sticky snowman

Inspired by the cover of Cloth Paper Scissors November/December 2008 issue, this little snowman came to life. Isn't he sweet.

Christmas shoes

I was turned on to Lisa Volrath and Ten Two Studios this week. She has a monthly ezine with projects and ephemera. Good stuff! This month includes the template to make these awesome little paper shoes. Go check her out, lots and lots of talent there.

Revitalize your spirit...altered book

Finally, I finished another journal that came to me. This time the theme was "What to do in Retirement?". I went with 'Revitalize your spirit'. Thanks for looking!

Adeline Street Clothing Closes

It's a sad day for my closet. Apparantly the band is very busy working on the upcoming album... oh I can't wait, I can't wait.... and Adrienne has opened Atomic Garden in Oakland , so the clothing portion of the Adeline biz is waving goodbye... Steady Clothing still has some of their pieces, but get 'em while you can, because they are going, going gone...I'm so going to miss my favorite skully!

When life closes a door...

...you start a website!

Well, this is a full circle moment for me. So unhappy about losing my favorite place on the internet, a friend of mine contacted me and we made our own. Thinking we could host our swaps there, we would get a handful of friends to join us. Well, it's been 5 days and we have over 100 members, over 250 topics and over 3500 posts! I know, I know!?! One member created the banner for us (thank you Marianne)by digital collaging images from the first posts to our gallery, and another named us PAOists.

We have Scrapbooking, card making, altered arts of all kinds, a ton of swaps already in all catagories. There are a few online challenges to get you motivated if you're stuck, and a gallery filling up with great work from great people! We have a place for you to list your blog or the site of someone who inspires you and already there is talk of getting together for a PAO-WOW. The members have even started to inspire each other in a weight loss challenge! I couldn't ask for a better group of awesome, creative people!

If you want to come play with us paperartistsonline is where we hang out. Obviusly it's very new, and we're still working out kinks as they come up, but so far wow! The energy there is buzzzzzin'. At this time of year, when we stop and think of the things we are thankful for, I am unbelievebly thankful for my friends!

Friends...

My friends are my family.
I can't imagine my day without them.
They make me laugh.
They give me support.
They inspire me.
and I won't live without them.

www.paperartistsonline.com

Shhhhhhhhh

I need a day of rest.
Please don't email me.
Don't call me.
I need to decompress and today is my day!
No stamps,
no paper,
no chat
no new websites,
no PMs,
Please, leave me in peace today.
You will be fine without me
I promise!!!

Hey Puzzle swappers...

I just got my paws on 36 puzzles. I know I said I wouldn't do it again, but so many of you asked me to and today I got a great deal on the blanks. I haven't figured out the cost yet, but it shouldn't be more than a few dollars per puzzle, I'm thinking $3 for each blank, which includes shipping to you. They are 8 1/2 x 11 and have 12 pieces each.

There will be 2 themes: 'Ode to Tim Holtz' and 'Anything goes'. You may use ANY supplies you have laying around, just no food products, please.

Once I have all 32 spoken for, I'll send them out. The deadline for these will be February 1st. I ask you include payment when you send them back to me in a reuseable padded envelope with enough loose postage stamps to cover shipping back to you.

I'm handling this same as before. If you haven't participated in one of my swaps, feel free to leave me your questions in the comments section of this post. If you would like to post a spoiler, please add the link in the comments section as well.

How do you sign up? I am now hosting this at paperartistsonline So feel free to hear over and join in. There are a few places left.

a new hope

I can honestly say I'm going to bed tonight, with a genuine feeling of hope. Since 9-11, I have been afraid. Really, honestly, genuinely afraid. I have felt disjointed from my government. I did not feel safer. I was innundated with fear. At this moment, I have a pre-911 feeling of hope. A feeling that things are going to be right in the world, if only until I wake up tomorrow morning.
Growing up, I was considered Generation-X. We were made fun of, laughed at, never taken seriously. Equality for all was always important to us. Although many of our parents were influenced by racism, we refused to tollerate it. Tonight, I finally feel our government is going to work for us. All of us. For Generation X and beyond.
Tonight we have captured the eyes of the world. Everyone within earshot of a television or a radio across the globe knows the US is headed in another direction. I can only hope the dictators wait and see. The radicals take a moment to pause. The wars take a moment for peace. I pray that Obama chooses the right people to fill the important cabinet positions that will soon be vacant. I hope he selects people from both sides of the aisle, and includes the fiercely independent.
Tomorrow the sun will rise, and with it I believe a new hope for a smarter, safer planet!

