My Ten Minute Asymmetrical Necklace

I was so excited when i put together this necklace in less than ten minutes!! I'm not exactly a "jewelry artist" so this was the perfect jewelry project as a beginner. The Vintage Groove line by Making Memories makes is so easy! After I create a project the next step is to photograph it, which can sometimes be a real challenge... I decided to prop it on a dress form and grabbed the first shirt i saw in the stash of "clothes props" at work. I feel like it was the perfect choice! This picture actually ended up taking much less time than i thought so I was one happy camper. One of my biggest influences for style comes from my favorite store - Anthropologie. I'm starting to see how that reflects my photography sometimes! Everyone is (usually) their own worst critic and I'm usually pretty hard on myself but for once I couldn't be happier with the end result - project and photo!!

Little Touch & Sew

So i decided to go back to my favorite thrift (the one that's closing in 2 weeks..) to see if there was much left.. Everything is still 50% off, soon to be 75% off so you can imagine my reaction when i came across this mini Singer for $5 which ended up being $2.50 with the 50% off discount. I seriously feel like i hit the jackpot.


Every time i find i deal like this at a flea market or thrift store i almost want to pinch myself. I actually look around to see if anyone else is eyeing the same thing and about to try and snag it from me.

And then i just count my lucky blessings. My thrifting karma.

So this beauty is battery operated. I will be giving it a whirl this weekend to see if it works. But if its doesn't I'm not the least bit bothered. Because for $2.50 even if it doesn't work it will simply just look amazing as a funky piece of home decor.

Vintage Goodness - Mary Had a Little Lamb

Sadly my favorite local thrift store is closing... But the good thing about the store closing is that they are having an amazing sale to clear out the store. So when i found this stack of vintage children's books from the 50s i was just a tad excited when the store attendant informed me that "normally children's books are 60cents but with the 50% off sale they are just 30cents each." What!!!!


I know not everyone is as addicted to thrift stores and flea markets as some of us are, and i know there are people out there that just don't get it and think that things like this are "junky" but for someone like myself, coming across a find like this simply makes your day. I love how tattered and well loved these books are, it just makes them all the more special.


I haven't decided what to do with them or where to put them yet (ideas are appreciated). For now I will just stack them on the dresser in my daughters bedroom, and read them to her, but that may be a struggle since the stories don't involve Disney characters! Maybe I will end up using them for baby shower gifts, who knows?


But these well love books will most certainly continue to be well loved in their new home.

Unexpected.

I recently did a friend at work a small favor. She came to me wanting a little help altering a cardigan. To cut a long story short, it was a black cardigan and on the upper right chest area there was a decorative patch/embellishment that was a rather girly, frilly pink bow. It's not that it was it was hideous, but it wasn't good. And it certainly didn't suit the style of my coworker (Raquel). So I offered to take it and embellish/fix it and turn it into something a little more current that she would enjoy wearing. I added an arrangement of flower yoyos in black, white and a brightly colored blue fabric. It turned out pretty cool. Well I think it did. The cardigan should be making an appearance in a future issue of Altered Couture so unfortunately I can't show any pictures... However I was pleasantly surprised when Raquel came to my office recently with a gratitude gift that simply made my day. It was totally unexpected and that's what made it so special. I never expected anything in return for my favor so I was over the moon happy when she gave me this cool gift, and it made me realize that she was really happy with the cardigan.

Like a lot of women, one of my favorite stores is Anthropologie. I knew the moment Raquel handed me a gift in an Anthropologie bag that I would love it - whats not to love in that store? She added a sweet yet simple tag to the outside of the bag tied with a piece of decorative twill.

I love her handwritten note. I'm glad she doesn't have to wear something "cheesy" now! Cheesy would be bad.

Inside to my delight I found some cool gifts that any gal would love.

A cool flower brooch that you can attach to a shirt to add a little interest. The best thing about this brooch is that it doubles as a hair accessory. On the back it has a clip and a pin so I can choose to wear it either way!

