Paper Ball Ornament with Rose

I have always loved making my own ornaments.  I have made many over the years. They have been different colours and styles but all made by me and sometimes my children. I feel a real christmas tree always looks best decorated with ornaments that have been made with love. I will try to share a few of my favourites that are easy enough to make you can get the children involved.

To make these, I started with a styrofoam ball that I purchased from my local dollarstore. I took a piece of paper ribbon and made a hanging loop. I then used a straight pin (from my sewing box) to pin the loop to the ball. If it seems loose add a dap of tacky glue to secure.

The next step is to take old book pages and rip them into small pieces. I like to use the bits that are left over from other paper projects. Using a small foam brush and mod podge, glue the pieces to the ball. When the ball is covered in paper, go over it with more mod lodge to make sure it is wet. Holding the ball over a paper plate and coat with glitter. Hang to dry overnight.

To finish it off, make a small bow with the paper ribbon and attach using hot glue. Add a small paper rose to the middle if desired. Instructions for the rose are HERE.

If you would like to purchase one already made, check out my Etsy shop HERE to see if I have any in stock.

Another Evergreen Artisan Market

It's always good to relax after all the work that goes into a craft show like the Evergreen. It is a big event and I put a lot into making a nice display of my work. Not to mention all the work that goes into making the items.

I am always surprised what sells and what doesn't. What does well one year may not do well the next.  I was very happy to see that everyone seemed to love my owls as much as I do. All the owls that sold went to good homes. I could see that they would be loved. I will be putting the pattern on my Etsy Shop later this week if anyone is interested in making one yourself. I do have a few owls left that will go into the shop as well and will take orders. If interested, contact me through my Etsy shop or at bettysusanneATgmailDOTcom.

Another surprise was that I sold ALL of my handwoven tea towels. Since weaving is still new to me I was quite flattered that they were so well received. I am already making plans to weave up some more. I forgot to save one for myself! I really thought there would be some left over for me. 

A big thank you to all who came out to support me and all the other artisans this past weekend. 

HANDSPUN

It's time again for the Evergreen Artisan Market here in Prince Albert, SK. I've been busy gathering up my crafts and setting them up in my craft room. I'm very surprised that I have lots to fill a table. This year I have been doing my share of spinning but I didn't think it was amounting to much until I gathered it all up.

Doesn't it look nice? And this isn't all of it. And what about those colours? All hand dyed by me. Some were even dyed with plant material that I gathered locally. I have been enjoying this process immensely. For most of October I haven't had time to spin and feel I miss it a lot. As soon as I feel organized enough for the Market I will reward myself with some spinning.

I love the look of a nice wool braid so I tried my hand at dyeing up a few for the sale. I just love green and think these turned out beautifully. And if no one buys them I'll have more fibre to spin. It's a win-win. I also tried some pink and purples. What do you think? What colour would you want?

I've been enjoying the fibre community on Instagram lately so if you're there look me up, @bettysusanne.

Spinning and Weaving

For Christmas one of my darling daughters gave me a membership to our local Spinners and Weavers Guild.  What a wonderful gift this has turned out to be!

I have spent the last few months meeting kind, talented people and learning wonderful new skills! I can now spin and weave! I have wanted to learn to spin for the past ten plus years so this is awesome. Sure, I still need more practice but I can turn fibre into yarn. It's amazing! I have even started knitting with the yarn I've made. What a thrill.

This is some llama fibre from a local farm. 

This is a cowl knit from the llama yarn. It's very soft. 

                                          (I realize the colour looks off. It looks grey above and brown below. 

                                    In person it is more brown. I'll try to get better pics when the weather permits. )

As for weaving, I always new I'd never be in a position to own my own loom so I never even dreamed of weaving anything.  Being a member of the guild gives me access to a loom and knowledgeable people who are glad to help. Now there are a lot of projects on my list. So far I've made a scarf and two shawls, which I am quite happy with. And I'm looking forward to starting on tea towels soon. Yeah, you read right, I'm going to make my own tea towels. Never in my wildest dreams would I think of making tea towels. I'm told that once I make my own I'll never waste money on cheap ones again. I'll let you know how it goes.

My first weaving project, a wool scarf. I'm very happy with the results.

My first shawl on the loom. Love the colours.

This is the loom that I've been using with my second shawl started on it. 

If it ever decides to stop being winter here and spring arrives, I'll try to get outside and take some pictures of the completed shawls. They will be perfect for warmer weather.

Thanks for stopping by!
Betty

P.S. I guess you're never too old to learn new tricks!

