And six months later...

Wow.  I don't even know if I remember how to enter a blog post... 6 months... it has been awhile!

I still haven't made any new paper-crafted goodies.  Sad, I know.  But I DID make this:

It's a 5x7 chunky canvas, oil paint, palette knife painting.  Yep.  I did another palette knife painting... I wasn't sure about it after having done that 1st one that I am still not crazy about.  But I really like this one.  Even Poot likes it!  THAT is amazing in itself ;)

I think I do better on my own and not in a classroom setting.  That way I can do exactly what I want without someone telling me to do it differently!

I also think it helped being a smaller size... takes less time... kinda like card-making :)

I just LOVE all of the texture.  I don't feel like I have to be perfect with it like I do when I use a brush.

Now what shall I do for my next one?

What do you think?

Upcoming class at The Scrapbook Page

February 7th at 6:30pm, I'll be teaching a fun Valentine's Treat class.  I've got to get the other photos from the store, but for now here are a just a few of the MANY treat containers we'll be making:

Love is in the air... well, at least like is! And what better way to show it than by giving a little treat giftie?! This SAH-weet class is chock full of fun ideas that are a snap to replicate for family, co-workers, or the kids' school parties! Boxes, pouches, and bags... oh my! Not into Valentine's Day? Well these little beauties can easily be adapted to house treats for birthday parties, Easter, and even a little summer fun.

To reserve your spot, just call The Scrapbook Page and anyone would be happy to sign you up :)  It's only $17.50!

{tap tap tap}... yes Laurie, this thing is on :)

OMG... another post so soon?!  Did you just fall out of your chair?  :)  Well, I thought I should post about my upcoming mini-album class at  The Scrapbook Page before it's over ;)  The class is on November 30th and is a Winter-themed multi-media album.

WTH is multi-media?  Well... it has acrylic, chipboard & canvas/denim pages, a TON of ribbon & trims, crackle paint, Stickles, Crackle medium, chalkboard ink, and a lovely little snowman digi made by me :)  Also, all of the pages are shaped differently... a house, fence, birds, scallop squares, file folders, hearts...

I'm tellin' ya', it is awesome {pats self on back}  ;)

I put a ton of work into this so you don't have to.  Just contact The Scrapbook Page at 913.383.1552 to sign up!  It's only $35 for a 9"+/- album with about 16 pages (including cover), plus pull-out tags, and each kit comes with a full bottle of Rock Candy Distress Stickles {LOVE}.

I wish I could show you all of the pages, but I won't  >:)  They are soooooo much better in person...

... which means you'll have to come take the class {insert slightly evil grin here}

The only thing I'm not looking forward to doing, is cutting out all of those pages out of chipboard & acrylic :)  It's gonna take forever, even WITH the die cutter at the store... but I'll do it for you :)

I do love this, and it was nice to get down-n-dirty with some different products.  Sometimes I forget that there is more to papercrafting than Copic markers :)

What do you think?

Very little time & a feature...

Dude.  Seriously?!  Can someone please tell me if I have stepped into a time warp or something?  WTH?  I swear, I am never going to get caught up with all of my stuff!  I haven't even unpacked the Halloween decor yet!

GASP!

{thud}

...that was me having a freakin' heart-attack & then passing out, by the way.

Thankfully I do have bits of Halloweenieness displayed year-round, so at least I have that... but there is just something about the bats hanging in the tree out front, and all of my jacko's, and the luminaries, and... 

