Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Magical Wands For An Art Witch



It's interesting  how an idea that is simmering in the back of my mind will often come into being because I "happen" to come across the perfect item needed for the project. I had been wanting to make a wand for my art studio for quite some time but just couldn't settle on the right kind of wood until I came across a set of  beautiful hard wood bobbins. The bobbins are 8" long before decorating.  They are perfect! 

These are vintage bobbins used  in old textile mills during the 1890's -1940's. Can you imagine the creative souls that would have actually worked with these bobbins, what a perfect base for a wand - all that creative energy already resident in the wood! 

I want my wand to remind me of  the creative energies I draw on each day as I work in my studio; fresh air, sunlight, music, daydreaming, playing, experimenting...just to name a few.
I also wanted it to act as a reminder to carefully guard and nurture my creative energy, spending it wisely each day on those things that truly matter. I've integrated some powerfully creative symbols into my wands. Crystals are symbolic of energy and clarity, spirals are rooted in the ancient Celtic world where stone carvers considered the act of creating a spiral a release for the mind into creative splendor. I love that!

Here is a great quote:
Remember that "you" are the power of the wand. Your wand contains "your" energies, "your" own inner magic and while it is a powerful and useful tool, don't forget that ultimately, you hold your own power within yourself. A wand is not essential for magic; it is simply a useful tool.


CAPSULE - dangling from antique wand bangle and shown in last photo. It is part of the bead landing line called Found Objects carried at Michaels ($3.95 with coupon).

Directions are as follows:
1.  Prepare the bobbin by sliding the dowel into the bobbin until it fits snuggly. Each dowel is different, you may need a piece of dowel the full length of the bobbin or a piece only a few inches long. Make a line on the dowel at the point where it emerges from the large end of the bobbin. Remove the dowel, cut the dowel at the pencil line with a craft saw or heavy gauge wire cutters.

2.  Spread Weldbond over the surface of the dowel and slide it into the bobbin. If the dowel still wiggles, slide a few toothpicks or slivers of bamboo skewer beside the dowel to act as shims. The shims should be tightly packed against the dowel. Allow the glue to dry completely.

3.  Drill a pilot hole into the end of the dowel that is visible at the large end of the bobbin.

4.  Black wand - paint the wood surface of the bobbin with two coats of Martha Stewart multi-surface paint.

5.  Screw the glass knob onto the hanger bolt, tighten. Screw this knob/bolt assembly into the pilot hole in the large end of the bobbin. Work slowly ensuring that the bolt stays straight as it screws down into the dowel. Align the flat bottom of the knob with the top edge of the bobbin.

6.  Cut lengths of wire measuring 10" each. Create a spiral at the end of each wire. Instructions for creating wire spirals by artbeads.Wrap each length of spiraled wire around the barrel of a felt marker, pen or pencil that measures slightly smaller in circumference than the wand, this will ensure that the wire coil will fit snuggly over the wand. Slide each coil onto the wand working from the large end to the small end.
 
7.  For the antique wand, cut out circular inchies and glue onto the fronts of three grubby tags.  I love the antique surface of these gorgeously aged tags to show through on the back side. For the black wand glue circular inchies to both the front and back sides of three grubby tags. Attach a wire loop to each grubby tag.

8.  Combine the assembled grubby tags with charms and beads to create a bangle for each wand. Refer to the close up pictures above for bangle details. Attach the bangle with a loop of wire tied around the neck of the wand just below the large shank end.

9.  For the black wand, string orange seed beads onto a 3"- 4" piece of fine beading wire. Wrap the beaded wire around the large end of the bobbin nestling the wire in the channels. Twist the wire ends together, snip off excess wire. Paint the gold surface of the knob black using Martha Stewart multi-surface paint.

10. Glue a chandelier drop bead into the small end of the wand using Weldbond. Prop the wand inside a cup with the small beaded end pointing up, allow the glue to dry completely.
 
11. Empower your wand with a ritual that is meaningful to you.

ENJOY YOUR NEW TOOL!




Saturday, March 2, 2013

Apothecary Traveling Case...Faux Vintage!

Thanks to everyone for your overwhelming interest in this project!!
I have been asked if the pattern and instructions will be available for this piece,
I will not be offering them at this time as they lay in an organized chaos on the work table 
only to be understood by the crazy person who designed them...moi.

I have two cases available in 


I'm very happy with the way this project worked out. It was a time consuming piece but I love the vintage styling and can't wait to add it to my apothecary. 

The labels are a mix of my own, which you can find the link to by clicking on the picture below.
I also used a few labels on the bottles from one of 7 Gypsies collection:

The labels which remain were used from magazine ads and manipulated with Photoshop, and are part of my collection.



Friday, January 11, 2013

Make Your Own Ruysch Embalming Jars

           
1638-1731
Who is this guy...apothecary, botanist, anatomist

Claim to fame...master of anatomical preparations (embalming fluids) which preserved tissue to such a high degree as to make the subject appear as though "still alive".

Have you ever seen an embalming jar or diorama constructed by Frederik Ruysch?
Let me introduce you to some of his fascinating work...
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN REVIEW has more pictures of Ruysch's work.

