Glitterbug Studios

Down to the Nitty Gritty!

2012-01-09T19:29:00.004-05:00

My friend Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has come out with a brand new kit over at Deviant Scrap called Nitty Gritty! It's full of the most unique images all in either grayscale or aged yellowed tones.

Here is a page I made using only images from this kit. I played around with depth in this one. This is something new for me and I kinda like the way it turned out.

Make Your Own Wonder

by glitterbugStudios

Thanks so much for stopping by and I will be back soon with a sweet project and a link to the tutorial...stay tuned!

More Christmas fun!

2011-12-02T18:43:00.003-05:00

A few more Christmas goodies to show you! I just adore those vintage little Putz houses and wanted to duplicate the look only on a bigger scale. I didn't really want to put together my own, so I purchased a paper mache one I found at my local craft store. I decorated it with sheet music, lace and some candy cane colored pipe cleaners that I tea dyed.

Here is a centerpiece I made from several found goodies from Goodwill. The bird had a very ugly brown ceramic crackled finish on it. I sanded it and painted it with about 10 coats of white paint. It then got a thick coat of white glitter and laid to rest on a nest of spanish moss. I used a candlestick to elevate it and made a wire cloche out of 16 gauge wire. Lastly, I attached an altered snowflake on the front and voila!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Vintage Inspired Ornaments

2011-11-27T20:38:00.007-05:00

Instead of shopping, I spent the better part of the weekend making ornaments to sell in town.

Here are a few examples and since I nearly made 4-5 coordinating ones, I have quite a few to decorate the tree at the shop. The top pic is a simple paper fairy.

This next one is a bottle brush tree I bleached and paired with a sweet little metal cup I found at Goodwill (actually I found 6 of them!).

The next is made using a digital collage I made in photoshop in which I colored the original illustration of the mad tea party and set it in Paris.

Here are some more teacup bottle brush trees but this time they are in pretty little off-white cups I again bought at Goodwill (10 of these!)

Another Goodwill find! A package of 48 little peat pots for a buck! I made some more paper fairies and put them inside the pots that were decorated with lace and tinsel ribbon -or as me and my bff Melissa calls it...TINSEL CRACK! As you can see I used it on EVERYTHING.

Another peat pot fairy...

And for a little different twist... a peat pot bird!

And I wanted to make a few Paris inspired ornies. This one has a little bottle brush tree on it.

I had my DH bend a few old spoons I had lying around so I could hang them on the tree. I love this image of this little girl. She reminds me of my niece, Ashlynn.

And I had to jump on the clock face bandwagon! Just a simple face glued onto a recycled cd disc.

I have several of these in different faces.

Thanks so much for stopping by and please mosey on over to Melissa's blog, Honey Girl Studio, where she has a fabulous tutorial on how to make a special holiday decoration using chicken wire!

Florentina's Circo Fantastico di Volo!

2011-11-22T21:13:00.003-05:00

I am so happy to share that my friend Evelyn from Finecrafted Designs over at Deviant Scrap has a brand new kit out today called "Wild Rides".

I created the wildest ride of all in my piece.

It's a flying circus filled with wild animals!

This kit is great for digital AND cut and paste pieces.

You can find it here in her shoppe.

Thanks for stopping by!

My poor neglected blog...

2011-11-20T20:28:00.009-05:00

I really do not know where my time goes. Just life, I guess. I am really going to try and do a post every week and not neglect my pathetic little blog. If you are a blogger that posts everyday or almost everyday, I applaud you!

I have been super busy making Christmas and winter themed pieces to sell in town here. Even they are few and far between. Man, I need to win the lottery! Anyway, here are a few things I have made over the last few weeks. I hope they give you some inspiration as many of your art has for me.

My first piece is a paper tree using vintage dictionary pages.

Next is another paper tree using sheet music and a paper mache box.

This is an idea I got off of Flickr, I believe. Just some paper mache cones covered in book text and fresh pine inside. It smells wonderful. The board is from my old deck.

Yet another tree (must have been on a kick!). This one is covered in rigid wrap, painted and glittered. Underneath is a sweet flocked deer I glittered up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest...What have I ever done without you?

2011-11-03T10:23:00.003-04:00

I am obsessed!

Yes, OBSESSED with Pinterest!

Anyone else? (Besides my sista Melissa WHO MADE ME obsessed!)

If you have never tried it, you must go have a look. I just started last week and cannot get enough!

Have I told you I'm obsessed?

There is a button you can push on my side bar to go to my boards. I must say I have flickr'd, blog hopped, tumbled, and stumbled upon but pinning is the absolute best.

Not only can you find great inspiration, adorable pictures, and hilarious pictures- all content is pinned (or should be pinned) from the original source and then it is one click away from a fabulous new blog or a great new tutorial you never knew about.

One such blog is called Twig.

She is hilarious and her pictures are divine.

This one post had me laughing so hard because as a blogger I can relate.

Things Bloggers Do #3

And her drawings crack me up too.

Well, I am off to do some more pinning because I JUST CAN'T STOP!

Loaded with scrumptious creepiness!

2011-10-10T11:14:00.003-04:00

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has done it again! She has a new kit out at Deviant Scrap just in time for Halloween called "Slightly Sinister" and it is chock full of vintage people just on the verge of being super creepy. I was immediately drawn to the headless body for this next piece I call "Puzzling".

I tried to make it look like an advertisement or poster for a new kind of act or something like that. Like with movies, how the critics say what they think and you see their quotes. The stars are from Finecrafted Design's Paper Moon kit. I just thought they provided just the right amount of dazzle to this digital collage.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully I can do another post soon highlighting all of my Halloween decor I have been making and will explain my absence from my blog lately.

Still Here!

2011-09-26T11:42:00.004-04:00

I cannot believe it has been so long since my last post! I have been so busy with back to school stuff and making Halloween decorations that I have totally lost track of time. I have also been working on a special project for the Deviant Muse (the newsletter for Deviant Scrap). It comes out on October 1st and I will be able to share it with you then. But for now I can only tease with the picture above.

I will be back soon with many other creations that I have been working on including creative team pages I have been working on. This time of the year and especially Halloween is my favorite!

Tracey

You're Invited!

2011-08-16T16:50:00.004-04:00

That's the name of a great new kit by Tumble Fish Studio and Crowabout StudioB! I made this postcard using the kit- every image is from it, front and back. It goes along with a mail art swap in September at Deviant Scrap. The theme was to make an invitation to a fictional event. I chose The Pointy Hat Convention! After working digitally lately, it really felt good to break out the scissors and gel medium. It was very therapeutic after the creative dry spell I have been feeling. I hope that you all will join me for the upcoming swap!

Vive La France!

2011-08-05T10:19:00.002-04:00

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has come out with a couple of awesome parisian themed kits over at Deviant Scrap! I made this video on my computer to highlight her Vive La France kit and the beautiful layouts her creative team has made using it. Please look at her kit previews for what is exactly included with this kit as we on her team have used other images from some of her other kits in our pieces. Enjoy!

Sweet

2011-07-20T06:15:00.001-04:00

New work! Digi AND handmade...

2011-07-10T17:39:00.023-04:00

Firstoff, my hand altered pieces! They take SOOOooo much time to do and I get so proud of them especially when they turn out how they did in my head. I am on a total Alice kick lately and decided to make an altered book. The scene I chose was when Alice met the Fawn in "Through the Looking Glass".

Credits found here

Next is a dressform thing I found at the local flea market and boy was it ugly! It was painted yellow with white polka dots. I decided to do a french theme. I collaged some french book text text and then added some paper roses and a tag. Much better!

And now for the digi! I am proud of these too and some do take a while to make depending on how many layers I have in them. This next one I did using a "collage" type method. I think it's very pretty! I used Tumble Fish Studio's kit Favorite Pieces at Deviant Scrap. Trapped Beauty full credits here Here is another piece I made using Tumble Fish Studio's Journal Words kit. The girl is public domain and colored by me! Heavy Was Her Heart full credits here More Tumble Fish Fun on this one! She has brought back a great kit called That's the Ticket and I used the images in my background. The girls are from the public domain and colored by me. The Webster Sisters

full credits here

And now some love for Miss Beth Rimmer! She has come up with these great niches that you can embellish any way you want. The next piece is SO me right now. Someone described my aesthetic as "cute and creepy"! They're so right. Her niches can be found here.

Destinations full credits here

Fairy Door full credits here And last but certainly NOT least is a layout I made for Finecrafted Design's kit Vintage Paris Art Studio! I just couldn't help myself!

Bad Marie full credits here

Thanks so much for staying for such a long post! Have a great day!

Meet Shirley...

2011-06-28T11:48:00.005-04:00

As you may remember, a few months ago my DH bought me two dress forms he found while searching Craig's list for car parts. I had wanted one for my studio for ages. One is an Acme dress from from the 40's (I think) that I named Lucille. You can see her at this post. This next one is Shirley and she needed a little more sprucing up before she was ready to make her blog debut. She was made of this weird spongy material and her "dress" was ripped up the side. So I decided to wrap her in rigid wrap!

It took some time but finally she was ready for her second phase of transformation.

I got some old patterns from my MIL that she no longer used and Melissa from Honey Girl Studio came over a couple of weeks ago and helped me collage them onto her body. Here she is with her first coat of patterns. She will definitely need at least 3 more layers to cover the rigid wrap. I love how the color is turning out!

I finally had some time this past weekend to finish her! I tried to find interesting parts of the patterns to use in certain body areas. After a layer of rigid wrap and 4 layers of paper and mod podge, she has a nice hard texture to her. No more ugly orange sponge!

And now I get to dress her up and use her as a display for all my new pretties! She will be gracing a new shoppe in town where Melissa and I will selling some of our pieces but she will never be for sale. Now if I could only find a nice iron base for her...

Thanks for stopping by and meeting Shirley. Just goes to show if you really want to, you can transform even the ugliest of things.

Have a great day!

What a nice week...

2011-06-19T20:15:00.009-04:00

Time Flies

Tumble Fish Studio (girl, background, wings, floor and crown)

Studio Maya (clocks)

Lorie Davison (crow)

I was on a vacation this past week and had such a relaxing time. I spent time with my kids, read "The Hunger Games" (AMAZING!), made some art and had a visit from my bff Melissa from Honey Girl Studio! I will post about that in a few days. I actually had time to make some physical art too. This next piece is an altered piece based on the digi collage I made above for a round robin whose theme was "time flies". The girl is from one of my favorite Tumble Fish Studio kits of all time. It's now available in a kit called "Odd Magic" at Deviant Scrap!

