Philly Shrine

I want to show you one of my older projects from my swap days. For those of you who don't know about swaps they are projects made with a group of artists, based on a theme where you make several of the same works and the hostess will send each artist a piece of art made by each participating artist.

There is something so wonderful about working with a theme. I always enjoy this, it helps me get focused and really allows me to cull down my options.

So this was a shrine swap. I made a Philly shrine using a small wooden box, painted and embellished with stamped images of the Liberty Bell, the Constitution and Scrabble tiles. I also used a button from Valley Forge Military Academy. My favorite part is the pretzel and Love statue made from clay which embellish the inside.

I keep this on my mantle and love it so much!

New store coming in my area Creative Inkling

I am so excited that there is a new store coming to our area. This store is called Creative Inkling and is located in Hatboro. The store owner had a previous store in Peddler's Village. 

What's so amazing is that they have a second floor with rooms that people can rent. So if you want to have a creative retreat with friends, you can arrange to stay and will have a studio space to use for your group. The whole building was renovated and it looks amazing.

Here are pics from my first visit:

Check out their Facebook site and see more info including the great tools they have for doing jewelry classes. They have a lot of fun stuff planned. I met Edie the creative director and she showed me around the studio space. It looks so wonderful. Loads of light, great chairs, lots of room. 

Also, Karen the owner showed me the rooms where guests can stay overnight. The prices are so reasonable and the rooms look great. All new beds and furniture and nice big clean bathrooms. The kitchen area is so nice, with a big long dining table and sitting area. I wanna stay over, even though I'm local.

I cannot wait to see what classes are coming up. Edie did mention that they are teaching a terrarium class and it involves soldering.  I'm ready to sign up! I think the class list will be ready when they have their grand opening in a couple weeks.

So thrilled to have a store around. I've missed it.

Trying new stuff THE BEST

So a year or so ago, after watching tons of Julie Fei-Fan Balzer videos (including the online show Make it Artsy) where she uses the Brother ScanNCut I decided to purchase one.  These machines are great because you can design the art that you use in the machine. 

The video that blew me away is making your own stamps with the Brother ScanNCut. 

Video making stamps ScanNCut

I ordered the supplies (although I must not have ordered the full "kit" because I don't seem to have the downloads for the images she uses in the video).  

I found this image of a leaf, that I love.

The leaf image was the basis for the stamp and above you see the negative image left in the silicone material after I used the ScanNCut to create the stamp.  

Here are samples of me using the newly created image to stamp on paper.  I really prefer to use paint for the images, as they turned out better than using ink.  It might be that there is a coating on the silicone which makes ink resistant.  

How amazing to be able to cut out your own stamps using the ScanNCut.  Love it!

Sewing maker madness

So as I was ready to work on the fabric to repair my patio chairs I realized that my free 10 year old ancient sewing machine was no longer working. I had to make the call, to buy new or repair it. I realized that although these old metal sewing machines were the best ever made, I don't have all the bells and whistles included. Plus the time and effort to find a repair shop and have to wait . . . ughh.

My awesome hubby bought me one for my birthday and I feel like a kid with a new toy. I had no idea how wonderful it is to have a new sewing machine. I got a Singer Stylist 7258 and I LOVE this machine. It has decorative stitches, has 8 different feet included and it's so easy to thread. I'm so thrilled I had to make a couple projects. I made some fun zippered bags and again, YouTube has so many great videos to show you exactly how to make these.

I have a feeling I'm going to be making these for the holidays as gifts. I have tons of these bags and frankly, you cannot get enough of them.

Here's the VERY first one, using saved fabric from old clothes. The wildest one is the inside lining of this bag which is from an old Coca Cola shirt I had from 20+ years ago. I loved the fabric and so I put it to good use.

I personally cannot believe I made this. For the first few days I was literally carrying this bag around with me like a little kid with a teddy bear.

Then I decided I wanted to branch out and use some of the GORGEOUS Trader Joe's bags that I saved up. These bags have great artwork. So here's the second one I made!

I ordered a pack of 8 inch zippers online and they come in fun colors, so I used them on this bag.  Total blast.  Now I want to play with having a two zipper section bag and integrating clear vinyl for the bags. It's just the beginning of my research and development on this one.

Mad Maker

These days I am so excited and energized and feel like a mad maker.  I just want to create and so I have loads to share. 

First project success is that I had some sad and damaged chairs on the patio that needed new life. I purchased cushions to cover up these ugly ancient metal chairs but alas, the two favorites (rocker and glider) both had rips that turned into gashes. 

Thankfully I found a YouTube video from a company called SailRite that showed you step-by-step how to repair the chairs.

Repair sling chairs

Here's the before:

and here's the after:

SO EXCITING.  I will say that nothing is ever as easy as it looks when someone else does it. However, after the third chair I feel that I've gotten the hang of it and I'm getting better. My hand is bruised and sore from dealing with the tension bars that have to be installed after the new seats are in place. 

Interesting thing is that I needed to use petroleum jelly to help slide in the fabric in the channels on the sides of the chair. I noticed that the petroleum jelly made the chairs look brand new. Although I didn't have to paint the chairs, the metal looked faded. So I coated the metal with the petroleum jelly and they look new.

Four of the six chairs are done so I hope to have the rest done soon! 

New York Christmas in July

Sorry, I didn't realize this post was in draft mode and never officially published. Let's call this Christmas in July!

It's been years since I've been to New York city during the Christmas holiday. It is so inspiring and charming to be in New York around the holidays. If you can survive the Rockefeller Center hoards, it's worth every moment.

I went with my dear friend Chris and my favorite windows are at Bergdorf Goodman. This year the theme was celebrating New York's cultural institutions.