Making a Great Start to a New Year

It was so wonderful having my children and husband home for the holiday. It was a relaxing time filled with much love, food, family and friends. Just the way it should be.

Now they are back at work and school respectively. So it is time for me to focus back on my work. Time to think about the year ahead and what it is I wish to accomplish. First off, I need to start with an organized room. I know this may seem silly to some since all I am going to do is make a mess of it, but starting with a clean room is like starting with a clear head for me. One must get all the cobwebs out if one is to create beautiful things.

I found that when I was getting ready for my first sale last fall, that my craft room exploded to include the dinning room and living room. Very messy and very hard to have people over and not be slightly embarrassed. To remedy this, I purchased a secondhand dinning table to add to my room and hopefully keep my projects contained. Well, at least the messy ones!

Here are a few photos of my craft room.

This is of course my desk. Yes it is from Ikea for those who are wondering. We have had these shelving units for years. They have moved with us and we have used them in many different configurations. The cart is new and I love that I will be able to move it around the room as needed instead of getting stuff out and not putting it back. Their home travels with them, kinda like a turtle.

This is my little library corner. (This table used to be my only work surface.) Here supplies are organized and my books to be worked on are on display. I'm happy to have been able to give the blue prints of my house a home here. I like the look of it with all the old books. I hope to be able to work on my paper roses here.

Here is my new table, waiting for a project. It is approximately 8 feet long and absolutely perfect for crafting. You may be wondering what kind of weird art I found for above the table. Well it is my new magnetic memo board.

Isn't it lovely! I made this from the old paint lids leftover from painting the house. The board I found in a closet. I think at one time it was part of a shelf. I just glued the lids on the board, added eye hooks and picture wire to the top and that's it! The knob was there from the old memo board that was there. I decided to keep the knob and move the much smaller board to the kitchen. I can't wait to fill this up with project ideas and inspiration.

The last part of my room that I would like to show you is my bistro set.

No room of mine is complete without a comfy place to have my tea! In the summer I like to move it outside to the balcony. But since it is winter here most of the year, this is where it usually is. The light coming in the window is always heart warming.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at my creative space. I wish to spend more time here this year making beautiful things from discarded items. Check back often to see what it is I'm up to or enter your email address to get a message whenever there is a new posting. (Tip: you don't always see the spot to enter it on mobile devices. Select full view, it's on the right)

Thanks for stopping by,

Betty

December Already?

December is a month that always seems to take me by surprise. For most of the year it is always in the distance but then it is suddenly December and it goes by so quickly.  Already it is the third and there is so much that needs to be done!

Lucky for me my darling husband saw paperwhites at the store a few weeks back and bought some for me. Thanks to some houseguests, I was able to get motivated to plant them. They are starting to grow now and by Christmas will be in full bloom. Paperwhites are definitely one of my favourite things about the season.  They are very fragrant and look so elegant, standing tall all green and white.

My children love our Santa advent calendar (bought from Ikea a few years back). They don't even want a candy treat inside, just a secret message that hopefully leads to a fun activity. I've been recycling the same messages but they don't seem to mind. The joy on their faces as they take turns reading the messages is another of my favourite things.

Living away from family means that the first week of December is Christmas card writing time. I like to include the girls school photo as most people on my list we don't see often.  This year I thought, well why don't I make them? I'm not 'working' so I should have lots of time. Well, they are almost ready to be mailed out (tomorrow fingers crossed). I decided to make the folded paper page trees that I had made into ornaments for the sale. Instead of adding a hanger I glued it to a kraft paper card that I had stamped with snowflakes. Very simple and fun to make. For a select few, I've included an ornament inside.

Well, I better go finish these off and start getting the house cleaned up.  We don't have a tree up yet and you can't have Christmas without a tree!

Old Books

One of the many benefits of my attending the Evergreen Artisan Market was meeting some wonderful people. It was amazing meeting so many kind, creative people.

One of these ladies by the name of Annette, has given me the most wonderful gift. She has had these old textbooks taking up space at her place for some time but didn't have the heart to just pitch them. I feel so lucky to be in possession of such wonderful books. Over the winter I hope to slowly turn these unused and out of date textbooks into beautiful works of art to be enjoyed again.

I have been saving all of the hardcovers from the books I have used in the hopes of turning them into useful objects such as purses and notebooks.  One of the textbooks in the pile that I have received has caught my eye.  It is the most beautiful little economics book in the most wonderful shade of blue. I have hopes of turning this little treasure into a cute little clutch purse.

As I slowly clean up all my crafting mess, I think I will take a wee break from paper for a bit and try a bit of sewing.