My attendance record is Schmeeered

So my craft room is in a shambles...  which is why I haven't been around.  I'm in the middle of re-mapping the whole area to be a bit more ... user friendly.  So stand by... perhaps Roo and I will do a craft web show...  or not.
I have been working on some things... but most of which I cannot post because they are either gifts or secret secrets! AHHH

I'm still working on some templates...  it takes a lot of mistakes before you come up with a solid foundation.

But I kinda like this little chickadee I threw together over the weekend...  It's actually all hand-sewn.  It seems to stay together better that way...   Daryl named her Ginger... I think coz we just watched that episode of Glee...

and the following photos show her ability to cuddle and be creepy...  with humans and animals alike...

So perhaps I throw some more together... though the only big piece of felty material in my inheritance from GG was the whitey white Ginger is donning...  so I may have to go crayola and purchase some other varieties of skin tone..  

Though I think I will start a mission to use every single piece of material my grandmother gave me to make something!  It would seem that mission has already been started without my actually saying it to myself....   so let the interwebs be informed...  It is now official. 

Egg free Easter

So even though dying eggs is not an option this year for Easter... I think painting wooden ones was even more fun!
And we haven't even made a dent in the pile of wooden eggs we got.  Which is why we started so early.  So if we do some each weekend, we should be able to get through em all...
Though really, a little nest of these suckers would look really cute on your dining room table any time of year... the wheels are def. turning...

So there's actually a lot you can do besides just paint...  we did some crackle... some modge podge with other papers...  some glitter of course... and even some stamping!
 I'll let ya know if we come up with anything else...

So I doubt she'll even care to dye an egg... anything paint involved, she's usually up for.
And then I realized I should really make her an art smock...

And here's Roo's egg painting vid  in case anyone needs a moving visual...  

Bag

I'm hoping on slowly but seriously compiling a folder of templates from which to make a reservoir of items to showcase on etsy.  This may take some time.  But I've come up with a weekly schedule that allows for specific time for each thing I'd like to accomplish.
And of course I don't know who I'm kidding when I think that's actually gonna happen and I'll be all productive and ongoing...  but nevertheless...  we just keep movin' however fast or slow we go... don't we!


So anyway, for now, I've made a few of these...
I think this might be a keeper template...

So next I've gotta get to some scrapbooking!  

I've started working on some digital pages, and it's just as addicting as the 3D stuff...

Here's a WIP so far...  

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

springtime springtime

Wall Pockets!

 So there's the mail basket on the kitchen table...
always overflowing...  always hard to find particular items of correspondence.
So here's my solution.

I actually meant to make this a wall organizer for crafts... but then for some reason it took a turn toward the kitchen...

I thought we could use a little more organization for our mail...  and other stuff we need to keep handy.

Yes. It's messy.  But messy is a style I think.  And I incorporated a big stick...  my personal favorite decoration for houses and... cars... and desks... and life in general! If my ear lobes didn't puff up at the sound of the word "earring", I'd probably wear sticks in them.

One other thing I never did before was stamp on material.  I just didn't feel like sewing those words on...  so I figured maybe I could stamp on some letters and ...  a bird.
And I think it's safe to say it works.
Though now I'm tied to putting certain things in certain pockets....   Why do I make commitments I can't keep!

And it you're cold, you could take it off the wall and drape it over yourself.  

Hearts Hearts Hearts

Yes, it's mush month.
These were some of my entries I threw together this evening for a crop who's challenges were due 7 minutes ago.

 So after a rough "getting to bed" evening for my little girl, who's now in my bed with Cliff...  I was determined to get involved at least a little this month...
This scrap group I became a part of in November has proved to be some of the sweetest women I associate with.
And they have online crops every month... and I can never seem to get my act together enough to participate.

But this month, there are 2 mini crops due to superbowl.. and other goings on...

So...  It's love month, so I decided to add some hearts and flowers...  Ok, flowers are a big part of my usual routine... I know.  But hearts, not so much.   The first thing I got pictured up there is an ATC card. Then we have a 12x12 layout featuring my friend Mo's lovely daughter Brielyn.

And here we have a pocket card.  A nice little nook for your love note to go...

Well, hopefully I can host a cropping soon...  I hear the darling stirring so I will catch up with you folks later!  Enjoy your Sunday and your football.  I will be enjoying my Sunday by unplugging the TV.

Couple Stamp Ideas

Stamps, can't get enough.  It's funny because I really never got the whole "stamp" thing ten years ago...  I just used stickers.  I have to say that now I rarely use stickers.  I love stickers, but not for scrapbooking... unless they are really exceptional and can pass a short quiz before being considered for my art.  As far as decorating my calendar and planner and notebooks... stickers are key! Because you may not want Spongebob next to your nephew at his Christening, but you may want him reminding you to go to the dentist.

So anyway, here's a couple things you can do with stamps.

1. Color em in!

The lighthouse was nice looking all in black and white...  but I decided to grab my colored pencils and give it a little color. And then with a felt tip pen, I accented some edges and added some shadow....
 And you thought you'd never color again!

( also, stamping an image a few times on the same page without re-inking it creates a nice effect. You have lighter versions of the same image.... kinda makes a nice background...  ex. the sand dollar and shell images lining the bottom)


2. Cut em out!

The flower shown in the pic on the right was stamped with a couple different colors. (this can be done a few different ways... one being brushing the ink onto the stamp instead of dabbing the stamp onto an ink pad), and then cut out using micro-tip scissors. I know you're saying "WHO THE HECK HAS TIME TO CUT OUT A STAMP WITH MICRO-TIP SCISSORS!"
and my answer to that is, if you want to do something, and you want that something to look as nice as it possibly can in your eyes, you will take one further step in assuring that will happen. If you don't need your project done by tomorrow, then why not do a little tonight and a little tomorrow.  I find sometimes if you leave it unfinished and come back to it the next day, it comes out better because you end up seeing it the next day with fresh eyes and you'll have a better idea of what will make it work.

And if you have those foam stickies, that makes it pop off the page a little ...

Looking forward to some sweet dreams!

G'night all.