Button Nails for your art display!

I have a colorful collection of ACEOs - Art Cards, Editions, Originals - little 2-1/2" by 3'1/2" cards that I have collected over the last few years. I've been displaying them on a single cord with little clothespins to clip them to the line.

When I decided to make a wall display using a narrow section of one wall in my art studio, I wanted to hang each ACEO from a hanger or a nail.  I wanted to make each hanger match the colors in the ACEO.  As I stood in my art studio looking around for inspiration, I saw my jars of buttons! Right then, button nails were born!

For each ACEO, I choose a yarn that matched the colors in the ACEO and taped a short piece of that yard to the back for a hanger.  Then I chose a button to match each ACEO. 

I used E6000 to glue each button to the flat head of a sheet rock nail. 

I stood them up to let the glue dry.

I first arranged my ACEOs on the floor to make an arrangment that would fit my space and one that I liked.  I marked the placement of each nail on my wall with a pencil.  I decided I wanted the head of each button nail to stick out from the wall - not be too close to the wall. .

I knew that I didn't want to pound on the button to put the individual button nails in the wall, so I first pounded a plain sheet rock nail in the wall.  I pulled that nail back out, using pliers.  Then I put the nail with the button in the hole I had made in the wall board.

I made extra button nails too, so I can collect more ACEOs!

If you have any questions about making your own button nails, please contact me through one of my on-line shops on ArtFire or Etsy.  Have fun!

Linda Harbin
MidwestieLady on ArtFire
MidwestieLady on Etsy
ISeeAnimals on ArtFire

The Whooping Cranes have arrived - they're BACK!!

My alarm went off at 6:00 am this morning. After a quick breakfast, I dressed in warm winter clothes and boots and headed off in my car to Homosassa, Florida - 40 minutes away.  I was going to an exciting event and I pictured lots of people gathered in the WalMart parking lot - it was the designated place to be! 

When I arrived at the parking lot, there were only about 10 cars. So I snapped a photo and waited. At sunrise around 7:30 am, more cars arrived. Some people went into WalMart but others sat in their cars and trucks.  Those were the ones like me - waiting for the exciting flyover!

We all knew that the last five young whooping cranes in the Class of 2010 would leave at sunrise from the Dunnellon area 26 miles to the north and follow an ultralight plane in their winter quarters at the Chassahowitza National Wildlife Refuge south of Homosassa. Other young cranes from this group have already arrived at other winter quarters north of here, and today was the final leg of this year's migration.  The journey of 1,285 air miles that began in Necedah, Wisconsin on October 10, 2010 would be brought to a conclusion today with the delivery of the last five juvenile Whooping cranes to the Chassahowitzka Refuge - 73 migration days later.

As the sun rose and the day became brighter, we watched to the north as we waited.  We slowly came out of our cars and gathered in little groups to chat with others and watch. There was very little wind and the morning was pretty chilly - around 40 degrees, but I was too excited to feel the cold.  For me, this flyover was something I had wanted to see for years.

Then someone shouted "There they are!" and we could see the tiny pale orange ultralight plane off to the north. As it came closer, we could see the tiny dots of four whooping cranes flying on the left side of the ultralight.  They flew directly over us and I managed to snap three photos, hoping they were focused so I'd be able to crop and enlarge them.  The fifth whooping crane came next, flying alone next to the second ultralight, but they were farther to the west and not directly over us, so I wasn't able to get a photo of that one.

The photo at the top of this post was the first photo I took of the cranes.  Below are the others:

Before sunrise in Homosassa, Florida:

Just as the sun came up - WalMart parking lot in Homosassa, Florida:

As the ultralight plane and the four whooping cranes came into view and flew overhead:

Here's the home web site for this year's Operation Migration, which is now complete for the Class of 2010.  You can learn about this year's migration, how the young cranes are raised in Wisconsin and how they are trained to prepare them for this first migration.  More photos of today's flyover are posted there too:

http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

One thing that I learned today from people I met at the flyover - the young cranes are not following the ultralight plane.  They are following a person dressed in a crane suit who is sitting in the ultralight calling them with a special crane caller.  Another tidbit - before they are even hatched, the baby cranes still in their eggs listen to recorded sounds of an ultralight plane.  I didn't take the closeup photo of the two cranes directly above, but wanted to share it with you. Aren't they beautiful? They are the tallest birds in North America standing five feet tall.

