For the vineyard in any room...

A friend loveth at all times.
Proverbs 17:17

The grapes on this vase make me think of how rich and juicy life can be sometimes.  A life full of everything you want and need.  Happiness everywhere.  And then as I think of that, my thoughts turn to just the opposite.  Sometimes our lives seem so dry and empty.  I have experienced both kinds of times and different emotions come with each.  Throughout all times in my life, people have been there for me.  People have shared in the joy of my accomplishments and my getting married.  They have been there for me when my grandmother passed away and my father was diagnosed with cancer.  During both kinds of times in the lives of others, I want to be there.  When marriages happen, when babies are born, when a kid I know gets a good grade.  When friends experience the death of a family member, when someone hears a mean comment, when someone is just feeling down for an unexplained reason.  For someone experiencing the exquisite and unmatchable joy given by God, I want to share in that joy.  And for someone who is too weak and too far into mental despair, I want to be there to pray for him/her and let him/her rest.  Together we can hold each other up. 

This vase was made for a room that was already decorated with wine glasses and bottles, and of course grapes!  Three different shades of green tissue paper make up the leaves of the vase.  It is accented with green wire and artificial grapes.  Topped with beautiful deep purple hydrangeas, this vase turned out to be stunning.  

Loves...

Andrea

I am so ready for summer!  Or at least spring!  Bring on the sunshine and warmth!  I am ready for new growth in my foliage and in myself!  

"For the winter is passed. The rain is over and gone. The flowers are springing up. And the time of the singing of the birds has come."            Solomon 2:11-12: 

This sounds beautiful to me!  And as much as I want the visual growth of the outdoors.  I want to feel myself grown spiritually, mentally, physically (healthier), etc.  Girls on the Run is starting soon and I am hoping to motivate those girls, but can't wait to see what their spirit will show me as well!  Everything is a learning experience and this spring I hope to grasp at every opportunity I get for new growth.  

This vase is one of the brightest I have done so far and has reminded me of the bright sunny weather to come!  With lime green tissue paper with hand cut teal tissue paper flowers on it, this vase is accented with iridescent sequins for a little bit of shine!  Hopefully it brings a little bit of brightness into your day too!

Peace to you!
Andrea

My Mid-winter Break

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."  Phillipians 4:6-9 

With a lot on my mind lately, these verses seemed full of comfort.  Mid-winter break has brought some free time, but that is also time to think and dwell and stress and worry.  So to keep my mind busy on something positive, I have been busy!  Since Thursday I have made these 5 vases.  

The first, was a gift for my Aunt Anne.  She's always been there for me and a while back mentioned she'd like a purple vase that is heavy enough to hold gladiolas.  The tissue paper used has a fine purple print and adding the purple cutouts brings the color out more in person.

The second, a pitcher that has been hanging out in the office since I first started doing vases.  Done in yellow, accented with orange, I can picture a bouquet of white, orange, and yellow gerber daisies filling it!  I'm so ready for summer!

 

 This vase is smaller.  About 7 or 8 inches tall I would guess with a milk bottle shape.  Done in black and white plaid tissue paper accented with wide black ribbon and yellow daisy ribbon.  Imagine it filled with yellow and white daisies!  Too cute!

Oh chickens!  While visiting my Aunt Anne and delivering her vase, we were talking about her sister-in-law Judy.  Judy's birthday is tomorrow (Tuesday.)  Because of mid-winter break and all this extra time, I said, "Well, I think I should make Judy a vase for her birthday!"  I asked if Judy collects anything or what her house is like and we listed snowmen, porcelain dolls, and chickens.  Snowmen are seasonal, I'm not good with human features, so that left chickens!  I hope she likes it!

I think I am going to be doing more collages in the future...what do you think?

 

And just for fun, the latest, is the rainbow vase.  I went back to my days as a little girl!  What is more girly than rainbows, sparkles, and butterflies?!  I had so much fun with this vase.  Plus it shows off several colors of tissue paper!

Enjoy!  May God be with you today and always!

Lighthouse Collage

"But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." - John 3:21

This vase was a challenge for me.  It was a custom order and the girl who ordered it asked for a lighthouse theme.  That left it wide open for me.  I wasn't sure what direction it was going to take.  With a little help from the big man upstairs, I was guided to a collage.  This watercolor image by Derek McCrea was the basis for my collage.  

This vase was done in stages.  First I began with the sky, then the water, and finally the rocks.  Once that was looking like a landscape, I started to piece together the lighthouse.  

Finished with a  few details of seagulls and beach flowers and my first collage vase was complete!

Pot for Grandma's Cactus

We had purchased a plain terracotta pot for this cactus.  It was a cactus of my Grandma Novak's that was given to me after she passed away in September of 2006.  God's work has kept this cactus alive!  And it has been growing...so much that it is time for a new pot.  The little green plastic pot is just getting too small.  We found the wide-mouth pot at Meijer and thought it would be perfect.  We are going to replace the plastic green pot with another one similar in shape but larger in size and then fill between the two pots with decorative rocks.  I will definitely post an update when we do that!

As for decorating the wide-mouth pot...I started with plain brown tissue paper.  I wasn't sure what direction I was going to go from there, but knew I wanted to keep colors neutral.  I thought about cream colored tissue paper hand cut in a simple shape, and then started exploring some of my scrapbook paper.  I saw some tans, ivory, and orange.  I was going to go with orange, but as I have been not sure of the settings for the Cricut, I decided to do a practice sheet.  I found one that was about the same weight as the one I was going to use and went for that practice run.  Much to my surprise, the flowers cut quite well!  AND they just happen to match nicely too!  So practice run ended up producing some keepers!  Randomly, I placed them on the pot with a little extra Mod Podge as the paper is thicker.  Finished with some ruffly brown ribbon, this pot is going to be a great addition to our kitchen!  Todd thought the ruffles were a little girly, but I reminded him that I spend more time in the kitchen so it is ok!  I finally have a piece of my own handiwork displayed in my house! 

Beach anyone?

This globe reminds me of the beach.  From the deep blue sea to the white clouds in the sky, this globe is accented with shades of blue beach glass and white sea shells.  Fill it and use it as a pen holder, or as shown here, place a candle inside and let it accent your beachy bathroom.  Some nice warm thoughts to go with the "Snow eating breeze" that is flowing through the area!  Have a great week!

Spring is coming...a new release!

Spring has sprung in my craft room today!  It may be freezing, snowing, and blowing outside, but there's lots of warmth in here!  

And when I think of spring, I think of Easter.  And when I think of Easter, I think of our awesome Lord that has risen for us!  Sometimes when life is dark and dreary like the middle of the winter, it is hard to remember that our Lord is always with us!  Today from these bright and cheery colors, I am reminded (in around about way) of this!  "He is not here, but He has risen...!" - Luke 24:6  Oh the excitement that fills my heart to think of Jesus' rising!  I hope you are able to feel the excitement as well as we prepare our hearts for the upcoming Lenten season!  And when you look at the white snow falling this weekend, think of the linen wrapping falling as He rose for us!