The Other Stuff for Sale

Along side the 52 canvases Vero asked me to create some functional art pieces for the pedestals in the center of the room.  I struggle sometimes with this kind of stuff.  Kind of like handmade ornaments.  I just can't think of what to do!  But for some reason a giant light bulb popped into my head about a month ago.  After one costly trip to Joann's fabrics...a frantic search for reasonably priced sketchbooks, I've about got the functional art pieces ready to sell!

First up.....art supply jelly rolls.  Yeah...how functional is that?  I've always wanted one for my own brushes.  So this little item was truly made with puffy hearts.

It took a little figuring out on my part.  How far to make the lines, how to make it roll normal, how wide....the end product is by no means "made in China" perfect.  Rather quite lovingly stitched and topped with recycled felt heart and sweet trims to tie it all up.  These are $20 each. 

 Another item I had an "AHA" moment on were with these fleece blankets.  Gail had this uber soft blanket for porch time on our Southern Circle Retreats.  I love scallop edges on anything so asked her where it came from.  She said IKEA.....$3.99.  No frikin' way.  So I made a trip to IKEA and bought one in each color offered knowing that my little felted birdies would be a sweet addition to their uber softness.  I've got two giant Rubbermaids of old felted down sweaters.  In sorting out the felt I found baggies of birds I'd cut out a year ago or more to make 3-D birds.  Sweet find, right??  I used to make and sell these adorable felted birds that stood on long legs on vintage jello molds.  So instead of using side A and side B to make a 3-D bird, I laid them flat on the blanket!  Recycling 2 fold.  Score!!

Last item to be finished up are the sketchbook covers.  They are turning out so good...but have a little more stitching before I can show them off. 

Anyhoo....this about wraps up the creative journey.  2 more canvases to go.  Wow.