Recon Picture Frame

I'm sure everyone out there has received a gift that er... uh... just isn't their style. Well, since I'm no different, and since I'm a big proponent of the reuse R of the Three R's. I decided to make it into something fabulous. The original was a pretty standard frame with decoupage brown paper with butterflies on it. Now it's a simple blue and white frame that holds a pic of my dapper little nephews just perfectly. I reused the frame and some left over room paint. It's American Tradition in "Sea Tickle". I love how soft it is and also the texture that the decoupage made is a nice touch.

In other news, my brother has come to visit me and should be living in my living room for a bit. I'm excited to have him here as I rarely get to see him. He's a large.... teddy bear. :)

Re-starting with a Bang!

Great News! I'm finally at the position to where I can start creating again. I've been working on this re-initial post for a few days. I've been painting and I love it! :) The painting above was a creation for our bedroom. :) It's four different colors of a soft body paint by Liquitex.

Also, if you check out the very bottom of that photo, you'll see a teeeny tiny little girl puppy under my new comforter. :) She's our new little Chihuahua named Dede. She's the sweetest puppy I've ever met & a polar opposite of her brother (a 2 and a half year old boy Chihuahua named Agro). He's incredibly sweet to people and loves everyone, but he is very high needs. He has separation issues...



So! Expect more posts from me. I'm going to try to update once every other day, or even every day if I can.

A New Direction

Today I ordered my new gal. She's a beauty! (Super Inexpensive) :) I have big plans for our time together. My old machine was falling apart at the seams ;). (It was a starter machine anyway. I needed a better, grown up machine).

I started an etsy shop today as well, briemarie.etsy.com. There isn't anything stocked, but there will be. I have decided that it is time for me to give back to the arts for all it's given me, so 10% of all sales from this shop will be donated to a different art related charity each month. I will be selling accessories of all kinds, from jewelry, to purses, dog accessories to home accessories.

Also, as soon as I'm done moving, I'll be renewing my commitment to Creative Every Day as well. I feel it's very important for me to keep up my development as an artist. I have a ton of new ideas brewing in my head and I'm itching to let them come out to play.

Sqwerl!

Today I received a little bit of inspiration from a friend. She sent me an email with a link to a squirrel purse. She said that she had to have one when she got up the courage to buy it. :) Well, I knew I could make a pretty fabulous squirrel bag and started out to create. This is my take on the squirrel bag. It's a simple canvas/cotton print/felt bag. :) I don't have any flashy tail faux fur, but I hope she likes it. (Yes, I meant for the canvas to fray)


Also, in the mail today I received some fabulously died 100% Merino Superwash Roving. The colors are vibrant jewel tones. I couldn't help myself so I've started to spin an aqua/burgundy bit, and it's turning out beautifully.

Here's some of the dark red in the bunch. It's very striking and I can't wait to see it in yarn. :)

While I'm Knitting Away...

While I'm knitting away on this incredibly soft bolero, I unfortunately have no fun little crafty projects to share. Don't worry, I'm keeping up with the creative every day thing. But it's mostly just knitting. I could share the daily progress on my green mass of yarn right now, but I figured you'd much prefer to see the FOs. So! I'm going to share some of my previously made projects with the world. :)

First up is a necklace that had been swirling around in the recesses of my mind for some time before I let it out. The idea for this piece started with New Years Eve 2006. My roommate decided to drink the last bottle of my wedding champagne while I was asleep. So, I saved the cork and decided that it needed to be a necklace. So I cut a cross section of the end of the cork, made a bezel, and turned it into a necklace. It's holding up very well. I just love it! :) (And it goes with so many outfits!)

Happy Birthday to me!

This weekend was possibly the best I've had in a long long time. :) I turned 25 on Saturday and spent it surrounded by friends and family. As a surprise, my little brother came down and brought me a 2001 Chateau Brion, some Absinthe (the legal kind, without the wormwood) and some nice drinking wine. (I'm not a slush I promise!) I got some money from my parents and a Starbux gift card from my friend Ashley.

As far as creativeness goes.... I did go to the Austin Museum of Art for my birthday to see Roy Lichtenstein's work. Majorly exciting, it was fabulous. Kudos to my wonderful husband Jon for the idea. It was amazing. :) After we went to the art museum, we went to Joe's Crab shack and I had lots of drinks and crab and played the bongos to the birthday song. :)

I've been trying to get better at knitting. I found out that I had been purling incorrectly the whole time. It's a lot easier now that i'm purling correctly. I'm also using bamboo needles this time around. They are a ton more comfy on my hands. I'm getting better at following patterns and I might just have a few FOs (finished objects) soon to show off.

I'm still here!

With a bout of some odd sickness slowing me down this week... not sure what it is, but it's unpleasant. I've decided to take my crafty self to a more mellow level. I've been doing some lower key knitting. Nothing fabulous, just reacquainting myself with the needles.

On a more exciting note! I am learning to spin using a drop spindle. I went into a great, fabulous, amazing, shop called the Knitting Nest here in South Austin and there was a wonderful lady there who taught me how to spin.

On top of that, the owner of the shop just randomly gave me a spindle and some roving! Click the image to visit their site. I honestly can't stay enough great things about that place. Another thing is, they stock the largest supply of Cascade Yarn in the Southwest United States. They have every color currently made of Cascade 220. I'm definitely taking my knitting business there from now on.

