Altered composition books

I am needing a journal for an upcoming swap. I grabbed a composition book at the store. While I was there I found mini composition books too, in a 3 pack. I played with them the other night. I also was to make a card with the theme "glitter". Well, my brilliant design turned out lovely, except that instead of a card it is an 8 x 10 frameable. :::Smiles::: Please click the pics if you wish to see the details!!

Journal Cover

Inside front cover

Inside back cover

Back Cover

"Celebrate the gift of today"

Mini book #1

Mini book #2

Mini book #3

Glitter frameable - 8 x 10
Roses made using my cricut

Wild Card Cartridge

The vase is cut from glossy white paper

New puppy for my Uncle and new ART from me

My Uncle sure got a surprise for Father's Day. His kids and grandkids bought him a new puppy. He has been without his beloved Sam for over a year now. Her name is Ruby and is she is a Chocolate Lab. I sure wish I was able to get some puppy hugs from her!! But, since she is back home in Illinois.......the best I could do was make her a welcome to the family card and a couple of toys!! Here is Ruby:

Here is my version of Ruby done in Iris Fold:

Here is her dog print envie:

Here are the chewy ropes I made her from some jungle print fleece fabric. One for now and one to grow into!! :::smiles::: The large one is 24" and the small one is 12"


The direction for the ropes can be found here: http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/fleece-rope-dog-toy/index.html

That's what I was working on yesterday. Enjoy!!

I was very thrilled to be a participant in the Art House's Canvas Project 2. Here is some basic info:

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects
http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/canvasproject

After you sign up, we'll send you a package of five 3x3 inch canvases along with a list of 5 randomly selected, community generated words - one word for each canvas. Your mission is to visually create a definition for each word on its respected canvas. When you've completed the canvases, simply send them back to us in the mail. We will be holding an exhibition for them at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's Atrium Gallery in Atlanta, Ga as well as creating a book entitled "The Art House Encyclopedia VOL. 1". And at least one of your canvases is guaranteed to be included in both the exhibition and the book.
Exhibition July 31 - September 4, 2009Atlanta, GA Atlanta Airport Atrium Gallery 6000 North Terminal Parkway Atlanta, GA 30320September 25, 2009Atlanta, GA Art House Gallery 309 Peters St Atlanta, GA 30313

The 5 words I rec'd to illustrate were:

• mares
  
• enough
  
• steer
  
• spew
  
• brigade

Wow!! Now that was going to take some thinking!! :::Smiles::: I am happy to say my canvases are complete and ready for mailing tomorrow. I thought I'd share them here with all of you!!

"Brigade"

My first thought was of an army of ant soldiers spelling out "brigade"

using a big bowl alphabet soup on a checkered tablecloth

"Spew"
All I could imagine for this word was this very illustration. Reminds me of Charlie Brown's teacher!!

"Steer"
I really didn't want to use a cow or a car.......then I found the nice "steer" charm!!

"Mares"
I know you were expecting a horse, right?? Well it turns out that mares are also craters on the Moon.

"Enough"
There is no greater place to be for me than walking by the sea......for me.....it is "enough"

Hope you enjoyed my interpretations!! Check out the ART House.....there are always more ways to participate. :)

Glittery Microscope Slides

My friends Diann http://tiny.cc/Diann and Brenda http://tiny.cc/Brenda have wonderfully shared this technique with me. I have yet to try my hand at soldering but I have still wanted to make some altered microscope slides. I LOVE this method!! It is quick, fun and there is GLITTER involved!! I so love to play in the glitter!!

Here are Brenda's directions for making them: http://tiny.cc/slides

The 3 slides I made last night were completed using transparencies, microscope slides, 1/4 inch Terrifically Tacky Tape, fine ART glitters and micro beads. Too much fun. Thanks gals. :)

Upgrades abound here in Georgia.....

We have been having fun upgrading here in our house. We replaced the hand me down table and chairs with a sleek , new wooden black set which I really like. The round pedestal table is smaller and fits our space much better. We also purchased a wooden 2 drawer wide 8 drawer dresser at a yard sale for $1!! :) It will get painted black and new glass knobs. I'll share some before and after pics of that project when it is completed.

I was looking for something to put on the table and found this gorgeous linen topper with cutwork baskets and paired it with my vintage beaded basket.....aren't they divine together??

