Off to Mass.

Today is going to be a great day, I can tell. The migraine that I have been suffering with for 2 days is gone and I am off to Massachusetts to take a class from Kate Ferricker at Absolutely Everything. I've been wanting to do it forEVER but have finally inked it in my schedule and signed myself up. The class is beginner soldering - and I am excited.

I'll leave you with this quick (and bad shot) of a beautiful hummingbird having a little snack on our porch!

Thanks Vic!!

I love reading my dear friend Vic's blog. I checked it two times today in my procrastination mode and she'd been out gallavanting around town and hadn't had a chance to blog .....but when I checked just now (still procrastinating) I saw this fun little picture that she had put up for me. THANKS Vic, that was a nice little surprise! LOVE ya sistah! PS. What is that paper in the background?? I'm diggin' it!

Birthday Tart....ha!

My Mom made me a Lemon Curd Tart decorated with fresh fruit for my birthday. It was yummy! My Little Valentine helped her decorate it. I LOVED IT! Sorry about the bad lighting in the picture. Didn't even think about adjusting the white balance on my little Sony (just discovered yesterday that I could do that!) It was a pretty uneventful day, went to the DMV to get my license. I guess you know you're getting older when they make you go in for the eye test before they'll renew! Well, ta ta everyone. Still needin' to get my junk done! BUT, GREAT NEWS! I've got an entire article in SEW Somerset and a little project in the Gallery Section. Wahoo! Happy about that!

Pile o' Rocks

What does a girl ask for as a birthday gift when she doesn't really need anything? I mean really, h0w many scrapbooking and art supplies - clothes - jewelry does a woman need? What I really wanted - and felt I needed - was a dump truck full of nice flat rocks to start my raised gardens with. I need a place to put my plants - and why not just do it right the first time?? So, my husband had 8 yards of rocks delivered on Saturday for my birthday. Probably the weirdest gift I've ever asked for, but hey - it's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to, right??
This is a picture of my son and niece - they are so cute together. She is 3 months older than him, and they have always looked so much a like. When they were younger many people thought they were twins. Both have blue eyes, light hair, fair skin.

The last picture is the turtle we saw at our house today. She was hiding under the cool dirt as the sun was pretty hot.

Well, that's it for now. Off to work on some assignments for EK Success.

TTFN.

Roughing it with the Men!

I made this Fancy Pants Designer Trading card for Kelley at Scrapbooks and Beyond. Inside the bookplate is a fabric lady, fussy cut from her background and glued down to the card. I then added the Heidi Swapp bookplate, stitched it down with red thread and added several coats od Glossy Accents to make it look like she was encased in epoxy. It looks much better in person. I love they way the Glossy Accents makes the silk flower a little translucent and you can see the vintage book page behind. The title of the chapter was "Roughing it with the Men" which totally tickled my fancy. The flowers are from Prima, and I think they are silk. LOVE them and lovin' me those Fancy Pants DTC's....

Summer Solstice

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year (near June 22) when the Sun is farthest north. In the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged. The summer solstice marks the first day of the season of summer. The declination of the Sun on the (northern) summer solstice is known as the tropic of cancer (23° 27'). ..... Yup. I'm a crab, born under the tropic of Cancer. On Monday I will officially be over the hill....well not really cause I still kinda feel like I'm on the crest of the hill.....with many many many years to come before I get to being over the hill.... they do say that 40 is the new 20.... I made the oversized ATC from the Fancy Pants Designer trading cards and is the one I talked about the other day that I sent to my friend Nat. You can check out her blog to see the backside! She is on the ScrapMuse Design Team and always sends her projects and articles just right, and totally rockin', love that! I used some scraps from an assignment I did for the Winter Issue for Natalie (diffferent Natalie) at Creative TECHniques magazine and whipped this up. Here are my projects from the June ScrapMuse kit. I just love these love, Elsie papers. I added the image digitally since I never got around to printing one to put there. It's not an old picture from high school like I wanted, but it'll do. When our stuff gets out of storage (if ever....) I've got a picture in mind that was taken of me in the art room that will be perfect for this page.

Flowers from my Garden and turtles too!

My flowers are looking so beautiful, it's hard for me not to get them moved down to their new home...the beds will be ready soon I hope. I am such a weirdo, I asked my husband for a truck load of rocks for my birthday so I can get started on all the rock things I want to make. I have set aside two spots in the front of my house for the tiger lillies, peonies, valerium, day lillies, white and purple irises and probably 200 daffodil bulbs that need to be transplanted. I plan on having a tiered bed in the front - with a walk down the center. I am so anxious to get that started!! Right now they at my old house, neglected since I left them in 2002 to move to Washington. We rented our house out for a while and then sold it to my brother. He lives in NM and none of his tenants take care of the grounds either. It's pretty sad, a lot of things have died off already because they were delicate and crowded out. It makes me sad, I am the only one that goes over there and looks at them. I have my little V

mow the lawn in the fenced in part of the yard....he likes being around the flowers too, and he pulls up the pesky ferns for me. Plus he catches lots of bugs and studies them....

Anyway, just how old do you think my peonies are? You'll never guess unless I"ve told you....they came from my grandmother's flower beds - and she got them from her Mother. Can you believe that. They are so tangible - so alive - and women that are a part of my history enjoyed their frangrant beautifulness. I love it. The hot pink and white ones came from my Memere. The light pink ones with the funny centers are some funky breed I picked out of a catalog. LOVE them too. We had a little, well several little visitors today. 4 snapping turtle mama's looking for a place to lay their eggs. They are very funny little creatures, but they are MAKING HOLES IN MY NEWLY PLANTED GRASS and that doesn't make me happy!! Oh well, they'll be gone before we know it and the raccoons will be digging up the holes to eat the eggs.....the circle of life!!

Fancy Pants Designer Trading Cards

I love these little gems....so fast and easy to make something fun. I made this one in particular for my LSS, note the GEMS in my Big Valentine's eyes..... ha ha ha. He got a big kick out of this tonight....haven't heard him laugh that much in a long time. The card I used is the one that has this printed on the back:

"Life's Memories play over and over like beautiful music from my soul."

I've made several large Designer trading cards lately, one went to Germany to be with my Friend Nat (maybe she'll scan and post it on her blog so I can link to it) and one went to my lovely friend Vicki Chrisman, the picture below is from her blog.

The one shown above came from Cosmo Cricket I think, I suffer from CRS lately (can't remember shit). I think it's the stress gnawing away at my brain cells. Anywho, I made another one for Kelley, the owner of Scrapbooks & Beyond to display in the store and for HER after. I used the same lady I think that I used for Vic and Nat's. THANKS Fancy Pants (Jodi) I love these things!! I'll try to take a picture of the one I made for the store the next time I go in....which will probably be tomorrow when I drop the rest of my projects off to her!

Beginner Sewing on Paper, June 26th

Just wanted to share the class sample for my latest class at Scrapbooks & Beyond. I had lots of fun figuring out the transparencies.....and the swirls.....LOVE them. Sorry about the crooked image, I was feeling a bit on the lazy side and didn't feel like scanning and stitching this together on the 'puter. Here's the class description: Join Catherine Scanlon, author or Sewing on Paper as she demonstrates how to do some basic hand and machine stitching on a 12 x 12 scrapbook page. We'll use the sewing machine to attach a transparency, and learn basic tips for sewing on paper. Learn to tie french knots to attach things to your page and learn to use the templates and tools for hand stitching - AND you'll leave with a completed scrapbook page. Tuesday, June 26th from 6:15 to 8:15. Cost: $16.00

Art from the Heart

I am excited BEYOND belief to share my latest big project with you. I got the word last week from Martingale & Company that my new book, Art from the Heart Mixed Media Collage will be on the shelves at a book or craft store near you on November 19th!! Check out the cover - which contains two of my favorite projects from the book - Inez loved Her and Speciman #50. I also need to thank Ana Ventura for her amazing editing and endless patience with me....and Jo Packham and Sara Toliver from Kidara, thank you! I am not sure the book is available for pre-order on Amazon - but as soon as it is I'll be sure to share that information with you!

the Protected Lady Slipper!

