Road Trip Art Journal

Leaving on a fun road trip with my fab hubby tomorrow. This trip is more about him than me as we're taking a Corvette to a car show near Chicago! I am taking watercolors and acrylics, lots of pens and pencils and plan to sketch away the trip! I needed a watercolor journal so made my own and just finished the base coat colors for the front and back.

As soon as they're dry I'll do the inside and be ready to go. I love these colors and haven't decided what else I will use to decorate them, but I made an adorable card for hubby for dad's day from our dog (he's going with us) and may put it on the front.

 I ask him and he said yes, I think I will do just that! I've got some Tim Holtz stickers for different state license plates so I think I'll use the ones for the four states we wander through, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois!  We will be so near my hometown, but with a trailer attached to the back of the truck, we will just keep on driving and save memory lane for another trip!

Now it's ready to go! Picture is too blurry to read, but at the bottom I used the stamp - "Half the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness."  I like this because it sort of sums up the sense of going someplace you've never been - you always have that question of whether you're going the right way and that's even with the girl in the box!

Fun DSP Two Pocket Card

For those of you not familiar with the term DSP, it stands for Designer Series Paper in Stampin' Up speak! I have tons of it! Every new catalog entices us with new and beautiful paper, but I don't use it like I should so I have lots of it on hand and a few days ago I found a pattern and video for this fun card! I follow Patty Bennett's blog  (you probably should, too) and saw this card. I am so excited because
1. It's easy
2. It's fun and
3. It uses a sheet of DSP for each card!

So I've made my first card (won't be my last) and have it ready to send to a Bible Study friend who has had a number of health issues this spring. I added a flower with brad to the front, but if

you don't want to pay extra postage you can punch out a shape, add a piece of ribbon and have a great easy to mail card. The tags for the two pockets are made using the two tag die and the Big Shot. Tags can be in either pocket and the best part of the card - it can be reused by the recipient! They can take out the tags, write a new note or sentiment and off it goes to a new friend.  And the tags would make great book/bible markers. The ultimate in reusing!

Check out Patty's video or let me know if you want instructions. This would make a great "stamp a stack" event, so if you would be interested and live close to me let me know and we'll get one on the calendar!


Off to make some more cards and more pictures will be coming soon.

Happy Crafting,


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sweet Cake Thank You

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted!  I must get back to this - I've made a number of cards, but time has just been flying by, something I know most of you can relate to in this busy time of our lives.

A sweet young friend gave me a gift recently and I wanted a special card to say thanks and so I pulled out a set I hadn't used yet. I really bought it for birthdays and because I love cupcakes, but it works great for a thank you or a valentine!  It comes with three different stamps to place in that blank spot and I know we have many others that would fit.  I love stamp sets that can be used in different ways and as I said, "I love, love, love cupcakes!"

Now I must add that Debbie loves glittery things!  All things glittery, so I added glitter to the icing and embossed the greeting. If you look closely the glitter even shows up in the photo!

I really debated on this set, but now I'm so glad I got it - there are so many ways to use it and would make a great stamp a stack set.  Using the big shot and some corner chopper you can make quite a cute card in just a little bit of time and the colors you choose can change the look in so many ways.

Hope you enjoy and this encourages you to get out some stamps and paper and make a card!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My First Sheep and Paper Pieced Lady

I must admit that I love this class almost too much and Junelle is easily the best teacher ever.  I've never had an online class where I actually talked to the teacher and she talks back!  I love when she asks us what we think, just like we could answer her and, I do!  Heehee  She makes me laugh and she makes me want to color outside the lines!  I've never had such dirty hands and am learning that glue not only sticks to paper, but to hands!

I love my comfort zone, who doesn't, but I'm also learning to love being way outside of it. These are my first sheep, but they won't be my last!

This was a class from week two, at least I think so, I've bounced back and forth so many times and looked at videos all of the way to the end of the third week, so I'm not for sure, but I know it was one heck of a fun class. So this was the beginning - I started an art journal in an old book. Junelle showed us how to make our own art journal and so I've given it a try. I gessoed the pages and then painted them with several different shades of blue acrylic paint. Cut out circles for the sheep and modified circles for the heads and ears and stuck them on the body using dimensionals to raise them and give more dimension. Then I put modeling paste on the bodies ( a little on the heads and ears) and using the end of a paint brush I drew circles to make them look curly. After all, these are wooly sheep, not time for sharing yet! The girl is made using various papers, layering to make an apron and skirt. I used a piece of fabric that I modgepodged to make it stiff and added a little ruffle of lace and her muddy boots, well, they don't have legs yet, but they will!

