4.7.11 ... pierre ... and cricket comes home

i continued working on my pierre project that i started on yesterday. stage two i suppose we can call this. i cut circles to make magnets and pins and i made a pile of extra pieces for another project. i love these images.

if i had a nickel for every time i read this story. such fun. this book is a discard from a school library so its condition is no longer viable in its original state. but look how much new life a potential piece of trash/recycling can have. and i am only beginning.

in other news, cricket came home for the evening in a trial experiment. she is a fighter. i cannot believe the will she has, given the critical condition she has been and continues to be in all week. she is very weak and has a long way to go but we are not giving up on her. here she is this afternoon with scout who was learning how to syringe feed her. we left her for the afternoon to complete her iv hydration and went back for her at closing time.

and here's what she and scoutie look like right now ...

how sweet is this? and, by the way, love my iphone. or as i call it, my pony. i hope we all get a good night's rest. but either way, we're all together and that's a happy night.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

2.15.11 ... 1930 era greeting card magnets

i have a collection of very old - 1920s - 30s - greeting cards that my lovely and wonderful sister sent me. i have only used a few of them over the past year or so that i've had them because i find they don't lend themselves to reincarnation easily. at least i am finding them challenging. but today i made these magnets by piecing a few things together in creative ways. i think they came out pretty sweet.

i will list them in my joonbeam etsy shop. and... last but not least... the valentine cookies i promised to show you. they are so delicious.

and pretty, too, don't you think?

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

Support Local Farms ...

Hello Artists. Today I worked all day long on Valentines. So more suspense there. But I also made this set of upcycled magnets or thumbtacks {9}. They can be either ~ I haven't attached anything to the backs yet. I will list these in my Etsy shop, joonbeam. I have four earth friendly themed Etsy shops. But joonbeam was my first and is now devoted mostly to pins, magnets and {what I have coined} my Diamond Girl Thumbtacks. They're super heavy duty. They're not for sissies. While searching for the word 'it's' for a valentine project, I was drawn to these images from a Bon Apetite in my stash and just couldn't resist. In order to salvage every image I love, three of these ~ barn, wine, windmill ~ are carefully cut out and collaged onto other bits. And I actually found ONE 'it's' which was a relief, let me tell you. If someone had put me in charge of the Empire State Building, trust me, we'd still be under construction. But I digress. It has been pouring rain here once again and dark as night all day so I really had a time getting clear/decent photos. {I include the last photo because I think it's groovy. Hope someone else enjoys it along with me.}

Until tomorrow ~ once again ~ It's a great day for America, everybody. Yes it is.

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from thing-a-day 2010

Upcycled PlaceMats ~ Personal History Theme

Jon Cody's Placemat ~ Close Up Views

I recently created these two placemats for the newlyweds. I based the design on some vintage
placemats we own and love. Everything about these has a memory connection including the fact that Jon Cody & Val have dined on ours many times and now that we live so far apart I wanted them to have a copycat version. I hope they'll enjoy thousands of happy meals with them and remember the good times and meals we shared together.

Val's Placemat ~ Close Up View

States Where They Have Lived
Are The Center Double Square
Jon Cody {above}
Colorado.Virginia.Oregon. New Hampshire.

Val grew up in New Hampshire
in the Upper Valley Area
which encompasses a section of Vermont,
which is, fortuitously, on this piece.
She & Jon Cody met there
in 10th grade. They've
been together ever since
and their current home, Massachusetts,
joins Vermont on Val's mat.

All of the squares were chosen for a reason, too. For example, the kitty pieces are scraps from the handmade mitts I made for them last year. They had just gotten their first kitty, Mr. Boo Radley. Notice that Jon Cody's kitty is manly. Val's has hearts. :) The pale aqua neon lizard squares were incorporated because they were once part of Jon Cody's favorite shorts when he was a wee spud.

All of the fabrics are leftover
from other projects and are 100% cotton.
I had a lot of fun making these prototypes.
I am going to make some extras for us next.

Hope you enjoyed the post.
Thanks for stopping by.
Until next time...

ox
joon

A New Project ~ Handmade Oven Mitts ~ Earth Friendly, Naturally!

I saw an article about these on Craft Daily and had to try them. We need hot mitts. But first ... Dusty's 28th BiRtHDaY! The geckos are from a favorite pair of his Hawaiian style shorts when he was very young in the 1980s. I started with these and designed the other fabrics around them.

The lining is an old hospital gown from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Although Dust never wore this one, he was in the hospital a number of times as a tot ... including one ER visit for a cougar attack, but that's another story ... so I felt this was another appropriate memento fabric. Scout did have her tonsils out at DHMC. I did not pilfer the gown. I bought it from a community action thrift store.

The remaining fabrics are from my theater muslin stash leftovers and a beautiful de-stash from a truly gifted quilter friend of Jon Cody & Val's. Speaking of Val, her BiRtHDaY is just 3 days after Dusty's so I made her some mitts, too. They celebrate their brand new and first ever kitty, Mr. Boo Radley. You can see those mitts on the right hand side of this page in the flickr slideshow and access my flickr there if you'd like to see my comments on those fabric choices.

My next pair are ... finally ... for us! I found some United States Fabric I am crazy-going-nuts over and HAD to have it. Can't wait to settle into our new home and start sewing. Will share those another time ~ hopefully soon. Thanks for stopping by and viewing my green art with heart. What upcycled project have you made lately? ox joon

A Little Bit Different Style Upcycled Tee Carry~All Tote

This is my first upcycled T shirt Carry~All. I made it for a wonderful friend as a surprise gift. I can't wait until she receives it. It's all ready for the postman. :) But first...

I started by adding a liner {wrong sides together} because the T shirt was quite thin. Oh, yes, I should say here that it was beyond the clothing life stage. The liner is also a former blouse. If you know me even the teeniest little bit, you know they came from thrift stores. This is {at least} their third life.

I wanted this bag to have my own signature style, which I call
Thread Tramp Art ~ with heart :). Here you can see the pinked edges being basted before the next step ~ simply turning them under & leaving them raw.

Just for kicks, I turned one edge the opposite way. I added marbled fabric strips to the straps for 3 reasons: style, durability & added length. A handy key clip extension piece is attached along one seam. It flops inside or out at will!

Inside design is as much fun as outside. The little gecko is from my boys' favorite pair of shorts. They date back to 1980 -ish. Still going strong.

I sewed up the side and bottom. Added the straps and here is the finished creation. As my lovely friend, Pearl, says: TADA!

I love it and I hope my friend will too. Maybe I will make another one. Well, what would you do if your mother asked you? :) {Seuss quotes, anyone?}

A little flying housewife post

I made this UTZ bag upcycled pocket for a new pen pal friend I met via my flying housewife etsy shop. Yes, some people write back to me! How fun is that? This pen pal inspired me to make this funky new creation. By now, you all know how much I LOVE to recycle and turn trash into functional art. But, guess what? There are more where I come from! Heavens to Murgatroid, can you imagine? It's so true. I would not lie to you. I had been looking at this potato chip bag for a while. I mean, look at that retro gal and the lime green base color? Irresistible. This sprang into my head and flew out on the wind across the miles. I wonder what she thinks of it? Well...what would YOU if it arrived in your mailbox? ox joon



PS. These are regional potato chips. Delicious. Support local products. Buy handmade! Be groovy! I hope this project inspires you to upcycle something from one of your local producers. If so, please let me know. I'd love to see it! Because environment is everything.