tarnished and tattered

Cosmo Quiz

2012-02-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

February, the national month of hearts & love.

Everywhere I look I see hearts.
On blogs, Pintrest, Flickr..........

Target.

I love hearts & have collected them for years.

All kinds of hearts.

I like the ones made over time,

I like the pretty ones that I score for cheap..

& if their raggedy & old I love them even more.

But my favorites are the ones made for me by my fabulous friends.

They are as beautiful & unique as their creators.
Can you guess who made them?
Are you up for a quiz?

Remember the old Cosmo quiz's?

Like that but without the sex.

The answers will be at the bottom of this post.

No cheating!

This one hangs on a little purse assemblage.

#2 & 3

Here's a hint, the same person them both.

This one is made of moss & wire.

omygosh, maybe I should dust the faux snow off my desk?

Earn extra credit if you can guess who made the bird & the ribbon rosette.

(the tooth fairy pillow has only been used once!)

I won this one in a give-away!

#10

#11

I blogged about this not long ago, maybe you remember?

#12

How'd you do?

The answers are at the end of this post.

It's getting closer & closer to Cowgirls & Petticoats!

I'm excited but very nervous, since I haven't done one thing to prepare.

But I am excited about seeing some good friends again.

I'm going to show off the 8 projects in my next few blog posts, starting with the Kansas girls.

You know who I'm talking about, right?

Karla is bringing a little bit of her cottage studio to Texas for her Song of Spring wreath.

Karla's got great techniques & very cool goodies to share.
I learned so much from her at Birdsong last year.

I can't wait to have this wreath hanging on my door!

Beth will be showing us how to make a Petite Chemise Wall Hanging.

It was featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Sew.

I love her low color layers of ephemera, fabric & stitching.

It's hard to believe, but this will be her first time teaching!

I will be in the front row making faces at her!

Not really, but that would be fun.

I'm just happy that I'll be a part of it.

If you've never been to a Paper Cowgirl event your missing out.

The girls are the BEST!

Everyone is so nice & so fun.

Lot's laughs, shopping & great projects too.

Registration is open!

Here are the answers to my pop quiz.

1. & 9. Diane

2., 3., 4., 5. & 6. Dorthe

7. Becky

8. Rebecca

10. & 11. Carola

12. Beth

I love my hearts!!!

Oh, I almost forgot the extra credit.

The bird was part of the wrapping on a gift from Karla!

The ribbon rosette

(that's not what their called)

is from my very funny & talented friend Jan.

The toy soldiers are pure Lily.

My Paper Cowgirl Project!

2012-01-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

The next big Paper Cowgirl event is just around the corner~

This is my class project for Cowgirls & Petticoats!

Whispers from the Past

A handcrafted inspiration journal

The Cowgirls are teaming up this time with the girls from

Petticoat on The Prairie

for 4 days of art, shopping, & fun!

It's no big surprise that I chose to make a book for my project.

I can't get enough of them.

We'll use vintage & new elements to create beautiful & unique covers, then fill them with lots of pages.

Pages with pockets,

pages to embellish later on,

a few scraps,

a little sewing...

& lots of drippy lace.

A journal to fill with all that inspires you!

I'm proud to be included in this all star line-up of instructors:

Beth Leintz - Gathering Dust

Cindy Mayfield - Yapping Cat

Dawn Edmonson - The Feathered Nest

Donna Goss - Art Studio 522

Karla Nathan - Karla's Cottage

Karen Valentine - My Desert Cottage

Sandra Feazel - 7th St. Studio

Registration opens in a couple of days,

I'd love to see you there!

Christmas Wishes & Dreams

2012-01-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

2011 went out with a bang!

And I don't mean the bang from the ball dropping in Times Square, but my computer exploding!

It was still under warranty, but sadly I lost my entire hard drive.

I've spent the past couple of weeks searching for lost pictures & files.

(& grieving)

But I'm back with all kinds of things to share with you!

Beginning with some teaching news.

Paper Cowgirl has moved it's big annual event up a couple of months to March.

(thank goodness, I melt in the summer heat)

Then in April I'm heading to Kansas to teach at

Karla's Birdsong.

It was such a blast last year, I can't wait to go back to the land of vintage wallpaper & church lady hats!

I'm so proud to be a part of these 2 great art retreats.

Many more details to come!

Let's back up to Christmas 2011.....

I was blessed with some beautiful gifts from friends around the world.

Starting with my sweet friend Dorthe.

She combined my favorite collections into one precious gift.

An angel on a heart.

Thanks to my friends my heart collection is growing by leaps & bounds!

I fell in love with Rebecca's Christmas stars years ago when I first laid eyes on them!
They are so unique, she uses the most wonderful antique elements to embellish each one.
This year I just had to have one of my own & Rebecca was kind enough to swap.

