Come play!

I put my Etsy shop LILLEHUS on vacation while I rethink what I want to do with it, and I've started posting on my other blog (http://karenanneglick.blogspot.com).

I hope you'll come join me over there - I'd love to have you see what I've been up to!

Cheers,
Karen Anne

Something new...

I've been wanting to try drawing on china and the other day, when I was in Michaels, I found one of the Porcelaine 150 pens, so I got it and tried it out on an old white china dinner plate I had gotten at a garage sale. After you draw on the china you let it dry for 24 hours and then put it in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes to make it dishwasher proof. Easy-peasy, huh?

Here's my plate:

Oh what fun! The pens come in colors, too - and in different point sizes. (I used the fine point on this plate.)

I think I'm heading back to the store tomorrow to get a few more. I've go more of the garage-sale china to practice on. I predict the day will zip by and none of the cleaning I had planned will get done.

So be it - I got creatin' to do! (P.S. If you'd like to, check out the small art quilts I've been making everyday in a new practice I started this week. They're over on my other blog here and for sale here!)

Leftovers...

Have scraps leftover from making a purse out of a sweater? Great! Make a flower! As in:

 

I'm having such fun experimenting!

Another little purse...

I made another purse today:

I used another striped sweater, but this time I cut it up and pieced it - and inserted an orange/yellow striped upholstery fabric from my stash. The off-white fabric is from remnants of the slipcovers I made for the living room sofas, and the button is a great ceramic one I found somewhere and hand on hand. The lining is just from a fat quarter I had on the shelf, but I like the color and pattern with the stripes.

It's cute, but I like the one I made yesterday better. This one is a bit fussy and I don't think the results are worth the extra time it took. The simplicity of yesterday's is just much more appealing. So tomorrow I'll make another and see if I can settle on a design and then maybe make some for the shop. Now to figure out price...

What I did today...

I'm still fighting a nasty cold, but I managed to make a little wristlet bag that I'm pleased with:

I made it without a pattern because it's more fun that way! Materials include a recycled striped cotton sweater that I fused with a lightweight knit stabilizer before cutting, a washed heavyweight linen that was in my stash, and, for the lining, a recycled striped linen shirt. All the recycled parts came from my favorite Salvation Army - love them!

I'm still working out some kinks, so this isn't something for the shop, but eventually something similar might get listed. (The colors in the bag are accurate, but the backgrounds sure came out blue today - better go check my camera settings!)

What I look like...

You'd think I'd dress like this to further my "branding" of Lille Hus, huh?

Well sometimes I do. Just ask my friends and family who are often perplexed, amused, or really horrified by my choices. I take full advantage of be a Creative Type.

But this isn't me. This is Karoliina, 34, as featured on one of my favorite sites, Hel Looks that shows snaps of folks dressed for the day in Helsinki, Finland. It's a great site for inspiration. So many wear second hand items that they get for free. And a lot wear things that belonged to their mom or grandmother. I love that!

Anyway...

If I never need an employee, I'll call Karolinna. She'll fit right in around here.

Spring Cards...

Finally getting the spring/Easter designs listed! A couple of others will go up in the morning.

They looks so cute, don't they?