Punch Report

Just wanted to share a little tidbit with you about the Martha Stewart Punch Anywhere punches. I have a few of these and some are random in design, like a group of stars or pinked circles but some of the newer ones are designs which, when punched in a row or rows, can make for some pretty fancy paper. In the rather blurry punch picture (sorry for that), the punch on the left is a newer one because you can see on the base it has the design shown so you can line up those punches to get an unbroken row. The punch on the right is an older one that doesn't have this but it is still quite possible to punch the continuous rows. On the green paper you can see a single punch made from the Caning Pattern punch. Below that on the rust is a row of the same punches and another punch also shown in a group. You could do a row down one edge of paper, then start making rows across until your whole sheet was punched! Just like the fancy sheets we buy that are $2 a sheet. Now you can do it yourself. I particularly like the two shown on the rust paper but there are many more in flowers, snowflakes, hearts, etc. Make sure you use your JoAnn's and Mike's coupons on these because they are $20 at Mike's and $24 at JoAnn's. Has anybody else noticed that JA's prices are higher on almost everything these days. BUT today I have to tell you, I used their current coupon which is good until May 5 (it came in a mailer) for 50% off and bought a VAGABOND!!! I'm so excited. It's regularly $249 and I got it for $125 which is a steal. I only decided to get it because I continue to have problems with my right shoulder even since the rotator cuff surgery and I thought it would be easier. I have been very happy with my Big Kick by Sizzix. It works like a charm. If there's anyone out there who would be interested in buying it used, let me know. Meanwhile I'm looking forward to trying out the Vagabond and see if it's everything it's cracked up to be. Have a great day everyone!

Easter Egg Pizzaz

I was in IKEA recently and at the check out area they had these bins of colored paper mache eggs. The outside paper is very gaudy and shiny. So I scored the paper lightly with an exactly knife and peeled every bit off that I could. There is a very nice tiny pale green print on the interior as you can see. I then painted it with glue and rolled it in glitter by Martha Stewart. I sealed all that with some spray acrylic sealer, although I can't say if it helps hold the glitter on or not. Then I added ribbon, trim, flowers and leaves, beads and pearls. Everything is glued on the lid so you can still open it and put a small gift or easter candy inside. Just thought I'd let you all know in case you have an IKEA near you and would like to give it a try. Covering them with strips of an old book or newspaper with glue or patterened paper would be very vintage looking too. And there are many many vintage Easter images on the internet and Pinterest you could use as well. If you'd like, go to Pinterest and look at my Easter and Spring board for all the ones I've saved. Have fun!

Whatch Doin' This Spring???

What has everyone been up to lately in this unseasonably "spring" weather in March? My daffodils are already done and I have azaleas with buds which I will run out and cover with blankets if we get a freeze! It's been crazy, hasn't it? Now this weekend we've had solid rain for two days but the water table is low, so it's a good thing.

I've spent the last week taking the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry class with my daughter. I have learned soooooooo much it's crazy. Many of the things Tim has done I've seen before but now understanding the chemistry behind all of his wonderful Ranger products has been a real eye opener. The pictures above

represent some of the tags we have done. Each one represents a lesson, a technique using the Ranger products. We were also given (in .pdf form) small labels for the back of each tag explaining how to do the technique on the front. For all the information and instruction you get, the cost was well worth it.

Well enjoy the upcoming week and be sure to find some time to be creative. It feeds the soul.

Antique Singer Red Eye

Twenty one years ago when we moved into this house I had purchased the cabinet and iron base shown in the picture. Many years later I had the chance to buy the Singer Red Eye machine and fit it into the base. I got it on ebay at a good price and it is in almost perfect condition as far as the decals go. Even later I had my husband add the brass lamp fitting and shade. By coincidence my valances in this room are the same fabric as the shade! Serendipity!

She Art 4

Here's another in the she art series. I love the background on this one and the girl ain't bad either! Make sure you double click on the image so you can read the sentiments.

Tres Chic!

I finished the second hidden hinge album. It has a Paris theme and uses the Tres Chic paper line from DCWV, available at JoAnns. This was beautiful paper and I enjoyed working with it. I bought about 4 different sets of embellishments and filled in with gems and items I already had. It would hold a minimum of 50 pictures or more depending on how you wanted to arrange them. Don't forget each page has a top mat and a side mat for photos. Each mat is two sided. The Eiffel Tower on the front is sooooo glittery and light reflective. I don't think the pics capture that too well. I'm just going to put up the pictures beginning with two of the cover and one of the spine and then they are pretty much front to back. Some show the pages folded out. If you have any questions, please let me know. Have a wonderful weekend!

A New Die!

