Awesome Albums

 Part of late summer was spent creating some new photo albums and exploring some new techniques along the way.  The Travel Album I created and taught in the Spring was so successful (one went to England, one to New York and one to Australia!) that I decided the paper was just too good not to use it again. The result is the “Pack Your Bags” album.  It’s seven chipboard pages in a gatefold style.  The last page unties to reveal room for four more 4 x 6” photos. Lost of detail, lots of photos!

 

The second album “Every Possibility” includes a new binding technique that I wanted to explore based on an album created by Jim Hankins (thanks Jim!). It’s a series of pockets with lots of room for journaling and pictures. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

How to make a broom

I was working on a Halloween Photo Tray in the studio this week and I wanted to use a miniature broom in one of the windows.  One problem, no broom.

In walks helpful hubby as I'm staring into space trying to figure out how I'm going to create a broom.  Seeing the blank look on my face, (after 42 years of marriage, he knows the look) he asks what I need. I explain, he leaves the room.  Short time later he's back in with several very short pieces of a tree limb and his dad's old shoe shine brush. I had some waxed thread left over from a book making class I took a loooooong time ago with Tim Holtz and that became the binding agent. Not bad.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy the season. It's Sunday, the kids and grandkids are coming for dinner and I'm going to go create a ghost with my grandson. Got the idea here.  Thanks Deb!

Fall Show Schedule

I've had a few requests for the schedule of shows I'll be doing this Fall, so here it is.  I've scaled WAY back on the number of shows I'm doing and no longer will do shows out of town.  Hope to see you at one of these. If you come by, introduce yourself! I love having visitors.

Oct 20 Southwest Ranches Show 

http://www.southwestranches.org/01files/events/country_roads-2012.html

Nov 10-11  Plantation Art in the Park

http://www.pjwcfl.org/

Nov 17-18   The Harvest (Dade County)

http://www.bucklercraftfair.com/miami-harvest.php

In addition, I'll be doing the American Craft Endeavors (ACE) show with Howard Alan's group March 16 & 17, 2013 in Coral Springs. 

http://www.artfestival.com/default.aspx

The Harvest is an indoor show, all the rest are outdoors with my tent. (Now you know why I scaled back, I hate putting that thing up!)

Bye Bye Isaac!

Being cooped up at home while Isaac dances across the Keys and into the Gulf seems like pure heaven! Isaac became the perfect excuse to just go create. I’ve been on a “Pennant and Banners” kick. I know, the trends been around a while but I was slow to jump on board. The first banners I created were based on pre-cut chipboard from BoBunny, 7 Gypsies and Maya Road. One day at Paper Niche it hit me.  They have two large Sizzix dies that cut pennants and banners out of chipboard. YEAH! No shipping, less cost, what’s not to love? And so started the obsession.

I spent Friday at Paper Niche’s crop and created 6 Christmas banners. Easy. I adhered 12 x 12 chipboard to holiday paper, let it dry under the weight of some large dies as I did other things and went back and cut it with the large Ellison machine. When Isaac rolled through I had plenty to keep me busy! I added the lace trim to the edges, punched holes at the corner and used lots of wire-edged ribbon to tie the pennants together.  This idea is so versatile and easy! Keep it in mind for birthdays, graduation, welcome home and just about any holiday. In fact, it’s part of my October class. You’ll have to come back to see what’s in store for my Halloween projects!

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

It’s rapidly approaching “Art Show Season” around my studio and with it always comes the panic that I haven’t produced enough goodies to sell.  My focus naturally turns to remedying that. Add to the mix the fact that my hubby is in Amsterdam from June 28 through September 10 and it’s a recipe for errors! No one to look at my work and say, “Something’s wrong here.”  

Big sellers in my tent at shows are Wall Words. Sometimes it’s “Dream,” sometimes it’s holiday related like “Ghost” or “Santa,” but my booth and ETSY site always contains college related wall words. They sell well. So I took inventory and knew that I needed to produce college wall words.  Did some for UCF and FSU, took pictures and was getting ready to put them up on my ETSY site. I was editing the pics for the FSU production, (I made 3 of them) and it suddenly hit me. Mind you, it takes me 2 weeks to create these so I had AMPLE time to realize the error. It took until they were complete and ready to be sold for me to realize that even though I was working with FSU colors, I had screwed the letters together to read USF! I must be out on Mars someplace, really.

I did manage to salvage the “S” in all of them, but had to start from scratch on everything else.  Here’s one corrected. You can see the second one on ETSY. Number three sold this weekend at the "Trash to Treasure" show at Paper Niche. Told you they were popular!

It’s Friday evening, where IS that take-out menu?

That’s the inspiration for September’s class at Paper Niche. We all live very busy lives and by Friday night I’m usually too tired to go to a restaurant!  So Friday is traditionally "Take-Out" at my house.  I needed a way to corral all the menus and turned to Kaiser Craft for the solution.  I turned their writing desk into a Take-Out Menu Holder using BoBunny’s World Market Paper.  Join me on Saturday, September 1^st and corral your menus too!  It’s a fun beginner’s class, so it’s open to everyone. Go HERE to sign up for the class.

The best part?  “Take Out Menus” is actually stamped onto the paper so you can change it out to read anything that’ll fit in the area!  Customize it to fit your family.  Love it. 

Paper Niche Trash to Treasure & More Sale

Come join us this Saturday from 9-5 for this unique event. The scrap room will be turned into a shoppers paradise! Come shop for old and new scrapbooking and stamping supplies and buy from local crafters and Artisans.  I’ll be there with a table of one of a kind albums and school necessities.  Get the jump on my Art Show Season and see it all first!  Go to Paper Niche for more information and directions.

Gator Nation Goodness

 I’m still busy creating for the Fall holiday season. I don’t think this one will be around for long though!  

It’s based on a blue BoBunny Cascade Chipboard Album that was perfect for a University of Florida Keepsake.  Because it’s a cascade album, I wanted to incorporate something that would allow more 4 x 6” photos.  Here’s what I came up with. 

The last inside page is interactive.  Untie the ribbon and it opens to reveal 4 more full size photo mats. It’ll be in the ETSY shop if you’re interested. Enjoy!

What I've been Up To

Spent a couple rainy days in the studio recently and dug out some paper that I’ve been dying to use.  It’s the Love Letters Collection from Recollections and even though it’s “Love Letters”, it’s very subtle and lends itself to lots of interpretations.  It’s more a love letter to the world than to a person. Had a good time putting it together. Take a Look.

The chipboard cover is hinged with bookbinding tape that I stamped with gold ink and a checkerboard pattern to compliment some of the interior pages. It’s very subtle but adds depth to it.  It’s got a Seven Gypsies Knob on the front and a black elastic on the back cover that holds it closed. Love it!