The Crafty Girl Project

How do you figure out you made a wrong decision?

2011-09-12T11:42:00.000-04:00

As I am sitting here watching the news coverage ofthe 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedies, I am witness to the kaleidoscopeof change our nation has gone through. Watching the emotions of the people as the names of the victims werecalled was hard and I found myself crying with them. I empathize with the people and their lossesand the process of rebuilding their lives. And not just people – our nation, the city of New York and even thegeographic space where the twin towers were housed – all needed to figure outwhat their validity and purpose would be. The rest of us, we had to figure out what to do about the massive holein our hearts and the sense of despair that was so prevalent throughout ournation.

David Brinkley said today during the news coveragethat we have to be constantly in a state of renewal of our values, of ourinstitutions and of our securities. What matters to us? What do we believe in? What makes us feel safe?

This summer I made a massive change to my life, asmost of you know. I quit the security ofa job that pays really well, has better bonuses than I’ve ever had before andhas a benefits plan to make most people jealous. I was so sure that I wanted to leave aposition that I was good at for the insecurity of no job and trust that mybrain is adept enough to master the demands of going back to college full time.

I am proud of myself for making such a radical changebut I have to be prouder of myself to have the courage to make a change when Ifeel something is not working. Collegeis hard. Classes are stressful. Deadlines are plentiful and consequences aregreat for failure to meet them. There is no time for a down day. There is no time for aches and pains andheadaches and fibro fog.

Then there are also the pressures of life outsidethe classroom. There is not apossibility to have school be my job. Iwon’t go into details but let’s just say the economy hasn’t been good to us andI will start a new job shortly. My newteammates have already told me the pressure of this new job and the challengeswe will be fighting.

So, my heart is heavy and my brain won’t turn off –much like it was immediately after 9/11 – as I ponder what is right for me. Iam in that constant state of renewal David Brinkley talks about. I know there will be people disappointed inme and I can’t help that. Whatever Idecide, I will be at peace.

Is There a Method to the Madness?

2011-09-01T11:44:00.002-04:00

On the second day of 2-D Design class (Monday), our instructor Dr. Hightower, gave us an assignment due for the next class on Wednesday. Homework isn't a bad thing and since it is an art class I thought that it would be fun. As she described what was due, I swear that smoke started coming out of my ears because my brain went on overload! The bottom line was that we had a total of 72 thumbnail sketches -- eight were to be 4" by 5" and to show the transition of one word to another (my words were empty to full) and the other 64 thumbnails were to be 2 3/8" x 3" rectangles, 3" x 3" squares, 3" equilateral triangles and 3" diameter circles. Just drawing out the grids for the thumbnail sketches took me all night! Not to mention that I actually had to put some creativity behind it too. Oh and did I mention there was going to be a quiz too?

Word Transition Sketch - Empty to Full

Well, I didn't finish the optical illusion thumbnails but spent a lot of time working on the word transition sketches which weren't really conveying what I was thinking, yet. When I got to class I felt like a horrible loser. Here we are on the third day of class and I'm already slacking off. When I got to class though, I wasn't the only one! My heart and spirit lifted and then I got another sign.

sample photo shopped version

I traditionally like to sit in the back of the classroom. As Dr. Hightower was going through each of the sketches done by my classmates, the clock kept ticking away. By 6:10, she was no where close to my desk. She stopped and told us what our next assignments were. Those word sketches that we had done, now we were to take the one that worked the best and expand it into eight more 4" x 5" sketches and from 32 sketches that were done for the square and rectangle illusions, were were to reproduce the best ones that represented that illusion through cutting out shapes in black paper to put on white paper. Thank goodness we had the weekend to do this.

In yesterday's class, we had to take the second set of sketches we did for the word transition and scan them into the computer. You all know I'm a not-so-closeted computer geek so I was really excited to get to play with this. Then we played in Photoshop! I'm still playing but interesting and fun stuff!

So there does seem to be a method to the madness. Dr. Hightower is teaching us to solve design issues in our art. My takeaway from this process and from art in general is that I need to slow down and let my brain work the process.

I Don't Remember Drowning...

2011-08-29T11:51:00.000-04:00

I don't remember feeling this over my head the first time I was a full-time college student! I'm thankful that my ever watchful lifeguard, Andy was on duty yesterday as I was close to tears trying to keep my head above the water.
I don't think I ever embraced studying then. I was always working and trying to stay afloat financially. Maybe I have just wiped it out of my memory but I don't actually remember doing homework. By the time I was a junior, I adeptly managed for my assignments do double duty. Either I tutored someone on the literature that we were reading or I wrote articles that I got paid for AND could turn in as writing assignments. I don't remember studying for anything. Either I got it or I didn't and more often than not, I got it.

I have five classes I am taking. Yes, I realize that is a lot of classes! Yesterday as I was making sure I had everything done for my classes today, I fully realized that five classes -- 15 credit hours -- was a lot. My almost-ready-for-AARP brain doesn't absorb so much. I am more like oil cloth then I am cotton.

Time management is critical for me at this junction. I can no longer meander through the days, especially when I start to work (which I expect to start something in September), and do the home work and reading and thinking when I feel the motivation. Motivation will now have to live on a time table, most likely between 6pm and 11pm.

Maybe by week four, I'll have mastered the art of swimming, on a time-table, and someone will give me a cotton towel.

First Day of School or How to Gain the Fresman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior 15!

2011-08-17T12:07:00.000-04:00

I have a three hour void in the middle of my day on Wednesdays from 11am - 2pm. I think most days I will be able to utilize this time for a quick lunch and study time but today is the first day of class at KSU so we haven't even had a full class. Lot's of review of syllabi and short classes so I've caught up on my pleasure reading and Facebook game playing and now I am in pursuit of my favorite hobby...people watching.

This semester, because I am a full-time student, I have had to purchase a meal plan. This is a good thing for people watching because it is like feeding time at the zoo. There aren't a lot of folks who look like me...mostly teens and early 20-somethings with a plethora of styles. Lots of tanned bodies, short shorts and knee high boots. Not sure what style that is!

I love the girl in the A-line skirt and simple white t-shirt. Her only accessory is her waste long, blonde dreadlocks and simple Mary Jane style practical shoes. I wonder what her major is.

As I sit and observe in this mecca of food and fashion, I wonder how all these folks aren't pudged out. I had a nice salad and some turkey breast for lunch but I am also sitting next to the dessert bar where I can see donuts and cream puffs and muffins. And of course soft serve ice yogurt.

A kid just walked by with a service dog. I wonder how I can qualify for that program?

Today is the first day...

2011-06-29T08:05:00.001-04:00

So here i sit...it is about 7:35 am and I am in a conference room on my last day at SAP. For some reason I couldn't sleep. I don't know if it was the excitement of having a new life ahead of me or the nervousness of leaving the corporate world (and corporate paycheck).

There are a million cliches running through my head. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Even the best laid plans... Why put off today what you can do tomorrow? A door closes and a window opens. A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush.

I have had friends declare their admiration for taking this big leap like knights vowing fealty to a queen. So many people possessing secret talents and passions and dreams of taking the same giant leap out of Corporate America. The paralyzing reality of the paycheck makes tethers most to stay put and wish. Some have called me brave...and some have called me stupid!

My journey started long ago and just kept inching and pushing and shoving its way into my consciousness. Frequent thoughts over that first coffee of the morning, "how did I get here in my life?" and then came the dinner conversation that changed everything.

"If you could not fail, what would you do with your life?" asked my boss innocently. OK, in addition to being my boss, she's been a great friend for over 10 years too! I'm not sure I had an answer that night but the question festered in me and I thought about it every day.

And here is my big conclusion...sometimes you just have to take the risk. There may be success or there may be failure (that's why it is called risk!) but failure is just a temporary condition. It is not a finality.

So today as I embark on the rest of my life I go on to make art, continue to teach people how to funnel their creativity -- even if they think they don't have any, and help the people in this world that need me. My path is not the straight and narrow but the crooked, winding twists and turns of life. I'll be driving but you ca sit back and enjoy the ride. Warning: fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

A Woman Has Three Hearts

2011-05-24T06:00:00.001-04:00

"A woman has three hearts, one she shares with the world, one she shares with her family and one she shares only with herself." Chinese Proverb

Hi everyone-

I wanted to tell you all about a wonderful online workshop I am taking from an incredible artist, Christy Tomlinson. This is my second online workshop with Christy and I have learned a lot from her. For this workshop, I am so excited to just have my very own art journal. I have always felt that I presented a different Kasey to the world then what I do to my family. I also think that I have not taken the time to have a heart to share with myself.

If you are interested in taking any of Christy's online workshops (I HIGHLY recommend She Art!) you can get more information from her website 3 Hearts/She Art/Scarlet Lime. Her online store at Scarlet Lime has some of the best prices and she often offers discounts to her students as a thank you. Believe it or not, the canvases I've bought from Christy, even with the shipping, cost less if I factor in gas and driving over to the otherside of Cobb County to go to Dick Blick!

Check Christy out!!! We can share journal pages.

Dive Bombed

2011-04-11T06:00:00.002-04:00

I think I was being sent a message last night. As I watched the dogs frolic in the moonlight before we went to bed last night, this exotic creature kept dive bombing me. The two Labs thought it was a tiny bird and that they needed to capture it. I was awed by its beauty and its size.

This creature only lives for seven days. What is its purpose? Does it live the best life it can for seven days? It reminded me that everyone of us needs to find our purpose in life. We aren't here to just exist. What is my purpose? What is your purpose?

My Admissions Portfolio for Art Education

2011-04-09T15:10:00.000-04:00

So after two art classes, it is do or die time for my entrance portfolio to officially get into the art education program at Kennesaw. The portfolio has to focus on pieces that were done in Drawing 1 and 2-D design and include some pieces that we've done outside of class. Here are the pieces I'm including:

(01.) Shape Still Life, 23.5 x 17.5”. Graphite on Paper. August 2010. Drawing I, figure study from direct observation.

(02.) Observational Drawing, 18” x 21”. Charcoal on Paper. February 2011. Drawing I, figure study from direct observation.

(03.) Study of Pod and Cone, 13” x 11.5”. Graphite on Paper. January 2011. Drawing I, figure study from direct observation.

(04.) Organic Still Life, 24” x 18”. Charcoal on Paper. March 2011. Drawing I, figure study from direct observation.

(05.) Inorganic Still Life, 12” x 14””. Graphite on Paper. April 2011. Drawing I, figure study from direct observation.

