Now it is time to start again.  Not the least of the motivation is spring is almost here.  My daffodils (thousands of them) are up a few inches.  One lonely bulb that is close to the southern side of the house is about 6 inches already.  No sign of a bud but that is coming.  Have you heard the birds in the morning?  The birds don’t lie.  Spring is coming and I am feeling creative again.

In February there was a web site called ‘Thing a Day’.  The challenge was to make and post something every day.  I challenged myself but didn’t post because I knew there were some days I was going to miss.  For March I am challenging myself again and I will post here.

I did create on the first 3 days of March.  Nothing extremely exciting but the idea is just to make something, genius will follow!

March 1st my creation was of the edible sort – Kale and Apple Salad – the candied pecans in this recipe are absolutely delicious and don’t have to be in a salad to be enjoyed.  The dressing is also good – I keep good dressing recipes I find and use them for everyday salads too.  Have almost gotten away from bottled dressing!

On March 2nd I made a bookmark from some polymer beads and ribbon as well as a couple of polymer clay pieces.   I am not sure what I am going to do with the pieces yet.  Here is a pic.

I have already added a red tinted black background to the piece on the right and ‘antiqued’ it with red paint.  Some ‘jade’, ‘cinnibar’ and black beads to make a necklace?

The piece on the left was made with a texture plate that I made last week from a Salvation Army find.  I think it may become a focal bead in another necklace, or maybe a bracelet.

March 3rd I created the first (of many to come) drafts of a database schema for a collaborative project I am working on.  And … I added another layer to one of the polymer pieces I created on 3/2.

Waiting for today’s inspiration.

Earlier I also decided I wanted a new Valentine’s Day door decoration.  I had plastic placemat for the last couple of years.  A few weeks ago I found an upgrade for $3 at Home Goods.  A  red felt placemat!  I knew I wanted to add some glitz, just not sure what to do until I remembered some plastic red glitter Christmas balls.

Here is a picture of the placemat, balls and tools I used.  I had enough of the red balls so I didn’t use the silver ones.

First I cut lengths of wire and put them on the balls.  Then I punched holes in the felt with the needle tool and pushed the wire through it.  I used fairly long wires because the wind will blow it around and the balls need to be secure.  (During the blizzard last night, I looked out and saw that the heart had been blown into the foot of snow on the porch – despite the fact I wrapped the hanging wire around the hook several times.  I retrieved and let it dry in the garage.)

Finished and installed felt heart -

My next step was to decorate my little tree.  I removed the silver star from the top and replaced it with a polymer clay heart pin I made several years ago for a Vday party.  A friend lent my her red glittery heart shaped Christmas decorations that she bought at Ikea this year.  They are flat and light and look good on the white tree.  I can keep it on the porch for a couple more weeks!!

The large stones are to keep it on the porch when the wind blows.

The decorated porch.  I know it is a little tacky – I think that is kinda appropriate for Valentine’s Day.  And I smile each time I see my tree.  Total cost:  $3!!

An extra – a view  from the porch after I spent the morning shoveling the driveway.

No surprise to anyone who knows her – Ember’s most important place is her food bowl.  She is not always a dainty eater and the floor beneath the bowl is hardwood.  The answer for both of us has been a series of placemats that change with the season.

Her favorite is this Johathan Adler Christmas mat I found a few years ago.  I really like it for the color and clean lines.

The mat currently in use shows a happy snowman.

The snowman will be in place until the beginning of February when we will have a Valentine’s Day theme.  After that I’ll be lazy until the beginning of March when she’ll be sportin’ the green – or she will use one of the all purpose mats for a couple of weeks in between.

Easter is celebrated with chicks and eggs and we have tulip and daffodil mats for the rest of the spring.

She has summer and fall themed mats and I am always looking for new ones – especially the clear ones that allow the floor to shine through.  This is the favorite all purpose mat.  It gets a lot of use between decorating events.

Placemats are a fun, and economical way to add a little color to what can be a dreary part of your home when you are owned by a pet.  The mats cost about $3 and can almost always be purchased on sale or with a 40% coupon.  They can be used to protect surfaces under plants, some can be used as holiday door decorations, or as intended where they add some holiday mood to a casual table.

A few weeks ago I bought this purple wool Chico’s jacket at Goodwill.  I was attracted to the felted wool and the delicious color.  When I tried it on – it was not flattering.  Really boxy.  Long in the sleeves and torso and the collar was long and pointy.  I planned on cutting some off the bottom to start and go from there.  First step was to wash it even though it was clearly marked ‘Dry Clean Only’.  I knew it would shrink some but there was a lot of room for shrinkage and I didn’t have much to lose.  If it shrank to much to be a jacket I could make a vest, use the fabric for a great scarf or redonate for a smaller person to find.

I washed in cold water and hung to dry.  When I tried it on – it was just right!!  It was about 4 inches shorter, the sleeves had shortened about 2 inches and the collar had become quite petite.  And the best part is it almost developed a shape.  It seems to be smaller at the waist and the hem flares a little – probably due to uneven shrinkage.  An extra advantage is that the shrinking made the wool even denser and it is really warm.  It is great to wear with jeans or black velveteen pants which are my current replacement for flannels.  Add a scarf and earrings and I am ready to go out.

I forgot to take a before picture, but here is the after.

