Vintage Thanksgiving...

This little guy is too cute to chop the turkey!
Maybe mac n' cheese for dinner?

Pretty image... perfect words...

That's it... butter up the butterball!

~Happy Thanksgiving~
I hope your holiday weekend is filled with
all that makes you happy!

Early Light...

The distant trees were lavender tones...
The salmon glow blanketed our lawn...
Birds were busy at the feeders...
The waterfall, rushing~

November mornings...

There's No Business... Like SNOW Business...

Left over noses...
Vintage game pieces...
Antique tinware...(the bases for them)
Vintage-style tinsel...
Paper clay and wool!

MORE SNOWMEN!

Way too much fun...

These will be in my Etsy shop
as soon as I find a few minutes to log them in!

In all the years I have been making snowmen~
These, by far, are my most favorite!

Hope they made you smile!

You Know What This Means...

There are noses left...

More SNOWMEN!

These are made from paper clay.
I started the sweet heads with a ball of tinfoil
then generously covered them with the clay.
Much less cracking and very light weight~

Love their little cheeks!

Now I just need to decide what type of body to make
for them... wool... cloth... paper mache?
Antique them or keep them snow white?
Glitter?

Maybe a couple of each!
I'll be sure to share finished photos...

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Frosty Fall...

We have enjoyed the most beautiful
fall weather... sun and mid 60's~
Even a few days in the low 70's!

We know the winter winds are just
around the corner...

Winter doesn't feel as long and daunting
when November weather is mild...

Everything had this sweet sugar coating...
Rooftops with glimmering sprinkles!

While I was taking these pictures three gray
squirrels tried to take over the bird feeders...
My pup and I let out a few noises and
they took off limb to limb into the neighbors yard!

The Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jays, Cardinals...
Nuthatch, Chickadees, Juncos & Finches quickly returned!

Just a spoonful of sugar!

Pickin' Out Whiskers...

This is Little Lewie!
A new needle felted friend...

We just finished picking out the perfect
kitty whiskers to make him complete!

He'll be in my Etsy shop later today...

My whisker collection is growing faster than
I'm making mice and bunnies!

Remember! No kitty, dog or other whiskered
snouts were touched or injured during the
gathering of whiskers!
They are collected by luck from their beds...
Swept up in their mounds of hair...
Shared from MANY homes!

Hope your day is wonderful!

Marbleized... Rare Book Papers...

Look! It isn't a snowman! ha.. ha..

In my daily attempt to keep my studio organized...
(laugh hard!)
I have been sorting through BOXES and envelopes
of antique papers, letters, advertising... etc.
trying to file like-things together.

Sharing some of my marbleized papers that
were saved from old, rare books being discarded.
I did not remove these papers from the books...
I was able to purchase them at various
antique shows, postcard festivals etc.

With the growing popularity of ephemera
people are not discarding half-torn or
water damaged books...
They're trying to preserve some of the
amazing plates, title pages and endpapers.

These are just a few from my collection...

Sorry for blurry...

I discovered a lot of information on the history
of marble papers on the web...
The link below will bring you to YouTube and
various videos on how to marbleize paper.
Marble Paper Projects

I love these art-safe plastic folders.
This one is 16x20
I purchase them from fine art stores.
The sturdy zip closure keeps bugs & dust out and
would protect from water...

Hope your Saturday is off to a great start!

Mixed Media Snowmen Painting...

I know I promised you
something different
than snowmen...
But I had to share these simple paintings!
They make the perfect lil' gifts~

Sherry's Bear & Frame Shop in Seneca Falls, NY
has a wonderful supply of little frames!

I cut canvas board to fit the frame...
Covered the surface with Modge Podge,
tissue papers, vintage ads... etc.
Let dry.
Sanded & antiqued.
Then painted a simple snow friend with acrylics!

With pen tips & ink I wrote song lyrics,
sweet memories... various quick thoughts
and for a final touch...
Spattered a little white acrylic ink
to soften and look even more wintry!

I really hope to keep my word & not
add new snow friends tomorrow!

Needle Felted Snow Friends Pincushions...

A few more snow friends to share...
I just dropped them off at Roseann's shop!
Her Christmas open house begins tomorrow!

I had noticed four stoneware bowls
at a gigantic antique shop this summer.
I passed them by at first~
but after three or four different vendors
my creative mind came up with a cute idea!
Snowmen pincushions!

All I had to do then was retrace my steps
and relocate the bowls!

To save on wool the bowl is filled with
polyfill and then I needle felted the wool over it.
The large ball of fibers is hot glued into the bowl.

I found a small box of vintage pins a while back...
they are the perfect touch!

I promise something different tomorrow!
Enough snow for a few days~

Another Needle Felted Snowman...

This little fella has a hat!
Hats completely change the look...

The perfect support for my multi-layered buddy!

Not sure what these receipt do-dads are
called... but with a little bit of coaxing they
made pretty AND STURDY bases~

A blank canvas!

TaDa!

I love driving by front lawns with
4-5 ball snowfriends!

I assume the families that craft the
tall snowmen are MUCH taller
than our family!

Hope your day is perfect~

Needle Felted Snowmen...How to...

Beginning to think of Christmas and home made gifts?
NEEDLE FELTED SNOWMAN

I learned how to needle felt by
watching free videos on
YouTube

Just like in the yard...
My snowmen begin with three round balls!
I needle felt these from 100% natural wool.

The snowmen will sit on their own if you
flatten the bottom...
Flatten a surface by needle felting
the same area over,
and over... and over... and over.

This is how I attach each ball to the next...
I like the surfaces to look more connected.

I decided to put this one on a turning.
(it was a candle stick last year!)

I make my noses from Paperclay.
Form to a carrot shape, let dry,
paint with orange,
scuff the surface with sandpaper then stain.

Sometimes I use a sharp, thin blade to make
lines & creases in the noses~
I wanted these to look a little more folk/simple.

Mismatched socks make excellent scarves!
Cut a thin strip from a straight area...

Cut the sock circle open (pictured above) & stretch out!

Easy and natural looking!
The nicer the sock... the sweet the scarf!

I add old boot buttons, beads...

Whatever seems to be laying around works!

Tipped little head...

Again... old furniture turnings make great bases!

Three sweet friends!
You could add hats... needle felt arms...
Hope you try one!