I am creating this banner for my fireplace. It is made of laminated burlap in two different colors. I used a stencil and gold paint to stencil on the letters. Yes, I know blessings is spelled wrong in this photo, but the L and the E are just switched. I fixed it when I sewed it all together! Supply list - laminated canvas - two colors - it has a coating on one side that helps it hold together and fray less (I found it in the embroidery section at Michael's) - Antique gold acrylic paint - foam spouncer 0r brush - fabric glue - rug binding tape (found in hooked rug section) - letter stencil - paper leaves in fall colors (found in scrapbook section) After banner pieces are put together and stenciled, I laid them out and attached them to the binding tape. I folded the binding tape in half over the top of each piece pinned them in place. I spaced the banner pieces one inch apart. Then I used my sewing machine and ran a straight stitch down the length of binding tape. You could use the fabric glue or a hot glue gun to do the same thing. I plan on making one of these for Christmas as well!
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Yesterday was the perfect day for a autumn walk. I needed to clear my head and find a little peace and quiet. I also enjoyed collecting some beautiful fall leaves to dry. The trees have not yet reached their peak color, they probably will this weekend after a few cold nights, but it was still beautiful. I had a very nice surprise up ahead of me just past the bridge, a pair of deer. I didn't get a photo of them unfortunately, but it was just a wonderful surprise. Leaping for JoyWe went to Pumpkins Etc. pumpkin patch to get pumpkins and Ben had other ideas! He could care less about the hay bale maze, but the tops of the hay bales were great for running and jumping on. I loved watching him being so carefree and having a great time! This picture captures his joy! I sometimes wish I could be a kid again! This year I decided to start creating personalizable cake toppers. I decided to focus on wedding and baby shower cake toppers. This pair of sweet foxes has been a huge success! They have been and will be on six different wedding cakes in Maryland, Iowa, Minnesota, New York and the two I am most excited about are in Australia! I just took two orders for this cake topper today!! I am hoping to receive pictures soon of some of these cakes. So if you or someone you know is getting married soon and they want a sweet, personalized, Whimsical cake topper send them my way!!
Enjoy a little bit of Whimsy today! I thought I would share a little about my process of creating my butterfly pendants. The idea to create these necklaces happened one day when I was walking into the grocery store. As I was walking through the parking lot I came across a beautiful yellow swallowtail lying on the ground. I could not bear to leave it there, it had been hit by a car and would surely be destroyed if I left it laying there. I took it back to my car before I headed into the store. While I was trying to do my grocery store, I kept thinking about what was I going to do with this butterfly. I knew I wanted to honor its beauty and life in some way. I had always wanted to learn to solder and this lovely creature propelled this desire! I wanted to make a pendant to put one of the wings into and that is when I had the idea to put it between glass and add solder to the outside edge to encase and protect the beautiful wing. It took lots of practice and a couple of burned out cheap soldering irons, before I went to a stain glass store in Riverside, Missouri. It is Gene's Glass Studio and there I met Gene and he talked me through why I was struggling and gave me a quick crash course in soldering. First, I needed a better soldering iron and I needed to know how to treat it to make it work for me not against me. I bought several supplies from him and he made me promise to come back if I was still struggling and he would help me. I got all set up at home and started practicing! I was immediately hooked! Something about soldering just took hold and I felt ready to try and create a pendant showcasing my beautiful swallowtail. Then I ran across another hurdle, how to cut glass (without cutting myself!) to fit the shape of the butterfly wing. I had learned how to cut the glass to get close to the shapes I wanted by watching YouTube videos, but the the edges were sharp and the shape was not quite right. After some more research I ended up buying a grinder for glass. Another really fun tool to use. Now I have made many butterfly pendants and love sharing them with others and giving them as gifts. My butterfly necklaces really seem to draw peoples fascination, there is just something so mesmerizing about a butterfly. I believe my necklaces still carry with them the spirit of the butterfly and through my necklaces they live on. This is a statement from a site I get some of my butterflies from, Butterfly Utopia. http://www.butterflyutopia.com The First SightingThe Mourning CloakThe Mourning Cloak butterfly was the first butterfly I saw this year. My husband found one last year, so I will be able to create a necklace with this butterfly. I hadn't seen very many butterflies in my yard this year, until just recently. Now they seem to be everywhere! I planted a lot of butterfly attractive plants in my gardens and have a small water feature for them in my gardens. I love to be in my garden and just watch the butterflies go from flower to flower, it brings me such a happy feeling and a calming peace. My hope is that my butterfly necklaces will bring the same feeling to those who wear them. I create these necklaces to honor these wonderful creatures and as a way to preserve their beautiful spirit. A Few Wonderful Butterfly Quotes Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. Nathaniel Hawthorne The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. Rabindranath Tagore May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun And find your shoulder to light on, To bring you luck, happiness and riches Today, tomorrow and beyond. ~Irish Blessing But these are flowers that fly and all but sing: And now from having ridden out desire They lie closed over in the wind and cling Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire. ~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day" "Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Andersen Love is like a butterfly: It goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes. ~Author Unknown Butterfly Lifespan
Butterflies have a lifespan depending on the species from a few days to 12 months. The Monarch tends to have the longest lifespan. Where you can find my necklaces My butterfly necklaces can be found on my Etsy website https://www.etsy.com/shop/WorkofWhimsy?section_id=11039460 Hallmarket https://www.facebook.com/events/242985309076462/ Thank you for visiting my blog! Tammy I know it is still summer, but for a bride planning a winter wedding it is perfectly timed! This sweet cake topper will soon be listed on Etsy as a made to order topper. The names of the bride and groom can be added to the snowflake and the colors can be changed to match any wedding color scheme. For Mother'Day, I decided to make succulent container gardens for gifts this year. So I thought I would share with you how to make one! You can make a container garden out of any container. I am using old colanders, painted metal buckets and a wire mesh basket I found at Hobby Lobby. They are a great source for unique containers. Here I have cut the fabric larger than my container. I am lining the basket with it to keep the dirt in, but to let the water drain out if over watered. I hot glue the fabric to the container, folding it in the corners to make it form to the basket. Here is a link to how to care for your succulents and cactus. http://www.cactuslands.com/plants.htm Supply List *Container - be sure to add holes for drainage *Roll of Fabric weed block - can be found at all home improvement stores *Hot glue gun *Glue sticks *Scissors *Potting soil - I used Miracle Grow Cactus soil and added pellets that retain water, because containers can dry out quickly *Plants - I used succulents, cactus and some annuals Have fun creating your own whimsical succulent container gardens!
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Tammy HaddixI created Work of Whimsy as an outlet for my creativity! I create christmas ornaments on my day job. I had so many ideas that I wanted to bring to life and this was the perfect way. I can create whatever I want and if I am lucky there is someone out there that wants to buy it! So far it is going better than I expected! Archives
October 2018
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