Spool Valentines Art Party

take a vintage wooden thread spool...

        



















add a strip of patterned paper...a button or two...or maybe a bit of ribbon or twine...
              write your own secret message, rolled around the spool...

                     and you have a spool valentine.

Join me at this February Art Party where I'll show you how to make these tiny treasures...I'll supply everything from the old spools to a plethora of paper, buttons and ribbons...along with a dose of creative camaraderie and light refreshments...You don't have to bring anything but enthusiasm...

Registration is limited; the workshop will take place at my home in Everett.  Once you have paid your registration, I'll send out a confirmation email with all the details.

Spool Valentines
Saturday, February 6, 2016
1 - 4 pm
Everett, WA

$45 registration fee

Any questions? - feel free to email me at amy_duncan@yahoo.com
Don't delay...registration is limited...hope to see you in February!

'tis the season!

Wishing all a wonderful holiday season...
wherever you are and whatever you celebrate - cheers!

Rustic Luxe gift wrapping

Amid all the hustle and bustle of the season, I find one of the most enjoyable activities is gift wrapping...yes, I'm one of those...which shouldn't come as any surprise since I love working with paper...and fabric...and found objects...of course with a bit of metal (wire in this case) thrown in as well...

So I gathered together my supplies and got to work...

As per usual, I like to use what I have at hand...or acquire as inexpensively as possible...here's the round-up...

The Rustic part is the copper wire as well as a few snippets of greenery from the yard...the Luxe part is the vintage buttons, fabric ribbon made from old linen tablecloths and wax paper...yes, waxed paper - there's quite a nice sheen to the paper that gives just the slightest shimmer in the light.  I also added in a roll of paper first aid tape - a poor man's washi substitute - details here about my discovery of this inexpensive tape - and a few sheets of colored tissue paper....both the paper first aid tape and the tissue paper came from the dollar store.

Using an idea from Martha Stewart years ago, I wrapped the first two gifts in colored tissue paper and then wrapped each gift again in a layer of wax paper...mutes the color of the tissue and adds that slight shimmer.  

Then I used a length of thin wire to encircle each gift and embellished the wire with buttons and tiny silver beads. Since the wire is thin, it is easy to manipulate and fashion into whatever designs you want.  I went with plain and simple...

The metal box shown in the picture above was given a little bling with a silver seal topped with two vintage buttons...I punched two small holes in the top of the tin to thread the wire that holds the buttons in place.












I also wrapped up two gifts in a shimmer of white...
white tissue paper on one, waxed paper on the other and then embellished each in its own way...

Copper wire encircling this gift holds a found white feather in place...a strip of paper first aid tape with a message of "peace" stamped in gold adds the final touch...

The second gift is tied up with a length of linen ribbon...old worn and stained linen tablecloths are torn into strips of about 1" wide...the frayed edge of the ribbon giving a nice texture to the monochromatic tones.  The final embellishment is a tiny vase...created from a string of burned out tree lights...I just snapped off the bulbs from the wire string, pulled off the green plastic connector and was left with just the bulb...its made of plastic but still looks glass-like with its faceted edges...I twisted a length of wire around the top, attached it to the top of the gift and added in a few sprigs of color- voilà















Lest you think that I am super organized and have all of my holiday gift giving under wraps...I do not...and in fact, should probably get on that right now....

Linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Party Junk and Knick of Time Vintage Inspiration Party - holiday inspiration at both abounds!

Unconventional gift wrapping, part 2

I had two conditions for holiday decorating this year...to spend no additional funds on anything needed and to keep it simple...these gift wrap ideas satisfy both conditions!

It started in the fall...I had a lovely bouquet from farmer's market that dried beautifully...yarrow, rose hips, stattice I think...I didn't want it to go to waste...clippings from the yard...lavender, birch twigs, dried poppy heads were added in...

A snip here, a wrap of wire there, a bit of salvaged ribbon...
I ended up with about 12 arrangements...

I knew that I wanted some for gift wrapping...but the rest I stuck among the branches of the christmas tree...

Onto wrapping...I had this roll of paper I bought over a year ago at the Habitat for Humanity store in Yakima (one of my favorites places to shop when I am visiting my sister)...the texture and the lines drew me in...and there seemed to a sheen to it that was appealing...

It was $10 for the roll (a splurge for me) but with 500 square feet, it seemed worth it...and I loved the label...

Next up was gathering something to tie up the presents...can't beat a big cone of string...and a roll of japanese knitting ribbon that my friend Sue gave to me (a freebie she picked up at a yard sale)












Keeping it simple...wrapped present with paper, wound around 3-4 lengths of the knitting ribbon...
tied on one of the dried arrangements...

I love the texture of the ribbon with the subtle stripes of the paper...



















Next gift...wrapped with paper...used stickers instead of tape...so much prettier...

the tag is a remnant of torn muslin...the image of my noel bird composition was added with a bit of iron-on transfer paper...just print out your image with a ink jet printer onto the paper and iron it on...its that simple...























Last gift...I constructed an "envelope"...since the paper was heavy duty, I knew that it would hold up to the sewing machine...

oh look...someone is getting a copy of Inspirational Quotes Illustrated!

After sewing the sides, I used my pinking shears to add a decorative edge...

To secure the flap of the envelope, I punched a hole in the body of the envelope (with a cutting board in between so I wouldn't punch through the back of the envelope) with my awl and then inserted a paper fastener...






















Likewise, I punched a hole in the edge of the flap, threaded a length of string and then secured the flap by wrapping the string around the paper fastener...a quartet of french postage stamps in holiday reds and greens add the final flourish...

Festive gifts...a treat for the eyes before opening...
Linking up with Funky Junk Interiors Party Junk...its not too late to be inspired for the holidays...

three little words

empty glass bottles...on the way to the recycle bin...

a moment's hesitation...I gather them back up...
stash them in a box...add to them as the weeks pass...

holiday prep is creeping into the calendar...
I spy the bottles...and remember a spark of 
inspiration from lynn whipple via latitude studios...










I grab the white paint and begin...

a pencil outline...a wrap of ribbon...a single suggestive word...

a vessel to hold a dream or capture a wish...

or perhaps impart a pearl of wisdom or two...

the holidays approach...inspiration is building

linking up with kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...
today's photos edited with kk texture dollard soft and gentle and with french kiss texture grunge...