Stamp Art-o-Rama

Artistic Mother's Art Group - Week #1 Background Papers

2010-03-23T21:19:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I *DID* do my background papers, over a week ago. I was blessed to get a Friday night with all the kiddos (and hubby) out and worked on them for a couple of hours. I continued that next day, and then during the week, I began to to stamp, stencil and spray them.

But first, I hit my favorite book store...half price books!

I checked out some poetry books. Now, I had some on hand already, being a homeschooler (and 11 year user of Sonlight Curriculum!) but wanted to look for some more, one's that I could call MINE, and feel free to write in, copy, etc. The "I Saw Esau" book was illustrated by Maurice Sendak, who I love. I have been reading new poems, as well as re-reading some that are old favorites. Shona's advice to do this is so wonderful, as it really inspires and opens doors to ideas you might not have conceived before.

So, on to my background papers.

I used some colored cardstock, some regular typing paper, and some pages from an old Macy's ad (I don't usually have much junk mail since it all gets dumped in the bin before it hits the house).

I painted each page with gesso. I found that they all were rather transparent, and did not cover the pages completely (opaquely).

The finished products... all gessoed up.

I used this as an opportunity to use some of the paints, glazes and other coloring items that I have never used before. Here you can see some of them... the one on the bottom is a glaze over the gesso. I have never used a glaze before (although I have several of them!) and was amazed at their transparency.

A close up of the glazed page.

This one gives a new name to "purple glaze". hahaha.

Some of the finished papers.

After I finished painting, spraying and glazing, I worked on adding various patterns and images to the papers.

Here are a few of the finished products.

This one used a Tim Holtz image.

I like the way it looks against the colors, almost like a desert scene.

I used some glimmer mist on this one.

While this picture may not show it clearly, this is one of my favorites. I used a stencil I have (actually, multiple stencils) of birds on a wire. I think the way the colors came out, it has a very urban look to it.

I used several Hero Arts floral stamps on this...

I used two different harlequin stamps I have...one single, and one background one. I used a brown memento in, which turned a rather taupe-y kind of color when stamped over the aqua glaze.

These were a challenge to get done, even though I had spring break... so you would think I should have had MORE time, but I really didn't. Getting sick didn't help (my whole family, except my oldest son, has been coughing like crazy for two weeks). I am looking forward to tackling the "week #2" projects this week!

Illness and Relief

2010-03-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

I have been sick for the past three days. I have been having some mystery problems for over two weeks, but they became worse on Sunday, and yesterday (during a family crisis) the stress caused me to have (what I thought were) heart palpitations, pain and pressure in my chest. I did not sleep hardly all night, and went to the doctor this afternoon for testing.

Praise God, after blood work, and EKG, and a chest x-ray, my doctor declared my heart "perfect"...but my esophagus is not. I am having some kind of gastro-intestinal reflux, and it simulates almost a heart attack type-thing. Doctor prescribed a medication for it, and about two hours after taking it, I feel almost "normal" (what is NORMAL for ME!!). I am so grateful, as I had many praying for me (it was quite scary).

So to celebrate, my wonderful hubby took me to dinner at Cafe Express, book browsing at Borders, and coffee at Sbux.

AND... what did I spy at Borders??? Just this....

Whoohooo! Shona's on the shelf! I just found it exciting!

I plan to get on with my "Week 1" background papers tomorrow. I feel so much better! Can't wait to get back to work.

Blessings!
Susan

Get Ready, Get Set.... Create!

2010-03-07T16:21:00.000-06:00

Before I get started on this new creative adventure, I felt I should somewhat organize my art space. But first, a little background...

My art space had been in about 1/3 of the room we refer to as our "homeschool" room. It was small and cramped, but I was grateful to have it. However, I NEVER had privacy, and I have a great distaste for being "watched" while I work (it makes me extremely self conscious). My children (especially when they were small) would wander into it and borrow (ha!) whatever they thought they needed.

About 14 months ago, my husband decided that for a gift for me, he would convert half the garage to an art space for me. Downside, I have to share it with the deep freeze, washer/dryer, and some other storage items... BUT, it has a door and the kids stay out! And I could organize it the way I wanted to, including paint color.

