Gourd Bowl Art

Well I have decided to dabble a little with Gourds.  Though they can be a bit messy to clean out they do end up giving you a nice canvas to work on.  I was not having the best of luck with my camera & lighting today, so will try at some point to replace some or many of the photos.

 During this round, I worked mostly with inks & dyes.  I then chose a varity of things in which to trim or finish the bowls, from jute, stones, beads, wire, etc.

One of my favorites is extremely simple, but I use this bowl often at dinner.  The oblong bowl is just perfect not only to serve in but it has the wonderful handle.  I line the inside with a napkin and serve bread in it.  It also makes for a great center piece, filled with holiday decorations.

My son has decided he likes the red gourd I created.  Black String, gold beads and gold on the inside of the gourd all stand out pretty nice.  The first photo is the front, and the second photo is the back of the gourd.

Below are some of the other bowls I was working on.

 Mattering on the light, this one sometimes looks dark blue, purple, almost black or a hint of red.  I think I like this one just because each time I look, the color seems to look a little different.

 Not quite finished with the bowl below, so when done, I will replace this one but wanted to show off my heart bowl.  That hanging heart is a piece of stone I found at a craft store.  Made a nice addition.  The camera makes it look redder but in person, the stone & bowl look close to the same color.  That was purely by accident...but nice accident.

I am also working on woodburning the gourd bowls, but that will have to come later as I am still working on those.

Green Bay Packer Wooden Stools

Greetings!  Well, I had some fun this winter.  I had taken three, used, battered wooden stools and had put different packer logos on each stool. These stools were then donated to the Coulee Region Humane Society to be used in a charity fund raiser in February this year.

Of course, first I called the Green Bay Packer Headquarters to see if I could get permission to use their logos to create these one of a kind stools in the fund raiser....this way if questioned, no one gets in trouble.

I did receive a phone call from the Marketing Dept for the Green Bay Packers.

After explaining the why's and what for's regarding the stools, the marketing director stated that she would be mailing me a 'One Time Only, Permission to Use' letter.

When I receive the letter, I made a copy for the shelter to keep in their files, (in case anyone ever questions it), and a copy for each chair.

Okay, so this may not be a big deal to anyone else, but for me.....this was so EXCITING! I got permission from the Packers Headquarters! This is not something made in secret without permission, I actually got permission from the Packers!

And yes, I will be keeping a copy of the letter for myself!
 
I had a fun making them and hope those that bid on them enjoy them.

Here are the 3 stools that went up for auction to the the Coulee Region Humane Society.

Each individual stool is partically woodburned and partically hand painted.

I was a little surprised that the favorite was the one with only the Green Bay "G" logo, but I am glad it turned out!

Each stool is unique, one of a kind.

Each leg of the stool has a football, some are just the outline and some filled in. 

As always, enjoy life and stay creative everyone! 

Pyrography - Wood Burning Fun 3

I had given my 2 gallon crock away as a gift....we all seem to have a habit of finishing a project and out the door it goes, so I found another 2 gallon crock and created a new lid.  Went with somewhat the same style I used with the lady and the hair but tried a different angle, and tried masking more of her face. 

I don't think it is as dramatic as the other face, but I like the subtle look to it.  I had fun and that really is the main thing here.

She just seemed a little more mysterious, like you keep waiting for the whisps of hair to move away from her face so you can see her eyes, see what she was thinking, feeling.

Pyrography - Wood Burning Fun 2

Well, finally got around to working on my 5 gallon Red Wing crock lid.  Still may need some work but I believe I like this one. 

The picture was from watching our cat Isabel as she sleeps, or as she is better known, "Izzy".

My first 2 gallon crock ended up being given away as a gift so I was lucky enough to find another 2 gallon crock, which means, of course, new wooden canvas for me!!

I know the pyrography lids may not seem to go with the crocks, but I like the extra interest it brings to them.

If the crock is going to have a functioning lid, why not have some fun with it.  Right?!

Pyrography - Wood Burning Fun

It just seems like I go for ages before posting something new so for those who have asked, here are a couple of pieces I did this last week.  Though they are very similar, if you look close, the ladies are a little different...making each item a bit unique. 

For those who have not read my posts in the past, please keep in mind, I am having fun here, I do NOT claim to be any good at what I am doing, just that I am having a great time doing it.

First off, I had gotten a 2 gallon Red Wing crock for my birthday so I decided to make a lid for it. The lid just looked so plain to me. The more I looked at the lid, the more it looked like I saw a face. So I decided to bring that face out.

 

Later, I decide to work on the face a little bit by trying to recreate it on a wooden plate I had laying around the house.

I love the natural color of the wood on this plate so she seemed to stand out nicely on it.  This wooden plate now hangs on our wall and quietly watches over all who enter our home.

I have another Red Wing crock with a lid just calling for me to do something with it so we will have to see where that leads me. 

Until next time everyone!!  Stay creative and have fun!!!

It's been quilting season for me

Well, I've been busy lately. Not doing too much here and there except so dabbling.  Would like to go back to wood burning, painting, drawing, etc, but just haven't found the time. 

One of the things I was working on were some quilts. Over the years I usually try to make at least one quilt a year if not two or three. Unfortunately, I did not think to take photos of all the quilts I was working on this year or two, just for my own scrapebook, but here are a couple that I finished recently. 

As always, I do NOT claim to be any good at what I am doing, I just claim to be having a GREAT time doing it!

The first one is a quilt for my son. Actually I made him 2 quilts, these are not colors I personally care for, I prefer more earthy tones but they fit the quilt's center piece...

The first one is a "Beatles - All You Need Is Love" quilt. After piecing it together, I hand quilted the entire quilt. I quilted the center piece following the original design.

Around it I quilted in peace signs, an outline of my son's hand in a peace sign, musical notes, hearts and the triangles found on the outside border .








The second one I created for my son is left over material from the original "Beatles" quilt. This one is the "Peace" quilt. Also hand quilted with peace signs & hearts over the entire quilt.

The last one I have to show you, well, I didn't think to take a photo of the finished product before I shipped it off to my sister as a gift. I only took photos of some of the squares I had created. Her quilt was filled with "Teddy Bears & Hearts".

I had made my sister a smaller lap top quilt many years ago but it is now long gone. This quilt was to cover her entire bed so this one is a much larger one.

Its always nice to work on a quilt during the colder months. You can keep busy while watching TV, visiting with others, etc, but can still stay warm and feel productive.

Wish I had taken photos of quilts I have made over the years for my niece and nephews. Each one of them received a quilt at some point where I took a fabric book panel, (example: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeerm Frosty the Snowman, etc), cut the panels apart and created a book quilt instead of just a book. Then sent along a copy of a movie to go with that quilt. This way they could watch the movie and follow the story line with their own quilt. Makes reading a little more cozy & fun.
Keep creating everyone!

Burlap Bag Bowls & Mugs

Here is the first set of burlap bag bowls/mugs, in brown.
Unbelievable. For me anyway. I have gotten a few people requesting to purchase my burlap bag bowls. People can be crazy!

Well, trying my hand at something new. Creating bowls & mugs. One set is in brown, I left the outside a rough and dull. The inside is glazed and finished.



The bowls have ties that are woven around the rim of the bowls. On the smaller bowl, I created what looks like a tear in the fabric, then laced it up with the ties as well.



I also created a mug to match the two bowl sets.

My favorite is the Walnut finish.

I personally prefer this finish, but I have some who seem to like the darker brown.

Here is the mug

I tried a lower bowl as well.