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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

Poor Oliver......Grandmom Loves You....

My daughter's Boston terrier had to go to the emergency vet last evening after a day of restlessness, vomiting and just not acting like himself. Turns out, long story short, he had a chunk of Nylabone in his stomach which was not allowing any food, even water, to pass into the intestine. He had surgery during the night and if he can keep food down today, will come home tomorrow. They tell you these bones are digestible but this is not our first problem with them and there will be no Nylabones in any of our dogs futures. Be warned! Poor Boo Boo!

Stop....Pause....Rewind....

Go back and look at the title of my last post! Yikes! We went from the low 70's last Friday to the teens today. Mother Nature sure does like to have the last word!

Is it summer where you are???

It truly is like summer in February here today! Just beautiful outside, but very muddy from all the melting snow. I must try to get outside a little if only to sit and bask in the sun. It's been a busy week here and I was feeling rather mojo-less so I just did a few little things. One of the projects is this kleenex box cover with a Paris theme. The printout came from Seneca Pond Crafts. Eileeen's products are so reasonably priced and easy to work with I put this together in no time. Just print, cut out and glue together then add a few little decorations. I tried to give you several views.

The other project is an all white five pointed star I made with the Sizzix Five Point Star die. I think this would be great for a shower, wedding, anniversary, graduation or in colors for almost any occasion. The center is a Tim Holtz rosette. I used a CB folder to emboss the individual sections and glued two of the completed stars together then added the rosette and a little bling. Easy peasy! Enjoy

New Sizzix Die!!!

OK, Blogger is acting up tonight and this is the second time I posted this!! This is the new SU Sizzix Die called Petal Cone Die. It makes a nifty little cone shaped box and you can make it look so different by just changing how you treat the top part. My pictures are not very good tonight so be sure to click and see them up close. And these little things are rather difficult to photograph. The first one shows the petal top UP and decorated on one side. In the next photo the top is closed and a rose is on the top. In the third photo, the petal sides are folded down and a small half scallop is added underneath. This piece as well as the little banner piece is part of the die. The fourth photo shows the top folded down and the scalloped contrast piece on the top. And finally, just the plain sides folded down with no paper trim. I didn't decorate all the cones, just a few so you could get an idea. These are a fairly good size and would hold candy, nuts, small hobby items, a piece of jewelry and I'm sure you can think of more. And just for fun, Google Petal Cone Die and you will see all the things folks are doing with it. Ice cream cones, carrots for Easter, candy dishes, boxes, flat cones, cards, etc. It's a very versatile die with loads of possibilities. I think you'll like it!

The Famous Petal Card Die

For those of you who don't have it or want it, I'm showing you the back of the die. It's like a square with four half circles on each side. It is very hard to find. Having said that, you could probably draft your own template and cut them individually....hint, hint. But here is my third and final project of the day (Good Lord, I have to fix dinner yet and it's 7 p.m.!) This is the heart shaped mini. I used SU paper on this one. I love the combination of teals and browns. There is a box for the mini made from just two die cuts and glued together. Then the mini book itself which has pockets for whatever your heart desires. Some of the little tags I made for the pockets are actually small books.....more opportunities for pictures! The large rose on the front of the box I made from Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and the center is from the Sizzix 3D flower die (getting to be a favorite). The mini book cover has Recollections and Prima flowers and the leaves are a punch. I added ample bling everywhere. I didn't really make this a themed book so that whoever it goes to could do their own thing. I have decided that all today's projects are for sale. If you are interested, email me for prices. I am addicted to this die! It could be worse, right?

Two Projects in One Day? I'm Cookin'!

Well I got inspired and busy and this is the result. I'm having a good time, can you tell? This box and mini book is made from the Sizzix Petal Card die. I saw this also on You Tube and went on a search for the die since I didn't own it. It is scarcer than hen's teeeth let me tell you. I finally found one, paid more for it than any die I've ever bought but don't regret it one bit since it is such a versatile die. The pictures show you first the little box which is made from two of the petal card die cuts glued together. You can decorate the outside as you wish. Then the little mini book inside the box is made again from the petal card die with the covers made of chipboard and the pages from designer paper. I think you can see on the open pages of the book how the die is folded to create pockets for tags which you can use for stickers, journaling, pictures, etc. Then it is all put together with the Bind It All, my new favorite tool. My daughter is kidding me about this because she bought it for me about 5 years ago and I am just now getting to use it. And it is VERY EASY to use! I again used the Madeline paper from K & Co with various flowers, stickers, brads etc. The little lace medallion on the box cover was one I made on my embroidery machine. Gotta love my Bernina! With this die, you can also made a square box as is shown in my last post and also a heart shaped book or box. I'm working on that next......Valentine's Day remember? Enjoy!

Transformation!!!

This is what happens when you take a $1 chipwood box from Michael's and turn it into a fancy schmancy project! Not only the box but inside is a little book with tags and lots of room for pictures, journaling, and your own mementos. First off, let me say, I found this project on Butterfly Kisses channel on You Tube. I love Arlene's mini books and am a follower of her blog and when I saw this I knew I wanted to try it. The only problem was acquiring a few of the boxes. It seems everyone is "onto" this idea and is raiding the $1 bins at Mike's. I managed to snag 4 or 5 after canvassing 4 different Michael's. The box is about 3.5 x 3 x 2 and comes with the wood button knob and an elastic closure which you remove before decorating. I have one suggestion I learned while doing this. Try and match your paper (which only covers the lid and bottom) to your paint colors for the rest of the box rather closely. It doesn't look as good if there's a large contrast. Once you decorate the box with paint and paper and seal it, you can decorate to your heart's content. The little book is just 2.5" squares of chipboard covered with paper and I made pockets for little tags and pictures then bound it with the Bind It All which was very easy. It just fits inside. In fact I would make the next one slightly smaller as once I get it in, it takes some tugging to remove it! BTW, I used acrylic paints from the craft store and K & Co. Madeline paper and Graphic 45 Staples stickers for the tags inside. The top has a K & Co butterfly, Recollections flower and two mini roses made with the Sizzix 3D die plus a Tim Holtz metal tag. I can't wait to make another one! Enjoy!