DIY Melted Crayon Artwork

 So, the most amazing pictures keep popping up on Pinterest of these richly colored melted crayon canvases. Mr. Bear and I, being rather handy, decided it looked like a fun project and we set about recreating it as a wedding gift for our lovely friends.

We bought a pack of canvases and a box of crayons from Michaels. After I removed the crayons I didn't want to use(all the browns, white, black, and gold), I organized them into more or less rainbow order and arranged them on the canvas to make sure I liked how they look.

I used my trusty glue gun to affix the crayons to the canvas, leaving a border around the edge to accommodate the eventual frame.

 The canvas, all glued up:

 We set the canvas up on some cardboard to protect the deck from the wax, and I used a heat gun of Mr. Bear's, but I've seen other tutorials where they had success using a basic hairdryer.

 You're welcome for the product plug, Steinel.

I set the gun to 4.5 and played with the distance until I found a spot that melted the crayon without burning it or splattering it everywhere.

 I worked back and forth along the crayons until I was pleased with the drips and the color saturation.

 And took a break to assure Ponyo that I didn't love the heat gun more than her.

 She's a very neurotic dog.

Pause for some beauty shots.

 Now we're getting somewhere.

Here's the finished canvas. Some of the ones I've seen took special care to make all the crayon melts stream straight down. As you can see, I took a more freewheeling approach. I like the way some of the colors mixed.

 Mr. Bear built the frame by getting a long piece of molding and some decorative accents at the hardware store, cutting the molding down, and spray painting them a flat matte black.

 He arranged the frame on the canvas and when he was pleased with how it was fitting, he attached it to the canvas with wood glue, then clamped it to dry.

 He's so handy.

The finished project turned out pretty gorgeous, all told. I want to make a super big one to hang in our living room. I'm happy to report that our friends liked their wedding gift, as I am constantly worried that I'm the only one who prefers gifts that are made rather than bought. I foolishly didn't take a pretty picture of it all finished, but maybe they'll be accommodating and let me take a picture once they've decided where they want to keep it.

We didn't keep track, but I estimate that all the materials cost us under $20(not that we were trying to be cheap, but, hey, recession) so this is a really affordable project for adding some drama and interest to your walls.

Day 22; Trees

 For today's assignment I have chosen trees both literal and symbolic.
This is our new tree, an Improved Meyer Lemon.

 Mr. Bear asked me what I'm going to name it, as I am rather famous for anthropomorphizing everything, but honestly it hadn't crossed my mind to name to the tree.

 It already has two tiny lemons! One will have to come off soon, as you are supposed to keep at least 6 inches between fruit.

My other trees are from a Moda Fabrics layer cake that I dream will one day magic itself into a cathedral window quilt.

I have a penchant for woodland scenes.

Day 21; Pretty Pattern

 Okay, asking me to pick just one pretty pattern is a form of psychological torture to which I refuse to submit. I did narrow it down from the dozens of pictures I took, though.

First, two examples of the Atlas(or adliss or however you like to spell it, there doesn't seem to be a consensus) fabric I brought back from Da Bazaar(The Big Bazaar) in Urumqi.

 This is traditional atlas, woven on a narrow loom. This example is shot through with beautiful metallic thread.

 This is an example of a modern interpretation on the traditional pattern, printed on a silky synthetic fabric. It drapes beautifully.

The second pattern I chose is my own! This is the fabric I designed on Spoonflower a few years ago(and yes, it is available for purchase there).

 I cut my fat quarters up into triangles for a quilting workshop I hosted earlier this year.

Only one person came, so I have a lot left over.

Maybe I'll make a mini quilt!

Jill and Mary's Day of the Dead Wedding

Today was the wedding of two of my very favorite people; Jill Malone and Mary DuChene. They are so so so incredibly in love and so perfect for each other. It was an honor and a privilege to bear witness to their marriage.

Plus, they had the most awesome wedding ever!! Day of the Dead themed, in the middle of August. Perfect. I totally got into it.

 Mr. Bear is a spoil-sport and wouldn't let me paint his face.

 I wasn't the only one who went all out with the theme! 

 Jill's son and the maid of honor's daughter were so incredibly adorable and took to their roles with gusto.

 Matt here is commenting how all these pictures are going to end up on Bird Hearts Bear. Good call, Matt. They were lighting the tealights for the altar.

 It was also Day of the Newborns! Levi, 4 months old, Spencer, 1 1/2 months old, and Raziel, only 5 days old(!), were all in attendance and very much in demand.

 Lovely Crystal had fun keeping Maddy entertained during the toasts.

 Anytime these two are near each other, the love that pours out of them is undeniable and overwhelming. I am so happy for them both that they found each other.

My favorite part of the night was watching the brides dancing with their sons.

 Jill and G have the most awesome relationship ever, and he is such a cool kid. I hope he appreciates how rad his mom is and how much she loves him.

Mary looked spectacular in her dress(which the maid of honor made! Jealous!) and her dashing son walked her down the aisle.

The reception was a blast and I was having too much fun to be bothered with taking pictures after this, but some other shutter-happy types snapped these, for which I am grateful:

Today's photo assignment was What I Read, and I'm sad to say pretty much the only thing I read was a bottle label!

In my defense, it was really good beer!

Day 19; Where I Slept

Mr. Bear does not remember things in color, he remembers in black in white. As a result, he is fairly monochromatic in his color choices. All our furniture was his before we met, and it reflects this, being almost exclusively black, white, and red.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I love color! All the colors! So I have been trying to inject a little color into our home, both to make it our home and to make it more open and inviting.

Our bed, which I hate, is a giant ebony monolith that I desperately wish to sand down and repaint cucumber or aquamarine or buttercup. I did put my foot down and demand a bright comforter instead of his black and white one. It's reversible!

Day 18; In My Bag

I keep my bag fairly spartan. The burlap wallet that reads "FEED" is actually the totebag itself, folded and zipped up. In it, I usually keep my sugar skull wallet by LoungeFly(I also have the matching purse, but it's more of an autumn purse), my bus pass, some lip gloss, my ipod, and whatever I'm currently reading, in this case The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum.

Day 17; What's on the shelf

  We have two of these little bookseller's shelves flanking our fireplace. I love them. One we got from a lovely woman who runs a boutique out of her house in our neighborhood, and the other was a lucky find while thrifting. I love how the shelves are tilted to offer the books to you.

Right now, in addition to my gorgeous travel crafting case, it boasts a number of urban homesteading and urban gardening books, as it is my eventual goal to have a lush garden producing food, learn how to make cheese, and maybe get some chickens. The ones with the fluffy feet.

The large art history book(another thrift store find) is destined to be gutted and turned into a book bag, like this. The interior of the book will be removed whole and saved, to lessen my guilt at altering a book.

There's also a smattering of fiction thrown into the mix, as well. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, The Master and Margarita, some Chuck Palahniuk, The Last Unicorn.

Eventually I will get the library cleaned and organized, and then I will retrieve all my books from storage and various relatives' houses, and they will all live with me.