(06.) Values from Symbols Project, 18” x 24”. Graphite on Paper. September 2010. 2-D Design, drawing interpretation photo.

(07.) Modern Color Wheel Project, 20” x 18”. Acrylic Paint on Canvas Board. October 2010. 2-D Design, Painting interpretation photo.

(08.) Observational Painting, 14” x 17””. Acrylic on Paper. October 2010. 2-D Design, figure study from direct observation.

(09.) Color Relationships Project, 10” x 10” (each piece). Acrylic Paint on Canvas Board. November 2010. 2-D Design, painting interpretation from photo.

(11.) Observational Painting, 7” x 8.5”. Acrylic on Canvas. December 2010. Figure study from direct observation.

(12.) From Photo, 15’ x 11”. Acrylic on Canvas. December 2010. Experiment on perspective with acrylic paints.

10a.) There’s a Pitbull in the Closet, 12” x 12”. Ink and Wood. November 2010. 2-D Design, Concept Art Book Cover.

(10b.) from There’s a Pitbull in My Closet, 12” x 12”. Collage on acrylic paint. November 2010. 2-D Design, freestyle paint on paper with collage.

(10c.) from There’s a Pitbull in My Closet, 7” x 9”. Graphite on Paper. November 2010. 2-D Design, figure study from direct observation.

(10d.) from There’s a Pitbull in My Closet, 12” x 12”. Colored Pencils on Paper. November 2010. 2-D Design, figure study from photo.

(10e.) from There’s a Pitbull in My Closet, 4.5” x 6”. Word Art on Photograph. November 2010. 2-D Design, photo taken with Pentax K-X with 55mm – 75mm lens, composed in Adobe Illustrator and mounted onto magnetic sheet (JAILO game and pieces in tin box).

(13.) Mixed Media, 10” x 10”. March 2011. Photo transfer, ink, acrylic paint, modeling paste, decorative paper, gaffer tape.

(14.) Neighborhood Hawk, December 2010, Pentax K-X with Pentax 55-300 mm f/4-5.8 ED lens.

(15.) Yummo, January 2011, Canon T2I with Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens.

(16.) I am the King, January 2011, Canon T2I with Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens.

(17.) Observational Photo , January 2011, Canon T2I with Lensbaby Composer and additional macro lenses.

(18.) Girl on Horse, February 2011, Canon T2I with Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens

(19.) Blue Morning in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. March 2011. Canon T2I with Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens.

Mixed Media Art -- Bailey

2011-03-27T18:54:00.000-04:00

This weekend I worked on a mixed media piece using some collage techniques, transfer techniques, acrylic paints, water color crayons, and texture medium. First I took a picture I had of Bailey and manipulated it in Photoshop. I took away the background and then added a filter to make the image look like a drawing. I printed it on photo paper and then took the 8 1/2 x 11 image to Office Max and blew it up to fit an 11 X 17 sheet.

Next I worked on the canvas. This is actually a 10 X 10 canvas. I took some bright orange and bright pink scrapbook paper and randomly cut pieces. I applied it to the canvas with a gel medium (you can also use Mod Podge).

I wanted to add some different layers of texture so I cut out a heart from a piece of Cosmo Cricket paper I had. Then, I took some modeling paste and added some Tim Holtz cranberry color wash to it. I smeared it on the bottom of the canvas (the modeling paste is white and the color wash turned out a nice pinkish color). I then took an old prescription pill bottle and randomly applied the circles in the texture medium. Next, I applied a variety of black rub-ons across the canvas. Some were words and some were design elements like half circles. The key here was random. Last, I used a product that I received in a "kit" that I didn't think I would ever use but I love it! It is the black and cream button "gaffer" tape on the left of the picture. It is fabric but sticky and although you can't see it, I have applied this tape to the side edges of the canvas which really finishes it off and makes it so you don't have to frame the piece.

Now for the photo transfer...remember those copies I made from the photoshopped photos? I took the blown up copy of Bailey and cut out the image. Next, I applied gel medium to the photo copy and then positioned it onto the canvas where I wanted it. To make sure I got full transfer, I used a brayer to make sure I didn't have any air bubbles. I let this dry fully -- about an hour.

The last step is to spritz the paper with water and rub. This rubs off the copy paper and leaves the image transfer on the canvas. It is a little messy and takes a while but I think worth it in the end result!

Andy thought it looked very Warhol-esque! What do you think?

Dogs In Motion

2011-02-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

My two girls, Phoebe (yellow lab) and Bailey (All American Mutt) love to play fetch. Bailey gets down right crazy about it. She will be so excited that her jaw will actually click. Usually our ball sessions last about 10 or 15 minutes and my arms get really sore from throwing. I stand on the deck and throw the ball and they fly down the stairs and fetch it. If Phoebe gets the ball, she runs up the stairs and tosses at my feet. If Bailey gets the ball she brings it back up the stairs, places both paws on top and "shoots" it to me by popping it out from under her paws.

A few weeks ago, I got this great idea to get my tennis racket and hit the ball out to them. I can hit it way farther than I can throw it and the girls love it. I can also last longer so our sessions are closer to a half hour.

I love how they look when they run...I live vicariously in their motion. We could all learn from the simple happiness of a dog chasing a ball!

Is Photography Art or Indulgence (on my part!)

2011-02-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

So my Pentax K-X is a perfectly fine beginner DSLR camera...and mine is red! But as much as I liked my red beginner DSL I felt like I needed something with some advanced features. So I got myself a Canon T2I -- 18.2 megapixels, shooting capability in "the RAW" (still not sure what that means yet except that it will be better to manipulate in Photoshop), and a bunch of other features that I'm still working through. Photography is an expensive habit! I could take a second mortgage out just on the lenses that I want!

But in addition to my new camera, I also invested in Lens called the Lensbaby. This is a very cool lens kit that "bends" the image providing a lovely sweet spot of focus and feathers out the rest of the image. There are multiple optics you can add to your Lensbaby. I bought the "Composer" and several optics and special effects. Check out their website and gallery for some very cool examples in their Gallery Lensbaby.

My favorite, the fish eye optic!

But as I struggle with the new equipment, I also struggle with photography as an art form. I've always like to take unusual angles of things...more interested in the composition of a picture than documenting an event. But what makes my shot better than someone else's? I mean, if I get a great picture is it because of my artistic insight or is it because I have a great camera? I struggle with this...

So here are some photos that are what I call my Seinfeld Series -- pictures about nothing...but I like them! What do you think?

Macro 10x and 4x together

Double pane optic

Macro 10X

Double pane optic

2010 -- The Year of The Crafty Girl Project

2011-01-01T07:56:00.001-05:00

Welcome to 2011 Crafty Girls and Guys everywhere. I've seen a lot of my fellow bloggers posting a year review on the blog and I thought I would remind my awesome readers of some highlights of my 2010.

I would definitely say 2010 was a growth year for me -- or the beginning of the mid-life crisis as my husband puts it! My main focus for 2010 was how can I live a more creative life. I asked myself the question could I do something creative every single day?

Well, the answer is yes, sort of. What I mean with this vague answer is that a majority of the time, I thought or did something creative. Some days there was no tangible thing that said, "Look what I made!" But there's been a lot of changes in my mindset to get me doing more creative projects.

Some highlights of my year include these major life events:

1) Became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in January 2010

Not only do I get a discount off my supplies but I'm awed by the creativity of my friends at Stampin' Up! Being able to go to the convention this past July was incredible! I took home more ideas--both business and creative -- then I had room for in my suitcase. Plus it was held in beautiful Salt Lake City and I've got some fantastic shots of the city.

I held regular Crafty Girl nights and was able to teach friends how to make fun projects...even if they weren't crafty!

2) I became Copic Marker Certified so I could start teaching beginning classes on copic marker coloring. I love these alcohol-based, refillable markers. I've created some cool mixed-media pieces using the airbrushing techniques as well as just had a blast coloring stamped images.

3) I went back to school and am hoping to get a Bachelor's in Fine Art at Kennesaw State University. In April 2011, I will officially submit my portfolio to gain entry into the School of Art. I'm going back and forth between a BFA focusing on photography and printmaking or a BS in Art Education but leaning more toward the art education. Ultimately I'd really like to have my own business -- maybe an art supply store that offers classes in different mediums. Right now if I want to go to an art store I have to head to Alpharetta, Buckhead or downtown Tech area. It would be nice to have one that caters to us KSU and Polytech students! But then I'd like to make art assessable to the masses -- to all the people who say they aren't crafty but would like to try.

The Crafty Girl Project is far from over. It is now a lifestyle rather than a project with a definite start date and end date. What this journey has led me to is a clarity of my love and passions.

What will 2011 bring? More projects, more drawings, more paintings, more cards, more scrapbook pages, more workshops, more classes -- teaching and attending, more fun!

What are you doing to be crafty today? www.craftygirlga.stampinup.net

I want to be a photographer when I grow up!

2010-12-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

There is something about taking a great photo that makes you feel on top of the world. It is probably 90% luck and about 10% skill that you get the photos that you envision or something even better!

Who wouldn't like over $300 worth of product for just $87.50?

2010-11-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

What do you call it when you get over $310 in crafting and business supplies for only $87.50? You can call it an amazing deal, but we're calling it an amazing opportunity! From November 15-30, you can purchase either our Standard or Digital+ Starter Kits at 50 percent off the regular retail price of $175 (plus free shipping!), and enjoy these great benefits as a Stampin' Up! Demonostrator:

Earn additional income while sharing creativity!
Make new and lasting friendships
Enjoy access to nearly unlimited creative ideas
Receive a free subscription to an exclusive monthly magazine
Receive two free months subscription to your very own business website
Opportunity to earn free products and incentive trips

Whether you are looking for a new business opportunity or you are a "hobby" demonstrator, this deal is the best option to join the Stampin' Up! family. Go to my website and click on "Start Your Own Business" tab. I hope you will join me on this creative journey!

http://craftygirls.stampinup.net

Sittin' Pretty

2010-10-29T06:00:00.002-04:00

Sometimes everything comes together, the gods are in line and you get a great picture. A high-pitched voice and the reward of "Num Nums" enabled me to snap this pic

This is typical every breakfast and every dinner time.

1) Behind the Line

2) Maybe a little growl to make everyone sit

3) Maybe a little tut tut to stop the moving around

4) Dog dishes go down

5) All Done!

