More Composition Books in Disguise!

These are like peanuts.....you can't eat just one! I spent the day cranking these little things out and still have one that I haven't finished. But I'm pleased with how they turned out and how easy they are. BTW, my little scissors are helping me keep the cover closed as they tend to want to pop open. Three were made from Graphic 45"s Steampunk Debutante paper and embellishments and the others were mostly scrap paper and various goodies to dress them up. Click to see up close and ENJOY!

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Can you believe the book on the left started out as the humble composition notebook on the right? These are minis , available 3 for $1 at Dollar Tree and Wal Mart. What a quick simple gift for pennies! I used a vintage image from Crafty Secrets, the little 3d bird is a K& Co. embellishment and the flowers are primas and my mini rose from the Sizzix 3D flower die. The leaves are a Martha punch called Rose Leaf. A few pearls and a spritz of Perfect Pearls Mist in Turquoise. Click on the picture to see it up close and personal.

My New and Improved Roses

I've always thought that the center of the Tim Holtz rose and those like it on the internet was a little "fussy" to do. It's easier with grungepaper than cardstock but still hard to get exactly right. The answer was staring me right in the face. You need the Sizzix Flower Layers #5 die (that has six petals) and the Sizzix 3 D die to do the improved rose. You make the first three layers just like Tim's. Then for the center you make--ta da!--the small 3D rose. The picture on the left shows the old roses on the left and the new roses on the right. Then the other pic is a close up of the roses. I think there's a world of difference and it was so easy but you do need both dies. Once this dawned on me I was cranking out roses yesterday like a madwoman! One tip I have if you are going to try this is to let the 3D rose "relax" a little, in otherwords unwind some, before you glue it in the center. Don't forget to click on the pictures to see them larger. Ok, that's my big discovery of the month!

Tangles in the New Year

Haven't forgotten about tangling with everything else that is going on and thought I would share a few with you. The PEACE tangle was inspired by a much better example than mine that I found on the Internet and I apologize that I did not get the name of the artist. I hope some of you will get interested in this. It's so relaxing, centering and helps bring out the artist in all of us.

Roses in the Snow

We got sixteen inches of heavy wet snow overnight and what a nightmare. During the storm, the county asked no one to venture out unless it was an emergency as we had white out conditions and driving was very dangerous. And then there was the snow blowing today......or so we thought. Our snow blower bit the dust. It is 14 years old so we may be looking for a new one soon. After my aching back recovered, I came in and made these Tim Holtz roses out of cardstock. They were sprayed with various shades of Perfect Pearls mist but I think you can only see that on some of them. It's very subtle. Great way to spend a cold snowy day!

Sizzix 3D Flower Die

This die is ADDICTING! They're very easy to make and some are as small as 3/4". Nice to have some on hand when you need them for projects. I used all scraps!

A Promise Kept

I promised myself that THIS year I would do some scrapbook pages of vintage family photos. I couldn't think of a better one to start with than this image of my Mother as a young girl. I'm sure this was before she was married. It was a little bit tricky to work with because when I printed the photo it had a pinkish cast to it. All brown and tans were too dead and I finally hit on bringing in some rusts and peaches. I'm very happy with it, as this type of work is not my forte but I hope to get better at it. I used lots of Tim Holtz paper and charms, some bling, K&Co. embellishments and some purchased as well as handmade flowers, antique buttons, etc. Be sure to click on the pictures to see the detail up close and personal. My Mom has been gone since 1987 but I miss her more than ever.

Just One More......Honest

A Little Bragging Here.........

You read my blog for creative content, right? Does it matter who created it? Have to brag! This is a scrapbook page my oldest daughter did and guess who is in the picture? Little me, I'm guessing around the age of 3. We had several copies of this photo and she asked for one. I had this one in sepia tones and another that had been tinted where the dress was a pale green. But I love what she did with it! She's so exacting and has excellent taste with her pages. How flattering!

Fixated on Flowers!

I must be longing for spring or something because today all I want to do is make flowers. And if you are of a like mind, I suggest you go to You Tube and enter "making paper flowers." You will get enough videos to keep you entertained for days! These beauties are made from scraps of designer paper using the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and the Sizzix 3D paper die for the centers. You need something like an awl, a toothpick, or a quilling tool to curl the edges, some glue to put them together and then as a final step I spritzed them with Perfect Pearls Mist. I used Sunflower Sparkle on all 3. I love this stuff. I never got into Glimmer Mist in a big way but I am making up for it now. BTW, all it took was one spritz per flower to get the glimmer. Click on the picture to see up close. I think these are stunning....if I do say so myself! Give it a try!

DON'T FORGET THE BOOK SALE! SEE BELOW!