I was surprised & touched that Rebecca used our Christmas photo as the inspiration for the swap.

I'm always a little weepy around the holidays so the water works began the minute I opened her package.

She included other goodies of course & I had great pictures but alas, they were lost with everything else on my hard drive!

( BTW, did you see her gorgeous home in the current Romantic Country? I recognized it immediately!)

Sandy Babb sent me this very cool altered bowl.

I call it a mixed media nest!

It sits on the shelf over my desk & every time I look at it I see something different.

I am so drawn to Miss Sandy's style. The color & tones, her use of nature, just so pretty.

Getting gifts from blogging friends is always good because we know each other so well, but it's really cool when your family begins to get you too!

I have to show you what my awesome niece Chelsea gave me for Christmas.

She hit the nail right on the head I'd say!

Chelsea lives in Austin & shops at my favorite store .

This book is filled with the most amazing engraved illustrations & a years worth of inspiration!

I have been hunting for a ledger for months.

Antique malls, estate sales & even Canton came up empty.

This one is nice & full, dated back to 1903.

My big present from Santa this year was a butane torch & some sheet metal.

I also got the e-book for Stephanie Lee's online workshop,

Handbook of Elements.

I am so obsessed with these books & can't wait to get started.

Last summer I set up a swap with Carola at Boxwood Cottage.

It would be a winter swap, I knew it would be good but ohmygoodness....

We gave each other a wish list, mine included some of her famous

soldered ornaments.

And she came thru not once but 4 times!

They are all beautiful, but I especially love the one that reads 'fly across the ocean'.

Carola not only filled my stocking, but included some German chocolates for the kids.

Remember I said 'wish list'??

I seem to remember putting coin purses on there.

I think this one is actually a glasses case.

Very nice!

The cigarette tin filled with tiny findings has a great story behind it.

A good friend of Carola's discovered it while doing a dig at an ancient castle in lower Saxony called Stauffenburg.

The castle has a really interesting history & who knows how old these artifacts are. Her friend thought one of her US friends would appreciate having such treasures to make art with.
I feel honored that Carola gave them to me.

I'm not sure Carola knew that I collect old used lesson books.

They are very hard to find & I only have 4.

When I unwrapped this package I couldn't believe my eyes.

Look at the students name!

This was Carola's notebook from her first year in school.

Look at that beautiful writing!

This is my favorite page.

Another request I made was for a little lamb.

Dang, she is one great personal shopper!

A beautiful heart trimmed out in German scrap.

Yes, another item checked off my wish list.

At this point I was at the bottom of the box & thinking what an incredible swap this was.
Then I spotted one last package.
Flat & round like a Frisbee.

Saw this tag.
Flipped it over & read this.

thought NO she did not..........

Yes she did!
Carola sent me a vintage top hat!

Philip is happy he has his magic hat back.

If you only knew how long & hard I've searched for a top hat.

Seeing this picture only made my hat lust worse.

(photos borrowed from Boxwood Cottage)

My picture of the whole bundle was on the old hard drive but I borrowed this one.

Pretty nice swap, huh?
I love it all friends!

Christmas isn't all about receiving.
I did some giving too, but this post has gotten completely out of hand.

I don't want to blow this computer up too!

I promise not to wait a month to post again.

I'm off now to catch up on your blogs!

Merry Christmas & A Winner

2011-12-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow's Christmas Eve so if I'm going to finish up my holiday home tour it better be now!

Since I was doing a nature thing this year I decided to do a garden theme in the kitchen.

Sensei & friend Cindy came over one day to help with the decorating.

It really helps to have a friend who styles for a living!

I can't really take credit for this amazing window since Cindy did it all.

Okay, I made the banner & the chippy garden edging is mine.

I can take credit for that.

It was fun mixing up my ironstone, silver & goodies from my stash.

I inherited the rosepoint crystal from my Great Aunt.

The concrete statue was swiped from the garden.

A little Rose Hicks influence here.

The wine muff was a thrift store find.

I think it was a whole $1.50.

The birdhouses all came from my garden which is now naked.

Yes I do cook.

I just scoot the flammables over to the side.

A look at the living room.

The bucket of Lego's are behind the sofa.

Christmas banner was a gift from sweet Ann Perry.

Our mantel is very narrow & hard to decorate.

I kept it simple this year.

All this Christmas preparation has worn poor Izzy out!

Oh yes,

the winner of my Christmas Give-away is

Sandi from A Cottage Muse!

I'm linking up again with Debra & everyone else for

Vintage Inspiration Friday.

I have gotten so much inspiration from this blog party!

One last thing......

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

Be safe, eat well & enjoy!

More Christmas House & My Give-Away!

2011-12-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it is 3 days until Christmas???

Are you ready?

I'm done buying, but still making!

You still have time to enter my Christmas Give-Away.