6) Izzie comes closer to her bowl and sits down and waits again for me to release her.

7) All done!!!!

Everyone is happy...all is well with the world!

Update on My Journey as an Artist

2010-10-28T16:00:00.001-04:00

You can tell when my weekends are so full because I don't have time to sit down and write some stories for The Crafty Girl Project! This past weekend, I took an Acrylic Paint Workshop. I learned SO much and Kay Powell, our instructor, was great! To say she's a hoot is an understatement! She teaches with tough love, i.e. slaps your face while she's hugging you!

I have a terrible problem, according to Kay. I'm an over-blender! Acrylics can be a very forgiving medium...you don't like the way something looks, dry it and paint over -- it will not muddy the colors. We started with learning how to mix colors. You really only need five tubes of paint: black, white, red, blue and yellow. All shades come from those primary colors (red, blue and yellow). Of course, mixing can be fun but time consuming and I am a fan of premixed colors!

This piece of the shadow of the bike rider on a path in Tuscan was the last thing I painted in the workshop. Yes, I really did paint it. It was my interpretation of a piece that Kay had already painted. I love the perspective in this piece that add to the dimension of the scene.

But before we got to this, we started out with some basic forms...pears to be exact. Kay said that she loved painting pears because they were so sensual. Sexy pears? I remember a girlfriend my younger brother had that we nicknamed "The Pear" and not because she was sensual...it had more to do with her tiny waist and her humongous badonkadonk! Children can be so cruel -- ok so I was officially an adult.

Kay wanted us to paint first in only black and white. Kay, by the way, loved this little pear's butt crack! We are using a canvas pad that we have cut into 1/4s and only titanium white and mars black and whatever we can mix between the two. Did you know that if you didn't have any black, mix the red, yellow and blue together for black? Lucky for me I didn't forget my black.

Next we graduated into colored fruit. Somehow my mostly green pear turned into an avocado so I'm just telling everyone that it is an avocado! I do really like how I did the background and how the colors compliment each other. What do you think?

Then she wanted us to think about composition and paint three pears using only the leftover paints that we had on our palettes. It was the end of the day and she didn't want us to waste any paint! Paint is expensive and I truly appreciate any cost cutting savings. For this piece, she handed us all pieces of matting to paint on. With acrylics, you really can paint on just about anything but if you are are fine art painting, you don't want to use craft acrylics.

Anyone want to buy a painting?

My Name Is Kasey...and I'm a Gadget-a-holic

2010-10-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

I don't want to spend money, really I don't. But when the newest gadget is available I have this compelling need to own it! So, a special from the Home Shopping Network and four flex pays means I have being shipped to me the latest item from Provo Crafts -- the Cricut Imagine.

Want to read up on the Cricut Imagine?

This is a combo Cricut cutter and HP printer so I can hardly wait to play and create. There are cartridges specifically for the Imagine but you can also use your existing Cricut cartridges. I'd love to figure out how to integrate my own drawings and design and have this machine cut out but I guess that will be part two of the journey.

In the meantime, anyone want to buy a Cricut Expression for cheap?

Architectural Elements

2010-10-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

Art Is Everywhere - Charleston 2010

Don't Feed the Lions -- Charleston 2010

I fancy myself an "art" photographer. I go to places and I'm not clamoring to get the posed picture in front of the museum or even the picture of the interesting display in the museum. I see the world in elements -- almost mosaic like. A lot of my pictures people don't "get" -- "What's it supposed to be?" or "What do you do with that?" are common questions I hear. I use it as a screensaver on my computer or print and mat it in a frame. One day, I will try to layer it into a painting. I see the possibilities as endless.

Infinity -- Charleston 2010

Angles - Charleston 2010

Black on Blue -- Charleston 2010

Magic - Charleston 2010

Friend Good -- Charleston 2010

Texture of the South -- Charleston 2010

For me, I want to really see the city I'm visiting. I take pictures of strangers and random things. Sometimes unflattering pictures according to the subjects. I'm obsessed with faces and not just faces as a whole but the parts that make them up. I love my friend Cindy's profile but she feels that the pictures are unflattering (which is why they aren't here!) but I think they are beautiful -- well that she is beautiful!

I love nooks and crannies...and I'm not talking about an English muffin! I seek out the textures.

Enjoy mini tour of Charleston through my lens!

Wow!! 20% off Holiday Bundles

2010-10-20T07:55:00.000-04:00

Do you want to give Holiday Cards with impact? How about a homemade gift? Now Stampin' Up is making it easier and more affordable for you by packaging bundles! Click on the image above to get the details.

If you book a workshop with me between October 25 and November 22 and have $150 in orders before the workshop, you can pick a bundle of your choice for FREE!!! YES!!! FOR FREE! ANY BUNDLE!!! This could be up to a $39.88 value depending on your choice of bundle.

I only have limited time slots available:

Monday, October 25 -- evening
Thursday, October 29 -- evening
Friday, October 30 -- evening
Wednesday, November 3 -- evening
Saturday. November 6 -- any time
Wednesday, November 10 -- evening
Friday, November 12 -- evening
Monday, November 22 -- evening

Please give me a call if you need to schedule daytime or a date not listed and we can try to work that out.

How fun is Decorative Vinyl???

2010-10-20T06:00:00.008-04:00

#120909 in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini

I like to be Martha Stewart - like. I don't want to be Martha, nor do I want to be so uptight and "matchy matchy" in my decorating and tablescapes. But I like my decor choices to have impact! But most of all, it can't be hard - cuz then I'm out.

The other day I was in a craft store (I wonder if Joann and Michael ever got together???? and had little hobby lobbies...) and saw this fall-theme colored platters on sale for $4.00 so I bought two. They had a little purple and orange border but nothing else going on. Lucky for me, in our Stampin' Up Holiday Mini catalog, we have a set of vinyl decor elements for Halloween that can dress up a glass vase, a wall, or even a platter.

For $14.95 I used the large Happy Halloween sign on one of the platters, the Raven and the Trick or Treat sentiment on the other platter, all the bats and the Oct. 31 piec on a glass vase and I have the three spiders leftover that I will put on my storm door. And it is easy to apply! Just peel off the backing, place where you want it and use a scraper (or a bone folder or I used the handle of my scissors) to rub and make sure it is down on the surface. Then you peel of the other piece of backing and Poof! Wallah you have great looking pieces like these:

With Decor Vinyl, you can hand wash no problem...I even have had some people dishwasher their pieces with no adverse affect to the vinyl however I can't guarantee that will work for everyone's dishwasher!

All the pieces are already cut so there's no "craft knife" work you have to do. It really is just peel and stick. When you get a collection of pieces like this, you have so many options available to you. Imagine these pieces on a mirror or the smaller images on a coffee mug with some Halloween candy in it for a quick gift. I can't wait to show you the cocoa gift set I'm making up with some vinyl decor elements for Christmas!

If you haven't had the chance to look at a Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini, send me an email or comment on this entry and I'll drop one in the mail to you (or by your house). It's easy to get decked out for the holidays...and feel like you are a creative genius!

Jack of all Trades; Master of Nothing

2010-10-19T12:00:00.009-04:00

Dear Crafty Girls and Guys...

First, my apologies for my three week absence. To say things are crazy in my life is like calling the Pope Catholic! This morning I've been waxing poetic (I lay in bed from about 4:15 am - 5:30 am trying to will myself back to sleep. Instead I started thinking about The Crafty Girl Project and this blog.

I'm not sure I'm that interesting, personally, but I think I have some interesting posts. The Crafty Girl Project has been a great outlet for me to experiment with different things and sometimes pontificate on a non-crafty, non-artsy fartsy subject. You've heard the saying before, "Jack of all trades; master of nothing." That's my biggest fear. I want to be a master at something creative. I want to pick up a pencil and be able to draw what I see. I want to create art that not only interests me but draws in other people. I want people to read my stories or blog entries or poems and wonder what I meant by using a certain analogy or vividly see the scene I'm describing.

Waiting and Hoping -- Kasey Litt 2010

There's one thing that is stopping me from being a master...ok, there are several things that are stopping me from being a master! But the one thing, the primary reason is I don't dedicate the time. I've only been diagnosed ADHD at age 45 but believe me when I say I've been this way all my life. Do I have the discipline to practice over and over and over again until I see improvement in my performance?

I think I can (says the little choo choo!). With drawing, I can see improvements as I create and then recreate things. Here is a shot of a pencil drawing I'm doing of Izzie. It is incomplete but I showed it to my lovely Bookclub Ladies last night to see what they thought but also to feel the glow of their appreciation of my work. The one thing I can count on from Bookclub Ladies is their unfailing support of any and all projects I am working on! They are still waiting for me to complete a novel (I have shared excerpts from things in progress).

This weekend, I am taking a two day workshop on Acrylic Paints. What a coinkydink that my next project for 2D design is an Acrylic still life. I have a feeling that this "art thing" is the place I'm supposed to be and the area I'm supposed to be mastering. I hope I didn't wait too long to get here!

PS - for those of you who don't already know this, last Monday I dropped my Drawing 1 class. I talked with my professor and he was concerned I would not pass the class because of my average home work assignments/projects and my absences I've had because of work. It was the last day to be able to drop with receiving a WF (no I didn't say WTF which is what I would have said if I received a Withdraw/Failure!). So where does leave me and my portfolio? I will continue to draw and to hone my skills and as I do so, I will be selecting drawings that might work for my portfolio. However, I came to the decision before I dropped this Drawing 1 class that I was going to retake the class next semester and turn my portfolio in for the Spring deadline. I still have two Gen'l Ed classes I need -- Economics and World History so I'm not really off track!

.

Rah Rah Ree!

2010-10-01T06:00:00.002-04:00

Who doesn't love a pitbull in uniform? My "Bizzie Bee" grew up wearing a snuggie (a small -- the same size as Sophie my Jackahuahua!), t-shirts and her own puppy hoodie. Now, she wears an XXL to accomodate for her muscular build!

So many people look at Izzie and decide that she's a boxer mix or something other than a Pit Bull. Technically she is an American Pit Bull Terrier and comes from a long line of champions. Not bad for a Walmart dog!

Izzie LOVES people as is typical for her breed. They are very loyal and people-oriented. When we go to the dog park, she is so excited...not to see other dogs but to see other humans! She basically ignores the other dogs and wants love and attention from all the owners.

Have I mentioned she is in love with my neighbor-kid Kyle? The first time he met Izzie he had come to the door to see if we had seen his dog Elvis (very cute pug). It was as if Izzie met Fabio because she instantly fell in love with him. So much that she immediately shimmied her way under the fence and caught up with him before he could even make it home (he lives three houses down). Each time she escaped, she would run to him and he would drag her back.

Izzie is not atypical of the breed. So why are cities, towns and even the military banning pit bull type breeds? Recently I was watching an episode of Animal Channel's Pit Boss where a heartbroken couple who lived in military housing were told that their beloved mixed breed family pet was going to be seized and put down because the US Government has recently banned any pit bull "type" dogs. They have no clue what breeds made up their girl but she didn't look like a pit bull...boxer maybe.

According to the American Temperament Testing Association which has been testing the temperament of dog breeds since 1977 ( http://www.atts.org/ ) the American Pit Bull Terrier scored very high - 772 dogs were tested and 86% passed as compared to American Icon, Lassie (the collie) that only had a passing score of 79.7% out of 846 dogs tested.

Izzie is no angel. She can be a tad over zealous when she is playing with the other girls. I can see the glint in her eye when she goes into the "red" stage and we break off any play that has been happening. Izzie will always be crated if we leave the house -- things can get out of hand with no supervision. APBTs were bred to have a high prey drive. However so were English Bull Dogs, American Bull Dogs, and a whole slew of other breeds. If you had a child with red hair, would you always blame him or her for all the mischief because of the red hair??

Just a thought...

Oops...forgot to post some pictures of MDS-created memory book!

2010-09-30T13:17:00.000-04:00

On Monday, I mentioned the memory book I did for my friend's mom. I love how it came out and everything was laid out using Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio software. As the letters and photos came in, I put together in one of our designer templates -- took the guess work out of matching colors!

Vacation Envy--When's Mine?

2010-09-29T06:00:00.006-04:00

Last week, a lot of people I know were out on a "fall break" vacation. I'm seeing pictures of Disney, cruises, staycations, all sorts of trips and plans and fun. In college, we did not get a fall break week! I have to admit, I am tired and would love a good relaxing vacation. But as a college student, I don't have any time until semester break and that is in December!

Here's my typical 7-Day week
Monday - wake at 6am, take care of the dogs, check email personal, log onto work network, work, work, work, shower sometime in between calls, log off at 5pm, drive to school, class 6:30 - 9:15pm, come home, finish home work for Tues Class, go to bed.
Tuesday -- wake at 6am, take care of the dogs, check email personal, log onto work network, work, work, shower sometime in between calls, log off at 2pm, drive to school, class at 3:30 - 6:15, come home, cook dinner (or get dinner), work, finish homework for Wed Class, go to bed.
Wednesday -- wake at 6am, take care of the dogs, check email personal, log onto work network, work, work, work, shower sometime in between calls, log off at 5pm, drive to school, class 6:30 - 9:15, come home, finish home work for Thursday Class, go to bed.
Thursday -- wake at 6am, take care of the dogs, check email personal, log onto work network, work, work, shower sometime in between calls, log off at 2pm, drive to school, class at 3:30 - 6:15, come home, cook or get dinner, work, go to bed

Friday -- wake at 6am, take care of the dogs, check email personal, log onto work network, work, work, work, shower in between calls, possible dinner and movie with friends, or dinner with my friend w/cancer, or total mental shutdown and somewhat comatose state of mind, or pressure to watch one of the 96 shows on my DVR that I think one day I will have time to watch.

Saturday -- wake at 6am (are you seeing a pattern here?), take care of the dogs, check email personal, catch up on Stampin' Up projects, workshops, etc, homework, drive to school and the art studio, spend countless hours there finishing up assignments, drive home, crash, attempt to catch up on tv shows, fall asleep, try to catch up with neglected friends, come home, crash, go to bed

Sunday -- wake at 6am, take care of the dogs, check email personal, Stampin' Up! team meeting or workshops or prep work, work on school assignments, work on work assignments, crash and burn

Repeat until crazy...

Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result!

One day my vacation will come!

Who Doesn't Love Power Tools?

2010-09-28T06:00:00.003-04:00

I admit it readily and loudly -- I LOVE POWER TOOLS! They are an extension to my ink, brushes, pencils. They help me realize some of my creative notions stored in my brain. I want to use them everyday! One day (soon hopefully) I want to learn how to weld. I want to use materials in an unexpected way and create beauty from aluminum turkey roaster pans or a birdbath from two satalite dishes sitting in my backyard. OK, the birdbath hasn't happened yet because I really need to learn how to weld!

This week my group of super creative colleagues in the L-Inked Ladies team (Mandy Grant, SupaStar is the leader) is getting ready for our annual Gifts Galore day on Saturday, October 1. The projects that we are doing are amazing and fun. The best thing for me is I get to use one of my favorite power tools to "distress" one of our materials. If you have ever walked through Home Depot and wondered what on earth someone would use a Dremel for, think no further.

I use my Dremel all the time on a myriad of things. Here is my Dremel list --

1) clean under my nails in between going for my manicure. Ok so this is a strange one but anyone who has ever had anything to do with acrylic nails knows that the machine the manicurists use are cousins to our home Dremel kits. They are a bit more "souped up" and work off a mini engine instead of rechargable batteries.

2) Make new things look old -- sometimes shiny and new is not the look you are going for. In prep for Gifts Galore, I distressed about 47 cookie sheets using my nifty little tool!

3) Precise Sanding -- I have this idea in my head for a mixed media piece but I wanted to cut some shapes out of the board I was using. I have another cool tool that I'll highlight in another story but it was leaving my shapes very sharp and almost splintery. The Dremel smoothed it right off.

4) Cuts nail heads -- depending on which version you have, you can used the reinforced blades to cut nail heads and other protruding metals.

My Digital Studio Helps to Celebrate a Life

2010-09-27T06:00:00.004-04:00

On Saturday night my friend, Brenda and her brother David had a party for their Mom, Avis. It wasn't her birthday but a celebration of her life. You see, she is battling lung cancer.

As letters, notes and photos came in celebrating Avis, I was able to put together a pretty spectacular (I think!) book for her. So far, 38 pages and counting so I won't share everything. There were quite a few friends from High School who sent notes and I was able to find a picture of her high school online. Her family provided me with a lot of great photos. I decided to use the designer template for elegant occassions (I love the marina mist, crumb cake and early espresso color combination).

I didn't have a lot of information regarding the pictures sent to me but I decided to use the feature in My Digital Studio that takes all the pictures in your file and loads them right into the template. You can then alter the page from the original template and remove picures you don't like or move them around. This was a huge time saver for me.

Because I was working under a tight deadline -- with work, school, Stampin' Up!, and other family obligations, I got to work on the book for about eight hours on Friday night and about 12 hours on Saturday. If I had to scrap each of the 38 pages by hand, with the same level of detail I had in My Digital Studio, you would probably have multiply 20 hours by at least 10!

I printed each page (I have an Epson 1400 that prints 12X12 pages and up to 13X19) on Whisper White 12X12 paper and selected the highest DPI for the pictures. The pages printed beautifully. The thickness and quality of Stampin' Up! paper is beyond compare. I would never have attempted to print out on anything else -- no smearing of ink and very sharp, clear pictures.

The Girl Who Loves Tom Petty

2010-09-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, my instructor for 2-D Design told us to bring in a black and white 8X10 photo (or copy of a photo) of someone we knew a lot about. It needed to be a photo that was not too dark but had a nice arrangement of light and dark. We needed to come up with 20 things about the person in the photo and a symbol for each of those factoids.

I looked at pictures of Iggy Pop, Walter Matheau, Twiggy and came across this one of Tom Petty. I love Tom. He is one of the few musicians that I will go to a concert without begging and pleading from Andy. Heck, I've even bought the tickets myself. is project for 2-D required us to take the photo and grid it into 1X1 squares. Then, We would recreate the photo by drawing the positive and negative space and doubling the size to a 16X20. Here's the kicker, instead of using gray scale values based on traditional shading techniques, our gray scale value is created by the volume of the symbols. Kind of hard to describe so let me show you.

Why Do They Call It Still Life?

2010-09-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

I have spent at least 20 hours working on a still life for Drawing Class although still life is a bit of an oxymoron. There is no "life" in a plastic cup, styrofoam ball, milk carton, paper cone and a pyramid. I have never done a still life before. As far as drawing, I haven't really done much formal work. Doodling is not creating a still life.

One of my fellow students has spent at least as many hours as I have creating every shadow and wrinkle in the background paper. The detail he has put in is incredible and almost photo-like. He has helped me on my piece, adding that it possesses a great deal of character. I wonder if that is a nice way of saying it sucks!

For this exercise I discovered the beauty of a blending stump and blotting paper. What did I do without a blending stump before??

I have to admit I am semi-impressed with this. Not that it is the best drawing every but that I completed something like this. It is definitely a new experience for me. Does it suck? You be the judge.

The Rebel Without a Clue Rides Again!

2010-09-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

When I was young, I had piercings and purple hair and a partially shaved head. I rode a motorcycle. It seems that it was a totally different person who did this. When I think about that time in my life, I think it was like watching a character in a movie, but I was just doing my thing.

Ever since we got the "bling" in the new Stampin' Up! Catalog, I've had a thing wearing them on my nose and acting like I had my nose pierced. I really like the look of a small diamond stud on my nose. When we were at the Stampin' Up! Convention, we all wore the jewels on our face and acted like we had our noses pierced.

Ok...so my arms aren't long enough to take a good self portrait...you can't even see the bling!

Well, take a deep breath but I did it for real last week. I did not think it hurt...in fact when I was young and got the cartilage in my upper ear pierced it hurt like you would not believe but this was a little more than a pinch and it was done. Here is the funniest part, my husband did not notice! After three days I mentioned it to him. He must really be blind because he still couldn't see it.

Andy chalks it up to my mid-life crisis. I think I'll just always be that purple-haired, motorcycle-driving rebel without a clue who is just doing her thing.

Courage to Start

2010-09-17T06:00:00.001-04:00

I was the last one drawing in drawing class again last Wednesday night. When the instructor says goodnight for the evening when the "official" class time is over, every fiber of my being wants to packup and go home but I look at my drawing and compare it to the success of the other students and I'm sitting back down on the bench going at it again. I am the outsider in this class with my face pressed up against the window looking into a beautiful world of artists.

