Hello and welcome to The Capricious Crafter blog! Who or what is the capricious crafter? Well, that would be me, Becky, a sixty something child of God, wife, daughter, aunt, great aunt, friend and lover of crafting, cooking, reading, travel, and more. My husband and I have been married almost thirty years and are looking forward to his retirement at the end of 2014. Our plans are to buy a new camper and hit the road as much as possible. Oh, the possibilities are endless for our future!

I am a child of the 1950's and that is definitely my favorite 'era'. I collect Fire King items from the 1940's and 50's, clear glass or crystal glassware, especially pitchers, cream and sugar sets, etc., as well as old dishware and serving pieces, vintage fabrics and so much more!

I have been crafting for as long as I can remember, and definitely from my early childhood. I remember my mother teaching me how to make paper dolls from the Sears catalog and 'shirt cardboard' from the cleaners. And now I still love playing with paper! My primary crafty passion is paper crafting items such as mini albums, cards, tags, etc., however I also enjoy crocheting, some sewing, embroidery, mixed media art and art journaling, felt crafts and so much more.

My purpose for this blog is to share the crafts I make, foods I cook, decorating and caring for my home, new products I try, treasures I find at estate and yard sales, my collections, and anything else I come up with. I hope you will join me on this journey ... it's going to be a very 'capricious' ride!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Sharing ... Mixed Media On Old Dictionary Pages

I am now addicted to painting on old papers, especially old dictionary pages.  I shared my first couple of these on my last post, but now I want to share my latest ... they are so pretty!!!

A friend of mine (some of you may know him, he is Ken Oliver who used to work for Spellbinders and now is doing some work for Prima) was given the family's old Purple Martin (bird) house by his father, and now uses it in his new home as a decoration.  Anyway, I so loved the bird house that I decided to paint it, and here is my finished product ...





I took creative license and painted MY version a light blue, and turned that top floor, which was facing left on the true birdhouse, toward the front.  I also added the pole and flower!  My friend's mother, Linda, loved it so that she wanted to buy it for a wall in their new home, but I am sending it to  her as a housewarming gift from me!  Here are some close-ups ...




The products I used were water colors, Gelatos and assorted pens and markers.





After I finished this one, I was on a real artsy high, so I kept going!  Here are some of my other pieces ...


The gold key and lacy circle are done with a stamp and heat embossing.  I also used water colors, acrylics, Gelatos, and assorted pens and markers.



A bright sunflower, mostly water colors and gelatos.




I don't know why I decided to do the lettering, but it came out pretty cute!  Still watercolors, gelatos, and assorted pens and markers.




I really like this one, even though it was probably the hardest of the birdhouses that I painted.  Same products as all those before.

So, tell me ... what do  you think!  Do you like them, hate them, would you buy them, because I'm thinking of selling them.  I really want to know!  Blessings,



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