If you'd like my holiday cone just comment on this post!

On with my Christmas house tour.

Today I'm showing you our master bedroom.

Until Santa drops a big pile of Bella Norte under my tree I'll be settling with old chenille & muslin pillow cases.

Family photos are so important to me. If there's ever a fire I'd grab my pictures second.

I turned an old child's apron into a pouch for the top of my bed.

My Mothers baby shoes & other treasures in a bowl.

A pair of beautiful old stockings.

I started collecting them a couple of years ago, I'm up to 3 pairs!

Our wonderful secretary was a gift from my dear friend Judy. It was her Mother's & no one wanted it, can you imagine!

She is a precious friend to me & a surrogate Grandmother to my kids.

My Grandmothers high school portrait, her bible & one of my altered books.

I found the old violin & painted it white after seeing one last year at Ann's house.

The old french music card is from Corey Amaro, I had the pleasure of meeting her one year at Marburger.

This area off the bedroom is actually our back porch.

Since it's a covered porch I was able to hang a curtain rod & create a tiny room.

The kitchen window looks out onto the porch, so at night it's really magical!

This is our bathroom. I'll bet your thinking

'gosh this girl is always showing the toilet'!

My house isn't that big tho so I have to take advantage of every inch of space.

The picture above was taken at 6am so the lighting is weird.

I swiped this picture from Lori's blog.

Thanks Lori!

The crocheted valance came from Warrenton last year.

Clutter.

The hanging cabinet cards was an idea I got from Tina.

Another collection, white beaded bags.

This is a wall in the toilet closet.

I used to sell real estate & they really call it a toilet closet!

Tomorrow I'll finish up the house tour & announce the winner of my Christmas give-away.

I was going to draw the name on Christmas Eve, but I kind of have a feeling we won't be blogging that day!

Last week Lily & her pal Caralyn (Cami's Grand) went to

Jennifer Babcock's mini art event,

Christma - licous!

They're starting their own junior art posse!

It was a really sweet day. They made crowns, pink trees & a bracelet that Lily is modeling.

I think she may have a future in game show modeling.

Tuesday night I hosted a little craft night get together with some friends.

I made massive sugar cookies & goodie bags.

These clay ornaments are all over Pinterest, they were very easy!

Cami & Jenny,

Charlene & Jan,

Cami, Cindy & Melissa laughing at one of Nicki's jokes.

We didn't make much art but we polished off some wine!

Charlene used some of my findings & whipped up an amazing necklace in about 30 minutes.

I have been so inspired by every ones blogs this season.

So many beautiful homes!! I will be joining Debra's party Friday to see more!

Happy Holidays!

Everything - including the bathroom sink!

2011-12-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

On to part 2 of my holiday house tour.

You may think I'm strange to devote an entire post to a itty bitty space of 5'x5'.

But when you see the before I think you'll understand why this room is my new favorite.

This is the only true before I have, but I think you get the picture.

Right after we moved in we removed the wallpaper, painted it white & installed your basic Lowe's mirror & pedestal sink.

It stayed like that for 2 years.

It's a very hard room to photograph.

There is no natural light & the vanity lights above the sink are bright. It's really so much prettier in person.

After we painted (Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige)

we installed a beautiful chippy mirror.

I tried taking a picture with the lights out & with flash.

Not much better.

I wanted it to be 'a men's room', so I used my favorite boy things.

I bought the straw hat from Debbie & Cat Daddy at Paper Cowgirl last year.

Button from Beth.

Old family photos.

These silly pictures of my Great Grandfather are one of my most treasured things. He took the photo himself.

This is my Great Grandmother & the children she nannied for.

I can't believe I'm posting 100's of pictures of my tiny bathroom!

Okay, on to something else.

I made some new bottles for my etsy shop.

One is a gift for a special friend.

I am so in love with lovely old writing, I seem to use it in all my projects.

A poem called 'Home Again' from an old diary I bought.

I think they look pretty all grouped together.

Another item from my shop, a Christmas Cone.

My cone is made of cream damask & a wool lining.

I embellished it with this amazing vintage white feather trim.

Inside is an old china doll & 2 very old mercury glass picks.

All kinds of goodies hanging off.

Just a sweet little collage.

Image from The Graphics Fairy.

While I was at it I made something for you!

It's just a little way of saying thank you & Merry Christmas!

Another fabric cone, this one stuffed with lace & some other pretties. Since Christmas is almost over you could change out the contents.

Make it a seasonal cone.

Just leave me a comment on this post.

I'll draw the winner Christmas Eve.

I've always been a gift maker, this year is no different.

I'm making Mary Green's

Christmas Gluebooks for the kids teachers.

If you've never made a Gluebook your missing out, they're a lot of fun!

Mary gives very easy direction & lots of cool vintage images.

