Fabric Scrap Projects #1: Wrapped Lampshades Mini-Tutorial !

 It has been a while since I have done an official project post, but I have been busy taking trips and working hard to improve my drawing, collage and painting skills so I can launch a new line of art pieces due in the fall! 

But, in the meantime, I have been doing an overhaul of my home and cleaning out the ever-growing stash of unused art supplies that have gathered throughout the years. This has been a constant process and fabric stash has been neglected for some time. Therefore, it has been my focus to give away and/or use the scraps that I can't part with due to a wonderful design or color that rings with my creative side! 

I've come up with some projects from seeing lots of ideas online and, of course, Cost Plus World Market (my favorite store in the whole world and my constant source of inspiration each and every season) and have come to a short list that I am in the process of completing:

1. Fabric wrapped lamp shades (This Post :)

2. Wrapped Frames (open frames with cross wires to clothespin pics and notes to)

3. Another set of Prayer Flags to match my last set (shown in previous post: Here )

** Here is a (mini) tutorial on how I've made my lampshades:
 
I found some old lampshades at a thrift store that I stripped down to the wire frame. On one, I added a few cross-wires with some thick, but workable wire from the hardware store so that I would have extra wire cross-sections to tie the long and short fabric pieces to (this is only on the first lamp which I wrapped vertically. The second one, I left as is and wrapped the fabric horizontally -as shown below).....

I grabbed a basket of the fabric I had recently cut into strips (unfortunately in a variety of lengths due to the fabric pieces of different sizes I had to work with)....

I began wrapping and tying at each wire cross-section (vertically on the first (finished lamp) and then horizontally on the second (shown in empty lamp frame above) and continued until the entire lamp was covered to my satisfaction :))

I then applied the new glue I picked up "E6000-fabric Fray Check" to each of the knots and let it dry for about 2-3 hours- this glue is awesome by the way!! I then returned and trimmed the extra fabric from each knot so they appeared neat and clean and wouldn't fray or come undone due to the E6000!

Here is the finished lamp after I attached a chain to hang it with:

Either you can use a battery operated led light of some sort, or add a light socket kit and weave the cord through the chain to the plug!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I will be back with more....

Wicked jypsi

If your looking to be Inspired.....

I realized that I hadn't updated my blog list in quite a while and, while doing so, I figured I should share my favorite Crafters and Artists a little more in depth: 

                  First we have:

                                         CRAFTY CHICA - Kathy Murrilo

She was the catalyst for my desire to make art, period. I literally began with a book of hers that I happened to glance over at the bookstore. The rest is history. The book was titled "La Casa Loca"

And I must have made all the projects in the book and found a joy in my soul that I had never felt before....sounds weird but true. She has released many books in the following years that continue to inspire me. I truly believe that if there is such a thing as a "Craft&Art Soul-mate" Kathy would be mine.......even though she has no idea who I am - haha! Out taste in style and and method are identical and I can't thank her enough for the inspiration she provides for me and every lucky artist and crafter in the world!!! 

                  Next, we have :

                                       Traci Bautista -  treiC Designs.com

I have been a collage artists for over 20 years now. I loved creating what would be considered the older collage style that was around before the whole assemblage movement began. And it was exactly that movement that I felt pressure from to follow in my creation of art pieces that ended up being the reason I took a long hiatus from the practice. It was then that I became enthralled with learning to draw .....not realistic styles but more on the illustration side of things. I discovered " Collage Unleashed" by Traci, again, at the book store, and her style of drawing and wonderful bright colors spread out on the canvas was mesmerizing. I studied her book like a maniac and the first complete painting I made was dedicated to her and now is used as my profile picture!! ...see above :)

Tracy Bautista is not a crafter, but an artist in a very traditional sense. She's abundant in her ability to spread her desires thoroughly and completely onto a canvas and share her message in the most fundamental way...I admire her greatly and continue to use her book and it's follow ups ("Doodles Unleashed" recently released "Printmaking Unleashed") as inspiration and instruction to 

better my own abilities.

                       Last on the list: 

                                                    Chloe Owens..... (a more recent discovery)

Her  books "All Sewn Up" and "Chloe Tells You How to Sew" are super fun and, upon reading them, I was stunned at some of the projects and how "up my alley" they are!! In her first book, she had large, hanging birds that I later made on my own (see here) and, in her second book, she had an Indian headdress made of ribbon and feathers that included every color of the rainbow and was exactly what I was looking for. I have yet to make my own, but I will post immediately as soon as I do.

Chloe is into vintage, but colorful creations and recently she was featured in an article I was pleased to find in "Fresh Style" magazine. The article was great at letting the reader in on a great display of her style and abilities that I am very much looking forward to continuing to learn and be inspired by!!

All three of these women are inspiring, creative, wonderful, happy women that I certainly hope to meet someday!

Keep it up, Ladies!!