Frosty Roses

We had some snow covered with ice and freezing rain during the night. Shoveling was a mess as it was very heavy but after doing that chore, I came in and made frosty wintery roses. This is the basic Tim Holtz rose. These are made of SU cardstock. The darkest one started out white and I sprayed it with cranberry Adirondack Color Wash then glittered it with MS glitter. The other two were just colored cardstock with glitter. The leaf is from Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die. Don't know where these will end up but Valentine's Day is coming, yes?

A Rose in Winter

I think I was going to explode if I didn't do something creative! Don't know if you've seen all the instructions on You Tube and elsewhere for making the Camelot flowers from Prima. I started out to do that but then went off and kind of did my own thing. I used the Tim Holtz Tattered FLorals die, 3 of the large and two of the small and then for the center I used the Sizzix 3D flower rose. I spritzed first with the new Perfect Pearls Mist, Heirloom Gold and I think if you click on the picture you can see the effect. The leaves were also a Sizzix die, distressed with Forest Moss and Crushed Olive. The sentiment is from PTI's Dress Form stamp set. The paper is K&Co. Madeline. Just felt like doing a flower today!

Book Sale Note

I decided to just remove the sold books as they go rather than list SOLD next to the title. Thanks everyone for your interest.

Lynn: can you contact me with your address so I can let you know what to send Paypal?

Busy New Year

We've been so busy at our house laying new wood floors on the second floor and new moldings. I'm not doing hands on but I'm the go-fer! On top of all that, our pellet stove which we've had since we moved here 18 years ago just gave up the ghost. It's a Vermont Castings product and they no long are into pellet stoves and have no parts so now we have to look into other options. Just what I needed. In addition, I've been cleaning out ALL the closets and have a huge box of mostly quilt books I need to unload. I'm going to list the titles here, in case anyone is interested. All are $5 unless otherwise noted and I can ship to you Priority mail after a Paypal payment. I'm trying this first because I can't stand ebay any more. Anyway: some very nice books in excellent condition. I take care of my things. Here goes:

Artists Journals and Sketchbooks Lynn Perella
In This HOuse Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn
Beautiful Quilts As You Go by Keryn Emmerson
Rotary Riot by Judy Hopkins and Nancy Martin
Floral Quilts from Grandma's Cupboard Leisure Arts
Marvelous Miniatures Rodale
Art Inspirations Judith Baker Montano
Talking Quilts and Friends Jeanette Pie
Applique Designs Faye Anderson
Fat Quarter Friendly Leisure Arts
Landscape Quilts Zieman and Sewell
Bouquet of Quilts C&T Publishing
On The Surface Wendy Hill
Easy Reversible Vests Carol Doak
Art to Wear Vintage Workshop
Collections Two Red Wagon
Christmas or Not Red Wagon
Red Wagon Originals Red Wagon
Pioneer Spirit Red Wagon
For the Birds Whimsies
At The Heart of Folkart The City Stitcher
Many Thanks by Art to Heart
Chenille with a Twist Four Corners
Bearly Stitched Lynette Anderson
Folksy Favorites Pat Sloan for Leisure Arts


These are other topics but also for $5 each:

Sew Fast, Faster, Fastest Sue Hausman
Getting Started in Punch Needle Landauer Books
Serge Art Diane Bossom
A New Serge in Wearable Art Ann Boyce
Stylish Sewing Pat Nelson
American Folk Art Rug Hooking Barbara Carroll

The following are $3 each:

Painsticks on Fabric Shelly Stokes
Fast, Fun Easy Fabric Bowls Linda Johansen
The Sew Easy Shirt Cindy Taylor Oates
BH&G Easy Applique
No Crows Allowed Bears Paw Design

That's it! Please don't email and ask me to send you a photo. I really don't have time to do that. I suggest you google the book and see if you can find a cover or description there. I'd be happy to answer questions about individual books as to content, etc. Please let all your quilting and crafty friends know about the sale. Some real bargains here! Thanks everyone!

Christmas Goodies

Two of my online friends, Diane in Michigan (http://www.nelliesnest.blogspot.com/) and Brenda in Delaware sent me lovely handmades for the holidays. I wanted to share their talent with you. The CD calendar and handmade card and envelope came from Brenda who had never done a paper project before. Pretty good for a first project! As she says, "just baby steps." And the stuffed old quilt heart all gussied up with beads, felt and ribbon as well as the tiny felt pincushion in an old tin mold came from Diane. Isn't the little pincushion adorable? Thank you both ladies for being so sweet!

2011? What? When did that happen???

It just can't be! When did a new year sneak up on us? If you're like me and time is racing by at the speed of light you just can't believe it! Time drags when you are young but zooms by as you age and the older you get the faster it goes. You can relate, yes? All that astonishment aside, my wish for everyone is a healthy and peaceful New Year. Prosperous would sound a little dumb in this economy. If you don't have good health and peace in your heart and home and world, you have nothing my friends. So take good care of yourself and do whatever is within your power, including prayer, to bring about peace in your world. Happy New Year!