The rest of the hearts

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, art, crafts, encouragement, home decor, Inspirational, photography, sparkling, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day, words

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art, crafts, hearts, home decor, photography, Valentines

On Instagram this month, I posted a heart a day, #amonthofhearts. AllSparkledUpDesign . Part way through the month, I wondered if I would have the stamina and commitment to finish. Some of these took hours to complete. The discipline of taking a creative photo every day for a whole month taught me so much.
~ You never know you can do something until you try.
~ Don’t give up. Just keep going.
~ God has millions of ideas. Scripture says God is the author of all inspiration. If you hang out with him, you’ll find that out.
~ Don’t over think it. Sometimes what you do doesn’t have to be big or loud or even shared. God enjoys the flowers blooming deep in a jungle, unseen by humans, the songs of birds unheard by ears. Some creativity is just for your and his enjoyment. It’s ok. Slow down, breathe deep.
~ I had more ideas for hearts than I had days in the month. So I’m hoping to do this next February too.
Today is Day 28, the end of the month of hearts. Here are the remaining heart photos I posted on Instagram. Enjoy!

15.

Date Marmelade Scone and Turkish Coffee

16.

French Beaded Flowers.

17.

Pennyslvania Dutch Heart. I’m still not finished with this one.

18.

Our Siamese kitten and her favorite stuffie and scarf.

19.

Marble Heart.

20.

Coffee Heart in a cup I used as a child.

21.

Peach Walnut Flip. I usually bake this in a U-shape but twisted the ends to form a heart this time.

22.

The old Remington Portable typewriter was really fun to use for the typed heart. I had forgotten how noisy but charming a typewriter sounds!

23.

A heart of Charms. Some from my childhood, some from my husband’s family, some from my mom and grandmother.

24.

I really didn’t want this month to be about sweets. But… Chocolates!!!

25.

Orange Ginger Cake. I didn’t write down the recipe as I made it up. It was scrumptious!

26.

I was feeling so rushed but decided there WAS enough time. And there was! I just had to believe it and it happened.

27.

I drew this four times before I decided to just let it go and do it freehand. Words of wisdom from I Corinthians, chapter 13.

28.

For the very last heart, I made a paper cutting. So simple and yet so deep. Love them all, ALL of them.

Sweet & Sparkling Specialty Sugars for tea and coffee and sprinkling

31 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, baking, cooking, crafts, DIY, food, recipe, sparkling, tea time, tutorial, Uncategorized

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allsparkledup, crafts, DIY, food

So happy she loved the gift I made for her! Specialty Sugars for her tea and coffee and sprinkling on toast, cereal or anything else that needs a little sweet sparkle.

Delicious and beautiful flavored sugars in jars.

I bought the decorative knobs and glass jars at Hobby Lobby. It was easy drilling a hole in the corks, using a hack saw to shorten the knob bolt and gluing them together with a few beads.

~ Lavender Sugar ~
I ground up culinary lavender with a mortar and pestle, then put the lavender and sugar in a food processor. The lavender sugar was then layered with crystal sugar in the jar.

2-specialty-sugars-spice-sugar-and-lavender-sugar

~ Lemon Orange Sugar ~
Lemon and Orange zest were placed in a food processor with sugar and ground medium fine. I’ve been making this mixture for years for use in cheesecake because it makes a very fine textured cheesecake. To fill the jar, I spooned in a layer of Lemon Orange Sugar then used tongs to place white sugar cubes against the side of the jar. Then I spooned in more sugar and repeated the layers. Next time I’ll add more orange zest for a darker orange colored sugar.

~ Vanilla Bean Sugar ~
I scraped the seeds from two vanilla beans and ground the seeds with sugar in a food processor. I used one half of each vanilla bean, split lengthwise, to place in the jar. I spooned in about 1″ of Vanilla Sugar in the bottom of the jar. Then I used tongs and a wood skewer to position each vanilla bean against the side of the jar before adding the rest of the Vanilla Sugar.

~ Pumpkin Spice Sugar ~
This recipe is something one of my sons and I made up, based on the spice ratio I use in my Pumpkin Pies. We keep this sugar blend on hand to make Pumpkin Spice Lattes, which everyone knows don’t have any pumpkin in them anyway. haha. Still, the flavor is very close to my pumpkin pies, sans pumpkin. To fill this jar, I used a small spoon and a tiny funnel I made from two straws. I can’t explain how I did the design but if you look up “sand art in a bottle” on youtube, you’ll get the idea. The white layer is Vanilla Bean Sugar. The dark brown “spots” in the white layer are pieces of cinnamon stick. I wanted to position the cinnamon stick pieces to look like hearts but the white sugar kept filling in the spaces so it didn’t work out.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” it is said. So true. I couldn’t access my precut wood pieces or run a saw so I ended up using the only wood on hand, a 30 year old piece of Sassafrass root from my parents property. It’s been in my tea collection for decades and still has a beautiful scent. I used a small craft saw to cut thin slices of the wood to make the tags. I wrote on them with permanent marker. Now I wonder if I had wood-burned the words in… could the slice of sassafrass be steeped in boiling water to flavor tea? What fun that would be! I’ll have to try it out.