I'm also using some of Dawn's tutorials.

The kids made her mitten ornaments last night.

It's free & so cute!

We're going to make paper clay snowmen during holiday vacation. It's a new family tradition!

I have a couple more of Karla's cuffs to make too.

There are so many awesome tutorials in blog land right now.

I've devoted a whole pinboard to them!

If your still here I have one more thing to show you.

Lily discovered a pretty velvet box in my bedroom contained collars, she decided they needed to be on the tree!

Where does she come up with these crazy ideas?!!

Christmas House Tour

2011-12-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome to part one of my Christmas tour.

Kevin, the kids & I have been busy since Thanksgiving getting the house ready for a feature in the Dallas Morning News.

Thanks for the advice & encouragement you've given, we're really excited!

Since we worked so hard I'm going to ~~bore~~ show you every single detail.

The amazing pointy little shoes

(someone called them Wizard of Oz boots)

are from Golightly's in North Richland Hills.

Today's tour is our library/sitting/ play room.

It was also my studio at one time.

I love playing musical rooms, don't you?

This dresser is what you see when you walk in my front door.

I love decorating it for each season.

Cindy came over one day & helped me decorate, this little vignette was her idea.

The old hanging sign was in my stash for ages, I just hot glued letters from old license plates on it.

These precious felt slippers are one of my favorite things.

Aren't they sweet?

My awesome friend Kristi found this mirror while we were out shopping together & she loaned it to me for the shoot. It looked so perfect over my door that she let me buy it from her.

Now that's a good friend!

I used lots of horns in this room, this white pair came from Kohl's after Christmas sale last year.

I actually tried to sell this white cabinet at a sale one year.

I had it priced $300, I'm so glad it didn't sell!

A glimpse inside.

A little assemblage I put together.

Another treasured item are these ivory wings.

Another cabinet.

I considered painting it at one time but I couldn't cover the beautiful tole painting on the doors.

I should have turned this light off for the picture.

My running buddy Cami gave me this great cotton. I've wanted some for ages but it's very expensive in shops. Her husband picked it for her one year.

It's really nice having talented & generous friends!

Can you see the dog on the sleigh in the picture?

He was my great Grandfathers dog, cool huh?!

Some of my creations in a frame.

My altered slippers & one of the fabric cones I made this year.

(I channeled my inner Tin Rabbit for this display)

Speaking of the Tin Rabbit, look at this wonderful cone from Ann!

I am so inspired by her.

The guitars are not props, my boys play them.

I wanted a round table in here so Kevin built one from scrap lumber & I made the skirt from a drop cloth.

The glass was in the attic.

The kids were very excited about being in the paper.

They were all cute in their winter white, but Owen wasn't feeling it. The 'scratchy' sweater came off immediately.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my Christmas home tour.

I'm linking up today with Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday!

I hope your enjoying this holiday season, I'm off to get more inspiration from your blogs & Pinterest!

Preparations

2011-12-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas here.

Little touches around the house.

This little moth eaten sweater has waited all year to be hung.

I love the way the house looks at night, all lit up.

My tiny patio all trimmed out & glowing.

I guess my theme this year is low color nature.

Nothing really over the top.

Just some wintery additions,

and sentimental favorites!

Remember I told you something exciting happened?

The style editor from the Dallas Morning News contacted me & guess what....

my house is going to be featured for a special Christmas section!

It's been a flurry of activity around here preparing for it.

The photographer is coming Monday...eek!

Next post I'll take you on the holiday tour.

I'm linking up with

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday.

Before I go just wanted to share these versions of my

Altered Holiday Slippers.

Karla made this pair as ornaments for her tree. I love the glitter!

And these are from my sweet friend Suzanne.

I love the color she used. It's called 'Cloud' from Martha Stewart.

It's amazing how everyone tweaked this idea to suit their style.

Making

2011-11-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

Blogland is a busy, busy place right now.

I can practically hear the shuffle of hands making, creating, sewing & sending.

Everywhere I look, on Pinterest or blogs I see such amazing, inspiring work!

I just want to make everything!!

Unfortunately there are only so many hours in the day & my kids are so demanding.

Expecting to eat & wear clean clothes.

The nerve!

I have one Christmas present all wrapped up!

I ordered Karla's cuff kit & tutorial last week.

I've never made a cuff & was a little scared about it, but I think it turned out nice!

Karla's directions are really clear & there are loads of idea pictures.

Here is the back.

Now that I know how to do this I will be making lots for gifts this year.

Now you may need to sit down for this part.

Last month I did an Autumn swap with Tina .

This is what arrived on my doorstep.

Peek inside!

Scads of beautiful white laces & linens.

This is the coolest resin charm!!!

A wonderful nature collage!
Look at these incredible pods!
And seaweed from her shore.

So I'm blown away, right?
I think Wow, this is a great swap.
But then Lily found one more package wrapped in tissue.

One of Tina's altered books!!

Each page more amazing than the last.

Love the feather in the pocket.

Tina is such a talent, I get so many ideas from her blog.

And she shares them so generously!

What an excellent pile of lovelies!

Thank you so much sweet friend!

On the subject of altered books...........

My latest page for our (Karla, Beth, Sandra) 'Round Robin' book project.

I made these pages for Sandra's book.

A little velvet pocket stuffed with stitching tools.

A vintage tatting bobbin & arm-less reading glasses.

This is the back of the page. I have a beautiful book called

The Portfolio of Needlework that was published in 1855.

I used a page from that book for my background.

In the window an illustration from a very old reader.

Have I said how much I love this collaboration?!

Every month I look forward to seeing the new pages.

In a few months I will have a priceless treasure.

This year I am thankful for so many things.

On my list is the friendship I've found with all of you!

Have a safe happy holiday!

~Lisa

PS Check out my etsy, new things listed!

Bottles, Canton, Kids & Stuff

2011-11-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

I've been all over the place the last few weeks.

Dividing my time between kids, home, & art stuff.

You all know what a balancing act life is.

Sometimes I do well, sometimes not so good.

As much as I love doing workshops, it's a lot of work & it's put me behind in all kinds of ways.

But happily I've finished up some projects.

New bottles for dear friends.

I'm making more for my etsy shop.

Speaking of etsy.....

Thanks to everyone for ordering my Holiday Slipper tutorial & kits.

I'm working on more as we speak!

I bought a couple of tutorials myself last week.

Here & here.

I'll share more about them next post!

We took a little Paper Cowgirl field trip to Canton on the 6th.

Cami, Miss Lissa, Jan, Cindy & me.

It was the perfect month to go.

All the dealers had their holiday finery in full view.

So many sights to behold,

some amazing....

Some downright silly.

That is a fan on her cart.

Wish I was her dog!

It was Cami's first Canton trip.

She was in wonder-land for sure.

You wanna see my sweet haul?

This book was my favorite find. It is absolutely beautiful!

The pages are slightly spotted, which I love & the illustrations....amazing.

The book was published in 1853, tissue still in place!

Isn't it all pretty?

This iron cover will be perfect in a collage or assemblage & I think I'll fill the metal milk caps with resin.

That same week I got a package from Dawn.

She was my personal shopper at The Country Living Fair in Atlanta.

This little orphaned shoe will hang from my tree this year.

One of the many things I collect are old lesson books.

I wonder if one of my old notebooks is floating around somewhere.

Gosh I hope not.

Friday after I dropped the kids off at school I saw a garage sale,

so of course I stopped.

I got this sewing machine for $25. & some other goodies.

When I wasn't out shopping, I was cheering on my kids.

They ran the 'Panther Race' at school Friday.

9 laps in 30 minutes!

Not bad for a kindergartner.

I have so much more I want to share with you.

My swap with Tina, the newest Round Robin pages, & some big news!

Tricks & Kits

2011-10-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Halloween, so let's get the tricks out of the way.

Trick 1
Create a 'bone-man' costume from a thrifted unitard.

Kevin painted the bones on Philip's costume freehand.

Did I ever tell you he was an art major?

Then he sewed gloves for Owen out of craft foam.

It was a trick getting the tension straight on my sewing machine after that!

Yeah, he was feeling pretty good about himself.

Owen decided he was making his own costume this year.

With a little help from Grand-dad & my glue gun he turned himself into

'Greymatter'

(unless you are a 6 year old boy you will have no idea who that is)

Another trick......

Getting these kids to clean out a pumpkin.

I had to brake out the sandwich bags.

Sad.

Now for the kits.

I taught an Altered Holiday Slipper class last week, so there were kits to be made.

It was a smaller class so I was able to spend more time on each one.

A unique bag to suit the personality of each girl.

A sassy bag for a sassy girl.

My friend Nicki, see the resemblance?

We had a great day.

A little shopping,

a little creating,

& a lot of laughing.

That makes for one fine day!

While I was working on my kits, the kids had their own to make.

17 each.

That's a whole lotta goodie bags!

They also made each one special.

I think they worked way harder then I did!

I can't believe I posted a picture of my filthy floor.

Boy I wish I knew photoshop!

Earlier today I posted a new online tutorial.

They are for sale in my etsy shop.

I also listed some kits, but I think there is only 1 left.

I'm working on more tomorrow.

Since it's Halloween I have a treat for you.....I promise, this is the last post about ballet slippers!

Happy Halloween!

Boston

2011-10-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well I guess by now you know the Valium worked & the plane didn't crash.

Once my feet were on the safe, firm ground, I had a wonderful time.

