A surprise in the mail

There's nothing better than to open a box in the mail and find a surprise treasure of beautiful new fabrics and beads. Here is what I received today from my dear friend Sherry, from her trip to the Chicago Quilt Festival. These are so scrumptious I could just eat them. Thank you Sherry!

Paper Fabric

The Art Girls met today (well, 3 of us anyway), and made 2 slightly different versions of paper fabric. One was made with sheer fabrics and tissue papers glued in layers on an acrylic board (no fabric base), and the other was made with a muslin base, with sturdier papers added, then painted while the glue was still wet. Both were an interesting experiment, and both are intended to be sturdy enough to be stitched through. Our goal is to complete a project with one or both of our hand-made fabrics before the next meeting.

Wire earrings

Here are some earrings I made from nickel silver, just to see if I could do it. I like them well enough that I may try them in sterling next time. They are made of 16 ga. wire, and did require some hand strength to make the coils and loops. I kind of like the duller appearance of the nickel silver, though.

A day of junqueing

Twice a year in the tiny town of Warrenton, Texas (pop. 50), the highway becomes a mass of tents, lean-to's, trailers, and jerry-rigged open booths, with antiques, crafts, and junk. This year I went with a friend, armed with my camera in an effort to curb my spending ... but still ended up with some gorgeous hand-made African beads, a wonderful handcrafted silver-and-stone pendant from a Santa Fe silversmith, and more than a little junque. Here are some of the sights ... be happy that you can't experience the smells!