I moved in about a year ago. I have a LOT of stuff, but I have been doing art of some sort since I was a child, and really began to get into rubber stamping and mixed-media back in 1989, so I have 21+ years of supplies, paper, etc.

Here are some pictures of what it looks like:

When you walk in the door, my area is to the left. This is what you see. It is two 4' x 8' folding tables we have had for years put together in an "L" shape.

This is what is on the first table. The baskets on the pegboard are left over from my son's nursery. The wire shelving they are on were freezer shelves from an old freezer my husband found. In the center you can see the old cassette rack I found years ago at McDougal's, that I keep my excess ink pads on.

Another view. The old picture, to the right of the calendar, is my mother's baby picture.

A small shelving unit (we have had since we first got married!) that has some boxes of stamps, along with cropper hopper paper organizers (with the paper sorted by either manuf. or style).

I bought a bunch of the Lisa/Becky Rail System items when my husband put this together for me. I love them (and am so sad they are no longer made). These shelves hold my prima flowers, buckets of markers, some inks, and stamps.

More Rail System Shelves.

You can see here the paint racks that hang on the rail system... there are three, two with paint, one with my glimmer mists. I also have two shelves that have my disstress pads, and on the desk is my heat gun, an Ott light, and my new fave item, my magnetic cutting mat with ruler!

The right side of the work area... my mini clip-it-up, a two-tier lazy susan with paint daubbers, etc.

close up of mini clip-it-up

This is directly behind my work area... several Iris carts (slowly collected over 20 years) filled with Embossing Powders, paints, glitter, adhesives, and stamps. On top of them are more papers, stickers and a large two-tiered clip-it-up.

Close up of stickers.

These two carts were given to me by a good friend. She had bought them on sale, and never even opened them. They sat in her attic for years. (They LOOK like Elfa, but they are not... but all the Elfa paraphernalia works with it, like the melamine top that has my paper cutter on it, and the basket liners.) I put paint in them, tissue papers, Fimo/Sculpy clay items, and doo-dads like eyelets and brads). I also recycle boxes and use them as holders for my stickles, reinkers, etc. and have those in the drawers also.

Just a fun board to put cards and other items on. I love to look at them.

A view from the far end. This area is long and narrow.

The yellow chair is one I retrieved from my neighbor's driveway (she was going to throw it away...she did say I could have it). It was a horrible shade of green, so I bought some spray paint for plastic and repainted it.

There is more, including three shelving units with all my cardstock, my bind-it-all materials, boxes of stamps, other boxes with seasonal papers/stamps, my art-related books, and my magazines (I have every issue of Somerset Studio and Cloth Paper Scissors).

I am going to get started this evening on my week 1 background papers. I will post pics as soon as I can!

Have a blessed day!

Susan

Feeling Unmotivated and Uninspired...

2010-03-02T17:45:00.000-06:00

Lately, I have found myself avoiding anything creative. I tell myself to go out there, to even just straighten out my art space, to do SOMETHING. Then, I divert into a magazine, reading blogs, or even just watching TV (horror!).

I was inspired at church a couple of weeks ago... a vision of something I wanted to create came into my head as I listened to our pastor preaching... I quickly sketched it out, then when I got home, I got out a canvas and transposed that sketch onto the canvas. AND...there it has stayed. Just a pencil drawing on a gessoed canvas. At first, I blamed not knowing what color(s) to use on the background. Then I would find another excuse. One after another.

This week, our LSS's are having a "shop hop" where if you have a tote bag and passport, you can go in and purchase (almost) anything for 20% off. I (of course) went and bought many beautiful papers and inks (ALL of Tim Holtz's new ink pad colors!). I brought them home...and their they sat...for days, in their bags by the table.

Today, I went out and was forced to empty some of the bags, so that I could use the tote bag (at another LSS). As I pulled out the many papers, ribbons, inks and other ephemera, I found myself wanting to sit and create...to use them! Unfortunately, I had to go vote, tote my boys to their homeschool Karate class, and other various errands (hence why I was swinging by Scrapbook Junkie to check out the latest arrivals...and get them at a discount!).

