Old Love Letters

I am looking forward to my 4 day weekend to work in my studio ( AKA the dining room). I have a new project I'm really excited about involving old photos, letters, and fabric. My Grandpa Zupsic wrote letter after letter to my Grandma during WWII.  It was before they married and their courtship was very much via post. As a kid I would have never pegged my Grandpa as a romantic, but I have the letters to prove he was.

I've started layering the letters, envelopes, telegrams, and newspaper clippings he sent her to scan and print on fabric. I must say they are looking beautiful! I have also printed old photos of them to use in this collage. I'm going to piece them all together, sew on some embellishments, and see where it goes.

Here are a couple of pictures of what I am working with.


*Please do not use images without written permission.

Art turned into postcards

Here are a couple of my fabric gals photoshopped up a bit. They were sent off to the printer to make postcards.

I just LOVE sending real mail!

musical girl

A small fabric collage. I am still working out how to finish and quilt it. I have several ideas rolling around, now I need to take the plunge and start sewing on her.

Felted faces

I love playing around with needle felting. Here are some heads I've started.

The launch of The Red Tin

My blog name stems from the wonderful, old red tin my Grandma gave me a while ago. It was filled with the most amazing and intriguing sewing trinkets and bobbles: vintage buttons, lace, keys, velvet ribbons, buckles, snaps, and all manner of odds and ends. The possibilities to use them in a mixture of art projects was endless! Suddenly, felted dolls were adorned with costume jewelry, ribbons bordered fabric postcards and art quilts, and old packages of sewing needles blended into collage. The Red Tin has become a cherished treasure chest and source of inspiration.