This next piece is based on a funny sign I had seen at my local flea market. I used a couple of Tumble Fish kits here: Vacay and Happy Places. TFS Bed and Breakfast Tumble Fish Studio (boy, building, grass, tree, labels and fish) Finecrafted Designs (fence) Lorie Davison (pulleys and signs) Beth Rimmer (suitcases) And here is a spooky layout I made. I am going through a "cute but creepy" phase... They Haunt This Place Tumble Fish Studio (house) Kids from Playingwithbrushes on flickr This next layout is one of my new favorites! All the elements except the people and the grass are from Beth Rimmer's newest kit "Open House at Roswell" available at Deviant Scrap. Again, I tried to achieve an eerie look with this one... Roswell All elements from Beth Rimmer except people from my own stash and grass from Tumble Fish Studio Thanks so much for stopping by and stay tuned!

It's amazing what you can learn...

2011-06-07T08:05:00.003-04:00

When you have an idea and google to learn how to do it! I so wanted to make a dynamic header for my blog and recently saw a layout by Karen Johnson in the June issue of the Deviant Muse on Deviant Scrap (here is the free link!). So I scraplifted the design and made it. This way of creating a layout is so out of my comfort zone but I like how it turned out. I like trying new things and stretching myself. Then I had such a hard time finding a pre-made background to match that I decided to make one myself! I had NO IDEA where to start so I just started googling and voila! Believe me, it took a long time to just get my dimensions right and I still think I could have fit it better but overall for my first try I think it works. So I may be changing it a bit here and there but think it's time to get a sort of signature look to my blog and not keep changing it too much. Thanks for stopping by and checking it out!

Tumble Fish Magic!

2011-06-01T07:59:00.023-04:00

Anything Can Happen

This is my version of Alice's pool of tears...

Girl Whimsy, Jiant Journaling, At the Beach from Tumble Fish Studio

Topiaries and watch from Studio Maya

Boy have we been busy over at the Tumble Fish Studio creative team at Deviant Scrap! With Marsha moving everything from etsy, she has created bigger and better kits and filling her new shoppe with amazing eye candy. The CT has been furiously keeping up with inspiring layouts and altered pieces to showcase all of her colorful and fun images. Here are a few of my contributions as of late with much more to come! These pages highlight her newest kits available including Girl Whimsy, Jiant Journaling, East Is West part one and part two, and a smidge of At the Beach will be available tomorrow. You can visit her entire shoppe here.

His Face

I wanted to have a darker feel to this to show that her images can be used for more dramatic pages too.

Girl from Girl Whimsy, man from Hint of Odd (not available just yet) from Tumble Fish Studio

background from Lorie Davison

Dragon Rider

East is West part one and two from Tumble Fish Studio

Thanks so much for looking and have a great week!

For all the lovers of vintage men!

2011-05-23T07:12:00.004-04:00

Time For a Fish Tale

Beth Rimmer has a fabulous new kit available at Deviant Scrap called "What About Bob?" Don't be fooled by the title...it is a kit dedicated to men, vintage men (my favorite!)

Strongman

The elements would be perfect for all you cut and pasters too! I plan on doing that as soon as I can get some time. Please check out her shoppe here...

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Monday!

She's Back!

2011-05-22T08:27:00.004-04:00

Starting Monday May 23rd, Tumble Fish Studios will be available on Deviant Scrap! Don't forget to visit her blog to be entered into a drawing for some fabulous prizes!

Gossip or Truth?

2011-05-20T09:32:00.003-04:00

Stay tuned for the good news!!!!

I find this works...

2011-05-17T19:25:00.013-04:00

She Always Had Her Head in the Clouds

Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Finecrafted Designs, and Paper Whimsey

When I need a creative kick in the pants, I find joining a swap or challenge with a theme helps. It can give me a good starting point and I build from there. I decided to join a round robin at Deviant Scrap where we picked a theme for either a single page 5 X 7 or a double at 10 X 7. It is up to the player making your page if they do a single or a double page, whatever fits their vision. My theme is "Maggie Taylor Style" and the layout above is one I made for my book. The following layouts are the ones I have finished up to this point. There are 17 players and we send twice a month. I will be posting the layouts I received so far in a few days!

Shadows Fall Made for the theme "ART Doll that expresses a mood" (this one was sooo hard for me!)

Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Finecrafted Designs, Lorie Davison, Studio Tangie, and DeadFred.com on flickr Clockwork Heart Theme was Steampunk Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Finecrafted Designs, SherrieJD, and Lorie Davison Love Musings (double page) Them was "Notebook Style Musings" (another very hard one for me!) Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Color Splash collab kit at Deviant Scrap, Studio Manu, and personal stash Phoenix Heart Theme was asian, bonus with a phoenix Images from Tumble Fish Studio, geisha from creative commons on flickr Alice in the Garden of Rabbits Theme is Storybook Characters Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Holliewood Studios, Finecrafted Designs, Studio Maya and Paper Whimsey Some Pig Also for Storybook characters. Her first partner gave her an Alice page and I felt bad so I did Charlotte's Web Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Finecrafted Designs, Holliewood Studios, Cryztal Rain, and Paper Whimsey Chocolate Thunda! Made for a Twins theme. Images from Tumble Fish Studio, Beth Rimmer, and my stash Water for Elephants Made for a theme of "She dreams in color". Images from Tumble Fish Studio and Beth Rimmer Thanks for staying with me for such a long post! And sorry about all the spaces in between my lines. When I type it in to blogger it doesn't have them but when I publish my post they show up...if anyone knows how to not let this happen please tell me! Thanks!

In a Funk...

2011-05-16T07:52:00.004-04:00

Disappearing Muse Elements from Tumble Fish Studio at etsy.com

Just haven't felt much like creating lately...not sure why? I am hoping that my muse comes back real soon- I am starting to miss her!

Thank goodness for PSE and digi collage. At least I can still create while she is off wandering. I sure hope she brings back some great inspiration when she does finally reappear...

The next two pieces are made using a great "new" kit from Beth Rimmer at Deviant Scrap called Nantucket. You know I do LOVE a vintage looking kit! And the lifeguard cracks me up. I affectionately started calling him Stanley and the name stuck.

I'll keep you posted as to when my muse decides to come back. She better have a good reason for leaving me for so long...

J-U-N-Q-U-E...

2011-04-24T19:33:00.004-04:00

On a chain!

At least that's what my BFF Melissa calls this "technique" of jewelry making! You start with a chain and then you add not junk, but junque. Mine has a steampunk feel to it with the watch guts and the fantastic pilot guy she made me using shrink plastic. She also made me the stamped metal tag that says "steam" and all the beaded baubles you see. For the rest, I just looked through all my stash and found things I liked and that I could put a jumpring through. It was really fun to put together. And I also wanted to show you the fabulous find my DH bought for me! I have always wanted a vintage dress form for my studio and while perusing craigslist for car parts, he found 2 of them for sale. It was like fate. This one I have named Lucille, after my grandmother (who's picture is in my blog header). She is from the 40's (I think) and is a little rough around the edges but that is what I love about her so much. She is the perfect display for my necklace, don't you think? I can't wait to find her a ruffley pretty skirt at the flea market this summer. The other form needed a bit of work and I will post her when I finish it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a great week!

Holy Cow, it's been a long time...

2011-04-24T12:15:00.008-04:00

Since I last posted! I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I did. I have been busy with my daughter and her softball schedule and my son has been under the weather too. I have managed to get a few things done that I would like to share with you...

I made this first piece for a new kit by Finecrafted Designs called "Inner Voice". It is such a different looking kit, full of elements that help you create layouts to express feelings that maybe you didn't have a way to before. This is an 8 X 8 cut and paste collage.

A Different Perspective

This next layout is also showcasing a kit by Finecrafted Designs. It's called "Meet the Mandrakes" and is chock full of crazy fun spring elements including, you got it, mandrakes! Funny story, in our CT thread at Deviant Scrap for Evelyn, another member had a great idea for a layout but not enough time to finish right away so she called "dibs" on her idea. I was at work when I get my idea and I couldn't work on mine til I got home so I called dibs on "Man Seeds".

"Man Seeds" This next layout is my contribution to Beth Rimmer's new kit called "Steamtown Explorers". I just love this kit and it's steampunkey elements! Everything but the ladies (public domain) and their goggles (Finecrafted Designs) are from it. Be sure to check it out!

Explorers

The next project is something that I was asked to do by a good scrapping buddy, Edeena (naughtsncrosses) at Deviant Scrap. She asked me to come up with a tutorial showing how you can use digital images in cut and paste projects. I decided to make an altered fishbowl! I used images from Finecrafted Designs "Mermaids Galore" kit. Edeena put together the tutorial for the April issue of the Deviant Muse, the newsletter for Deviant Scrap. It's free to download and is stuffed full of great ideas and interviews. You can find it here. A new one comes out the first of every month so make sure you never miss an issue!

Thanks so much for staying with me in this very long and overdue post. I hope to have a big project finished soon so stay tuned! I think you will all love it!

Egg-celent find!

2011-03-27T19:22:00.008-04:00

Charlotte

Easter morning 1836

As my bff Melissa knows, I am a Goodwill junkie! I stop at two of them regularly. Yesterday I went to my local store with my daughter in hopes of finding a couple pairs of jeans for her. Unfortunately we didn't but she did get a pair of J Crew shorts, a Banana Republic blouse, a very cute red sundress and several tank tops for 14.00! Well when we walked in the door, I instantly saw this huge ceramic egg and immediately grabbed it. I held it close and she laughed at me so I said, "I would totally fight someone for this!" I had a vision of what I wanted to do with it and today I finished it. The girl is from PaperWhimsey and the topiaries are from Studio Maya's Time Travel kit. I painted over the awful stripes and butterflies that were on it with a warm white. Then I collaged some sheet music inside. I also added some fine white glitter to the shell that you cannot see in the photos. I arranged my scene inside and covered the "floor" with moss. Finally, I found the perfect little dish to set it in (thanks to my DH who got it for me at the Restore) and wrapped some vintage tinsel around it. I absolutely love it! I will be placing it on my sidebar in my dining room for Easter. Now to keep my other bff Tracey from stealing it! I always seem to give her my best stuff, LOL! Here is the before pic...

And the afters...

Thanks for stopping by today and I'll be back soon with a fun new kit from Finecrafted Designs!

Where did the sun go?

2011-03-17T20:43:00.005-04:00

Strange Child

Well, I know I promised to show the 2 fab prizes I won during OWOH but it has been so gray and gloomy here the past few weeks, I can't seem to get good enough pics to do them justice. So I am gonna show you the only art I have been able to do lately with my limited time...digital! Beth Rimmer, who I CT for at Deviant Scrap, has come out with 2 new steampunk kits with a promise of a third very soon. The first picture is from her kit, Steamtown Scientifics and was inspired by my daughter and her love of books. Come to think of it, all three of these pages were inspired by that! This next one is me trying my hand at a more traditional scrapbook page. I used her kit Steamtown Detectives on these next two collages. I like how the kits can be used both ways.