Kevin planned the whole Boston trip without my knowledge.
He took care of every detail, from hotels to kid handling.

We stayed at the Parker Omni Hotel.

It's a pretty famous place.

It's the longest continuously running hotel in America,

the first Boston hotel to offer hot & cold running water,

the Boston cream pie & parker house rolls were created there,

John Kennedy proposed to Jackie there in 1953,

& last but not least.....

it's haunted!

The great thing about Boston is that you can walk everywhere.

And trust me, with all of the scrumptious food you need to walk!

Since it was our first visit to Boston we had to walk the
Freedom Trail.

So much of our country's history happened right here.

Seeing the Old State House, Kings Chapel & Paul Revere's house

was surreal.

Freaky ghost picture.

We walked through many neighborhoods,

China Town,

North End & Little Italy.

Pushcart Cafe & Lo Conte's were amazing!!!

And after dinner you must have pastry. Everyone seemed to be carrying little boxes tied neatly with red & white twine.

The lines for these shops were a block long!

I asked someone 'is it worth it?'

Needless to say, every single morsel was worth the wait.

We sampled half the menu at Modern Pastry.

No, we didn't witness a horrible accident.

We stumbled upon a movie set.

It was really exciting, we got to watch a crash scene.

The movie is called R.I.P.D.

(rest in peace department)

It stars Kevin Bacon, Jeff Bridges & Ryan Reynolds.

No, I didn't get to see them.

This is as close as I got.

One degree of Kevin Bacon!

The director looked bored.

Love the sign.

The aftermath.

Boston was awesome,

but my favorite part of the trip was our day in Salem.

We took the ferry early in the morning.

It was a beautiful ride.

I love coastal villages, little seaports.

Again you could walk everywhere.

The ferry dropped us off just a couple of blocks from the

House Of Seven Gables.

Cobblestone streets, window boxes, charming shops & restaurants.

Perfect!

This was one cool bookstore!

I don't know what they do if someone wants a book

from the bottom row.

Can't remember the name of this cafe but the seafood chowder & lobster rolls were delicious.

How to humiliate your husband:

Take pictures of your food at restaurants!

More sights,

more cemeteries.

I love to read old tombstones.

I can spend hours looking at the stones of families. Seeing the ages, wondering how they lived & died.

The witch trail memorial was very sad.

I studied John Proctor in school, to see his tombstone was sobering.

It was so nice spending time alone with my husband.

This was our first trip alone in 6 years.

We need to do it more often.

Wicked HouseKeeping

2011-10-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Boston & what an amazing trip it was!

I want to share some pictures & stories, but Saturday is
The Wicked Tea
& I'm up to my eyeballs in kits!

I haven't had time to edit my vacation pictures so instead I'm sharing some pictures from around the house.

This is the basket I bought from Laurie Anna's last spring.

I posted about it here.

Yesterday I 'hooshed' it Halloween style.

Such a cute picture of my little angels!

Speaking of hooshing, I'm working on a little cabinet of curiosities.

The telescope & projector were my father's.

This is our entry.

I love changing it around for the seasons.

My hearth is easier to decorate than the mantel.

Keeping the kids off this chair is no easy feat.

I have a hard time arranging my mantle, it's very narrow.

I bought these Ellery Queen paperbacks at a garage sale years ago.

I think the mysteries came from Half Priced Books.

Did you know Poe was from Boston?

I know people associate him with Halloween & the macabre but he wrote such beautiful & haunting poetry.

Annabel Lee is one of my absolute favorite poems.

I have always wanted to make an altered book inspired by that story.

I better get back to my kits.

I put another pair of slippers in my etsy store, working on some other things as well.

If you want to make your own check out the link on my sidebar for information!

Fear of Flying

2011-10-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

October 6 is my our 15 year wedding anniversary!

(wow, that's a long time)

Kevin surprised me with a trip to Boston.

He arranged everything, even farmed the kids out.

There's only one problem.......

fear of flying!

Thank goodness for Valium.

I've tried to keep my mind off things by staying busy.

Remember these?

The cover & pages Beth made for our round robin,

'Her Life in Stitches'.

Aren't they beautiful?

I spent almost a month staring at them & deciding how I would continue 'her' story.

My jump off point was this card I've been saving for just the right project.

My page is about a girl named May, she is a dressmaker.

The little crocheted bag has been in my collection awhile too.

I think Beth will like this old velvet button.

I adore the silhouette Beth made for the cover.

I imagine this is May as young girl, perhaps the picture used for the silhouette.

Because May is a dressmaker, I used a piece from an old doll skirt as the base of the page.

All done in Beth's 'low color' style.

This project is so fun, I can't wait to see my book when it's done!

Last week I got some great news.

I won Diane Knotts give-away!

Diane's hand work is perfection!

I had to examine my wonderful pincushion heart up close, under a magnifying glass.