I like to be a fly on the wall and listen to the conversations of the young artists around me. There are frequent references to what they did in High School or perhaps another class they took in a Jr. College elsewhere. The young artists don't trust their talent (the old one doesn't either!) and they freak out because they are not given explicit directions on how to create something.

Sometimes, I muster up the courage to talk to the other students. I am stealthy and they do not notice my approach. Miraculously, I appear in front of them and present myself like an appirition that has just materialized. Sometimes I surprise them that I actually know the band they are discussing or read the book or can offer variables for cosigns (ok that one was a surprise to me since it has been over 20 years since I took Calculus). I had a lively conversation about Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead which totally took me by surprise because a) someone actually read it and b) we had quite a lively discussion 1950s McCarthy era conservatism and how it was all a crock what we steriotypically think of (i.e. Happy Days, lots of virgins waiting until marriage, etc) Sex, drugs and Rock n Roll were on the scene but the difference between the 50's and the Sexual Revolution of the 60s was that everything that was going on in the 50s was now out of the closet!

I know the other students approach me cautiously. I am in a group all by myself. I'm not one of the retired ladies who decided art classes would be a nice thing to do. I'm certainly not part of the student body that wonders how should I put a resume together? I'm comfortable with the instructors and feel more on a peer basis with some of them. We are all in such angst as we are preparing our portfolios to be accepted into the School of Art. We all use the breaks in class to see how the others are progressing on their projects and secretly compare their talent to our own to figure out if we stand a chance of getting into the program.

We are all trying to figure out back up plans if we don't get into the program. And then I think is it already too late for a backup plan? How easy would my life be if I never discovered that I have a passion for art and that I'm creative and can learn how to do the type of work I always dreamed of doing?

A fellow student, John, and I got into a conversation about art and courage. I said that about 80% of the woman who come to my Crafty Girl classes start out with a statement like, "I'm not creative." I would say 100% leave my classes a little in awe of what they've created. The key here is having the courage to start -- to put pencil to paper or paint to canvas or ink to stamp.

I have to remind myself to have the courage to put pencil to paper in this drawing class. Once I've done that, I'm closer to becoming an artist and further from the wannabe. Its ok that my work may not be something my friends want to hang behind their couch. Its ok if it is not successful if I understand why it isn't successful and make it work a second time. The key is to keep on drawing and building the skills.

Baby You Can Drive My Car...Learning the Foundations of Drawing

2010-09-16T06:00:00.003-04:00

I haven't talked about my odyssey to art school very much...probably because I have been so engrossed in it. Do you remember the feeling you had when you were handed the keys to your family car for your first driving lesson? I was a mess! I wanted to jump in the car, pull it out of park and drive down the road like I didn't need any help whatsoever. As soon as I sat in the driver's seat, however, I had visions of children, wildlife and old ladies with walkers jumping in front of the car as I plowed them down.

I am feeling a bit like that in my Drawing 1 class. Don't get me wrong, what I've learned in these four weeks has taken up my drawing abilities a few notches but when I look around and see the artists' works around me, I think I must be an impostor. But really, I'm in learning mode and trying to drive my new vehicles.

1968 Chevy Camero Super Sport

A pencil is like a 1960s muscle car. I can use one pencil to draw heavy lines or light lines or a whole scale of grays. This Camero, I'm sure could lay down some heavy skid marks too! With Drawing, I am feeling like a 14-year old who someone has just given the keys to this car to and now I have to drive the family to Poughkeepsie.

I'm competing with some young people who have just come out of high school as the best artists i their schools or artists who already have a large body of work because they've known this is what they want to do. You know, people who can have an idea and know already how to execute.

Like driving a car, creating art requires some preparation steps. You need to plan how you are going to create this concept just as you would plan to read the drivers book, get your Learner's and get behind the wheel.

We are drawing still lifes in Drawing. This still life is made of plastic cup, old milk carton, paper cone, styrofoam ball and I think a papier mache pyramid. They are all painted white and gray. Not so much life in these objects. But it is not just about copying what you see onto the piece of paper. You need to examine these objects and look at their bones. What kinds of forms are these objects? Where is the light coming from and how does it affect the shadows? Where are the highlights and low lights? What does the negative space look like? What do you want to draw and how do you want to crop it?

My first two assignments I got Cs and a comment that I was messy. Well I am messy. I'm the teenager learning to drive. But as soon as I can be comfortable with my vehicle, my 60s muscle pencil, I'll be ready to hit the open road, fiddle with the radio AND talk on the phone! I am the kid who has discovered that she is not going to hit kids, small animals and grandmas while driving the car. And maybe, I might be the kid who ends up driving the car for a living...err drawing the car?

The Zone...

2010-09-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

Do you ever have a convergence of time and space? All of a sudden, the music on stereo is perfect, your chair is perfect (now that you added that great massage cushion!), the ideas are flowing in your head. You look at the clock and it is a little after 10pm and you think, "I gotta go to bed soon."

You feel your eyes brighten just a bit and your alertness quotient goes up by a thousand. Those things hanging from your trunk all of a sudden feel weightless instead of the 40-lb logs you've been dragging. You notice that your shoulders are relaxed and not at ear level and your often curled over back has miraculously straightened out as you sit listening to perfect music in a perfect chair with perfect posture.

That's it -- you are in The Zone! You've got your second wind (or third wind if you are like me). That convergence of time and space transcends exhaustion. Your endorphins are jumping up and down like you've just completed a marathon. You finish one project, desing another project, finish a third.

The rings I showed you on Monday were a product of this particular walk in the Zone. I also designed and created all 20 of my swaps for our L-Inked Ladies unit meeting last Sunday and I sketched out a couple of designs for the Crafty Girls September meetings. Now if I could only get in the Zone when it comes to cleaning.

Life Is Beautiful!

2010-09-14T06:00:00.004-04:00

Fall is my very favorite season of the year. I love the colors and the crispness in the air. I love wearing sweaters and boots...but I digress! Colors -- a lot of deep pigment hues. Think about espresso, pumpkin, mustard, eggplant, avacado. My stomach is rumbling a bit! Is that why I love fall colors so much? I digress again.

I wanted to use some techniques that would be fun (and teachable for workshops). The base of the card is from our new In Color Peach Parfait. One of my favorite techniques is stamping an image with Versamark and then using a clear embossing powder over it. You can do this on designer series paper and then brayer a solid color over it. The clear embossed image will then be the only images with the designer series paper design.

However, I did not have the fall DSP in the mini so I did my clear embossing on Very Vanilla cardstock and then sponged Elegant Eggplant, Peach Parfait, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, and Always Avacado. When you sponge the different colors, really pounce it like you would if you were stenciling.

The stamp set is the new French Foliage Stamp Set from the new Holiday Mini. I took my largest acrylic block from the colletion and arranged the three different leaf stamps on the large block so I only had to stamp once. This is great when you want to do a large quantity of the same design and you want them to look identical.

The sentiment, Life is Beautiful, is from the Style Beautiful stamp set. I punched it out using the new Decorative Label punch from the Holiday Mini in More Mustard card stock and sponged Always Avocado around the edges. Then I punched a 2 1/2" circle and ran it through the crimper tool. Last, Very Vanilla
5/8" satin ribbon.

Welcome Fall!!!

Fabric Fun!!!!

2010-09-13T06:00:00.025-04:00

On the second Sunday of every month, my group of fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators get together under the leadership of Mandy Grant, my upline. She is such an inspiration to us all. Not only did she have to get 20 swaps together for our FALL THEMED/HALLOWEEN swap but also 127 for her trip to Founders Circle next week! AND she's holding this meeting and a scrapbooking club before she leaves.

Hand model I'm not but These are some good looking rings!

Anyway, I got to teach the Make N Take project this month. I really wanted to focus on our new Fabric that is in the Holiday Mini. Fabric can be a little scary. I'm the worst kind of non-sewer...the kind that has a sewing machine and thinks she should be able to sew! I've had this machine for 10 years and I still need to take out the manual to thread the darn thing!

This Fleurette is the best because there is absolutely no sewing and you can use it on so many projects.

Materials:

2.25" x 7" strip of fabric (of course I love the SU!)
round ring fittings with blank base (I got mine through Etsy doing a search for ring supplies. Around $0.89 each depending on bulk purchase).
Hot Glue or fabric glue
SU Antique Brads

Sarah and Lienne twist and roll!

You are basically going to fold the fabric in half and glue the corners of one side using hot glue. I have not tried a cold fabric glue yet but the hot glue does great. I think I've probably burned the fingerprints off of my pointer fingers though! Once you have that corner glued together, just start twisting the fabric. I like to twist on the tight side. Every few twists, I add a bead of hot glue as I shape the fabric into a rosette. As you get to the end of the fabric, put a larger bead of glue on the end tuck it on the underside.

Have I mentioned how much I love the antique brads? Depending on the size and shape of the fleurette and the ring fixture I'm using, I pick the brad. You could also you some of our other brads like the silvertone Flower Brads.

I'd like to take credit for this but there was a demo from one of my fellow Stampin' Up! Demos however after I printed the picture sample, I realized that it did not have a watermark so I can;t give credit to the demo. If you don't like the ring, think of using these Fleurettes on a barrette or a headband or a pin. You can add them to cards or gift boxes.

Enjoy!

Organizing is good!

2010-09-12T06:00:00.025-04:00

The image here has been blurred to protect the innocent!

Ok....I'm going to shock all of you. Here is my studio space -- this is where I draw, paint, stamp, write, and generally hang out. I'm in the midst of reorganizing, I guess, but can you really call it reorganizing when things weren't that organized to begin with? This room ended up to be the wasteland...the room where everything that was thought to be needed but didn't have a space ended up. See large boxes on futon (left from bedroom, right from various places). The empty space to the right of the desk is for my drawing table which is still in the back of my car waiting for a strong hubby to bring up!

paper, tools, publications, etc

I have a vision of being able to find everything when I need it and for the space to be so interesting all my creative ideas will flow like a beautiful waterfall on the side of a lava tube in Hawaii...ok I was going to say tap water but that wasn't very creative! I joked about a picture of another persons craft room where she had so many Stamp sets I said she should instate the Dewey Decimal system. I'm feeling that way myself...I have my one catalog where I've marked up all that I want and checked all that I own BUT I forget to do that and then what if I checked something becaause I thought I had it but I can't find it? Anywhoooo, I'm the one looking for a Stamp Dewey Decimal system. I've already got them organized by the section of the catalog they are in but do I further organize alphabetically or catalog page #? And before you say this to yourself, yes, I am a freak. Between my husband and I we have close to 500 CDs that are alphabetized by genre. This is all me.

forbidden corner - dressers need to leave and
boxes of stuff for garage sale.

