the gypsy magpie

up, up and away...

2012-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Back to more framed pieces... I told you I was having a ball making them and couldn't stop!

This hot air balloon image was just begging to be layered up and decorated. What really made me happy was when I found the red metallic hearts!

I couldn't resist using them on this. I just glued them right over the red hearts that were printed on the image. Bingo cards are such a favorite of mine- for awhile I had to cut myself off from using any form of them because they.were.on.every.single.thing.I.made. I'm not kidding! Glad to have them back.

sweet...

2012-02-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

What? Were you beginning to think that I had given up making banners? Oh noooooo... that will never happen!

Of course I had to have one for Valentines Day. This one spells out S-W-E-E-T. It's got all kinds of pretty on it! The letters are from an old Tim Holtz rubber stamp set. That set has come in so hand over the years. Each flag on the banner is made up of 2 different printed papers. Funny, there are a total of 10 printed papers and also the red swiss-dot cardstock and when you look at the entire banner you don't realize how much is going on!

The doilies are die cut, the tiny heart border is punched and the seam binding was dyed with a silvery shimmer. I love the bright red crystals hanging from the points and was so glad to finally get to use them up. The vintage images are from Digital Antiques and they were perfect for this project!

tickets of love...

2012-02-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is a simple little piece but it has lots of layers.

Once again, I've used some tickets from Iralamija. What I did was bump them up with chipboard, each one with a different number of layers so that all three are different heights- I wish you could see that in the photos but it doesn't show. Some glitter here and there adds sparkle. I like to use it very sparingly- I don't want the glitter to be the first thing you see... it should be subtle! I took one of the tickets and wrapped the whole thing with bakers twine and tied it up with an old pink button from my jar.

The 'Diamond' advertisement is a snippet cut from a piece of Jenni Bowlin 12x12 paper. The entire sheet of paper is a repeat of this ad- I can't imagine using it that way but as small accents it's great.
The last thing I did was cut the number strip off the bottom of a ticket and bump it with chipboard and reattach it to a ticket. It's hard to explain what the chipboard does for dimension, but I wish you could see how much 'life' it adds to a project. If you don't have access to sheets of chipboard, a good substitute is a plain old cereal box. You may have to glue several layers together, but hey- its free and you've probably got one in your cupboard right now.
Try it sometime and see what you think!

looking for love...

2012-02-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

This little Valentine is looking for another to love!

She's another framed piece for my collection of Valentine art. I've found this image all over the web- I can't be sure where I actually found this one so I'm not linking it anywhere but if you Google search something like 'vintage valentine images' I'm sure you'll find her (and lots more to play with!). Save all your little strips of sheet music- you don't need much to add a tiny accent here or there. Same for dictionary pages. I have quite a big drawer filled with these little scraps and I use them on absolutely everything.

The pretty ticket is from Iralamija. It was so delicate and girly I just had to use it here.

pompom love...

2012-02-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ooh- Valentines Day is such a good excuse to pull out all kinds of girly love stuff. Sparkly glitter, hearts, fun rickrack trim and cute little Valentine clown children with a darling terrier pup. Who wouldn't love those, I ask you?

I'm making more framed pieces- this time for February and all things
L-O-V-E. I'm finding I can't frame them as fast as I'm making them.
A Jenni Bowlin bingo card, Martha Stewart endless loop border punch (it's so much fun to see it come to life as you move that punch along the edge of the paper!), vintage images and...

pompoms! Oh how I love them.
It's hard for me to find a place to use them, but when I do- it makes me happy!

a message of love...

2012-02-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

With Valentines Day right around the corner, red and pink are perfectly sweet!

Iralamija is a wonderful source for digital clip art. This 'carte postale' is so very pretty and a little glitter just made it better!
It's always great to use up little bits and pieces I've dumped into my collage box- a scrap of lace trim, the red bubble heart on a tiny jewelry tag and the polka dot paper all found their way onto this card.
My machine stitching has changed over time- I used to be a total perfectionist with every single stitch perfectly aligned and straight as an arrow, but I found I actually liked the 'messy' look of letting the stitches take their own path. Of course I'd never sew a garment like that, but for cards it's pretty fun!

I tied it up with some tea-dyed seam binding, red & white bakers twine and a pearly pink button.

party girl...

2012-02-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

I had FUN making this card! The image of the girl in the clown hat has been a favorite for years. There are many copies of her out there on the web but here's one from The Graphics Fairy...

A floral scrap from Crate Paper, some sheet music (always makes everything better for me), a snippet from Jenni Bowlin and a fun Martha Stewart border punch to make paper lace... I stitched some stuff on, glued some stuff on and bumped up the image of the girl. Always, Stickles to add shimmer finishes it off.

The sparkly red pompom on her hat was just plain fun- I had to do it!

keeping in touch...

2012-01-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

I am not good at keeping in touch... it's not that I don't love my friends and family that are far away (or even those that are close by!), it's just that I am not a card maker. Try as I might, when I get out that stack of paper and embellishments, they just sit there and mock me. Really they do.

I've promised myself that I am going to try to get past that, so each week I've been trying my best to make a couple cards. It's actually fun, once I get past the initial 'oh man what am I gonna do with this stuff???' stage.

It's always fun to machine stitch on paper. And as long as I can get a piece of old book paper or sheet music glued down somewhere, I'm usually breathing easier!

Add a vintage image (Crafty Secrets this time) and a button with some twine...
I did it!

sending thanks...

2012-01-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

I needed a thank you card to send out today...

I used scraps of printed paper (old, old, OLD Daisy D polka dot!), a bird graphic from The Graphics Fairy, dictionary paper and a bingo card. Stickles added to the rose (it doesn't show up in the photo- sorry) finished it off nicely, along with some machine stitching.

I hated to just stick it in a plain white envelope, so...

I covered one with old book paper. That was so much fun- I think I'll sit here and make a whole stack of these!

too late for another banner?...

2012-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

I say NEVER! Never too late for another banner...

I was getting ready to pack up my New Year's banner and realized that I'd never posted it.

Made up from small copies of vintage New Year's images, I used watercolor paper for the base and then "bumped" up the image with a layer of chipboard.

Pinked edges all around and lots of Stickles for some sparkle.
I can't wait to put it up again next year!

brown paper packages...

2012-01-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

tied up with strings... these are a few of my favorite things!

It's always fun to find new ways to package up kits. This time I used plain brown wrapping paper and a large paper doily, tucked a few vintage images underneath the baker's twine and added a distressed tag to the whole thing. Hope the girls like it!

fun...

2012-01-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

This is the latest piece I made for my 'Winter'-themed collection! By far my very favorite...

Those darling kids just make me smile every time.

As always, lots of layers... the background 'mat' is bumped up with chipboard and layered over the book paper base, then the first layer of image is layered over that, and lastly, the little girl is "fussy" cut and layered over herself in the original image. The letters are cut up and bumped with chipboard also. These letters are a lot of fun to play with.

Final step- Diamond Stickles over all to add some shimmer.
I think I might finally be ready to start on some Valentine projects now!

snowy birds...

2012-01-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today we've got birds instead of children. Yay! I love birds...

Some sheet music for the background and the vintage image and voila! Lots of 'bumping up' of details and Diamond Stickles to make the snow sparkle...

Pretty little birds.

another winter piece...

2012-01-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

More winter children playing in snow! Snow seems like so much fun when you live in a part of the country that doesn't get any (California bay area). I suppose if I had to shovel it out of the way just to run my errands I might not be so crazy about it.

For the background on this, I used some of the House of Three paper that has the clear embossed 'resist' design on it. With a rubbing of distress ink, suddenly the design appears- it's like magic! More crazy letters, snowflakes and little children.

I always use chipboard to layer between my images and the background so that things are not flat.
I hate flat.

Instead of snow, we've got temps here in the high 60's right now- sun is shining and it's WAY too nice to be January.
This is not a good thing.
But, it sure makes spray-painting easy... gotta go do some more of that!

snow queen...

2012-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another framed piece for my Winter picture collection! This was so much fun to put together...

"Scrabble"-style letters, glittered snowflake, vintage image- oh how I LOVE this photo! She really looks like a snow queen, don't you think? A piece of heavy vintage crochet lace, a bingo card and some mica flakes on the die-cut watercolor paper snowflakes.

Those mica flakes are really pretty in real life- their sparkle just doesn't show up in my photos. Wish I could think of more things to use this stuff on!

winter children...

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

There are so many cute vintage images out there for Winter- (The Graphics Fairy is always one of my favorite sources for images)- I wanted to make some little framed pieces to display with all my snowflakes and glass and glitter this month...

I layered the children so that the little boy was at a different level than the girl- he kind of 'stands out'. Chipboard is just the best crafting material ever! I don't know what I'd do without it.

Now I've got to go find some frames... and get out the spray paint!

gotta love a 70% off sale...