Such lovely detail.

I didn't expect so many goodies along with my prize.

My favorite are the Diane Knotts originals for my collection!

(she really is a star)

Love these cool pod thingies.

A bundle of sweet laces.

And some vintage papers.

Thank you for spoiling me sweet friend!

All of it will be put to good use, I promise.

I finished up a project for a new class.

Playing with beeswax.

I experimented with some stenciling, & used some cool fabric designed by Tracie Lynn Huskamp.

You can find them in her on-line shop here.

Well, please pray for good weather & a smooth flight for me!

Shoes

2011-09-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

There's something irresistible about tiny old shoes.

(photos by my friend, Miss Jodie LeJeune )

I like to line them up,

I like them under glass.

I love to use them in my art.

I love them handmade.

These were 'cobbled' by my precious friend Dawn.

Ever since she sent them to me I've wanted to try my hand at shoe making.

First attempt.

I used a pattern from one of my Japanese Zakka books.

Although they're written in Japanese, the step by step illustrations are easy to follow.

I used an old felted sweater & vintage buckle on this one.

This little elf shoe is inspired by a vintage pair I own.

I know it's only September but I can't help but look ahead to Christmas.
It'll be here before you know it!

Remember my altered ballet slippers?
Well I've restyled them for Christmas.

If you'd like to make a pair, I'll be teaching this class on

October 28 for Paper Cowgirl.

(information will be on the Paper Cowgirl blog)

If you don't have time to make them, you can buy these
in my esty shop.

I plan on making more, I'm trying very hard to get my etsy going.

I made the little stars by hand with German glass glitter.

They should age beautifully.

Lily & I got an unexpected package from Denmark last week.

A few weeks ago I saw Dorthe had made this amazing heart for her sweet Mathilde.

Well I loved it of course, so look at what she sent to us!

These are awesome!

Dorthe used 2 of my favorite pictures for these hearts.

Lily feels very special when she receives gifts from my friends. Someday when she's older she'll realize how truly blessed she is to have wonderful art made just for her!

Lily chose the pink heart for her room, & the sepia heart now hangs on the memory cabinet in my bedroom.

Dorthe you are such a gifted artist & a true friend.

Thank you!

Believe it or not I am alone in the house today!

Lily & Daddy are on an Indian Princess camp-out & the boys are with their Grandparents.

It's too quiet, I can't concentrate.

Hope you have a great, loud weekend!

Round Robin

2011-09-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

I took a big load to the post office this week.

Lots of projects that went off a little late...

(what's new)!

A very belated birthday gift for a very special friend.

The tease of cool weather has inspired Autumn colors in my art.

The elements I used in this collage are some of my favorites.

The awesome french lace, vintage velvet ribbon & butterfly that once embellished a hat are precious to me.

I figured I better get a head start with Christmas since I was so late with the birthday gift!

I used an old tabacco tin for the orniment & glass glitter on the stars.

This will look even better next year when the glitter begins to tarnish.

I'm working on a round robin book collaboration with Karla, Beth & Sandra .

I finally completed my cover & first page.

The project is called 'Her Life in Stitches'.

The book chronicles a girls life with samples of her needlework.

My book is about a girl raised on a farm.

'Low color', tattered treasures & nature were my inspiration.

I used a few different techniques.

A resin block embedded in an old book cover.

It didn't turn out perfectly, but I thought that kind of supported the 'make do' spirit of farm girls.

The sheet music under the photo is a song called 'in the cornfield'.

The farmhouse piece below is a Tim Holtz idea.

You can read about it here.

I love the effect!

Here is my first page.

I sent my packect off to Karla, she'll add a page & send it on.

In a year I'll get my book back with 12 wonderful pages.

I'm working on a page for Beth's book now, I'll show you next time.

This is such a fun way to create & share art, I hope to do more soon.

I've been obsessed with altered books since I read

Collaborative Art Journals & Shared Visions in Mixed Media by LK Ludwig.

It's a beautiful book filled with amazing work.

Last year Mary Green invited me to contribute to her online class

Artful Pages-4 Artists 4 Ways.

If you want to learn some tricks & techniques for art journals check it out.

Can you belive September is almost over!

Thank goodness summer is almost behind us. It was a tough one here.

Now that I'm caught up, I'm off to blog hop!

Resolutions

2011-08-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

I know it's customary to make resolutions on New Years Eve, but I made mine last week when the kids started school.

Now that I have all this 'free time' (ha ha) I'm marking some things off my wanna do list.

#1 Get my etsy store back up

I've got a few things listed including this cute little altered box.

Listing is a lot of work!

I envy people who have 200 things in their shops. I'm trying to put a few things in my shop everyday, so check back.

#2 Have the biggest garage sale in Texas history!

Along with your usual garage sale favs:

kids clothes, small appliances & curtain rods I'm unloading a ridiculous amount of great stuff!

