18" x 40". Washable in cool water; should be air dried; can be ironed. Rolls up small enough to store in your purse. Click here to find this bag: www.pussyfoots.etsy.com

This interesting bag is the same bag as above. BUT... in the middle there is room for a name, a slogan, a poem, your own personalization. You can make this bag really special for a unique graduation or bridal shower gift. You pick the occasion, you tell me what to put in the middle, you have a one-of-a-kind gift or personal shopping bag. Click here to see this bag in my Etsy shop:  www.pussyfoots.etsy.com


While you are there, browse around the other parts of  P*U*S*S*Y*F*O*O*T*S  to see what you can find.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you had a good time.

Relistings today

Hey, I just found a couple items to relist in my Etsy store:

a large tulip shopping bag
a fanny pack with poppies and
a folding backpack
                                                                                       
You can get the full descriptions at: www.pussyfoots.etsy.com.

If you just love really large and roomy shopping bags, then the large tulip shopping bag was made just for you. It measures 45 x 50cm (18" x 20"). It holds everything. Yet it rolls up quite small and fits in your purse, just ready to go shopping.

If big bags aren't your thing then consider the fanny pack (hip bag) decorated with the popular poppies motif. It fits around your waist with a comfortable webbed band and has a roomy pouch of 10x20cm (4"x8"). Take a look. You'll like it.

Just let me say that the folding backpack is a wonderful invention. You can carry it in your hand as a pouch with a roomy pocket and a wrist strap or you can unzip it and have a medium sized backpack in which to store all your purchases. Very convenient. For sure a conversation starter. And to top it off, a really cute cat stares right back at you.


All items are hand-painted on natural cotton or natural cotton canvas. They are washable on low temp.

Shipping in one or two days and takes about 10 days to the US.

Stop on by and have a look. I bet you'll see something you'll like.

P*U*S*S*Y*F*O*O*T*S Craft Project #1 - Corner Bookmark

CORNER BOOKMARK

Materials needed:

construction paper, any color, scraps work too
old envelope
markers or watercolors, crayons
decorative stamps (optional)
stamp pad (optional)
glue
scissors
your favorite decorations

                                                                                                  CORNER BOOKMARKS


 DIRECTIONS:

 

                                                                                                                                





Pix #1.  On an old envelope, in a corner that doesn't have
printing,  measure 8, 9, or 10 cm (3-4") from a corner(1)
along a side and then along the other side(2). Connect the
two dots making a triangle. Cut on the dotted line.(3)







                                                                                                                                  

Pix #2. Carefully open the corner of the envelope (1a) to use
as a pattern (2) or use the corner as is (1) adding
decorations to it.




                                                                                                                               

Pix #3 and 4. Transfer your design or pattern to the front of the triangle of the opened bookmark. Paint and decorate it to your heart's content.

                               

                                                                                                  




Pix #5 and 6.   Fold the decorated bookmark into a triangle and glue the overlapping pieces together. Hold for a bit or slide under a book for a few minutes. That's it. You're  done!!