2012-01-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, don't you just love those after-Christmas sales?

On our wanderings last week while looking for Mercury glass, we came across these ginormous ornaments at Target. I almost bought a set back in late November- they came in a 2-pack for $19.98- but took them out of my basket and put them back. Regretted it for weeks because I couldn't find them when I went back again.

While at another Target after the holidays, I found them again- this time for only $2.98 a set! Oh yeah baby! They had 3 sets that quickly jumped into my basket and I practically ran to the checkstand, just in case they came to their senses and wanted to charge more money!

They make a perfect winter-scape down the center of our dining table.

Also found some pine branches (about $8 for the pack) that have little LED lights along the length and they are awesome! I could hardly wait till it got dark enough to see them.

They should be really pretty tonight!

sparkle...

2012-01-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

My apothecary was looking kinda empty since I packed away the vintage Christmas ornaments that had filled it last month.
Epsom salts to the rescue!

In case you didn't know, Epsom salts make the best looking snow. It even sparkles. You can pick up a carton from the grocery store for a couple bucks and it's enough to fill LOTS of jars.

Some Dollar Store snowflakes, a vintage image and a few baubles later...

a Winter vignette!

(I just had to use that silver damask fabric as a backdrop- The Daughter found a gorgeous dress at the thrift store yesterday afternoon and it was laying on the table next to me when I was trying to take the picture!)

score!

2012-01-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Do you love mercury glass? Oh I do... I do... I DO...
I think it is just beautiful. It works for me any time of year, but especially in the winter months. The sparkle and shine and imperfectness is wonderful.

I have worked on my collection of it over the past few years but I usually only find a few pieces each year. Thrift stores are a pretty good source- I guess not everyone appreciates the beauty of it like I do!

Last week, The Daughter and I were doing a little shopping and we ran into the Mother Lode of mercury glass. On sale. For really, really cheap I tell ya! At Ross- of all places. We loaded up the cart till it was full- holders for tea lights, vases, hurricanes. The most expensive pieces were the largest hurricanes- they were marked down to $2.98. Could you just die? I thought I had- and gone to Heaven too!

There were even more pieces to be had at Target but I'll save those for another day.
I'm a happy girl.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

My, oh my... is it 2012 already?!!
Happy New Year to everyone out there... may this coming year hold many blessings.

Here's to new beginnings!

2011-12-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd stick a little bundle of ornaments in here... these were some projects from my holiday workshop last week. The ladies made several different sets. The one with the kids on the sled is my favorite in this particular group.

Vintage holiday images and sheet music plus lots of sparkly glitter (it was called 'disco'!) cover the chipboard bases. Stickles on the images really shows up great in person but seems to be invisible to my camera lens! Tiny Maya Road chandelier crystals tied onto the bottom of each one finishes them off nicely. These were quick and fun to do- I'm thinking they'd make great tags for gifts.

crack bread...

2011-12-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

What? Crack bread? Oh yeah!
Lately, all the recipe sites I've been visiting have recipes for versions of 'crack bread'. They sounded pretty good- and I have to say, after eating it I understand where the name comes from! I ended up taking several recipes and combining them for our tastes and this is what I came up with-

Crack Bread

loaf of sourdough (mine was round)

3-4 pieces bacon, crisp and finely crumbled

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded jack cheese

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons poppyseeds

Make cuts across the bread going one way, then again the opposite way so that you end up with little squares all over. Try to cut all the way to the bottom but DON'T CUT THROUGH!

Stuff the cracks with the cheeses and the green onions. Combine melted butter and poppy seeds and pour over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with the bacon and try to stuff it down into the cracks.

Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for 15 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Enjoy! yummmmm...

another ornament...

2011-12-10T15:00:00.001-08:00

Another ornament from last week's class...

Once again, paper from My Mind's Eye, a vintage Santa image and that great graphic from madebyjanet. The crystal and the glittery snowflake are both from the ornament section of Target. To make the curvy edges along the top and bottom of the chipboard, I used one of the Tim Holtz 'on the edge' dies. LOVE those things!

winter ball...

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Real quick today... busy, busy, busy!

Day 9 divider was made from a bunch of stuff I had leftover on my work table. It didn't seem to coordinate but I used it anyway and I'm not too disappointed in how it turned out.

Gotta run- The Daughter is going to the Winter Ball tonight and we've got lots to do to get ready! (charging camera battery as I write this... thank goodness I didn't forget)

a happy little Santa...

2011-12-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I had a holiday workshop. Each person made a bunch of ornaments so that they'd have a little 'something' to give a teacher, tie onto a gift or a bottle of wine, or just keep for themselves.

This was one of our projects-

I love this paper line from My Mind's Eye... it's soft and subtle but has punches of glittery green here and there. Worked perfectly for our projects! We used a Maya Road crystal trinket, graphic from madebyjanet and this cute little Santa image- he makes me happy! By using scraps of chipboard to "bump up" the image, it really adds life to a project.

On another note, I'm actually keeping up with my 'December daily' project! Day 8 was perfect for holiday lights... I found these really, really old lightbulbs that I'd cut from a Sizzix die. Glad I kept them- they were just what this little divider needed!

days 5, 6 and 7...

2011-12-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

Back to the "December Daily" project...

Still using little bits of everything- that is really a fun way to put a project like this together. I've never been one of the 'match-y match-y' types. A patchwork of colors and textures always has more appeal for me.

On all these chipboard dividers I'm finding places to put little vintage images of Christmas...

I really have been taking my photo each day but haven't printed anything out yet. Guess what I'll be doing this afternoon?!!

Day 7 is one of my favorites because of the tiny brass bells. I'm thinking I could use a little 'Magic Reindeer Hoof Cream' for myself. Anyone know where Santa gets it?

The little bells actually jingle, even though they're glued on!

playing catch-up...

2011-12-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

Too much to do this week! EEK. I actually had meant to post each of my 'December daily' 25 dividers, I've taken photos and what happens? I completely got wrapped up doing other things and my plan fell apart! Well, here they are anyway...

A couple more days to show and then I'll be all caught up!

day 2...

2011-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

OK, Day 2 here... I have my page divider all ready to go, but first I want to share some ornaments I've been making...

The chipboard base of the ornaments are cut from an old Sizzix die; covered with patterned scrapbook paper, backed with old book paper.

Rosettes and cute little holiday tickets (madebyjanet), plus some sparkly glitter and a tiny crystal finish them off.

Now- here's "page 2" from my December Daily...

day 1...

2011-12-01T15:00:00.001-08:00

I know everyone out there is probably all ready to go with their December Daily project... right? Yeah, well some of you are. I'm not one of you.

My girlfriends and I try to do this each year and theirs are always beautiful. And finished. Mine? Umm, some years I finish mine and some years I don't. This year is going to be one of the years I DO finish! This year we're all using our library drawers from 7gypsies. I think I'm gonna have to do a little number on mine with some heirloom white spray paint- I'm just not feeling this dark brown stain.

So, I cut chipboard to use as dividers for each day. Each divider will be decorated and numbered, the photo and journaling will be facing it. At the end of it all, I'd like to bind mine together so I figured I'd have to make my dividers back-to-back (so I'd only have 13 instead of 25)... by the time I embellish mine, they get pretty thick. We'll see how it goes!

This is Day 1.
For the entire project, I'm using whatever I have in my Christmas stash- that means no matchy-matchy papers (just not my style), little bits and bobs of years past, vintage images, stamps... you get it. It's a free-for-all! I did find some great little word stickers from Cosmo Cricket that are gonna be fun to use and all the numbers are cut from a Teresa Collins piece of paper.
I have yet to decide what I'll take a photo of... because I have no Christmas in my house yet. Still have to pack away all the autumn! Yeah, I'm a slacker.

I didn't quite complete my book before Dec. 1 but I figure I'll just keep working on it during the month. That certainly won't stop me from taking my daily photo and journaling a little about the day...

So to those of you who are ready to go- good for you! For the rest of you who have a gazillion distractions and can't seem to finish anything you start- best of luck! I'm with you all the way.

sandwich and chips?

2011-11-30T15:00:00.000-08:00

Did you know that those brown paper bags that you pack your kids' lunches in can can be used for a cute gift bag for a little something? Well they can! And it's simple as can be...

All you need to do is:
1) fold the bottom up to make a 'pocket'
2) either glue or stitch all around the edges to secure the pocket
3) to decorate, add a piece of patterned paper, book paper or two of my favorites- sheet music or vintage images- to any part of the pocket just to gussie it up a bit
4) tie with a piece of ribbon, add a small ornament, silk flower, name tag, etc. and voila! Tuck a little trinket inside with a note, a candy bar (or candy cane!) or any little something you want to give to someone special.

Ridiculously easy and cute as can be...

Make a stack to have at the ready whenever you need. You'll be glad you did!

off to class...

