Saturday, December 28, 2019

Christmas continues...

I finally got into the studio today. I didn't know what to do, except clean house, but what fun is that? So, as we say in French comme ça va (as it goes), I decided to start a new project. New projects generally create messes, so as we also say comme de fait (as it does) I made the already big mess beaucoup plus much bigger. 

But the mess is worth it! Because look what I pulled off. Today. I know. It is after Christmas. That's okay. I just had an itch. It's been weeks, WEEKS I say, since I went into the studio and turned on a machine. 

Today would have been my dad's birthday, so I figured I needed a little creativity to counteract the tears. It worked. Making a few little happy things and praying a rosary tonight are two great ways to fight the depression of the holidays. 

And look how happy! A couple of little hearts. Some strings of beads. Red flowers. Shimmery satin flowers. 

It took me almost all afternoon. I got stuck on those red flowers. That's what happens when you don't have the correct materials. I really wanted some red flowers. Three attempts in, I decided to use the smaller one. Then finally, I remembered the basket of sheer fabrics. That worked beautifully. 

I have bolts of white satiny fabric, so I used it to make some little hearts, two I embellished with ready-made trims from a drawer. And with some small squares, I made what might be closed tulips. They are cute in person, I'm not sure about in these pictures.

Some gold ribbon serves as string for one of the pieces and strings of small beads work for the other one. 

The tassel on the right is actually a ribbon trim that I just sewed into a circle and added beads to create a head. The strings of beads on that piece are the ones I strung before Christmas. I decided that they weren't showy enough as single strands and planned to made a few more to make into some sort of tassel. Well, here's the tassel I came up with. 



Each piece has six or seven strands of decoration and every strand is different, which is what I like most about them. They look great with the purchased decorations but add some uniqueness to the tree. They may even add a little elegance but, being handmade, they are also simple and homey.

Can you guess where I got my inspiration? 

5 comments:

Karen S said...

These are lovely decorations. Making them after Christmas makes a lot of sense to me. It is no longer busy and there are no deadlines to meet, so a perfect time to sew.

Preeti said...

The decorations are beautiful. Christmas will be here again and you will be ready. Creativity follows no rules - just flows like a river. But a stream of creativity to combat the stream of tears is an effective way to keep moving. Wishing you and yours a very happy new year, full of joy and creative spirit!!!
I wonder where you get your inspiration. Not like you are a Pinterest gal :-p

Ann said...

Clever you. They are lovely and will look wonderful next year, too.

jenclair said...

Oh, marvelous, Mary! I love them all! Yes, keeping busy, especially with something beautiful, is a good way to combat grief. We never get over the loss of our parents, but remembering them with love in any way we can is wonderful.

Your work is gorgeous, and I may try making some of these myself. At least, I am going to add them to my "next Christmas" list. They would make treasured gift. Beads, hearts, red flowers, and tassels--LOVE!

jenclair said...

Maybe we can keep each other on track in the "next Christmas" category!