Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Last day of Fall

Since this is the last day in fall thought I would post pics of my pumpkin art work.
I got the idea from the October Country Living magazine, just changing the process here and there. 



Start with inexpensive faux pumpkins, got this one from Wal Mart.



Bought a few more pumpkin sizes and gave 'em three coats of white acrylic paint or choose your favorite fall color. 



Final step - use modge podge and glue pieces of toile paper onto pumpkin; when completely dry lightly sand the pumpkin.  Add a bow (could be ribbon, piece of fabric, etc.)  These are so cool and I actually sold one at a crafts show in November.  They are light and easy to store and decorative for years to come!
 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Fall is my Favorite

I'm back and it's already November.  It was just summer and we were in Oahu and now it's time to think about this beautiful time of the year.  Making  a scrapbook with Halloween and harvest photos is my favorite!  So I started with black cardstock with scalloped edges that measured 6 x 12 inches.




After cutting, the two large pieces were adhered back-to-back and used for the scrapbook pages.   Tags were made from the small pieces and placed between each large page. Holes were punched and rings inserted to hold the pages.  Then the real fun, embellishing the pages and tags with all the cool fall and spooky stuff out there this season.





and this is my fall center piece this year!


and lastly, favorite Halloween pic - Brian & Danielle's dog Monkey aka 'lil bumblebee.


Be back soon to share my Modge Podge pumpkins.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Halloween decor

Finally put out some spooky stuff for this month and added my little scrapbook from 2010.  It is filled with great photos of Fall & Halloween, tags, pet pics, etc.  Time to start a new one for this year.  Halloween scrapbooking supplies are super cute this year!


Be back tomorrow . . .

Sunday, September 18, 2011

ALOHA!

I'm off today to join my husband Frank in Honolulu!  He will be conducting workshops with state officials and I will be exploring, shopping, taking photos, etc.  My Oahu album is ready and it will be with me as I love to have a project when traveling.  The only tools I'm taking are the paper cutter, adhesives, and a few embellishments.  All I have to do is insert photos for the next 10 days.  Getting so excited to see this island ...
Here is the album:

 

and the pages:

Friday, September 16, 2011

Vintage Wallpaper Album

My friend Seema gave me five folded chipboard cards that were used for packing material.  Each side of the cards measured 6 x 12 inches.  How cool is that!  I covered the cards with K & Co. Life's Journey double-sided cardstock.  The album title is Vintage Wallpaper and what fun I'm having gluing onto the pages vintage embellishments and pics of the Victorian era.  I love doing this and will add photos of the finished pages upon their completion.  Check out the pages.


Completed pages (will include titles soon)







more to follow . . .




Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Chartreuse Project

Whew, just submitted my first piece of art to Somerset Studio Magazine.  The call was to submit artwork on the bold and beautiful color Chartreuse.  I struggled some as my preference is vintage of course but I stepped out of my box and took on the challenge.  I assembled a small album with various patterned cardstock papers, added photos taken by me, husband Franki, and daughter Carrie.  Going on line I found a few more photos/graphics which were added with minimal embellishments, well, minimal for me. The deadline for submission is August 15 so now it is a waiting game.  Here is a pic of my "work tray" filled with some of the materials used.



Here is a sample page from the album.


Wish me luck!  Photo of album cover will be added soon.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Monthly Photo

Oops, almost forgot to post the picture of the month .... and here it is.  The photo was taken by a friend who captured this amazing photo in her beautifully landscaped backyard a few weeks ago.  Enjoy.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Summer Clipboard

I love to collage clipboards and vintage is my favorite.  The theme for this latest one is Summertime.  The quote reads as follows:

"I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."
(F. Scott Fitzgerald)  The woman on the vintage post card has her summer parasol and leaving her work behind.  She definitely has style.  Hope you are enjoying your summertime.

Monday, July 4, 2011

July 4, 2011

Happy Fourth of July everyone!  We are celebrating our country's 235th anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."  (favorite excerpt)

Last year I started an album with family photos of our July 4th celebration, family veterans, plus pics from our Washington D.C. trip in 2007.   New photos will be added as Frank and I hosted our second annual 4th of July pool party here at Rancho Buena Vista.  We also celebrated 3 birthdays, Granddaughter Sidney (11 years), Grandson Tyler (6 years), and nephew Chris (?).



Thursday, June 30, 2011

Monthly Photo

Thought it would be a fun idea to post a favorite photo each month so this is my first entry for June as it comes to a close.  I took this photo in Jennifer Blue's store in Santa Margarita.  Love the simplicity of the vintage shoes and little bird.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Altered Jewelry Box

Friend Sue found a little jewelry box at a thrift store for a buck and gave it to me.  Ummm . . .  first I papered the outside lid, added some embellishments but was not satisfied with the results.   Instead of displaying jewelry maybe a button box would be a better idea!  Cream and black toile paper and a music napkin was applied to the lid with Mod Podge. The fun part was selecting all the vintage buttons, flowers, beads, etc. and gluing them in a circle onto the lid with tacky glue.  Buttons and a few rings were placed inside the box.  Everyone has a button jar so select a  box or other surface and start gluing on your favorite paper, buttons and trinkets.  Enjoy the photos.



Friday, June 10, 2011

Meeting Jenny Doh

While in Costa Mesa my friends and I visited Piece Makers, a country store filled with vintage items, fabric, wall art, candy confections and much more.  This store offers classes in many categories of art year round.  To our surprise author Jenny Doh was there to sign her new book Signature Styles. She is an amazing and talented gal and we loved her outfit!  Check out crescendoh.com.


Here is a pic inside Piece Makers.


And of course, an album of our journey to CREATE had to be created.



Saturday, June 4, 2011

CREATE

Friends Mary Jo and Sue made reservations to exhibit their crafts at the Artists Faire, part of the CREATE mixed media retreat in Costa Mesa May 18-22.  I was invited to tag along and display some altered books.  We arrived at the Hilton and peeked in on the numerous art classes being taught then set up our items in the vendors area.  At six pm the doors opened for buyers and they came in abundance.  There was so much acivity, laughter and harmony in the room, it was amazing.  Below is Mary Jo's beautiful silk items.


... and Sue's creations!



 

Of all the art displayed this was my personal favorite, the "Sea Woman" made from gourds.


Mary Jo sold a lot of silk, Sue's tags sold like hot cakes and my books were admired by all.  It was a great time.



 



Thursday, June 2, 2011

"White Gowns," an altered book

Wow, I actually have a blog site thanks to my bff Sue who encouraged me and came up with this page design.  The opportunity to share my craft with others and network with all the artists out there is going to be amazing!
I love to make altered books and my latest one, shown below, is "White Gowns," a collection of photos I took at an exhibit last April at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.  Four ladies from the central coast created elegant gowns made from vintage fabric and new pieces, a lovely collaborative effort producing beautiful gowns.


Yesterday, Sue and I drove to Santa Margarita to meet one of the designers, Jennifer Blue who owns Something Blue.  She designs wedding gowns of extraordinary beauty.  I shared my book and she shared photos of gowns she made and stories of the brides who wore them. Check out Jennifer's web site www.somethingblueandtrue.com.