2011-11-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how the time flies... seems we were just eating pumpkin pie and now I'm off to teach a class for my Santa banner.

I try to package everyone's kits up so that they look inviting to open... kinda like a little present! After all, these wonderful ladies are willing to come spend their time & money with me- sometimes they've signed up for the project/class without ever seeing what they're going to make. That always cracks me up! What gamblers...
So, I want them to walk away having enjoyed their little window of creativity.

Can't wait till class tonight!

coconut cupcakes...

2011-11-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

I've talked before about the Scrappy Girls and how one of our group of four moved to North Carolina last year... well, she's back (even if it's only for a few weeks)!

Friday we all met for lunch and then went to Cathy's scrap loft to work on our annual "25 Days of December" project. Dinner was appetizer potluck so everyone brought something to snack on- which leads me to these coconut cupcakes (girls gotta have dessert!).

If you or someone you love is a fan of coconut cake, you've got to try them. They're SO good.

Barefoot Contessa's Coconut Cupcakes

(warning: not for lightweights, these are dense and delicious!

Bring your stretchy pants.)

3/4 pound butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces unsweetened shredded coconut
   Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
   In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.
   In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.
   Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup to the top with batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely. Frost with cream cheese icing (recipe follows) and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.
Makes 18-20 large cupcakes

Cream Cheese Icing

1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

P.S.
Don't blame me if you end up eating a half dozen yourself. You've been warned.

jolly...

2011-11-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

aaah... yes, I realize it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but... I'm getting ready to teach a class for the annual Christmas banner. Each year it's full of Santas and this year it spells out J-O-L-L-Y...

I love the old Santa images. They can't help but make me smile!

I've got hand-dyed seam binding tying the pieces together...

With gigantic jingle bells in between!

This was a fun one.
If there is anyone out there interested in purchasing a kit (which includes all pre-cut materials and complete instructions with photos), they list for $40 plus shipping (should fit into a flat-rate $5.20 box) just shoot me an email at thegypsymagpie@att.net

create something beautiful...

2011-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Create something beautiful.
We all should do that!
I thought these flowers were beautiful... and the birds were too...

It seems I can never make a project that doesn't have a snippet of sheet music somewhere... and there is usually a bird or two (...or even five!) to be found. I am loving creating collages with 'bumped up' images- it's the dimension that I find so appealing. That's also a technique that finds it's way onto almost all my projects. It's such a simple thing to do but I think it adds so much. Try it sometime.

Go create something beautiful today!

welcome fall...

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

I know fall is already here, but I just got around to taking a few photos...

I have a metal bucket on my front door that I like to keep filled with seasonal "silks"... this time it's filled with autumn-hued leaves. Just a block of styrofoam inside and I shove the metal stems into it- can't beat it for a 1-minute flower arrangement! It looked lonely so I decided to string a simple banner across the whole thing...

I had some really old buttons in my jar that looked like braided leather (you know the ones- I swear they came off a 'pleather' jumper from my childhood! Oh, I was soooo cool back then) They made the perfect center for the paper rosettes.

I think I'll make one of these banners for every season- it took all of about an hour to glue together. Better get started on my Christmas one... it isn't far away!

perfect pesto...

2011-11-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning, The Husband and I met some friends for coffee... and my girlfriend brought me a huge bunch of basil that she had just run out to her garden to cut. It smelled wonderful and was prettier than a bouquet of flowers. Thanks Allison!

I decided to make a batch of pesto- so easy and so good. To the basil leaves, just add some garlic, salt, toasted almonds (I didn't have any pine nuts), lots of parmesan cheese and olive oil. Throw it all into the food processor and let it do it's thing...

Tossed with some sauteed shrimp, grilled onions and peppers... and dinner was served.

weekend class...

2011-11-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

Had a blast on Saturday teaching the autumn banner here at my home studio. It's so much to see old friends and to make new ones, too- what a great bunch of ladies.

Each person always has a little 'thank you' waiting for them along with their kit- I cannot express how much I appreciate them. This time it was a small framed image and some autumn-themed postcards.

To my surprise, one of the ladies brought me a 'thank you' too! That was awesome- and I can't wait to use these little crystals on something. Thanks Linda!

Everyone's banner turned out beautiful- I hope they enjoy them!

create the world you want to see...

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a happy little fairy with a great message... why not create what you want to see around you? Sounds like good advice to me.

Seems I've been so busy (or maybe more like so distracted!) that I've simply forgotten my blog again. Spending too much time teaching classes (which I LOVE to do) and creating things for new classes- but it's time to get back to sharing...

This is another collage from the infamous scrap retreat last month. She was a lot of fun to make- my girlfriend Cathy shared some of her new mica chips with me and it was shiny and sparkly and perfect for a fairy. Lots and lots of Stickles too- a fairy can never sparkle too much. The chubby little girl image is from The Graphics Fairy. I just can't thank Karen enough for sharing these wonderful images with us- it opens up a whole world of creativity.

Go out today and make a change!

be kind...

2011-10-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Aah... more coaster collage fun!
This little boy fairy looks so serious... but maybe you would too if there was a gigantic bee looking at you!

I love love love bees. One day I hope to be a beekeeper! Maybe this little guy would be willing to help me out with the hive...

sweet, kind, wonderful you...

2011-10-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

The girls at the crop were absolutely the best! We laughed and laughed till our sides were sore...

So glad I had the opportunity to hang out with them for those 4 days!
Here's a little collage that I made with our group in mind- thank goodness we weren't really wearing dresses and knee socks... I think the little girl in the middle looks like she's got a Brownie uniform on!

show me your smile...

2011-10-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

This little fairy just cracked me up... she looked so pissy. We kinda decided that she was unhappy because she was eating the lousy food at the crop! ha!

I figured that since she had a magic wand, she could just turn that horrible sausage-chicken noodle soup into something more like roasted butternut squash soup with sweet white corn. Yeah, that's more like it!

Or maybe she could take that tiny bicyle and ride it into town to pick up a few warm pumpkin spice muffins and a large chai latte. Mmmmm....

This photo kinda show the dimension that happened on the collage when using chipboard in between all the layers of paper.

Hmm. Too bad I didn't have a magic wand for myself last weekend- a roaring bonfire, roasted marshmallows and a starry sky woulda been pretty nice too...

hello sweet friend...

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of collage happened for me during the retreat... I loved having all that time to play!

I brought along a selection of canvases to work with, but I had also thrown in a stack of cheap chipboard coasters I'd picked up at Michael's. They were sooooo cheap- I think they were 8 or 10 in a pack, and the packs were 10 cents. Yeah, 10 cents! Well I will definitely be using these alot- the size was fantastic for me (I really like the tiny size- it takes the intimidation out of the composition for me). Just some sanding to take off the printed design, a little gesso and that's all there was to it!

I guess it's really hard to tell in the photos, but I like to "bump" all my elements up with chipboard, no matter what the project- including collage. The ModPodge fills in so nicely.

This was so much fun to make!

scrapbook retreat...

2011-10-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended a 4-day retreat with some girlfriends. We'd been waiting for this for months...

The crop was put on by Scrapbook Paradise Reno. The lodge where it was held was in a beautiful location- Portola, California. You could really feel the change of season up so high in the mountains. We stayed in individual cabins on the property. The crop room at the main lodge was HUGE and everyone had tons of room to work.
OK, that's the good part of the trip.

As for the rest of it... the crop was an absolute dud. D-U-D! No music, no games, no prizes (well, except for a small paper trimmer and 2 Cricut magazines. That was it for FOUR days- yeah, really.) Absolutely horrible food (think- elementary school science camp. ugh). The store owner who put on the crop didn't even come- she was only there for a short time to check people in on Thursday. That kinda told me something!...
For $330 I at least expected some decent food.

Thank goodness for the fabulous ladies I was with- they could make anything fun. Love you girls- Cathy, Kris, Mary and Sue- my stomach still hurts from laughing so much! Nights with you back at our cabin were the best.

Hard to believe that out of all this mess I actually made this...

I'll post my projects later this week. Lots of unpacking to do because I had a class here at home as soon as we came back so all my weekend supplies are still in bags!

autumn banner...

2011-10-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here's my newest banner class... it's full of vintage Thanksgiving images and fall color!

We are building the banner on "faux" book covers (I'm loving these) and as always, layering the images to give them dimension. The glittered chip frames are so pretty in shades of orange and brown. We'll add leaves and tuck beaded vines into the mix for some extra sparkle.

Hand-dyed seam binding in autumn hues ties the whole thing together.
I feel like baking a pumpkin pie...

fall is in the air...

2011-10-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

A peek at a new banner I'm working on right now for autumn...

boo school...

2011-10-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

I think the kids in this picture are soooo darling... who doesn't love a child dressed as a clown? Apparently my family doesn't. This is a favorite picture of mine and I loved it so much I was using it as the screen saver on my computer. The Daughter finally begged me to take it off because it "creeped her out". Really? I just don't get it... I think they're just stinkin' cute.

