Unique Birthday "Card"

Dale celebrated his 65th birthday this week. Our main gift was to see a live performance of The Moth, which we thoroughly enjoyed. (If you get the chance, go see it. Highly recommended!) But I also got him a little gift to unwrap and was planning to make a card to go with it. Instead ... this is what came out of my creative noggin.

It's a greeting banner/swag. I got this last-minute idea on Pinterest.

I started by pulling these wood heart shapes from my stash. They range in size from about 3/4 of an inch to about 3-1/2 inches.

I wrote down a list of traits I love in my husband, then printed one trait on each heart. At first, I was simply going to use ink or paint to write the words. Then I got the idea to try wood burning instead.  (What was I thinking?)

I pulled my Creative Versa-Tool out of a bottom drawer in the closet where it's been languishing for years and started playing. (There's a different / newer version of this tool available on Amazon).

The center large heart has "Happy Birthday" on one side and this on the other side:

I used the wood burning tool to create the holes, then strung some nylon cord -- like thick fishing line) -- through the holes to hang the hearts.

Here are nine wonderful traits I chose for the hearts. (I somehow missed getting a photo of "HUGS"). 

Of course, Dale has many wonderful traits I missed -- chief among them are intelligence and creativity. But, you know, I wouldn't want his head to get too big by heaping on how extraordinary he is -- and I was running out of the right size of wood hearts. 

:: tongue firmly planted in cheek ::

I hung the banner from the mantle in the living room so he'd have the surprise when he got home.

And yes. He gave me the go-ahead to show this. I wouldn't have posted if it would have embarrased him.

I love this man so, so much. I couldn't have a better life partner. We're better together!

Ding-Dong Dash

Dale and I made a May Day surprise! Flower posies for some special people in our lives.

In the 1800s and early 1900s, people would mark the first of May by hanging baskets of flowers or sweets on neighbors' doorknobs, knocking on the door, and dashing away before they can be discovered. Dale and I decided to revive that tradition - in a slightly newfangled way.

Unfortunately, we didn't think of doing this until Monday morning. So after we got all our weekly tasks done, we turned to this flash craft. Dale made the pattern for the paper holder and helped me figure out the fastest way to complete the project.

After brainstorming several ideas, I decided to make the posy cones from two layers of scrapbook paper with Spring designs. The "flowers" are made using various stickers and floral pieces I had on hand. The flower and heart stickers are double-sided, stuck to wooden skewer "stems" that were cut in varied lengths. 

Fabric "silk" leaves were added to a couple of the stems to add volume to the top of the cone. The skewers are poked into two very small styrofoam balls down in the point of the cone. I punched a couple holes in the top of the cone and threaded a ribbon through them for a hanging loop.

When I was a kid, we called it "Knock and Run." Jodie calls it "Ding-Dong Dash." Dale and I first delivered posies to the front door of each of our next-door neighbors.

Then we set off for Springfield to deliver posies to each of our grown kids. I wasn't fast enough to dash back to the car before Jodie caught me, though. I do believe I totally surprised Jeanne.

Dale and I try to remember to celebrate minor holidays as well as the big ones. It's fun to have frequent, small celebrations. May Day is certainly right in that category. 

Hmmm. What's the next one? Maybe Flag Day on June 14th. I'll put my thinking cap on and see if I can come up with an idea to create something before that date so that I'm not so rushed.

Flash Craft: Puff Ball Flowers

My alternate title for this painting is ... Ehh

Today I attempted another Flash Craft: a project that caught my attention one day, then I pressed myself to execute it within a week or so. My idea is to do rather than simply dream and plan.

I tend to roll things around in my head for weeks or months or years before I try them. For 2022, I've challenged myself to jump in head first.

So ... here's my finished painting:

And here's the video I found on YouTube that inspired me:

What did I learn?

• There are at least two sizes of bubble wrap. This would have worked better with the smaller size bubbles.
  
  
• The acrylic paint should have a consistent viscosity between colors. The thicker paints worked better for this project.
  
  
• I chose primarily mid-tone blues and grey and silver and purple and gold because I thought those colors would match my home decor. The navy blue didn't work at all. The original used bright colors which "popped" on the black background. Then the black shadows and white highlights worked. Mine might work better with pastel highlights and brown-black (rather than pure black) shadows. 
  
  
• I painted this following a video that was all visual with no verbal or written instructions. So there weren't any tips gleaned from the artist. I'll keep that in mind the next time I attempt a simple painting. I learn better with more kinds of input.
  
  
• I finished my painting before adding the splatter paint, dots, and stars like the original. I'll look at this painting for a while and determine if I want to add more. I doubt it.
  
  
• This painting looks far better from a distance and in this photograph than it does in person. I'm not upset at all. It is what it is - a very decent learning experience.
  
  

I'm OK with all of this. Flash Crafts are about exploring and trying new ideas. They're not all going to stick as an artform I'll try again.

So ... TA-DA! 

"Hey! Look at my painting!"

Painted Sprig Cards

Today I turned my Flash Craft Sprig Paintings into greeting cards.

I kept it simple. I cut circles of coordinating card stock to use as a border around the painting, gluing the painted circle on top of the solid color circle.  Next, I glued the circles to an 5-1/2' x 8" card blank. Then, to use up some of my supplies, I chose some sentiments in coordinating colors to glue to the bottom left side of the card front.

On a couple of the cards, I glued a flower in coordinating colors to the inside, and on the envelope.

I think the colors and textures and layers work well together. Of the three, this is my favorite card.

It's nice to finish another quick craft and clear my worktable for the next project.

Flash Craft: Painted Sprigs

You may recall that my primary creative intention for 2022 is to make what I call Flash Crafts. If I see a project that catches my attention, I will drop whatever I'm doing and make that project within five days. A Flash Craft!

Earlier this week, I saw a TikTok  video of an artist painting some pretty and colorful sprigs of leaves. I can't quite tell if it's created on a canvas, or if it's a cake decoration. But it seemed like something I could attempt.

The original video shows the stems being drawn, then the leaves beginning as a line of dots along the stem. The dots are then smudged out with a finger to create the leaf shape. 

My canvas was much smaller than the original. I used 5" x 7" pieces of watercolor paper as the base. With a pencil, I drew a circle that's 4-1/2" in diameter. Then I free-formed the stems. Once I liked the shape, I inked over them with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.

I tried a number of techniques to make the leaves. First, I tried smudging with my fingertip. But the scale was far too small for that to work. Then I tried a couple different sizes and shapes of paintbrushes. That was somewhat better, but still not great. Finally, I used my dotting tool to put down the drop of paint, then drag it into a pointy leaf shape.

In my first attempt, I used bright colors similar to the original video. They're OK. But I thought I'd try something else. I chose some pastel colors for the next attempt, and liked them much better. I got better with the leaf shape the more I practiced.

I'm sticking with "progress, not perfection" this time.

I'm proud of myself for stopping my regular activities and making myself try this Flash Craft. For me, getting started is the hardest part. Once started, my entire focus shifts, time ceases, and I'm in the flow of creating. It's meditative. The entire process only took a couple hours from set-up to clean-up.

I'm not entirely sure how I'll use my sprigs, but I'm leaning toward turning them into greeting cards.

New Self-Portrait

It's been a while since I attempted a self-portrait.

I tried several new things while editing. I likey! Count this as a success.

Hippity Hoppity

Spring it on its way!

I saw these Mini Crochet Bunny Baskets online last week and decided they'd make a great Flash Craft!

 "What's that?" you ask. 

A Flash Craft is a project that I make within 5 days of it catching my attention.

I decided on the spot to make them for our granddaughters Melody and Annie. Melody's is just a *little* taller than Annie's. She is the big sister, after all.

These adorable crochet bunnies are designed by Repeat Crafter Me. You can get the instructions on her blog, and watch her YouTube video tutorial.

