The creativity of people never ceases to amaze me - even in an antique shop - sometimes especially in an antique shop - where you can find all kinds of contraptions and thingamajigs made or crafted long ago by someone's creative spark. It's kind of odd how the person is long ago gone, but the item still remains, isn't it? After all, it's just a "thing" made by a human who is so complex and who has such great potential. Yet the thing is what remains, years and years later, long after the person has died. In some ways, it is the mark that that person left upon the world. A creative finger print.
In the "old days" folks would create things with innovation, using odds and ends of bits and pieces of what they had on hand. Not because it was trendy to upcycle or that they were environmentally conscious (not that they weren't,) but because those bits and pieces might have been all they had on hand to use. These folks actually had to think to create something, not stop by their local big box craft retailer or flip on QVC to purchase the latest boxed craft project, or even subscribe to receive a box in the mail at timed intervals, all parts included.
Today I'll share with you just a couple of things I came across last week when I visited a local antique shop. I hope these things inspire you to create something unique as well!
First up (photo above and below,) behold the humble piece of broken jewelry and junk drawer oddity, creatively transformed into a miniature diorama! Yes, the doll house sized rooms you see above and below are created from bits and pieces of old jewelry, findings, and odds and ends.
Mini rooms created from bits of old jewelry and miscellaneous findings
Mini rooms created from bits of old jewelry and miscellaneous findings
My heart made a little jump when I came across this next one, and if you are a quilter or love to sew, you are sure to love it too.
Yes, this one made me grab my camera! How cute is that? This little sewing bird looks to be handmade and has a hole for scissors that give the bird his beak. Wooden pegs hold spools of thread - with one serving as a hat - and other sewing notions surround him. Love it!
This next one was found at the same shop, and though not antique, I thought it was creative and pretty, so out came the camera. This person took pressed leaves and flowers and decoupaged them to distressed wood cabinet doors, a small cabinet, and canvases. There were a few areas of the flowers that looked very delicate that could have used more glue, decoupage medium, or even a thin coat of liquid resin to increase their life because you could see them pulling away from the wood, but they were pretty either way and I hope they serve as creative inspiration for you!
Let me know what do you think!
Which do you like best?
Have a great week!
Which do you like best?
Have a great week!
Laura
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