Hanukkah Lights

I love the Festival of Lights. OK, I just love lights!  And this year, I decided to decorate candles. Cheap candles from Walmart....with leftover fabric from the dressforms that I did earlier.

It's amazing how a simple candle can so quickly turn into a gorgeous show piece.

But beware the hot glue gun on a candle!  LOL!  I quickly learned that I have to work fast and in very small amounts.  Melted candle wax in melted glue - not so great!

I used another 125 swarovsky flatback crystals with my adapter.  I just love these crystals. From Creative Crystal.  I could use them on everything.  And I had this piece of silk ribbon embroidery work that goes just perfect over a remnant of that old wedding dress I'd cut up.

Just click on any photo to enlarge and see the detail!

Now, consider this.....nearly 40 year old fabric with a hot glue gun or the heat applicator for the crystals. It seemed to dissolve the moment it got touched.

I love the reflection of the candles in the mirrors......

but placing them next to the dressforms is where they will stay.

Jn 10:22-23  - the feast of dedication is the feast of lights

Col 2:16-17 - we are told that the Jewish feasts are a shadow of the things to come.

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My ebay auctions   New items listed this week.

Woke up with a feeling

That I needed to create something today.  So I sat down to alter another little dressform.  I didn't take a pre-photo, but it's from Hobby Lobby - black with a black & white polka dot covering.  Just don't like it.  So I ripped it apart.  Fortunately, the body was made of styrofoam....what fun!

For this form, I recreated the original covering with quiana covered with toole.  Can you even buy quiana anymore?  OK, who would want it?  Other than the fact that it was wonderfully cheap wedding fabric in the 70s.

The skirt is from a baby's christening dress.  Modern - obviously.

Found it at a thrift store for $1.49.  Couldn't resist because of all the wonderful satin roses on the lace trim.  Truly gorgeous and worth more than the price I paid for it!

 And here it is with the last one I made (in the middle) and on the right is a metal form from Hobby Lobby that I sprayed white.

Now, don't you think this is a clever way to display jewelry?  I have the next one already painted white.  Just need to find some more baby christening gowns to alter.  So much fun!!!

Be sure to check out these links:
My Etsy Store
My ebay auctions - I'm now a Power Seller!!!

Changing things is such fun!

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted.  I used to do something every single day.  But maybe life is better when you just sit back and take your time and enjoy your days!

I had this really old dress form and the neck was busted and I really didn't like the maroon color of it:

So I took it all apart.  The form itself is made of pressed foam, so it was easy to put back together with a product called "putty white".  Amazing stuff.

I had tons of fabric left over from the wedding wall collage, so I pulled it all out (remember the wedding dress I cut up?) and started stitching it to the form....after spray painting everything white:

You can click on the pics to make them larger.....but I'm totally pleased with the results

and it's going to be my new way to showcase the jewelry I make.  I want to make at least 2 more of these and already have the forms to alter

I stitched tiny star of davids around the lace on the hips - they just dangle and sway when you move the dress

tons of swarovsky crystals set into the lace, with blue seed beads as the centers for the flowers on the top.  I love that rayon trim as it easily molded around the shoulders and bodice.

So much fun to take something old that you are tired of and turn it into something new and useful.  My jewelry has never looked better!!!



Be sure to check out these links:
My Etsy Store
My ebay auctions

Come Dress Yourself in Love - Day 6 - It's done!

I have had this sterling silver charm for years.  I always loved the chai symbol below the doves.....but it just was a bit too big for a necklace.  It's perfect in the center of the bodice with the smaller Star of David just below it.

Positioned above the "title" of the project - it's perfect!

They didn't have swarovski crystals 33 years ago.   It they had - this gown would have cost me a fortune.  As it is, I hand set over 100 crystals throughout the collage.

I embedded tiny crystals in the leaves - 3 per leaf.  The lt blue pearls were on the original dress.

The buttons that were on the sleeve cuffs - across the top of the bodice. I think you can follow where the bodice was...and where the filler is now.

I made several silk roses.....just to get the right size for the bottom corners.  Had forgotten how beautiful silk roses are.

And then I remembered the pattern to make these roses and put them on the top corners, to anchor the 5 strands of silk ribbons coming down each side.  Of course, there's a wooden dowel stitched into the top back to keep the center top from sagging.  Part of "engineering" a piece like this.

When you put all the pieces together, it looks like this hanging on the wall.  I do think I will have it framed in a shadow box.....but for now, my wedding collage is done.  Click on any of the images to enlarge them.

Original gown took 3 months to create at the cost of about $200.00

Today's wedding collage took parts of 6 days and an additional $150.00

Preserving memories in a creative way.......PRICELESS!!!

Come dress yourself in love - Day 5

It is amazing to me how much the journey of this dress is parallel to life.  Today was not a good day for progress on this project!  I started out at 8 am with my image transferred to batiste and fringed.  Got this idea that I would iron on fusible backing, then iron it to the collage.  Hmmm....when you reapply heat to the image...it transfers to whatever is under it - like the ironing board cover!!!

For my studio, I have this smaller board hanging on the back of the utility room door.  Now it has my image on it!  Of course, it's an odd size....and well, more on that later!

And the image was ruined because half of it transferred off to the ironing board cover!

So I went to print out another transfer, and my printer jammed.  Then the paper would only go in crooked.  I spent an hour online researching how to take it apart to clean the rollers.  Finally had success....but by then, I had used up so much ink test printing....that it printed blue!

Got new ink and finally got it printed.  Went in to iron it onto the fabric and since I was in a hurry by now, trying to make up for time, I used my big iron.....with steam.  Totally forgot that transfers need to be done with dry heat.  What happens if you use steam?  Even the backing transfers off.....see the "Avery" label?

By now, the steam iron is clogging up and it's dirty, so I run to Boulder to McGuckins to get whink steam iron cleaner.  Let me tell you - it works!  I even cleaned out my big Euro-pro steam press!  But in looking for a new ironing board cover - not even McGuckins had the right size.....and they have everything!

Came back home and finally got an image transferred perfectly back to fabric (but not fringed.)  It was now 3 pm and I wasn't even where I started at 8 am this morning!  A whole day and not a step forward!

And it's not like I don't have anything else on my mind!  Kerry's spinal fusion surgery starts on Monday.  Am I working on this to avoid thinking about that?  Am I making mistakes (I KNOW you can't use steam on image transfers) because I'm not thinking about what I'm doing - I'm thinking about Monday?

But isn't that just like life.  Sometimes we get to a point where we just spin our wheels.  Or nothing is right.  Or we make no progress.  But we just keep trying.  We repeat our mistakes.  We do it all over.  We try our best to make it right.

And by the end of the day, I had the photo stitched onto the collage.  I used a pale blue silk ribbon, 1/4" wide to make the stitch around the photo.  There's a tiny edge of fringe on the outside of this.  It's coming together, it's starting to take shape!

Part of the creative process is to experiment, make mistakes, try it with something else, change it up, do it differently.  I think it's what I love the most about being creative.

As for Monday, Millie reminded me of this verse:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your request known to Jehovah". 


Thanks Millie for that reminder!

Come Dress Yourself in Love....Day 4

Why do I think I can match rayon that I used 33 years ago?  LOL!!!  The Blue pen didn't work.  Embroidery floss didn't work.  

So off to JoAnns and I decided to try some polyester fiber....and it came out just fine.  Colors change over time, fabric and fibers change......as does life. Nothing remains the same, and perhaps that's a good thing.  

I think it's going to take me as long to make this collage as it did to make the dress.  Everything has to be hand stitched and hand-quilted. It's too thick to use a machine.  I decided to go with 4 layers of batting as I wanted this to look really "soft".  In other words - padded like me! LOL!!!

The little birds were stitched to the original veil in a random pattern.  

The sprays of pearls and crystals were on the back of the hat.  The little blue flowers are new.

I quilted it onto the gown, just under the center of the bodice, outlined in metallic wrapped fiber....

You can click to enlarge, but it's exactly what I had envisioned.  

Fringe - to represent the times I've lived my life on nothing but fringe.

Metallic wrapped fibers - for the moments that shine

2 little birds - to remind me of my life verse:  Isaiah 40:30 "but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."

Pearls - for the wisdom I hope I have gained in the last 33 years.

Crystals - to remind me that you have to turn over a lot of rocks to find just one small gem

Tiny stitches with silk thread - to remind me of Ecclesiastes 9:10 "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might"

Who knew a simple fabric collage could have so much meaning stitched into it?

Come dress yourself in love - day 3

Come dress yourself in love....let the journey begin! Hannah reminded me that there is a spiritual hint in this as well.  I believe that she is referring to a Christian, who dresses in the love of Christ when they accept Him, and their journey in Him begins.  But I'd like to take that one step farther. I believe that the Messiah is the bride of Israel and that she, Israel, is "dressing" herself for the time when He will enter through the walled Golden gate....