Flash Craft: Heart Ornaments

Our house is decorated for Valentine's Day now. Each year I like to add another little som'thin'-som'thin' to the decor. For the base of today's Flash Craft,* I used this decoration left over from our 30th wedding anniversary last year. 

I cut apart some of the hearts, punched a hole, added a pink-and-white baker's twine hanger

and decorated the tabletop tree in our entryway.

It's a simply idea that took less than two hours, and used only supplies from my stash.

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*Flash Craft: a project that catches my attention one day, which I will go out of my way to execute within five days. The idea is to do rather than simply dream and plan.

Valentines for My Little Bugs

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I've got hearts on my mind (again ... still!) I saw this sweet idea on nontoygifts' Instagram account this week. The Valentines totally captured my attention. Know what that means?

Flash Craft!

I made the bee for Melody, and the ladybug for Annie. Each bug has a personal message under their wings, along with a hidden heart on their chest.

And googly eyes, of course!

The construction paper valentines are oversized, so I made custom envelopes for them. Each envelope measures 8.5" x 6.75" and was made from two pieces of printer paper cut to size and adhered together with double-sided tape.

I even found these 1/2" square heart stickers in my stash that look like tiny postage stamps.

These cards will be added to our grandkids' Valentine gift box and mailed to Idaho at the beginning of February.

With Flash Crafts, I need to remind myself that "done is better than good." I can take some shortcuts to get to the end so that my brain can get a blast of serotonin. Perfection is not the name of the game.

I got to have a happy dance, and the entire project -- from idea to clean-up -- took about two hours. I had all the supplies on hand, so there was no out-of-pocket costs.

Tissue Paper Heart Collage

A couple weekends ago daughter Jeanne stopped by for a Crafternoon. I wanted to try this neat idea I'd found on TikToc. It's a craft that's good for preschoolers, so I figured we could handle it.

We first cut 7 different heart shapes out of cardboard. Then we cut about six of each shape from tissue paper: red, yellow, blue, green, purple, and pink.

For the backing, we tried two different surfaces. One is a canvas on a board. The other is a canvas stretched on a frame. All three are 8" x 10".

We made two on the board pieces, one for each of our grandkids/nieces. We made one with the frame for me to keep. (Jeanne said she doesn't decorate for Valentine's Day).

We started by "painting" water on a spot on the canvas, then placing a heart on top. Then dab on a little more water to help it stay in place. Once the hearts are where we wanted them, we painted on some Mod Podge. Watered-down glue also works. Then let it dry on a wire rack. We speeded up the drying process by using a heat gun.

Here are the two board pieces, finished and framed for the Littles. We signed and dated the artwork on the back. Jeanne was the primary crafter on Melody's art. I was the primary crafter on Annie's. But we both worked on each other's.

This is the piece made on the canvas frame. It's hanging near our front door as our first Valentine decoration of the year.

The entire three piece project -- all the supplies, including the frames -- cost a total of $7.00!

Flash Craft: Cupid's Arrow

My primary creative intention for 2022 is to make what I call Flash Crafts. I'm continually bombarded with great crafting ideas. Last year, when I was in my creative slump, I completed very few projects. 

Now that I'm emerging from that slump, I've decided that if I see a project that catches my attention, I will drop whatever I'm doing and make that project within five days. A Flash Craft!

Here's my first. Some Cupid's Arrows for our granddaughters.

I found this idea on the Happiness is Homemade blog. Adorable! So I gathered my supplies:

• glittery foam hearts
• red pencils
• red duct tape
• a wooden heart shape

I used the wooden heart shape to cut smaller hearts from the big ones I had on hand. I used hot glue to adhere the two sides of the hearts together, leaving a hole at the top of the heart shape.

Figuring out how to make the duct tape "feathers" was a little tricky. Mine didn't come out the same, but that's OK. 

I sharpened the pencils because they fit into the point of the arrow better.

All in all, it took less than two hours from seeing the idea to having a finished craft.

Flash!

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Inspired by Happiness is Homemade