Over the last couple of days I've discovered several (a total of 6 I think) pink and ONE white lady slipper growing in our family compound (i mean neighborhood, ha) . We've always known they were protected - but that never really stopped me from picking them as a kid. (shame on me, but I was just a kid....picking pretty flowers for my Mom....I didn't really know what protected meant at the time!!)

I haven't seen ANY of these beauties in the neighborhood in a long time, and I certainly never thought to take pictures of them either. I love these flowers, LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I think because it means summer is almost here. The bottom picture is a plant called a bunchberry, I think. After it blooms it gets some funky berries. Don't eat 'em if you see 'em.

If you see any of these lovelies in your neighborhood - remember they are a disappearing natural wonder - so don't pick them.

Learn more about the Lady Slipper from WikiPedia: Lady Slippers is a term used to describe the orchids in the subfamily Cypripedioidea, which includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium, distinguished by their slipper-shaped pouches (modified labellums), which function by trapping insects so that they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia. This subfamily has been considered by some (Rasmussen, 1985) to be a family Cypripediaceae, separate from the Orchidaceae. Lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) The subfamily Cypripedioideae is monophyletic and consists of five genera. Their common features are two fertile diandrous (that is, with two perfect stamens) anthers, a shield-shaped staminode and a saccate (sac-shaped) lip.

June ScrapMuse Kit!

Here it is, the Love Elsie ScrapMuse kit. It's adorable. It's lovely. It's yummy and all that yumminess you can imagine! I made a nice layout about my love of art that began in high school, but I can't share yet. SORRY, really - really I am {not}!! I'm teaching a private lesson at Scrapbooks & Beyond today. My little class from last week and the spinner organizer from a couple of weeks ago. Have a fab day everyone. Maybe I'll post some pictures of the egg toss last night that I participated in at the Scout Meeting last night. Fun, lots of fun!!

My NEW laptop desk!

I mentioned my new laptop desk a couple of days ago - the one I got for 2 bucks at my brother's yard sale....well here it is. It's actually a child's desk but it will be perfect for my boudoir chair I plan on having in my studio. After I add some castors to the bottom - this little gem will perfect for my 17" HP. I can store my date book and my mouse pad nicely inside - easy to reach yet out of sight when not in use.... and there's even a spot for a pencil so it won't roll off....life is GRAND I tell ya! This has so many layers of stuff. First I painted it with regular acrylic paint to hide the nasty graffiti, then I glued down so fabulous tissue paper I picked up at Barnes and Noble ages ago. Then it was crackle, crackle, crackle and MORE crackle. When I was satisfied with that I added some acrylic paint and brown ink from Ranger to make it look a bit older than it is. I am toying with painting the legs turquoise to match the Making Memories paint dabbed on the top....what do you think?? To finish things off I sealed it with several coats of inferior (Krylon rocks) imitation Triple Thick Clear Glaze. Why didn't I get Krylon you ask? Because I was in a hurry, had a 40% off coupon to Jo Anns and that's that.... ;-) BTW, just wanted to mention that I always take pictures of my feet. For whatever reason - I love to do that especially when I have a fresh manicure or new shoes....Today - well I just wanted to stand on my desk... ha! That's my excuse for today... ha! Tell me what you think about painting the legs to match the turqouise. Remember, my studio is painted a totally different color of blue... and, I am feeling like I can't spell today so please accept my apologies in advance!! TTFN, gotta run down to the bus stop and get the Little V.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo once said.... "I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." ditto!

