L@@KIE what came to live at my house.....

.....my sweetie pie hubby bought this for me last week!! Woo Hoo!! Isn't she lovely....such a nice shade of pink. She is a Bind-it-all by Zutter/. I am over the moon excited. I can't wait to play more with her. I did bind a mini 4 inch Halloween Blank book to play with. I wanted to learn how to do it. :)

Now with my new Cricut Expression and my Bind-it-all I can't wait to see what ART I can make. I see tons of potential for my Etsy Shop and for Christmas gifts this year. Anywho.....that's my news for today.

I have been immersed in the studio working on some new projects to share. Hopefully I'll be able to do that by this weekend. :::smiles::: I'm wanting to get some more inventory in my shop for the upcoming Holiday Season. Let's just say, you could call me the "Bag Lady" this week!! More later......don't just sit there...go ART on something!! LOL

Repurpose Library Table into Desk

Yippeee....Hubs and I have collaborated on another project. He was given a library table from one of his schools that was destined for the trash!! :::Sigh::: I hate living in such a disposable society. Ugh!! One of the legs had been broken, but other than that it was fine. Since Hubs is a wonder in the wood shop, he fixed it right up!! :::Smiles:::

Here are the before pics.....pretty sad, right??

Originally we were going to paint it black but once we began working, we discovered it was this gorgeously grained oak. So, no painting allowed....poor Hubs would have stroked out!! :::Smiles::: I am not a dark stained wood lover, nor do I really like traditional oak colored wood. I have a passion for some red in my stains. So, I agreed to the stain as long as it was done in my very fave Minwax stain Gunstock 231. So, much sanding and staining by Hubs and 5 coats of Polyurethane Gloss by me and ta-da....new computer desk for our family.

Here are the after pics.....now she's gorgeous!!

Isn't that wood grain and stain beautiful??

And she was headed to the landfill!! :::sigh:::

More Halloween ART....

....that I made just for FUN tonight!! My fave kind....Ars Gratia Artis.....Art for Art's sake.

I just LOVE the "Garden of Death" as a Halloween background. For some reason, it just cracks me up!! LOL And I can't seem to get enough of the witch's shoes either. Anywho....just sharing. That's 4 ATC's and 3 cards in technically one day, even though the clock now says it's Sunday!! SO, you have had all kinds of ART to view today. Later Taters.....off to sleep for a bit. :)

It's begining to look a lot like....

....Fall at my house. Well, at least in the ART studio. I needed to make 3 fallish cards and last night....that is what I did.

First up, is the card I made for my friend Diann. The theme was a "Fall" card.

I am enthralled now with pyramage as a technique. Diann really likes Vintage and Victorian...she is a very classic lady. I think she will enjoy this card. It features two little cuties out enjoying a fall day and is embellished with a fabric yo-yo.

The second card, also done in pyramage is for the theme "Harvest blessings". It does not have a destination yet, as the swap is not yet closed. I really liked this leaves graphic when I found it.

Both cards feature this verse: "FAITH isn't believing we know...It's KNOWING we BELIEVE". They also have this as their envie.

The final card was for the theme: Pumpkins. I made 2 iris fold pumpkins,

embellished by ribbon and "October".

It features this as it's coordinating envie.

So, even though it's 90 degrees+ outside....it's beginning to feel like fall around here. Anyone have a caramel apple?? Yumm....

Feeling SPOOKY....

....made a new ART piece today. It is a Hanglie Danglie for one of my Yahoo groups. No real rules, just basic sizes and something must be "danglie" and Halloween themed. I had SUCH fun with this. I knew I wanted to use the phrase "If the shoe fits" with a pair of witches shoes. That is where I started. I begun to search through the bottomless pit of images.....when I found this couple I "knew" they were perfect. I LOVE everything about this piece. My fave is the background image called "the garden of death." It just cracked me up. So, from there I just started brainstorming, using all things I had on hand. I love the beaded sequiny trim.....a Walmart .25 bargain for several yards. Another fun touch are the tuxedo buttons that hold up the hanging ribbon. By far my fave is of course the shoes that dangle. Oh, the thought cloud says: Harold always wonders if today will be the day he wakes up as a toad!" Anywho....just sharing....hope you enjoy it.

New ART to share....finally....

....we had a big lightning strike that took our our cable, phone, internet....my sanity. LOL But at least it gave me more time to ART. :)

I am participating in an ART charm swap with a very talented group of gals, hosted by arlene. I needed to make 18 charms to share. I am so looking forward to the returns on this one. I'm hoping to make a charm bracelet or necklace for me to wear. Anywho, I went through several ideas, but returned to one of my fave mediums for charms, scrabble tiles. Hubs was good enough to vertically drill them for me. Yippee!! I picked Alice in Wonderland for my theme. They are coated with Diamond Glaze and edged with copper foil tape. I added (of course) some beaded dangles for some movement and sparkle. The cards I packaged them on were run through the cuttlebug. This was a fun swap!! Thanks Arlene.

This is the mailing envie for the charms

All packaged up....

I also made this card for a monthly lottery with the theme of seashells. I saw the idea that a friend had made and being a good pirate....stole it!! Apparently it is called pyramage. All I know is I enjoyed it and will be making more soon!! The image used in this card is taken at my fave beach spot. There are numerous "Totem Trees" there that are continually changing as people walk by. It is a very private beach and a very spiritual place for me. Also shown is the quote I love from e.e. cummings that I used on the inside along with the "sand" envie that I made. Anywho....happy to have my Interwebs back!! :)

Some new ART....

....to share. Today I made 2 new objects d' ART. First up is a mini tag book I made for a monthly lottery, themed "Books." You simply take a large mailing tag and fold it, punch holes and bind it. Easy Peasy. For a closure I used silk flowers, buttons and clear elastic cord. The paper for the tag is a shiny, metallic specialty paper.

The second sharing is a card requested by a friend for her Mother's B'day. She is celebrating 95 glorious years!! How amazing is that?? Happy Birthday Nellie!! Her fave flower is the sunflower. I made her a jazzy sunflower envie which I think she will like.

The card is made from a wallpaper cut out and my new (Thanks Diann) Swiss dot cuttle bug folder. I really like how it turned out....simple yet effective.

The Inside verse I love:

As long as we have memories, yesterday remains.

As long as we have hope, tomorrow awaits.

As long as we have Art, today is beautiful.

L@@kie What me & my Cricut made today....

...we made a custom mailbox vinyl address decal. Isn't it cool?? I knew I wanted ivory vinyl and remarkably found some at Walmart (Who knew....miracles do happen). One of our neighbors has something similar and we have been wanting one since we moved. So, thanks to my Cricut, we now have a custom mailbox. Maybe now we can stop getting the neighbor's mail!! :::Sigh::: Hubs even added more mulch and trimmed the yellow knockout roses for my picture. I'll have to take another sometime when they are blooming. Anywho...here are some before and after pics. If you are interested in one of your own, feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to shoot you a price and make one up for you. I think they would make a great house warming gift!! :)

New Iris Fold ART to share....

Well, we have another new member of our family and it's another new puppy. Please welcome my cousin's new little guy, Jack. Is he not just adorable?? :) I was fortunate to have a friend who had made this perfect Iris Fold pattern that she generously shared with me. I really like how it turned out. I still have to make an envie, but then it will be on it's way to welcome Jack!!

In case you missed the first new arrival and Iris FOld card I made.....please also meet Ruby: Ruby

I also updated my photobucket Iris Fold slideshow today. It is at the bottom of my blog!! :::Smiles:::