Books Are...

This next one is a mock-up for a bookmark that I plan on cutting and pasting for her to use.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I will try to get good pics of my giveaway winnings as soon as I can! The weatherman has predicted some sunny days in our forecast...fingers crossed...

It's finally available!!!!

2011-02-27T13:12:00.013-05:00

It's "Full Steam Ahead!" The kit has finally hit the shoppe and I think you are all gonna LOVE it! I made a sweet little 8x8 collage using this kit and a little bit of Ev's "Paper Moon" kit as well. It's called "Fly Me to the Moon". It is a mixture of digi and cut and paste. The image above is my final piece. Below, I have the two side by side with the digi on the left. The final piece on the right isn't as vibrant on screen only because it was scanned in. In person it is just at bright as the digi one.

Below, I have examples of how I print out the images onto cardstock. First I start with the background. There is no way I could have achieved this detailed of a look without using my photoshop. I wanted the moon to look like it was powered with gears! I also could have never used the clouds in cut and paste. I love using page overlays too...they mimic the inking I usually do with my ranger ink pads along the collage edges.

Next is my sheet of images that I will cut out and reassemble on the page. I leave the shadows out and make my own in the final piece with my pan pastels which I love!

And here is the digi piece by itself that I made in my PSE. I love this way of collaging since I can plan exactly the size of all my elements and where they will go on the page precisely. I do love digi but there is really nothing like the feel of a cut and paste piece and especially getting my fingers dirty. The best of both worldsThanks so much for stopping by and have a great week. Stay tuned for my next post about my awesome luck in winning a couple of OWOH giveaways!

Creative weekend...

2011-02-27T10:46:00.003-05:00

With Spring right around the corner (hopefully), I have been working on some Easter decorations. I made this bunny tussie for my BFF Tracey. I try to make her at least one big decoration for each holiday. This is one of my paperclay heads and it rests perfectly inside a paper mache cone that I covered in crepe paper and embellished. I tried to make the cone look like a carrot!

And now for something just for fun! Melissa from Honey Girl Studio found this great tutorial on youtube on how to make bracelets out of old vinyl records. So in my travels yesterday I found a 6 album set of Beethoven records for a dollar! Talk about a deal and a great way to recycle. I had my daughter Macey stamp the designs since these were being made for her friends. We had a blast and they turned out awesome! Try it sometime!

See the grooves?

Thanks so much for stoping by today and have a great Sunday!

I'm such a tease...ahem, erm, teaser I mean...

2011-02-23T06:58:00.005-05:00

The Butterfly Keeper

I have the sincere pleasure of being on a creative team with some of the most imaginative and truth-be-telling-intimidating with their skills-digital artists around. The designer we work for (yeah, like it's work) is Evelyn of Finecrafted Designs at Deviant Scrap. Now I am a cut and paste artist by heart but I do love playing around in photoshop. It is so satisfying sometimes to teach yourself something new (or skype with a friend who is also learning along with the help of her "Photoshop for Dummies" book...ahem, thank you Melissa...). As I have said it a bazillion times before, it really does help to create your vision for a cut and paste piece that you can print out and make. And I have to say that certain kits strike a chord more than others. Maybe it's the subject or the colors. Maybe you have the perfect pictures to go with it. I can tell you I don't think I have ever been this excited about a kit coming out since her "Ode to a Muse" kit a few months ago. I know it's definitely the subject, which is a utter favorite of mine...STEAMPUNK! Until I became involved in the altered art world I never heard of steampunk even though I had seen or read references to it. I never knew it was a whole movement! She put has together the most awesome, creative, beautiful kit for all of us to play with. I know I sound like I am gushing, but I AM GUSHING! The kit will be available in her shop on Monday Feb. 28th. Not only will the digital enthusiasts flock to it, I believe the cut and pasters will find it lends itself extremely well to use in their pieces. And this is a perfect way to incorporate photoshop in your c&p pieces. We all know how hard it is to cut around those gears and contraptions used in steampunk. Here is the perfect solution-make your background in photoshop using those elements and then cut and paste your main figure on top! It gives great layering to your art. I am going to use this way in the piece I will blog about when the kit hits the shoppe. Then you can see exactly what I am talking about. Before I could use PSE, I would have never attempted such a detailed steampunk piece-it would have been impossible. So stop back next Monday at least and I will give you the links to the kit and you will be able to see all of the teams creations (and you will totally see why I am intimidated, LOL!)

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging around for such a long rambling post!

Tracey

P.S. Stay tuned for a post highlighting some extremely cool collage sheets my dear friend Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has recently put in her etsy shoppe!

And the Winner of my OWOH giveaway is......

2011-02-17T10:37:00.002-05:00

Michelle of HippieDog Creations!

I used the Random Generator to pick a number between 1 and 156. The number it chose was 115 and after counting it 3 times to make sure, she is the winner. I have tried every which way to put a picture of the screenshot I took of the generator but without my photoshop I am clueless (I am on my work computer doing this during lunch...) as to how to accomplish this so you will just have to take my word for it! LOL!

I really want to thank everyone who stopped by my little corner of the world to say hello during this event. I have discovered so many new and wonderful blogs to keep up with and maybe a few new friends!

Happy Valentines Day with a Birthday Present...

2011-02-14T07:54:00.005-05:00

I know, I know, it's ANOTHER altered book...I told you I had a problem! This one is very near and dear to my heart as it was made as a gift for my mother's birthday which was Saturday. You will probably recognize the lady in it as the same one in my header. She is my mother's mother, Lucille, and my muse for so many things. I miss her so much! I think this picture is from the 1920's. I made this book a little differently. I cut off the front cover and made it to hang by some ribbon. And I included another new obsession of mine, making rosettes out of book text! Another quote I just love. I thought it was fitting for both me and my mom.

Here are the sides that show the dimension of the roses and also glitter of course!

And here is a close-up of the rosette. I like them because I can use the pages that I cut out of the book for them and not waste them.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you have a lovely Valentines Day!

For my next post I am gonna share my chocolate eclair recipe due to all the requests I have gotten. Oh and I am trying my hand at making my own special signature...not sure how I like it so it will probably change. Take care!

I think I have a problem...

2011-02-09T16:29:00.003-05:00

Look what I bought today after work...More books! I have SOOOO many ideas to alter them. My friend Melissa gave me the coolest idea today, so I hope I can work it out. I'm not telling just yet what it is but I think it is an awesome idea. Meanwhile, here is another book I have upcycled into a fabulous gift for a great friend who inspires me all the time, Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio! As many of you can tell, I used her own images for this piece. They are from her Presto sheet available at her etsy shoppe! She left me the most amazing comment on my last post about the book I made my BFF but little did she know I was already hard at work making this for her. The only images that are not hers is the poster on the front cover and the audience. I changed the name of the magician in Photoshop (thanks to Marsha for introducing me to that!) to "Tumble Fish, The Great Magician!" I hope she likes it. Marsha, if you are reading this, I will be shipping it out very soon!

Here is a close-up so you can see the depth of the niche.

Another pic showing depth...and the quote, I just loved it's meaning.

Of course I HAD to glitter the edges...everything is better with glitter!

Thanks for stopping by today and I had better get some housework done before I start another book!

A Friendship book and a Bunny...

2011-02-06T18:02:00.004-05:00

If you are looking for my OWOH post, click here...

Here is a book I made for my best friend Tracey's 40th B-day. I wanted something she could look at everyday and know how special her friendship means to me. We met in college about 22 years ago and have remained extremely close ever since! Here are a few bits of trivia about us:

Yes, we both have the same first name and it is even spelled the same way!

Our weddings were exactly one week apart. (Me first)

We has our first child 5 weeks apart, both girls. (Me first)

We both moved to a small town between Akron and Canton. (Me first)

I'm sure there are more similarities but that's all I can really think of now.

It didn't take me that long to cut out the niche in the book. I would work on it while watching tv or eating lunch at work. I love how the butterflies on the tree are dimensional.

I just love this image of these two girls. I used the same one before on a Easter decoration I made for Tracey last year. You can see it here on my flickr stream.

I found this saying and thought it was just beautiful. It summed up my feelings, I always feel safe when I'm with her.

And here is another project I have been working on. I have become obsessed with making dolls from these blank bodies I found at my local Pat Catans. So many possibilities...

The head started out as one of those plastic pumpkins covered in rigid wrap from the tutorial I did with Melissa of Honey Girl Studio.

I used some beautiful vintage tinsel I had to decorate her neck.

She is holding an egg decorated in some french book text.

I am planning several more...perhaps one in a chocolate brown color?...

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

One World, One Heart!!

2011-01-30T13:09:00.010-05:00

It's that time again, One World, One Heart! I had so much fun participating last year that I wanted to get in on the fun yet again. I met some really incredible bloggers last year and even won 3 giveaways!

I should probably give a little background on myself...My name is Tracey and I have been interested in art for my whole life. I started paper scrapping about 12 years ago when my daughter Macey was born. Then I had my son Jake three years later. About 3 years ago while surfing the net for layout ideas, I came across a web site called flickr and everything changed. I discovered altered art collage and the world of trading ATC's. I was hooked! I found it easy to transition to this new world due to my scrapping for 9 years.

I met alot of other people who were passionate about this too including Melissa from Honey Girl Studio who has become one of my best friends. I have also been fortunate to be on several creative teams. I have them listed in my sidebar if you would like to visit them. I do not create full-time (I wish!). I work as a secretary, biller, and transcriptionist for a heart surgeon during the day. But when I am able to, I love to lose myself in my studio and get my fingers dirty with gel medium and pan pastels! Speaking of that, here is my giveaway for the OWOH event. I know Valentines Day will be over by the time I draw a winner, but I just couldn't help making this sweet little shrine. I thought it fit well into the theme of the event also. So all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and then click on the top photo in my sidebar to be connected to the host of this event's blog, A Whimsical Bohemian and check out all the other participants.

And I just wanted to show you all a little something I got my hands dirty making last night... Chocolate eclairs! If you have never tried to make them, you should. So so easy and so yummy!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tracey

Holy Gnomes Batman!

2011-01-27T17:46:00.004-05:00

Gnomeo and Juliet

Isn't this the cutest idea for a collage sheet?! Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has done it again with her new sheets available in her etsy shoppe. GNOMES! I actually used several of her sheet to make this homage to the new "Gnomeo and Juliet" animated movie that is coming out soon. My kids have been pestering me to go and see it...