But, like a Good Mom I obliged and took it off so that she could eat her cereal in peace.
Boo!

ready to party!...

2011-10-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a guy that's all dressed up and ready to go... (our family parrot was getting a little nervous when he saw me dressing up a bird... but he sure would look cute in one of these little hats!)

Maybe he needs a date for the party. I just might have to make him one!

getting ready for Halloween!

2011-09-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I've been working on today... more to come!

back to school... the end!

2011-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is... my last back-to-school piece. And it's my favorite!!!

I really love love LOVE this little boy in the pedal car. When I was little, there were a couple of these at my grandparents house and all of us kids loved to play with them.

Pretty Maya Road rhinestone buttons were the perfect size for the wheels... guess it realy should be a girl's car!

back to school, part 4...

2011-09-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

OK, we're finally getting to the end of the back-to-school pieces, I promise!

Just couldn't resist the little calendar page from Jenni Bowlin, mixed with old papers from Graphic45.

Have a great day!

back to school, part 3...

2011-09-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Again, trying to use up stuff in my design team pack for the month (the month of January!) I combined them to make another back-to-school themed collage for September display...

One thing I've used over and over on projects is that 'measuring tape' strip- it's from the old Cosmo Cricket 'Material Girl' line. One of these days I'm gonna run out of it and I'm gonna be so sad! Guess I'll just have to start hunting for the old paper measuring tapes like my Grandma always used.

back to school, part 2...

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't got much time to post today... adjusted school schedule, lots of errands and a class here at my studio tonight (but that part I LOVE!) so this will be real quick...

This silhouette of the kids and dogs playing is so sweet. I stitched the paper together for the striped background and used lots of buttons for the stars. Super fun and super easy. I might make a handful of these for 4th of July next year!

back to school...

2011-09-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

I keep waiting for that "smell" of fall... you know, when the air is cool and crisp in the morning and you've got your new pencils and notepads (oh, don't even get me talking about how wonderful paper smells!) in your arms while you're walking to school... OK, that totally dates me because The Daughter hasn't a clue about walking to school (what? walk??), much less not having a book bag or backpack to carry her supplies in! Yeah, and we actually made it the entire day without an iPhone. Imagine that.

Way back during the spring months I made a series of pictures to display during the month of September and I totally forgot about them until now!

I really love the Cricut for things like these silhouettes. Quick and easy! I had to use all of these unrelated papers because it was my design team challenge- but with some machine stitching and a bingo card, it all came together. Once I started digging through my collage drawers, I was surprised at how many things I had that would work with the 'back to school' theme!

I'll share more tomorrow...

sneak peek...

2011-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Time for another banner class here at my home studio...

This little witch is such a cutie. Of course we're talking layers, layers and some more layers for the banner pieces. This is actually the heaviest banner I've ever made- hope everyone's hooks can hold it!
Can't wait to get the girls here because I'm really looking forward to teaching this one.

BTW- if anyone out there lives in the bay area and is interested in classes, shoot me an email at thegypsymagpie@att.net ; same thing for kits- if you'd like a banner in kit form, let me know. I always make extras!

new look...

2011-09-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I've got the fall 'nesting' syndrome going on so early... it's still hot here in the San Francisco bay area... but I've got it bad! I want to completely re-do my house. Like NOW.
For years (I'm talking something like 10!) I've had on my 'to do' list the project of slipcovering our dining room chairs. When we bought them they came with their own set of slipcovers but they never fit quite right and I never really liked the fabric-although it was a million times better than the actual upholstery on the chairs. (The "old" is the check on the right)

So I made a pattern out of muslin. And then actually sewed it together 2 different times to make adjustments so that I could get it to fit just right...

Success! It fit like a glove.

I absolutely love the new look. The colors coordinate so nicely with my living room furniture. Shoulda done this years ago!

I've got 4 completed now... only 4 more to go...

thrifty thursday...

2011-09-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend and I hit the thrift store the other day- I think since we hadn't been for such a long time (like, all summer long!) the 'thrift fairy' was smiling down on us... we both found some great stuff.

I've been wanting something to put on my bathroom counter to hold the earrings I take off at night and am too lazy to put away. This little dish was perfect. When I picked it up at the store it was almost completely black but that was nothing a little silver cleaner couldn't fix. Totally worth the $3 it cost!

Now, I have a little confession. I have a strange love for white soup tureens. Don't ask why- I just do.

I saw a photo once of someone's kitchen and they had several tureens up on top of their cabinets. I thought it looked so pretty- and the space above mine had been empty for quite some time. Well, I told my friend Kris about it and we were on the hunt from that point on! She is usually the one who spots them as soon as we walk in somewhere and, lucky for me, she has no desire to take those dust-collectors home with her! Deal with myself was that I wouldn't spend more than $20 on one. That seems to be no problem! I've found them from as little as $3.99 up to (my BIG purchase) $18. We used to joke that it was gonna take a lifetime to fill all that space (I have a lot of cabinets) but we are determined girls and guess what? We just found the last 2 I'd been needing. Yes, needing.

There are now 18 lovely white tureens lining the top of the cabinets in my kitchen!

Although... if I find more, I can always just slide them over a little closer to one another. There's always room for one more ;-)

busy organizing...

2011-09-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

I am a very bad blogger, I know.
My problem is that I get distracted sooooo easily. Instead of taking photos and posting, I'd rather be surfing other blogs instead. And in addition to being a bad blogger, I'm also one of those awful people who are disappointed when I go to read a blog and find myself saying 'what? this is the same post that was on there yesterday. Nothing new for me?' Yes, I do realize the irony in this. I'm a very, very lucky girl to have anyone in the world taking a second chance with this blog- I promise to do better!

This is something I've been working on for quite awhile. Clear stamp storage. Organized clear stamp storage! I wanted something that would fit inside these drawers that are part of my cubby-style storage cubes. LOVE them.

I had to resort to making something myself- but it's been a really fun project. I took legal-size manilla folders (because I could get 2 smaller 6"x6" files from each one) and began cutting my own little file folders to hold stamps. An old 'lable' punch worked great to identify each sheet of stamps by category.

The stamps were then put onto a sheet of thin acrylic (here I'm using one from Hambly) which has been cut from a 12"x12" into 4 smaller 6" square pieces. My biggest problem is that at $5 a sheet I needed to find a less expensive solution. My girlfriend suggested Tap Plastics and I've yet to go and pick up a large sheet (or five or six!) from them that can be cut down into the small 6" squares.

After the stamps were individually arranged on the acrylic sheet, I used it as a "block" and with black ink, stamped the entire image onto the file folder.

I've now completely filled 4 drawers with these mini files but have 4 more to go (uh oh, that means another 150-200 acrylic squares... I sure hope Tap Plastics works out to be an affordable way to go!)
Fun, fun, fun.

nest...

2011-08-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

{Nest}:
1. A container or shelter made by a bird out of twigs, grass or other material to hold its eggs and young
2. A place affording snug refuge or lodging; a home

I love this word. It represents everything to me.

Since I love it so much, I decided that it would be the theme for my next banner class...
Lots of platinum glitter on chipboard frames. Lace, lots and lots of different pieces, some vintage, some new. I totally dug through my stash for this one- some of these I've had for more than 30 years!

Two different papers, one a muted stripe, the other a soft ivory/cream lace print. Old book paper for the backside of each pennant and yards and yards of hand-dyed crinkled seam binding to tie it all together. God, how I love to dye seam binding!

And of course, we needed a nest.

A nest made of old book paper and sheet music, with a pretty little bird wearing a sparkly crown tops it all off.

I hope the girls like it!

a "spooky" little swap...

2011-08-05T12:00:00.001-07:00

A couple months ago I joined in Michelle Geller's "little book" swap... it was so much fun. Fun to make the books, fun to see what everyone else made. There are some talented people out there!!!

Since Halloween and Fall are just around the corner (yeah, really they are- I know those of you melting in the heat find that pretty hard to believe!) I thought it might be fun to have a Halloween-themed little book swap. About a dozen of the artists from the previous swap were interested... how about YOU? Would you like to play along with us?

It's really a simple (but creative) project... here's how the swap works (thank you Michelle for allowing me to use your instructions here- you worded things so that they made sense!)

Make an eight page little book using any theme or topic of your choosing. Links to instructions and a tutorial are below.

Start with an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Once you design and decorate, you will make good quality color photocopies, reducing it so that two unfolded books are on one sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Please note: when you reduce, you will lose approximately 1/8" border of the page. You'll need to be mindful that nothing important falls in the lost 1/8". The number of copies you will make is still to be determined (depends on how many people sign up for this swap). Each unfolded book will measure 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" before you fold it. If you take it to a copy center, request that they print it "2 up" and you will be golden! Get a good quality color copy on the best paper they have- it really makes the books look great.

