I'm a contributing artist!

My wonderful friend, Wendy Landis and her husband Bill have this company called the Leaky Shed Studio.  They create amazing bases for us crafters to embellish on.  They use all recycled materials and are firm believers in reduce, reuse, recycle.  They acquired this business over a year ago and are have finally completed their catalog.  Here it is:

I'm so excited for them, but it gets even better!  I am in the Catalog as a contributing artist! 

    

                                           

Leaky Shed supplies the books I do for the swim team. Not only do I get to create these items, they've also given me other items to make samples for other schools.  The thought is to have these materials available in school bookstores so those crafty individuals have access to wonderful bases on which to create lasting keepsakes. But this is just a small piece of the puzzle.  Leaky Shed also supplies scrapbook stores too.  So, if you don't have them in your local store yet, you better check them out online or have your favorite store contact them, the link is below.  The possiblities are endless with the things you can create.  Happy Scrapping!

leakyshedstudio.com

Care package

I love my Mama!  That goes without saying.  She's the one that got me started on crafts.  She started me on latch hook rugs.  Remember those!?  Then she showed me how to needlepoint.  Then I got away from crafts for a while.  It wasn't until I was married and had my first child that I revisited the desire to start crafting again.  I tried cross-stitch and then stamping.  That's when my love for paper arts really took off.  My mom's craft of choice was and still is plastic canvas.  When my husband and I first bought our house, that is how I was able to decorate it, with her handi-work.  She would look for reasons to make anything.  Alot of the Halloween decorations I have, are in plastic canvas.  Mom hasn't sent me anything in a long time.  The other day, I received small package in the mail.  It was from Mom.  I couldn't understand why I was getting one.  She usually gives me a heads up when she's sending something. 

She sent me some decorations.  The bigger pieces have magnets on them for the fridge.  The little ones are bookmarks.  They are so cute!  I wrote to thank her that it was great getting a little present in the mail because she hadn't sent me something like this in so long.  She said if I promised to be good, she would send some more.  I promise, Mama, I promise!  Yay!

Minor "surgery"

While unpacking all the halloween decorations, William found the skeleton that we bought last year.  He was looking a little worse for wear.  The desert heat is not nice to plastic when it's stored in the garage.  Our skeleton had lost a finger and a foot.  What to do?  Mommy and her glue gun to the rescue!  I didn't think the glue would hold.  The plastic I had to work with on the foot was pretty thin.  In the end, it worked out.  Will was a happy camper. 

Now, here's what's funny.  William had gotten these two bouncy balls that look like eyeballs and he takes them out and plays with them every year.  (We keep them packed with the Halloween stuff.)  While he was playing, he said, "hey, look, they fit in my skeleton pretty good.  Mom, do you think you could use the hot glue to glue them on?"  How could I resist!  So now, our skelton has eyeballs.

Doesn't he look like a happy guy?  Haha!  William wanted to hang it on his bedroom door.  Why, I don't know.  If I had this thing hanging on my door, I would freak out every time I passed it.  And, of course, that's what happened for the first few days, until we got used to him being there. 

Skully looks pretty happy with his new eyeballs and new home.  Haha!  Happy Hauntings!

Gearing up!

It's that holiday time of year again.  Ok, not everyone considers Halloween in that mix, but I do!  I love Halloween!  I geek out over the new paper that comes in at the store.  I love making decor items for my house and decorating.  I have a niece that was born on Halloween, for pete's sake!  Yes, I love all things Halloween.  So, of course, I had to make some items for the occasion. 

 You might have seen my previous post regarding the BOO sign that I made.  Well, that got my creative juices flowing.  I found some great paper mache' mask.  At first I didn't know what I was going to do with them.  I painted one black and one white, then I was like, ok, now what?   Decoupage!  I got out my patterened papers and set to work.  I used this new line by Authentique, which, sadly, I don't think is in business anymore.  I decorated a the white mask with feathers and glass bats.  It's my favorite.  The black one, I started by putting a diamond on it's eye with silver glitter.  I found a diamond patterened paper in my pack and used it for the other side of the mask.  It looks like a jester, but I like it.  I added glittered spiders to make it just a bit creepy.  Voila! 

The last thing I made was a pumpkin wall hanging.  I tried to mimic the BOO sign.  I used last year's Anna Griffin paper and cut out the design from the orange paper and overlayed it on the black.  I used cheesecloth and wax again because I wanted an excuse to use the wax again. 

And, lastly, I saw this idea on pinterest.  You take puff fabric paint and create a swirly bead design on a pumpkin.  I got the vinyl word from a gal I work with at Scrapbook Barn.  She cuts vinyl lettering and designs as a side business with her husband.  Anyway, I used a small pumpkin because I wanted my daughter to have something she could put in her dorm room.  She loved it, of course. 



Thanks for looking and happy hauntings to you!

The Nightmare Before Christmas Crop 10/22/11

I am truly surrounded by amazingly talented women.  One of my besties, Lori, pulled this together in three days and many a late night.  The event was the Nightmare Before Christmas crop at the Scrapbook Barn where we work.  Lori is known for her work on our elementary school's play's sets (wow, that's a mouthful!).  She always comes up with the best ideas and makes them a reality.  The idea here was to have a scrapbook page in the crop space that friends could take their picture in to commenorate the crop.  Lori created the backdrop with cardboard and butcher paper!  She hung the chandeliers with fishing line and ribbon.  It's just amazing.  I was in Awe!  She'll read this and shrug her shoulders and say, "What?  It's nothing really."  No, it's something alright.  I don't know many people with her talent.  She's awesome!  Sorry, Lori, just had to let the world know. 

