Making tag art, cards and some forget-me-nots...

I've had the yen the last few days to make some cards and tags to cheer and encourage some special family members and friends.  I just love the little vintage forget-me-nots that I have found off Etsy.  They are so sweet and add a touch of charm and texture to my tags and cards.  Here is a birthday tag that I made today to send to a friend for her upcoming birthday.

 I love that little vintage boy gazing out the window. 

The simplicity of the little wreath adorned with flowers was all this note needed.

My dear friends Susan Edmonson and Kristi Steiner held a fabulous retreat for "creative spirits" for several years.  Each year there was a delightful mixed media project that each participant made over the long weekend.  For several of the projects, Kristi and Susan created some wonderful rubber stamps to compliment the project. I decided to pull out their BELIEVE stamp and create a few tags for some pals.

One of the most fun things I do is to go into my art space, pull out all kinds of this and that... and see what materializes... very much fun, indeed.  The words on this tag are among the most powerful in the English language... BELIEVE...

A Matchbox Chest

One of the favorite tools in my art arsenal is my ink-blending tool to use with all the Tim Holtz Distress ink pads.  Just got a few new colors last week... yummy colors... of course 2 of the 3 were pinks!    I have twenty-some colors... not all they offer, but quite a few.  I have invested in enough of the blending pads to have one for each color... so that I don't have to constantly be cleaning them or worrying about contaminating some of the light-colored pads.  

The issue was... how to store them easily so that I could change out as needed.  I saw a couple of cute projects online using cigar boxes and matchbox drawers.... Then when I discovered that the removable ink blending pads fit PERFECTLY inside a little matchbox.... I was ga-ga!!!   First stop was the grocery store to get several packs of box matches.

Next I was off to my local antique store to get an old cigar box to play around with.  I found one where the little boxes fit perfectly inside the outer  box, so that it would look like a chest of drawers.  Scrounging around in the basement, I discovered some old drawer hardware.  So my little "chest" has a handle on top so I can carry it from place to place if needed.

Getting all the boxes glued together and in place was the next step, as well as chosing some fun papers to go around the stacks of drawers.  I inked papers with names of each ink color and glued those to the ends of the boxes.  I used tiny brass brads as "drawer pulls".  

Tucked inside each drawer is the colored foam pad designated for that particular shade.

I am SO PLEASED to have this imperfect, funky little cigar- box chest of drawers to keep right on my work table, so that when ink is being applied in so many layers.... I'll for sure have all my colors at my fingertips. I included a few extra drawers for new colors yet to come!

Happy inking and stamping!!!

Follow your bliss... each day of the year...

Back last summer my dear friend Tonya and I attended a scrapbook show in Charlotte.  We love looking at all the fun elements we might use in our mixed media art.  One of my all-time favorite product lines is 7 GYPSIES, with their vintage-inspired pieces that really speak to me.  At one of the booths in the show, Tonya and I spied a couple of the fabulous photo display stands... only 2 left... so we snapped them up!  I have seen some great projects done by other artists, but none had quite been what I wanted to do.

I mentioned at the end of last year that I had an old flip calendar that I had used for many a year.  It was getting a bit shabby.

So the little cogs started turning this week, and I decided to take the old calendar apart and make a new creation.  The bird theme was integral in my conception.  I love my BIG KICK machine... so out it came with snippets of this and that finding a place on the bird and the collaged background.

I have fallen in love with some new dies called MEMORY BOX.  They are delicate and just delightful!  One of my favorites is a wreath that I cut apart for embellishments on the shipping tags.

Of course there had to be some BLING... so the bottom edge is adorned with some dangling crystals and scrunched seam binding. 

As the days pass and I turn the tags... I want to be reminded of the sentiment on my calendar...

"follow your bliss".  May you follow yours, too.  

A great find is always such fun!

