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About
Me
When I
was 8 years old, I learned to crochet - a potholder out of
yarn first, then a doily out of thread. I was mesmerized by
the idea of creating something beautiful. And thus began my
creative journey. Since then I have tried many crafts. Some
were fads whose popularity (and availability of supplies)
came and went. Many are traditional crafts and variations
on them. All are self-taught. Among my favorites: crochet;
counted cross-stitch; Christmas ornaments and decorations;
and quilling, the most artistically satisfying of them all.
Copyright
©2011.
All rights reserved.
Content
included on this site is created and copyrighted by Barbara
Rose. Feel free to use my original design DIY kits or tutorials
for your personal projects or any of my published designs
for inspiration for your own designs. If using photos or commentary
found here, please give appropriate credit and a link back
to creative.bcdenterprises.net.
Visit
My Etsy Shop
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Blog
Archive
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7/31/2012
July Treasuries
Etsy treasuries are collections of 12-16 items based on a theme
or similarity. They are created by Etsy members (called curators)
featuring their favorite selections from other members' shops. In
July, items from my shop were included in a three treasuries (click
on a photo to see the treasury):
7/21/2012
Custom Card |
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An
Etsy customer told me she really liked my
pink cameo card and wondered if I could make
one in lavender. Unfortunately, I had cameos in pink, blue
and black only. The customer found someone on Etsy who sells
the cameos in
several colors, inluding lavender. They are all
oval so I had to modify the design slightly, but
it turned out nicely (below). I liked the design
out so much, I put it on a paper mache box, too.
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Click
on any of these pictures to see them in my Etsy
shop.
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7/7/2012
Another Team Challenge
The
PaperTwirlies Team is having another team challenge. This time,
as posted on the PaperTwirlies
Blog, the task is to create a quilled item inspired from a selection
of crocheted slippers by CrochetGal using any picture in the
listing and/or any aspect of it as inspiration.
I was immediately
drawn to the rose-colored slipper in the middle because I was named
(middle name) after my grandmother Rose. I saw her only a couple
times in my life before she died when I was 11 but we did keep up
a periodic correspondence - she answered every letter I wrote her.
I remember asking my mother how she was able to write long letters
to her mother. She assured me that I would write more as I acquired
vocabluary and life experiences. These 2 women gave me a solid foundation
for language skills, very appreciated.
One more digression:
my dear son pointed out to me that the pink slipper is the shortest
- he likes to tease me about my height (4'10''). I tease him about
his humongous nose (which he's actually "grown into" as
an adult), so I guess we're even! 
My first thought
when I saw the challege picture was that the slippers look comfy
and how nice they'd be to slip on after wearing shoes all day -
especially if that shoe was a stiletto. I have long been mesmerized
by stilettos - while I would love to be able to use heels to boost
my height, I've never been able to wear them because of foot problems.
And I simply cannot fathom how women bend their feet to get them
into 6" stilettos, much less stand and walk on them - and dance
on them, too! Must have longer feet than mine...
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First
step (pun intended )
was to create a template for a stiletto; it wasn't hard to
find a picture of one on the internet. I used Paint Shop Pro
to enlarge the image and create the shape, then printed it
on white heavy weight paper.
After
cutting it out, I then traced it from the back onto rose-pink
cardstock and cut it out.
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wanted to use the beehive method (described on this
blog entry) to fill the stiletto heel. A framework is needed
for this intricate filigree to keep it's shape - a frame that
will not remain a part of the design. |
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I Scotch-taped
(both sides) a length of contrasting quilling paper lengthwise
(explanation in a minute) and used the heel portion of the original
template (reversed) to pin it into the heel shape (the "frame").
A few strips of rose-colored quilling paper glued end-to-end
to create a length of beehive curls filled in the frame.
Mod Podge
heavily dabbed on the curls using a small brush (avoiding
getting much on the taped frame) stabilized the filigree design
and glued the curls together. Once dry, the frame was removed
and the heel kept its shape. I glued it to the (front of the)
rose-pink cardstock cutout.
Explanations
- the tape does not absorb Mod Podge although it can adhere
slightly. That's why care must be taken to avoid touching
the frame with the brush. Care must also be taken to keep
the Mod Podge on the back of the curls only - it cannot touch
the paper template below or it will stick to what will later
be the front of the design. This is all worked from the back
so that the front remains pretty.
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Large,
open, double-coils made from the rose-color quilling paper
fill the rest of the shoe. To make the double coils, strips
of paper are folded in half and wrapped around a small dowel,
creating coils that resemble the beehive in the heel. These
pieces are arranged carefully and the coil direction is varied
(clockwise and counter-clockwise) to create a pleasing continuity
among them.
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Gaps are
filled with snippets of the quilling paper.
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| Finally,
I mounted the finished shoe on an 8" by 10" piece
of scrapbook paper with a soft, subtle design. |
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