It is a work in progress and although I feel like I'm showing my pile of dirty laundry, I will share with you my odyssey to organization. Is it possible to be a horder in only part of your house? Don't be surprised if Clean House shows up...or Discovery to film my dog hoarding and my creative stuff hoarding!

Remembering...

2010-09-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning feeling a little melancholic. Today being September 11th immediately had me thinking of that terrible day and the stun and disbelief we, the nation, had in 2001. The Twin Towers have a special place for Andy and I as they, in part, were responsible for the reconciliation of our relationship and ultimately of our marriage. We just celebrated our 16th Anniversary on September 3rd.

The short story is that I won an all-expenses paid trip to New York and the hotel was the Marriott at the Twin Towers. Nested between the two massive towers, this hotel was the place that Andy met my best friend Rhonda and I to take us to the Statue of Liberty. This was almost a year to-the-date of our first date (that lasted about five days and is another story all together!). But we weren't strong enough for a long distance relationship and had a lot of growing up to do.

I had never been to New York City and frankly it wasn't high on my bucket list. Even though we weren't a couple, I had always promised Andy that he could take me to the Statue of Liberty. To make a long story short, we made up and enjoyed breakfast the next day after talking all night, at the Windows to the World restaurant that revolved atop one of the towers.

Watching the destruction of the towers nine years ago and the nation move into a mass psychological depression weighs just as heavy on my chest today as it did then. The mere date of 9/11 supersedes any happy events that may have occurred on this date in the years prior to this disaster or even at the Twin Towers. I feel bad for those who have birthdays, anniversaries or any life landmarks that occupy that date.

To everyone who lost someone in that tragic day, my heart continues to go out to you. To my dear friends Jon Neustedter, Kenny Simon, all of the colleagues with us in "Siebel City" as the reports came in -- I am thinking about you.

I pray that everyone remembers the teachings of their respective religions. Jesus taught compassion and forgiveness. Buddhism views forgiveness as a practice to remove emotions that would cause a lasting unhealthy effect on our Karma. Sikhism sees forgiveness as a remedy to anger that generates peace and tranquility. In Judaism, forgiveness is considered a pious act -- you are religiously bound to forgive. Islam is a derivation of the word peace (Semitic word slm) and forgiveness is a prerequisite for peace.

Let us honor today with prayers of peace and forgiveness and not acts of hatred.

Photo Snafu! I guess I really am an amatuer!

2010-09-06T15:54:00.000-04:00

With the beautiful weather this weekend I went out wandering downtown Atlanta on Saturday. I started out by Georgia Tech (had no clue it was Game Day!) and a visit to Ultrecht's which is an art supply store. I saw online that they had a portfolio/backpack. I'm having the hardest time finding something comfortable to carry my drawing pads and supplies back and forth from car to class. I'm most comfortable with a backpack but I wasn't sure if this would be big enough for the drawing board and the pad so I wanted to see it in person before I shelled out $65.

There is another art supply store I wanted to check out, too, in Buckhead so I figured I would take a leisurely drive around...stop where I could and take pictures. If you've seen my photography before you know there are a few things I'm obsessed with in architecture -- doors and rooflines. With the sky being sooo blue and almost cloudless and the modern angles of many of our Atlanta skyline, I had a plethora of things to photograph. And boy did I snap a lot of pictures! oh and buy art supplies!

Sunday morning, I took the girls out to our backyard which is filled with many trees and plants and I took a boatload of pictures of them running and playing. We were outside a good 45 minutes and I was playing with my new telephoto lens (25mm-350mm). Because I wanted to capture the action of them running after the ball or wrestling, I was using the action mode on the camera which would take five pictures with less than a second between frames. I probably shot about 100 more frames before we quit and went into the house.

All this time, I never checked the pictures until I had a few minutes to myself. I turned the camera on and went into the photo view mode. To my surprise and disappointment, there were no pictures! I had neglected to put the memory card back in after I downloaded the last set of photos. BOOO!

Sometimes in you zest to do something, you forget the fundamentals. Always make sure you have a memory card in your camera!

Gifts Galore--Time is ticking

2010-09-02T12:13:00.000-04:00

Sneak Peek at our October 2 Gifts Galore--

This is just a taste of the simply elegant projects you will create at this years, must attend event, Gifts Galore! All attendees will have access to an exclusive website with directions to re-create all these amazing gifts, after the event. Our goal is gift giving made easy and replicatable.

Look at what you get for the day!

5 Make N Takes

memo board
post it note/chalk board cube
gift basket
jewelry
stationary set

4 NEW product presentations!

My Digital Studio demo: Christmas Calendars made easy

Lunch from Sweet Tomatoes, YUM

Lots of displays - bring a camera

$200 in prizes given away

$150 raffle basket

Extra goodies included in your make n take bag

ONLY 8 days left to register!

http://l-inkedbygiftsgalore.blogspot.com/p/register.html

Choose me as your demonstrator! If you get a friend to sign up with you, you and your friend get a special prize from me (just email me and let me know who your friend is).

The Alternative Path

2010-09-02T07:55:00.000-04:00

So I really love my mixed media piece that I turned in for 2-D Design. It was a concept piece relating three sort of random things about you into one cohesive piece. So, here it is. Take it in. Let me know your first reaction to it -- good or bad.

The colors are more intense than the photo. My three things were rebel, the many paths life can take and dogs (of course). I had so many ideas going on in my head and for sure that comes out in the piece. One thing I really need to do is self-edit.

Let me point out a few things, in the left part of the piece is a very plain green grass hill and a very straight and narrow pathway with the typical milestones in a person's life -- birth, school, career, date, marriage, 2.5 kids, etc. The pathway is all monochromatic which means one color family (alternating path stones in grays) and uses more rectilinear lines to show its formality. Coming out of the school path stone is an alternative path. It is more organic (I used glue and sand to construct it) and uses curvilinear line which are more natural. Along the alternative pathway there are various crops of different places I've been. Last, but not least, there are various pictures of the girls however I have altered them into other things. Bailey is a spider, Phoebe is a honeybee, Sophie is a butterfly, Izzie is nesting in a giant flower and Viola is a gorilla looking at a bunch of bananas. The bright patches of color show my rebel nature as does the change in texture from one side to the other.

Not sure I would hang this in my living room -- maybe my studio!

Materials -- canvas (I think it is a 24X36 so fairly large). MODGE PODGE Lots and lots of Modge Podge! All the paint is actually Copic Markers that I airburshed onto the canvas. I don't recomend hand coloring canvas with Copics since it is so porous, it will soak all your ink in. The intensity of the colors is due to many layers of different markers.

WOW! This just in from the home office...

2010-08-31T08:23:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't want a Greenhouse Gala Craft Tote? And now if you become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in September, it is yours free!

* This tote fits 12" x 12" products as well as 12" x 12" Craft Keepers, and it even holds your Paper Cutter! It's perfect for carrying supplies to your workshops and will help you stay organized.
* A back-zipper pocket holds seven Classic Stampin' Pads.
* Open outside pockets hold our Extra-Large punches.
* A detachable shoulder strap makes it easy to carry your tote.
* $39.95 (Item 122126) value

Do you have a wish list that is a mile long? It may pay for you to become a hobby demonstrator for Stampin' Up! Since this is your business, you can put as much effort into it. Maybe you just want to have the 20% discount all demonstrators have. Then you would only need to maintain a $50 order per month (or $150 for the quarter).

A Standard Starter Kit for $175 gets you the following:
starter kit
• Stamp sets (4 sets: Fun & Fast Notes, I {Heart} Hearts (clear mount), For All
You Do, So Many Thanks, OR 4 sets of your choice at the same or lower price)
• Clear Block C (OR clear block at the same or lower price)
• Fast Flowers Stampin’ Around® wheel (OR standard wheel of your choice)
• Stampin’ Around Self Inking Handle (standard)
• Uninked Cartridge (standard)
• Assorted color card stock 8-1/2" x 11" (Getting Started OR assortment of your choice)
• Card stock 8-1/2" x 11" (Whisper White OR color of your choice)
• Brights Patterns Designer Series paper stack (OR color of your choice)
• Classic Stampin’ Pads® (4: Basic Black, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red, OR 4 colors of your choice)
• VersaMark® pad (OR ink pad at the same or lower price)
• Stampin’ Write® markers (2: Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist, OR 2 colors of your choice)
• Marina Mist Classic Ink Refill (OR color of your choice)
• Whisper White 5/8" satin ribbon (OR ribbon at the same or lower price)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals®
• SNAIL Adhesive® (OR adhesive at the same or lower price)
• Blender pen (single)
• Stamping sponge (single)
• Small Chocolate Songbird Tile Décor Elements® (OR Décor Elements item at the same or lower price)
• Décor Elements Applicator Tool
• Stampin’ Scrub®
• Stampin’ Mist® (OR StazOn® Cleaner)
business supplies
• Catalogs, business forms, and other printed materials to get your business off to a great start!

Or if you are a Digital person looking for a quick way to make beautiful scrapbook pages, cards, multimedia items from the comfort of your laptop, the Digital + Starter Kit for $175 might be for you. It includes the following:
starter kit
• My Digital Studio™
• Stamp sets (3 sets: Party Hearty, I {Heart} Hearts (clear mount), and
So Many Thanks, OR 3 sets of your choice at the same or lower price)
• Clear Block C (OR clear block at the same or lower price)
• Assorted color card stock 8-1/2" x 11" (Getting Started OR assortment of
your choice)
• Card stock 8-1/2" x 11" (Whisper White OR color of your choice)
• Classic Stampin’ Pads® (4: Basic Black, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red, OR 4 colors of your choice)
• Stampin’ Write® markers (2: Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist, OR 2 colors of your choice)
• Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (OR ribbon at the same or lower price)
• Brights Designer buttons
• Stampin’ Dimensionals®
• SNAIL Adhesive® (OR adhesive at the same or lower price)
• Glue Dots®
• Small Chocolate Songbird Tile Décor Elements® (OR Décor Elements item at the same or lower price)
• Décor Elements Applicator Tool
• Stampin’ Scrub®
• Stampin’ Mist® (OR StazOn® Cleaner)
business supplies
• Catalogs, business forms, and other printed materials to get your business off to a great start!

If you are interested in joining a great group of creatively minded people, go to my Stampin' Up Website, and click on the join my team tab.