When you are out at the stores look for fabric and color first.  Buy the things you like and be creative with your finds – it almost always works.

Here is my review:

Inventory  and presentation -  the store is set up very well and everything is organized by type of clothing (coats, pants, skirts etc) and by size within group.  The merchandise is in good condition and very wearable.  There are a few designer pieces but most of the clothes are what you would find at Macy’s, Chico’s, J Jill etc.  There are some jewelry, shoes and purses – all attractively displayed.  Women’s clothing only.  Everything was clean and there were several willing to help sales people in the store.  This was the first day they were open to the general public and everything seemed to be running smoothly.

Prices – not thrift store level and lower than most local consignment stores.  Lots of blazers/jackets for an average of $20.  Inexplicably scarves were $10 – even the polyester ones.  Most things were certainly reasonable and some designer things had great prices.  A couple of St John knit suits for $75.  If you are willing to put in the time you will do better at the local Goodwill for most items.

Verdict – if you like bargains and don’t like having to look through all the pilled acrylic sweaters, giveaway t-shirts and size 2 jean mini skirts  to find a blouse you can wear to the office, this is the place for you.  Most of the work has been done for you.  Everything may not be your size or taste but the merchandise is clean, has been well vetted and is displayed beautifully.  And the bonus – you are supporting a good cause.  This is a place I will continue to visit and will definitely take clients.

I originally started with 4 shades of clay to give her depth.  By the time I had to redo my work about 8 times all of the colors had become one.

Her face and her belly spiral are molds, otherwise I made the shape.  I am going to look for an easy sculpting tutorial, this just does not come naturally.  It seems I want to push the clay when it needs to be pulled and the reverse.

I distressed the clay a little, baked it, sanded and sanded and sanded … then buffed her.  Next step was to ‘antique’ her with acrylics, bake and buff again.  I added a loop on the back and one goddess on a cord is ready for wearing.

While she is not the best goddess I have ever seen, I like her.

She is about 3 inches tall.

Today’s post is about gift tags.  I have never been a fan of most of the commercial tags.  There are usually pretty bland and I don’t like the idea of buying something just to have it go in the trash.  (Wrapping paper is OK for some reason.)  A few years ago I hit on the idea of recycling some of the cards I get.  I may have seen an article or thought of it myself, not sure.

I take greeting cards – the ones shows here are Christmas cards but I do this with all kinds of cards – look at them for attractive images within them, cut them up and use the results as gift tags.  All cards are viewed for their deconstructed potential except the hand made cards one talented friend sends.  Those are carefully preserved.

Here are a couple of cards I deconstructed this week.

Not a very good picture but you can see the cards I am working with.

The first step is to mark the cards with cut lines.  Not all of the card is always used – it all depends on the images.

This card was torn so I worked around that.  After marking I used a paper cutter to create the tags.

Here are both cards after cutting.

And some cards are naturals for this process.

Write your message on the back and tape to packages or use my favorite method — cut a hole in a corner and attach with narrow ribbon to the package ribbon.

These tags are unique, thrifty, environmentally friendly and you will find something in your stash to complement each package you wrap.  Having the perfect tag for each gift is as much fun as deciding how to divide the image.

Some tags are just solid colors or a glittered piece of card and they look great too.

I am in love with the green that has been around for a few years now.  Acid green? lime green?  I am not sure of the name but I don’t seem to be able to get enough.  I just bought a can of Key Lime spray paint so watch for future posts with that.

I went to Joann Fabrics and just had to look at the 50% off “silk” flowers.  I found poinsettias in my new favorite color as well as one of my all time favorites – silver.  I bought a bush of each color and a stem of what look somewhat like wheat in the sequined lime color.

I looked through my stash of vessels and picked a silver plate pitcher I have had for 20+ years.  I didn’t polish it because I like the patina.  Next was to deconstruct the bushes to get a better arrangement.  I used wire clippers and cut the stems as long as possible.  (Note:  If you have a pair of wire clippers for jewelry – do not use them.  These stems require the heavy duty wire clippers you get at the hardware store.)

I created the arrangement to my liking and placed it on my glass dining table.

Somehow not enough of something.

Next I added a placemat I found at Goodwill a few months ago.

Better but still lacking.

Next I took a mirror (antoher Goodwill find) I had casually leaning on the wall on my buffet and placed it under the pitcher.

Yes!  I like it.

The mirror’s heavy frame added just enough weight to make it stand out.

The point of all of this?  Experiment!!  What you have in your mind’s eye does not always happen instantly.  Whether it is a flower arrangement or a new furniture arrangement for the living room, don’t be discouraged that the first attempt doesn’t work.  Sometimes it takes days of looking at something that is just a little off to find the tweak that is needed.  If I can’t find a solution to a problem opportunity I ‘tuck it in the back of my mind’.  A solution – or at least the next step – will present itself.   This works for just about anything you are doing.  I first developed the habit in the corporate world when I worked with process design and large databases.

Sometimes people who create these things want you to think it just happens instantly for them and you don’t have the talent to (fill in the blank).  Phooey on that.  Just look around you for inspiration, get the vision and keep experimenting until it is something you like – doesn’t matter if I like it.  After all not everyone is thrilled with the idea of a bouquet of acid green poinsettias – some of my own family even.

Here are up close pics of the poinsettias and wheat type sequined things.

Isn’t it beautiful?