Operation Migration is a vital part in saving these beautiful endangered whooping cranes.  What an exciting morning for all of us to see today's flyover.  I wish you had been able to see it with me.  Add it to your list of things to do - go with Linda to see a flyover of the Class of 2011, ok?

Linda Harbin
MidwestieLady

Painting on Glass

During the Christmas holiday, I visited my sister's home near Orlando, Florida.  Her Christmas tree was decorated with many keepsake ornaments and also many handmade ones.  I took the time to photograph several of the handpainted ornaments I had given her over the years.  As I edited and filed these photographs in my PC, I decided to share them with you here on my blog. Please excuse the imperfect photos as I was just trying to capture the different designs I've painted over the years. These are not all of the designs I painted, but they will give you suggestions to try.

If you have never painted on glass, now is the perfect time to try it.  Right now in January, many of the craft stores are having sales on glass ornaments, both the clear ones and the painted ones.  This is the time to stock up on glass ornaments to paint so you'll be ready for next Christmas.  Also, heart-shaped glass ornaments can be painted for Valentine's Day too!

I use FolkArt Enamels - acrylic paint for glass and ceramics for my glass ornaments. I don't cure them in the oven after painting as the paint bottle suggests. Instead, I let my glass painted ornaments air dry and consider them permanently cured after 2 or 3 weeks.  I clean the surface of the glass ornament with alcohol before painting. Test the surface in a tiny spot first with the alcohol if you are using a painted glass ball -  to make sure no paint comes off.

The ornaments below are examples of painted ornaments, rather than clear ones.

Here are more designs from past years:

This little heart shape would make a perfect Valentine's ornament too!

I love the little reindeer on this snowman's scarf.

I also painted reindeer faces with bird houses handing from their antlers!  I'll need to look for one to photograph to share. The bird with the button is also an ornament that I made for everyone in our family.

I hope your January shopping leads you to glass ornaments and you consider exploring glass painting.  You will only need 5 colors for most of the designs I painted - white, black, red, green and a blue.

I'd love to hear your comments and also the results of your glass painting, so click on "comments" below.

Have fun!
Linda Harbin
MidwestieLady

Original Art from the ArtMix Guild on ArtFire.com

On ArtFire.com, artisans can join a guild, a group of like-minded artisans. ArtMix Guild is a group of mixed media artists.

The above original watercolor art showcases the talent of Stacey Merrill, one of the members of ArtMix.  This beautiful art is available in Stacey's studio, ArtSnark, on ArtFire.com.

Stacey offers mixed media art, as well as watercolor art and other mediums.

Follow this link to visit her shop, and tell her "Linda said to say Hi!"

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=2435481

Today may be the last day to shop for Christmas....           Go for it!

Linda Harbin

Santa's Sleigh Bells

This painting hangs in my bedroom and always brings back memories when I see it. My mom painted it when she was in her 70s and gave it to me. This painting is her memory of  the farm house and land that belonged to my grandparents in rural Iowa.  My parents and I lived in a small mobile home on the same farm.  I loved the farm animals, fishing in the small creek down the dirt road, picking wild strawberries, and all the other adventures that growing up on a farm can bring.

My favorite Christmas memory happened on this farm.  Our family always gathered at my grandparent's house for Christmas Eve when I was growing up in the early 1950s. Christmas was exciting, with my grandma cooking special food and lots of pies and decorating her house. It was one of the times when my aunts and uncles all came, bringing all my cousins. Everyone would stay over and we'd have fun on Christmas day going sledding.