Also included in the bag was a set of the cutest recipe cards ever! From a company that I just discovered recently, Rifle Paper Co. You must check out the website, its full of eye candy!

The best gifts are ones like this - unexpected.

Back From Oz

What a whirlwind of a trip! Izzy and I just spent two weeks back home in Australia.. Had an absolute blast with the family. We hadn't been back home since 2006 so it had been four years since we saw most of the family. Most of our time was spent just spending good quality time with the family at the beach and parks. I'm pretty sure Izzy's favorite day was at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Lone Pine is by far my favorite place to visit when back home. Its a small wildlife park, unlike the huge, over priced, commercial zoos that you can go to in Australia. It only has Aussie animals and is basically the real deal. The best part is being able to hold a koala and hand feed the Kangaroos. Thought i would share a couple of my favorite pics. I'm happy to be home and looking forward to doing some crafting - its been way too long!

Took A Break From The Blog I Never Really Started

Its been quite a busy few months to say the least. I'm feeling so extremely disappointed in myself that i still haven't really pushed myself to blog more often. A number of things happened that have consumed all my energy and time... But I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm going to put a stop to it and get back on track. I really want to start making more of an effort to just enjoy the moment. Just like my Izzy is enjoying herself in this pic. Sigh.

Finally - I'm a Cover Artist!!

Making the cover of a Somerset publication has been a goal of mine for such a long time. I've submitted to many of our publications and have been fortunate enough to have my artwork published in a number of various Somerset publications. At work I always enjoy see the "cover samples" every time I head over to the art department and was just waiting for the day that I saw a cover with my artwork as a cover option. So you imagine my excitement the day I saw my little French ATC hanging on the board as a cover option for Take Ten - and it was chosen!

Its been a tad crazy busy recently so I'm hoping to get busy and start blogging more soon!

Creative Idea for Wall Picture Display

Wire Wall Picture Display

I recently found this idea in a magazine (cannot find the magazine so sorry i cant tell you which one!) This is a really inexpensive way to decorate an empty wall. The supplies cost about $10.00 (not including printing the pictures).. All you need is:

• Turnbuckles (these are the wire connector/stretching screw)
• Hook screws
• Strong Wire
• Pictures
• Gator Clips by 7gypsies
  

I had my husband help out, I think its best if you have two people so you can make sure everything is level, even etc. Drill the holes for the hook screws (we used really small wall anchors just to make sure its extra secure) then put the hook screws in. Connect each end of the wire to the turnbuckles tightly making sure (if you are doing two rows) that they are the same length. Then hook the turnbuckles on the hook screws and tighten the wire. It’s really easy but you just need to make sure the wire is the right length. Easy!

I found the turnbuckles at Home Depot in many sizes but I suggest using the smallest size. If you are doing two rows then all you need is 4 hook screws and 4 turnbuckles plus the wire and clips. Then you just hang pictures of whatever it is that you are displaying using Gator Clips.

I'm a little disappointed with how my pictures turned out but it was not easy to photograph the area since its a narrow hallway and the lighting wasn't the best. Also just a quick tip - if you are printing black and white pictures I suggest you have them printed at the same place so you don't end up with photos with different shades/tones as I did. Some of mine ended up looking slightly purple instead of a true black and white..

Week 2 - The Artistic Mother Challenge

Poetry Journal

Better late than never! Here is my poetry journal that I altered. I used one of my favorite childhood pictures and part of a nursery rhyme that I love. I thought the "home" theme for the journal was appropriate with the shape of the journal. I hope to fill the book with many poems and journals entries!


I altered the book by painting it first then adding some art paper that I created in the week 1 challenge. I also added some fabric leftover from an old project and faux stitching rub ons. As usual I used Collage Pauge to adhere everything to my project - I love that stuff! I used a grubby tag for my childhood quote.