How are you getting your crafty on?

2010-08-30T06:00:00.003-04:00

I'd love to know what you all are doing to get your creative juices flowing...my friend Cindy writes wonderful prose in her blog, Lottie Bird
My friends Lisa and Amanda and Jackie and Mandy create beautiful cards and paper crafts.

Some days I feel that all I can do is keep my head above water and forget about being creative...not something I can really do in my current situation -- art school, Stampin' Up business, craft teacher, blogger!

Stay tuned for my first art project -- put rebel, paths and dogs together and hopefully you'll see a cohesive art piece! I'll post on Wednesday since I have to turn in on Tuesday.

I'll take Spiders and Snakes over Scorpions!

2010-08-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

The other day I went into the master bathroom. It was about 6:30am. In the corner where the shower door meets the wall, there was something black. It didn't move -- not even when Big Girl (Viola) came in and sort of sat on it. I couldn't tell if it was something alive or a really weird dust bunny. Of course I didn't have all the lights on...just a little night light thing.

ok so maybe I should focus on vacuuming up all the dog hair and Andy hair?

Well, I shooed the dogs out of the bathroom and turned on all the lights and to my surprise it was a scorpion. EEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!! All I could think about was where's my camera? I have to get a shot of this guy. Since he didn't move, I thought he was dead already. But I guess the flash woke him up because all of a sudden he was moving. Big Girl tried to do her patented drop and roll move on it and Lil' Sopha likes to rub her face all over bugs and seafood (don't ask me why). It was a crazy few minutes as I was yelling at Andy to kill it!

His response, "I don't know nothin' about killing scorpions -- we don't have them in NY!" So I did the only thing I could think of...I reached for the shoe.

"Give me a flip flop, " I yelled at him. And then with precision and decisiveness I whacked it dead like I had been killing scorpions for a while. Maybe it is a sign...after all I am married to a Scorpio.

Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog Orders End August 31

2010-08-26T07:59:00.000-04:00

You only have until August 31 to place your order against the summer mini so if you like something you see, you can click on the link to my online store or send me an email with your order.

Today's item is our motorcycle stamp! Since I have a secret past life as a motorcycle babe (I was young and reckless!) I LOVE this stamp. If you are looking for something that is more on the masculine side of things, this is the stamap for you. Motorcycles represent a wild side, a rebellious side...or a mid-life crisis side! You can dress them up or dress them down. Here are three samples I've done with the motorcycle stamp.

For the top look, I stamped two images of the motorcycle -- one used whisper white craft ink on basic black paper and one used black stayz on ink on whisper white paper. After stamping, I quickly embossed the white image with white embossing powder (remember to heat from the bottom so you are less likely to burn the embossing powder) and the black image with black embossing powder. The motorcycle stamp block is 2" x 3" so that is the size I cut the paper. This helps you place the stamp in the right space so that you can cut in half. Then each half was placed on a mat of the opposite color (2.25" x 3.25"). I actually matted each motorcycle image to the mat paper and then cut the images in half.

In addition to the motorcycle, I used from the summer mini the Sentimental Journey Stamp set.

Copic Marker Certification

2010-08-26T06:00:00.002-04:00

On Monday, I attended a Copic Marker Certification class. I am in LOVE with Copic Markers! I have the 72A set of markers. There are three other sets of 72 that I really really want.

As we were learning about the product and how to use it and blending techniques, all I could think about was my project for 2-D design. We are doing a project that takes three or more things (objects, words, hobbies, life statements, etc.) that describe us and relate them into one conceptual art piece. I have chosen the words off the beaten path, rebel, dogs and travel. One one side of the piece I will have a very straight and narrow path in blacks and grays and then there will be another path that shoots off it that leads to lush greenery and flowers and then embedded into the plants will be pictures of my dogs and places I've been to. But the lushness that I'm seeing in my mind, I think I can achieve with the Copics.

Copics are great for coloring in stamped images. With 300+ colors to choose from, you can achieve the lightest skin tones to the bluest sky. The markers are easily blendable from one color into the next so you can really play with highlights and shadows or seamless slip from one color into the next.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Stampin' Up water-based markers. You can't really compare a water-based marker to alcohol-based markers. They are two different tools. You can't screw in a screw with a hammer. You need a screwdriver. They are different tools for different effects.

My water-based Stampin' Up markers are my go to for immediate coloring of stamps when I want to multi color the stamp on the stamp with no outlines. For instance, Upsy Daisy, is a stamp that I like to color the petals and the grass different colors. I use the Stampin' Up! markers to color right on the stamp before I even set it down onto paper.

Some highlights about Copic -

Copic has its own airbrushing system where you can use canned air or a compressor. The compressor needs to be 40-60 psi. Using the airbrush feature allows you to control the coverage of the ink and provides an even coating effects. The airbrush is great with stencils and because you are using it like the marker itself, it is easy to control. If this is something you are interested in, then tell your hubby that you need a compressor -- but don't let him try to rig you up using a compressor he has out in the garage. Anything higher than 60 psi will damage the markers and probably throw ink all over you!

What I love about Copic is that you can refill them when they run out. Yes, the are costly to buy but the savings really comes from being able to refill when needed instead of throwing away and buying a new set. The nibs on the markers (I have Copic Sketch) can be replaced easily and depending on the marker style, there are a number of different nibs you can get.

I will be putting together a copic marker class -- maybe at Kennesaw -- later in the fall. I will keep you posted!

Look at all the free stuff I got from Stampin' Up!

2010-08-25T06:00:00.001-04:00

I haven't really talked alot about why I became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. At the time, it was January and during the Sale-A-Bration campaign. The kit was discounted. I had so many things I wanted from Stampin' Up! that it made sense to me to become a demo, switch out everything in the kit to things I had on my wish list and get the 20% discount. I only had to maintain $50 a month in sales to stay active. Heck, I could do that in one order for myself a month!

I don't know if my greed, my competitive nature, my love of the products or some of everything led me to becoming more than just a hobby demo. The incentive for free stuff was good too! During Sale-a-Bration, I got free stamp sets for every $50 spent. Normally for $150 order you qualify for a Hostess set and $15 of free product. I was doing that all on my own.

When you join Stampin' Up! you have the ability to get a whole lot more free stuff! The company sets goals for you during your first six months called Stampin' Start. It consists of sales goals and recruiting goals. When I reached $1800 in sales, I got a free stamp set (of any cost--my choice!). For the first three recruits I got, I was able to pick out a new stamp set. The last goal was for $4500 in sales and I got FOUR stamp sets of my choosing! And then I got a fun surprise in the mail for completing the whole program.

If you would like to join my team click on the link below and go to the Join My Team tab. www.craftygirlga.stampinup.net

Fish Eye Funnies

2010-08-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

I love my camera! And I just bought a cool zoom lens for it...I'm still playing with that lens so no pics worthy of publishing yet...but soon.

Sophie Bobblehead

I'm glad my don't get on the web and see the funny pictures I post of them. I can imagine you moms of teenagers who are in the "don't take my picture" stage. I guess what my girls don't know can't hurt them!

Phoebe Bobblehead

I have a fish eye filter feature on my camera. It basically takes a portion of the picture and makes a bubble around it, distorting whatever is caught in the fish eye. Have you ever seen those big headed dog pictures where the body is teeny tiny but the head is massive? I was trying to see if the fish eye would give me that effect.

My favorite picture is Izzie. I guess she naturally looks good as a bubble head! Phoebe was just tired but Izzie is a natural poser!.

The First Crafty Girl Challenge...just a little one!

2010-08-23T06:00:00.002-04:00

Hello all you crafty people-

So this is the first Challenge I'm throwing out to all my followers. Anyone can play. Ready. Get set. Go!

In honor of my first Drawing homework assignment (see Art Ninja from Aug 19 blog if you haven't already read it!). Have you heard of Inchies? They are usually 1" x 1" mini art pieces. You can have single inchies and group them together or put them into a charm. They literally can be anything...photos, stamps, color swatches, brads or buttons on a color swatch. Because my homework assignment is 2" x 2" swatches, you can do a 2" x 2" or a 1" X 1" which happens to fit into the 1" square charm for the Simply Adorned line. You can create several and use within a project you are planning or you can create just the Inchie.

Everyone who submits will be put into a drawing. Two lucky people will be drawn to receive a Stampin' Up punch of their choice.

Send your entries to craftygirlga@gmail.com. Include in your email the following:

Name
Address
Email
jpeg of your Inchie or Inchie Project

EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO PLAY NO MATTER YOUR SKILL LEVEL! DEADLINE is on Sunday, September 12th.

How do you like the new look???

2010-08-21T23:37:00.001-04:00

The first five people who leave me a comment on my blog and sign up to follow my blog will receive a free Stampin' Up! product. make sure you tell me what kind of projects you would like to see on my blog and your personal info so I can send you your present!

Open to my customers, other demos or anyone who just happened to my blog!

By the way, thanks to Laycock Designs for the blog header. I love my crisp new design!

Cute and Easy project from Stampin' Up!

2010-08-21T22:35:00.002-04:00

How about a cute Owl Treat box filled with M&Ms for Halloween? This cute and easy project can be altered to fit almost any occassion!

Get the easy directions from my Stampin' Up website and take a look around my online store.

Stampin' Up! demonstrator site and online store

My Best Subjects...

2010-08-20T06:00:00.005-04:00

Hello Creative People everywhere! Today I want to look at some of my favorite photographic subjects, my girls. Not only are they really cute and expressive but I can try out new techniques when I photography them as I'm still getting to know my DSLR camera. I have a Pentax K-x with an 18-55 lens. I'm now studying lenses and wondering what my next one will be. Photography is not an inexpensive hobby!

I'm sharing a diptich entitled I'm Happy/I'm Sad and one entitled Your Eyes Are the Windows to Your Soul.

Art Ninja

2010-08-19T07:32:00.001-04:00

So last night began my formal training as an art ninja. It was like I was in a trance for three hours! When Robert our instructor called for a 15 minute break in the middle of our class I was disappointed but knew my butt and back needed me to walk around. You see, on the very first night, we were instructed that when we go to the classroom we are to get an art bench down from storage and face the big dry erase board. Also part of our supply list was a drawing board and a giant 18" x 24" sketch pad. The drawing bench is made so that there is a groove where you place your drawing board and then you straddle the end of the wooden, no padding anywhere, bench. Of course, with my fibro, it was just a matter of minutes that my butt felt like I was grinding my bones and my lower back was sore.