After you reduce your book, fold and cut them up. When I folded up my little book it measured 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" If yours is a little larger or smaller, that's fine. Maybe even add some flat embellishments such as glitter, paint, a scrap of lace or a bit of ribbon. Please make sure you sign your little book on the back.

When you’re done with your books, mail them to me in a thick envelope (so they won’t get bent) along with $5 for postage. I'd like to recieve all books by September 21.

You will receive from me a big bundle full of little books, one from each person in the swap, all decorated and full of cuteness! I will mail out to you by September 28. The number of books you need to make will depend on how many want to join in the swap. You will only need to make one original (for you to keep yourself) and you will send me color photocopied little books.

If you would like to join this swap, please send me an email at thegypsymagpie@att.net

Here are some resources and "how to" information...
Tiny Book Tutorial from Julie Collings
Mini Book Instructions

Hope you join us in all the Spooky fun!!!

gypsy girl...

2011-08-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

When I found this line in a book I was tearing up for a project, I just had to laugh... this is what The Husband thinks about me. You never know where you're gonna find inspiration!

Took one of the canvases I covered with book paper and sheet music a couple days ago and added some stripes...

A little watered-down paint worked perfectly.

This photo is one from a collection that I bought years ago- and it's my very favorite. Love the time period, love the girl posing, love the car, love that if you look closely you can see the shadow of the man who is
taking the photo (great hat!)...

I still like using these old foil photo corners wherever I can-

What a quick project but it was fun to put together. I'm wanting to try those painted stripes on everything now!

just because...

2011-08-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pop-in to show another tag I made yesterday...

An image from Crafty Secrets, some sheet music and a bling flower that I absolutely hated (but I got in one of my past design team kits) that didn't look so bad once the button was added. A little blue paint to distress with (I'm loving using paint that way- I'm always the last to find these things out!), some hand-dyed seam binding and it was done.
Now off to work on a canvas...

sweet, sweet summertime...

2011-08-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

It feels like years since I've blogged... this summer has just been too much fun! I spent the entire months of June and July just hanging out with The Daughter and loving every minute of her. During the school year, there is so much going on that we don't get alot of 'down' time to hang out. This was great!
But, back to reality... school started yesterday and after a marathon house-cleaning jag, I was SO ready to play with paper and scissors and glue. How I've missed the smell of glue! hahaha

While I was having my cup of tea this morning and admiring the sunflowers on the table, I decided to let them be my inspiration...

Out came the supplies and I quickly got to work covering some blank canvases and shipping tags with paper...

Everything came together so quickly. The pretty color of the sunflowers had me scrounging through my collage stash pile looking for anything that might work.
Jackpot!
After some Stickles and a little bit of stamping, I was done.

How do you like my silky fringe? Guess what it is...

Yep, the selvage from some silk I bought to make flowers with (I'll show you those on another post- MAJOR addiction to making them).
So the moral of the story is 'never throw anything away'. Oh yeah, right, you all already know that and that's why we have such messy craft spaces! duh

Happy Day to you!

a sneak peek...

2011-06-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have a banner class here at my home studio next week and thought I'd post a little sneak peak at what we're making...

I just love these tiny Maya Road chip swirls- if I'd have known just how much, I would have bought about 100 packages of them. Live and learn. They are sooooo pretty when smothered in glitter.

The 'buntings' are my favorite part of this project- hope the girls like them!

the littles have arrived!

2011-06-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh... the most wonderful little package arrived in the mail last week...

It was the "littles" from Michelle Geller's mini book swap!

I have to admit, the packaging was so pretty I didn't even open it for a day or two... as tempting as it was. It was like having a Christmas present sitting there waiting just for me! I looked at it over and over again- wondering what little works of art waited inside.

The contents of that beautiful little package were just as fabulous as the package it came in!

Book after tiny little book... each one has it's own theme. Some even came in their own tiny packages. All were lovely.

There is so much goodness in here I couldn't possibly put it all into one post. These artists deserve better than that!!! Over the next few days I will share with you the talent that is out there in blogland- you will be amazed.

joseph's coat...

2011-06-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

I think summer may finally be on it's way to us here in the San Francisco bay area... I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever see the sunshine! So many days of overcast skies and cool temps (not that I'm complaining about the lack of heat- we have WAY too many 100+ degree days here!). It even rained on the high school graduation last weekend.

Anyway, here is one of my very favorite roses- Joseph's Coat. For those who aren't familiar with it, the buds are one color and as the flower opens up, you get a show of about 5 shades of yellow/red/pink/orange. I think it's just gorgeous and it flowers like crazy once those sunny days finally hit.

Time to break out those flip flops...

butterfly tags...

2011-06-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

I finally did something with the large collage sheets made during the PaintPaperPaste workshop.

Well, to begin with- I hated this collage. Nothing looked right. The color was all wrong so I added another layer of paint. Hated it. Added more layers of paper. Still hated it. Tried one more time to add color and it got even worse! I decided to throw the entire thing away (I've finally gotten to where I can do that- after all, it's only paper!) but was so lazy it just sat in the pile at the end of my worktable for days.

Eventually, I ended up cutting it into tags. Once I had a nice little stack, I grabbed the stamps that were sitting on the table in front of me and started stamping randomly all over them. After all, I was planning to just throw the whole mess away! What did I have to lose?

Hmm. What ended up happening was that I didn't actually hate them any more. I was maybe even starting to like them... so I went ahead and spritzed them with some Glimmer Mist and they had a little golden sparkle to them. Next I added some hand-dyed seam binding to the top and I liked them a little better. Once I put the tiny butterfly images onto the bottom it really brightened the whole thing up. What do you know? I actually liked them now!

Guess you never know.

daddy's girls...

2011-06-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today's collage makes me happy! This time I used some bright orange flowers cut from a piece of paper and a photo of my mom and my aunt and my granddaddy.

The little girls look so cute all dressed up and my granddaddy looks quite dapper, don't you think? I wonder where they were going... maybe my mom remembers. Wish I had tons more photos of her- when I look at her little face, I think it still looks just like her (she's the tiny one on the left). Isn't it funny how we don't really change that much from childhood even though we think we do?

little miss cutie pie...

2011-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love old photos. I don't care who the people are- it's just amazing to me that we can take a peek into the past. Anyone's past.

Well, this photo is actually of my mom! I have no idea how old she is but I think she's so cute (although she looks a bit mischevious too). How lucky I am to have a few photos from her childhood!

I'm still so mesmerized with collage... I can't get enough of it. The way the layers just melt together with all the colors and little snips here and there of ink and chalk and pastel... and with vintage images to boot!

I know, I know, I've got to try working on something else soon but for now I'm just have to go with it and see where it takes me!

mini book swap...

2011-06-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Michell Geller of Hold Dear hosted a mini book swap... I was so excited to play along! There were 27 of us and all we had to do was make one little book for each person. Oh wait- no need to panic! This was easy and fun...

Michelle had simple instructions for us to follow. We used a 'half sheet' of copy paper as the base and measured off 8 little rectangles. Each of the rectangles was a page in the book. And yeah, it looks like some of the little collages are upside down but... once you score, fold, cut and fold again- everything ends up the right direction. How clever is that? This 'master' gets copied for each book and voila! Tiny little books.

Of course I totally forgot to take a photo of all my books when they were done. Of course I did! This is why I seem to have such a hard time posting anything on my blog... But this gives you an idea of what it looked like- minus the tiny bakers twine that tied it all together.

Can't wait to see what all the other girls made!

she loved them...

2011-05-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

I had an idea to put a little fairy into a beautiful field of flowers... unfortunately, I cannot paint, but I can cut with scissors! So I grabbed a few printed images of hollyhocks and started to cut and paste.

I screwed up a couple of the flowers with too much stamping/permanent ink once they were pasted on. Rather than throw the whole thing away, I used my fingers to put blobs of red/white swirled acrylic paint here and there, trying to make my own 'flowers'. Surprisingly it worked! Once the penwork was done, there really wasn't much difference between the printed images and my messy finger painting. Who knew playing messy could be this fun?

Right now it's gray and dreary outside my window and I'd kind of like to trade places with this little fairy amongst all the flowers!

more collage fun...

2011-05-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's official... I've got 'collage-itis'! My girlfriends and I are having so much fun creating these. By the time I get halfway through one, I'm already dreaming about the next one...

This time I thought I'd put one together to represent 'The Scrappy Girls'. Even though we are spread between California and North Carolina, we try to Skype on as many Tuesdays as we can. It's a really fun way to still be able to play together, although you sure can't beat a real hug & kiss from your friends in person. This helps fills the gaps, though!

I love these girls- they make me smile. Always.

