#1 Fan

Happy Valentine's Day to all you fellow creativity enthusiasts. Hope you're having a fan-tastic day of love!

Cardboard Hearts

Snip, snip--time to make some valentines! These cardboard templates have been a part of every crafty valentine session since I was little. With each passing year there are more scribbles around their edges from veering pens and pencils. That hand template, which is a tracing of my 7-year-old hand, attests to their longevity. I love making people's days through the papery pink and red goodness of this holiday.

Idea Extravaganza

As a collector of magazine clippings I am prone to collaging surfaces, such as my sketchbook. Looking at layers of inspiration makes me want to get busy drawing and painting! 

Enlightened Hearts

"...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come."
Ephesians 1: 17-21

Rose of Prose

My Rose of Prose design is up for voting in Spoonflower's Paper-Cut Florals challenge!

Honey

Here's a little valentine for the bees that help bring the flowers about for your loved ones!

The Eternal Mind

"A book is a portion of the eternal mind caught in its progress through the world stamped in an instant, and preserved for eternity." --Lord Houghton (1809--1885)

Love Letters to Strangers

This TED Talk is heart-warming.

Vintage Church Print

I found this gorgeous framed church print at Value Village for $6.99! 

It's godly, vintage, black and white, architectural, detailed, distressed, and French, therefore it will be prominently hanging on my walls for the rest of my life!

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19

Cheap Edition

At least they were frank.

Découpaged Flower Chair

This project began with me hoarding magazine clippings of flowers for 7 years.

I wanted to cover a chair in them, but was waiting for the perfect chair to drop into my life. One day I was driving home and realized it was garbage day in my neighbourhood. I took a detour looking for furniture at curbs and slammed on my breaks when I saw this chair upside down on someone’s lawn. I threw it in the back seat as the neighbours stared, and I smirked gleefully all the way home. The chair has funky mid-century lines. 

I washed it and ripped the decomposing upholstery off the seat; there were 3 layers of atrocity to work through, the crowning glory being this exquisite '70s fabric. Needless to say, ew, that was a task and a half. 

Then I started gluing the flowers to the surface with Mod Podge. 

And gluing...

And gluing...

It took too many hours to count, but it’s exactly the cheerful piece I first imagined oh so long ago!

Here's to the warm and flowery days to come!

Découpaged Musical Stool

Here's the twin to my Franglais Stool--my Musical Stool!

 I découpaged it with sheet music I saved from the trash at a book sale I volunteered at.

Vintage Postcard: Square Notger, Liège

Liège, Belgium. I found this postcard and several accompanying postcards from Liège in a little plastic baggie at a thrift store.

Découpaged Franglais Stool

Découpage is great because it totally hides an ugly surface with beauty.

 I picked up this stool at the curb. I think it was a child's chair at some point because I had to fill up those 4 holes at the back of the seat with some wooden dowel stubs. 

 Then I ripped pages out of this French/English dictionary and cut them into strips.

 I used Mod Podge to glue on the clippings, but plan on giving the whole stool a coat of Varathane to protect it.

  Voilà!

(Pssst! The stool has a twin that has yet to be embellished!)

Yes, Mother Dear

Good things are always where they are meant to be, and leap out at me at the right time.  A couple of weeks ago I was at a church garage sale flipping through the frames when I found this print from 1923. Breathless and beaming with joy, I gave the saleswoman the $0.25 for it, thanked her while telling her my scheme, and covered the frame in a bag before my mom saw. 

My mom was totally oblivious, which is pretty astounding because she always has premonitions about gifts. Maybe that's a mom thing. Anyway, this vintage, found, faded, faithful, floral, framed, poetic, typographic gift is beautiful in so many ways--just like the wonderful lady who proudly propped it up on her mantel today. 

Parisian Wartime Postcard

 I found this 1940s postcard at an ephemera sale. The elegant building pictured is now known as Le Musée d'Orsay, which holds the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art. Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh...joy of joys!! But wait--its history is equally fascinating. It was built around 1900 as La Gare d'Orsay, a train station. Then during WWII it was used as a post headquarters for sending packages to prisoners of war, as well as a place that welcomed those soldiers after Liberation. 

The writing scribbled on the back of this postcard says, "This building is at present the home of Canadian boys on leave in Paris. The ballroom is magnificent. River 'Seine'." Just incredible!

Collections

I'm always curious to find out what dear little objects people hold close to their hearts. Often times collections go beyond the typical stamps, marbles, and post cards. I recall reading a magazine article about a man who collects vintage doll heads--yes, (previously detached) heads of dolls that happen to be rolling around flea markets and antique stores--and stores them in a big, fat glass-front cabinet. Personally, if I woke up and saw all those eyes peering at me from the dark I'd squeal in terror, but hey, collections are wonderfully subjective. Here's what I'm drawn to:

 Knobs: I feel like Aunt Clara from Bewitched. Ha! I've been amassing them for future furniture revamps. I've already spruced up the drawers on my two desks and turned a chunk of moulding into a rack of hooks.

 Chandelier crystals: They're sparkly, they're geometric, they're glamorous, and they're a part of the whole Pollyanna optimism mentality. I'll make a chandelier some day.

Doilies: I don't know how to crochet (...yet...), so these ready-to-go bits of lace are great for a variety of projects from collars to buntings. They are readily available and varied in design.

Fabric: If it's pretty, I'll take it. If it's pretty, I'll use it for something. It could be a big chunk or a little chunk and I don't care. I'll turn it into a shirt or tack it to my wall and stare at it. Fabric is my thing. Oh, and a good floral fabric is just too delightful for words.

Vintage sewing patterns: These guys are beautifully illustrated, frameable, and symbolize fashionable potential and former Home Ec glory days. Plus, they can make some cleverly constructed and flattering garments.

Paper: Everything from designer sheets to inspirational magazine clippings to metallic envelope linings makes the cut. I have a box under my bed several inches deep in the glorious stuff; I guess it's an extension of my love for surface pattern design.

Vintage books: In addition to hunting down old editions of classic reads, I'm drawn to books with amusing titles or beautiful illustrations. I also have a mini challenge with myself to find the oldest book possible. My oldest running date is 1887!

Frames: Alas, ornate frames are the closest things I can get to chunks of European architecture. They are arguably even nicer hung empty.
Basically, I love how collections are personal groupings of inspirational objects. They can be used to make more pretty things or they can just be gaped at, but either way a collection gives a collector a little flutter of joy in their search for beauty. What do you collect?

Inspiration: Telegram

This vignette is in the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario, in Smiths Falls, Ontario. I especially like the glossy lanterns and chipping red paint on the pipe.

For You, Darling

I found this valentine in my grandmother's scrapbook from the late 1950s. It was given to her by the handsome dude who's kissing her in the post below!

Uppercase #24 Scavenger Hunt

Exciting news! Remember my Paper Dress? It's going to be included in the Scavenger Hunt spread of Uppercase Magazine #24! The issue will be coming out in mid-January. In case you are interested in subscribing or renewing your subscription to the glorious magazine that it is, you can celebrate this event by taking $15 off your subscription with the "scavenger" code! The offer is valid until February 28th. Happy ordering!