I am hoping tonight, or tomorrow, to get out there and at least organize all my new treasures. Maybe lay some paint down on that canvas. Getting inspired is so hard, and yet, something always seems to get in the way.

"The Artistic Mother" by Shona Cole

2010-02-26T20:42:00.001-06:00

I know I mentioned this in the previous post, but I want to shout out to everyone about this fabulous book! Shona lives down here in my part of Texas, which makes it even better.

If you are creative, but can't find the time to do it... WANT to be creative, or even think about being creative, then this is a book you should see.

Read more about Shona Cole here on her website. Go to Amazon and order it. Regret it, you will not.

Blessings! Susan

"The Artistic Mother" Group forming! Come join us.

2010-02-26T20:07:00.000-06:00

So, awhile back, I stumbled upon this great blog belong to Shona Cole (who happens to live just a little north of Houston...how cool is that?) and was just mesmerized with her ability to be so creative...while homeschooling her many kiddos. I noticed she mentioned that she had written a book entitled "The Artistic Mother" that was coming out soon... of course, I rushed to Amazon.com and pre-ordered it. How exciting when it showed up on my front porch a week or so ago.

I happily plunged into it, reading a page here and a page there (as my schedule would permit... we had a couple of doctor appointments, which made for long spans of time for reading). Then, two nights ago, I read on the Taffie homeschool list a post about a group forming for Artistic Mom's, using Shona's book as a guide.

It was the inspiration I needed. I headed on over to Artistic Creations with Trudy and signed up! You can join us too, but you will need a copy of the book (link is available on the left of my blog here).

Thanks so much, Trudy, for starting this group. Maybe some accountability will get me motivated. You other Artsy Mama's... join in the fun!

It's Saturday night

2009-12-19T17:57:00.000-06:00

and life is rushing by. I realize that I have not posted on either of my blogs in over 18 months. That is sad, but then again, maybe not. As the mother of four active, homeschooling boys, I find my time filled with many various things every day, and the time for blogging seems to fade into the distant parts of my mind. Yet, I somehow find time for other things, so I guess it is just a matter of prioritization.

Last Christmas, my wonderful husband converted half of our garage into a studio for me. I have to share it with the laundry, but it is SO much better than the previous space (which I have blogged about somewhere in my archives!). I will take some pics and post soon (yes, sooner than 18 months from now).

Juggling my life is a challenge; I am trying more and more to make time for my Art, to express myself. I find that I am a much happier, much more satisfied person when I do.

Biography information...for those who care to know...

2008-03-18T16:04:00.000-05:00

I am a "veteran" stamper... I got my first stamps in 1989 as a college graduation gift from a close friend! (and yes, I still have them.. sentimental value). I became addicted, although they were hard to come by back then (a few card and stationary stores had Hero Arts and AllNightMedia, but that was about it!). I then found DOTS (aka Close To My Heart), and then Stampin' Up... and then all the other ones came out of there dark closets and that was that!

I have been an artist as long as I can remember (I began taking painting lessons as a small child, and even have a painting I did at the age of nine). I love painting, drawing and colored pencils, but my fave is mixed media art using stamps!

Two years ago, I began targeting my art toward glorifying my Lord... I look for things in my daily life that will signify my beliefs and use those to create art to that effect. From cards to full-size art work, I try to make everything with a purpose!

On the non-art side, I have been married 23 years to my beloved hubby (Bugman), and we have FOUR kiddos ... all boys!... who we have been homeschooling for eleven years (ages 17, 14, 9 and 5). We also own our own business, which I run out of our home. I am also a native Texan, and live down along the Gulf Coast.

Fun Mail

2008-02-20T13:21:00.000-06:00

Don't you just love mail? There is always something good in the mail... coupons, letters, and Magazines!

I got my March/April Somerset Studio today. Can't wait to get started perusing it this afternoon. I always bring something to my kid's martial arts class to read while they are in class.

I am so blessed to have three LSS's nearby my house: Novel Approach, Scrapbook Junkie, and By Design Scrapbook Boutique. There are two others within reasonable driving distance, too, making five stores. And that doesn't count Hobby Lobby and that other chain store with the good coupons and lousy selection. I admit, I am a paper arts addict, but luckily I love to use what I buy also.

