Creative Dawn

Hello!  It's been a while since I last posted.  You know, work, life and everything gets in the way sometimes.  For the first time in a very long time I participated in a craft show.  It was so boring and very uneventful.  I made 15.00...BUMMER!  No one was busy unfortunately so we just chatted and checked out each others wares.  Christmas is once again upon us.  Many gifts have been created this season and here is the one for my smart and awesome niece Ashley.  She is a college freshman and still wants my artwork for gifts.  LOVE IT!  While I may not be monetarily blessed, I am blessed with wonderful people in my life which is so much more important.  

My husband is going to want to keep this one, but my plan is to give it as a gift to his brother and wife for Christmas.  I may just need to make another one for us!  For months now I have been saving bottle caps from different beers and finally had enough variety to make this trivet.  The frame was a find at Tuesday Mornings for .99.  I just had to break the existing tile out first.  The bottle caps were all glued down and then used grout to finish it off.  It is great gift idea for the beer lover and you could even use caps that are all the same or even pop caps.

I love coffee, any style, any flavor and the smell, it doesn't get any better than that.  Most of the time we just brew it at home, it is more economical but occasionally I treat myself to some Caribou.  YUM!  When you get coffee at a shop they give you the little cardboard sleeve to keep your hands from getting too hot.  This is my homemade version out of felt.  It is not an original idea, but this is my take on it.  Actually these are going to be Christmas gifts for my family and friends.  They are quick, easy and cheap to make and you can personalize them.  I know, Christmas already, but when you make a lot of gifts, you need to start early.  My list is already started in preparation for the hand made items.  It sounds crazy to some people, but this is something I do every year in June or July.  Yes, there will be Christmas in July posts for everyone to look forward to.  If you can believe it, my Halloween costum...

Can you believe it is actually warm outside!  Finally after so many months of cold weather there is sun and temperatures in the 70's and 80's.  What do you think of when it's summer time?  I think about beaches, swimming pools, shorts, sandals and of coarse ice cream.  You drive by a Dairy Queen on a nice evening and it is packed with families.  You hear that familiar sound of the the ice cream man driving down your street.  Today's post is my new creation in felt, ice cream cone fridge magnets.  These were so fun to make that I almost couldn't stop.  This may be something to set aside and use as stocking stuffer next Christmas.  There is a bit of stuffing inside them for dimension.  Just to make them even more adorable they have bead eyes and stitched smiles.  I added stitching on the bottom to make it look like a waffle cone.  You could also use this basic design and make an applique on a pillow top or make a giant ice cream...

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Today's post is kind of a stolen idea from my Mother in law.  A few years ago, she started giving all of us crocheted hangers and I have made a few for myself because they are great for nice blouses and sweaters.  It's also a great quick project for those nights when you are just vegging out in front of the TV.  There really isn't a pattern, it's just simple crocheting around a plastic hanger.   Here are a few pictures of people enjoying their new gifts.  The happiness of giving a great personal gift is truly the best present that I get every year.       

  I got this at Joann Fabrics for a dollar and am giving it to my husbands grandmother.  She turned 80 this year and most of the pictures I used are from that celebration.  She is spry and a sweetie and what else do you get a senior for Christmas?  Well, besides the potato bag that was last minute.  She had a great Bday and was surprised by family and friends.  They did get her good, the party was in August at the family cabin, but her Birthday was a few weeks ago. 

Every year I have trouble trying to figure out what to get for my brother for Christmas.  This year I had originally planned to give this to him for his 40th birthday, but I ran out of time.  Since it still is the year of this milestone birthday, the present is going to be for Christmas instead.  Through a lot of Internet time and with the help of my husband, we compiled 40 songs starting with 1970 to make a 3 disc set for him.  A song for every year.  My brother enjoys more of the hard rock and metal genre of music, so that is what we did for much of the Cd's.  Metallica, Led Zepplin and AC/DC to name just a few of the artists that we used.  I also gave a similar gift to my sister in law a few years ago for her birthday, but her CD was more pop music and top songs from the various years.  This is a great idea for the people on your list that are a bit more difficult, but it is still creative and personal.  Another idea would be to compile a ...

