a slide show

Short and sweet for today.

One addition to the sidebar on the right. A slide show tentatively titled, Making stuff :: handmade mini album. Click on it to see all the pictures and captions.

Inspired by this: All week long one of my favorite sites is exploring a great scrapbooking topic...."words + photos". She will do such a great job with this...And I think following along all week will feel like I'm taking one of her famous classes!! Someday, someday. So I am looking forward to the creating her articles will surely inspire.

Like the make a mini album/book challenge.

The handmade mini album is based on an article from her most recent newsletter and on her blog. The challenge was to use stuff {scrapbooking supplies} you already have. The pages are easy to move around and you can easily add extra pages or add other fun things you can punch a hole in.

Make a flower loom embellishment

It was so fun to create this -- I took some pics to show how it works, the loom instructions come with the loom when you buy it, but here's my version:

[1] knifty knitter and yarn of choice, go 1 yard or more for a full effect, leave a bit of a tail looped around the first peg {the one that sticks out at the side, not the top} for a knot later
[2] begin looping around the pegs at opposite sides from each other, I made some mistakes here at first, couldn't tell. I do believe it is fool-proof. loops will look like a figure "8"
[3] once you go all around, I do some loops twice for the full effect, begin taking the remaining yarn and weave in and up through the middle of the flower to make the center
[4] tuck the last bit inside and down into the back of the flower and flip over the loom, now you have two ends
[5] tie both non-looped ends into a knot, the tail you left at the beginning and the remaining end piece
[6] now the fun part -- begin taking all the pegs off and you can see your handiwork coming to fruition
[7] little hands always like to come by and interrupt..um I mean help out, I keep him busy putting the pegs back in the little holes :)
[8] and [9] fluff it up and admire your cute flower embellishment. You handmade maven you :)

The finished flower is about 2.75in across. You can cut the remaining tail off if you like -- I like it cause it looks like a flower. I've also thought about attaching this to a pin back so it can be worn on a sweater. I can see this on a scrapbook page for my daughter too.

creative block + sewing smallish things

11/9/07 creative block + sewing smallish things

I didn't have time to post on the 9th, but I jotted this down...it goes along with the new craft books that have been making me so happy :)

The dreaded dry spell, the creative slump, the writer’s block. It’s been here. Sitting side-by-side with me. And, what an awful time. Right as I am supposed to be starting those Christmas cards. Right in the middle of trying to get all the projects in my head out of my head. Ahh, I thought the other day, therein lays the problem. Too much planning, not enough doing/creating.

Last time I was not feeling so craft-worthy I dove into other forms of artsy craftsy things like learning about printmaking, screen printing and painting on fabric. Then the block vanished as soon as I was making something again. So this time I turned to something besides card making and scrapbooking or painting.

This time the block led me to ---- Sewing and Needle Felting--- {felting supplies have just been added to the yarn-crafty sections at my AC Moore and JoAnns within the last month} Perfect timing I say.

Needle Felting is so cool - and in the process of finding out more about needle felting I discovered this whole new world {new to me anyway} of felting with wool fabrics. Several cool sites/blogs later and I am hooked -- man!! the amazing things you can do with it!! and it is just so beautiful to create with.

But although I grew up with a seamstress mom {I think one of the original crafty girls} who can make anything out of a piece of fabric, I really haven’t embraced sewing as a form of creativity throughout my life. In fact, I ran from it. Until now…I found some folks that could explain sewing with my attention span in mind. There are several fabulously written books on the whole “simple sewing” theme. Even magazines, I discovered. I’m feeling happy again to have made something. Even if sewing all those little stitches was a pain in the @$*#. It actually was very relaxing. I found that learning something new plus getting the hands working again {even if it was with a sharp needle that tends to draw blood} was just what I needed to help slump girl out of this slump.

Now the problem is, I want to hoard all the pretty fabrics I see. heehee.

Summer Post

Summer's going by, and definitely we are trying to enjoy every last bit, slowly. Mostly poolside, reading, reading with the kids, or last weekend, the zoo. So blogging has taken a back seat for -- about a month. {hmmm, didn't seem like a month?} Garden is doing great this year. My own fresh salad. That is a joy! I love the color of this lily in my backyard.

In the meantime, I finally learned how to make a banner for the site.To this site for tutorials, I love that site because the ladies are the best at answering any questions. Lucky for me, the new blogger makes it a very, very easy, painless, satisfying experience. And I didn't need to haul out the programming for dummies book. I did doodle the little birdie (on already used paper, of course) then scanned it in. I can't believe I lived without a scanner for so long.

I also love her, and her and have tried some of their craft ideas. Cuz, well when you have as much patterned paper as me you better start using it :)

Also still always taking alot {and I mean, alot} of pictures. [yes, we are a kodak family] I know I can do more with them. I always have a bunch of sites or other creative blogs I visit when I am feeling the lack of a creative spark, this week I popped into some of my all time favorites. Yesterday at this site I felt the spark for a summer mini album. I have this small album I picked up on clearance for really, really cheap. The kind of cheap you can't pass up. But then I hoard, I start stashing stuff, or maybe its the "gathering" that ali also describes on her site. In a kind of "I know I can do something with this later" trance I buy it. Then there's the "but I want to try something different, something else I've been afraid of trying" logic and I begin the hoarding and stashing again -- Lately this logic has helped me build my library of books about mixed media, collage, and screen printing and print making techniques. So I've been doing alot of reading about the different techniques. The collage and screen printing are making me swoon right now but I actually bought some of the beginner tools for printmaking, like making my own rubber stamps for instance, the carving is very relaxing, therapeutic for me, um, but the instant gratification of finishing something isn't always there. More time. Please, more time for mommy's stuff. {what mom doesn't wish for that one!} I can do this, I think, with more time.

