Crafting tip: Try a Little Fire

So, self admittedly... I am a bit of a pyromaniac.  But here is a crafting tip that might add a little interest to your projects.

First: the disclaimer, please whenever you set fire to ANYTHING, make sure you are in a well ventilated area, and that you have water or a fire extinguisher nearby.  Please wear the right type of clothing, and make sure that what you will be setting fire to isn't combustable.  I don't want to be personally responsible for someone accidentally burning down their home.  

I love fire...I love what it does to things.  The amount of lighters I go through in a month is embarrassing.  I used to hold fire in my hand every night for a pyrotechnic display when I was on tour with Beauty and the Beast.  Lighting a fireball in your hand is a real thrill!  But now that I am always looking for new ways to add dimension to a craft, I turn to my old friend.
Fire will seal the edge on a fraying ribbon (making sure it is a synthetic material).  Natural products will only burn.  Fire will pucker and do wonderful things to a raw edge of a synthetic fabric.  On a photograph, fire will bring out all sorts of strange colors, as well as adding lovely cracks to the edge too....I love this sort of thing.

So please...do it carefully, but next time you're looking for a new way to finish something, try a little fire!
Burn baby burn!

Why "Wrapped In Clover"?

Why did you name your shop "Wrapped In Clover?  I get asked this a lot.  The simple response is that it is an edited phrase from the song my Husband and I danced to at our wedding.  "At Last" by Etta James...it is possibly the most perfect love song ever written.  There are other reasons too.  When I was a Dance Performance major at OCU, there was a beautiful love duet danced to this song in our Spring show.  It was a breathtaking piece with beautiful strong lighting, light flowy costumes, and amazing lifts.  I was in the dance immediately following this number, so I stood in the wings every night and loved watching the magic unfold.  It has always stuck with me.  


At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was Wrapped up In Clover
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last


Clearly it is a love song, but the specific phrase to be "Wrapped up in Clover" means so much more.  When I set out to name my shop, I could have easily come up with something pointing to jewelry, or painting, or flowers...but to be "Wrapped In Clover" has been described as being extremely happy or in an ideal situation. I suspect that if one's heart (as the seat of one's emotions, figuratively speaking) were wrapped in clover, then one would also be ecstatically joyful.  I think it means a heart had good luck, as in four-leaf clover.

I am a jewelry maker, painter, and sewer...but I also make purses, hats, flowers, floral arrangements, and an occasional wood carving and bronze sculpture.  Who wants to be cornered into a specific genre?  Not me.  

So I named my shop Wrapped In Clover...this allows me to make anything that makes me extremely happy...and hopeful it will make you happy too.

Out of the gates we go...

I have been thinking about writing a blog for some time, based on my creative endeavors, and the things I like and like to make.  A way for me to have a voice...to share the side of me that can't help but spill out in everything I do.  I have favorite artists that I hope to share with you...all of us need a little free publicity from time to time.  I am not a writer, so do not come here hoping to find literary genius...or even correct spelling (thank heaven for spell check).  My college days were a long time ago.  But somehow through this journey to create, I keep evolving and finding things that inspire me, and I hope to bring you along that journey with me.

Welcome to Wrapped In Clover....the blog.