BTW- these are party hats, not dunce caps (although sometimes I wonder.........)

collage class

2011-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

The scrappy girls and I have embarked on a new path... collage! Oh my gosh- is it ever fun. We signed up for the online course from Teresa McFayden called Paint, Paper, Paste so that we'd have some kind of baseline instructions. So far as it turns out- we've decided that collage is just whatever you think you want to slap on at the time!

Yesterday afternoon we were all on Skype together between California and North Carolina (first time we've been in 3 different places using it and it was fabulous) laughing and talking while we each worked on our own collage project.

Mine was a small 6"x6" canvas which I ended up calling 'collage class'.

To begin, I covered the bare canvas with strips of old book paper and sheet music, using ModPodge matte medium, then just started layering from there...

Vintage images, a heart cut from corrugated cardboard, stamps and stamps and more stamps...

Smudges of color using pastel artsticks, india ink pens for shading, a Sharpie black journaling pen for doodling... it was SO much fun. In fact, it ended up being one of the most fun projects I've worked on in a long time- it was so intimidating for me at first since my comfort zone is 'orderly' chaos and I find it extremely difficult to slap things on without a plan. I like things in grid-fashion, neatly wrapped & tied. Well, what I quickly figured out was that collage is totally the opposite of all that!

And I loved it.

Here is our 'club'... Cathy, Kandy & myself... ha ha ha

easy apple crisp...

2011-05-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here's another no-fail recipe... it's for apple crisp but you can substitute other fruit (pears are yummy). It's from an old book called Just A Matter Of Thyme and I originally bought it just for the darling illustrations!

I not only make this at home but also at Girl Scout camp every summer. We use box ovens- for any of you that know what they are. For those who don't, it's an actual oven made from a cardboard box (produce boxes are a great size) lined inside with aluminum foil. You use charcoal briquets for your heat source and it works just like your oven at home. Really truly. I'm a G.S.- would I lie to you?

Mom's Easy Apple Crisp
6 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Mix together and put into an 8" square baking dish.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix together and crumble over apples. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until apples are cooked through.
Definetly serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream!

we don't remember days...

2011-05-18T16:20:00.001-07:00

One more page to the little art journal I started a few weeks ago...

Simple. Leftover pieces of paper that I had laying on the table in a heap. Some die-cut leaves and a few K&Co pieces.

Now it's time to put some blank journaling pages into the mix!

you never know...

2011-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

You never know when you're making a memory! Since one of the sets of stamps I had with me while I worked on this little art journal was all about 'memories'... I decided that would be the theme.

The background of the page was made with distress inks and an all-over script stamp. Some K&Co die cut flowers and bird, a little vintage sheet music and a cute date sticker from MyMindsEye and I was done. This page went together in between dinner and a cupcake!

yesterday...today...tomorrow...

2011-05-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well Blogger must finally have worked out whatever problem it was having... sheesh! I haven't posted for so long and when I went to go in and write one, it wasn't working. For days.

So here is one of the pages inside my little art journal. I had brought with me a couple copies of bird images I especially like (if you've read my blog before you're probably thinking 'my God- she's used that bird, like, a hundred times already'. What can I say except- love. love love love him.)

That Martha Stewart punch makes the prettiest lace border but I have to say- it sure didn't like having watercolor paper shoved in it. I almost broke the poor thing before I got this one piece finished!

Love this green silk ribbon I got at Tinsel & Treasures last year. Can't wait to go again this September!

a day to remember...

2011-05-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Whoops- it's been too many days since I last posted but, better late than never, I suppose...
Here's the book cover I started with the gel medium and paint-

This is going to be a little art journal with some collage pages and also blank watercolor pages in between for journaling. I really just grabbed a pile of stuff and tried to put it all together into a small composition- it was really a fun way to do it. Turns out, that's worked better than anything I've done in the past!

a hot mess...

2011-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

To some people, this must look like just a bunch of junk that needs to be cleaned up and put away... to others, it may look very familiar! This is how some of us create, right?

Last weekend, some girlfriends and I attended a crop for National Scrapbook Day. I'd been wanting to start a little art journal and this was the perfect opportunity since we had 12 (TWELVE!!!) hours to play.

My page dividers are actually small (5x7) tabbed index dividers from the office supply store. There will be pages in between them made from watercolor paper.

I saw a post on One Lucky Day that very clearly explained how to combine paper, paint and ink. It was really fun!

I used a matte gel medium to cover my paper (which is some vintage sheet music) that had been adhered to one of those tabbed index cards. Next, I randomly slopped some acrylic paint onto the piece- no rhyme or reason, just get it on there. While the paint was wet, I took a baby wipe and quickly worked to remove most of the paint. It really worked great... the acrylic came right up, leaving nice streaks of color wherever I left them. Once dry, I used distress ink to 'age' the whole thing and soften the color just a bit more.

Here's a new toy- (I know it's been around awhile, I just never had one!). I've always used a Crop-o-Dile or a BigBite to make holes in my projects. Coming up soon, I'll be making dozens of small memory books for camp and I thought I'd go the easy route (re: mechanical power vs. my own muscle) to punch holes in them. Wow, am I glad I bought this baby- it quickly and cleanly drills right through whatever I put in there... chipboard, cardstock, felt.

Next time I'll show you some of the pages I made during the crop...

look at what I got!...

2011-05-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cindy Mayfield of Yapping Cat Studios is one of the sweetest people I've never met! (that sounds weird, doesn't it?!!) But I've followed her blog for what seems like forever, and we've emailed back-and-forth and once she even won a banner of mine. I love to see how she combines paint and ink and hand-lettering and pretty little images to make beautiful and detailed pieces of art. Check out her etsy and see all kinds of inspiration- from original pieces to lovely trims to vintage items.

Isn't this canvas piece darling? The little girl makes me smile every single time I look at her- she's so happy. The K&Co paper line 'Cut'N'Paste' is so cute and vintage and playful. Cindy mixed it up with paint and buttons and red & white crepe paper festooning. There is even a little paper umbrella in her hands. So much fun!

My photo doesn't do it justice- but trust me, it is SOOOO cute. And it's mine, all mine! Thanks so very much Cindy- xoxoxo I love it.

a piece of me...

2011-05-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last month my term on the Art Inspired Studios design team ended. It was an interesting experience- I learned to create on a deadline with both materials that inspired me and things that were way out of my taste range. I met some really great women and realized that this is something I'd definintely love to do again.

One of the very first things we were asked to do, was to create a 12x12 layout representing ourselves. Well, I'm not really a scrapbooker- I know, I know- the last time I made a 12x layout, The Daughter was just out of diapers (and she turned 16 a couple weeks ago- that should tell you it's been awhile). I'm a 'mixed-media-altered-object' kinda girl. Right off I felt challenged!

A few days before, I'd come across a fabulous frame at the thrift store- and guess what- it had a 12x12 opening! Grab a can of that wonderful Heirloom White spray paint and IT'S ON.

I tried my best to fill the space with things that spoke to me & about me... things that inspired me... a "collage" of myself...

This cute little card of buttons was from a vendor who had scads of vintage buttons- and when I saw that these were still on the card, I had to have them. The 'Domestic Goddess' is what The Husband seems to think I am, so this paper strip found a home.

A couple photos that I just love. The party girl on the old car is going to be part of my new logo (I'm struggling with the rest of it, so for now I'll stick with the bird) and I love, love, love Poirrot clowns. This photo has an entire class of children dressed in costume! (my family thinks it creepy- it was my screen saver for awhile until The Daughter told me she just couldn't eat at the table while they were looking at her). The chippy rhinestone button was from that same vendor. The fact that it was missing a few stones made it perfect.

Measuring tape (because my grandma taught me to sew when I was about 5). The hardest part of this project was actually using a picture of myself- I rarely make an appearance in my photos!

Of course, nothing representing me could possibly be without a banner- I'm hopelessly addicted. And the Happy bingo card describes how I feel most all the time. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

And last of all, I used my cute little turquoise blue typewriter to type out my name... which was quite a struggle because it doesn't really work without manually moving the carriage. A labor of love, I tell ya.

This turned out to be one of my favorite pieces I've ever worked on. Give it a try- you'll be surprised at how it snowballs once you get started. I'm thinking I just might have to get The Daugther to gather some things herself- I'd love to have a 'snapshot' of this time in her life.

a beautiful surprise...

2011-05-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I got a lovely package in the mail... it was from the 'A Bird In The Hand' swap. Wow, it was such a beautiful surprise.

Kristen Klump Pare is the artist. Honestly, the photos on her blog are so much prettier than this but I tried my best to capture the detail... the nest is mossy and twiggy and natural and has some oh-so-soft muslin tied into a fluffy bow. The silvery-gray balls look so good with everything in there- and the spotted feather just may be one of my favorite details of the whole thing.

The eggs are covered in a script paper and they look perfect in there with the soft pink rose.