Voting feels good

I just had to pass this on. Yet another reason to vote!

********WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT********

Babeland Rewards Voters with a Silver Bullet or a Maverick


"If the Maverick rhetoric in the presidential campaigns is doing anything, we hope it’s motivating everyone to get out and vote. Which is why we’re giving away a real Maverick, absolutely FREE to all voters. All men, not just Joe Six Pack, love the Maverick sleeve ($20 value). He’s always there to lend a hand, he works for every man, and he bucks the status quo.
Wait, it gets better. We’ve got one more enticement. A free Silver Bullet ($15 value), because that’s what our country needs right now, a magical solution to difficult problems. Babeland’s most popular compact mini-vibe feels fantastic and is a great stress-reliever during these troubled economic times!

Bring a voter registration card, ballot stub or your word of honor that you cast a ballot on November 4th and we’ll give you either a free Maverick sleeve or a Silver Bullet. This offer is good at any Babeland location in New York and Seattle November 4-11."

Store Locations
In New York City
Babeland Brooklyn, 462 Bergen Street
Babeland LES, 94 Rivington Street
Babeland SoHo, 43 Mercer Street
In Seattle
Babeland Seattle, 707 E. Pike St.

After an earthquake

Sometimes song lyrics hit home. Names those songs!! As my dear Billie says:

"This is a public service anouncement, this is only a test
Emergency evacuation process
May Impair your ability to operate machinery
Can't quite tell just what it means to me

My heart is beating from me
Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts
The world is spinning
Around and around
Out of control again
It's comedy and tragedy

I am standing all alone
Stepped out of the line
Like a sheep runs from the herd
Marching out of time
To my own beat now
The only way I know

Nobody likes you...
Everyone left you...
They're all out without you...
Having fun..."

ch ch ch ch changes....

Some are good some are bad. I'm sitting here furious because the web site I live at has undergone a facelift today. I don't just dislike it, I HATE it! And I know hate is a very strong word, I rarely use, if ever.

They added a live chat component, which is great, but everything else I do there is now significantly more difficult, and I don't have time for more difficult.
I'm going to leave the community. Truth be told, it's for scrapbookers, which I am not. My creative outlet is more and more assemblage and altered art, which is not their focus. So why do I feel like I just had my left hand cut off? I am hosting a few swaps there which will end soon, and then I have a bunch of trips planned, so I'll be too busy. I shouldn't spend that much time there anyway. Do you hear me justifying???

Well, that means that YOU, my handfull of readers, will be able to participate in swaps right here! woo hoo! and I can put my energy elsewhere. All things happen for a reason. Let's see where this leads me now......

Don't vote, no really Vote!

Vote early...

Vote often.
(I couldn't resist, I'm from Chicago)


But seriously, get out there and vote! Don't wait until Tuesday, do it today.
Remember:
If you are registered, you have the right to vote.
Do NOT allow them to give you a provisional ballot.
Do check your work! After using the touchscreens be sure to check the paper printout in the machine to make sure your choices were recorded correctly.
Do Bring your driver's license for identification.
Do ask for help if you need it.
Don't rush. Take your time.

Fabric ATC swap

Here are my entries on their way to Australia this afternoon...I so hate to say goodbye! I started with some thin dyed cheesecloth. I attached a variety of fiber, thread and string, embellished with embroidery floss, glass beads and copper. I left one blank because I love the background as is. Already I have some ideas swirling around about a wall hanging. Thanks for looking, comments always welcomed!

Allison Emily & Me

Emily held the flag for a few seconds that day.

The boys are back

I'm so excited! And I want to Congratulate Mike and Brittany on their newest addition Brixton, born September 11th. New baby & studio time?? Good luck with that Mike!

