Handmade with love!

Monday, December 10, 2012

How are your holiday preparations going?  Are you ready?

Have you been crafting up a storm to give your special loved ones some handmade gifts?

This holiday season I've been super busy rekindling my love of YARN.

I have been knitting and crocheting for years and I think it's the perfect craft to take along with you.  Especially if you've got kids who play sports in indoor facilities - like volleyball and basketball tournaments or waiting in the car for them to get out of their activities.

It's great for kids to learn to knit and crochet too.  When I was 10 my aunt's friend from Paris came to stay with us and she taught me how to crochet with yarn, my other aunt taught me how to crochet with cotton thread.  After that, learning to knit came easy for me and I've even taught some basic kids knitting classes using a knitting tool.

And it's easy to pick up and put away - for years if needed - yarn and needles do not expire!

Last year I made myself a crochet flower pin and enjoyed it so much that I made a bunch and sold them.  I ended up having 3 different kinds of crochet flowers so I wouldn't get too bored.  Here's a photo of one of them.

I had some flowers leftover this season so I decided to make some hats and added the flowers to them.

Then I started making scarves, and then I made a few toques and then I just couldn't stop myself.  I became I crochet machine!

I had some set aside for gifts but I made so many that I decided to participate in a few craft fairs and sell them.  Here I am at the Makers Market on December 1st.

As well as making & selling my own stuff I've been going to a quite a few craft fairs this season and picking up some "not Marie made" stuff.

My friends and I were just at Got Craft! on the weekend and I got some awesome stuff - a Mozzarella making kit, a jar of Tomato jam, a BuBu bag, some chocolate trufle cookies and some cards (yes I do buy cards from local vendors!).

If you've looking for some "not from the mall" gifts you need to check out your local craft fairs and help support your local artisans.

There are 2 more craft fairs coming up in my area - The Great Canadian Craft Fair and Last Chance Christmas Craft Fair.

To see a listing of craft events "Around Town" (in the Vancouver area) please click HERE.

If you're local and looking for some awesome handmade stuff you need to check them out!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Where's Marie?

I know I haven't been posting on here much but I've been very busy getting ready for some upcoming craft sales.
I like to crochet and I've done so much over the last year that I have enough for Christmas Gifts and Craft Sales!

Here's what my table will look like - it's in my dining room but I've got it set up for a show.

If you are in the Vancouver area and love to shop the craft sales please come visit me this Saturday, November 24 - 10 am to 1 pm - at Scrap Arts in North Vancouver (3rd and St Georges) for the Designers Marketplace.

I'll be at Makers Market at St Monica's Church in West Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) on Saturday, December 1 - 10 am to 3 pm - too!

Stop by and say hello!

Until next time...
Marie

More Painting....

I finally got around to painting my "contemporary" seascape.

This canvas is 30" x 40" and I made it specifically to fit a space in my master bedroom.

Maybe it's not artistically "ethical" to paint something to "match" the decor of a room but I wanted something that would go with the colours of my room and I couldn't find anything that I liked.

I found the experience of painting this canvas very relaxing and a welcome distraction from everyday teenage drama.

Until next time...

Crochet Flower Pins For Sale

I've still got some crochet flower pins for sale if anyone is interested.

Lots of colours to choose from!

Email me mkirkwood2002@yahoo.com for more info

On to the next Project!

I thought I'd get back to paper crafting once things settled down at home but I was wrong!

I started painting again...artsy painting not house painting!

This painting is 11 x 14 and I've got another canvas primed and ready to go - just waiting on some inspiration but it will probably be another seascape.

This all came about when I decided I wanted a large piece of artwork for my bedroom.  When I couldn't find exactly what I wanted I decided I would make something myself.

I bought a larger canvas - 30 x 40 inches - but before I get to that I thought I'd warm up with a few smaller pieces first.

I apologize to those of you who come here to check out my cards and paper projects not my home deocr and thrifting.  I hope to get back to that soon....

In the mean time I'm just going with the flow and seeing where inspiration leads me!

More DIY and Thrifting...

May 19, 2012

Sorry I haven't posted much lately....I have been very busy doing "stuff".

After I helped my DD move into her student rental house I got caught up with all the little jobs that needed to be done there.

First off she needed to paint her room.  The walls were red and the closet had been used as a canvas by the previous tenant - an art student!

 The walls were covered in thumb tacks and those holes needed to be filled.  It took 3 coats of primer to cover the closet walls and 1 coat of primer sealer to cover the red walls!

 Here's what it looks like now - the colour is by Dulux and it's called Sanctuary.

After we painted we got her some furniture - Ikea - and organized her new room.

It still felt so bare so we started looking for other furniture and other little pieces to make it feel like a home and not a squatter's hovel.

Checking out the local Thrift Stores I found some living room chairs for her as well as frames, and artwork.

I must admit that I have become addicted to thrifting and find myself at a Thrift Store at lease once a week.

I'm not much into old clothes but I have found a lot of cool stuff.

Here's a couple of my latest finds:

I found this cool Van Gogh portrait that is actually a mosaic.

The bedroom doors all had chalkboard squares painted on them 

so we used a $1 frame and some foam tape to make it look a bit nicer.

I picked up this oval frame with glass and we're going to make it into a dry erase board.  

It doesn't even need to be paint - it just needs some neutral fabric or canvas to put behind the glass.

Doing all this stuff for DD and thrifting has really motivated me to do some things around my own home.

Since I was shopping for curtains for DD's new room (at the rental) I picked up some curtains for her room at home (on the to do list for over 1 year now) and for my living room and dining room.  I got some curtains that are a lighter colour and lighter weight - I had corduroy and velvet curtains in these rooms before..

 As well I finally got around to putting up a curtain rod in my bedroom and putting up the curtain panels I've had for 6 years.  This job was on my to do list for almost 8 years now - where does the time go???

And I finished turning my "found" picture frames into cork boards.

Click HERE for the BEFORE and now this is the FINISHED.

 These frames were not in very good shape but spray paint hides a lot!
And they are big!  This one is 14 x 16 and the other one is 20 x 24.

 I used foam core board as my base, glued on the cork sheet (with white glue) and then used these mounting clips to secure the cork to the board.

Well that's enough for this post..

I've got more projects planned - both papercrafts and DIY - so check back if you like!

Getting there...

April 17, 2012

Last night I loaded up my thrift store spinning thingy with my technique swap samples. 

Now all I need to do is give it a spin to be inspired to try a new technique!

Over the weekend I made a quick dash out to IKEA and picked up a couple of kitchen racks to accomodate more punches.  See the new longer rack on the very bottom?

I added a smaller one here for more punches and I found a space for my flat SU! punches too!

I was a bit bummed that they didn't have the same kind of rack as what I started with but this style is ok and with all the punches you can't really see the rack!

I also finished my mother-in-law's birthday gift - I made her a bronze and gunmetal chainmaille bracelet. 

Until Next Time!
Marie

Wooden Desk Chair

April 16, 2012

Today I had to take my car in for service and there happened to be a thrift store on my way home.  Luckily I had my Pathfinder with me because I scored this great wooden desk chair for $10!!

I'm thinking about spray painting it - black?


UPDATE - here is the finished chair



Until next time...
Marie

Thrifting...

April 13., 2012

Today I did a little shopping at a couple of local thrift stores and I even hit a consignment furniture store.  I'm getting in the habit of checking in at these places at least once a week.

My daughter is moving out to a house she'll share with 3 other poor university students. So I'm looking for specific items and I'm being very choosey.

That's an empty house so that means she'll need pretty much everything from can opener to couch!

You already saw the chairs that I'm spray painting for her - yep I found those at a thrift store!

Today I saw lots of cool items but I only bought 2 things - and one of them was for me!

First I found this vacuum for the DD's new place.  We've got central vac at home so I can't bring our vacuum to help her clean up on moving day.  This little guy should do the trick.

Then I bought this for me....

it's one of those spinning alpha thingys.  I plan on using it to organize my technique samples.

I'm also a Freecycle member and this morning I picked up a table to go with the chairs - that is after I spray paint the white parts black and stain/seal the top. 

This table seats 6 and it was Free!  Thanks to Donna!

The girls would really like a farmhouse style table like this one for $700 but they'll just have to be happy with the FREE one!

Consignment Canada (on Pemberton in North Vancouver) is an awesome place to go if you are looking for good quality second hand furniture - a big step up from the thrift stores - and they are jam packed with tables, chairs, couches, and more.

I've got some more painting to do this weekend and maybe a trip to IKEA.

So I'll finish off this post with a few photos of some interesting things I saw at the thrift store....

Old luggage for $15 each...

 this one had a purple satin lining!

This dresser/sideboard was solid wood and only $50!

I would have loved to have picked this one up and spray painted it a fun colour like this one from Pinterest.



But it's too big for DD and I have no space for it at my house! Darn!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Until Next Time!
Marie