Geisha Twist

An my dear friend Evelyn from Finecrafted Designs has also come out with a new kit called "Chinese New Year" at Deviant Scrap! It is full of beautiful asian elements including several geisha beauties, dragons and rabbits! Yep, rabbits! It is the year of the rabbit after all...

Thanks for stopping by and my next post will be my One World, One Heart giveaway!!!!

Tracey

I'm Leaping!

2011-01-19T10:50:00.003-05:00

Leap Like a Lunatic

Like a lunatic! Figuratively, not physically that is! I have been aching to work in my personal journal for a while now. Now that the holidays are over and I have a little more free time, I plan on spending it on a journey to find myself again through journaling. For now I am working on layouts in PSE that I plan on cutting and pasting into my very first junque journal.

I have discovered a wonderful new designer at Deviant Scrap named Beth Rimmer! I am really drawn to her images probably because they are very vintage looking and I love using those kind of elements in my collage work. I have used pieces from her new kit "Caught in the Act" for my newest collage. I can't wait to cut and paste it into my journal and then hand letter the words. Hopefully I can get it done soon to show you the before and after!

Thanks so much for stopping by and check out Beth's other kits at Deviant Scrap. You won't be disappointed!

Mermaids Galore!

2011-01-09T08:04:00.003-05:00

Who doesn't love mermaids?! My friend Evelyn from Finecrafted Designs has put together the most fabulous kit chock full of these beauties. You can find it here in her shop at Deviant Scrap. When I saw the kit, the first thing that came to my mind was a great song from A Fine Frenzy called "Liar, Liar". I have featured part of the lyrics on my layout I made using this kit.

Siren Song

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great Sunday!

New Doors...

2011-01-05T21:38:00.004-05:00

New Doors

full credits here First I want to apologize to everyone for making you look at the same blog post for over two weeks. The holidays really took over my life! But now it is calming down and I really feel the need to create. So many of us look at our lives this time of year and try to make changes. I have a very good feeling about 2011. I feel that I will open alot of creative doors this year. I want to try new things, take chances...and I know one thing I will be better at doing. Keeping up with my responsibilities to the two people who thought enough of my work to ask me to be on their creative teams, Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio and Evelyn from Finecrafted Designs. I think the world of both these fantastic ladies! They are so creative and supportive in so many ways. I have been slacking on them and though neither one would accuse me of it, I know I have been. So that is gonna change! I made this collage to signify what I hope to happen for me this year and I used elements from both of these wonderful designers. I know too that I promised a giveaway for my one year blogaversary that was on Dec. 23rd. Again, time got away from me and I have nothing made yet. I participated in the One World, One Heart blog event last year and plan on joining again this year. So I will probably offer a couple of prizes during that to make up for it. That will give me a few more weeks to make some cool stuff! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

So much to do!...

2010-12-20T13:02:00.007-05:00

(handmade ornament for ornament exchange)

I was off work last Friday and it felt great! My boss was in Colorado and his wife (who is the BIG boss) told me to take a day for myself. I putzed around the house and my studio most of the day making more teacher gifts and a few things for a new blogging friend. What I should have been doing was making cookies for a cookie and ornament exchange I was invited to last might at my friend Mindy's. So yesterday I was running around like the proverbial chicken trying to do everything that needed done.

(banner garland for Mindy)

In addition to the cookie exchange, my daughter Macey also had a girl scout Christmas dinner and gift exchange to go to AND a major independent study project for her GATE class that was due today. She had been working on it for a couple of months but the diorama came down to the wire. We completely re-thunk (it's a word, really!) the whole concept yesterday and had to start from the beginning. I'm sure you are asking, "Well, what did she do on Saturday?" Creating of course! I couldn't go to Mindy's house empty-handed so I was making her a banner type garland for her fireplace mantle (see above pictures). Her house was built in the 1800's and she has it decorated so nice for the holidays. She has a tree in every room including the kitchen. I only had time to photograph a couple though, had to get home and finish Macey's project!

(kitchen tree)

The above pics are taken in her "long room". You can see my garland there on the mantle!

This was made for a new blogging friend as a surprise along with a couple of other goodies that I didn't get pics of. I can't wait til she gets it!

Thanks so much for hanging in there with me as I usually don't write such a long post. I will be a little MIA this week due to the fact that I haven't done one tenth of my shopping...wish me luck!

Found a cool tree and a new Homegirl!

2010-12-14T17:17:00.005-05:00

I scored BIG TIME at goodwill on my way home from work today! I just had a feeling something special was waiting for me...I walked in and look what I saw! This very cool tree! It's not a feather tree but looks very similar and I only paid 8 bucks for it. It had the ugliest strand of lights on it that I removed and a couple of the branches are ready to fall out so I will have DH fix those when he gets home from work. I can't wait to decorate it. I am hoping to be able to have a holiday open house next year (I know, that's a long way away but I so need that much time to prepare) and this will come into great use.

Speaking of selling more of my art...a friend of a friend told me about a local gal that has a big barn sale at her house twice a year. I guess it is quite the event and she looks for local artisans to contribute items. I didn't have her name but I googled her and found her blog! It's called Homegirl (that's also the name of her business) and I wrote to her and she was so sweet. She really liked my stuff and invited me to sell at her sale! How exciting!

On a different note...here are a couple of finished cones I made for Jake's teachers for Christmas. I will probably fill them with some candy, etc. and a Starbucks giftcard.

Thanks for stopping by today and I have figured out what my one year blog-a-versary giveaway will be for next week! I will post it either Wed. or Thurs. of next week so make sure you come by and enter!

Hunkered Down...

2010-12-12T18:06:00.004-05:00

What's the only thing to do when you are hunkering down for a winter storm to hit? Stay all day in your studio and play!

I finished several projects I have been working on and it felt good.

This first project is an altered book. I saw one on flickr and fell in love.

You can see it here.

It took a long time to hollow it out but I would work on it while

watching tv, etc. and it was worth it!

This next piece I just threw together but I love how it turned out. Remember those glitter birds from a previous post? I had one left and I decided to make it a nest in a thrifted gravy boat I bought. I think it is so sweet. I put it on my powder room counter.

These snowflakes were from a tutorial on the Joli Paquet blog.

I have a ton of these glittery snowflakes and decided to try their idea.

I just love blue and silver together, don't you?

Well thanks so much for stopping by and if you were hit

with the same storm, please be careful!

I am hoping that school gets canceled tomorrow as I made

a deal with my boss to stay home and just check messages.

So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

More Cone Love!

2010-12-09T21:00:00.005-05:00

Here are a few trees I have been working on and of course...they are made out of paper mache cones! The first one is simply made out of extra large fluffy cotton balls and then placed on a thrifted candlestick.

This next one took a lot longer than I thought it would but turned out pretty nice I think. All I did was pleate crepe paper all the way around it and then embellish it. I also placed this on a thrifted candlestick after placing it in a little silver bowl I found. I dusted it with ultra fine glitter that you can see better in the close-up picture just to give it some extra sparkle. I think this tree will end up living with a very special person to me. Don't they look so pretty together?

I just realized that my one year blog anniversary is coming up in about 2 weeks! Hmmm...will have to come up with some sort of little celebration and giveaway so stay tuned!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cone Love and a Giveaway!

2010-12-01T20:20:00.010-05:00

I love those paper mache cones you buy at the craft store. They are cheap and so fun to alter! I made several holiday themed "tussie mussies" and also a couple of wall pieces to either decorate inside or hang on your front door. These first two pieces were made by collaging some antique french book text and then white washing them. I trimmed them in silver tinsel and added the letters to spell out some holiday wish words. DH cut the boards to size (they are boards from our old deck we had redone and also the nails are too. They are very rustic looking). I also gave the boards a white wash and then hung the cones. I gave one to my BFF and she placed some pine clippings in them. Not only are they decorative but filled her house with fresh pine scent. I am keeping the PEACE one for myself and plan on placing it on my front door for the holidays.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my other BFF Melissa from Honey Girl Studio is having 30 days of giveaways from now until Christmas (personally I think she is crazy, but she says either go big or go home!). She was feeling a little under the weather tonite so I am providing her prize for the giveaway today. I made quite a few of the mussie cones to give away to my kids' teachers and so on. I went a little overboard and have a couple of extras. Here is the one Melissa will be giving away...

All you have to do is follow the link to her blog and follow her instructions when she posts the giveaway! Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Visit the 30 days of giveaways...

2010-11-28T19:25:00.002-05:00

over at Honey Girl Studio! My friend Melissa has challenged herself to do a post everyday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. She will be having a giveaway each day from free images to Christmas CD's to whatever! You'll have to check her blog everyday to see what she has in store. I suggest favoriting her and even after the 30 days, you get to enjoy her beautiful creations and her fabulous sense of humor!

Crossing fingers...

2010-11-23T18:22:00.005-05:00

...that the public gravitates to my artwork! I have no idea what they will think. Sure I get alot of support from my family and close friends and from all my blog and art world friends too. But that doesn't really count now does it? Well of course I appreciate it but it's not a biased opinion if you know what I mean. Good news though, my friend Mindy came over to my house that morning that we were setting up and purchased the two items pictured above. It's good to know they have a beautiful home to go to! I think I am gonna make myself something similar to the snowbird cone. I still have 2 of the glittered birds left. I got them at TJMaxx and I may go back for another box of three. I love how the glitter looks antiqued.

Thanks goodness I had Melissa from Honey Girl Studio there to help me. I have never set up any kind of display and she pushed me along with time limits or else I would still be sitting at my desk making things! And her creations are so fun and whimsical and made the display complete. Next year I am definitely having some sort of open house instead of lugging all this stuff somewhere else. And I am going to start making Christmas items EARLY, like in June!

Here are a few pics of some of the pieces that are for sale. Sorry about the blurry eiffel tower pic. I wish I had gotten a better picture of it. It took a long time to make and stands 14 inches tall! I took pics of the table display but there was a big window right behind it and they didn't turn out very good.

Maybe I can get my wish if it doesn't sell. I really wouldn't mind keeping it. Thanks so much for stopping by I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Tracey

Died and gone to Heaven!

2010-11-14T17:56:00.009-05:00

The Protector Kit preview

I'm so sorry if I sound like I'm gushing but I can't help it! My friend Evelyn from Finecrafted Designs has really outdone herself. She has teamed up with Hollie Harandon of Holliewood Studio to create a kit based on the works of Maggie Taylor. They call it "Ode to a Muse" and let me tell you, it really inspired both creative teams to make some of the most fantastic pages I have seen lately. You can see all of them here. Here are a couple of pages I created with this kit. I haven't had much time to play since I am still getting ready for my "debut" as a seller but will as soon as I can.