Have you seen this video? Gotta get some of these inks (bet Novel Approach will have 'em!!) Waaaahoooo!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-19T15:09:00.000-06:00

I decided to make my dear hubby (Bugman) a card for V-Day. Well, as usual, I couldn't decide what to use, so I resorted to a Tag. I love making tags! Here's what I did, and believe it or not, it only took me about 15 to 20 minutes! (Cutting out the wings on the heart took the longest time).

I used a large manila tag from Office Depot (found that I could buy a package of 100 for about $6.00 there... wooohooo!). I sprayed it down with Glimmer Mists in Merlot and in Patina. While that dried, I tore a piece of paper from My Mind's Eye that says "You and Me" all over it. I inked the edge of this torn paper with a Tim Holtz distress pad in Red. I then punched a heart out of another piece of paper from My Mind's Eye, and punched out the "I Love You" from their page that has items you can use to make Valentine's (all these papers and the "I Love You" were part of a package for V-Day put out by My Mind's Eye). I used the same punch to punch a heart out of plain Grungeboard. I inked it with Glimmer Mist in Merlot. I stamped the wings (Lost Coast Rubber Stamps) and then cut them out, and painted them with Making Memories Scrapbook colors specialty glaze in Sea Foam. I glued down the strip of torn paper on the top (just a glue stick), glued down the punched heart and the I love You strip. I used my Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in the Grungeboard heart, and added a key (a Making Memories brad). Then I glued it down with some Glossy Accents. I then added the wings underneath the heart, and adjusted them accordingly. When it dried, I added some fibers and a sentiment on the back (lol). I think it turned out kewl.

Now I'm working on another inspired piece... based upon a line in a sermon I heard recently. I'll keep you posted.

How to find the time...

2008-02-08T18:17:00.000-06:00

I went to my LSS today. While I don't scrapbook, I can ALWAYS find something useful when I'm there. I love all the papers out there, ribbon, eyelets, brads... even the flowers. I am hoping to find time to make a Valentine for someone special, LOL.
Speaking of time, how do you work in the time to play in your studio? Between work, homeschooling kiddos and household chores, there is so little time to actually do something creative. Even blogging is hard to do, but that can be started and stopped and started again without much effort, unlike art. At least for me. If I go into create something, at least one child will follow, and if it's after they are in bed, then a husband comes a-calling. And since I'm NOT a morning person, it's hard for me to get motivated to get up early and work. Blech.

I signed up for the Houston Area Scrapbook Roundup! Yes, I know I said I don't really scrapbook, but hey, I get a cool tote bag (designed by Mark Jetton of Deadbeat Designs) and 20% off all my purchases made during that time!! Wooohooo!

And now, my new fave coffee mug:

I'm Baaaaaack....

2008-02-07T09:08:00.000-06:00

Where have you been, you may wonder? Living the life of a mother of four children (check)... the owner/manager of a family-owned business (check)... and dealing with a crashing computer.

We bought our Apple MacBook in September 2006. Love it, love it, love it! In October last year, we noticed it was having issues. In November, the hard drive cratered. Lost everything. Yes, I had backed up... in September... (yes, I learned my lesson and now update weekly, but that's a different part of the story). In January, it happened again. Lucky for me, I had a more recent backup, BUT because the computer was just corrupt, so were many of my back ups. Sigh.

Happily, though, Apple was wonderful about it and gave me a brand new computer. Not new, same as the old one, but new, CURRENT MODEL computer! And we upgraded to Leopard (operating system) which is awesome also!!

Leopard (think Windows in PC talk) has this great thing called "Time Machine" which will automatically back up your hard drive whereever you tell it to... in my case, an external hard drive. It will also (sooooo cool!) transfer songs I had purchased through iTunes, that I lost in the crash but were on my iPod, BACK to my computer (Tiger, the previous operating system, would NOT do this). I was soooo happy (I had visions of many lost songs).

Anywhooo... I am planning to get back into blogging. If you read both my blogs, you will see some replication, so forgive me.