Before Christmas I treated myself to the new IPAD MINI.  I am a true "Apple Groupie", but it was my first IPAD.  I have a MACBOOK and an IPHONE, but kept talking myself out of the IPad... telling myself I really didn't "need" it.  So much for that logic!  When the Mini came out I called Target and they had only two in stock.  As soon as I saw it, I was in LOVE!!!  It is the PERFECT size for me.  It has a FABULOUS camera that I use all the time!!! LOVE IT!!!  I can load pictures of friends and family off the internet and share with my parents... We have had such fun with it ever since I bought it. I love carrying it in my purse, but did not want to scratch it.  I had looked for cases several places and didn't see anything that caught my fancy.  We were roaming through Tuesday Morning the other day. Lying on a shelf... totally out of place was the PERFECT case.  I just happened to have my Ipad with me, so I could test it  for the proper fit.  It was MADE for it!!! The cases I had looked at ranged from $40-95 for real leather ones.  I couldn't really tell the price on this one, so I went to get checked out and was ecstatic when he said $8 !!!  What fun to discover a case I loved everything about... and for it to be a BARGAIN, besides!!!

This is a photo when it is closed to carry in my bag.

It even has a great suede pocket... with a smaller compartment... just dandy for carrying the cord.

I love how I can stand it up, tucking the buckle underneath, creating a little easel...  

As Hannibal on the A-TEAM always said... "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Project completed

Isn't it a fabulous feeling to complete a project you have been working on a while... maybe putting it down for weeks at a time... but finally getting it finished???  I love that feeling... a rush from completion of a goal set... Sounds just like a teacher, for sure!!!  

Way back in September, I began a fun online class with the delightful Melody Ross.  It was packed with so much material and I adored every activity... but with lots of things going on in life... like the rush of the holidays and hand-made gifts to get ready... I had to put it on hold for some weeks.  

With access to the class for only a few more days, I decided to get in gear and finish up what I had started earlier in the fall.  So my extra-large canvas board cover book is complete!  I have made scores of books, but none quite like this one.

I made my book a resource for all learned in the class... with handouts and PDF's for later use.  One of my favorite parts of the class was experimenting with many kinds of media and making swatches on old file folders... a great tool...

A recycled envelope glued into the back cover can help me keep up ...

...with all the "loose stuff"... a good thing indeed!

Several months ago, my BFF Tonya gave me a FABULOUS set of dies... dies that cut all shapes of TABS.  I have a thing for tabs!!!  (another "teacher-thing", I guess)...  So I pulled those out to put a few in my book...

I love looking at all those wonky tabs sticking out...

Closing the book on another fulfilling project... thanks Melody.

Home is where the story begins.

It's a known fact that I ADORE birds, using them in my artwork and in my home decor.  Lately, I am in a "birdcage phase".  The main source of  my inspiration came from a gorgeous new bedspread my parents gave me for Christmas.  It's the sweetest pattern, and I am ga-ga over it!

In my travels, I have collected some wonderful cages. 

 This crusty pink one is perfect for this shabby chic piece that has been in my bedroom for many a day.  

This treasure has been in my family for quite a while... lovingly chosen from the sweetest gift shop that was in our town for several years.  I miss Teresa, the owner of that dear shop, so much.  Her choice of pieces was impeccable.  

We currently have a fabulous shoppe in our town that has some darling items... from unique refinished furniture pieces to precious accessories like this little "yarn cage".  The yarn comes up through the top with a little cutter on the side... adorable!

This little yellow gem is so cheery... sitting on a painted daisy bombay chest in the family room.

We've had some gloomy days of late.  Today has been very wintery and overcast, but late this afternoon, just before sunset, a few peeks of sunlight flooded into my little art studio.  The sun cast a shadow around a treasured cage given to me by two dear friends.  

Home really is where the story begins...

Happy New Year! Welcome 2013!

The 2 Gypsy Girls are among my favorite blogs ever.  Their ideas are such fun.  Several years ago they came up with the calendar idea on an old book cover.  I had a vintage cover that was so shabby and worn... the perfect backdrop for my very own monthly calendar.  Every year they are kind enough to send the PDF to fit the days of the year... so I just got mine ready for the spanking-new-year!

I have a nasty cold/virus, so I didn't celebrate until the wee hours... instead I was in bed with a 100 fever and a cough.  YUCK!!!  Nonetheless I'm looking forward to a dreamy new year, full of new hopes.  

Welcome, 2013!  I know the best is yet to come!