We also found affordable bar stool chairs for our kitchen. We have been looking for over a year. They are also black, but metal. John and I use them every day now for lunch!! The girls like them for naping as well!!

We also finished up the beach photos project on my recycled wooden shutters room divider. I cannot express how much I love it. :::smiles::: I had 18 of my faves beach pics made and then I framed them in identical, simple black frames from Dollar Tree!! Boy do I like that store!! Did you know you can order from them online?? It's great if you want a quantity of a certain item. Check it out: http://www.dollartree.com/. We put up a burlapy/jute like ribbon first (to give the illusion they are hanging from it. Then John hammered in tiny nails and we hung them up! Ta-Da!! Wonderful focal point for my seashell themed living room.

Eventually all the furniture in that room will go to my copper, black tones as well. I have bought quality pieces of furniture so I will just be having them recovered. First up though are the cornices and chair cushions. Also, we will be getting a round glass top cut for the table to help preserves it longer. We are pleased!! :)

Roodex Card Swap

I recently participated in a Rolodex swap in one of my Yahoo groups.I think out of 45 members 32 participated. It was a big project, but I am so glad I did it. What a fun way to have a little piece of all members plus useful information and a piece of ART all at your fingertips. I need to get an actual Rolodex thingie. I keep hoping to find one at Resale or a Yard sale.

Here are the fronts of my cards (minus the couple that had personal info also on the front). Aren't they great? I think my new Yahoo group will be making these as well. Now I shall have to come up with a new design......I don't think I'm ready to do more pink pirates!! Enjoy!!

Don't forget to click on the pics so you don't miss all the great details!! :)

Garage Sale finds from Saturday.....

These are 2 of my finds from an estate sale (Which was WAY overpriced btw). So annoying!! I did get a deck of these nice gold playing cards for ART and this awesome vintage box of rice paper cocktail napkins.

.....we had fun out and about today. We found some goodies for the garden, including a rooster weather vane, a large rusty metal planter and a wonderful cream colored bird feeder with hummingbird.

It's strawberry time.....

....and here's a quickie tip for easily hulling all those luscious berries. Take a drinking straw (I find the fast food varieties to work best), push it into the bottom, pointed end of the berry and up through the green leafy cap until off it pops. Inside your straw will be the core. How easy peasy was that??? You can also twist off the leaves and insert your straw from the top down through the bottom. Then use the strawberries according to your recipes. No more wasted berries. The plus side is it is a great kid-friendly way to help clean strawberries.

If you are a visual learner....or just because it's fun.....here are some pics:
(Remember to click on the pics to see them larger). Enjoy!!

All white ART challenge.....

My new friend Jennie has an ART challenge going on right now. Hop on over and check it out. You might even with the prize!! :::Smiles:::

http://bloominpaper.blogspot.com/2009/06/frugal-friday-and-challenge.html

From Jennie's Blog.......To me, being a frugal cardmaker is creating a beautiful card without a lot of expense. I would rather spend my crafting dollars on things I can use over and over rather than on rub-ons, stickers, primas and other embellishments that can only be used once. I also like my cards to go in the mail for the price of one stamp!Which brings me to the challenge. I love cards with lots of white space too so here is my challenge to you.

1) Create a card using only white cardstock. (today's card is a good example) Use as many layers as you like but no colored cardstock or paper.
2) The only color should come from the image. The card should be at least 75% white.
3) No embellishments like ribbon, buttons, primas etc
4) The challenge will run for 6 days, Saturday through Thursday. All entries must get to me by midnight EST on Thursday, that is 11pm Central and 9pm PST.

Here is my entry:

I used my Cuttlebug to give texture and depth to the card. The image is simply stamped in Black Stazon ink and highlighted with my Stardust Glitter Gel Pen. Are you up to the challenge??

ART charms

Awhile back I shared that I was participating in an ART charm swap with Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine. I have just received my 5 charms back in the mail. This was such fun!! Here is a sample of MY charms that I sent out. They were Scrabble Tile pendants, embellished with faceted crystal beads and placed on "ART" Moo cards.

Here are the 5 charms I rec'd back from the swap. Thanks to the participants!! :::Smiles:::

Lisa Willey

Sonja Hagemann

Ingrid Dijkers

Susan Walls

Mary Jane Henderson