Meanwhile, have you seen this cool tool? I have resisted buying any of these die-cutting machines, but just may have to get this one: The Slice

Who me? Plain?

2007-09-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

Found this at the Artful Mama's website.
Who woulda thought that I'D be labeled as PLAIN?

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated
You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys
Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.
And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Let's play the name game...

2007-09-18T08:03:00.000-05:00

Calamity Kim has the name game on her blog, and I thought I'd play along....

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet,current car) Cola Titan (sounded better than Cola Econoline, LOL)

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Rocky Road Chocolate Chip (huh?)

3. YOUR FLY GIRL NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) S-Dil

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Olive Kitty

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born), Silver Houston

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Dil-Su

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Purple Mocha Frappachino

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Guy Donald

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume, favorite candy) Coco Mint Melty

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ann Joseph

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Franklin Fargo

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Winter Tulip

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Strawberry Nightie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Shredded Wheat Oaks

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Paper Art Blue Northern Tour

How fun is that?

Just a few images

2007-09-17T12:21:00.001-05:00

These are pics of some of the items I submitted to Novel Approach for their design team competition. I guess for what ever reason, they were not what they were looking for.

This is the front of a journal I made, using a standard composition book. I wrapped it with paper (which, yes, I know is really tea cups) and then added some accents. The ribbon I bought by the yard at NA, and the clasp is from 7gypsies. The phrenology head is an unmounted I bought a long time ago. The letters are from Making Memories. Oh, and the "Journal" is from Stamper's Anonymous.

This is the back. The coffee cup is a Dawn Houser stamp, accented with some paper from Basic Grey.

This started out as three tags tied together, but then I needed to make a get well card, so I took them apart and mounted them on a card. The accent paper is from 7gypsies, the alphabet stamps from MaVinci, and the other stamps I don't remember.

And, no, my camera isn't fixed... I used my scanner on these!

Left something out...

2007-09-16T16:02:00.000-05:00

How could I neglect my fave color? Green! But not just any color green... I love a good army (olive) green. Definitely a crush. I have so many articles of clothing (especially) that I may be obsessed! Second would be a nice royal purple. Ahhhhh.....

I've Gotta Crush on You

2007-09-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

Michelle Ward's Green Pepper Press Street Team challenge this month is "Crushes". We are to reveal those things that we have a "crush" on... those things we feel we can't live without. Since my digital camera is broken, you will have to suffer through my writing about them, rather than showing them.

Crush #1: My God & His word - what else can I say? Can't get enough of Him.
Crush #2: My Family - I can be rather obsessive about spending time with my family.
Crush #3: Books - Wait. Can you actually have TOO MANY books? I think not. My friend says my house has foundation problems because of the weight of all the books in my house. Ha!
Crush #4: Art - this is a two-fold crush. I love creating art, and I love studying art. I could spend days in my studio and never get bored. Unfortunately, my schedule does not permit that. When I went back to college to get a Master's degree in art history, my friend's said "why? how will you use a degree in Art History?" Who cares!! I just love (LOVE) studying it, seeing it, learning about it, learning FROM it. Especially Renaissance art and Modern art. (did someone say Cornell, Pollock, or Duchamp?).
Crush #5: Music - Right now, I love listening to Nickelback, and to Third Day (yes, I know, two distinctively different genres of music, but who cares?)
Crush #6: Friends - I have a few that are very important to me, and I KNOW how blessed I have to have them. I love letting them know, too!
Crush #7: Shoes - specifically, Mary Jane's. I think I have seven or eight pairs... oh my!
Crush #8: Rubber Stamps, Paper, other art supplies - We have a couple of fabulous stores near here, and I could spend hours in each! I especially like fonts, swirls, and dragonflies. I LOVE Basic Grey papers, and 7 Gypsies papers and other things (love their mini envelope books). I started stamping in 1989, and 1000's of stamps later, I still find so many I want (or need).

That's enough for now, but I might add more (or change the list) when I get a new camera!

It's been a long time...