Taking note on how it all applies to my life right now. How I have evolved as a person, mom, wife, and the bigger question of "what do I want to do with the rest of my life?" And so all of this is part of a bigger goal of mine -- because I have loved art all my life, loved drawing, doodling, all of it. Like the feel of paint on fingers, all of it messy, even the smell of not so nice smelling solvents [ okay, maybe shouldn't admit that one] The thrill of seeing something you made thrill someone else. I don't think they can bottle that one yet. Why didn't I do anything with this love of the art before? I guess I could write a whole lot about leaving the "career" and being a stay a home mom and the worry that sets in when you realize that a) no way can I go back to doing what I was doing and b) seven years is a very long time to be out of the "real" world of work. I get the jitters just thinking about it. Well that would make this a very long post. And really its not about dredging up what you could've done better/different it's about the "okay, well, your here now, and you can move forward from here." I remind myself that everything has a reason for happening. Everything has helped [not hurt] you get here, hasn't it? So it can't be all that bad.

So anyway, there's the "daily something" from ali's site that sounds like alot of fun [and I can accomplish] and then getting back to the "one little word" challenges. And there are others, when I can find time between all the stashing and the hoarding.

For Kippi

For a close friend's dog who is in doggie heaven now. We miss you Kippi. This will go in a frame for them along with the journaling.

On Sunday we just couldn't stop thinking about that sweet dog. I wrote this while we tried to help our friends cope with the very hard decision no pet owner ever wants to have to make.

Part One

She Was A Good Dog.

Within these five little words there lies so much meaning.
In your hearts she will always be. In our hearts she will always remain. From all the moments in between her first day at the pound and her last day in your arms, you will gain strength from memories that will fill your hearts with pride, joy, laughter, love, anger, pain, loss.

Each day a little.
Everyday a bit more of her life to remember.

A small dog without a home became so much a part of one.
Curious puppy.
Energetic puppy.
Naughty puppy.
Cute, loyal, loving, and playful.


She was a friend.
A companion during cold nights.
A warm blanket on cold toes.
A snuggle when you really needed it.
Greeting guests with a wagging tail,
A wet nose kiss and
A wet tongue meant she was happy to see you.
As did her bark, which you will swear, you still hear.
Her soft swishy tail will always seem to be just going around the corner as you turn your head.

As she grew older she still always came to greet you, just a bit slower and
more steady.
Stayed near the little ones, even hamsters, like a mother.
Sweetest, gentlest, dog mama.
Quiet contemplation behind soft brown eyes.

She had her favorite spots in your house but more so,
She was a part of you, part of your family for so long.
She knows you forgive her for all her mistakes.
She knows there were no easy answers.
She's going to be in everyone's hearts forever.
Because she was a good dog.


Part Two
She Was Easy To Love.

Five more little words to consider.
You showed her your love in so many ways.
There was always a soft bed, be it her own or yours.
A loving home.
A full treat jar.
A long walk.
Visits with doggie friends or the park.
A pat or scratch behind the ears.
A long conversation or furry hug
Where, perhaps, you learned the power of simple, unconditional love.
Always giving one last tummy rub and
A full water bowl before you left the house.
Chew toys and sudsy, messy baths.
Making the fireworks be less scary.
Installing a doggie door.
She was in a home filled with thoughtful care and
She was deeply loved.
And
she
knew.
Because she was easy to love.


 
 





side note: this is my own illustration of doggie treat jars {my version of them at least} I'm good at doodling on a scrap piece of paper, in fact the more obscure the better, but put a clean sheet of Strathmore watercolor or nice smooth bristol paper in front of me and I freeze. what's up with that? So this was done on a piece of plain old white printer paper that already had the kid's doodles on it, a grocery list, and someone's phone number. I scanned it in then digitally added the colors and background that says "a wish for you"

"offical PTA stuff"

...luncheon raffle ticket-holders for our children's school --- they told me low budget -- but I still think they needed to look fun!
...just a little more tweaking...decided to go with a school theme -- cause I found this cool graph paper.
...used digital paper & doodles from designerdigitals.com and talented digital designer angie briggs. Made round stamp from shapes in my software.
....Alamain and SA Inkspot fonts

working on this......

Back Home Postcard

I hated to leave the lake house and yet couldn't wait to get back to my computer.... I worked on a photo collage of our trip out to Massachusetts.
I planned on using it for a postcard -- but will use in our
"vacation pages" scrapbook too.

Feelin' Crafty

Some of the crafts we've been working on {below}....some were for teacher gifts, others for our yard sale, some are just funny/cute pictures. It was my first attempt at embossing with a heat gun. Its one of my new loves now. The note cards I did were for the teachers and each had a cute bug embossed in gold embossing powder. I love it when I get all the supplies out. I make such a mess -- but it all looks so beautiful to me. All that paper, ribbons, glittery stuff all over the place. Tools, brads, scraps of pretty paper.

Can't believe the kids have been out of school for two weeks already.

July and August are some of my favorite times....slower schedules, longer days, easy clothing {or less of it} more time for scrapbooking....you'd think.

So many photos....so little time.

This one of my little guy with the hat gets tagged as one of my favorites for sure. Going to go look up some of my digital kits that I have stashed {more like hoarded} in my hard drive and see what I can come up with.





I loved the idea of tags for our little oregano flower pots, one night while on a few paper/stationery websites I fell in love with an idea at "lovelymailorder" www.lovelydesign.com they have these block-style tags right on the website that actually look like shipping labels on their products. I liked how they look ultra cool/mod and sort of industrial so I went back to my software and tried a version of it that would fit the tiny pots. And there they are. The smaller tags are mine - they just say "fresh oregano" and the back says "from the garden" I layerd various circle shapes in the software, printed and cut the tags to a small size for the bags we put the pots in.