Sunday, September 28, 2014

Etsy Shop Sale!

For my bear artist friends or for anyone who wants to try bear (or kitty, dog, mouse, fox or bunny) making - I'm having a sale in my etsy shop - everything is 15% off through midnight September 30th.  During checkout, type in coupon code:  15PERCENTDISCOUNT  Several patterns and one pumpkin are available!  I hope you will take a peek.  Booh Bears Etsy Shop Link   Have a wonderful Sunday! Hugs & Blessings, Janice

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Missing Mom ...

I was going through some of my stashed craft supplies the other day and came across the veil headdress that my Mom made for her own wedding.    She sent it to me several years ago when I started dabbling in making hats for my bears.  She must have thought the little flowers would be a cute addition to the hats and, of course, she was right but I never had the nerve to cut in to it before.  I simply put it away like I have done with so many other things - saving them for a rainy day!   I decided the other day that this was the rainy day - I was going to finally cut in to it!    I used one of the flowers on my altered bottle - tucked on the side by one of the velvet millinery flowers.  I'm going to enjoy using the flowers now that I've decided to do so.  It's been bittersweet taking them off of the headband.  I'm taking it slow ... one flower at a time!  She painstakingly stitched them on one at a time 65 years ago and I will painstakingly remove them now the same way.   As I'm removing them, I look up to Heaven and thank her for sharing her creative spirit with me.  I miss her more than words can express and I am grateful for the little reminders of her.  I hope she knows I finally decided to use her headdress, I think that would make her happy!   Have a blessed weekend!   Hugs, Janice



More about these little flowers!  After trying to figure out what they are made of on my own (with out much success), I decided to ask some facebook friends if they were able to identify what they are made of.  One of my friends told me they are made of hardened wax.  I researched wedding headdresses made with hardened wax flowers and I see they were very popular in the 1930's.  Since my Mom was married in 1949, I wonder if someone gave her the flowers to sew in to her headdress. I went further and looked on etsy to see if I could find more because I think they are so lovely but they are very expensive.   I will use these with pride on my very favorite projects but once they are gone, I don't see myself buying any more of these little gems!  I will share pictures of the projects I make with these sweet little wax flowers in future posts.


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Sidetracked ... Again!

What fun I'm having getting sidetracked with creative outlets other than my bears!   This time, I decided to give a go at making an altered bottle.  I found this really amazing glass bottle with a stopper and as lovely as it was being clear glass, I wanted to see what it would look like painted.  So, out came the trusty Annie Sloan Old White chalk paint and her clear and dark waxes, as well.  After painting and waxing the bottle, I decided to add some vintage lace, millinery flowers, silk rayon ribbons and a pretty faux pearl and rhinestone brooch.  The idea came from Pinterest (though I haven't seen any like this, there are plenty of altered bottles).  I had so much fun, I plan to make more in a couple months (if I can find some unique bottles).  I'm sure I will be able to find something at the local antique mall!  Stay tuned, there may be more bottles to come.   Back to the bears now ... I'm planning a small gallery October 1st - just around the corner!  Have a wonderful evening!  Hugs & Blessings,   Janice