For each of the flavored sugars, I used one cup of granulated sugar plus the flavoring agent. That was plenty to fill the jar, with a little left over.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! We sure had a jolly time.

The tiniest book I ever made – Blue Flowers

14 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, art, books, crafts, flowers, handmade books, miniature, painting

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art, art books, book arts, bookmaking, crafts, miniatures, painting, water color

This tiny book, less than a quarter inch square, is titled Blue Flowers.

The tiniest book I ever made was titled Blue Flowers.

The tiniest book I ever made was titled “Blue Flowers” and included tiny paintings and descriptions of blue flowers. In order to qualify for “micro mini” status, it had to be under 1/4″ square.

I shaved the blue suede as thin as possible so the edges could be folded with less bulk.

I think I made 7 copies and traded them with book making friends. I have one copy but don’t remember where the other copies went. Each book with blue suede cover and gilded page edges was tucked inside a tiny blue flower.

The text was printed using a laser printer. When the pages were cut apart from the sheet of printer paper, I had to be careful not a single breeze blew over my worktable since I couldn’t see the text and would have to use a magnifying glass to put them all back in order again. I was glad when I had all the pages stitched together!

Each book had a headband made of silk ribbon. The gold ink used to gild the edges was sticky so I used an exacto knife to carefully cut the pages apart so they wouldn’t stick as the ink dried.

Tiny book, with blue suede cover, text and water color paintings of blue flowers.

I made the paintings on each page using a magnifying glass and a brush that had only 3 hairs in it.

Blue Flowers – a micro mini book with descriptions and water colors of blue flowers

The paintings were so fun to make! Some day I hope to make a tiny book about Pink Flowers. But that will have to happen soon before my eyesight ages even more.

I’m keeping busy

18 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in crafts, On my Worktable, woodwork

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carving, crafts, woodwork

Carving the wood base for the terrarium with my dad’s knives. 5 panels done, 1 to go.

Pearl Bottle Brush Topiary

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in allsparkledup, Christmas, crafts, DIY, home decor, New Years, On my Worktable, projects, tutorial

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bottle brush tree, Christmas, Christmas decoration, crafts, home decor, pearls

I’ve made a decision!

Last year I was committed to posting timely topics on my blog. Well that didn’t happen! sigh. I don’t know how other bloggers do it all. They must decorate for Christmas months before December, the same way magazines work on their seasonal material many months before the issue hits the press.

Though I really tried last year, if I couldn’t finish a post during the season, I ended up never posting at all. That is going to change. This year, I am posting anything I want, any time I want. I have quite a bit of material to post! I know that breaks blogger rules, the rule that says readers won’t be interested in seeing Christmas crafts in August. But life is too short and much too busy so I hope you all forgive me for diving right in to this new year.

You will be getting more posts from me but it’s fairly certain they won’t be all calendar-tidy. Nope. Not at all. I can sorta-kinda-maybe get some posts matched with seasons but I won’t stress about missing. And I’ll do my best to not apologize when I post Christmas in May and Valentines in September. Because… it’s highly likely I will actually be working on Christmas projects in May and making Valentines in September!

So here’s a project I just finished yesterday, January 12, 2016. It’s a Christmas decoration. Happy New Year to you!

Pearl Bottle Brush Tree Topiary, made by cutting bristles out of a bottle brush tree and gluing on pearls.

The photos are a bit off in tone because I started this Pearl Bottle Brush Topiary Tree before Thanksgiving 2015 and photographed the steps under various lighting conditions as I did them, weeks apart. That’s how I get so much done. Projects are broken down into phases, kept in bins and boxes like a kit, ready for me to work on here and there.

For the bottle brush topiary, I picked a nice bottle brush tree to work with. The brush had to be full and evenly distributed all the way around and the bristles had to be tight. I found these 9″ trees at Michaels.

The first step was establishing the spiral by sticking masking tape around the tree. I started at the base and wound it around the tree all the way to the top.

The masking tape is wound around the tree, starting at the bottom and spiraling around the tree to the top. The tape will mark all the places that the bristles will NOT be cut.

I first started cutting out the bristles right in the center of the taped areas as shown here. The first cutting was in the center between the tape, all the way from the base to the top of the tree.

Here you can see what the tree looks like after the first cutting.

To make the second cutting, I cut at an angle from the tape in to meet the deep first cut in the center of the tree.