Not sure how the Week 3 challenge will go because i have a broken sewing machine! Uggh. Maybe I can alter a bag instead?? I'm sure i will figure it out - looking forward to it!

Week 1 - The Artistic Mother Challenge

Creating my Backgrounds and Action Lists

The various papers I used included regular printer paper, colored card stock, junk mail, lined paper and pages pulled out from crossword books. I primarily used the paint blending technique Shona suggests in The Artistic Mother. I did a few papers using the other techniques but i found the painting blending to be my personal favorite. As i was painting the papers i used paper towels underneath to avoid getting my counter top messy. I saved all the paper towels with the paint splattered backgrounds - I'm really excited about these paper towels and will save them for a future project! After all the papers had dried i used various stamps to stamp randomly on the papers. I didn't stamp every single sheet as i thought in the future i may want some without stamping for whatever reason. I picked my favorite paper for my "Action List" and in Word created the list, printed it on my background paper, scanned it and then printed out 12 copies. Week one is done - YAY!

Backgrounds Before:

Backgrounds After:

Artistic Mother Challenge

Trudy Callan is hosting an "Artistic Art Challenge" inspired by Shona Cole's new book The Artistic Mother. You can read all the info regarding the challenge on Trudy's blog here. I'm going to do my VERY best to be a part of this challenge and add my projects weekly. Can't wait to get started!!

Finally on Flickr

I have been meaning to create a flickr account for the longest time so I recently started one... I do all the web photography for Stampington & Company so I am going to try and regularly add some of my favorite pics from work and of course my family and I.. Check out my flickr photostream - enjoy!

Garden Girl

So excited for my "Garden Girl" project to appear in the next issue of Somerset Memories. Here is a peek at how it looks! It's a really simple project with a shabby garden theme...

Bind-it-All Project 1 - binding your childrens artwork

For the past few years I have been saving my daughters artwork from pre-school. It kind of got to the point where is was "out of control" so it was time to organize it. I have a really hard time parting with anything of my daughters (clothes that no longer fit, her drawings, old birthday cards, toys) just about everything.

I am a huge fan of the Bind-it-All machine by Zutter Innovative. In the Autumn 2009 issue of Somerset Memories I wrote an article about the Bind-it-All that featured the artwork of Shona Cole and Audrey Hernandez. I have been using the Bind-it-All quite a lot and decided this binding system was the best way to create books and archive my daughters artwork. I went through all her paintings, drawings and collages and weeded out some (this part was not easy) and kept the very best ones to bind in what appears to be the first 4 volumes of what could turn into a very large collection/library of Izzy's Art.

The Covers were made of recycled cardboard. Izzy helped paint them which was messy but fun as usual! We used white paint to do her hand prints - this was with out a doubt her favorite part! After the paint had dried we sealed the covers with Collage Pauge. We then simply bound all the books, trying to keep a theme for each one, one is collages, one is paintings, one is "holiday" artwork, and the other number and letter learning worksheets. I used the Antique Brass o-wires to bind the books and added a simple bow to the bind of each book when I was finished.

So much fun and such a great way to preserve your child's artwork for them to look back at and cherish when they are older!

Wonderment

I recently took a totally random picture of Izzy at the front door of my brother-in-laws apartment. Just a simple shot of her standing in front of his screen door.. Well I happened to show the picture to my boss who is a flickr addict. She loves to alter photos and has a very cool style. She altered the picture in Picnik. Click here to see her flickr post and the original!

yoyo

One of my goals for this weekend is to make some fabric yoyo's for a wearable art project! Love these ones that i came across on Etsy in cookoorikoo's shop when looking for inspiration..

Pure Vintage

I recently acquired a few very cool vintage dresses and they have inspired me so much that i decided to have a very special friend model some. This dress (and this photo) are by far my favorite. This particular dress is so feminine and just seems so pure. Gotta love a good vintage find..