... you get the idea. :)

Here is my CAH-RAZY schedule this month:

• work architectural job almost full time
• work at The Scrapbook Page six nights
• teach classes at The Page two more nights (plus prep)
• TAC hostess club/class at my house 1-2 nights (plus prep)
• class at a customer's house 1 night (plus design & prep)
• Saturday afternoon FunShop (plus design & prep)
• cleaning & laundry (haaa haaa!!!)
• cooking (HAAAAAAA HAAAAAA HAAA...not happening)
• Abdallah Fall Ceremonial (Shriner stuff)
• CKC convention at the expo (fun stuff)
• decorate for Halloween (REALLY fun stuff)
• keep up with Design Team responsibilities
• participate in my own Haunted Design House challenges
• baby the cone-wearing fur-baby, including dermatologist & ophthalmologist appointments, ear/eye drops, & meds.  Yeah, my dogs have their own derma/optho docs... thankfully I don't have children, because I would've spent their college fund on the dogs' doctor visits already.  :P

Can you believe all of that?  And I know I'm forgetting a few things :)  I usually do.

Don't forget, that sign-up for my October 11th Eerie Elegant card class at The Scrapbook Page ends this Friday night!  And sign-up for my October 19th Halloween Waterfall Mini-Album class ends on the night of the 16th!  Please click HERE for more class & contact info.

I stayed up until 1am this morning coloring... but I got my "me" time in :)  Now, what I'm showing you tonight is NOT what I colored last night... I still have to turn that stuff into cards ;)  No, this is two of three items that I sent in for The Angel Company's Fall Supplement design call.  Cool thing is that all three were slated for publication!  And though TAC decided to not include any project samples in the supplement this time, they ARE featuring them on the MAIN WEBSITE.

What's the good thing about no samples in the supplement?  More room for more stamp sets!  You can click on the link above to download a copy or you can also click HERE to go to my online store to view & purchase.

The bottle o' bat wings was a fun one... inside is just scrap black cardstock.  The gooey black sealing schtuff is actually made from embossing powder.
Stamp sets used:  More Bone Appetit & Fundamental Frames.  By the way, Fundamental Frames has been designed to be used with several Nestabilities.

I love the spidey bouquet card.  The flowers themselves looked like spiders to me, so I stamped a couple at the base of the vase... are they dead flowers or are they spiders?  Hmmmm...
I added a bit o' bling with a Stardust Clear glitter pen.  The Copic coloring in real life is way more blended than the photos here... my auto-fix software kinda blows.
Stamp sets used:  Festive Bouquets & Delightfully Spooky.

Well, that's it for today... yes, very long-winded, but it HAS been awhile since I posted on my "normal" blog :)  I've been a little busy over at my Haunted Design House blog, so if you miss me lots, just go check there :)  I'll be back sooner or later (hopefully sooner) to show you my favorite card that I submitted...
really...
I mean it.

Eerie Elegance & a Halloween waterfall...

Yeay... the new calendar is out for The Scrapbook Page, and sign-ups can begin for my classes!

First up, Eerie & Elegant Cards on October 11th, 6:30pm-8:30pm.  Click on the link and it will take you to the store's website where you can see all four cards.

This is my favorite of the four, but the others are pretty cool, too :)

And this one I am REALLY excited about... a Halloween Waterfall Mini-Album on October 19th, 6:30pm-8:30pm.  It is a wine bag album :)  Plenty of pockets & pull-outs... 

all in Halloweenie glory!

There is no way to do this album justice in a photograph.  Tons of heat embossing, Tim Holtz stamps, May Arts ribbons, flocked paper, and so much more.  LOVE it.

If you are in the Kansas City area, stop by The Scrapbook Page and sign up!  For you out-of-towners that would like to purchase kits, please email the store for details.

Today's post is HERE...

Amberley Mini-book

I went to a really fun crop a couple of weeks ago put on by Crop-N-Doodle-Do, and ACTUALLY accomplished a couple of things!  CNDD's crops are awesome... they have fun giveaways, plenty of space, the food is always great, and they help you unload your stuff from your vehicle to your table! 

The crop fee is a little more than others, but they feed you (with cross your legs good desserts) and even go on an afternoon Sonic run for drinks {LOVE that rabbit pellet ice :)}, so the little extra money is TOTALLY worth it!