Sky Sisters

Imagination is Key

He Was Green

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you all had a great weekend.

An Opportunity...

2010-11-10T21:45:00.005-05:00

I have recently been given an opportunity to actually sell my creations to actual people! I have only been either trading, making gifts or making things for myself since I discovered this altered art lifestyle. I would be lying if I told you I wasn't very nervous. I guess I just have no idea how people I don't know will like my point of view. But I have to try. If it doesn't work out then I guess I will have alot of gifts stockpiled, LOL! Here is a sneak preview of what I have been working on...

Well, I had better get back to work! I am hoping to make a little money to put towards Christmas gifts!

Thanks for stopping by!

Zetti Fun!

2010-11-01T08:00:00.005-04:00

Calling all zetti enthusiasts! My friend Evelyn from Finecrafted Designs at Deviant Scrap has come out with a new kit chock full of zetti fun! It's called Zetti ReVamp!!!! Even if you have never tried zetti but always wanted to, this kit is a great way to start. Head over to her shoppe and check it out!

Here is my page I made using this kit.

I call it "What a Predicament!"

All elements from Zetti ReVamp except for bottle (Tumble Fish Studio @ etsy.com) ad bottle tag (Studio Tangie at Scrapbookgraphics.com)

When I saw the elements in the kit, they reminded me of a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland! This kit would be an awesome addition to any collage artists image stash. There is also a really cool companion alpha to go along with it! So many possibilities! Head over to Deviant Scrap to snatch it up!

It's snowing men!

2010-10-24T11:37:00.015-04:00

Snowmen, that is! Since Halloween is almost here, it's time to switch gears. The frosty nights speak of impending flakes...So Melissa from Honey Girl Studio and I have challenged each other to make a snowman and do a cross-blog posting! Here is what she created...

Meet "Sugar, the Snowman"!

Isn't he the "sweetest" thing you have ever seen? He is 12 inches tall from the tip of his hat to his toes and is made of felt. You can make one just like him by heading over to her blog and getting the free pattern she posted! So stop by and let her know what you think!

And now for my creation... Here is "Mittens, the Snowman"!

He is 15 inches from the tip of his hat to the bottom. He has coal eyes made from paperclay and the tinsel around his hat and neck is vintage and from the 60's from the look of the packaging that I bought at my local flea market. His hat is covered in vintage sheet music and he is covered in sparkly glitter that my pictures do not do justice. He actually has wood arms!

Thanks for stopping by and meeting Mittens! I would love to hear what you think of him!

The last of my Halloween dolls!

2010-10-21T17:54:00.005-04:00

I have had so much fun making these dolls from Melissa's and my tutorial! Now I have made a skeleton doll and my son Jake put in a request for a Frankenstein one. The cat is something I made for a good friend when I didn't have a blank doll body (SOMEone bought all the doll blanks at my local Pat Catan's...) so I used two of those paper mache boxes and stacked them. I think it turned out pretty cute! And since it is a scaredy-cat, it says at the bottom "Cat got your tongue?"

I am trying to make just a plain doll out of this technique and plan on making some for Christmas as snowmen or maybe even Santa...we will see. If you have tried this tutorial let us know! We would love to see what you have made. Just put a link in your comment so we can check it out!

Scrapping and Journaling

2010-10-19T20:05:00.004-04:00

lyrics from "Airplane" by B.O.B Are you happy Melissa? I'm finally writing a new post! I have to agree though, it needed done but the time just flies by. This year I was introduced to digital "scrapping" and png files and "elements". Not in the usual altered artist vocabulary but I had the opportunity to learn about this art form and I have to tell you I am hooked! It's actually come full circle as I started out doing traditional scrapbooking before I started collaging. Digi scrapping is so addicting! Believe me, I still love getting my fingers dirty with collage but when I am short on time or when I lay in bed at night I love to open up my Photoshop and play. I have been playing around with mixing the two. In my first piece, I made a digital collage and then printed it out and hand lettered it. I used all images from Tumble Fish Studio @etsy.com. I plan on pasting this into my junk journal I am starting. The next two pieces are all digital using elements (there's that word again!) from the Foxes and Furs kit from Finecrafted Designs @ deviantscrap.com . The first one could easily be made into a collage sheet and printed out to be cut and pasted. The lady, as you can see, is my grandma Lucille. The last piece is a more traditional scrap page using elements from the same kit! So you get the best of both worlds in this kit, vintage ladies in fur coats that are perfect for collaging AND fall elements that are perfect for making a fall page in your scrapbook. Now only if my printer printed 12 by 12's...

2010-10-10T15:29:00.004-04:00

Well I think it's time to announce the winner of Winifred! I was going to wait til a little later in the day but I don't think I'm gonna get anymore comments on it. So without further ado, the winner (as drawn by my daughter, Macey) is........Fiona from My Artful Muse! I'll contact you by e-mail to get your address Fiona! I hope you will enjoy her as much I did making her. Thanks to all of you who left such sweet comments and who follow my blog. You don't know how much it means to me!

And the First Place ribbon goes to...

2010-10-06T07:11:00.003-04:00

Susie!

For her incredible prize winning turban pumpkin! Susie grew it from a seed and sang to it everyday, coaxing it to grow to it's enormous size. She was so excited to get the first place ribbon at the county fair!

I made this collage for a challenge at Deviant Scrap in which we needed to display the image of this turban pumpkin prominately. And the more times I enter, the better chance I can win some loot! So I may bore you with more collages using this image (if I get some time). The little girl is from Tumble Fish Studio @ etsy.com! I know I use her alot but I am just so drawn to her sweet little face and her adorable haircut! And I did kinda steal the idea for using the ribbons from my sistah Melissa at Honey Girl Studio...her amazing Pumpkin Steward collage was very inspiring! Check it out here...

More mail art!

2010-10-03T18:37:00.003-04:00

front of envelope

Back of envelope

It's a new month and that means a new theme for the envelope swap on a trading site I belong to! This month's theme is "artist choice" and since I just got some great new collage sheets from Tumble Fish Studio, I decided to use them in my envelope. The sweet messenger boys and the Western Union slip is from the sheet "Remembrances 2". Aren't they so sweet? They really lended themselves to this type of mail art.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway! Although everyone who has entered so far has an awesome chance...Winifred the witch just isn't that popular...Oh well! I think she is adorable! But then again, I did create her! LOL!

New collages from new sheets from Tumble Fish Studio!

2010-10-02T10:50:00.005-04:00

All images from Tumble Fish Studio @ etsy.com

OMG! I am having SO MUCH FUN with Marsha's new sheets! You have to check them out. She has some great themes going on from pumpkins to vacation to vintage remembrances! Visit her etsy shoppe to take a look!

And don't forget to enter my witch doll giveaway! Just click on the pic at the top of my sidebar!

A tussie, candy corn and finally... The giveaway!

2010-09-27T21:05:00.008-04:00

I made a super witchy tussie for my friend Tracey to decorate for Halloween. I just love to make these!

And to help decorate my white iron tree on my dining room sideboard for Halloween, I made some sweet candy corn ornaments out of paperclay! Man, I love that stuff!

And without further ado....

Well, here she is! I call her "Winifred, the witch!" and all you have to do to win her is leave a comment on this post for one entry, become a follower or let me know you already are one for another entry, and mention it on your blog and send me a link for a third entry! I will be choosing the winner on Sunday October 10th around noontime. Good luck! And don't forget to stop by Melissa's blog to enter to win her pumpkin goblin!

It's coming...

2010-09-26T21:03:00.002-04:00

Me and Melissa from Honey Girl Studio are both doing giveaways for our newest creations using our tutorial on PumpkinHead men you can find in a previous post. Unfortunately, time got away from me this weekend and mine is not complete. The pic above is just a tease! I want to finish her off before officially posting my giveaway. So please stop back tomorrow evening sometime to enter to win her! Thanks for being patient! But please stop by Melissa's blog because her's is finished and her giveaway is up and running!

Are you a scaredy-cat?

2010-09-25T20:49:00.004-04:00

Have you tried the tutorial on the rigid wrap pumpkin men? Are you a scaredy-cat? My friend Lori of Lori Compton Designs wasn't! She made the most adorable trio of gents! Stop by her blog to take a look. Then give the tute a try!

As you can see, I made another doll using this technique. He is a "scaredy-cat" and he is a gift for my best friend Tracey (yes, I know, we have the same name!). He is so scared, he is hugging his ghost stuffy very hard! And, if I can get my crap together tomorrow, I am going to post a giveaway for one of these dolls. I am thinking a witch, just in time for Halloween! So stop back and see if she is ready tomorrow...

And my friend Melissa is having a giveaway for an altered key necklace! Click on the pic at the top of my sidebar to take you to her blog!

Fun with Melissa!!!

2010-09-19T19:23:00.010-04:00

I spent the day at Honey Girl Studio today! Me and Melissa made the most adorable pumpkin head men! She has taught me so much and we had alot of fun giggling, eating, shopping, and creating! She made the yummiest lunch for us and for dessert...chocolate mousse! Here is how we started...

Look at the mess we made on her table!

First we bought this little guy at Pat Catan's in the doll making aisle. He is made of stuffed muslin and has wire in his arms and legs so he can bend. And the pumpkins are from the dollar store. Just cheap little pumpkins. I think they are about 3 inches wide.

Then you take a product called "Rigid Wrap" which is fabric covered in plaster. If you have the latest Cloth, Paper, Scissors mag you will know all about it. Cut it into strips, dip it into water, and then cover your pumpkin while smoothing it with your fingers. Just make sure to overlap the strips. It dries overnight and then it's ready to paint!

Here are the stages of the face. On the one on the left, you can see that we added a nose and cheeks out of Creative Paperclay.

I just realized we didn't take any action pics of decorating them but you can decide that for yourself. We painted them with plain acrylic paints. When the clay on the face is dry, paint it however you want. Melissa made hers into a pumpkin and mine is more like a white gourd. Oh! Make sure when you put the face on that you have the opening to the pumpkin on the bottom. After the paint is dry, go ahead and ram it on the body. It's fun trying to decide how to position it on the body. Just subtle changes really make it look different. Then get out the hot glue gun and glue the head to the body. Then decorate away! We added pointy hats and sparkly trim to finish them off!

Here is Melissa's man. Isn't he adorable with his little buck teeth? He is sitting on the book decoration I made for her. He looks pretty good there! Just goes to show how different they can look. Wouldn't one look good with a witch's face or how about a black cat...let me know which one you think I should make next!

