Another Challenge & a New Design

The bracelet & phone charm that I received from coolbeans on Swap-Bot

Hi everyone! Here's a new design that I created for a recent bracelet swap on Swap-Bot. I've been experimenting with multi strand pieces, the hat bracelet was the first & I really love the beachy feel created by the crocheted strands . This one has more of a medieval feel, created by the chains & the center piece. The birds & the leaves add a complementary fairy tale/Sherwood Forest appeal.
I received a sweet little bracelet in green, black & red stones, with a little butterfly charm. It has kind of a sweet 60's/70's appeal :)

porcelain, Austrian crystal, silver findings, metal chains & charms

What true stories & tall tales have you been working on lately?

Poulet et Poisson: an Upcycled Vintage Find

I had a lot of fun making this upcycled vintage straw tote. I picked it up once & put it back, amongst a number of finds being destashed for a move. I'm glad I went back for it though :) The lining was badly damaged, so I removed it & used it as a pattern for making a new lining out of a great French country print fabric (covered with chickens, chicks & flowers. I love chickens!), I had purchased a while back. While the lining was out, I added patches, cut from the new lining fabric, to the front & the back, some yarn stitching & a carved horn button, shaped like a fish, as well as a recycled cotton loop, for the button closure. I machine stitched the lining & the hand sewed it into the bag:

The front of the tote

The lining fabric

The back of the tote

I really love how it turned out, so cute! A great rescued vintage tote, given new life & it has chickens, yay :)

Something New: "Summertime" Cuff Bracelet

Something new: a little cuff bracelet, I like to call "Summertime," that I made for a hat themed challenge, Everything on this one is vintage, except the little birds. The hat is a pin from the 80's, the milk glass beads, that look a little like sand dollars, are rescued beads that I purchased from TUTreasures on Etsy, the waxed hemp string is hand crocheted & from the 70's. Even the snap closure is vintage, also from the 70's. This can be worn with or without the hat pin & of course, with other bracelets. This was fun to make & I think I'll make other, similar bracelets, with other beads & with or without a pin.

Summertime hat pin cuff, shown here with the hat pin

The back of the Summertime hat pin bracelet 

Summertime hat pin cuff, without the hat pin

What have you been making lately?

Please note that all designs & photos posted here are the property of Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved. Feel free to "share with love," that is, share with full credit back to this post. Please contact the blog owner for any other usage.

Letter to Home

Time by Shelley McElhiney

Hi,

So I thought I'd write & check on how you're doing, its been a really long time. You probably don't remember me, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. The last time you saw me, I was very small, a baby really.There might be a little around the face but...We've all changed a lot, even you, I'm sure. I really don't remember what you looked like, though I've seen photos. You were tiny, quaint, sometimes filled to overflowing with visitors, sometimes there were just 2 or three of us. Often it was my parents & I: my father with his southern, kind of Elvis/Johnny cash type look & my mother, a mid western girl from a small town, just outside of Chicago, a place that was a mix of Mayberry, with a big city influence. Sometimes it was only my mother & my grandmother, away from her husband, my grandfather (a railroad man) & her beauty shop, but never away from the practice of beauty, as she often practiced her skills on us. Always, it was a place filled with love.
I wonder how you've weathered the years. Times have changed. Eras have gone by, filled with construction & destruction. I hope you've survived, filled with years of beautiful memories, families old & young, couples just starting out & grand parents surrounded by their loving children & grandchildren.
Anyway, I thought I'd write. How are you doing?

Love,

Me

* All rights reserved. Image & story both the property of Shelley McElhiney. Share only with proper credit. Please contact the blog owner for any other usage.

Tacoma Events March/April

Tacoma 11/11/11 by Shelley McElhiney*

Some of the interesting things happening in March & April in the Tacoma area:

3/17 Blue Octopus
7PM
Wine & Canvas
$124
Ages 21 & up
For more info:
Phone # (253) 678-4776
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma_wa/events/show/239159304-wine-and-canvas

3/20 to 4/10 Tuesdays Tacoma Metal Arts Center
6PM to 9PM
Beginning Jewelry/Metalsmithing
$165 (4 sessions)
For more info:
http://www.tacomametalarts.com/
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma_wa/events/show/236653264-beginning-jewelry-classes

3/24 Thurston County Fairgrounds
Farms Forever Art Show & Dinner
4:30PM to 9PM
$45 single, $80 couple
ages 21 & up
For more info:
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/lacey_wa/events/show/242991864-farms-forever-art-show-and-dinner
http://communityfarmlandtrust.org/

3/24 Lakewood Pierce County Library
12PM
Pierce County Reads- Origami workshop
ages 18 & up
For more info:
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/lakewood_wa/events/show/244665744-pierce-county-reads-origami

3/24 Sunset Studios
Tacoma Arts & Crafts Meetup
10AM
Polymer Clay Series Part one
$15
For more info & to sign up for the meetup group:
http://www.meetup.com/tacomaartsandcrafts/