Ok, since I'm done pimping out CNDD, how's about having a lookie-see at one of the things I finished there?!  Yep, a mini-book of my babies!  It's really small... to give you an idea, the photos are index size... that, and you can see my fingertips in most of the photos (blech).

The base is from 7-Gypsies... it's a little chipboard matchbook, two-to-a-pack.  The only draw-back about this pre-made base is that you are not able to add much bulk AT ALL! 

Just by me adding a matted photo, a couple of accent cardstock pieces, and a decorative paper background, really pushed past the comfortable closing limits of the matchbook! 

I inked the edges with a Burnt Umber Palette pad... gave it a little more grunge look.  And I used up a ton of itty bitty scraps of Amberley Grace paper & coordinating cardstock!  Yes, this is a true scrap project :)

The pewter bookrings are from Karen Foster Designs, the eyelets are TAC's Pewter Hardware, and all of the pretty ribbon is from several of TAC's ribbon collections.

I finished it off with a sliding cardstock belly band that I embellished with a Bazzil Bitty Bloom, oyster disk, & an aqua half pearl from Michael's.  The title was done with a Signo white gel pen.

What do you think?  
I KNOW... the babies are cute :)

HAPPY MAIL!!!!

OMG, Becky...

After a crazy day at work, what do I find waiting patiently next to my front door?  A lovely Priority Mail box.  And what was inside?  THIS AWESOME CARD KEEPER from a fellow Angel demo, Angela K.!  There are two other fabulous projects at the start of her post and then MY new giftie is the final one... jealous?  You totally should be :)  I immediately hung it up in my room so I can see it from my crafty table.

Thanks, Angela!  You are the sweetest!  Please go visit Angela and show her a little love... she is so creative :)

Vintage Bookmark / Tag

I had stamped this lovely little flower image awhile back and it has been sitting on my to-do easel ever since.  It was a practice image for one of the samples I did for the new Serendipity, and I just couldn't let it go to waste :)  I colored the stamp with markers, spritz with water, and stamped.  I love this technique... the watercolor look without the watercolors!

Mama had crocheted a couple of these little flowers for me last summer and I am just now using one!  They are so cute and dainty.  I'm hoping she had time to make me some more while snowbirding in Texas :)  I got into my fabric & lace stash and of course more Scrapper's Floss... have I told you lately how much I LOVE Scrapper's Floss?

Stamps:  Watercolor Plants
Paper:  Kraft, Monochromatic Purples & Greens cardstocks
Ink:  Tombow markers, Burnt Umber Palette
Other:  Lilly Anna Hardware, EK Success border punch, fabric & trims, White Scrapper's Floss, Tim Holtz's Mini Attacher, button, crocheted flower from Mama :)
 
What do you think?

Ghoulish gourds all in a row...

I thought I'd share another little treat project today.  How cute is this little row of pumpkins?!  It's very basic and super easy to make, and I'll be selling a few of these at an upcoming craft fair.  Sorry about the photos... it was cloudy when I snapped them.

I created a little accordian-folded divider so that the little guys wouldn't move around in the box.  May I just say:  the Scor-Pal makes crafty life so easy sometimes!  I created a template, however it is not to scale... but it is so seriously easy you can just line it up on the SP and go to town:

This box feels nice and sturdy because I have an extra side piece that folds over... this also creates a nice finished top edge.  I did trim a smidgen off of the outer piece that folds over and in so it would fit correctly.  The acetate lid is created with the same box bottom template, except omit the two outer 1" x 5-1/4" sections.  I just used a mini glue dot to secure each flap so that there would be minimal adhesive that would show.  You could also use an eyelet if you wanted a more polished appearance.

I wrapped the little pumpkins in food safe plastic before putting them into the box... this will keep them fresher and cardstock won't stick to them!  Supplies:  TAC's promotional stamp set More Bone Appetit, Penelope & kraft cardstocks, copper eyelet, acetate, and some paper ribbon raffia.



What do you think?!
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SCORE!