Witchy box

While wandering the aisles of the thrift store the other day looking for a rack to store some new jars on, I came across an old spice rack. It was brown, but instantly I knew it held potential for a witchy box filled with potions and prized momentos!







Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment or constructive criticism!!!

a mime's nightmare

hehehe... he's in a box, get it? A box! bwahahaha. This silly little guy will be heading to live with Rachelle for a one/one altered tin swap. I'll have to make another to sit on my shelf.

Thanks for visiting!

What's in your envelope ATCs

Remember that cool pile of swag I received last week? Here are 3 ATCs. Thanks for looking!

Crusade No. 18

I decided to join the Green Pepper Press Street team this week by looking back and beginning the crusades from week one, spooky, halloween art. Fed up with my usual stamps I decided to carve some skullies. Oh how much fun is this! Allison was looking on all night, and finally asked if she could make one. Obviously I can't let a 6 year old carve erasers, but I had her draw on one and I carved it for her. Can you guess which one???



I received a book this week from my friend Ink-Pattie called Puro Muerto, Day of the Dead art and I decided to make some DOD skullies. Then I realized, carving stamps was Crusade #18, so here we are! I can see how addicting this could be, thank god I only bought one sheet of eraser today!! Excuse my inky fingerprints, I was obviously really excited to get these posted, all the ink schmeeeeeeerrd. Stay tuned for some ATCs with these this week. Please visit The GPP Street Team Crusade 18 and see what everyone else came up with.

Thanks for stopping by if this is your first visit here, and welcome back if you've been here before! Constructive criticism is always welcomed!

Green Pepper Press

Yummy yummy yummy! Green Pepper Press has the most amazing crow images anywhere! Go check them out for some good goodies! Look for a swap using these birds soon........ Tell Michelle I sent you!

Vintage Halloween ATCs

Ah yes, the leaves are beginning to change, the morning air is crisp and clean, Fall is upon us! I love Fall! I especially love Halloween! So what better way to welcome my favorite season than host another swap. Here is my take on Vintage Halloween.

Click image for a larger version and feel free to leave constructive criticism.

Lookie what I got!

In a great swap of Pass It Forward. All this awesome stuff to play with!!! I'm going to make ATC's all afternoon and see how much I can use up. Thanks Farley!

Use this foto ATC swap

Hey people out there...you wanna play a game?
Make 5 ATCs and get 4 back.
Keep them the same, or not.
I prefer you back them with chipboard to keep it sturdy too.
You MUST use the attached foto. If you click on her a new page will open and she'll be nice and big to download to your computer.
Due November 1st.

I think she is so beautiful, I can't wait to see what you come up with!!

English bulldog altered book page

hehehe.... I think I was channeling Traci Bautista on this one! I'm pseudo hosting a round robin for altered books, each with a new theme, and this is my take on "English Bulldog"

Constructive criticism always encouraged!

I broke my bone folder!

CRAP! That's not suppossed to happen! If you know what a bone folder is (and I'm going to assume you do if you're reading my blog) it actually snapped in half! the worst part: I got it so long ago, I can't find one the same size!

Someone please help....... I need a bone folder! Not bamboo, not the huge one, not the itty pitty one, the good one, made out of bone! ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!


Now doesn't that look like a great set of tools! I snagged the foto from Studio 5 book arts

Vote here Vote here

VOTE HERE VOTE HERE

I think I wet myself a little watching the video attached to the link! already I'm disgusted with the amount of money spent on this campaign. How many people could have been fed? How many people could have health care? How much could our gas prices have dropped if a fraction of the funds were given back to us in a useful manner, rather than blasted through the tv box???


Ahhhhhhhhhh calgon take me away!

Don't give up!