If you follow my blog you know that I love things in jars.
 I just had to have MY OWN set of Ruysch jars!

 I gathered a few jars and supplies together and got started and this is the end result...
My jars are "sans embalming fluid" and not quite as macabre as Ruysch's (it's tough to find dead things under four feet of snow...kidding...maybe). Even without real life specimens these faux embalming jars were so much fun to assemble, I'm happy with the results.

Start with a jar (must have lid) of your own choosing, fit the jar with a Styrofoam cone.
This is a Mason jar used for canning, I glued the metal lid to the screw ring with hot glue.
  Cover the foam with moss and get decorating! Here are a few of the things I used:

Turtles found in children's toy department
Turtle eggs made by covering a plastic golf ball with papier mache, painting white
Sand and seashells purchased at Walmart
Branches, grasses, leaves, seed pods gathered from garden, floral shops, etc
Bird, feathers, nest and eggs from Gales Wholesale here in Regina
Fish graphics found in old sticker book
Butterflies public domain graphics laser printed onto vellum and glued to jar, vellum is transparent the butterfly with look as though it has a front and back, helps to create the illusion of a real butterfly.
Crickets found at the bottom of my "box of stuff"
Hanging seed pods made from Sculpey and painted with acrylics
*to make things hang inside the jar, screw a small hook to the underside of the lid and hang the 
item using invisible thread
Ribbon and string around outside of jar found in my burgeoning ribbon box

CREATE THE TOPPER TO REFLECT THE HABITAT OF THE CREATURE IN THE JAR



                                                


 

Wait till Halloween...think I'll put a set of creepy jars together...should have found some body parts by then!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Mad Hatter's Thimble Pin-Cushion Ornaments


What better way  to dress up those tiny empty spaces on your mad hatter Christmas tree than with a few  pin cushions made from the Hatter's thimble. I think they are so darn cute, kinda like Johnny Depp♥

They come together quickly if you gather all your supplies before hand. 
A bonus...you will NOT NEED TO PUNCH HOLES IN THE THIMBLE
Here's what you need:
1.  Cut a 2.5" (6.4cm) circle from fabric or ribbon.

2.  Place one and one half cotton balls in the middle of the fabric circle. Gather the material around the cotton ball forming a tiny pin cushion. Wrap a piece of thread around the gathered end of the fabric close to the base of the ball, pull the thread tightly and tie off. 
3. Measure out a 5 inch (12.7cm) length of jewelry chain in your choice of color. Attach a jump ring to each end of the chain by opening the ring slightly with pliers, threading it onto the last link in the chain and closing it with the pliers.  It is not necessary to match the jump rings to the chain color as they will not be seen.

4. Using a needle and thread attach the chain to the pin cushion, position the rings as shown in the picture below. The rings must be placed so that they are below the top rim of the thimble. Make four or five stitches around the edge of the jump ring, push the needle through to the other side of the pin cushion and attach the other end of the chain in the same manner.
5. Using a glue gun, place a generous amount of glue around the gathered end of the pin cushion. Immediately press the cushion into the thimble. **CAUTION THE THIMBLE MAY GET HOT**
Keep pressing the cushion into the thimble until the glue is set.

6. Finish by placing a few pins into the pin cushion. For a variation on plain pins I added a few beads to each pin and held them in place with a drop of white glue.

I also used copper and brass spray paint on a few of the thimbles to change up the color from the original stainless steel look.

Now you are ready to hang these little lovelies on your tree, the Mad Hatter would be proud!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Vintage Style Christmas Spice Cabinet


I'm interrupting the weirdness of this blog for something slightly more traditional...a Christmas spice cabinet.

It all started about two weeks ago when I could not get into the Christmas Spirit, might have been the Black Friday or the Cyber Monday thing, they sound so "festive" don't they? The feeling of warmth and excitement over the approaching season just refused to show up. I was worried...not like me...at all.

So I tried a few things to try to get in the mood. I tried cranking out a few seasonal tunes on the radio... nothing. I tried rummaging around through the decorations...nope. I tried hanging the Christmas lights outside...they are still laying on the basement floor. Nothing worked...

I finally decided to drown my morose mood in a Caesar. I gathered all the ingredients but had to reach all the way to the back of the spice cupboard for the rimmer mix. The sleeve of my sweater caught the cinnamon stick jar and sent it crashing to the kitchen floor.  The jar disintegrated on impact leaving a scattered mess of glass bits and cinnamon sticks. I bent over to grab the cat with one hand and the sticks with the other when it hit me...the Christmas spirit wafted up on spiced angel wings!

I forgot the crunching glass at my feet and perched Chleo on the counter while I began a therapeutic aromatherapy session in my spice cupboard. I popped open the lids on the cloves and the allspice, then the nutmeg and the ginger, unscrewed the caps from the almond and vanilla extract, the orange and lemon essence letting each aroma fill the room. I was reminded in that moment that Christmas is a celebration experienced to a great degree through our sense of smell.