The collage has more of that pretty muslin and a piece of fabric with faded flowers. There are a few pearls tucked in here and there. The birds (chickadees? I'm totally guessing because I don't know my wild birds!) are quite at home with another one of those spotted feathers.

This button is absolutely to die for! I can't keep my eyes off it... there is just so much detail on it.

Wow, I'm so happy I recieved Kristen's beautiful art pieces- I can't wait to put them somewhere special. I think I've got the perfect spot for that nest...

the bird in 'bird in the hand'...

2011-04-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

The 'Bird in the Hand' swap that Danielle Muller hosted asked that we make both a nest and a bird collage...

I used an old favorite paper of mine... no clue who the manufacturer was. I always loved the embossed texture of it- reminds me of a tin ceiling. Layered over some French money is a nest made of paper strips and fibers holding a pretty blue bird from Crafty Secrets. Of course there had to be sheet music somewhere on it- I'm not sure I can make any project that doesn't have a little of it- so a single line was all it needed.

The old cream-colored button has been in my stash for years. It was fun to 'shop' from supplies that I already had, which makes me realize that I ought to be doing it more often.

Happy nesting today!

a bird in the hand...

2011-04-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

There are so many wonderful swaps out there in blogland... if you do enough hopping around, I bet you can participate in so many that you'll be at your local post office every day of the week! Danielle Muller of The Vintage Dragonfly just hosted a 'vintage bird' swap.

Each us of made both a nest and a bird collage. The collage came to me instantly but the nest was so much trickier. By the time I finally figured out the 'what' of the nest, I was running out of time to figure out the 'how'! I wanted to use a combination of shredded book paper mixed with snippets of vintage lace. It all seemed so simple but getting it to stick together was much harder than I'd anticipated. A couple tries later I got what I was looking for.

I have to admit, in this photo it just looks like a jumbled mess. It looked much better in person (I hope!) I glittered some styrofoam eggs and added a rhinestone-studded button along with some pearls.

The whole thing sits atop a pedestal I made from a candlestick and a dessert plate. I included a couple little flashcards for the recipient to use wherever she wants.

Whoever she is, I hope she likes it!

chocolate crinkles...

2011-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

mmm... I love chocolate. and cookies.

The other day I was needing some cookies for The Daughter's lunch (she hates anything store-bought. Which makes me proud in one way- because, heck, I'm a cookie-baking mom! But on the other hand, it's a bit inconvenient when I'm in a hurry and there is nothing sweet to drop into her lunch bag). I had just seen a recipe for some easy-peasy chocolate crinkles that I wanted to try. Long story short, I figured I'd whip these cookies out in no time. What I didn't pay attention to was the part that said 'refrigerate until firm'.

So we didn't have the cookies that day... I did get the dough into the fridge and then promptly forgot about it for another day and a half but it was fine just the same. And please, don't disregard these because they use a cake mix. I almost did because I would always rather bake from scratch, but they were quick and delicious. Try'em and see for yourself!

Devil's Chocolate Crinkles (from Food.com #95254)
1 package Devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
4 teaspoons milk
about a 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil and milk until thoroughly blended. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes, until firm. Roll 1-inch balls of dough between your hands and coat in powdered sugar. Place about 2" apart on greased (or parchment-covered) cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 9-12 minutes or until set. Let cool.

I need a glass of milk.

birthday fairy...

2011-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I made a little birthday collage for a friend-

I keep bringing back this old image of hollyhocks- it's so bright and pretty that I just can't seem to stop using it. The little fairy looked like a birthday fairy once she had on a party hat. I think everyone would look good in this hat! Some hand-dyed seam binding, a tiny strip of sheet music and a little yellow crystal tied the whole thing together.

Plus, a little bling never hurt anyone.

birthday banner swap... part deux!

2011-04-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here we go with part 2 of the 'Great Birthday Banner Swap'! The thing that makes these banners so very special, is the fact that my friends made them just for me... putting their own personalities into them, thinking about what my favorite things are and then putting their time and patience and love into them- I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. The first beauty up is from Cathy. She always makes me think of happy colors. She also makes the most fabulous little mini-banners and I was lucky enough to get one on my own banner!

Next we've got Barbi... she's a lover of vintage and pin-up girls, just like me. (whoops- I don't mean I'm a pin-up girl. I meant that I love them too!)

The tiny scalloped edge you see there on the sides? Well those are individual little circles, pain-stakingly glued onto the back to make the fancy edge. Guess she really likes me! ha ha ha

The last one is from Kandy. She's an embellishment wiz. Totally fancy and feminine, loaded with detail.

Check out the pocket she built into the point of the banner- that was a darling idea. She filled it with those pretty little fancied-up tags. Love the sparkly button!

So whad'ya think? I'm a pretty lucky girl to have these friends, aren't I? Yeah, I think so.

birthday banner swap...

2011-04-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

It seems it's been about a gazillion days since I last updated my blog (well, OK, maybe not quite that many, but it's close...). No good excuse, just that life sometimes gets in the way of best intentions!

Many months ago, one of the Scrappy Girls had a birthday (yeah, YOU Cathy!) and the rest of us decided that instead of making cards to go along with the gifts, we'd make banner pennants. Actually, I kind of instigated this because I am soooo not a card-maker. My friends make beautiful cards- full of detail, artfully crafted, made with love. Me? Not so much. In fact, not only do I usually not make their birthday card, I've always got the ugliest gift-wrapping. No kidding- if there were a pile of gifts sitting there, they could probably each pick out the one that I brought. Anyway... a banner-maker I most certainly AM!

So here's the deal- we took a standard size of 5"x7" so that there would be continuity. Each one of us made her a birthday-themed pennant that she could string together and hang up. The theory here is that by the time she's about 100 years old, she'll have a lovely reminder of how much we love her. Not just on her birthday, but always! She loved the surprise of the banner pieces and we all decided that this would now replace the handmade birthday cards. Whew! Good news for me. The other bonus? We all decided that it was so much fun, we'd make them for all holidays!

Barbi's was a mix of my very favorite bird image, sheet music (of course) and the striped paper from My Mind's Eye that I used on about a dozen projects (I just couldn't get enough of that paper!)...

Kandy's just reminded me of her- she's so girlie and I'm pretty sure she might actually have a magic wand. Really. I also loved that the paper had her birthday number on it (sorry, there wasn't a 29 in sight) and the book paper I used was the title page from 'Much Ado About Nothing'!

Unfortunately, when I made Cathy's banner way back in September, I never took a picture of it. Next time, I'll show you the banners that my girlfriends made for MY birthday!

the winter swap...

2011-03-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

Another swap I participated in last month was A Swap For All Season's "winter" quilt swap... we were randomly paired up and the assignment was to creat a mini quilt (only 5"x7") from whatever we wanted, providing the base of the quilt was fabric.

Well, I love me some fabric- but I do believe I've become much more comfortable with paper! So I used a natural cotton batting for the base and went to town with paper. Vintage sheet music, watercolor paper (love the texture), a glittery snowflake and one of my favorite images of kids sledding. Well, they're not really sledding- it's all about the props! The image was just perfect because my swap partner has 4 kids. A really bling-y button and some sparkly silver chenille stem finished it off.

It's so much fun to sew but even more fun to stitch on paper. If you haven't tried it- you should!

Here's what my partner made- isn't it pretty? She is a fabulous machine quilter and I even love the back of the piece- it's (what else?) sheet music! A girl after my own heart.

Certainly something to cheer me up for spring!

creamy chocolate pudding...

2011-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Today I'm giving you a recipe that you absolutely HAVE to try if you love chocolate. It's one of those super-easy, pantry-staple, 7th-grade Home Economics-type recipes... you'll make it over and over. I promise.

Creamy Chocolate Pudding

10 Tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 pinches salt

1 cup plus 4 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

4 cups whole or lowfat milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift dry ingredients together into a heavy saucepan. Stir in just enough of the milk to create a smooth paste (don't skip this step!). Gradually stir in the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat and stir slowly and constantly until mixture thickens and starts to boil. Let it boil another 30 seconds or so, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour pudding into small dessert dishes (about 8). Lick the spoon. and the pan. It's soooo good!

I've been busy a-swappin'...

2011-03-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

Yippee-ki-yay!
Months (many months) ago, I was in a "vintage ABC" swap coordinated by the fabulous Marian Ballog... that crazy woman VOLUNTEERED to put together a swap between a couple dozen women. We were all assigned a letter of the alphabet and given the instruction to create 27 pages showcasing our letter. My first letter was the letter L (I blogged about it here).

Anyway, due to unforseen circumstances the letter "Y" needed to be completed. Here is what I came up with- "Y" words are harder to come up with than you might think...

Years ago, I found a children's book at the Goodwill and it was filled with stories about cowboys. Who doesn't love a cowboy?!! Finally I had a chance to use it... one of the pages had a song with yippee-ki-yay in it.
Yippee begins with "Y".
Yippee!

