A 'dangly thing' catching the little bit of sun we've had!
As predicted, I have been spending more time outside than in. This year I am doing better at balancing time though, and have managed to complete a few projects a long the way. Soon I will be ready to list a batch of jewelry on my etsy store, and that will be a milestone... My garden is slowly filling in, getting better each year. This has been a spectacular year for flowers. Here are some scenes from yesterday morning in the garden... Come through the garden gate with me... I call these peppermint roses. It is an ancient vine that climbs up the trellis over the gate. In the fall it is full of the most wonderful rose hips. Last winter I brewed tea out of them and instantly felt healthier! Vegetable gardening has never been my strong suit, and here, between the moles, gophers, deer and crummy soil, it is really frustrating. This year I am container gardening veggies. My cherry tomato already has baby fruit. I have some peas and beans in containers out front of the bus where they get full sun and am converting my garden area to herbs and flowers just for the joy of it. As you will see, it is coming along nicely. The iris's are spectacular this year. Some wonderful yellow ones opened today, but I have not taken pictures of them. I received a bag of rhizomes last year and stuck them here and here. It turns out they are all different colors, and oh so beautiful. Need I say more? I keep as many things in the garden as I do plants. Decorating life is one of my favorite things. Last year I made a short bed border out of half buried bottles. This year they became little terrariums! This is the view into my garden from my 'bedroom' window. Since we live in a bus it is all one room, but up front, where we sleep overlooks the garden. If you look close you can see part of the bed border I put in with different plates. Its kind of fun. Last fall I transplanted a bunch of strawberries and they are kicking. I ate the first ripe one today. There are about 25 plants and they are all full. Hopefully the birds and rodents will save a few for the girlies and me. Our bus is behind this breathtaking rose vine. The blooms start out a sweet pink and turn a lovely lavender as they fade away. It only blooms for a couple of weeks a year, but is certainly worth the wait! The structure in back with the slide is the home of our future chicken coop. Our landlady has purchased nine chickens and my husband is in the process of converting an old play structure into a chicken coop with a large wired-in yard all around. The slide is going away... I am on chick duty this weekend. They have gone from little balls of fluff to this in a matter of weeks. In a couple of more they will be ready to move to the coop and in six months should be blessing us with eggs. Life doesn't get much better! In between gardening and creating I managed to give a minor face lift to our bathroom. We are in the process of remodeling everything so anything I do is temporary. It works for me. I used the staple gun to put up the map 'wallpaper' and elmers to cover the old dresser. I looks much better than it did! In April my little granddaughter Melanie had her ninth birthday. She is on a horse kick and wanted all horse stuff, and her own tools. She likes working with my husband in his shop. So we put together a tool kit for her and I covered a carrier to keep them in, and made her a horse poster collage to hang above her bed... Being of the Orthodox persuasion, we just celebrated our Easter, or Pascha, the first weekend in May. Here are some eggs I managed to get together for my five grandchildren. They have a little tree they hang their egg collection on. These filled it out nicely. During Lent this year I decided to spend much less time on Pinterest. I do love it so, and have gotten so many incredible ideas out there, but was spending way too much time looking and far too little time doing. I have piles and piles of mending and vowed to spend the time I would on Pinterest sewing on buttons and patching holes, some of which I did do...but I also did some altering of clothes just for the fun of it. This sweater looks better on and was so much fun to put together. Our Pascha celebration begins at 11 at night and it is always chilly, so it was perfect to wear on that special night. This vest was made for a cardigan. I really liked the color and stitching but it was too big so I cut off the sleeves (and made leg warmers out of them) and added trim and the two big pockets because in my opinion clothes without pockets are worthless. I made myself these earrings our of copper sheet, rusty dresser lock plates and old clock hands. They go good with my new vest and one of the green feather necklaces I made. The next few pictures are of a couple of mobiles I made this spring and have listed on my etsy site. I have a third one completed but have not photographed it yet... And here is my newest passion...tin Just this week I finished these three 'medals' that I am going to list for sale. They are made from vintage tins and embellished with a variety of treasures. The inspiration came from none other than Pinterest, but as with all my creations, are given my own spin. Today I started my next project, a tin circus necklace with bottle cap bezels. It should be cheery and fun when done... I guess I have been accomplishing more than I thought! I feel like I never have enough time at my studio...but now that I see my blog I realize I have been more productive, and that is a good thing. Until next time I wish you happy creating...