Got a small order from Stampin' Up! today, mostly paper, but this die had intrigued me especially after I saw some of the things being done with it. This idea is a CASE from Penguin Stamper (thanks for the inspiration!). The legs and base are a small bulldog clip. Her hat was just cut freehand and I added a little bling. Imagine all the possibilities! I can see an all white one with the body run through one embossing folder and the wings in a different folder. Glittered wing on a plain bird. Add stamping on the wing or body. Such fun!

The price of getting old......

I hope to be starting another album next week after a paper order comes. Some of you may remember back after Thanksgiving I had rotator cuff surgery on the right, my dominant side. Apparently, it didn't work because I'm still having problems and undergoing further studies to see what the problem is. It's kind of cramping my lifestyle (crafting, driving, vacuuming, etc) so things are slower than usual. I hate not getting around to posting because I really like staying in touch with all of you.

I do have a tip today. I've always used Liquid Pearls or Dimensional Pearls in my crafting but recently found a new product (new to me anyway) that I like even better. It's called a Viva Pearl Pen. Shaped more like a pen or crayon than a little bottle and I like that it dries quicker and is comfortable in your hand if you're squeezing out a lot of those little babies. Apparently it has been around awhile, especially in Europe but they are available here and I urge you to try them. I think they're really cool!

Build A Page Hidden Binding Album

Yesterday it was too dark and dreary for pictures and today the sun is so bright you can hardly stand to look out the window! But this loooooong post is not about the weather. Grab a cuppa, relax and enjoy! First I want to make it clear this is NOT my idea but the brainchild of a very talented papercrafter named Kathy Orta. You can find her and her stupendous projects at http://www.paperphenomenon.blogspot.com/. PLEASE go and visit. You will be amazed. I decided to purchase her tutorial on this album and make one. And to show you that not everything goes as planned I will share with you that I got down to the very last part of the book, making the cover, when I noticed that the paper I used had cracked where I wrapped it around the edges of the cover. I was devastated after all my hard work. I walked away, stewed over it for awhile and came up with a solution. I either had to make the cover for the album over or come up with a creative solution. The ribbon along the edge of the spine piece was my solution. Just so you know. I'm trying to stay humble here!

OK so let's go through this. It's a picture heavy post and I feel like I couldn't possibly show you all the real estate in this book regardless. The paper I used was "Mariposa" which I purchased at JoAnn's some time ago. The next shot is the spine and back cover. You'll notice the ribbon which goes around the spine which covers the edge of the offending paper, the red. At first I hated the fix but it has grown on me. Better than a whole new cover. The book cover is very hard and firm. For that you use chipboard or in my case I used Craft a Board from Ellen Hutson. The idea of this book is that you make base pages which are all the same and you you add to them with 6 different customizable add ons. You end up with a page that has a top pocket in which you can put photo mats or whatever, side pockets, and pockets on each page itself. The next photo shows a shot from the top so that you can see just how full this album is. The number of pages is up to you. You can also see that no binding "apparatus" shows. It looks like a regular bound book and this system is the genius of Kathy Orta, her hidden binding. All albums I make from now on will be like this because it gives such a wonderful finish. Next is the inside cover with a frame from the dollar spot at Mike's and some posies. Then the first page which shows a flip up, a pocket above that and a pocket on the side and top of the page with mats sticking out. I hope you get the idea. I'm not a great photographer! On the back of that page is a flip up with more real estate for pictures or journaling, and then you see a double side pocket on a page with two smaller mats which come out ( I show them both in and out so you can see how it works and that structure is opposite a page with a pocket with more tags stuck in the top. Then a shot with more flip up and flip out pages followed by another layout with a side opening add on and the little flip page that says FLY also folds up. Then there is the final page which the chippy buttons and the inside back cover. Finally the back cover with a Kaiser Kraft butterfly with MS pearl paint and some bling. Whew! Each and every page can have as many as 3 pockets and flip in any direction you choose--up, out, down etc. I attempted to just give you an idea of all the options. I can't wait to do another one. This was labor intensive BUT very easy in it's construction. Kathy's tutorial I believe was $10.95 and for everything that you learn and can apply to future projects it was worth every penny. Thanks to Kathy and I hope you all enjoyed your look at this super project. Have a great weekend!

PS: One of these days I'll figure out how to put the description next to the picture. No matter what I do it doesn't happen. Sorry.

An Art Journey

This is going to be my Art Journal. I purchased the spiral bound book at Michaels several weeks ago and just got around today to working on the covers. It's a mixed media paper by Strathmore so I hope it will perform well with all the inks, paints, glues, art mediums etc that I plan to use. This will be a place to explore new techniques and just "go with the flow." You can paste up ideas or glue in ephemera that you collect. Sketch. Draw (or try to in my case!). Experiment with new mediums, sprays, paints, pigments, etc that you want to try. I'm looking forward to dabbling around in it and hope that some of it will be worthy of sharing with you, my readers.