Cutting at an angle from the tape to the center. The tree was turned upside down to make cuts under the spiral as you can see here.

After the second cutting.

I continued cutting away bristles until there was a nice, neat spiral shape, all between the tape-covered bristles.

The cutting is all finished here.

The masking tape is gently pulled away.

I was so happy with how easy it was to make the spiral shape!

Here is the cut tree next to an identically-taped bottle brush tree. The tape makes it easy to cut an even spiral.

The last step was gluing on the pearly glass and plastic beads. I watched Downton Abbey while doing this and it was a pleasant task. Oh so elegant! I used Fast Grab Tacky Glue and tweezers to place each pearl. No other glue would have been as easy to use because I needed a glue that grabbed fast and didn’t drip. I used two kinds of large pearl beads and a couple different kinds of smaller pearls and pearly beads.

Pearls are glued to the tips of bristles on this Bottle Brush Topiary Tree.

I’m looking forward to displaying this pretty tree next Christmas, tucked amongst the plants in the corner of the dining room.

Pearl Bottle Brush Topiary Tree

By the way, did you see the beautiful red Poinsettia peeking over in the first photo? When I lifted the poinsettia plant out of the van in early December, three branches broke off. So I stuck them in a glass of water. They are still beautiful, over a month later. =)

Latte Magnets for the Water Counter

24 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, crafts, DIY, On my Worktable, projects, tutorial

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crafts, DIY, health, magnets, refrigerator art, tutorial, water

“Did you drink anything today?”
“Yes… I think I did… I had a cup of coffee… maybe two…”
“Any water?”
One of my sons is keen on proper water consumption and I really appreciate his healthy diligence.

I keep a Water Counter on the refrigerator. You can check out the tutorial here.

To help curb my coffee intake, I made two Latte Magnets. From now on, it’s two cups of coffee a day max. Coffee is no substitute for water. In fact, caffeine actually dehydrates you and flushes fluid. So for each cup of coffee you drink, drink one or more cups of water to stay hydrated.

The magnets were first coated with gold acrylic paint.

The magnets are painted with gold acrylic paint.

Here you can see the finished magnets, as well as my test painting right on the tray.

For the test, I made a puddle of gold acrylic paint on the paint tray. Immediately after that, while the paint was wet, I used the tip of a toothpick to lightly dab on blobs of white gesso. The gesso was carefully dabbed on top of the wet gold paint, not mixed in. Then I used a toothpick to draw through the gesso and gold paint to make the design. The test worked great so I did the same thing on the magnets and let them dry overnight.

To make the design, I dabbed on two small blobs of white right next to each other for the heart and long thin “smilies” under, for the leaves. It only took one sweep of the toothpick down through the center to make the design.

White gesso is dabbed on a puddle of gold acrylic paint. A toothpick dragged down through the center of the wet paint creates the cute Latte design.

Little Latte Magnets.

Now when the water counter on the refrigerator just has two cups of coffee in it… that means drink more water!

Plastic wine glass Water Counter on my refrigerator with water, juice/wine and Latte Magnets. Today it’s one glass of juice, one cup of coffee and two glasses of water… need more water.

Her Princess doll dress

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, dolls, fabric, fashion design, granddaughter, Princess doll, sewing, sketchbook

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All Sparkled Up, crafts, drawing, granddaughter, sewing

She sketched the princess in her sketchbook while I was busy in the kitchen. I didn’t even notice what she was drawing until it was all done.

A Princess, by my seven year old granddaughter.

A couple weeks came and went and she turned seven. For her birthday, my mom and I got her a sewing basket filled with notions. She was thrilled with them!

My mom also got her a stash of amazing fabric. Oh the color! Oh the sparkles and sheers! She wanted to look at the fabric right then but the other party goers were waiting so we had to move on.

Fat quarters and quarter yards of lovely fabrics.

She visited again and we got out the sketchbook. For the first time I really looked at her drawing. What a splendid imagination she has! I was amazed at how much her sketch looked like her doll so I told her we would make the princess dress for her doll.

I asked her to explain the picture to me.
“The aqua thing that goes around her back is flat and sticks up. You know, like the things that queens have.” I had no idea.
“The skirt goes like this,” she gestured in the air. I couldn’t understand. I scrunched up fabric and said “With gathers? Like this?”
“No…” she slowly said. “But that’s ok if that’s how you have to make it. It will still be ok,” she said with a tiny sigh of resignation. She had high hopes in my skill but I wasn’t as confident.

We spread out the fabrics that her Great Grandma got her for her 7th birthday. What a surprise to see that so many of the fabrics matched the sketch! It was important that the colors and sheerness match so we dug through my bins of fabric too to find all the pieces.

Matching fabrics to make the Princess doll dress in her sketch.

We discussed the components of the dress and drew preliminary patterns. We planned how the dress would be constructed so the doll could still get it on and off, where to put snaps, which sheer pieces would be sewn together. That was complicated! She didn’t want a skirt and top, it HAD to be a dress.
While I worked out the patterns, she played with her sewing basket.

She had to go home but I continued working on the dress. First I made the underskirt from a lovely ruffle fabric. I also drew out the pattern for the throne based on her sketch and Grandpa cut it out and nailed it together.

She couldn’t part with her doll and took it home so I had to use my own doll for fittings.

She visited several times while I worked on the dress. It took a while to make because I was baffled by the construction. It would have been easy to stitch on the doll but I was making a garment that would withstand a little girl’s playing, complete with snaps. I wish I had taken photos of the construction. While I worked on the dress, she painted the throne and she told me more about the dress.

Painting the doll throne.

“The skirt is pointy on the sides,” she said. “That’s what makes it pretty!”

We finally used up the two old bottles of acrylic paint. That was the very last of the red paint!

“I love the hearts on the purple part. But that’s ok that they aren’t on my sketch. But I can add them if I want to.”

Now we just have to add the tufted cushions.

We still have to upholster the throne and make the crown. She picked out the fabric for the throne but I have buy little black buttons so we can properly tuft it. Or perhaps we’ll paint brads black. In the meantime, I finished the dress.
She loves it!

The Princess doll dress is finished! She loves it! The design and colors are all her own, inspired by the sketch in her sketchbook.

The Princess Dress turned out exactly like she envisioned!

There are three separate pieces: The lavender underskirt, the dress with all the sheer layers and stiff aqua collar sewn in the side seams, and the wide burgundy sash.

There are four separate pieces: The lavender underskirt, the dress with bodice and purple and green sheer layers and stiff aqua collar sewn in the side seams, the outer pink lace skirt that snaps in front, and the wide burgundy sash.

I decided to pleat the sheer purple layer instead of gathering. Unknown to me, the little lines she drew on her sketch were pleats! I didn’t understand her explanation of them so she’s thrilled that I figured it out. Yay!

The outer lace layer is fairly stiff and sticks out just like she hoped. Click on the image to see it larger.

The back is just a little puffy, precisely the way she wanted it, and the aqua collar is one piece that is attached at the sides and loose across the back. I stitched wires and horsehair braid in the collar so it keeps shape. To get the dress on, the collar is slipped over the doll’s head. Then the back is closed with three snaps.

Princess doll dress back.

It was important to match the colors in the sketch. But even more important were the “points on the side, to make it pretty.” To make the “points” on the side, the outer pink lace layer is made of three pieces, seamed at the side. It is lined with netting, with horsehair braid at the hem to keep the edge stiff all the way around.

After seeing how adorable this dress turned out, using colors and fabrics I never would have thought combine so splendidly, I can’t wait to see what else my granddaughter designs. I love her style!

Princess doll dress

Loving her dolly the Christmas I gave it to her.

And still loving her doll four years later.

Still loving her dolly, four years later.

Sneak peek of her doll dress

11 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, crafts, sewing

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All Sparkled Up, crafts, granddaughter, sewing

It’s her own design. She sketched it in her sketchbook one day while I was busy in the kitchen.

The dress is done and now we’re working on the throne and crown.

She drew the design in her sketchbook and I sewed it for her. Complete with the “flat collar piece that goes around the back” and “those lines in the fabric when it goes like this -WWW-” in the skirt, which I learned she intended as pleats.

I’ll post color photos soon.

Drink more water!

09 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Julia Monroe in allsparkledup, crafts, DIY, tutorial

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All Sparkled Up, crafts, fridge, magnets, water

That’s what I’m trying to remember these hot summer days. I rarely get thirsty so drinking water is something I have to do intentionally. I’ll get to the end of a day and realize I didn’t drink enough of anything, especially H2O!

To help remember, I made a little drink counter for on my fridge.

Water Counter on my fridge – made from a plastic wine glass cut in half with marble water counters.

I cut one of these plastic wine glasses in half.

I used a craft saw to carefully cut the cup top and base in half.

Actually, I wanted a little less than half on my fridge so I cut just a smidge off center. It was easier than I thought using a craft saw. I didn’t rush the process and cut the top of the cup first, then the base to match.

Once the top and base were glued together, I used E6000 jewelry glue to attach a strong magnet to the back of the base.

The drink counters are half-marbles from the floral department at Michaels. I recycled old magnets from my fridge by painting them white, including painting over rickrack that was glued around each magnet. The half-marbles were glued on with E6000 jewelry glue.

Half a wine glass on my fridge! It looks really cute with the marble counters in it.

This is the first water counter I’ve ever made that actually works. It’s easy to see that I haven’t been drinking enough throughout the day. And the cup looks cute filling up with marbles.