How to make a Wooden Suncatcher. Why not recycle that old piece of wood you have lying around into a great piece of garden decor.
Explore zymurgeist's 3632 photos on Flickr!
The ultimate list of snow day ideas - kids activities for winter, boredom busters and creative ways to have fun in the snow.
If your home contains a patio or a garden, then you are lucky since you can still go out and enjoy the day in a safe spot on your property. However, instead of just sitting
Heart Suncatcher Craft • Use the Bottoms of Wine Bottles • Leaf Suncatchers • Mini Lily of the Valley • Circles of Color • More ...
Do you have a bag of old glass marbles you used to play with at school? Why not turn them into one of these amazing ideas!
Ventricle is a two-part installation that was commissioned by the Southbank Centre in London for the Festival of Love. The installations recall the heart, a symbol that has been used for many centuries and in many cultures to represent love. Along with the chambers of the heart, the...
These gorgeous suncatchers are easy to create and make beautiful handmade gifts!
Great Balls of Glass! Gazing balls in the garden are all the rage. It all started back in ... Read More
Waterslide Ceramic Decal Hieronymus Bosch Size: 10 x 10cm (3.94 x 3.94 inch) Firing temperature: 760-850 ºC (1400-1562 ºF) This decal can be applied to, or used in combination with, ceramics, pottery, ceramic tiles, glass, fused glass, stained glass, enameling and mosaics. It can be overglazed (after firing), fused on top or in between layers of glass, painted with vitreous paints and/or enamels. For best result when used with glass, use a white opalescent glass, like Spectrum 200S or 200SF for fusing. Stained Glass Elements is a professional glass studio with over 30 years experience. Specialized in stained glass, glass painting, screen printing on glass, glass fusing , glass-etching and restoration . From small suncatchers to large stained glass windows . We also like to work on commission . looking for an original gift ? a family crest, anniversary window , portrait of beloved, children or pet , hobby or interest , favorite landscape or architecture, car or house immortalized?, please ask for the possibilities. For stained glass artists, glass studios, tiffany crafters we offer a variety of semi-finished products such as kiln-fired glass paintings , ornaments on glass, glass patterns, motifs on glass. Ready to be implemented in your glass and/or Tiffany work. A glass painting or ornament is an eye-catcher and provides a work of art a unique look . If you want your own idea or design realized, please ask for the possibilities. Over the years we have designed and worked in different styles including : Amsterdam School, Art Nouveau ( Jugendstil ), Art Deco, Neo-Gothic, Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Prairie School, Abstract, Pop Surrealism.
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project has been a neighborhood effort to create a beautiful mosaic running up the risers of the 163 steps located at 16th and Moraga in San Francisco. Sponsored by the San Francisco Parks Trust, artists Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher started working on the project in January of 2003. The mosaic staircase was completed on August 18, 2004 with the help of over 300 neighbors, and over 220 neighbors who sponsored handmade animal, bird and fish name tiles. As you can see, the result is simply amazing!
Stained glass plant stake for a window sill plant pot in a cute flower seed pod shape will be a unique aesthetic gift for nature lovers. The blue floral plant stake will be a lovely suncatcher on your indoor window sill or outdoor garden. The price in the listing is for ONE flower pod stick. All of the handmade light catchers are unique and differ slightly from each other in shape - if you want to choose the specific one, PM us. 🟢DETAILS: • High of the stick: 25 cm / 9.84" • Size of the flower: 3х6 cm - 1.18 х 2.36 in • All photos are real. 🟢More stained glass suncatchers here - https://etsy.me/3q9UwbC *** TECHNOLOGY: flower pods are made using a stained glass technique. • Care instructions: clean them with a soft wet fabric. • All items are packed carefully to make their trip to your home safe. *** Please, note that due to lighting effects, monitor's brightness, contrast, and other settings, there might be some slight differences in the color tone/shade of the web site's photo and the actual item.
Melted Beads Suncatchers are absolutely dazzling. These suncatchers are easy to make, and a lot of fun too. They can be used at your home, or they can be given away as gifts.