And it never fails, when we get together with our wonderful friend, Debbie, we start laughing until one or all of us are in tears! 

Love you, Debbie and Lori!

A unique gift

So, back in August, a woman was referred to me by a gal I work with who was looking to have a scrapbook made.  But not just any ordinary scrapbook, this one had to have Horton hears a Who everywhere on it.  I thought about it for a few days and then gave the lady a call.  I met a wonderful woman named Patricia who was going to be a great-grandmother for the first time at the ripe old age of 63!  Yeah, I couldn't believe it either.  In talking to her, I found she had some definite ideas about what she wanted to see in this book.  I told her to email me her ideas and we would go from there.  She sent me ideas all right.  And how!  Basically, what she sent me were ideas for a baby record book.  Her great-grandson has not been born yet.  She wanted a book for her grand-daughter to keep track of his firsts in. 

We met for lunch and I told her I had the idea that we should do an altered storybook.  She wasn't quite sure about it.  I told her a traditional scrapbook would be too cumbersome to keep a running record in.  She wanted something her grand-daughter could write in but wanted it to be with Horton.  Horton comes into the picture because her grand-daughter's in-laws painted a mural on the nursery wall of Horton hears a Who. 

As you can tell from the picture, this wall is unbelievable.  So, Patricia liked the idea and I just ran with it.  What I ended up with, was creating a baby book personalized to her great-grandchild's name, family and of course, Horton.  It turned out beautifully.  I had never made an altered book before and luckily, I work with amazingly talented woman, who are so willing to help and offer advice. 

I even personalized the cover.  Patricia wanted her great-grandson's name throughout the book, even on the cover.  I found sticker letters that worked with the existing font.  I modge podged over the letter so they won't peel up over time.  This was great fun to put together but very labor intensive.  You wouldn't think so but along with the record pages and storybook pages, I made scrapbook pages for her to put pictures in. 

I also created a dedication from Patricia and her husband which she was so happy with.  It's those extra little touches that mean so much.

The end result was a present that Patricia gave to her grand-daughter at the baby shower.  I have to show you a picture of the cake that Patricia's daughter made for the shower.  It's Suessical!  Can you imagine how long it must have taken to make this thing?!



Well, Patricia had texted me after the shower and said that the book was a hit and that it was the talk of the topic of conversation the whole afternoon and night.  I'm happy I got to be involved in making such a unique gift.  It was great fun putting it together and I ended up with a happy customer.  She still wants to get together to have lunch.  I think I've made a life long friend. :)

A Blank Canvas

One of my favorite holidays is coming up.  Halloween!  I love all the decorating involved with Halloween, more so than Christmas.  I don't know why.  It only lasts one day, where Christmas is a whole season.  I know I need my head examined, but that's for another day.  So here is my blank canvas:



At the store I work at, Melissa, my boss and friend, had these great wood banners she got a few years ago.  She said to take one and do anything with it.  The wheels started turning.  The letters were held together with real thin gauge wire, so I took it apart.  I don't have a picture of it (darn!) but I painted the backs of the letters with a dirty orange color.  I knew I wanted to play with beeswax.  I don't use this stuff enough and I LOVE it! 

So, I covered the letters with Authentique's Glowing papers line. I used papers from the 6x6 paper pad. At first, I was trying to create a wax dripping effect but it wasn't working out right so I started covering the whole letter. Then Melissa had the great idea of adding distressed cheese cloth to the mix.  Then it was time for finishing touches.  Ribbon, buttons, and wire of course, but what else?  Charms!  We have some great charms at the store, so I add a couple and viola!  Now, there you have a sign ready for the front door or in your home.  I kind of hate to give it up!  I guess I'll have to aquire my own blank canvas so that I can make another one!  If you want to buy this one, stop by the Scrapbook Barn (if you're in AZ) and check it out!

Hello Friends!

I've been a busy gal this summer.  With all the planning for my oldest to be going off to college soon, I've had time for a few projects here and there.  First off is this memo board that my daughter wanted me to make her.  She's moving into the dorm and wanted an awesome memo board to display messages and stuff.  I wanted to make it school colors but she thought that was lame.  She wanted it to be black because her decor is black, white and a little pink.  Well, I can't make anything without adding something sparkly to it.  I mean, come on a basic black board isn't going to cut it with me.  She might as well go to Wally and get something blah!  Haha!  I used Tim Holtz buttons and put magnets on the backs. She likes the vintage look of the board. So, here are pictures of how her board turned out.  She can't wait to hang it in her room!

Also, for the end of the school year, I made some cards. Some of them I sold in the boutique at the Scrapbook Barn. Others I just gave to friends or teachers as a good bye to the school year and thanks for a job well done.

Next, were some birthday and anniversary cards I made.  One of the cards, you'll notice, is distress and the paper is slightly ripped.  When my mom received this card in the mail, she said she thought the card was lovely but that the post office had mishandled the card.  I asked why.  She said it must have gotten caught in the machine or something because it looked like the card was chewed up!  I said, MOM, it's suppose to look that way, because that is the way I made it."  We laughed for a good five minutes over that one!

Lastly, my sweet, sweet Grandmother Bea passed away a week ago.  She was a great lover of animals.  She was known to some as the bird lady because she bred and raised birds in her home.  When she passed I thought it was only fitting to send condolences with bird themes on them.  The paper that I used is from My Mind's Eye, Graphic 45 and Webster's pages.

So, again, that is some of what I've been up to.  I'm also doing swim books again for the GHS Tigers even though Ashley is no longer there.  The President of the parent boosters loved the book and wanted me to come back to sell them again this year.  I give part of the proceeds back to the team to help their fundraising.  It's going to be a very busy holiday season.  I'll try to do better with my posts.  Until next time......