So does yarn. And yellow. Especially yellow yarn.

The back is a dictionary page (yeah, of course, it's a "Y" page) and I stitched a little pocket onto the back- a Yellow striped pocket- and tucked in a shipping tag with Yet more "Y" words.

OK, I digress...

Once Marian recieved all the submissions, she painstakingly put them all into complete alphabet sets and went about turning them into beautiful books for each one of us. Amazing, right? Well, she did a whole lot more than just rubber-banding them together and sending them back to us... she created customized covers for each of us and added individual elements to every book. As if that weren't enough, she then made every single little book the most darling bag to hold this work of art (and the book's a biggie- the red/white striped ribbon holds it closed). Isn't the bag cute?

And, oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Marion also made some of the alphabet pages, too.

Somewhere in her spare time.

Every time I look at this book, it makes me smile to think of the hundreds of hours all those talented artists put into their tiny works of art for us to share with one another.

Thanks to every one of those ladies, but most especially thanks to Marion. Without her idea, none of this would have been possible.

And Marion's already got us started on a Christmas-themed version!

Lucky, lucky me- I've got the letter "M" (and lots of vintage sheet music that I've been hoarding for just the right project- I think it found me!)

daily notes...

2011-02-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend CHA-Winter a couple weeks ago with my design team "sisters" so I made them a little something to keep their notes in while there...

miniature composition books.

Really, a couple of these faeries look JUST like the girls themselves!

I don't know if they ever got them or not, but if they did I hope they enjoyed them. They were really fun to make!

be mine...

2011-02-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

I love Valentines Day. I'm totally NOT a pink-girlie-girl but... there's something so cute about all those little old-fashioned images of love. Remember when you were a kid and you decorated that recycled shoebox that would sit on the edge of your desk waiting for valentines from classmates? Sometimes even a tiny box of Sweethearts tucked inside? I loved that!

So of course I HAD to make a Valentine banner. We had a little class here this past week and some of my friends and I made this sweet banner using vintage images, red sparkly chenille stems, paper 'rick rack' and little white doilies. Love.

We tied a little silver glittered key onto the point of each flag with some red & white bakers twine. Double love.

Mine is actually on it's way to a friend. She's actually someone I haven't met in person, but I've met her through our blogs and with all the winter weather she's been having, I thought maybe a little California sunshine might be just what she needs. Hope she likes it!

and the winner is...

2011-02-01T07:08:00.001-08:00

Sorry... I meant to do this first thing yesterday morning. The winner of the WINTER banner is (drumroll please...) Cindy from Yapping Cat Studio. If you haven't checked out her blog yet, please do it now- she is a wonderful artist and her posts make me laugh. Congratulations Cindy!

I'd like to thank each and every one of you who took the time to leave a comment- it's always a surprise to realize that someone is actually reading this blog!

morning glorious...

2011-01-28T08:34:00.001-08:00

These are not the prettiest muffins I've ever baked, I admit that, but... they are totally delicious! Trust me on this. If you've got some carrots and some apples, you've probably got what it takes to whip them together.

I went to see my design team "sisters" off to CHA yesterday morning and took them a batch of warm muffins for their long car ride down to L.A. Wish I was there with them- they're gonna have a load of fun!

Morning Glorious Muffins

(or as The Husband calls them- 'The Kitchen Sink Muffins')

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups grated apples
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl; in a second bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Gently stir the 'wet' into the 'dry' just till combined. Spoon into muffin cups (either paper-lined or sprayed) and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.

Guess I'll just eat my muffin.

Three more days to leave a comment for the Sunday night drawing where I'm giving away my WINTER banner... I'll post the winner's name Monday morning.

glossy accents...

2011-01-26T14:06:00.001-08:00

Do you just love this stuff? Oh my gosh... I can't find enough stuff to do with this. I already know this will NOT be the last post about it!

A cute little vintage Valentine image and a clear plastic button...

After Glossy Accents has dried, cut around edge of button and sand edges to get everything perfectly smooth. Use a paper piercer to poke the holes back in the button. Oh ouch- I just realized with this close up just where the button holes are! sorry little cupid...

Here's a closeup view of some punched cardstock 'typewriter keys' from Graphic45. These are wonderful little accents!

Got just the project to use these on!

I have a stack of Tim Holtz fragments that have just been waiting to be used...

As soon as the Glossy Accents dries, I'll carefully cut these out with an x-acto knife and give the edges a quick sanding and then these will make some nice little charms for a bracelet, I think!

If you haven't already tried this wonderful product- go out and grab some now!

Hey- don't forget my give-away... I'll be drawing the name on Monday, January 31. Good luck!

paper roses tutorial

2011-01-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here we go... the tutorial I promised. Honest, once you see how easy they are, you'll be addicted!

The example I'm going to show you is made from an unbleached coffee filter. Yep- you can make a flower from just about anything.

I knew I wanted this flower to be kind of full, and the paper the filter is made from is very thin so I folded the entire thing in quarters so that I'd be working with 4 layers. If you're using regular printed paper (scrapbooking paper) you probably only want a single layer. Book paper can be doubled. Vintage sheet music has been unsuccessful for me up to this point- all of mine is just too brittle to be manipulated into a flower. But that's just my experience with it.

Cut your paper (in this case, my four layers of paper) into a circle, not trying to keep the lines straight and smooth. The 'wavy' edge helps the petals of the rose once you begin rolling. Now cut a spiral into the flower.

Roll the flower, beginning with the outside edge, into a pretty tight little roll. When the entire thing is rolled up, you'll be able to let go of it and it will loosen up and start to look like a flower. Play around with it until you like it. If it's too tight, let it unroll a bit. If it's too loose, go ahead and roll it up again. Really, there is no right-or-wrong way to do this.

Once you're happy with your little flower, put a blob of adhesive on a small scrap of paper. Don't worry- it's not gonna show.

Plop your flower down into the glue blob and then hold the entire thing together so that you get a good bond.

Sorry, blurry photo... but, you get the idea... Once it's dry, go ahead and trim that big square down so that it won't show from the right side.

And there you go. A pretty paper flower made from a coffee filter! Who would guess? I think they'd also look great misted with a little Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. See? I told you they were addicting!

Here are a few made from printed paper...

and some made from book paper. LOVE these.

Like I told you- once you start, it's hard to stop!

Oh yeah- don't forget to leave a comment if you'd like to be entered into the give-away for the WINTER banner...

cards again?

2011-01-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

I've been at it again... more cards! They're kind of addicting once you start- although you all probably know that by now.

This one was made with scraps of things I had laying on my messy table.

I got a lot of emails and comments asking how I make the paper roses that I used here and here... tomorrow I'll post a little tutorial on them. They're super easy to make and a lot of fun!

Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be in the drawing for one of my banners!

thinking of you...

2011-01-22T16:45:00.001-08:00

Happy Saturday! Out of that mess of a studio of mine I made a few more cards... here's one with a pretty little red birdie-

Everyone is using paper doilies now and I love the look... although this wasn't the one I was searching for. I just couldn't find the stack that I've been collecting for years, thinking I might be able to use them someday. I'm sure they'll show up now that I've finished the card... does that happen to anyone else?

I think that Maya Road 'doily' border stamp might be one of my favorites ever. It's so cute!

Still a couple weeks till I pick a winner for my WINTER banner giveaway... I'll throw every comment into the bowl!

what a mess...

2011-01-21T14:22:00.001-08:00

wow. Things sure can get away from you when you're creating, don't you think? Now, I've got friends who talk about how messy their scrap rooms are (yeah, you know who you are CATHY) but I think they just say that to make me feel better. This is a mess. A real mess.
They don't have a clue.

But it sure is fun to create. So what if it gets a little messy? That's what life's all about.

I think I'd better spend a little time getting things picked up around here though- I'm pretty sure I had a cat earlier this morning and I haven't seen her in awhile!

Don't forget about my blog give-away... there's still a couple weeks left...

lay-away...

2011-01-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

I finished my design team project for Art Inspired Studios (January kit). This time it was a mix of papers I normally would not have selected for myself, with the exception of the stripe- I've bought about 10 pieces of that for different projects! The one awesome element tucked into the kit bag was this 'lay-away' tag... oh how I LOVE it!

I just layered element over element until I got an arrangement that I liked...

Some paper flowers made in that 'spiral cut' fashion. Those are just too much fun to make. Little delicate leaves from one of my old Sizzix dies added some more dimension.

The purple flower was hard for me to figure out- I am NOT a purple person- so I stamped on it with some brown distress ink and it didn't look so bad anymore. I could use it! A few more stamped elements and an embossed shipping tag... I finally had to stop or else the collage would be about an inch thick!

Don't forget my give-away... you've got till the end of the month. I'll put the comments from all posts into the bowl!