I know I’ve shared a recipe for suncatchers before, but this one is much simpler! It’s like the jelly window clings, but better because it’s only 2 ingredients and can be made at home! My friend...
We think of January as being a bleak time of year but if you look a bit more closely there is a surprising amount of colour to be found. I couldn't believe what treasures we came up with in our neglected garden, and on closer inspection bushes and trees everywhere are equally as bountiful. They say you need to work with what you've got, and this weekend we got ice! How lucky we were, as it enabled us to make these beautiful sun catchers. A simple, fun, exploratory craft, working with and honouring nature. You will need: Shallow trays,
Completed in 1908 in Pasadena, United States. The essential nature of architecture by Greene & Greene begins with intense attention to detail and craftsmanship, as their bungalows mark the...
On my these are simple gorgeous, i actually want to live inside this house. Wouldn’t this just be the most cheerful house in the street. Ok i know i sound a tad naive but i’m such a col…
This is the project that won runner-up in The Color my Summer Contest. Wanna make one, too? Here's how: Ever feel bad about throwing away plastic cups? And during the summer, with all the birthdays, pool parties, BBQ and picnics-- well, that's a whole lot of cups! Since most events that we are attending this summer are pot-luck, I volunteer to bring the cups. That way, I can buy the right ones (wink!) and use them for this awesome project! Which ones are the right ones? Well, type 6 recycling plastic is the same as shrinky dinks! So I bought a rainbow of cups in the transparent colors (about 25 per pack). After a couple of events, and with a bag and sign for recycling the cups, I had enough to make this sun catcher! First, start with clean cups. The kind I had were octagonal but had a circular base. I punctured the base with pointed scissors and then cut around the circle to take the base of the cup off. At the top of the cup, I used a hole punch to put two holes directly across from each other. These will allow you to string them together later. I used jelly roll pans and an oven at 120 degrees celsius (250 degrees farenheit.) I lined my pans with parchment paper and placed the cups TOP SIDE DOWN with the hole from cutting off the base pointing up. You don't have to space them out much-- they don't really spread as they melt. If your oven is already hot, it only takes about 2 minutes or so for the cups to melt. If they aren't completely flat, just use a spatula right after you take them out to flatten them. I have granite counter tops, so I just scooped them off the cookie sheet and let them cool on the counter. They are still a little flimsy right out of the oven, so I wouldn't use a cookie rack to cool them. Once cooled (which only takes a second), I used gold yarn to string them up with an outer circular layer and an inner one. For the top of the chandelier, I used a clock box from Ikea, spray painted yellow. Since it was octagonal, I decided that it would be easiest to have 8 strings of discs for the outer ring and 8 (staggered in between the original 8) for the inner ring. . The outer ring has 5 discs (one of each color) and the inner ring has 7 discs, so that they would hang down a little more. I used a different order for colors for the inner ring so that the colors would mix between the two layers. So- all total you will need 8x5=40 cups for the outer layer and 8x7=56 for the inner layer, or total 96 cups. It's not evenly distributed between the 5 colors, so decide on your color scheme first to see which colors you'll need I left one end of the string of discs a little longer (tied the other end to the last disc) and then used a needle to thread it through the painted box. I tied adjoining strings together using a square knot, just to keep them from slipping out. Well go back and hot glue everything in place once everything is attached to the box. Since clock boxes have a central circle, I used an extra plastic ring with yarn tied to it (and hot-glued into place on the box) to hang the whole contraption by stringing it up through that hole. Then, hang by a window and enjoy! *****UPDATE***** My sister made this project during her time in the UAE. When she showed me, I found some small transparent cups and was able to melt those, but I haven't done any since, so I am not sure where to get them. I have seen some transparent cups at the dollar store but now sure if they are #6 or not. I hope you can find some cups since this is such a cute project. If you do find some cups, please let us know where you got them. Thanks :)
Bohemian garden designs. Bohemian garden ideas.
A 'dangly thing' catching the little bit of sun we've had!
Lots of fun sun catcher crafts and stained glass art projects for kids. Easy and fun kids art activities to try at home with your kids!
Creative ideas in jewelry making, soft soldering, crafts and upcycled, innovative, repurposed art and home décor, and the upcycled garden.