This past weekend was the annual Girls' Weekend with my aunt in BFE Kansas!  It is always so much fun!  My mom, two sisters and I all piled in mom's huge truck and went on the short trek to Aunt Linda's somewhere in the countryside near Abilene.

I've got to retrieve the photos of Linda's house from my sister... I forgot my camera, so I snatched hers so I could take pictures of the cute old farmhouse.  My aunt always has it decorated so homey... she totally should have been a consultant for that kind of thing.

She knows her antiques, and finds awesome deals on all kinds of treasures ;)  She found an old old Civil war stove (I think that's what she said it was) at a yard sale for $25... yes, it needed a lot of work, but you should see it now!  Fantastic.

The photos you see today are some of my lovelies that I purchased this weekend.  We love going into Abilene to the antique shops & boutiques.  Our favorite (can't remember the name!) still has this awesome old wooden nuts/bolts cabinet with a TON of drawers that I saw and wanted last year... if only I had a spare $3000 laying around ;)

I snagged a couple of old wooden cassette holders that are perfect for holding ink pads... $1 each!  The large one I have now cost me $20.  The birdcage was one my aunt had... I've already taken the woven wooden strips off the bottom. 
I've got a creepy black owl that will look nicely in there ;)

I've been starting to collect old wooden spools & bobbins. They are so cool looking, and with my latest hand dyed silk ribbon fetish, they will come in handy for storage!  I am once again re-thinking my ribbon & button storage, and so I picked up a bunch of Ball jars.  I've already got some ribbon on wooden clothespins and that is working nicely... it will look really pretty in all of the large jars I already have.  

I found a few old tonic and medicine bottles that I plan to witch-out, a cool wire basket, some vintage fabrics, and a Ball jar full of vintage buttons.  I did see ANY old card file drawers that I saw all over last year... I was hoping to score a few more of those.

The last photos are of some cool letter press metal dies I scored!  I'm going to display the whole grouping together except for the copper owl.  He'll go alongside some other copper stuff I have.

It's so weird to see how my tastes change over time.  I remember a day when there would have been NO WAY I would have any antique-y schtuff laying around.  Mod mod mod, baby.  Wait... does this mean I'm getting old?  ;)

What do you think?
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Halloweenie Project Playlist on TAC's website...

Ok, so I haven't been posting much lately, right?  Well, part of the reason is because I was busy creating these lovelies:  http://www.theangelcompany.net/PromoProjectPlaylist.html !  Click on the Fall Into Fabulous title to see the stamp specials, and click on the individual photos (including the Boo-berry one) for a closer look at the projects :)


I had an absolute blast, and these stamp sets make me want to host a Halloweenie bash even more than before!  I LOVE how the two mummy things turned out... so much fun!  I think I'll be doing several of these projects to sell at my upcoming craft fair booth... most definitely.


Thanks for looking!  And if you have any questions on recipes, etc., just email me and ask!


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Tissue-Paper-Mache Gourds

Today's post is here:

http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.com/2009/09/tissue-paper-mache-gourds.html

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First, an apology... then the good stuff...

I'm usually pretty good about commenting back to bloggers that have been so kind as to do the same for me.  However, as of late, I have totally been shirking my duties!!  I won't go into to details, but it's been a little crazy around here!  I will try to get back into the swing of things next week or the week after... hopefully my projects at work will be done and gone by then!  So, please know that I really do appreciate all of your kind words!!

Now, onto the fun stuff.  Are these fabric witch boots NOT the COOLEST things ever?!  My friend and fellow TAC Angel, Angela, made them for me as part of an Art Share we were in together.  I cannot tell you how fabulous they really are, and the pictures do not do them justice.  Thanks so much Angela!  These babies will be displayed year-round... no way could I put them away in a box ;)

Angela is one talented lady, and though she has been having computer issues, please pop in a look at some of her past work... beautiful stuff!  I've been used to seeing her paper-crafted projects, and now the fabric work... I can only imagine what else she does!

What do you think?

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