Project for Scrapbooks & Beyond

Last week Kelley gave me my monthly package to make fun stuff for to display at the store to help sell the products she gets in stock. If the customers can see a project using the goods it usually helps them come up with ideas of their own. Inside was this funky wooden clock she picked up at Christmas Tree store, super cheap and in sad shape - I immediatley thought it had potential. A little pink paint, several layers of that yummy crackle I talked about a couple of days ago and turquoise paint embedded in the cracks - some fancy schmancy numbers from Basic Grey and Triple Thick Glaze, add my beloved Basic Grey paper in the center and I think I've got a beautiful thing to hang in my "room" when it comes back from being on display at Scrapbooks & Beyond. It doesn't appear to keep time for crap - even though I invested in new clock works, but I love to look at it, so I guess that's all that matters.... right? In other news, please don't fall off your chair because I posted two times in one day.....ha. Seriously, sorry about the lighting on those pictures....I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to take the pictures and post it for you then. I just am so in love with the way this clock looks. I just looked back to admire it, and it appears to be on time now that I tightened things up a little with a wrench or whatever that thing is called. Anywho, looks like we {might} close next week. Even though we aren't happy, things have got to move forward. My class at Absolutely Everything this Saturday has been re-scheduled. Kinda relieved - even though I have everything ready to go. I've had such a hard time wrapping my brain around anything that I feel much better about not making an utter fool of myself in front of 20 women anxious to learn about Sewing on Paper. I will say I am excited as Kate invited me to go down and play at the store with some new products in stock. She said I should go before school got out - so I hope to get down there next week. Kate is such a cool woman - and so creative and fun. Totally looking forward to hanging out down there (and maybe a little shopping too!) Anywho.....................TTFN.....

New class posted at Scrapbooks & Beyond!

I've got another class at Scrapbooks and Beyond this month. I'll post the sample as soon as I get down there to get the products to make it! Sign up while space is available - I think we have room for 8 or 10 in this one. Beginner Sewing on Paper: Tuesday, June 26th from 6:15 to 8:15. Cost: $16 Join the author or Sewing on Paper as she demonstrates how to do some basic hand and machine stitching on a 12 x 12 scrapbook page. We'll use the sewing machine to attach a transparency, and learn basic tips for sewing on paper. Learn to tie french knots to attach silk flowers and learn to use the templates and tools for hand stitching - AND you'll leave with a completed scrapbook page. Instructor: Catherine Matthews-Scanlon

Crackle Glaze

I've had quite a few people ask me what I use for Crackle Glaze on my projects....and I've got to admit - that I've used the craft store products in the past and they have sucked big time. Mixed results - sometimes fantastic sometimes AWFUL results even if the process was the same. After putting so much effort into a piece of art, getting mixed results is somewhat frustrating. But what could a girl do anywhoo?? Well, I guess I should shop at the hardware store more often, LOL. I saw this product at Lowe's during my frequent trips for painting supplies, I kept putting off buying it, probably because I didn't want to bring ANOTHER THING INTO THIS HOUSE to take up more space that we don't have to take up!! I've gotta tell ya, NO MORE WILL I be worried about mixed crackle results on my projects or where to put the dang container for that matter ! Fret no more people The American Tradition faux Porcelain Crackle Glaze from Lowe's Hardware store ROCKS my world. I promise, if you like crackle you'll like this stuff! I was so excited I had to share - and my project is not even completely dry yet. I bought a wooden school desk from my brother at their yardsale on Saturday ($2.00 and made of maple) but the top was a little iffy at best (lots of bad words written in marker ..) so I covered it with a piece of fancy schmancy tissue paper that looks like a vintage world map - and now I'm in the process of making it look like very old and worn leather with the crackle glaze and lots of other fun chemicals that have no compromising odor....lol.. I promise to share pictures when it's done. Hopefully before the end of the week! I'm in a better mood, we finally had our appointment today...that's really all I can say about that. But making art always makes my heart happy - even if my guts are in a knot like they have been. I also had coffee with two very nice ladies this morning, kindred spirits I think. Thanks Leslie and Hannah - I had a great time! Hope you had fun at Ikea.