I am planning on making more and we were thinking they would make great giveaway prizes just in time for Halloween! Stay tuned and if we can get our crap together soon, maybe as soon as next Saturday!

Oh and my son Jake stole my starter body and decided to dress it up. He says the guy just got out of the shower hence the robe and the bubbles in the hair! Looks like I have to make another trip to the store to replace it...

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

Gray Area Challenge...

2010-09-17T20:21:00.005-04:00

All images except background, shells, and creatures of impulse sign are from

Tumble Fish Studio @ etsy.com

Shells and sign from Studio Gypsy. Background from Finecrafted Designs @ Deviant Scrap.com

Here is my entry for the Gray Area Challenge that Marsha at Tumble Fish Studio has put out for us. It is a digital collage that I made in color and then turned into grayscale. I am calling it "The Wrong Sort of Boy". I must say it takes on a completely different look than it's color counterpart. I am planning on cutting and pasting the color one and then hanging it in my studio!

Please join us in this challenge! Stop by Marsha's blog to read all about it!

And let me know what you think of my new header! I'm not sure why, but I really into Halloween this year...

Witchy women...

2010-09-15T20:25:00.007-04:00

I made these skinnies for a swap on a private site. I had a blast making them and I think my favorite is the "HAT HAIR". They are 3 X 5 in size and I am planning to make more sets for me and a friend to decorate for Halloween. I have a really cool white iron tree on my sideboard in my dining room and I will cut the top corners off and turn them into tags to hang on it!

And for another great giveaway, visit Diane from MY ART JOURNAL. She is a wonderful mixed media artist and she is giving away one of her favorite pieces!

Her art is full of whimsy and wonderful textures.

You won't be disappointed!

Hang on to your pointy hats!

2010-09-14T07:01:00.003-04:00

My super duper friend Marsha of Tumble Fish Studio is having her two year blog-a-versary celebration ALL WEEK! There will be a new post everyday with lots of exciting things planned and, of course, fabulous prizes! She has also challenged everyone to make a collage in gray-scale to make us look at color a little differently. I have never done this but plan to participate so be on the lookout for my entry real soon!

She also has some awesome new digital collage image sheets available in her etsy shoppe!

The digital collage above was made using her images. They are pure perfection, bright, colorful and fun!

So don't forget to stop by EACH DAY THIS WEEK to see what she's gonna do next!

Inspiration struck again!

2010-09-11T17:11:00.004-04:00

The Halloween tussie was made by Lori of Lori Compton Designs. She had a booth at the flea market. Isn't it darling!

When I went to our local flea market on Labor Day, I noticed two books haphazardly stacked on top of each other. One happened to be black and one orange. They instantly reminded me of a spooky library filled with black and orange books. I bought them and set off to find another old book to complete the set. I found another orange book (who knew so many old books were bound with an orange cover?) and knew precisely what to do! I must say the finished product is exactly how I imagined it (which does not always happen I must add, LOL). I wrapped a pretty ribbon around them and added a handmade tag. This set is for my best buddy Melissa of Honey Girl Studio. I was supposed to go and see her tomorrow but we are both trying to recover from bad colds and decided to postpone our visit. And if you can believe it, I actually found three more books for myself! The best thing about this decoration is it was super cheap to make! And easy. You can either lie it down on a table or stand it up. I love to decorate for Halloween and have many more projects planned so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!

Don't you just love long weekends?

2010-09-05T10:57:00.005-04:00

I sure do! Since I work full-time during the week I treasure my weekends, especially the holiday ones! I always feel a little more relaxed since I have the extra day to, you know, get chores done. I don't feel as guilty stopping to make some artwork. Speaking of art, I did manage to get a few pieces done (and planning many more for today!) and I thought I would share them with you. This first one is for a swap on a private trading site I belong to. Talk about "mail-art", these are both rolled into one! It's an altered envelope! But this envelope you do not open. The envelope IS the art! These swaps have been going on for awhile on the site but this is my first attempt. The theme is Halloween and I could not pass it up! I was totally inspired by a project I saw in my latest Cloth, Paper, Scissors issue. If you have the mag you will instantly know what I am talking about.

I will fill in the boxes when I find out who is my trade partner!

This next collage is something I have been wanting to do for a while now. I have a dear friend that has struggled alot this year with some emotional tribulations. I have been wanting to make her something to feel better and to say thank you too. She has really helped me grow as an artist this year by teaching me new things and opening my eyes to new endeavors. I don't want to say who it is so she will be surprised (but now I'm thinking that I may have given it away with my hint but she will never know til it arrives, right?).

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful and SAFE holiday!

New postcards...

2010-08-30T14:04:00.005-04:00

As you may know I was introduced to a website called Deviant Scrap earlier this year by my dear friend Marsha. Although it is mainly a digital scrapbookers site, us cut and paste gals (and guys) can also find great images to use in our handmade work. I have already told you how much I like to use png files to print out and use. Their quality just cannot be matched. Although Marsha and DS have parted ways and I thought I would just go there to buy images, I was contacted by Evelyn of Finecrafted Designs to be part of her team. She is one of the newest designers there and I was blown away that she asked me to join her. Her first kit is called "Good for What Ails You" and is full of some great vintage nurse and medicinal images. I have made a couple of postcards using her new kit.

The first one is called "Friends, Good for What Ails You"

All images from Finecrafted Designs at Deviant Scrap

And the second one is called "Nurse Betty"

I made this for a private swap with the theme of "back to school".

All images from Finecrafted Designs at Deviant Scrap except for school children.

So stop by Deviant Scrap and check out Finecrafted Designs!

You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for stopping by!

Please join in this very special project...

2010-08-24T11:26:00.002-04:00

Do you ever read a blog post and get very inspired by it? That's what happened to me today. On my lunch hour I was doing a little blog hopping and visited my friend Trudi at Two Dresses Studio. She had a post about a project that The Holocaust Museum Houston in Texas, USA is hosting called "The Butterfly Effect". I was truly moved. After having had a difficult week and financial setbacks, I read her post and had a very humbling experience. So I have decided to join in. I hope to get some of my followers and friends to join in this wonderful cause too! And the easy part? You get to make art! Please click on the badge at the top of my sidebar and it will redirect you to Trudi's post. Please read the whole post and hopefully you will feel the same way I did and decide to join in.

Will be laying low for awhile...

2010-08-21T22:29:00.002-04:00

Just came back from vacation which was wonderful! Had terrible car trouble on the way home. Needless to say, alot of money will be involved! School starts for my kids on Wednesday coming up and I will be busy getting back into that routine. I am going to hunker down and lay low to save some money and that means no new swaps for a while. So I may not be around much til things get back to normal here. On the up side, my house will be spotless as when I am very tense especially about money, I clean, clean, clean! Oh, and lose weight from lack of appetite. So I will be looking at those two things as the "bright side" of my near mental breakdown. I know we will get through this and most people have it much worse than us. I am so grateful for what I have and thank God everyday for my many blessings. Have a wonderful weekend and I will try to see you soon! xoxo Tracey

Good Morning!

2010-08-15T08:19:00.003-04:00

Hi everybody! This was my view this morning. We arrived in South Carolina yesterday evening after a VERY long drive. We ran into terrible fog in the mountains of West Virginia for almost ten miles. We could only see about 10 feet in front of us. As soon as the DH gets back from the grocery and we get the kids fed, we can hit the beach! Have a great day!

A fun day at the flea market...

2010-08-08T12:22:00.017-04:00

What a wonderful weather day we had here yesterday in NE Ohio! I got to spend the day with my friend Melissa from Honey Girl Studio. We went to my local flea market and I found some great buys. I couldn't believe that this bottle brush tree was only $2.00! It is 24 inches tall. I have big plans for it this October...and I found these adorable vintage class pictures for only $1.00 each. Please feel free to use them in your artwork (please do not resell for collage sheets or cd's). I have the link to them from my flickr. I scanned them in at 300 dpi. I would love to see what you have made using them. I think it is fun to look at every little face and expression. Oh and the clothes! Adorable...

flickr link

Here is Melissa contemplating this shoe form available from the lovely Lori Compton. Lori's space was filled with whimsy and vintage charm. She is in the process of setting up her own blog As I See It and will be posting soon. Make sure to become a follower, you won't be disappointed! Just so you know, Melissa is much taller than me and she said walking beside me she felt like an Irish Setter walking next to a dachsund! Speaking of dachsunds, here is Melissa holding Ruby. Isn't she getting so big?

The winner is...

2010-08-05T11:46:00.003-04:00

Terry from Terry's work in Progress! She entered my giveaway that my dear blog friend Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations was having on her blog. Theresa kindly featured me in her Terrifically Talented Thursday post and the response was overwhelming! Thanks to everyone who entered and to those who became followers of my blog. I hope you won't be disappointed!

Another honor!

2010-07-29T06:56:00.006-04:00

My friend Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations has graciously asked me to be featured in her last post of her Terrifically Talented Thursday's on her blog "Welcome to My World". She has introduced her readers to some fabulous artists and giveaways through these posts. I was honored that she asked me to be a part of it. I met Theresa through the One World, One Heart blog party earlier this year. She was the winner of my giveaway and we have stayed in touch ever since. She is truly one of the sweetest souls I have ever met! And her jewelry pieces are wonderous to behold, so please visit her blog to read about me! And while you are there stay awhile and read through the rest of her blog and visit her etsy shoppe. She has a terrific knack for taking her readers on exciting journeys through here pictures and journaling.

And join her giveaway for a chance to win this original, handmade 5 X 7 collage I created with images from Tumble Fish Studio. It will come to you matted in black. Thanks for looking!

August Journal page finished early...

2010-07-23T19:57:00.003-04:00

I have been having such fun making these calendar pages! I decided to do a vintage beach theme since we are going to SC to the beach for vacation in 3 weeks! I think I have already decided the rest of the months' designs in my head. I love the hunt of the perfect image to go along with an idea, don't you? I think it is half the fun! I used images from the collage group on flickr and images from Tumble Fish Studio Vintage Beach pack and Studio Gypsy's Mercurial Trench at Deviant Scrap. Thanks so much for looking!

July's calendar page...

2010-07-14T06:47:00.003-04:00

Images from collage group on flickr.

I finally finished my July 2010 layout in my calendar journal! I know, the patriotic theme is pretty predictable, but I like how it turned out. I did a "Lady Liberty" homage. I really love the idea of this journal, being able to look back on it and see what I was doing and feeling. And I am pretty proud of myself for keeping up and writing in it everyday. I have never done anything like this before and I wasn't sure if I could keep up with it. I have already started working on my August layout. It is gonna be so fun!

What an honor! And bare with me!

