Okay, I Squealed !

Just posted a link on Tim Holtz's tag page ... guess it's not really a tag ... I just got so caught up in the little tags that I forgot to do the big tag ...lol !!!!
I was looking at Tim Holtz's tag post where he used the enameled tags and rubons ... it was pretty exciting ! I grabbed a package of each and threw them in my "take home" bag ... the bag that gets carried home and then back again ... thoughts of "maybe another day". I left work late & then went grocery shopping ... home at 10:30pm. Darn, another night of not making anything. But I kept thinking about the tags ... they were calling me. I'll just make one ... HA !!!Once I started, I could not stop until I used the whole package !!! SO DARN FUN !!!
So you start with these items ...

And you end up with these !

First step is the alcohol ink ... apply it to your ink tool and dab it on. Watch it dry and see the lovely marble-like colour. If you don't like it, add blending solution and wipe it off ... foolproof !
Then choose your rubons and start rubbing ... seriously, that's it !!
I am thrilled with them. They would be fabulous on a paper project like a mini album but imagine them as part of jewelry ... oh my !
Oh, and here's another thing that makes me giddy ... you get 2 sheets of rubons in each package ... wahoo !!

Sunday ... a day of rest ... oh?

I have been feeling badly lately that I haven't posted anything on this blog. I have been meaning to make things, do videos, try products, ... hmmm ... it doesn't seem to happen. So yesterday, after starting to beat myself up a bit about it , I took a good look at my day ...
Sunday
* woke up early & came to work to fill the pellet stove ( it's my sole source of heat these days)
* off to MacDonalds for a quick cup of oatmeal - going to need fuel !
* back to work ... organized my bills, caught up on email, worked on a supplies order, counted & bagged 300 bags of beads
* off to grocery shop
* home & made a late lunch
* unloaded dishwasher
* did more dishes
* cleaned out the fridge ... eww.
* cleaned up my studio
* did an inventory of bulk stamps for future kits
* inventoried supplies for upcoming kits & projects
* designed three cards for this week's card kit
* cut, scored, folded, almost all the materials for this week's kit
* made a roast pork dinner
* gathered laundry
* ate dinner at 8pm (finally)
* back to the store to refill the pellet stove & find some more supplies for the kits
* back home
* finished cutting all the supplies for the kits
* loaded the dishwasher and washed more dishes by hand
* cleaned up the kitchen and packed away the leftovers
* baked brownies
* read & watched a little tv ...off to bed at 1am
And I work the other six days of the week ... so that might explain it. ;)

My latest Obsession ...

Peat pots. Perfection really. Wonderful little inexpensive , rugged vessels. Just waiting for ... something ... anything .

 

Here's how to make them ... super simple !!

 * Apply paint to peat pots ... do it with happy abandon ... I listened to Serena Ryder & just slapped it on. Sometimes I painted the whole pot, sometimes I left the rim, and some were solid and some just a light brush-over coat.

* Gather free printable images & stamps. Print and stamp on tissue paper. Make sure you use a laser printer and an ink like Stazon.

* Tear the images out and apply with Mod Podge.

* Fill with lovely crinkly strands ... I saved mine from a Hickory Farm gift box (ha ! I knew I would use it someday ...) and then find some quail eggs ... lol ... or any tiny eggs real or chocolate !

A fast fun project !!



Inky Hands = A Great Day !!

I love a day when I end up with different coloured hands ! Inkiness = Happiness.
Today was Spray Day for leaves ... I have literally 1000s of these leaves .... I bought all the warehouse had left. They take ink so beautifully and work really well as embellishments on almost any kind of project. Today I rolled down my sleeves and started spraying !!



Beautiful over spray papers !!!
 

                                        

More colour play ...

I decided to make tags with single colours of the Dyelusions as reference ... oh I love these colours !!
A swipe of gesso through a stencil and then BRING ON THE COLOUR !!!!

and a little more playing around ...

Dream Board ... ready to go !!

Just finished making my bulletin board !
Now to pin all my "plans" on it & get rolling !! Woot Woot !!
 I propped it in the window for the picture and how love how the light makes it look all mystical ... maybe it really has magic powers !!!  ;)

Oh, I am ...

Just Playing Around ...

I was experimenting with Claudine Helmuth's technique of applying gesso through a stencil and then adding paint. I did the butterfly tag with her paint & liked the end result. Very soft.

Then I broke out the Dyelusions ... now that's colour !!! Wow !

Look at that yellow & orange !!! WOW !!

Some of the gesso was smooshed up when I took the stencil off ( it was 11:45pm and I may not have been at the top of my game but I just felt like I had to make something before going to bed !!) but I still used them to try the colours . Why not ?

Now I am wondering about black gesso ...

Even a sign can be an opportunity ...

I needed a sign for a 50% off table at the store ... I needed to make something, anything. Need meets desire .. and a sign banner was born ! I got out my Cricut, some papers, stencils, inks, punches, and went to town . Now I have a pretty little banner that ,to me, makes the sale that much more fun !!

I also played around with stencils & gesso ... more about those later ... I still have more layers to add !!

 

More dictionary stamping ...

 

Cards ...

 

Loving the stencils ...

gelli gelli

 

So much fun !!!

Dictionary Project ...

I saw this on another blog and loved the idea ...
Start with an old dictionary ... just old, not precious as you are going to stamp in it. And stamp ! Simple.
I do it when I sit down and am not sure what to begin. I just take out a set of stamps and start looking up the words that describe the stamp. Then I circle the word & stamp the image. It just gets me working ... stamping, choosing ink, cleaning stamps ... nothing difficult but it gets my hands going through the motions and starts me thinking. And then I see those lovely images stamped over book text and I get excited. My mind starts to think of other possibilities ... and I'm off !!! Think of it as artistic stretching & warm up ...lol.

So with my hand & mind limbered up ... I was ready to make this week's kit... sympathy cards ...

 

Tags ... I like to end a work session with a tag. This one uses Distress Stains, white pen doodles, stamping, and Crafter's Workshop templates ... love the templates.

1-2-3 Go !!!

Well, it's been a long time ... and I finally am ready to roll ! I have been brewing ideas, letting them percolate, mulling ... but not acting. Today I begin.
I sat down at my work table and starting writing down what I wanted to achieve this year and the steps I would need to take to do that. Some were as simple as cleaning out shelving to make room for supplies. Some were make a website and on line store ( just wee projects ...lol).  There were skills to learn (soldering, mastering UTEE, lettering exercises, using the camcorder & editing) , projects to do (kits, videos, classes), and then just soul filling things ( creating every day, trying new products). All part of the master plan.
One part of the plan is to do more on my blog ... but not necessarily writing. I want to just post what I am doing ... maybe sometimes just pictures, sometimes writing, sometimes just little BLURTS.
And I am ready.