2007-09-12T11:32:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know. I'm a neglectful blogger. Shame on me.
My summer was full. My oldest son is learning to drive (egads!), my second son was working and testing for his black belt in martial arts, and swim lessons for the younger ones. All for a very busy summer.
We are now back to school and moving on to other items.
I am trying to get back into making art. I am teaching an Art History class for our homeschool co-op. I also "auditioned" for the design team at our local scrap/stamp store, but alas, did not get accepted. It was kind of a bummer, actually, and I was quite crushed by it. As soon as dh gets me a new camera, I will post pics of what I did for the "audition"

I also plan to participate in Michelle Ward's Street Team challenge this month. You can read more about it on her blog.

Keep reading I'll post more later!

The Journaling Dilemma...

2007-06-27T17:24:00.000-05:00

I want to start a journal, but just can't seem to do it. I look at all these LOVELY, artistic, inspired journals of other artists and just can't seem to put pen or pencil to paper and get it all out. Sigh. HELP!!

King Jerry

2007-06-05T16:34:00.001-05:00

We live in a small town (eh, not so small, I suppose... 65,000 peeps), and our lovely mayor thinks he is King. So in honor of him I made an ATC.... What do you think?

(Yes, I am a bitter wife (Naw, just kidding...) My dh ran for mayor against this guy, and lost (and I'm glad! He had been on council six years and that was too long), BUT... I'm not the only one who thinks this way! We have a whole city blog devoted to discussing local politics and all who post agree we me... and it's the ONLY thing they agree with me on, LOL).

For my CCSwap friends!

2007-05-29T10:32:00.001-05:00

Some examples of a few things I have done (that I still have!). I tend to create and then give away.
This is a paper mache box that is shaped like a book. I painted it gold and copper (with Lumiere paints). I added a picture that reflected the Shakespeare quote that I also collaged onto it. There is a stamp of an angel along with some mica chips for effect.

Here is a matching envelope and tag set stamped with Aggie (Texas A&M) stamps. I created these for a friend's birthday.
I love this tag, hence why I still have it! It is a large manilla shipping tag, sponged with sage chalk ink, then "textured" with a marbling cube (Stampendous, one of my favorite stamps!). The words "thank you" are then stamped on the bottom half. I then stamped the dragonflies, swirls and text onto some vellum, tore it and glued it onto half the tag. It's hard to see in the photo, but the colors and way it flows look lovely together.
This is another tag I created and really liked (again, why I still have it!). The first side is sponged with various chalk inks, then I stamped the rose vine (Stampington) on the left side. I collaged a Shakespeare quote with some crumpled gold paper. I then turned it over and did the other side (see next picture).
On the other side of the tag, I again did a background sponged with various inks. I then stamped several keys and a lock on it. I stamped a heart on another piece of paper, cut it out, and wrapped it with gold thread. I then applied it to the tag with some 3-D dots, to raise it off the tag. I randomly stamped some red hearts and the words "Key" and "Heart". I then put gold foil tape around the whole thing, adding some great fibers.

Mini Book...

2007-05-29T08:02:00.000-05:00

This is a mini book I made for a gift for my Pastor and his wife this past Christmas.
This is the cover. The theme was the "Fruit of the Spirit". I took nine coin envelopes, painted them different colors, then stamped each one with a different "fruit"

I used think bookboard for the covers, and covered them with paper that had already been stained with ink to make it look older. I stamped the pears (from ASITH) by inking them with Marvy brush markers to give them a watercolor look. I then overstamped them with letters to spell "fruit".

Here is sample of an inside page:

This was the first inside page (corresponding to the first fruit "love"). You can see the inside of the cover has end papers (Basic Grey... love their papers!). the first envelope was painted (paint from Making Memories paper paints), then stamped with the word Love. I also stamped part of a heart on it, and added some interested paper to the flap as well as a brad.

The whole thing took me about four days to make, since I couldn't work continuously.

This is another inside page. You can see the scripture card I put inside each of the envelopes. Each scripture corresponded to that particular fruit.

This is a view of the whole book... you can see the pages fanned out. You can also see the beads and fibers I used to bind it together.

Here is another view. Each envelope was painted a different color, and each flap had coordinating paper on it.

