Accidental Art

MY STORY

     Each spring, my husband and I get small American flags from our local crafts or dollar store and place them throughout our garden.  As the parents of a US Marine we love to show our support for all our troops.

    As winter approaches, we remove the flags and dispose of them at the local VFW where they have a bin that collects old / torn flags as it is considered disrespectful to just throw out American flags.

   So when the holiday season arrives, we are ready to bring out the  lights and reindeer and this season, we discovered that we missed one of the flags.  It was buried under a couple of months of collected leaves and garden debris.  And although it looked a little sad, I thought it looked amazing, like a flag that had been around for years.

   Now remember this was a flag found at the local store and was a bright and shiny red, white and blue flag.  It had aged beautifully under the natural changes in our garden.

   We have patriotic art in our living room and thought this was a happy accident and I wanted to include this in our collection.   Visiting my craft store for after Christmas savings, I found a great floating frame (and it was buy one, get one!).

   I very carefully put the flag between the two pieces of glass and have a wonderful new art piece to add to our vintage Americana theme.

YOUR TURN

     As we start the new year, keep your eyes and heart open to the possibilities that art and inspiration is so easily found and will consistently rejuvenate your spirits.

    The EVERYDAY MUSE wishes you and your loved ones a peaceful, healthy and crafty 2015!  Thank you all for being a part of my creative journey.

Design Team Challenge @ Decorate To Celebrate - A Message In A Bottle

MY STORY

     It has been such a fun year being on the Decorate to Celebrate Design Team.  If you have not checked out their blog, yet, you must!  Great ideas for all your celebration needs.  And every other week they have challenges that you can show off your creativity and win prizes and recognition.  Decorate To Celebrate

     As the new year approaches, I'm not much of a resolution maker -- my house is still a tad messy; those stubborn 20 pounds never seem to go away and I have not been inside a gym since I don't know when.  So, I tend to be more of a positive affirmation kind a person.

     Over the summer, I saw these adorable messages in a bottle at The Paper Source website.  So for the New Year, I  came up with my version.  My message in a bottle contains a wish for whomever opens the bottle.  I'm thinking these would be adorable at your New Year's Eve dinner, or for your family on New Year's Day.

YOUR TURN

    Any glass container works well - think mason jars, jelly jars, wine bottles.  I had accumulated a ton of Saki bottles....no I did not drink them all at one time.  They are a pretty shape, and although the label is pretty as is, it was also easy to remove.

     Fill up the container 1/2 way with fake snow -- for all these supplies, keep your eyes open right as Halloween is winding down....sales abound!

     Grab up holiday supplies that you have -- I always over buy so I am usually left with goodies from holiday to holiday.  HINT:  I tend to buy supplies in similar color families so I can always use together.  For this example, I'm following a black, white, gold, silver palette.

     Again, from The Paper Source, they had these wonderful affirmations the size of a place card.  Adhere to the BACK of your desired paper.  You can judge how big your paper should be by holding along the side of your container.

     Roll up with the RIGHT side of your paper on the outside.  Wrap with ribbon -- I found these ribbon ornament hangers at the dollar store - perfect size and color for this project. Place inside your container.

     And of course, I added some tinsel glitter for a little more bling.

     I still like the look of chalkboard and found these labels and markers at The Container Store.  Just the right size!  Write and doodle however you want.  HINT:  Treat the chalk marker like paint.....it takes a little bit to dry so be careful not to smudge.

    Glue or tie ribbon around the top, I added some extra embellishment on the outside.  I also had gift stickers from I don't know how many holidays ago and added to the bottom of the container.

     And the mini ornaments make a perfect stopper!!!

     Have fun and share positive reinforcements with all the wonderful people in your life.

Here's to a blessed New Year filled with love, gratitude, peace, joy and CRAFTS!