One year an older cousin put on Grandpa's big boots and secretly went outside to make "Santa tracks" in the snow.  He walked in those big boots around my grandparent's house and out to the driveway. After he came back in, we gathered all the little cousins and took them outside to show them the Santa foot prints - to prove that Santa knew where Grandpa and Grandma's house was and he would surely come back that night to leave presents.

They were amazed. They stood there in their bulky snowsuits and snow boots staring at the big footprints. Then we told them to  look up in the sky to see if we could see Santa with his sleigh and reindeer.

I remember it was one of those very cold, still winter nights in Iowa.  As we all stood in the deep snow  looking up at the stars in the sky, suddenly we heard sleigh bells from far away!  The little cousins started screaming "I hear Santa! I hear him!!" while the rest of us looked at each other and wondered who had planned that little trick. The little ones were so thrilled and delighted!  We quickly agreed "Yes, those are Santa's sleigh bells!!"

None of us had planned anything. Later we talked about it and all we could ever figure out was that somewhere down the road or across the fields, another farm family decided to celebrate their Christmas eve by going outside and ringing their strap of sleigh bells. Their timing was perfect for our family! The only other explanation? Maybe it really was Santa...

What's your favorite Christmas memory?  I hope it makes you smile...

Linda Harbin

My Vintage Christmas Ornaments

I love vintage Christmas ornaments! I began collecting them over 30 years ago, when I ws browsing through a thrift store right after Thanksgiving and found a tiny thin box of twisted metal icicles. I immediately remembered that my grandparents hung these same little icicles on their Christmas tree years before. As I purchased them, I felt like I had found a true treasure!

That year I also purchased a new set of bubble lights for my tree. They were not exactly the same as the ones my grandparents had used on their tree, but they were pretty and bubbled and I loved them.

Since that time, I've collected many different styles of vintage Christmas ornaments. Many I've found in thrift stores in late November. I think people start sorting through their ornaments about this time and donate the older ones, not realizing that they may be valuable vintage ornaments. Often in a thrift store, I'll find a beautiful paper-thin vintage glass ornament in a plastic bag filled with modern day ornaments.

When I discovered eBay and other online venues, I purchased a few special ornaments, like one from Russiea and a few clip-on birds. I have a tall narrow tree that looks victorian that I decorate each year with my vintage ornaments, plus ones that I've handmade or painted.

Earlier this year, I responded to a reporter's query looking for a Florida resident who collected vintage ornaments. I unpacked my ornaments and took several photos to send him, and also wrote about my collecting tips and how to store vintage ornaments. One of my photos and most of my writing made the final edit for his article. You can find it online at: http://www.scenesarasota.com/inside.html
At the top of the page click on "inside Scene" then choose "past issues" from the drop down menu. When the photos of the past covers come up, choose the November issue. Use the arrow on the right side of thecover to turn the pages through the issue until you see the vintage ornaments on the left and the article on the right. Click in the middle of these two pages to zoom in and see the photos close up and read the article. Most of the writing on the right side of the article is mine. The little brass tree and ornaments in my photo is on display all year long in my art studio. I love the photos from the other collectors too, especially the santas.

Below are more photos of some of my favorite vintage ornaments:

It's so easy to start your own collection of vintage Christmas goodies.  Out there somewhere, right where you live, a special vintage ornament or decoration is just waiting to be found!

Merry Christmas!
Linda Harbin

For those night time feathered friends!

I have the perfect solution for those birds who want to come to my back yard at night and have a late night snack - a lighted bird feeder!

I'm just teasing!  I looked out my window and my bird feeders were glowing like they were lighted inside. The evening sunset was shining directly on them and they were beautiful.  So I snapped this photo and wanted to share it with you!

I wonder what the birds were thinking when they saw this!  I have cardinals who come right at dusk and I'll bet they wondered about all the light.

And that's sand in the photo, not snow. This is Florida and yes, it's cold this week, but no snow. :o)

Click on the word "comments" below to read the comments left by those who have read and enjoyed this little story. Please feel free to leave your own comment too.

Linda