Yesterday was a HUGE day for my family!!! Emily, the youngest, has been blind all her life. Everywhere we go, she keeps her eyes closed, because she has nothing to look at. She keeps her head down, with no reason to hold it up. People always comment, "Awwww, she's sleeping". 'No, actually she's blind, but she can hear you' has always been my response, then they shudder away in some asinine attempt to avoid catching blindness.
I took her to yet another vision doctor, one who specializes in muscle disorders to get a final opinion, and hopefully some therapeutic advice, or the final confirmation of her diagnosis. Well, apparently, the other doctors wrote her off so quickly, they didn't bother to test her for nearsightedness. They looked for a medical anomaly to explain the lack of vision, always blaming it on Optic Nerve Atrophy, or Cortical Visual Impairment (Translation: I dont know why she can't see). Yesterday an incredibly patient, intelligent doctor took a look at her, asked me if we had a history of nearsightedness in the family, and when I said 'Yes, very much' she smiled and said "Well, she has some random muscular movements, but she is also very nearsighted!"....... WHAT?!?!?!
She said she wasn't going to guarantee glasses would help 100%, but she was sure that without them, there was no doubt Emily wasn't able to see!!!!
As if a miracle happened, my little babe put on her glasses, opened her eyes WIDE and started looking around and smiling!
The moral to this story: Don't give up! Unless there is no heartbeat there is hope! Things change, the brain begins to repair itself, people heal, emotionally and physically! This news couldn't come at a better time!

Let the games begin

There is so much to say, but I can't sensor myself very well, so I'll just post the fotos here for you to look at and discuss. 2 months from today it will be over! I hope everyone registered to vote does, and if you are not registered, you should do so! This year, more than before, every vote will be important. You need to stand up for what you believe, and vote for the candidate that will protect your beliefs.
Vote for the person that will protect the rights you already have, without compromise. Don't vote for color or sex...that's crazy. Vote your mind, vote your freedom and vote for change! Oops, it slipped, see I can't help myself!

Hillary was my girl, now Barack is my guy. I just don't believe McCain has any idea what my life is like and wouldn't know how to begin to help me make it better. I don't want to see anymore war, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea... no more. I don't think that's really a choice, looks like we're headed into Afghanistan, hopefully there is a real objective and plan. I don't want women and girls to lose the right to abortion. I am not pro-abortion, but I also believe children should be brought into homes that want them! I want to see America as a team player, not a bully. I want health insurance...for me! I want to see wind energy, solar power, energy independence. We should be encouraged to recycle and do what we can.

Only time will tell what this election uncovers, but come November I ask you to vote your beliefs. That's really all we have.

Back to School!

Swingtown

It's like the accident you can't help but watch eventhough it makes you feel all creepy. I'm loving the 70's music...all remastered and digitized for our listening pleasure, no pun intended. The jury is still out if I'm in favor or not of the show, but since it's set in a town next to ours, and I was too young to know what was happening at the time I'm gonna stick around and see where it goes...ooga ooga ooga cha kha....

New ATCs

"Sunflower": Leafing pen resist with gold pen, yellow and red liquid watercolor on untextured side of watercolor paper blended with a watercolor brush. ribbon from stash and image from National Geographic.


"Go Fish": Intuitive watercolor with Yellow, red and orange liquid watercolors on the textured side of watercolor paper. Words with my DYMO, dry cleaning ticket, fish from a magazine.


"Peace": Intuitive watercolor. I wanted some darker colors, so I played around with mixing colors to get the darks I so love. Club Scrap roman numeral stamp over the liquid watercolors with pressure embossed copper flashing and magazine image. I so love this, I think I'm going to make it my new 'business card'.


"Harmony": This background came from night 1 with the colorwash and glossy paper. I added a DYMO tag, some copper, jumbo eyelet and Image from Art-e-zine.


"Cheap Monkey": hehehe-isn't he funny! Liquid watercolor baby wipe. Rather than coloring a baby wipe just for this, I took one out and have been wiping my craft sheet with it for a few days. Now that it dried, I adhered it to the cards and instant random background! Look closely you'll see the giraffe from Club stamp Serengheti.


"Tick Tock": More of the colored baby wipe with Rhapsody stamp over it in background, magazine images and DYMO.


"Angel lady" More colored baby wipe, highlighted with gold leafing pen. She's not quite done, but I am so here she is for today.

Please leave comments or constructive criticism...I love to hear what you have to say!

Paper quilting

Quilting as in a nice puffy quilt for your bed, instead these are made of paper and put on cards as embellishments. A friend of mine (Gwen) came over and gave me some awesome pointers the other night as we worked on all the teacher cards A&E are giving this year.