And here they are - legs and a close up of the skirt.  I also added some feet as I noticed my sheep were floating! What will I add now, I'm thinking a pocket with a journal and some pencils would be good and Junelle says sheep are never clean and white, so I must add some coloring! And see how I lifted the head and ears - really does add to the look and, of course, some little pink cheeks!  I'm not for sure about that pink - it it a nose and the black it's mouth or have I just changed the look of  sheep?  Oh, my well it's my interpretation and so it will stay!

 To the right you get to see that great little pocket  - I just wish this girl was me and I was really out walking with sheep following a long behind me - Oh, Junelle, you are a very blessed woman!  To work on a sheep ranch!  To help with the lambing, what a blessing.  I'm so glad you have shared your love of sheep with me (us) and it's such a wonderful reminder of the great shepherd.  I am so thankful to be watched over and led by my shepherd.  This is a perfect time to stop and read Psalm 23 and be reminded of His great love.  I added some journaling and the white, well, not here in Texas for sure, but Junelle says they have snow fall during lambing!  Snow in the spring - wow, we just have flowers and heat, but thanks for the thought and it was fun adding it to the picture as I imagined the cool, crisp air. As it says on picture - Art, sheep and new friends, I am so blessed!

I will post my flowers soon.  She really surprised me on that one.  I've been painting flowers forever, so thought it would be a breeze!  No, no, no - a whole new way of making flowers, so once again I was forced to color outside the lines! What an amazing adventure - you rally need to check out this class.  The "live" three weeks are now ended, but it will be up for a year - so, check it out here.

Dollhouse c.1950

I've been posting all of my crazy sketches and I'll be back to that soon, as I've done several major ones, but today as I was dusting and cleaning around the house I looked up and saw my dollhouse! It is metal and comes apart in about 10 pieces and stores flat.  Each room is decorated, so there's no guessing and no changing your mind, as we move through the rooms you'll see what I mean, there's even utensils hanging in the kitchen.

Just like the my table and chairs that I featured on here several months ago, this is one more thing my mom kept for me.  Because it was flat and wrapped in cardboard and plastic it has remained in amazingly good shape.  I was putting it together to snap some shots for Etsy and thought why not up on my china cabinet.  Looks kind of cute I think and is such a sweet memory.  It can always go to Etsy and another home when we tire of it.

So let's travel through the rooms.  I had lots of furniture, but that has all gone by the wayside.  My dad built dollhouses for a number of years and so most of it was used by him, some given away and some just simply discarded, but the rooms came with lots of decorations.   Let's look at the inside of the front door and the rest of the living room.  I love that there's drapes, rugs, books on the shelves and pictures on the walls.  Ready for the furniture and the people!

Also, on the lower level you found the garage and the kitchen. The picture on the left shows he left side of the garage and the kitchen wall and the one on the right side of each. I love the bike and the "lawn mower" and dishes in the one pix and the garden tools and utensils in the other! Like I said these houses were ready!  The funny part is I have no recollection of the dolls.  I remember the furniture, but not the people.  If anyone remembers what we used for people, please let me know.  Anyway, let's proceed with the home tour. As you can see already, this is not a big home - very modest even in the early 50's.  Actually not unlike the home I grew up in.  And so we move upstairs to the master bedroom, bath and child's room.  There is I might note, a very nice patio off the master bedroom, but the bath, well, there's only one - no suite in this house!!!!!

Note, the patio off the french doors in the master bedroom. Nice touch and use of the space above the garage.






Next, is that not so big bathroom next door and you notice we had to provide all of the essentials, like the bathtub, sink and toilet.  I remember that we had a variety of styles we could choose from and of course the towels came with the house!  There was also a built in medicine cabinet on the opposite wall, I just didn't' include photos of everything! Almost, but not quite.



And then this adorable child's room.  With the cute wallpaper and toys on the shelves.  But the one most peculiar part is that the room came with a little girl and boy playing on the floor!  I always thought that was so odd, after all the other rooms didn't come with people, but this one did!

And this final shot is the back, always open so you could decorate etc.  The more I think about this house, it's really quite cute, but strange.  How did we play this?  I guess it was mostly just a decorating and play house kind of toy.  Oh well, now it's a decorative item in my home and someday it will be passed on to someone, someway, for something!  It's already around 60 years old!!!! What?  And I said it was mine!  My goodness, it's a wonder it has survived and that I remember playing with it at all!

Thanks for traveling down memory lane with me today.  I'll be back soon with some of my funny new sketching techniques.