But I didn't care!!! I was in an art ninja trance trying to control my muscles in my arm so the perfect line I was thinking about in my head flowed out of my pencil. I have a ways to go before everything is working with that art ninja efficiency.

Now, those of you who know me know that I can hardly draw a straight line when I have a ruler! Although, my lines were never perfect, I felt like with practice I could get it. The class progressed into perfect circles. Mine tended to look like rounded corner squarish things at first. But again I felt like I could get this if I tuned my art ninja skills.

Then we got into our first homework assignment. We need to draw a variation table with six rows each with eight swatches from darkest to lightest that are two inches by two inches. The first row is a variation of shading. The second row is crosshatching. The third row is overlapping circles...any way you get the point. We have a week to get this accomplished. I'll post a picture when I'm done...I'm intrigued and scared to death of this assignment. Will the prof take one look at mine and know I'm not an art ninja? Stay tuned...

Convention Swaps Part Deux

2010-08-18T06:00:00.002-04:00

Here are some more wonderful swaps from Convention!

More tomorrow!

Look at all these great ideas!

2010-08-17T06:34:00.058-04:00

I attended my very first Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City this year. I went with three other demonstrators from my group. It was a great convention to go to because my upline (the person I signed up to become a Stampin' Up! Demo under) won a bunch of awards. She won a cruise to Alaska (I'm so jealous) which was fantastic. The big surprise was that Mandy was awarded the honor of being on of the top 100 demonstrators in North America! We had to wait until awards night to find out what rank she held and were so impressed that she was the #57 top demo in the US and Canada. Congratulations Mandy!

One of the ongoing events at Convention is Swaps. Let me tell you, I had agita regarding swaps and the rules and getting them done and how many to make! As much as I tried to prepare prior to Convention, I was still making them when I got to SLC. In fact, I left one of my packets of premade swaps at home by mistake so the stuff that I brought to make more was so necessary! On the airplane ride out, I sat in First Class while Mandy and Amanda were in coach. Maybe next year, I'll slum with the girls in the back of the plane. Anyway, for one of my cards, I was making flowers from four scalloped circles and I needed to break down the fibers on each petal. I ended up getting a blister on my left thumb and worked the entire 3 hour plus flight on breaking down and curling those petals. Here are the first batch of my cards I got in exchange for my swaps!

I got some really great ideas for fun and fast cards for workshops. I wonder if my cards ended up on someone's blog!

Gifts Galore--A Day of Great Crafting Projects

2010-08-16T10:57:00.001-04:00

What are you doing to be crafty today? http://www.craftygirlga.stampinup.net/

Hey everyone-

I wanted to make sure you all had the most up-to-date information on Gifts Galore -- October 2 all day. We have some great projects this year and I will be teaching all day but you must join me!!! http://l-inkedbygiftsgalore.blogspot.com/2010/07/gifts-galore-2010.html

The cost is now $64 but that includes fabulous prizes, goody bag, catered lunch and all the materials to complete the projects.

Where have I gone?

2010-08-16T06:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Crafters of Creativity-

I have been an absentee blogger for July and much of August and my sincere apologies to you. July was a whirlwind month of travel -- both work and personal, preparation for the Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City, and preparing for going back to college. Today is the big day and my first day of classes. I am nervous.

Why am I nervous? Well there are a plethora of reasons. One, do I have the stamina to go back to school, excel in my "day" job at SAP, develop my Stampin' Up! business and maintain some kind of home life too? With my fibromyalgia, I sure am cutting off a lot to chew. But I have an energy lately that is helping me push through and I am confident I will be successful at my foray back to higher learning!

Secondly, I am nervous because I am pursuing my degree in Art Education. This means that I need to develop some classic skills in drawing, 2-D and 3-D Design, color theory as well as develop skills in a specialty. I am not officially accepted into the program until I turn in a portfolio. This will mostly be made up of the work in my first two art classes -- 2-D Design and Color Theory and Drawing 1 -- plus additional pieces that I have created on my own. That date to turn in is April 11th so be prepared to have me stress out as that date approaches!

Thirdly, I am nervous because I have a husband, five dogs, a house, friends, a business, a full-time job (that pays the bills and needs to continue to pay the bills!!) that all need attention. The pressure is tremendous to make sure everyone and everything is taken care of while I'm trying to finish my degree. How am I going to do it all?

Well, like my Crafty Girl Project, I guess I take it one day at a time!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on some of the really cute swaps I got at Convention!!!

Oh - and anyone from Book Club -- make sure get the book for September and start now!

Cutting the Apron Strings and Letting it Fly

2010-06-26T09:23:00.001-04:00

I love making cards but I am probably one of the worst card makers when it comes to actually using them! I display them on my design tower or on my presentation board I take to workshops. I give some away attached to gifts and even once in a while I mail one out. With all my supplies and ideas, you would think that I have cards at the ready to send out! But I am like the Shoemaker's children running around barefoot.

I am the worst!!! I am always rushing to put something together instead of using a card that has earned its way to my display rack or my board. Each card I create is like having a baby! And when it is done, I'm never ready for it to leave the nest!

The concept phase of designing a card is like pregnancy. You have an idea based on the stamps or the colors or the techniques and they are incubating in your brain growing and getting stronger. You might start playing with shapes or color combinations. The concept grows as you "case" someone's design or look at other samples. Maybe if you take this from here and that from there and combine it over here. What stamps? What sentiments? Ooh, how about a pop out center? Oh if I put three brads over there and what about a ribbon tab here? The design keeps growing and growing until...Congratulations! You have just put together a card!

Ok, sometimes the card comes out looking like Winston Churchill but all babies are cute, right? This is the point in the creative process where you revise. Assess the card. What do you like about it? What works? What's missing? What piece could tie everything together. Remember when you could dress your kids in anything you wanted? When shopping for clothes was fun? But caution here -- you don't want to turn your card into one of those "Toddlers and Tiara's" nightmares with the fake teeth, fake tan and fake hair!

During this time of nurturing, you may totally bling out the card or try it with different colors or DSPs. You are really looking for a WOW factor. You work diligently on preparing each layer and making sure all the elements work together. The design may take a left turn and go the complete opposite of what you think you wanted. It's like when your teenager comes home one day and says, "I'm not going to college. I'm touring with a rock band for a year." You'll want to pull back and try to stuff it right back into that original design but somehow you need to find the strength to let it find its way. This is especially hard for people who have control issues.

As the execution nears to finish it has really become a great card. It may not be the original concept you started with but it has a unique combination of you and your style combined with elements you used. It is not a cookie cutter card. It's ready to leave the nest and bring joy to someone else. It's all up to you to cut the apron strings and let it go. Before you let it go backpacking in Europe, make sure you take a picture or better yet, now that you've got the design elements figured out, reproduce it.

Each card will look similar but you will have your unique stamp on each card -- literally. If you've come up with a design that you really love, stamp a stack of them to keep on hand. Look at how you might change an element or two to move from a Thank You card to a Birthday Card to a Thinking of You card.

Now, take that card that's all grown up, put a stamp on an envelope and send it to someone! Cut the apron strings and let it fly. You will continue to be proud of it and you'll really show someone how much you care for them.

Last Call for Sizzix Petal Card Die and Other Retiring Stampin' Up Products

2010-06-25T20:46:00.002-04:00

Hi Crafty Girls (and Guys!)-

We are a week away from the new Stampin' Up 2010-2011 Catalog which is very exciting but in order to make room for the brand new items, we'll be saying goodbye to some products in the 2009 - 2010 Catalog. One of the items, that I am showcasing today is the Sizzix Petal Card die for the Big Shot die cut machine. What I love about this die is all the things I've created using it that are beyond the original card which on its own is really cute!

Pretty Heart Hanger

I sat down for a few hours and cut out 10 or 15 Petal Cards in Very Vanilla cardstock and just started playing. I wanted to see what I could piece together. My first revelation was that if I folded two petals I then had a heart shape. Then, if I took another Petal Card and folded in the tabs and attached them to the tabs of the other Petal Card, now I had a heart shaped container. Then my artistic juices started to flow and see my cute treat holder -- throw in some candy or even hang with some potpourri in it as a home decor item.

Before attaching the tabs, I used a Versamark stamp pad and the Flourish stamp from the Baroque Motifs stamp set (which will be continued in the 2010-2011 catty - yeah!). Once I stamped the flourish with Versamark, I used the clear embossing powder and heat set it.

Then I wanted to play with the new Smooch sprays (can't wait until July 1 and the Smooch collection expands!). For this streaked look, I sprayed Log Cabin, Gold Glow and Vanilla Shimmer and then took a dry paper towel and wiped the cardstock in a downward motion. Because I had already heat embossed the Flourish stamp with the clear embossing powder, it was ink resistant and the vanilla cardstock came through.

Next, because I wanted it to hold candy or something I needed to creatively patch the gaps between the tabs. So I used retiring chocolate chip satin ribbon (15/16") to cover the bottom and then as handles for the top. Last, but not least, I used a large pearl (from Pretties kit) and a Very Vanilla large brad.

I pretty much used the same techniques for the next items a snazzy gift box and a set of gift cards. My apologies in advance for the crappy picture quality!

2010-06-25T00:09:00.001-04:00

What are you doing to be crafty today? www.craftygirlga.stampinup.net

A new blog page means the start (or restart) of the Crafty Girl Project!

2010-06-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

Rebirth,

Renewal,

Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, reborn, redo...or all of the above!

The Crafty Girl Project is reborn. Due to some technical difficulties, health difficulties, work difficuties and all-around living life difficulties, my Crafty Girl Project was briefly aborted. For those of you who are new to my blog and my project, let me explain. I believe that each and every one of us can do something creative each and every day. It may be to make something like a card or a home decor item. Or doing something crafty could be organizing your spice cabinet or craftily getting out of a traffic ticket. This blog is meant to be interactive so I want to hear about your crafty experiences as much as I will tell/show you about mine.

I may have a bit of a leg up on the craftiness because of my undying devotion to Stampin' Up products and as an independent demonstrator, you will see most of my creations may have a Stampin' Up flavor, but this is my own personal blog to document my love of creating things and my need to share this odyssey with the world!!! I have a plethora of creative projects and some of them don't include Stampin' Up products at all.

I think you can be crafty anywhere and everywhere. I think you can help those who don't consider themselves crafty to actually do beautiful projects and creative works.

Signing off for now Crafty Readers!