The pattern and red paper are from Hanko design, the other stuff came from a grab bag, so who knows. Gwen made the awesome little house and I did the Apple and T-shirts. Comments and constructive critiques always welcomed!

Art dolls, turned monsters

Well, this is not at all what I was thinking of when I started the art doll swap, but this is what I ended up with.













Here are the ones I'm actually using for the swap:

You know the drill: leave a comment or constructive critique and one could be yours.

Tutorial: How to make an Altered book- Stage 1 Find and Prepare

So, you want to delve into the world of Altered books, but have no clue how to begin... good thing you're here! First, find a book to alter. You can use anything to make a 'book': cardboard, bookboard, an old children's book, licence plates. We're going to recycle a hardcover from the Library in this tutorial. Not the good ones you check out, silly. Most libraries have an area where they sell books; duplicates, old, dammaged ones. Look for a Hard cover book, and I suggest you start with a 'Bible-size' book. In this tutorial, I used a Readers Digest Hardcover of about 600 pages. They usually sell for less than $1 and you can feel good about giving life back into something long forgotten...

Once you get it home, get used to the fact that you are about to destroy a book. All your life you've been told not to tear the pages, don't fold the corners, guess what....you're going to do both. Woooo Hooooo, I love breaking the rules


I begin by deciding how many sections I want to end up with, then tear out a few pages between the sections. How many pages you tear depends how thick your book is. Once you tear out a few, you've gotten over your fear, and now we're ready to 'tear with a purpose'.

Go grab some white glue or gel medium, get a foam brush...get a few so you don't have to make a lot of trips, 'cause you'll use them later on...and get your book.


Apply a healthy, but not gloppy coating of glue/gel medium to the back of the inside page of your book (let's call it page 2) NOT THE SIDE THAT FACES THE COVER and press page 3 against it.


I use my bone folder to get a really stuck, flat surface, but you don't have to.

Continue gluing the next 4-8 pages, depending how thick you want your reinforced page to be.

Now you get to tear some more! woo hoo! Start tearing, and keep going until you get to the next section. Your book will no longer sit flat. The top cover will be a little floppy. This allows you to add dimentional objects to your book, and still fit on a shelf!

Begin your gluing again, until you have 5-10 pages stuck together for reinforced page #2.


Tear until you reach section #3, glue....continue until all sections are finished.


If you are not tired of looking at your book yet, we can move on to priming the surface. Depending on what you want your final pages to look like, you might be ready to start altering. If you want the text to show through, leave the book to dry overnight, before you begin. We'll get into altering the book in a future tutorial. But, if you don't want to see any text, you'll want to prime the pages.

Since this book will be involved in a swap which ends around Halloween, I decided the theme would be Magic! To enhance the Magical theme, I painted each section, and the torn out remainders with Black Scrapbooking paint. I like scrapbooking paint, because it dries very very quickly, and the consistancy is easy to spread.


Set your book up on it's edge, fanning the pages out, so they dry completely, and don't stick together.


At this point, I decided to add a custom leather cover with heat embossed grungeboard hinges to enhance the theme as my book travels around the country. If you are making a book for yourself, I suggest waiting until the end to make the cover, so it doesn't get destroyed.

I was going to include some magic spells for the swappers to play with, then remembered there is black magic, and white magic. Hmmmmm.... So I went back, and applied Gesso to the pages, giving them an eerie white tone. The theme has now transformed to "White Magic".


At this point, the book needs to dry for 24 hours, then it will be ready for color, focal images and fun spells. I placed wax paper between the pages so they don't stick together while it dries. I'll play with a page or 2 before I send it off and keep you posted.

To get to this point I used : A Recycled Reader's Digest Hardcover, foam brushes, gel medium, black paint, white gesso, wax paper.

Comments and constructive criticism always wanted!!!

Fantastical Creatures ATC swap

Little known fact.... I adore flower fairies! These were made for a swap titled "Fantastical Creatures" I hope you like them. I do, so much I don't want to give them away...
Click on the foto, it'll get bigger so you can read the words.

I've gone to see about a mouse...

See ya real soon!