Till next time,

         Wicked jypsi

More Boho Jewelry...

I have been hard at work creating circle looms for weaving and a Mini- Loom for beading (which I will share on my next post) But for now, I have this quick - and fun- little Bracelet to share.......

I have to admit I have been obsessed with Macrame (of all sorts) since I was very young, and I can't go to long without quickly throwing a little piece together......so, this bracelet was born (created) two nights ago. My 12 year old daughter snatched up this one and has been wearing it ever since (I actually had to borrow it from her for the couple of minutes it took to take these pics :) 

But I am already working on different colors so they can be worn as a stack together or with other pieces and you can find them in my Etsy Shop in a day or two at most!

Thanks for visiting and I will be back soon with more :))

Wicked jypsi

It's Boho time: New Jewelry to Love

         Bohemian Jewelry is making a Splash
    ....and I am thrilled to take part by creating some of my 
                     favorite styles with a personal flair....

It has and continues to be so much fun to try different styles when making this summer time traditional "look". The innate desire to create and the primitive feel of the process of braiding, macrame, beading and bead-weaving have brought moments of contemplation, mediation, and quiet to my mind that I have come to cherish and depend on over the past few months. Taking up my jewelry making craft again has been a delight and its funny how the more I create and learn new styles of jewelry-making, new possibilities and ideas come like a tidal wave. I guess that is the point they are making when they say "you never stop learning" and "creation only builds on itself"... well I say "Bring It On"!!

Here are the latest pieces:

 

 

 

These are great to accent other pieces, or worn all together for the "stacked" look!

These bracelets will be available in my Etsy Shop, so take a look......I'll be back with new jewelry pieces in a few days

& Thanks for stopping by !!

Wicked jypsi 

"Quilted (bright colored) Kitchen Towels" !!

Recently, I have been upgrading various areas of my house. It is a long range project and I am taking it a room at a time. The kitchen is what I am upgrading slowly, and I realized we need some bright colors to offset the plain colors of the light green paint (that I haven't painted yet :)  A couple of bright colored kitchen towels seemed like it would do the trick!

 I think they are going to be perfect in the kitchen once it's painted:

Since this was my first time making these sort of towels that hang on the oven door or a drawer handle, I did some searching and reading online to get the ideas going....

and now that they are done, I am moving to Potholders!!!


Check back in a week for more projects and thanks so much for stopping by!

Wicked jypsi

Sliced Wood Ornaments & Gnomes...Year Round!!

      Who said Wood Ornaments are only for Christmas?? 

 

    Artwork by Poortvliet/Huygen from their book: GNOMES 

              "Gnome Wood Ornaments"

I have been a little obsessed with the new trend of Sliced Wood Ornaments that has been making its way around the Craft World.....Since I was lucky to have some tree limbs that could be cut from a cherry tree out back, I have the luxury of actual bark covered with moss in the sizes and shapes of "home-grown" wood circles :))

 

 I decided to use some favorite art work and see how they turned out:

                        

Next, I added an eye screw instead of drilling a hole and found it more desirable for my taste, and added a little background white paint to make the Gnomes colors stand out a bit more. I think in the future I will use larger, brighter graphics so I can keep the natural wood-look, which is always better...in my  opinion!

As a sealer, I used the Golden brand Self-Leveling Gel with evens the layers of paint and graphics to look smooth on the surface as well as seal the whole piece.

 

 

When all dry and done, they turned out just as I'd hoped:

 

 

 

There are a million ways to use these wood pieces and I am hard at work with a slew of different designs and mediums since these wood pieces can handle any paint, glue, wood burning or drill for that matter.....so I'll be back to share the wealth :)!

Thanks for stopping by,

Wicked jypsi

Macrame Hanger for my House Plant!

Starting Early.......

 

I have jumped (maybe a little early) into the house plant mode, which I usually do in January or February of each year...This year being a little different with the unseasonably warm weather we are having here in California. I have stuck to house plants instead of outdoor plants just to be safe from the nighttime chill that comes after dark. 

So, now I am getting into placing them strategically throughout the house to maximize the light they receive and needed a way to put this plant up higher (rather then on the shelf or ground) and decided to try my hand at a Macrame Hanger. This is my first attempt so I used a simple cord I picked up from Michael's craft store. There was a massive amount of tutorials and ideas on Pinterest, but I wanted to start simple before I go further into some fancy knots later on. 

So here it is:  

 

I did take the photo outside even though it is an indoor plant simply because the lighting was better, but the Macrame Hangers are good for hanging any plants outdoors as well on the porch (from or back) or in the garden area. 

 

I am fairly pleased with my first attempt, even though it is not fancy at all, I look forward to making a bunch of Macrame Hangers using different styles of knots and color cords...the sky is the limit as far as I can tell!!

 

Ill be back with more next week...Thanks for stopping by!

Wicked jypsi