A Lucky Couple of Weeks!

I've been on a lucky streak! A couple of weeks ago I was excited

to find out that I was the winner of this awesome book,

courtesy of  Create Mixed Media.

I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. You can watch a video

review of this book here. It looks to be packed full of fun techniques!

But there was still more luck to come! A couple of days ago I won one of these awesome stencils from StencilGirl Products for leaving a comment on Carolyn Dube's blog.

Seth Apter is the stencil designer...love his style!

I do have a favorite stencil but all three are pretty cool.

I can't wait to see which one I get!

I'm not sure if winning two great inspirational items was just pure luck or if the universe was trying to tell me to get back to creating! Either way, I'm feeling pretty happy and am incredibly grateful to

the art world's generosity!

 

Easy Personalized Photo & Foral Centerpiece

Hubby and I hosted a 75th birthday party for his mom last weekend. It was an outdoor party so I didn't have to do a lot of specialty decorating but I did want the table centerpieces to be fun and personal without a huge cost. So I started hunting through my cupboards for glass containers. I added some photos and some hydrangeas from my yard and created this!

 

I used a trifle bowl that I already had. I needed two centerpieces so I picked up a second one at Walmart for less than $7. I love this bowl so I didn't mind having two around anyway.

I also used these fish bowls that I had.

I think they can be found for about $2 at Walmart or Michaels.

I cut a strip of heavy parchment paper to fit inside the trifle bowl

and glued several photos of my mom-in-law to it.

Once the glue was dried, I taped and glued it to form a ring.

Some of the photos were black and white and some color

so I converted them all to black and white for a

more classic and cohesive look.

I placed the ring into the trifle bowl.

 I cut some paper towels to fit in the bottom of the bowl without touching the paper. I'm not sure this was necessary but I thought it would keep moisture off the photos in case of condensation.

I placed the fish bowl inside the trifle bowl and added some water.

 

I cut some hydrangeas, bundled them into a bouquet

and secured the stems with a rubber band.

I placed the hydrangeas into the water filled fish bowl

and the centerpiece was finished!

At the end of the evening, I gave the photo rings to my mom-in-law. She and my hubby found another use for them.

Crowns!

 Thanks for stopping by!


Sharing with: Knick of Time: Knick of Time Tuesday, Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Not Just a Housewife: Show Me What Ya Got, Ginger Snap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday, Vintage Gwen: Show & Share, I Gotta Create!: Wildly Original, French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday, Happy-Go-Lucky: Shine on Friday, Six Sisters' Stuff: Strut Your Stuff, Funky Junk Interiors: Party Junk

Jewelry Affaire Trifecta

I never would have bet on having three articles in the Summer issue of Jewelry Affaire, so I do feel like I've just won the trifecta!

 

Strength

New Beginnings

Key To The Past

 A closer look at each piece...

Strength

New Beginnings

 

Key To The Past

The Summer issue of Jewelry Affaire is full of beautiful

and intriguing pieces including a few from my art friends,

Cindy Cima Edwards, Lexi Grenzer and Kristen Robinson.

It should be hitting the newsstands very shortly!

 Thanks for stopping by!
 

Rock-A-Bye Babies

It seems like just yesterday I was singing lullabies to my babies.

It's hard to imagine that they are turning 31 and 28 in a week.

Time does fly...
My babies have grown into wonderful young men

that I could not be more proud of. But, I do have to admit

that I'm feeling a little sentimental this week thinking about

when they were...well...still babies.

So I thought this would be the perfect time to share this project that I made while I was on the ICE Resin Creative Team last year.

 

Mixed media assemblage is not something I do often and is a little out of my comfort zone but when I found a rusty old trowel that was partially covered in plaster at the thrift store,

I couldn't resist the urge to alter it!

I covered the trowel with sheet music. By using resin as the glue, it caused the paper to become somewhat transparent allowing the yummy rust and plaster to show through.

 

I then added loosely bundled twigs to represent branches high up in a tree, a moss nest, and resin coated paper birds and eggs that I found at The Graphics Fairy. I finished it off with a sweet little poem sandwiched between a piece of birch bark and a sheet of mica.

You can find a complete list of supplies

and a tutorial on how I made it here.

This project was featured at
Knick of Time's Tuesday Link Party! :)

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sons!


  
Sharing with: I Gotta Create!: Wildly Original Link Party, French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday, Funky Junk Interiors: Party Junk, The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday Party, Knick of Time: Knick of Time Tuesday

Personalized Photo Paperweight

Looking for an easy and inexpensive gift idea for the kiddos to make for Father's Day?

Here's one...
Let them personalize an inexpensive glass ashtray for Dad to use as a paperweight on his office desk.

Glass ashtrays are usually around $1 or less at the thrift stores, are fairly heavy and make great personalized paper weights when you

add your own special photo of the kids or the entire family!

I cut and glued photos to fit inside the recessed area of a thrifted glass ashtray that is turned upside down.

I then added some words that were printed onto tissue paper and covered it with resin.

You can find the detailed step-by-step instructions

and a complete list of supplies here on my tutorial page.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing with: Too Much Time on My Hands: Get Schooled Saturday, Funky Junk Interiors: Party Junk, Six Sisters Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Party, Happy-Go-Lucky: Create and Share

New Creations

It seems like lately all I have been finding time for

are vacations and tennis. I'm not complaining at all...

I'm pretty happy with both those activities! :)

I did, however, manage to create

two new necklaces that I'm excited about.

I liked them so much that I submitted them to teach at an art retreat. It will be a few weeks before I know if  I'm accepted. In the meanwhile my fingers (and maybe even my toes) will remain crossed!!

What do you think...Would you want to

learn how to make these necklaces?

 
 

Who Knew Camp Could Be So Much Fun?!

I live in Oregon and have been camping every summer for many years. As much as I love camping, there is a lot of work involved...gathering wood, cooking, etc. Not so with Terri Brush's Art Camp! It was a fabulous weekend of creating, making new friends and being catered to with delicious meals!!

Look how beautiful everything looked when we arrived.

We were welcomed with our very own little

springtime themed tray of goodies to create with.

Here is mine!

 Look at the soldering and hammering station.

Doesn't it just make you want to jump in and play?!

 

And if that wasn't enough to inspire our creativity,

just look at this view of the beautiful Oregon coast from our window!

 I didn't take any photos of our delicious meals

but here is a peek at some yummy berries that ended up in a salad.

Amy Hanna is as adorable in person as she looks in photos.

She taught us how to make a gorgeous beaded necklace.

Amy is sitting at the right of her friend, Kelli.

 Carolyn Peeler is one of the nicest people

you'll ever have a chance to take a class from.

She taught us how to make a personalized photo book/journal.

Carolyn brought her mom along to join in the fun weekend.

Her mom is also a delightful lady!

Terri Brush taught us what she calls "molten lava" (flooding a piece with solder and then stamping it while hot to add texture).

 Terri is the lovely lady in the center.

 

 

 Here are a few pieces that I made using the molten lava technique.

My friends, Tina and Janice, and I would sometimes sneak off to the little house we were staying in (only about 10 steps away from the main house) and do a little creating on our own.

Janice was asked by Melissa Frances, one of the special guests,

to design some projects that will be featured on Melissa's eTV show.

Janice and Melissa working together.

Our friend, Christina Kuntz of Mack and Momma Art Circus Studio, made a special trip to visit with us.

 It was fun spending time with my good friends...
(photo taken by Terri's Art Camp staff)

 

and it was also very exciting to meet new ones!

It was a great weekend! Thanks to Terri Brush for providing such a wonderful experience for all!

Thanks for stopping by!