Score!

State of the... blog?

I must say, blogging so far has been incredibly inspiring! I've been keeping my vow to be creative daily and it's doing me a world of good. I've been less irritable than normal (ask the hubby) and have been feeling like I'm actually accomplishing things.

For instance, all day Sunday I painted. I had been meaning to do something for the small guest bathroom. I finally got up the nerve to do it! The paint is a copper and silver color to match the colors. I think it's a pretty soothing linear piece. It makes me want to paint more. :)

My creative endeavor for today (Monday night) included a small pincushion made of polymer clay, fabric, paint, and stuffing. I've had this little hybrid snail/ladybug (in the wrong color) in my brain for a little while. He needed to come out.

Anyone have any ideas for a name?

Lounging and Logos

So far today has been a pretty laid back day and I'm loving it! :) I had some free time to work on a logo for my cousin's digital art business. Graphic design is something I do as well. I'm a little hesitant to go get a job doing it after my last couple of experiences. One day I'll get up the nerve to join the design world again.

I hope she likes it.

Fabric Covered Thumb Tacks

Tonight while I was hanging out in my craft room, I decided to whip up some fabric covered thumb tacks with a bit of Alexander Henry fabric I scored at Joanne's the other day. I got the idea from this post at Jessica Jones' How About Orange.

They'll be really handy for my friend's cubicles at work! :)

Tie Coffee Cozy Tutorial

I don't know about you guys, but I love finding new tutorials on the web. Especially if they're for something quite useful and unique. The more useful the better.

After starting at my naked coffee cup, I decided that it needed to be dressed up. :) The tie coffee cozy tutorial was born.


To make this simple (environmentally conscious) coffee cozy follow these directions:

Materials Needed:
Sewing Machine
Scissors
a mens dress tie of your choice
a large button (or velcro)
corresponding thread
a sheet of felt

1. Locate a large tie you especially like. You can find ties at most thrift stores by the bin full for very very cheap. They come in different sizes, but I like to use the largest width I can. I decided on a vintage striped orange and brown number.

2. Measure thirteen inches in from the very tip of the the fat end of the tie. Make a mark at 13 inches and cut across the tie to remove the end of it. We won't be using the neck area of the tie. Feel free to use it in other craft projects. I especially like the thought of turning it into a nice wrist cuff. (Which can be made in a similar fashion as this tutorial. Just imagine your wrist instead of the coffee cup, and measure using your actual wrist.)

3. Cut out a piece of felt for the backing on the tie. It should be the same size or a tad bit smaller in dimension than the tie bottom. This will stabilize it and keep it from slipping around on the cup. Also, it will add an extra layer of insulation for keeping the drink warmer and keeping your hand cooler.

4. Place the tie and the felt right sides together and sew along the top flat edge of the tie.

5. Flip the tie over to where the wrong sides are facing each other. Sew all the way around the edge of the tie and the felt.

6. Attach either a button or Velcro. The sewn flat edge will lay underneath the pointy end when you fasten it around the cup. This should fit a standard coffee cup. However, if you're unsure about fit, the Velcro would be a better way to go as it's more adjustable.

A picture, as promised

I promised I would post a pic of my finished jewelry display. It's now proudly hanging in my bathroom. :) It boasts a cork backing behind the fabric and homemade tacks (curtesy of a tutorial over at How About Orange) to display the jewelery. I also stretched a ball chain in between two tacks to hang my earrings on.

I learned so much from this project!

Number 1:
Next time, use a mitre saw for cleaner edge cuts. You can't tell very much, but the box is a tad bit crooked.

Number 2:
Use a darker frame and a lighter background fabric. Currently all of the jewelry is getting lost on the background.

Number 3: Make sure I have wood glue and a good sander.

I'm so excited!

The title of this post says it all! I spent the majority of tonight working on a carpentry project. It's a jewelry organization center that I've been thinking about for a bit.

I was inspired by the latest issue of Blueprint Magazine about sexy organizing. I must say, it's my most favorite Brie craft yet! :)

Because it's so late in the night a picture would not turn out enough to do it justice. I'll have to post pics tomorrow. :) Plus I have a great tutorial tomorrow that I hope will be well received.

Sleep tight everyone!

My hand at sewing

Tonight I decided to work on just a couple of projects. My crafting time consists of the time after work, between supper and Project Runway. I did get a couple of bags created though.

Numero Uno:
Imagine my surprise when I visit Joanne's after work and stumble upon some Alexander Henry fabric. I quickly snatched it up and decided to whip up this simple little tote.

Aaand B:

This bag is really a place mat. :) I visited the Crate and Barrel Outlet in San Marcos and stumbled upon this little jewel. It was hanging out in a bin of orphaned place mats. I just adore it. It's a quite simple bag and I can definitely post a tutorial for it later.

Right now though, it's sleepy time.

Have a great night!

Creative Every Day!

Creative Every Day 2008

I'm enamored with a site that just came through the bloglines. It's at http://www.creativeeveryday.com/. I don't think this site could have come at a more opportune time. I couldn't sleep last night I was so excited about this blog. I can't wait to join the creative every day community to give myself more fuel for the fire.

I'll be posting along with the creative every day croud at flickr and here. I'm not promising i'll be posting eeeverrryy siiiingle dayyy... but I'll try my best to be quite punctual. :)