Santa Fe Feeling...

Happy Sunshine to those of us who finally have some. And wishing sunshine for those who are experiencing rain and tornados and flooding and horrible weather. Prayers for recovery.
Thank goodness I have a few photos of some projects I have completed in previous months. My creative time has been very much lacking with this long dreary winter.
My mother had this pendant pin in her jewelry when she passed away and I liked it. I wore it many times on a blazer as a pin. Now I am honoring it as a removable pendant on a necklace I created. This way it can be removed and still worn as a pin. You can see the time and wear this piece has enjoyed. The stories it could tell would be wonderful to know. Where did mom get this piece? It had to be on one of her many travels. What country? She had to have met the artist and gotten a lot of talking time with them as that is who my mother was...very friendly and personable.

When I began to compose the components for this necklace I naturally started with the pin above. Then I gravitated towards a Santa Fe feeling with silver, red coral and turquoise. My mother loved these elements especially turquoise. This red coral heart bead really speaks to me as it appears to have an energy vortex naturally created right into the stone.

This is the finished necklace and I love how all the elements just came together and look perfectly Santa Fe in my opinion.

I made this piece to sell. Well, as you have probably already surmised I just cannot bring myself to offer it for sale. I wore it to quality check my work and it simply felt right on me and is one of my most very favorite pieces. I even have another very similiar pin/pendant from mom so I could make another necklace. Somehow this one is just the perfect piece that speaks to me.

I hope you are having a wonderful week and that creativity is abundant in your muse. I just cleared off my studio table and feel a new surge of creativity coming forth as this glorious sunshine brings energy to me. What? No time to create now? I must go to a meeting and do my volunteering which I do love to do. Oh how I need to do it all!

What about you? What do you like to do? Do you feel like you are being pulled in too many directions? Is there a balance so we can do it all?

Thank you for joining me along my journey...

Winter Wool Flowers...

While out shopping one day I bought these yummy wool fabric scraps. I fell in love with the colors and the feel of the fabrics. Some of the pieces were rather small but I knew what I wanted to do with them so the size was workable.

I wanted to make some lapel flower pins for winter wardrobes. Clothing is the most common way to wear a flower pin however I also love to pin them to pillows, or draperies, or even a chair as an unexpected accent.

I have made these types of flowers for many years in all sorts of styles and sizes and designs. However I want to give credit to two wonderful bloggers who took the time to do tutorials so that all of us could see how easy and fun it is to make flowers such as these.

My all time favorite tutorial is by Roben-Marie and can be found here.
Next and also a favorite is by Thespoena and can be found here.

I never grow tired of seeing a new way to do something or a better way or a different twist on an old tried and true. In fact, all you need to do is Google to find more ways to make fabric flowers than you probably have time to watch. Most of all just cut some fabric and put the pieces together and embellish until you have a flower you like.

This one is shades and textures of blues and finished with a button and decorative thread.

Here is one I am showing on a blazer which has some lace layers to it.

Oh this is probably my favorite as it combines blue wools with some grey wools and some very fun plaid wool and a very vintage scalloped button double stacked with another button and decorative thread.

P.S. Pin one on your purse or tote bag or hat for a bit of fun and fancy.

As you can see these would make great gifts.

These are merely a few of the flower pins I have been making. I did list a couple in my shop just in case you would prefer to purchase your gifts ready made to save you time.

Now I must get back to the studio and create with all my favorite things.

Thank you for stopping by and I really do love reading your comments and reading what you are doing via your blogging.

Happy December Days to each and every one...

Fun Fall Flowers...

I love making these fun flowers. This time I have used wool felt, lace and ribbons. Usually I stack the three different sizes for one flower. This time I stacked each of three layers in only one size. This is the small size and I added a button to the center of this one. With a pin back I am able to wear it on a lapel.

Same materials in the middle size and this time I used a "wad" of threads gathered from some torn muslin. I stacked three coordinating buttons for the center. This flower is pinned to the center of my Halloween witch hat that I shall be wearing this weekend.

This is the large sized petals and I used ribbons for the center. This fall flower took a ride through the mail service and surprised a blog pal of mine.

Here is the trio of Fall Flowers. I never get tired of making these fun floral pins.

Ideas are in the works for the next generation of my favorite flowers. Stay tuned...

Happy Halloweekend to each of you. May you have lots of treats and no tricks.