At one point in my life, I worked at a craft store and we had a Christmas potluck.  I decided to make candy for the first time ever.  After grabbing my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook, I found a recipe for truffle cups.  They were easy and yummy.  But, I like a challenge and instead of just keeping that recipe, I decided to go one better and make the actual truffles that were also listed in the cookbook and they used flavored liqueurs.  They were more tedious to make, but the results were awesome.  After that, my friends and family started to expect them every year.  The first few years, Chambord was the only flavor that I did, but as the years went on, I started to experiment with other liqueurs.  Bailey's, Kahlua, Grand Marnier and many many more.  Every year, I try a new flavor, which is very easy because in the alcohol industry they are constantly coming up with something new and interesting.  Last year I used Malibu a...

Here is the finished Adirondack chair.  I think it turned out great, hopefully my mother in law with think so too.  Just a quick write up today, holidays, lots going on.  Craziness!

At this time of year, paper mache reindeer are usually in abundance at the craft stores.  They are in different shapes and sizes and either standing or sitting.  I have quite a few deer decorations for my tree and home, but this one that I made is one of my favorites.  It started with an unpainted deer, this one is a small size.  I cut a hole in the side and then painted the inside and outside a mixture of gold and pearl paint.  I hot glued in a few bits of felt snow and some plastic holly.  The hard part was finding a Santa ornament that was the correct size to fit in the deer.  I took off the ornament hook and then hot glued him inside.  The last part was adding on the ribbon to the front of the reindeer.  It would make a great gift, but I liked this too much to part with it.  Sometimes that happens!  Happy Holiday crafting, more ideas to come !

I have begun making my Christmas gifts and normally I don't like to paint on canvas, but I had this and decided to something with it.  I should tell you my reasoning with the canvas.  Most of the time the surface isn't smooth and the fabric always has a give to it, so that is why I prefer wood items for painting.  The canvas used here however is mounted on a solid board so this one I actually liked.  It also measure 16x20 if you are interested at all. Many friends and acquaintances like turtles, so, I have become pretty quick with drawing and painting them and I try to vary the shell when I do.  That is the funnest part!  For this one, color is the way that I accented the shell.  This will be a gift for one of my nieces, but I'm not sure which one yet.  I am lucky to have family that appreciates the fact that I make most of my gifts.  They really seem to look forward to what I do next.  Fingers crossed that they like this one!

Another calender page is done!  I am most familiar with the 80's version of this song by BowWowWow, but the original was done by The Strangeloves in the 60's.  I am thinking that this may be my December page, but I am not sure, we'll see how things work out once assembly time comes.  This is a catchy tune that will get stuck in your head for sure.  Can you believe it?  I actually have a few days off at my regular job, Yeah!!!  I am looking forward to focusing on more projects and crossing some gifts off of my Christmas list this week.  I have too many things planned to make as usual, but it will all come together in the end.  It always does. 

I really liked this container when I saw it.  The painting was very nice, but I felt it could use more color.  This project was finished awhile ago, but I forgot about it and had thought that it was posted already.  Oops! The natural wood on this container was really nice, so other than the two sides, it was left in its original state.  My picture didn't quite capture the details of the painted flowers, but it turned out just the way I wanted it to.  This is another Christmas gift that will be filled with baked goods.  Most likely for one of my sister in laws. 

This project is the final September posting!  One month done, eleven to go! Very cheap thrift store find, I think it was 69 cents!  I repainted the whole thing cream and then made the butterfly outline.  Then lightly dipped my brush in various colors and dry brushed and blended.  After the paint was dry, I outlined the butterfly and painted the design.  I am hoping my niece thinks its cool, because it is going to be a Christmas gift for her.