more artful nests

 My sister found an old quilt my grandmother had stashed away.  Most of it has started to deteriorate, so is no longer usable as a working quilt.  But there are a few 12 by 12 inch panels that are perfect for art making!  I made this first one for my sister for Christmas to hang in her new studio space.  I cut out the panel to 15 by 15 in., wrapped it around a 12 by 12 inch canvas, and embellished away!

Of course, I had to include a house, as I do in most of my art, and I also incorporated an artful nest designed with my sister's 4 children in mind (hence the 4 eggs).  The tag says CHERISH and also has the number 2240 on it, which just so happens to be our address number for our childhood home!  It all came together pretty awesomely... and I can't wait to make more!

 This is my latest altered book.  I made it as part of a challenge for my Altered Artists group.  The challenge was to take a heart tin that once held jewelry and alter it.  So I had to incorporate it into an altered book, cause that is what I do!   The cover of the book was covered in torn up paper bags from my many purchases at my favorite art store (Mrs. O'leary's in Wichita, KS http://www.mrsolearysart.com/ ).

Then I layered a key, a punched out bird, a felt heart, a copper painted feather, some hand made paper and my favorite woven burlap ribbon.  I then found the words "everything she knew" from my stash of words cut from books.

On the inside of the book, I glued the top and bottom of the pages together to create a block of pages.  Then I traced the shape of the heart and carved it out with an exacto knife and a lot of determination!  I covered the tin with a gold paper and added some fun packing paper to the inside.  I created a house shape from a box lid, covered it with the handmade paper and included an artful nest.  After covering the inside cover and first page with some decorative paper, I layered the gold paper, the handmade paper, some left over bits from the burlap ribbon and a few words to finish the piece.