I learned a lot making this... and there are several things I would change! But overall, I was pleased with how it turned out, and my pastor and his wife (who is also an artist!) were very happy to receive it!

Artful Musings...

2007-05-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

I am just loving these ATC's! I am so getting into making them. And they don't have to take long. I have been using some different things to make backgrounds, including alcohol inks, Golden Acrylics, Pearl Ex, etc. It's so fun.

I bought a Bind-it-All Machine back in February, and I'm finally going to make something with it. I want to make a little art journal for my friend before she moves. I seem to live in an area where so many people are into scrapbooking, but no one is into stamping of any kind other than to embellish their scrapbooks. I'm not bashing scrapbooking, as a matter of fact, I love most of their stuff... I just use it in a different way. But I wish I had some like-minded friends when it came to the creative arts.

Messy Rooms?

2007-04-26T14:33:00.000-05:00

I ended up rearranging my art area the other day. My wonderful dh (Bugman) hung a new light over the desk, so that I can work better in the evenings. And my Ott Light was on the wrong side anyway, so I had to move it. I am right handed, and so I needed the light on my left side, so my right hand isn't casting a shadow on my work.

Anyway, now it's a big mess again. But that's okay. I don't mind. I think I work better in chaos sometimes. I have a friend with a lovely, neat stamp area. Sometimes I get a little envious, but really, it just looks too perfect.

2007-04-26T14:26:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile, I know. Things are crazy when you homeschool four boys. But I am making myself do more art. Here are some ATC's I made for a friend who is just getting into it.

This one is called "Chicken Soup will make you feel better". I love this chicken soup stamp from Claudia Rose! Soooo Cute. The spoon's a stamp too.

I call this one "Jesus Gets You through the Day". These are also my first attempts at scanning. It only took me five tries on the first one!! The second one did much better.

Where it all happens

2007-02-07T20:39:00.000-06:00

Yes, this is copied from my other blog, but since it's art related, I posted it here too. This is my art area. You can get an idea of where I do my art thing.

This is my main stamping area. The green thing is a large cutting mat.

These little drawers hold fun things like embellishments, fibers, my acrylic stamping blocks, tags, etc.

These are my ink pads (most of them). I actually have more, but they are ones I don't use very much. This is a cassette tape holder I found about ten years ago at Big Lots. It was like $5 and well worth the money!! I label each pad with a sharpie, with it's color, so that I always know what color is what without pulling it out.

This is one of the two turnstiles I have from pampered chef. This one has my tools, like my crop-a-dile, scissors, paint brushes, etc.

These are some clear drawers and boxes I got from the office supply for organizing desks. Each item is sold separately so you can customize it. I have my markers, my templates, adhesives, tapes, and paint markers in here. You can also see my heat gun in it's holder there on the right, and my Ott Light.

This is on a table to the left of my art work space. There are some tilt bins with things like sponges, small stamp pads, stippling brushes, etc. The small drawers in the middle have some stamps, more little stamp pads, etc. The large drawers on the left have paper and stickers. You can barely see the edge of a drawer unit on the far right that have stamps in them.

These carts and drawers have stamps in them. You can see off to the left on the shelves there are all my crafting books, as well as binders with unmounted stamps, a box full of envelopes, and boxes with paints and glazes.

Another shot of the carts and shelves. You can see another two draw sets on the left, that have more stamps. All drawers are labeled, and all stamps categorized so I can find what I need. Most of the big carts are on wheels, so I can roll them around to make it easy to get stamps, as well as the fact that they are blocking a book shelf full of books used for homeschooling!!

Last picture! These are the built in shelves above my art work area. The bottom shelf has all my cardstock in magazine holders by color, and boxes of markers. The top shelf is all my craft magazines (The Rubber Stamper, Somerset Studio, Cloth-Paper-Scissors, Belle Armoire, etc.) The cabinets on top have old issue of mags, plus boxes of stamps I don't use much (like Christmas, etc.).

Now, to make it messy again!!

Welcome to my world

2007-01-14T18:31:00.001-06:00

this is will be where I post pics of my art. I hope to do a lot more creating over this year.