Many of the memories I have of Christmas come from my childhood and many of those are associated with scent. The smell of pine as my Dad carried the fir tree into the house, carefully measuring almond and orange extracts for Gramma's Christmas cake, the aroma of homemade mincemeat pies, sausage rolls and shortbread cookies filling the kitchen, watching Mom peel strands of orange rind for the cranberry sauce  and Dad preparing the eggnog with generous amounts of spiced Jamaican rum. 

Christmas slowly inched its way into my cold Canadian heart after the therapy session with my spice cupboard, I've decided to pay homage to those little boxes and jars filled with the wonders of the world through my vintage Christmas spice cabinet.

Labels for this project are available in my Etsy store. Click HERE


 The square boxes were made from bits of cardboard that had a wonderful old feel and color. The circular boxes are sections I cut from shipping tubes with lids made from the old cardboard just mentioned. The Altoids tins (which I purchased from Alpha Stamps) were rusted using the vinegar and bleach method (many tutorials are available online). Those cute clear glass corked vials are part of the Tim Holtz line, love those!!
 When all the boxes were finished I made each a home in a shadow box (12" x 12" front loading) purchased from Michaels. I lined the shadow box with a sheet of paper from the Recollections Joyful Christmas collection, also available at Michaels. The divider sections were made from foam-core board covered with more of the scrapbook paper. I added a scroll work wood piece at the top stained to match the box, copper corner pieces and a glass curio knob from the Tim Holtz line, all are available at Michaels.
After the interior was finished the only thing left to do was fill all the boxes with spices and tuck each one into its little home.

I've captured the scents of Christmas forever and now whenever I need a little yuletide aromatherapy I can lift the lid on each little box and indulge. Merry Christmas!

Michaels Craft Stores asked to pin this little spice cabinet on their board for Pinterst's 30 Days of Pinspiration, check it out along with other fabulously creative holiday decorations by other pinners.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Mad Hatter Meets Christmas

 How about a Christmas tree full of Mad Hatter Hats 

 Or perhaps a few Mad Hatter lovelies put out on display.
(these great little stands are made by my hubby from Styrofoam)
Here's what you need to make your own Mad Hatter Hats:
Vintage Christmas sheet music - download HERE
White musical notes on black background - (will use a lot of black ink) download HERE or  HERE
Sale tags for hat band - download HERE or HERE

Instructions:

1.  Download, print and cutout the hat pattern pieces.
     Large hat pattern - download HERE or download HERE
     Small hat pattern - download HERE or download HERE

2.  Cut patterns out of scrapbook paper, Christmas sheet music and the white notes on black background sheet music. (1 crown, 1 band and 2 brims for each hat being made) refer to pattern pieces.

3.  Cut pattern pieces from cereal box board (1 crown, 1 band and 1 brim for each hat being made) refer to pattern pieces.

4.  Apply Elmers glue to decorative paper pieces and adhere to their matching box board pieces. The brim will have paper applied to both the top and bottom. Press pieces between heavy books until the glue has dried to avoid warping.  After pieces have dried trim away any overhanging paper.

5.  Using the hat band pattern piece mark the glue line onto the papered side of the hat band.

6.  Shape the hat band piece by pulling it down along the edge of a table until the left and right edge of the band come together with little effort.

7.  Apply Weldbond between the lines indicated on the brim and press the edges together until the glue adheres. Add a piece of masking tape along the inside seam for more holding power. If the box board refuses to bend try peeling away the glossy paper from the inside where the seams meet.

8.  Mark the center point on the crown and brim pieces (refer to the pattern pieces). Poke a hole through the crown piece with a pin or the tip of  your scissors.

9.  Attach the band to the brim by applying Weldbond along the edge of the band with the smallest opening.
Press the band into place by centering it over the hole marked on the brim piece.
10.  Apply glue along the upper edge of the band piece. Lay the crown piece onto the glued edge of the band and press into position. Flip the hat over so that it rests on the crown, weight everything down as shown. NOTE: The crown piece is slightly larger than the band at this point this allows for a more stable application. It can be trimmed to the same circumference as the band when the glue is dry.
11.  Cover the raw edges of the box board with Tim Holtz Ink, at the same time add ink along the top of the hat band and around the edges of the crown to add and aged appearance.

12.  Apply ribbon around the hat band, cut out and glue on the appropriately sized sales tag from the downloaded sheet (above).

13.  Shape the brim by gently rolling it towards the center of the hat. Keep rolling until the desired shape is obtained.

14.  Make hat pins by threading beads onto the dressmakers pins. Glue them in place by adding a small amount of Glossy Accents between each bead and under the last bead. Use white glue to secure the completed hat pins under the ribbon running around the brim.
15.  Shape wire into hook, (this is my weird way of making hooks, makes removal easier when I don't need a permanent hook), by following picture below. The length of wire I used for each hook was about 4 inches. Thread the hook into the small hole you made previously in the crown.
 Your done, now go "mad" hanging hats everywhere!
My feline bumped the table when this picture was taken - thus the wiggly focus - damn cat.
Wire Tree Form available from Stampington & Company - $14.99ea ( I have many ♥♥)