2010-07-10T18:36:00.006-04:00

As you know I have been involved with a great site called Deviant Scrap.

Please check it out if you haven't already! Sadly, due to my work schedule mostly, I have had to step down as a CT member for Tumble Fish Studio and Crowabout StudioB...I have had alot of fun learning new things and meeting new people!

I plan on staying very active at the site. The forums are fun and informative and the gallery is jaw dropping gorgeous! And a great thing has come out of me being there. Edeena, naughtsncrosses as she is known at the site, asked to interview me for the Altered Hearts zine!

I was totally surprised and very humbled so I accepted. If you have never read the zine you should really check it out! It is beautifully made and soooooo informative! And Nancy from Crowabout StudioB is also featured in this month's zine.

So go have a look, you won't be disappointed!

And I am trying my hand at designing my own blog header. So if my layout or anything ever looks wonky, I'm probably working on it. I really have NO IDEA how to do it but I'm gonna try!

Stepping out of my so-called box...

2010-06-29T07:09:00.005-04:00

All elements from Tumble Fish Studio at Deviant Scrap.com

I really cannot say enough about my new way of collaging. Now that I have semi-learned how to use Photoshop Elements, I love being able to "preview" my collages before printing the pieces and cutting and pasting. It has really saved me loads of time. I know what you're thinking..."Then where are all these collages you must have been able to make with all your extra time?" Well, my schedule is easing up a bit and I have been really inspired by all the fab art I have been seeing on Deviant Scrap. It has opened doors and my eyes to a whole new way of thinking and doing art. And everyone is so nice and very encouraging. I have been blessed to be on the CT for Tumble Fish Studio and Crowabout StudioB. The other members have been blowing me away with their art and inspiring me to push myself beyond my comfort zone. I really want to thanks Marsha and Nancy for believing in me enough to help support them in their new adventure. I believe in them and LOVE using their elements! They really are alot of fun to use.

All elements from Crowabout StudioB at Deviant Scrap.com

Finally some art time!!!!

2010-06-27T19:40:00.006-04:00

Baseball is winding down and I did manage to get a page in my calendar journal done today. Tumble Fish Studio at Deviant Scrap.com just came out with more great kits! I used images from Twinkle Toes, That's the Ticket, and Little Round Things for this collage. It says "Life is a dance, even when you can't feel the music you still have to go through the motions." This is pretty much how I have been feeling this month. Just going through the motions. But I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

I had been missing my dog so badly that my DH went looking for a puppy for me. I wanted another mini dach and he found me one two weeks ago. It was kinda like fate since when I went into the owner's house she recognized me from almost 30 years ago when she babysat me! Our mothers were BFF's in high school. She gave me a great deal and I couldn't pass it up. The kids had NO IDEA that we were going to look. Needless to say they were very excited when I brought her home. Of course she is a handful and my carpet has taken a beating but she is a sweetie and I love her already. Jake named her Ruby.

Sad news...

2010-06-21T13:35:00.002-04:00

I am so sorry to have been away for a little while. My sweet baby dog Alphie injured himself a few weeks ago and had to be sent to Heaven. I have his picture on my side bar and have not been able to face it until today (which is not going well since I am bawling as I am writing this). He was only 6 years old and it was such a shock and devastation to me and my family. He truly was my third baby. I am trying to move on and have since found a puppy to help fill in his void. I will post her pic a little bit later when I feel it's the right time. I have been going thru so many emotions lately that I have not been able to concentrate on any artwork. Please, there is no need to comment or ask what happened. I just want to move on. Thanks so much for your understanding.

Out of my comfort zone...

2010-06-09T17:42:00.003-04:00

My friend Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio challenged us to make a "traditional" scrapbook page using her elements. After being away from from scrapping for so long, I found it kinda hard to do, LOL! But I kinda became obsessed and made three! I am gonna still do collages in a cut & paste style but I love this digital option when it comes to making layouts for my kids' photos. There is a whole new world out there in digiland & I am having fun exploring it.

New pieces...

2010-06-06T08:10:00.003-04:00

Pony Rides

Here are a couple of new collages I have thrown together using kits from Crowabout StudioB at DeviantScrap. The first is a cut & paste collage featuring Nancy's kit Grassy Hill. I used a photo from my private stash (I have it posted on my flickr free to use for personal use) and the lettering is done by hand. And the second is a digital one I did in Photoshop Elements (I am just learning!) but plan on making it into a cut & paste. The face is from another new kit called Funky Dolls.

Doll Face

I am also working on my July calendar page in my journal and I have to say, I think it is gonna turn out awesome! I can't wait to show you but will post it closer to the end of this month. I have been good keeping up with journaling on my June calendar too.

Not much planned for today. Need to get some yardwork done but the weather is not cooperating! So looks like it's gonna be laundry...and art of course!

A big project!

2010-06-01T21:49:00.006-04:00

Finished layout before journaling

I have been wanting to start an art journal for myself for a long time. My good friend roc posted a sort of challenge to make a monthly journal calendar and then share it each month. Basically, it's a calendar that you journal on each day. You can write whatever you want for that day...what you did, a quote, how you felt, even a smile face would do! Anything to get you to journal each day.

So I decided to make mine out of a dictionary I bought at the flea market for a buck. I haven't decided yet how to alter the covers so I will leave that until inspiration strikes. I ended up glueing 5 pages together to make each page sturdy enough for paint & collage. I used colors & images that remind me of June.

Now let's see if I can keep it up!

Even more journal pages...

2010-05-30T09:49:00.009-04:00

Paula's page

All elements from Crowabout StudioB on DeviantScrap.com

I am finally done with a teesha moore inspired jounal swap. I am so sad to see it end! This was one of my all-time favorite swaps I have ever been involved in. I think my own journal has one more stop & then I can finally get to see it up close! I showed you roc's "Bomb in a birdcage" page in my last post. Here are the rest of the pages I made for the swap:

Renee's page
Cathy's page

Terri's pageKarin's page

Irene's page

As soon as I get mine back, I will show you the covers I made & some of the pages from the other artists!

Gone Zetti!

2010-05-26T16:28:00.006-04:00

Here are a couple of zetti pieces I have done using images from

Deviant Scrap. First is a journal page I made for a swap I am currently in. All of the elements are from Tumble Fish Studio except the body, bomb, and birdcage! Hey, try to say that 10 times, LOL! The words are from a lyric from one of my favorite bands, A Fine Frenzy.

Next is a postcard made from elements from Crowabout StudioB on DeviantScrap.com. The designer is Nancy Baumiller and if you know anything about zetti, you already know who she is! So stop by DeviantScrap and check out her new packs. they are so much fun!

Two plugs...

2010-05-19T17:55:00.007-04:00

pendant made by Melissa!

I love helping out my girlfriends! This post is gonna give a couple of them a plug. First off, my funky and fantabulous friend I met on flickr, Melissa of Honey Girl Studio is hosting her very first art retreats this summer. She is calling them "Green Heart Art Retreats" and they are filled with fun and mixed media projects created in the great outdoors. I'll definitely be there!

Next is an experiment I have been working on to see the difference between a digital collage and a cut and paste collage. My friend Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has come out with a line of collage elements and images on DeviantScrap.com. I made a digital collage in my photoshop elements program using pieces from her juicy patterns and angel packs. Now be easy on me as I am just beginning to learn how to use photoshop, LOL! I liked the way my collage turned out but wanted to see how it would look as a cut & paste collage. So I broke it down, printed out the images on a collage sheet, then cut them out. I then got my fingers dirty with some good 'ole gel medium and pan pastels! That's the beauty of the png files! I get the best of both worlds. Now the colors are going to be a little different as I had to use my scanner & sometimes the colors get a little wonky. They are much more vibrant in person. So here they are, the first being the digital & the second cut & paste.

Here is the collage sheet I made

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T11:57:00.004-04:00

I know I'm a day early but I wanted to show you the postcard I sent to my mom for Mother's Day. As I have said in an earlier post, I am on the creative team for

Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com. I used elements and images from 3 different packs, Fishy Babes, Bright & Bold Borders and Just for Fun. I just thought the look on her face was priceless. I hope all you mothers out there have a great Mother's Day!

My avatar...

2010-05-07T11:15:00.004-04:00

for Deviant Scrap!

I used elements from Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com from

several different packs.

Background from Even More Just Juicy

Top Border from Bright and Bold Borders

Wings from Wild Wings

Crown from Crazy Crowns

B&W border from Bright and Bold Borders

The girl is my Grandmother Lucille!

If you haven't visited the site, what are you waiting for!

I am a Deviant...

2010-05-06T11:33:00.004-04:00

And proud of it! I have had the great honor of being asked by Marsha of Tumble Fish Studio to be on her creative team for her new adventure into collage element/image packs for...

Deviant Scrap!

It's a great site for collage artists, digi and/or cut & paste, and scrapbookers to find inspiration, tips, and of course images! So stop by and look around the site if you haven't already. Register in the forum to be able to chat with other members and team members or peruse the gallery to see all the eye-popping art being made with the image packs available from Marsha and Hollie of Holliewood Studios. I am hoping to get some pieces done very soon using her packs to show you what is available. I am truly honored that she has asked me to play along with her. Have a great day!

Art Auction at my daughter's school

2010-04-14T17:51:00.008-04:00

Macey with her drawing "Ode to the Trumpet"

Well it looks like I'm not the only artistic person in the family! My daughter Macey was invited to enter a piece of art into her school's art auction that raises money for the art program. It is a great honor to be asked since they only have 50 entrants from the all the grades between kindergarten and 5th grade from 3 different schools. Before the auction we had the chance to view all the pieces. They were all fantastic but some really stood out to me. Some of them went for over $100! What do you think?

This one was made with hundreds of inky fingerprints! What a nightmare to clean up...

Flea Market finds!

2010-04-03T13:01:00.012-04:00

I am very fortunate to have been on spring vacation this past week with my children. It was good just to stay home & piddle around the house & yard. I can't believe the weather we have been having here in NE Ohio. Yesterday we broke a record at 86 degrees. I am also fortunate to live literally about a half mile from a fabulous flea market called The Hartville Marketplace. In the good weather months, I try to stop by at least 2 times a month. The best times to go are Memorial Day & Labor Day weekends. So between last Saturday & today, I found all kinds of treasures! Excuse the pics please! I took them on my living room carpet due to the fact that as soon as I come home from there, I have to spread them all out & let the kids go through them! LOL!

I found a bag full of vintage pictures, books, postcards, and letters for $3.00!