My photos do not do justice to the artwork because of the glare. So here's a link to a site that will take you through all the windows.

They are magnificent.

Bergdorf Goodman windows slideshow

Latest news

Hey there!  I am so eager for spring to arrive.  It won't impact our wretched weather, but at least it's a sign we are getting there.

I decided to make a Frida card and used a technique that is a type of mosaic.  You stamp the same image on three or four colors of paper.  You then have to cut the designs in the same pattern, to create interchangeable pieces.  Then you arrange them to rebuild your image.

After that, I dug out the Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) that I've had around for ages.  I used Versamark ink and applied it to the image, poured on the UTEE and heated it.  I did three layers to create a tile effect.

The background was a stencil and Dyan Reaveley Dylusions paint Tangerine Dream and I used some striped washi tape on the card front.

Inside, I had fun with some of my clear stamps.  I used the MISTI and arranged the little clear stamps.  It is so great to be able to stamp and if there's an area that isn't inked, just stamp it again. I have so many fun clear sets, I now want to use them with the MISTI.  Forgive my upside down bird, no secret message intended, just my error.

The frame images around the DIVA letters are from an old Impression Obsession set.  I have to warn you if you have an old clear set of stamps that is turning yellow, be very careful when you pull up the stamps to use them.  I pulled one off the clear backing sheet too quickly and it tore in half.  I think that it might be the early days of clear stamps didn't use the best materials and some aren't holding up as well.

I've been making so much art lately I have loads to show you.  Hang in there and there's more to come!  It is almost the weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Had a great time over the past month making valentines.  Here are some pictures!

These are pinwheel cards that you can make with the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  So fun.  I wanted to add some requisite chocolate, so I found the flattest kind for the big VD.

Hoping your day is sweet!  XOXOXOXO

SNOW DAY!!!

The silver lining of a frigid winter is a . . . SNOW DAY!

I just got two and made good use of my time. I broke out the Gel Press petites sets of mini gel plates.  They are a great size, and act as a large clear stamp.

The fingers got a bit messy, but who cares!! I had a ball.

I even know what I'm going to do with all these amazing papers I created!! I've got a card design and I will be making some really colorful birthday cards.

Making every moment count!!

Put that art on display!!!

I made an impulse purchase at an amazing art supply store just around the corner from me. It's called Artist and Craftsman and it's got all kinds of fun supplies and great gifts.  They had a display of Umbra products for displaying art on desks, walls and from the ceiling.  I decided to take a chance on home improvement and moved a framed artwork upstairs to make room on a wall near our kitchen.  I purchased this Umbra Hangit which has clips for 40 images. Even when it's not Christmas card season I love having pictures and art work. The fridge is an option, but doesn't seem to be a fitting locale. So this display is perfect!  For those who do not have a trove of art to show, the best part is that it comes with fun images, until you have time to add your own creations.

It's a simple design, albeit a bit stressful to put up in a home with plaster walls.  I'm not the best at being precise and I ended up going to the hardware store to pick up a new drill bit. Let's just say I was lucky that I got it up and any errors in my drilling efforts were covered up by the wood slats.

I will use this for my holiday cards and for the rest of the year, I'll put up photos and cards.  The one thing I want to do is to make sure pictures get out of my camera so I think I'll try to print a couple each month and remember the fun things we do through out the year.  

Scan n Cut

I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos and happened to become intrigued by the Brother Scan n Cut machine demonstrated often by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.  

I saw a project on Scrapbook Soup and invested in a cut file, a pattern prepared that you can purchase on Etsy.  I thought I'd try it out.  I'm thrilled with the results.

The hearts pattern started as a white sheet of card stock and I used crayons to color the columns of hearts in a somewhat complimentary group of colors. Then I used fiber paste with a stencil and allowed it to dry before arranging the hearts and sewing them so they stay lined up as they were in the cut file.

The next project was my own work of art, scanned and converted into a cut file.  I simply drew the love you below on paper, making large thick lines and connecting the word in a box shape, so that everything was "connected."  Then I scanned the image and the machine then read the image and cut it out.

It's really exciting to have my own artwork turned into a die cut that I can use in my art.  It allows me to create exactly what I need instantly.  So rewarding and I've only scratched the surface of what this machine can do.  Can't wait to show you more!!

Washi tape

As if art supplies are not addictive enough, now we have another item to obsess over.  Washi tape!!  I've been collecting it faster than I use it.

The collection began innocently enough, and now it's exploded.  I'm sharing some pictures of my stash, please don't judge my hoard.

Tim Holtz has a line he refers to as tissue tape, which is light and paper-like with the vintage theme.  Much like fun duct tape manufacturers are catching on selling lines in office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot. I've given rolls to my nephews in hopes they will use it in their smash books. One of their favorites is the caution tape and one that looks like tire tread.

A fun version I picked up at Paper Source is color your own washi tape. It is black and white design with room to color.  So I decided to try it out.  Since the washi tape has a slick surface I used Sharpie markers to do my coloring.  I have a huge collection and I had a blast decorating an envelope that I included with a friend's birthday gift. You need to enjoy coloring if you decide to use this tape.  

My only comment is that there are some tiny little spaces to color, so don't plan on using a very large piece unless you have a lot of time on your hands.

Also, the most recent addition to my collection is the Jane Davenport tapes I picked up at Michael's.  They were on sale and I adore them.  Particular favorite is the small roll that says "I'm learning to fly."

Finally, for the Christmas cards I delivered to neighbors I chose to dress up the naked envelopes with some tape from Paper Source. The tape is translucent, so the white of the envelopes just makes the tape pop even more.