Midsummer Altered Arts Workshop

Saturday was the first annual Midsummer Really Cool Stuff Altered Arts Workshop here in beautiful Western Pennsylvania. It was very successful and everyone had a great time. We are thinking of opening it up to a larger group of participants next year. If you'd like to receive the email information for next year leave a comment and I'll put you on the list.Here Tracey is hard at work on her pendant. I'll be sharing pictures thoughout this week of the completed projects. Unfortunately, most of the workshop participants were camera shy. I think one was in the witness protection plan!

10:30 brownie break

L'amour pendant created from cotton webbing, ribbon, glitter, glass flat backed marble, ribbon, old key, charms and 45 minute eyelets!

Chateau Pendant created from webbing, velvet ribbon, eyelets, small flat backed marble, antique key, brass flower charm.

Summer Tree Pendant created from webbing, velvet ribbon, green felt, orange glass seed beads.

Tracey modeling her pendant.....
We also made altered cuff bracelets from the same webbing as the pendants. I made this one that has the words "laugh out loud" stamped on it. I like to laugh and I've know many people in my life that can make me laugh out loud. A friend of mine passed away a few days ago that I use to teach with and boy could this lady make me laugh out loud. We actually made each other laugh out loud pretty much every workday morning for 10 years. Hornyak was a good teacher and a wonderful friend. I'll miss her. I made this bracelet while thinking about all the times we laughed out loud together.

Me laughing out loud.....not a very flattering picture but Tracey said something funny! That girl can me laugh! I won't mind if I have wrinkles in my face from laugh lines as I get older but I hope I never have lines from frowning.The bracelet flattened out. Created from cotton webbing, torn cotton fabric, stamps, DMC thread, vintage shell buttons. I good mantra to wear on your wrist.

A Unique Jewelry Display & A Funny Story.....

Greetings from the Honey Girl Studio! I have been very busy lately getting ready for a spring open house this weekend at the Time and Again Shop (see previous post for directions).

This is me circa 1973...... second grade!

The weather is getting warmer and every morning I wake up to birds singing. I love to hear them, it makes me smile! I have an artist friend in England named Hope (see pixieponderings1966 on my blog roll) and she made these wonderful bird nest pendants. I was so taken with them that I had to try some for myself! I think they are darling!

I added different bird quotes on each card.......

I found these little feather charms to add to them.....just like you'd find in a real bird's nest.

So I needed a jewelry display for the poker chip pendants and bird nest pendants. Hmmmm....what to use? Well I got this idea that I'd collage a picture and put it in a big frame so that I could change it seasonally. My husband came up with the idea of placing Velcro on the glass then put the other piece on the back of each pendant card. Ta-da! It works! He's a genius!

This is a picture of the collage without the Velcro dots stuck on it..........

This is the frame with all of the pendants hung on it..........

Pretty cool, eh?

Now for a little story......as with some artwork there is an interesting story that goes with it. Here is my funny little tale......
A few weekends ago I was at my moms and I was doing decorative painting on a black desk to take to the Time and Again Shop, well my mom and my brother's girlfriend were there talking to me while I was painting and it was about 500 degrees in my mom's house (they have their own gas well, so they keep it hot!), my dad and brother were in and out of the kitchen where I was painting so there was a lot of talking and hub-bub going on. Then my mom's dog Buddy came in was acting all funning wanting to jam himself right up against me (getting his hair in my paint). As it turns out he was chasing a car and it bumped him so he was a little upset(maybe that will teach him not to chase cars).....by the way, he's ok, but I digress.........
I get the desk all painted with numbers and letters all around the edge of the top of desk with hydrangea sprigs in each corner....it looked great and I took it outside and sprayed it with clearcoat then loaded it in the car and took it to Hazel. The next day I get a message on my cell....."the desk looks great but, I've been taking a lot of ribbing about the number 11, namely, what happened it it?" Appearantly, in the commotion I painted "8,9,10, 12, 13, 14, 15"!

I knew I had the chair to paint yet so I called Hazel back and said, "I know what happened to the number 11........it fell off and landed on THE CHAIR!" And here it is........right where it landed, on the chair!

I hope you all have a wonder Wednesday out there in blogland! Remember "today is a gift, that's why the call it the present"!
Smiles-
Melissa