3/26 to May 5 Throwing Mud Gallery
6PM to 8:30PM
Pottery Class
$160
For more info:
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma_wa/events/show/249108144-pottery-class-at-throwing-mud-gallery
http://www.throwingmudgallery.com/class_info.html

3/28 King's Books
7:30 to 9:00PM
CLAW Open Swim
Cartoonist's League of Absurd Washingtonians
Open cartooning
For more info:
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/CLAWmar

3/30 University of Puget Sound
11Am to 4PM
Collins Memorial Library, The Link
6th Annual Edible Book Festival
For more info:
http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/collins-memorial-library/edible-books/

http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma_wa/events/show/247754344-6th-annual-edible-book-festival

3/31 Freighthouse Square
10 AM
I CAN! All ages family arts celebration
For more info:
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma_wa/events/show/246224364-i-can-all-ages-family-arts-celebration

4/1 King's Books
6 to 8PM
Wayz and Means Film fest
Short films celebrating letterpress & book arts
$20
For more info:
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/wayzmeans

4/14 King's Books
11:30AM to 3:30PM
Cave Paper Covers & Decorative Stitches: Series III
$60 covers $45 class fee & $15 materials fee
For more info & to pre-register:
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/cavepaperapr

4/14 Tacoma Public Library Moore Branch
1PM to 4PM
A Vision Board Workshop with Kathy Brassil
kids & up
free
For more info:
http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/tacoma_wa/events/show/245760844-a-vision-board-workshop-with-kathy-brassil

4/22 King's Books
11AM to 4PM
Wayzgoose! Letterpress & Book Arts Extravaganza
For more info:
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/wayzgoose

4/29 King's Books
12Pm to 4PM
Vegan Bake Sale
For more info:
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/veganbakesale

Ongoing third Saturdays
3/17, 4/21*
Tacoma EtsyRain Meetup
9:30 AM
Sunset Studios*
*Unless otherwise announced
For more info & to sign up for the meetup:
http://www.meetup.com/tacomaartsandcrafts/events/49351652/

Ongoing Monthly King's Books
Books for Schools Program
Help donate books for local classrooms through King's Books
For March: Jason Lee Middle School "The Dream Keeper & Other Poems"
For more info:
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/schools

For more info on any of these events, please contact the sites listed.

Any artsy/craftsy things interesting going on in your area?

*Photo by Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved

In the Woods: A Tall Tale in Words & Beads

The woods were a strange place, filled with odd juxtapositions &  contrasts. One minute dark & foreboding, noises, sights & smells like no other place. Questions, not immediately answered, filled the visitors head: Is that smoke I smell? Is there someone (or something) following me, waiting to pounce at the first opportunity? What's that in the distance? Is it moving, towards me? The visitor moves slowly, cautiously, alert to any possible danger. In the next moment, a clearing to a whole new world opens. The sunlight beams through the trees, noise becomes a flock of birds taking flight. Caution & fear do not disappear, but perceptions are altered, lightened. The visitor continues on...SAM

In the Woods Bracelet: glass, betel nut beads, silver color birds, silver plated sun clasp by samsstuff

 My newest creations, created for a challenge & sent off to a new home...

  * Short story & bracelet by samsstuff, all rights reserved. Share with credit back to original post only. Please contact the blog owner for any other usage.




Made by You...

Something New :)

Hi all! I've been working on some new things lately & I thought I'd show you some of them:

A flowery pink cuff bracelet in organic cotton

hand crocheted & embroidered with brass beads & vintage button closure. I love how the embroidery  makes the piece look quilted.

and a couple of new embroidered bookmarks

Vintage cookbook images (don't worry, the book was in poor condition), hand embroidered. I also like these framed... The adorable images are so sweet!

A ton of crocheted stuff...
Here's a new beach style wrap bracelet

This is 100% US sourced cotton with vintage 70's wood beads & freshwater pearls. The  lobster clasp closure  is silver  as are the jump rings for the pearls. This also works great as a necklace or a hair wrap! It's so versatile & has a great beachy, surfer vibe.

Oh! And last, but not least, I've found some amazing vintage finds lately! I love searching the thrift stores & 'picking' out all the amazing old things there, from jewelry & clothing to blankets & linens, even fabric & craft books (I found the most hideously wonderful 70's polyester double knit fabric the other day. It would make a wonderful "Brady Bunch" style dress or a great vintage style polo shirt, especially with a big, pointy contrasting collar...). I even found an old etching tool for 75 cents. Now I just need to learn a new craft :)

How about you? Have you been making anything recently? Spotted any great finds?

* Images & designs all by Shelley McElhiney. All rights reserved. Feel free to share this post, photos & its content with credit given, but please contact the blog owner for any other usage. Designs not for resale or to be copied without express permission.