Dusty Attic - Dreamcatcher

Good morning and here's hoping you had good dreams....

I have always had a fascination for Dreamcatchers - my Son has a couple in his room - they just always seems so calming.  Before I started this blog, I looked up Dreamcatchers on Wikipedia and here are some parts of their meaning:

"Two spider webs were usually hung on the hoop, and it was said that they "caught any harm that might be in the air as a spider's web catches and holds whatever comes in contact with it." "Only good dreams would be allowed to filter through… Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day." Good dreams would pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper. The feathers placed at the bottom of the dreamcatcher also had meaning. It meant breath, or air, it is essential for life. If an owl feather was used, it means wisdom, which was a woman's feather."

Beautiful hey....  Many Native Americans feel that Dreamcatchers have been over-commercialised - in this world I guess what isn't??

I fell in love with Dusty Attic's Dreamcatcher and I knew straightaway what I would make with it....

      

I bought a canvas and painted it with black Gesso and then I watered down some gold paint and dribbled it down the canvas.  I did say down the canvas - I then decided that the Dreamcatcher got 'lost' in the gold at the top so I turned my canvas upsidedown and was happy... even though my dribbled gold now goes up!  Painted my Dreamcatcher - the photo shows it not yet finished, added a gold charm in the middle with a green glitter brad.

I played around with different ideas for the canvas - ended up spritzing it, added a leaf vine with roses, a double layered die-cut steampunk butterfly, ribbon, lace and chain.

After I glued the Dreamcatcher in place - I added detail to the feathers, some rhinestones, perfect pearls on the strands to represent beads and I painted some glitter paint onto the hoop.  It was a little difficult to take a great photo - because of the spritz on the canvas and the metallic paint on the green leaves!  I then added the word "Dream" to finish off.

The hoops of the Dreamcatchers were generally made from willow and they were decorated with everyday findings - feathers, arrow heads, beads etc.  What a beautiful tradition...

One of my Dad's sayings is "Keep your Nightmares in the Stable" - 

maybe we just needed a Dreamcatcher!

They say if you have a good day - you will have good dreams -

in that case....

Have a great Day...

Shell

xox