And all of these dominoes for $8.00! They are all wood and the bigger ones that are not in the boxes are vintage. I like the ones in the boxes though because they are smaller. Great for jewelry! There are 28 in a box & there are 48 loose ones. One of the boxes and all the loose ones are going to my friend Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations. She makes the most gorgeous jewelry! Make sure to visit her blog. She takes you on magical journeys and her pics are so beautiful (unlike mine!). I got the vintage garland for 25 cents! I have BIG plans for it next holiday season...And whenever I see Hardcover Nancy Drew books, I call my daughter and ask her which ones she needs. She LOVES to read them and I got these 5 and a older Wizard of Oz for $5.00!

I found these little silver bowls, molds & the spoon for my friend Melissa from Honey Girl Studio. She makes the loveliest pendants from spoons! And how darling is that photo of the little girl! I am going to scan in alot of the vintage pics I purchased and post them on my flickr page free to use but not in a collage sheet or cd please! Check my sidebar for a link to my flickr. It may take me a few days to get them all there.

And lastly, here is Jake, who immediately stole all the checkers and little bowling pins that came in the box with the dominoes and built a castle. Theresa, if you think you could use some, let me know & I will snatch some when he isn't looking! LOL!

Sorry this is such a long post...I hope it will last me a while before Melissa yells at me for not making a new one soon enough! LOL!

I've been tagged...

2010-03-23T19:26:00.003-04:00

By my crazy friend Marsha of Tumble Fish Studio! I'm not quite sure if I did this right but the instructions said to go to my first picture file and then the tenth picture. I have sooooo many pictures that I have to organize them into folders upon folders or I would never be able to find a certain one if I was looking for it. So, my first file is labeled "artwork" and then the first folder is labeled "ATC" from when I was going through a phase making ATC's. I had just discovered a whole new world of mail art trade through flickr and had learned about ATC's and became obsessed with trading them with people all over the world. This particular one went to a flickr friend that was the mother of twin boys. This was actually one of my favorite ones I had made. I have used this image of the twins quite often. They just look like they got in alot of trouble together! So now I have to tag five people...hmmmmm...

Terri from Pringle Hill Studio Theresa from Faerie Moon Creations roc from What's up roc? Diane from My Art Journal Shelly from BlueRidgeLady You are all TAGGED! Now go to your first picture file & then to the tenth picture. Post it and tell the story behind it. Then tag 5 friends!

Trying new things...

2010-03-20T17:34:00.005-04:00

I have made pendants out of dominoes before, but I have never really tried making anything that resembled a "charm". I belong to a private trading site & a member posted an altered art charm swap. I wasn't going to join but then I came across these little wooden blocks that already had a hole drilled in it. So I bought some head pins and beads & tried to make something out of them. I'm actually pretty happy how they turned out. I always like to try & spread my wings as far as my art goes. You'll never know what you like until you try it. But don't get me started on inchies...they are the only thing I really hate to make.

My best friend, whose name happens to be Tracey also, called me the other day to tell me about something she had seen at a store here in town. She described it as an urn planter that was filled with styrofoam, covered in moss, and it had some little eggs placed in the moss. Then she said it had a black iron shape sticking out of the foam that resembled the part of a lamp that held the lightbulb in place. Then, clipped to this iron was vintage pictures. She really liked it but it was way too expensive for her to buy right now. Of course, from her description, I couldn't tell what the hell she was talking about! So I went & checked it out for myself. As soon as I saw it, it all made sense. I thought, "I can make that!" I usually make a weekly trip to a local Goodwill and I happened to find an urn planter that was plain white for 79 cents. So went looking for something that I could use for the iron piece. I found something that I believe was a candle holder for 59 cents. I came home & had everything else to finish it. I took it to her house when she came home from work & she loved it! Can't beat it for under $2!

Learning how to use crepe...

2010-03-14T08:21:00.003-04:00

I know you have all seen the beautiful things some artists can do with crepe paper. I am fairly new to this whole paper art thing, only been doing it for less then two years in my measly spare time. So I decided to buy some a few months ago and work with it when I could. I have been watching tutorials on youtube, pouring over flickr and blogs looking for different ways to use it. If you know of a good tut on crepe, leave me a comment or e-mail me please! I have also been wanting to make an Easter piece after seeing all the adorable Easter acoutrements at my local craft store. I made this piece for my best friend and thought that it was a fitting piece with the two girls who are different but obviously good friends. Well, I have to get going! I'm actually on my way to her house for Sunday morning coffee with the girls. Hope she likes it!

Laundry, laundry, and more laundry ...and a little bit of art!

2010-03-07T14:44:00.003-05:00

This has been what my day so far has been about. I spent all day yesterday running around doing errands, getting my hair done (fun!) and taking Macey to a Girl Scout cookie booth and softball practice. SO today was spent catching up with the house & doing laundry...YUCK! But I did manage to get a little piece of art done for a monthly contest on a trading site I belong to. The challenge was for an altered cd that had to have a vintage child on it. This was my kind of project, easy and fast! Well, I'm off to fold and put away all my clean laundry & then start dinner. Does it ever end?

Visit this great Alice giveaway...

2010-03-05T17:30:00.003-05:00

From Theresa at FaerieMoon Creations! Theresa and I have become blogger friends since OWOH when she won my Tussie mussie. I had learned through visiting her blog that she really liked Alice in Wonderland...well who doesn't? So as you have seen in my previous post, I made her an Alice card as a little gift when I sent her giveaway prize. And since today is the big Alice movie premiere, she is having a fabulous giveaway! She designs and hand-crafts beautiful necklaces and pendants and has several devoted to Alice in her shop. She is giving away to a lucky visitor one of the lovely necklaces and a pair of blue wristlets that she hand-knit in a beautiful shade of blue!

"we're all mad here..."

2010-02-20T16:01:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite characters in Alice in Wonderland is the Cheshire cat. I love it's sarcasm especially when Alice asks it not to diasppear & reappear so fast. So the next time he does disappear, he slowly fades until all you see is his grin. My daughter Macey & I cannot wait for the new Alice movie to finally come out. We have been watching all the clips and trailers online. We are both big fans of Tim Burton also. So in honor of the new movie, I have made a postcard sized collage showcasing my favorite cat. It is for a "special someone" who doesn't know it's coming yet but she will soon! I happen to know by reading her blog that she too is a big fan of this classic. The card is very dimensional and I have attached a hanger for her to use.

The images are from the collage images group on flickr & the border pieces are from crowabout.

The best thing about One World One Heart...

2010-02-16T19:09:00.005-05:00

Was finding so many great blogs I might not have found otherwise (oh & I did win three giveaways!). I couldn't visit all the blogs but found my way to about 150 of them.

One of my favorite finds was My Desert Cottage. The owner, Karen Valentine, is having a giveaway for reaching 500 followers! She has put together a wonderful box of goodies. So go & check it out & take a look through her other posts...you won't be disappointed!

And the winner iiiiissssss..........

2010-02-15T08:25:00.002-05:00

Theresa of Faerie Moon Creations! I want to say congrats to Theresa & a BIG thanks you to everyone who stopped by my blog these past three weeks! 280 comments, WOW! I have discovered so many wonderful blogs & the people behind them. This was one of the best ideas I've had to join the OWOH since I am so new to blogging. I have tripled my followers! I want to also say thanks to Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian for putting together such a great event. She put in a TON of time & energy to bring us all together.

xoxo Tracey

OWOH Giveaway...

2010-02-15T08:22:00.001-05:00

Commenting officially closed! I will be putting all comments in the random generator & draw the name of my winner! Stay tuned...

More Journal Pages...

2010-02-13T18:50:00.004-05:00

Finally got done with this swap. Whew! These are the last of the 8X10 pages for the PAT swap I was in. They are due on Monday but since it's a holiday, they won't go out til Tuesday. I felt bad for holding everyone up so I did decide to make a hostess page. Her theme was "ravens" and the other theme was "found poetry". I don't know why but it seemed like I only really liked how one side of each of these turned out. In my previous post, I liked the top page of each of them and that was the first side I had completed. Same with the poetry one, but the raven page that I liked best was the flip side (I have my favorite one listed first). If I had more time, I probably would tweak them a bit more, but alas, I do not. I hope the recipients aren't too disappointed!

Journal Pages...

2010-02-09T17:29:00.005-05:00

The theme for this page was "red/white polka dots"

The theme for these pages was "Royal Women"

I just love these images I purchased from Itkupilli on etsy.

I am a member on a private trading site and someone posted an 8 X 10 journal swap and dummy me, I signed up for it! That's what I thought at first. "What have I gotten myself into? I've never made a journal page let alone an 8 X 10 journal page!" Even though I only had to make pages for 3 people, it is a front & back page. And to top it off, it was a PAT swap. I thought at first that it would help me find a starting point but it really made it harder for me to find the perfect image and saying. But I actually think the size is growing on me. I am going to try to make my own page as well. My theme was "your favorite song lyric, any interpretation but please have the lyric on the page." Here are the first two pages with the third coming very soon (hopefully since these are due to the hostess by next Monday!). OMG! I just realized I should make a hostess page! I'll have to check & see what her theme is...I think the kids will have a snow day tomorrow & if they do, I'm gonna stay home with them. That means a whole day of art! I really do need to catch up on a few swaps I'm in. Stay tuned for the next & last journal page, with a theme of found poetry!

Almost full moon...

2010-01-30T14:50:00.004-05:00

If you are looking for my OWOH giveaway, just scroll on down...

Ever since I got my new camera, I love taking pics of the moon when it is full. My old camera could never get this close. I took these pics last evening. I read this morning on the web, that tonight is going to be the biggest & brightest moon of the entire year.

Due to the orbit of he earth, I guess we will be like 50,000 miles closer to it. So I will be out on my back deck snapping more pics and freezing my tookus off! I really should invest in a tripod since it is very hard to keep a steady hand when you are at maximum zoom!

Oh well. I am a artist, not a photographer!

So don't forget to check out the moon tonight & snap some pics of your own.

xoxo Tracey

Carpet Ride...

2010-01-24T00:21:00.017-05:00

It's finally here!

The One World, One Heart blog event!

You can click on the button on my sidebar & it will take you to a list of other participating blogs. Last year there were over 900 blogs from all over the world in the event!

I am so glad you stopped by my newborn blog. To those of you who do not know me, I am a wife, mother, office manager and wanna-be published altered artist!

I know I don't have many posts but hopefully you will add me to your blog list & come back & visit every once in a while!

I made this "spring inspired" tussie mussie to giveaway to a lucky visitor who leaves a comment on this post! I call it "The Birds and the Bees". Please have a way I can get back to you in your comment. If your blog is listed in your profile, that would be fine. If you don't, please leave me an e-mail address where you can be reached if you are the winner. I will drawing the name of the winner on February 15th when the event ends.