Yesterday, I was talking about layering lace. Today, we're going to alter old lace by adding new lace/trim to it.  Here's the lace that came off the bottom of the gown:

Here it is biz-bleached:

This is some silk ribbon ruffled into rosettes that I picked up at the Berry Patch

and the 1/2 yard of flowers:

layered together.........completely alters the look of that original piece of lace!  I didn't need to put them all the way up the piece as I'm saving room for the image transfer.

I ran some quilt backing behind it and then sticthed down the scallops using silver metallic thread.  Not sure if you can see the thread....but it adds just a first hint of bling.

That silk trim went down one side.  On the other side, I'll be putting this georgeous piece of "fluff". But I have to wait til the very last thing to add it.

That's actually on elastic and we decided it's meant for cute little girl headbands.....but I'm using it to give "balance" to the other side of what I'm doing.  Got your curiosity going yet???

Of course, after this is the "word" piece. And this is my prototype.  I know what it's going to say, but will embroider it onto a better piece of fabric from the dress.  The little doves were on the veil of the hat.  It will be a fringed, quilted piece.....so there's still much to do!

But just as in scrapbooking - where we sketch out an idea, with fabric, I sketched my phrase right on the fabric in about the size I think I want it to do and this will serve as the pattern for the real thing.

There are some of us who even sketch out our ideas for our lives, write down what our plans are, and then work towards those thoughts and ideas.  Who knew the journey of a wedding dress is much like the journey of one's life?

Come dress yourself in love - day 2

I guess I should explain 2 things.  First, the dress is 33 years old and the tulle on the top layer is snagged beyond repair.  And second, the lace around the bottom - yellowed beyond belief.  It is rayon.  Never dryclean  rayon!  It will just turn yellow.  So while the dress itself, the design - was truly gorgeous, it was so badly damaged, no one would ever want to wear it.

But.....if you take it all apart and then soak rayon in Biz for hours on end....it will get white again!  So, "Biz" is the new tea-dye!  I'm biz-bleaching my lace!  What a difference!

Over the years, I have done this numerous times with old lace.  I've even soaked vintage dresses in the guest bathtub.  The best way to do this is to get the water as hot as possible.  Mix in 1 part of Biz for 4 parts of water.  Stir it up and then put the item in to soak.  When the water turns cold, repeat the process.  Up to 3 times.  On the 3rd time, let it soak overnight.  If there are still stains the next morning, repeat the entire process another day.  Usually, one day is enough, but I have had pieces that require 3 or 4 days of doing this process.  Yes, it takes up time...but it will get out every single stain you can imagine!  And your fabric looks like brand new!

Once the dress was all cut up - and the lace whitened, I laid it all out on a huge clipboard.  Your local art stores have them.  Mine is about 20" x 20".  They are great for large projects like this.  The bodice doesn't look so great now that it's flat!  Note that I took embroidery work from the back and filled in the "V".  On purpose, I took the photo horizontal.....I needed to get away from thinking of the dress as a vertical object!

Sometimes, turning life on it's side gives us a different perspective on whatever it is that we are going through at the moment.

Having it flat allwed me to get a  good closeup of that embroidery, so you can see why I didn't want to just toss this!

My next step is to reattach the lace that I had to remove to take it apart.  This all has to be done by hand.  No machine stitching allowed on this part!  It may take me a few nights to get this done.

My sister, Colleen, was here for the weekend, so it was off to the Berry Patch in Niwot.  You can google my blog as I've posted about this wonderfully amazing shoppe before.  10,000 different kinds of lace.  But it's sort of like scrapbooking.  When you buy an embellishment....alone....sometimes it just doesn't do much.  Now, I had my dress in pieces on my big board and we took the whole thing into the store.  The clerk was having so much fun pulling lace and trim.....while I was......

Layering it......

trying to visualize what different layers would look like together (sometimes....you just have to play, even inside a store!)

because the 2 pieces above look totally different when you layer them up like I did below.   I plan to add swarovsky crystals to the silk flowers to tie them to the beads on the scallops.   I started thinking about scrapbook paper and how we layer it, add to it, ink it, diecut it......

for instance, this is a rather boring piece of lace by itself,

But if you put a strip of white rayone over it, then adorn it with these hand made silk rossettes.....

now this is more like what I was looking for!

an hour and a half later we walked out of the shoppe with everything I think I need to turn this into something absolutely gorgeous!  But who knew that the basic principles of scrapbooking would be used in a lace shoppe?

And now that everything is all white....I can't wait to get the original lace stitched back in place so I can move forward.  Again - sort of like life.  We have to put things in place, get them in order,  before we can move ahead!