Workbench Wednesday...Box of Possibilities...

As you know, I collect many things.

One of the things I can't seem to resist is industrial-type storage.

If it is old and grubby with chipped, scratched paint...I am in.

My father in law brought me this box a while back.  

I think it held screws and such.

I am using it for some of the handmade components I collect.

Sometimes when I am working on a project, I don't finish it or have extra components when I am done.

Some of them ended up in here....

There are also jewelry bits and game pieces that I have plans for.

I feel like this could be a jewelry maker's "I Spy".

Don't you agree?

Balled wire, fiber wrapped beads, stamped leather components, bottle caps, pencil bits, moss/twig bundles, felted wool, etc....

Little bits of leather, polymer faces, pretty beads, washers, chains, silk strips....

Resin wonders, escutcheons, film bits, pencil beads, wooden spools, keys, feathers....

What do you keep all your bits and baubles in?

For me half the fun is seeing them all grouped together in unexpected ways...

Makes my imagination race...

Thanks for stopping by....

Craft Lightning Valentine's Edition

One of my favorite things to be a part of is the Craft Lightning Challenges.

Today I am tickled to be a part of the Valentine Edition.

I made these sweet love rocks.

Let's gather some supplies.

It is bitter cold here so some of my photos had to be done inside where the lighting is not as good...

You will need:

rocks

paint brushes

paints

paint markers

paper plate

You can gather rocks from outside or buy a bag from the craft store or the hardware store.

I have some rocks from the craft store and some from the yard.

Wash them and allow them to dry thoroughly.

Paint your designs right on the rocks.

I like to do the larger parts of my designs with paint and then the details with paint markers.

You can personalize them.

I made this sweet little collection in about a half hour.

I plan to do a few sweet art abandonments with these...

Have you heard of art abandonment?

Artists all over the world are making beautiful things and leaving them places for others to find and enjoy.

You can leave them in a public place like a restaurant, hotel, park, shopping center, etc.

There are groups you can join.

I belong to this one on facebook.

You can print tags found on the page and add them to your abandoned piece.  

That way, the person that finds the art can comment on it.

I have some plans for these...

The local radiation center.

Parking lots.

On the ground outside a variety of stores.

Because everyone can use a little extra love....

Thanks for stopping by...

The Keys to Loveliness

One of the things I collect is keys.

Vintage skeleton keys,

Old car keys, house keys, you name it.

To be more honest, I don't collect them.

I hoard them. 

 I buy them and love them and store them in little boxes, jars and tackle boxes.

Notice all those things are plurals.

So I decided I probably have enough keys to use a few in my designs.

I dressed some of them up with some polymer clay.

They will make fun little pandants.

Some will make fun big pendants.

To me, it is intriguing to take a common useful item and transform it in some way.

I love to give it a new life and purpose.

Thanks for stopping by....

                 Linking up with these great blogs.

Every Collection Starts With One... Aprons

My husband's grandmother was the sweetest woman.

Before she died, she gave me one of her aprons.

I never wore it, but it hung in my kitchen at our first house and does the same in our home now.

Soon, it had friends...

And like all sweet souls, they attracted more friends...

And more friends...

And more friends...

And so on...

Each one has a sweet little personality of its own.

I loved the sweet rosebud fabric in this one.

This one was well-loved and I got a kick out of the ruffle along the bottom.

More pretty pink rosebuds...and a pocket.

This one seems like a cocktail party apron.

The sheerness seems impractical, but I loved those birds.

How sweet are they?

This one is extra long to go the whole way around the wearer.

See?

It has the button hole to pass the tie through.

I love the colors, fabric and tiny pockets on this one.

Fun diagonal detailing...

This one reminds me of those old fabric wall calendars.

Fun fabric and rick rack made this one impossible to pass up.

I like polka dots.

And this one has been well-used.

I can imagine what heavy items started to pull the stitching.

Maybe the wearer tucked her hands in there often and that pulled away at the seams.

This one just epitomizes aprons to me...

Great colors and fun strawberries.

It has a few stains that have not come out after repeated washings.

Each stain has a story, a secret I will never know.

The crisp white of this one is lovely.

See those darling blue birds on the pocket?

Almost all my aprons except for the first one and this next one were picked up at flea markets for $1 each.

This red gingham one I bought at a church craft show.

 The lady selling them had not sold any.

I knew it was a gingham friend for Grandma's first orange gingham apron.

I also loved that the woman made aprons...

It seemed so nostalgic.

Most of my collection tie around the waist.

  I have just a couple that have a chest covering.

This one is a child's apron.

The only one in my collection.

I thought this one was a sweetheart...

Sorry...

I could not resist.

And this last one is so practical.

Like any collection, it begins with one.

I have them all hanging on a little hook rack on the side of my fridge.

In the summer I take them all down and wash and hang them on the line.  

I hope you enjoy seeing them today.

What special things do you collect?

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs.