Welcome to the Daylilies Blog!
This blog is all about being creative... and I can't wait to see where creativity takes us. Read on to follow my creative journey. Occasionally, I will have other creative people share their ideas here too. Sharing is the best part of creativity - so let's get to it! If you have any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me - my email is Debra(at)dayliliescreative.com. And - always feel free to add a comment here. I would love to know what creative things you are doing! (That, and I always love to see pictures too!!!)
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Thursday, October 22, 09 9:43 PM
Posted By Daylilies
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Well, I would like to say that I have been busy with all sorts of exciting things and new ideas, but the real story is that I am still stitching. Yes, it is taking me a long time to stitch the rose throw cushion by hand, but I am still convinced that it will all be worth it in the end (at least that is what I keep telling myself as the clock ticks by and I am still stitching). So, while I am busy finishing up this project, I thought that I would offer up another couple of cute ideas for Halloween next week.
Last week, a friend of a friend of a friend on facebook (I am sure you know how that goes) shared a link to a really fun little idea for a kid’s craft (although, I might be tempted to give it a try, and it has been a few years since I was a kid) that was posted on Crafts-for-all-Seasons.com. This little skeleton is made of Qtips! Who knew that when you put Qtips on a black background that they could look so Halloween-y?
The other neat idea I came across was an invisible lolli-pop. This is a truly fantastic idea for any kind of Halloween party (although if my imagination runs away with me, I can also envision these lolli-pops as favours for Christmas, New Years, Birthdays, or even just a really cool gift for that person who has everything) or for something to do with the kids to keep them busy during the long wait for trick-or-treating. These lolli-pops are posted on MarthaStewart.com. It is almost mindboggling the things that you can put into one of these lolli-pops. If you really want to disgust someone, I am sure a plastic bug would do the trick, and I like the idea of Halloween candy, as posted on the instructions at MarthaStewart.com, but I keep thinking that there might be other funky things to include too… the possibilities seem endless! What do you think? What would you be tempted to display inside a lollipop this Halloween?
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Friday, October 16, 09 4:09 PM
Posted By Daylilies
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We shifted gears entirely in the studio today. All of the thread and sewing needles were traded in for paint and aprons and glue and ... potatoes.
Yup. I said potatoes.
I know - you want to start right in and say that you remember doing potato stamping when you were in kindergarten or that your children just did that last week in school - but hold that thought for just a minute! Potato stamping is a fabulously fun way to spend time together - it is an all ages project - but it is also a very good way to get that 'one time only' stamp for a fraction of the cost of a brand name scrapbooking stamp (you know the one I mean - the one you think is cute, but costs more than you want to spend for the one time you will probably use it).
I have seen a lot of really great work come from a humble potato stamp. Anything is fair game - walls, fabric, furniture, cards, journals, wrapping paper.... if you can imagine it, your humble potato stamp will stamp it.
So I let my imagination get to it, and of course I came up with Halloween (you can't spend a week in the studio making Halloween costumes and not find yourself caught up with the Halloween theme, right?). I started out with grand ideas and plans and sketches of cats, pumpkins and words, and they all worked out well, but my very favourite had to be the potato that I carved as if it was a jack-o-lantern. It was kind of a joke in the studio - sort of a 'what is that? that won't turn out good' kind of thing - but it turned out really funky (although I think that the bright orange paint helped).
So just what did I end up stamping today?
Not much, really. I just had a lot of fun experimenting. I did alot of printing on scrap paper. And I made a greeting card or two, but today was more about having fun with the supplies (this is where my husband would usually butt in and make a comment about mess-making). But things have been a little more serious in the studio lately, and a definite change was needed.
So - bring on the paint!
I really liked the way that the 'Boo' stamp worked on the card. And I loved how fun the jack-o-lantern face was to create. I can't wait to grab another potato and experiment some more.
Just a note though - when you grab your own potato: I learned that new crop potatoes can be a challenge to carve just because they are really soft and juicy. So - if you are working with children, I would give them a new potato because it is soft and easy to carve. If you are looking to have a stamp with more detail, definitely choose an older and drier potato. Also - if you are carving words, remember to carve the mirror image unless you are printing on vellum like I did for my card (the paint is on the underside of the vellum in this case).
This is definitely a worthy project and a really neat way to personalize Halloween party invitations or decorations.
Is this something that you would do? What kinds of things have you used potato stamping for in other projects?
Happy Stamping!!!
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Thursday, October 15, 09 2:36 PM
Posted By Daylilies
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I loved working on that little bear 'hoodie' costume from yesterday. It is amazing how fun something like that can be. When the pattern is easy there is so much more room to be creative and play a little.
And that is exactly why this little lamb even exists.
When I reached into my pile of felt for the brown I needed to make the bear, I also grabbed a couple of sheets of white felt too. I don't know why I didn't put them back in the drawer, but I didn't.
And the rest is history.
I finished the bear part way, but when I started having some problems making the bear work the way that I wanted it to, I picked up the white wool and this little lamb was born. In a way, this little lamb is even easier than the bear. It only took two sheets of felt, so there is even less sewing here than in the bear. Loops of soft fuzzy wool make for the best fur. This little lamb is soft and so very, utterly, adorable.
And - as was pointed out to me yesterday, with a couple easy changes (to the pattern and to the face make-up if your child is wearing any), this costume is quick to turn into a poodle or a kitty cat. With an adjustment to the ears, and a little creative thought, this might even make a really great little bunny rabbit. One little costume can go such a long way! And... it was so much fun to make :)
As always, this pattern will be posted on the Daylilies site by tomorrow, for you to make for the little one in your life, or if you would rather have this already made for you, enter to win this example piece. All you have to do is comment to one of the last 7 posts (you will have about a week or so and then I will close comments) for an entry into the draw. If you win, I will be glad to send it out to you. (Just make sure that you include your name and email address with your comment so that I can get in touch with you if you win.)
So just what is next?
Well, I am still thinking Halloween, but I thinking that tomorrow will be more of a painting day in the studio. Maybe some potato-print-makes Halloween party invites or Halloween scrapbook stamps...? Maybe even a ghoulishly stylish journal for all those 'boo-tiful' Halloween photographs you are sure to take this year.
What do you think? What would you like to see next?
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Wednesday, October 14, 09 2:59 PM
Posted By Daylilies
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So - this is the adorable little bear 'hoodie' costume that I promised to post today. I must say that I think it is adorable, but then again I might just be a little biased (being the one who made it and all). It did take more than the 2 sheets of felt that I said it would...it seems like I got a little carried away during the crafting. At first I had plans to make a very simple and almost 'plain' style hood, but my creativity ran AMOK, and ultimately I thought that a fuzzy, messy, hairy bear would be even more cute.
So - this little bear costume ended up taking 6 sheets of 8 x 11" wool felt. It is sewn, (basic straight stitch only) but if you are really good at stitch witchery (or heat n bond, or whatever you choose to use) you might be able to glue the seams (I tried. It didn't work for me, but that really doesn't mean anything - I am really bad at working with that stuff). But really, most of the effort required to make this cute little costume is in cutting the felt 'fur' strips. All in all, I would say that it was an afternoon project. Great for halloween, or good for any child that likes to dress up. All it needs is a brown tracksuit (or any snowsuit if you are halloweening in a cold climate) and some brown mitts. Additional 'fur' strips can be attached to the mitts to make the costume complete and cohesive.
As always, the pattern will be posted on the Daylilies Pattern site by tomorrow - just in case you want to make one for the child in your life.
Okay ...admission time. This pattern did not go together as I thought it would. I started out thinking that this would be a child's size small/medium, but after a few restarts, and a little re-cutting of the pattern, this little bear is now an infant size. It all turned out well in the end, and I even found that this pattern has a lot of potential (there is a sweet little lamb sitting on my studio work table as I write).
And - the best part of it all?
This cute little bear costume/hood could be yours - just in time to turn your adorable little one into a cute little bear....
All you need to do is comment on a blog post from this site - one from the last 7 postings - to enter the draw. One name will be drawn randomly, and the costume will be sent out to the winner. It is just that simple
Don't forget to add your first name and email address so that I can get in touch with you.
I can't wait to get your comments so that I can enter your name in the draw! But - if you decide to go ahead and make this one for yourself, I will have the pattern posted by the end of day tomorrow. Happy creating :)
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Tuesday, October 13, 09 1:07 PM
Posted By Daylilies
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Okay - so I thought that I would just take a moment to update you on my pumpkin pie vs sweet potato saga. We spent a glorius Saturday checking out the harvest at some local farms and came home with more squashes than I care to mention.... I don't know what I am going to do with all of them, but it was fun to find that one local farm grew more than 20 different varieties of squash and pumpkin (who knew that there were so many kinds...?) But I digress. We came home with a Queensland Blue Squash.
It was ugly, but they said that it would make a fabulous pie. So I took the creative leap of faith (making a pumpkin pie from a blue squash...!!?!?) and... they were right!
It was a fabulous pie - and even the sweet potato pie lovers in the bunch agreed. I used Anna Olsen's Pumpkin Pie recipe. I know that it is late for this Thanksgiving, but if you are ever looking for a great pumpkin pie recipe, I wholeheartedly recommend this one (oh, and the Queensland Blue Squash, of course).
Now... onto more ghoulish things...
It is October 13, and although it is getting late to think about the perfect Halloween costume, there is still time for good easy costume ideas.
While I was scouring the internet for a child's hood size (for the cutest little bear costume made from only 2 pieces of 8 x 12 wool felt and about an hour - but I will wait.... this pattern will be posted tomorrow) I came across some really neat patterns and ideas and I thought that I would share them with you here:
If you plan to be a princess (or a Queen), or have a little princess in your life, these crowns are both simple and fantastic. Check them out here.
If you are looking for something very easy, quick, and worth a chuckle, become a portrait! Check out this idea here.
If your kids (or you, yourself, because I think that this pattern could easily be 'up-sized') really want to be the coolest mummy around, this is a really neat pattern, check it out here.
And, for the coolest cookie monster around... check here.
Now, I must get back to work on that really adorable teddy bear costume for tomorrow's blog...
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