She Art 3

Here she is in all her angelic glory. I named her "the angel of "just get it done." The background is kind of a light rust with tones of green and gold. I used a lot of white highlights in the background. Each one of these I do teaches me something else....another technique....a different way to embellish. I thought with the name she needed to be a woman wearing the pants so to speak. The wings I first stencilled then used paint and a paint pen to color them in more then outlined them here and there with a Faber Castell art pen. Quite a few random stamps used on this one too. This is so much fun! And I'm getting some more mileage out of all those little 2 oz. bottles of paint I had from when I used to do a lot of tole painting. Canvases are on sale at all the craft stores right now (Mike's, JoAnns, Hobby Lobby). Give it a try!

Some Valentine Love

With Valentine's day fast upon us I thought I'd offer you this little card today. The fun thing that makes it special is that I used the same embossing on the envelope flap as I used on the background. It was quick and easy and adds so much. I used a Provocraft embossing folder on the envie and on the Whisper White cardstock. The ribbon was one I bought ages ago at Mike's but never used because it was one sided and didn't make such a pretty bow but pleated this way it's a winner. Across the ribbon is a row of Recollections adhesive pearls and the stamp is from SU. I hope you and your valentine have a super loving day on Tuesday. Oh, and happy birthday Mr. Lincoln!

I finished She Art Girl #2. Much happier with the background and the girl in general. Still thinking I can improve on the hair! I was a little more deliberate on this one. Christy Tomlinson works sooo fast and I wasn't happy when I did that so I went about this one a little differently. I also used 3D butterflies on this one, some Perfect Pearls, Adirondack color washes and Paint Dabbers and designer papers. This background was made entirely from art mediums....no paper or ephemera was used. Her little journaling strips say "All she wanted was visions of wonderful little treasures." I think I was thinking of all the new products that came out at CHA last week. There were so many fantastic new goodies......I think I need to get a job to support my habit! This process is like eating peanuts--you can't do just one! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

She Art

Well I finally got around to doing one of the She Art canvas creations. I think it's just OK for my first effort. The hair is wrong and I made her a little bottom heavy but I'm happy with the texture I created and the second photo might help you see that a little better. It's all about layering. I used texture paste on the sun, bubble wrap, stamps, ink, paint, doilies (can you see it???) and scrapbook paper just to name a few. I hope my next one will be better because I sure learned a lot on the first one. It's somewhat messy but a lot of fun. I hope you'll give it a try. Christy Tomlinson is such an excellent teacher and so talented. Her logo is on the left sidebar. Have a great week everyone!

See the new gadget!!!

Over on the left sidebar, you'll see a new gadget (that's what Blogger calls them.) It's the logo for the She Art workshop. If you click on it, it will take you to Christy Tomlinson's website and store. She is the fabulous artist behind She Art. I am signed up to take She Art 1 in the next 3 weeks, although I actually have up to 3 months to access all the pdfs and videos involved. I am really excited about this because one of my New Year's resolutions was to start an art journal and a good friend, Diane in Michigan, hooked me up with She Art. It's quite a phenomonon going around in the mixed media art world. It's called She Art because one of the core images used in this art is a simple shape of a girl. But oh boy, what you can do with her!! I hope to have some finished work to show here soon but I thought I'd let you all know in case you want to join in the fun. She Art 2 is also being offered but you should take 1 first as it addresses all the basics of mixed media art. I don't consider myself an artistic person but I've seen some of the work that beginners have done and it's soooo cool! Think about it!

In Honor of Ravens Purple Mania!

As I said in the previous post, I'm not a Raven's fan but this is my part of participating in "purple mania!" One quarter of a square doily at the top, Spellbinders Labels 4 and the saying is from SU. MS leaf punch and some little flowers from Michaels. Ta da!

I think I really must like this color.....

....because the last post used the same robin's egg blue or light teal, whatever you want to call it. This was done with scraps from my overflowing box. I used some SU paper and the seam binding is vintage. Found it in my MIL's when we cleaned her house out. I used Spellbinders Nested Pennants and Lacy Pennants dies and a Sizzix Flourish. The fact that the flourishes are mirror imaged was a happy accident. I turned the die to the blue one time through the machine and to brown (on the backside) on the other pass through. Used a Copic marker to color the little flower and both that and the sentiment are from SU stamps. My card box got quite empty last year so I have been trying to fill it up with this year's creations! Enjoy your weekend. I know lots of you are experiencing snow and this is a big football weekend too, especially for the Baltimore Ravens. Not a fan myself but Baltimore is painting the town purple for sure! Stay snug and warm and make art.