Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Miss Artsy Fartsy



I felt I had to create something today or I was going to burst. It's been sooooo long! I'm a big fan of Wendy Vecchi and not only is she a talented lady but such a nice one as well. She has this little project on her blog in two versions. Mine is sort of a combination of the two but it's definitely CASED! I used all Ranger, Tim Holtz and Studio 490 products and stamps. I did substitute a few other things to get the look I wanted but I'm happy with how "she" came out. Be sure to click on the pictures to see all the details up close and personal, especially where I stamped the word "dreams" on her cheek upside down!!! Oh my! I just went with it anyway. I'd like her to have a cool name but all I could come up with was the title of this post. Any ideas?

More Stamps for Sale

This is a list of stamps from companies other than SU. These are mostly clear with some rubber stamps, all mounted in a labeled CD case. All use an acrylic block for stamping. In many sets, only 1 or 2 stamps had been used. Price is $5 a set. If you want them all, I can do better on the price.




  1. Seasonal Circles by Verve

  2. Winder Wonder by Verve

  3. Foliage Trails by Inkadinkadoo

  4. Birds Galore by Inkadinkadoo

  5. Winter Trails by Inkadinkadoo

  6. Gem Stone Hearts by Inkadinkadoo

  7. Gem Stone Birds by Inkadinkadoo

  8. Winter Wonderland Inchies by Inkadinkado

  9. Autumn Flourishes by Papertrey Ink

  10. Haunted by Cosmo Cricket

  11. Cats and Bats by Inkadinkadoo

  12. Halloween Trails by Inkadinkadoo

  13. Wings by Layers of Color

  14. Trees by Inkadinkadoo

  15. Winter Wonderland by ?

  16. Halloween by ?

  17. Ornamental Alphabet by Martha Stewart

  18. Large Alphabet by Artstamp

Sorry I didn't know the companies on the last two.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

My Room

Short of having something creative to show, I thought I'd show where I create! I haven't figured out how to put the text under each picture so I'll have to just describe the room as we go around. This room was formerly our formal dining room and is about 11 x 13. I really could use something about 15 x 20 but I can only dream! It's very convenient to the kitchen, my laundry room, and our screened porch in nice weather. I love that The first picture is of my cutting table. My cutting and sewing tables are by Horn of America. The cutting table is the best investment I ever made. It saves my back from bending over. I not only cut fabric here but use it to cut dies on my Sizzix and paper on My Cricut. All my rulers and my paper cutter by Tonic is also on top. Below the table on the shelves I keep a basket with paper scraps, baskets of various mediums and glues, baskets of chipboard and a notebook with loose stamps. On either side are some Iris carts. On the left is all my paper that's not padded and the drawers are labeled. On the right is my wooden stamps by category and I don't know if you can see in the picture but I have two layers in each drawer by using an 8.5 x 11 clear picture frame for holding the second layer which lifts out as one. In the top drawer of the cutting table are cutting implements and all my Nestabilites in cd cases, along with the pads for the machine. Above the table is a printers tray I have filled with all sorts of little items I've collected along the way and yes, those eggs are pysanky, another art form I love to do. To the left is a small bulletin board and that little Trip Around the World quilt is about 5" square and is actually made from fabric. I found it at a yard sale! The larger black plastic cart stores ribbon, chipboard, tags, tools, embellishments, etc and my Xyron sits on top. Next come two of the three shelves I purchased years ago. SU stamps are on the top shelves, then on the left side are all my other stamps by brand in clear cd boxes which are labeled and on the right are all my Sizzix dies. On the left middle shelf is my cardstock, mostly SU organized by color. The magazine holders the paper is in came from Ikea and are turned on their side for easy paper removal. This has worked well for me. On the right are all my books relating to papercrafting, altered art, etc as well as some of my quilting book collection. Most of it is stored in an upstairs closet. The next shelf on the left holds paper pads, Copics, and my Cricut cartridges and buttons in empty Yankee Candle jars are on the right. Lastly, the bottom shelves hold embossing powders, a candy jar, Bind It All, coloring implements, etc. Standing in the corner between these shelves and my sewing table is what I call the "punch tower", another set of two Iris black carts which I stacked. All the drawers are filled with SU, Martha Stewart, Fiskar, etc. punches which I use all the time. Then comes my Horn sewing table and matching caddy. The drawer caddy on the left rolls out and holds thread, sewing tools, all my Bernina accessories, and miscellaneous things for sewing, machine embroidery, etc. My machine which is a Bernina 630 is in the up position and the module happens to be out on top as well and behind it is my printer. The machine can be dropped down below the table when I want a big surface to work on or when not in use. This tabletop is hinged and half can fold down but I always keep it up for workspace. It sits in front of a window looking out on the yard and pond and the bird feeders. The shade is down in the picture because the sun was just too bright for the camera. I have an Ott swing arm light I can use at the machine or swing around to my desk. On the desk is my tall spin around tower to hold all my stamp pads which my DH bought me years ago. It's mammoth but really holds a lot and on top of it are my Adirondack color washes, glimmer mists, Perfect Pearl mists and the new TH Distress Stains which are wonderful. Off to the left is an old sewing machine drawer which holds glue, stamp cleaner, cleaning pad, etc. Then on the right of the desk is a spin around which holds all the scissors, pens, pencils, brushes, rulers etc I use constantly. Of course there is my computer and keyboard, phone and above is a Making Memories shelf with my flowers, inkers, Perfect Pearls, and Stickles. I put most of those in small baskets as I kept knocking over the bottles when I reached for one. That works very well. I'm thinking of getting another shelf as they really hold a lot. Finally in the last corner is my third shelf which is full to the brim with my quilting fabrics. And right around the corner in the living room, is my Red Eye Singer machine in a cast iron base which I had made into a lamp. Sleeping on the edge of the sofa is our little Maggie the pug. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Don't forget you can click on the pictures to make them larger and get a better look. Have a great week!


















Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day


I am of Irish descent. There are Malloys, Kellys, Logsdons, Barretts, etc in my family tree. My Irish people settled in the mountains of western Maryland in a small town called Mt. Savage. But the fondest memories of this day in my past was how it was celebrated each year in our Catholic school in Baltimore. We were allowed to "green up" our boring everyday uniforms. There was only half a day of classes, then a big lunch, a play or stage performance then a bazaar that went on the whole rest of the day. I have so many fond memories of the fun and shenanigans that day held. It was the one day out of the year that the nuns let us get a little crazy. After 12 years of that education, I graduated, went to college, got married, raised a family and hardly every celebrated St. Pat's day with that much frivolity again. There were a few corned beef and cabbage dinners with an occasional green beer (I understand McDonalds is serving green milkshakes today!) but those St. Pat's days of my youth were the best ever. I hope you enjoy your day and manage to remember the great saint, and whether you're Irish or not, may his blessings and good luck fall softly on you today!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A Scrapbook Page to Share


This page was done by my daughter, Kathy, for her little pug Maggie. She does the most beautiful pages. Mags is 13 and very deaf. We all just love her to pieces. She has always been such a good doggie! Her big trick, aside from sneaking pizza, is to do "high five." You hold up your five fingers and say high five and she slaps your hand with her paw! Such a sweetie.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Alert!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I moved my Followers list up closer to the top of the sidebar. I was all the way at the bottom and a nice fan named Kathy Benko asked me about following on Google Reader so I moved it to the top so it was more noticeable. Hopefully this will be a help to everyone. Thanks Kathy!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

More Dollar Bin Boxes

Back on January 31, I posted a little altered box I made and I've had these two in the works since then but they've been sitting on my desk waiting my attention. Yesterday I finally got to them. The box is from Michael's $1 bin and they are really hard to come by. They literally fly out of the store. You paint the front, sides, and inside with paint. I used two shades, sponged one atop the other and some Treasure Gold sponged on for some glimmer. Then you cover the base and lid/back with your designer paper. I sand the edges and distress with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo. Then you get to the fun part of decorating the top with all your flowers, gems, ribbons, buttons, etc. The first one here features a dragonfly from K&Co. and a little felt bird along with Recollections flowers and gems, etc. The second one has the same color paint and DP but features a large pink rose and a bird from K&Co. Before you start these, you unscrew the little button closure on the front and the elastic closure then decorate the button as you wish and put them back on when the box is finished. I added little wood candle holders or knobs from the craft store painted to match for feet. These are so much fun to do and really make a fantastic little gift. Enjoy!




















Thursday, March 10, 2011

A Zentangle in the Interim

It's raining cats and dogs here and my mojo is someplace around here, under all the family problems and stress (I know I saw it somewhere). However, even when that type of scenario is going on, I can always manage a Zentangle or two. This one features the familiar moon face stamp in the middle and various Zentangles surround her. I also did a bit of shading on this one. I really like the effect of the shading and got myself a nice pencil and tortillion for doing it. I hope to get back to papercrafting and altered items and cards one of these days....hopefully soon. I have so many new and fun things to try out! Say a prayer my "issues" will be resolved soon! Enjoy!