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Thursday 9 August 2012

I've just crafted my coat!

I've just crafted my coat! well parts of it anyway... other large chunks of it have been added to the craftly stash of materials as I am increasingly drawn to crafting with fabric. Last week I found a really shabby coat at a car boot sale, but it was made of a beautiful thick woollen fabric and (as an ex Warbrobe Mistress I know about this stuff, having made a few cracking errors myself in the washing department) I think someone might have washed it by hand and then tried to tumble dry it!! Well, they nearly felted it!
All I know for sure is that it cost pennies and dye cuts Sizzix flowers beautifully. I also think it's amazing what some folks consider saleable... on the other hand, I bought it, so what do I know! The larger flower dye is my beloved Tattered Florals Tim Holtz Die and the smaller flower dye is a Green Sizzix original which I think is gorgeous and I love it, love it, love it!  I've cut loads of these from the coat material and shall be glittering in earnest for the next few nights. If you haven't tried this technique, I highly recommend it, it's a huge amount of fun, you will end up with unique flowers that you can colour coordinate perfectly with your projects and it costs next to nowt! Speshully if you make them out of old coats that someone else ruined! 
I fear I may have single handedly caused a world glitter shortage in the last couple of nights! After dye cutting I added Stickles and Distress Stickles to the flowers (pretty!) I've been trying to get stuff together ready to make a few  Halloween projects. Something I haven't really done much of. So far, I had marshalled up some of my old bits from forsaken projects (I'm such a squirrel), some heavy felt bottles laboriously cut from an old  Halloween gift bag (love these). I painted an empty chocolate box brown and used the Perfect Pearl mist on the background, which is now mostly covered up. I was just putting everything away for the evening, when I started playing... I liked how it all looked chucked into the box, so, I messed around a little more and 'Ta Dah'... a project, well sort of! I liked it, so I took a piccie or two and here it is.  Everything is just laid down, not stuck, so I will be able to re use them on bigger projects.  
By the way, that's real wax on the candles, I made  that for a 12 tagss of Christmas tag last year and borrowed it! I shall be entering this into several challenges.Blogger's Challenge (alter it, my choccie box)  Studio L3 (Lord Tim's Perfect Pearls Mist) and Our Creative Corner (Nature and Bling)
Technique Challenge 16 Linda's challenge at Studio L3
Bling, Bling and an item from nature Our Creative Corner
Alter It, Bloggers challenge (altered choccie box)
Tim Holtz's Website, love it!
The postie has just been and I got a lovely surprise, Craft Stamper sent me a copy of the edition that I have been published in, I am still child like in my glee at getting published. I firmly believe that we all need dreams, both large and small and that the clearer we can see these dreams, the more the universe can oblige and help them to happen. Well, this was such a dream of mine and bless Katy Fox for making it happen.

EDIT:  I have just seen a feature on the Sizzix website called 'I Spy Saturday' and am going to add this as I used so many Sizzix products here, When don't I?! Sizzix - I Spy Saturday


18 comments:

Redanne said...

Wow Anna, what a great piece, love how you bought the coat and then made the flowers - they are fab. I think I am still as excited as you about Craft Stamper, it is a brilliant achievement and anyone who has not yet seen it should. Good luck with the challenges. A x

Yvonne said...

Love your transformed coat, Anna! What an awesome creative idea!

Kaz Hall said...

Gorgeous make and huge congrats on being published xxx

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

I can't wait to get my edition!!! Congrats again!
And love that you turned your coat into a many colored or is that covered flower arrangement!!! Fab project...love all the elements!!! Love how you think!!!!

Lisa Minckler said...

Wow..you really went to town here on these amazing flowers. I love a creative thinker who recycles! I usually tend to buy clothes strictly thinking, "How will this look on a card?" :) Wonderful combination of nature bits from the flies, bats, pumpkins, wax, flowers and leaves to the now on the endangered list, glitter (HA!) centers.
Wonderful mixed media project.

Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us at Our Creative Corner. Best of luck and we'd love to have you visit again next week!
Lisa xx

Jenny Marples said...

As ever your genius shines through Anna. Doesn't it make you feel good to use something which someone else gets rid of to create a beautiful project to be enjoyed. Can't wait to see more and get my copy of September's Craft Stamper - you clever thing!:)) Hugs, Buttons x

505whimsygirl said...

Thank you so much for your blog hug!!!

Congratulations on being published! What a great feeling that must be.

Those flowers are amazing - love all the glitter!

Hugs,
Kay

Words and Pictures said...

An altered coat - fantastic! Super glittery flowers too...
Alison x

Basement Stamper said...

very cute, I adore those super glittery flowers! Thanks for joining us at Blogger's Challenge this week.

Sue said...

Kinda like Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors, you've made many colors of your boot sale coat! I love your box...especially the bottle of dead flies!

Congrats again on being published.

anna christensen crafts said...

Wow, thanks for everyone's kind comments. Anita and Sue... the Coat of many Colours comment made me smile so much! 'Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat' was the first musical I ever worked on. It was at the London Palladium and I was a dresser! What a coincidence!

chrissie said...

Wonderful ideas with the flowers. I just love anything recycled.

Thank you for the kind comment on my blog.

Love Chrissie xxxxx

Silvia(Barnie) said...

A wonderful piece of art, great details.

Carol said...

Fantastic work Anna and well done for getting you work published in the Craft Stamper magazine.

April said...

I love what you have done with the coat! These flowers are wonderful! I just love them. Your tag below is pretty too! Thanks for commenting on my blog.

Woodworkin' & Good Eats said...

Hi Anna, we really have fun doing projects together. So nice to hear from you again. Your crafting is really innovative and it is a joy to follow your blog.

Love Steve and Connie.

Julia S-W said...

Can't believe I haven't followed you before. Your work is wonderful so I'm your latest follower and now I'm off to have a look at your daughter's blog.
Juliaxx

Anne Marie Hile said...

Anna, you really added some amazing detail to your project! The colors and textures are gorgeous. Thanks so much for joining us this week at Our Creative Corner! :)