Debbie told me to advertise it as a 'living estate sale' since I'm selling a lot of antiques & furniture.

I thought that sounded great!

If your near North Texas check me out Saturday & Sunday.

Some items will go in my etsy shop.

You wanna see how much ~~junk~~ stuff I have?

Look at the size of this storage unit!

(This is after we emptied it out)

I'm not a crazy hoarder

(well maybe a little crazy)

It all started 4 years ago.

My parents died suddenly & I was left with a large estate.

The kids were only 2 then & frankly I just couldn't cope with letting go of everything.

One thing I learned from watching 'Hoarders' is that when a tragic event happens it can trigger hoarding behavior. After we got this unit to store my parents things I found myself collecting...a lot.

I finally realized that it's the memories, not things that hold my family close.

I used to think it was fun to shop from my stash, now I just feel suffocated by it all.

Well, it's time to let go.

The kids are even getting in on the gig.

Selling old toys & hosting thier first lemonaid stand.

In case you don't read kindergarten, let me interpret.

Lemonaid stab/stand in Texas.

Call me Philip.

#3 Get in shape!

I gained some weight over the summer. It was too hot to do anything so we spent a lot of time couching & snacking.

I had to give up my beloved Ben & Jerry's, very tough.

I'm trying to satisfy my sweet tooth with low-cal treats.

If anyone has good recipes please share!

Feeling Wicked??

2011-08-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

I always know there's 2 sure fire signs
that Fall is coming,
school started today for the kids
& registration opened last week for

A Wicked Tea!

I'm so excited to be teaching again alongside

Ann Denise & Sandra Feazel!

Here's the project I'll be teaching:

Cindy is such a talented & generous person.

Her art events are awesome,

no detail is left undone.

The howling begins on

Saturday, October 15

(gosh I hope it's under 100 degrees by then).

I think the event is half full already,

so don't wait too long to sign up!

It was so fun last year.

Cindy and AD used their magic

to transform a little cottage

into a feast for all the senses.

The decorations were over the top,

the food...was scrumptious

& the classes were pretty cool too!

Ann Denise decided decorating that little cottage

wasn't challenging enough,

so now the party's been moved to her house.

I cannot even imagine what she will do.

Can't wait to see it all!

We did some serious celebrating last week.

These babies turned 6!!!!!!!

I can hardly believe it.

They were so tiny when they arrived in this world 8 weeks early.

I have been following Alice W. & little Hazel's story

on the blogs & FB.

It takes me back to such a frightening but miraculous time.

All of you who have premies in your life know what I mean.

But each day they grew stronger & one by one came home.

And things have never been the same!

Happy Birthday Lily Owen & Philip,

Love you all...Mom.

Now that school's started back

it's time to get back in the groove ~

I have so much planned for the fall so stay tuned!!

counting down to fall

2011-08-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

In spite of this horrendous heat, I had a momentary burst of creativity.

Out of town guests are arriving this weekend to celebrate the kids birthday. After our 'shut in summer' I'm working hard to clean & 'hoosh away the wreckage.

A couple of months ago I racked up at Laurie Anna's,

I bought one of these baskets & a sparkly chandelier.

If you've been to Laurie Anna's Vintage Home then you know how magical her vignettes are.

If you haven't, I did a post about her here.

I love her lighting ideas.

So I did a little layering of my own.

I'm looking for a wire hamper to use, but until then I'm using an old tattered shade.

Then I embellished the basket to create a welcoming front door.

Our house number is hard to see,

not anymore!

Sweet vintage tots, some sheet music & dried up flowers from my garden.

(Laurie Anna's flowers were prettier)

So are you keeping cool?

Are you looking forward to fall?

Cool things on a hot day

2011-07-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Things are a ~~little~~ crazy here after 100 days of 3 digit weather.

Okay, maybe not 100 days, but it seems like it!

I'm not sure how many days because I'm too weak to find the remote & turn to the news.

So what can we do inside on a hot day?

Design & build a spaceship to catapult us somewhere cool

- of course!

I think you could build a spaceship with duct tape!

(my kids do wear shirts, I promise.)

While the kids were busy exploring the galaxy, I unwrapped some great gifts~

Boxes from Dawn are incredible.

Every item packed so carefully.

There is some history behind wonderfully tattered wedding shoes.

Let's just say that I've admired them from afar for ages,

& now they're mine!

I will leave this pile here on my desk for weeks I think. I will just sit & stare at it.

The little elf shoes are the cutest things I've ever seen!

They are so teeny. I just love them.

Dawn has a tutorial on her blog if you want to make little shoes.

So many little bits of nature, lace & vintage goodies, all in perfect 'low color'.

Speaking of 'low color'.....

Beth, Miss Low Color herself, sent this amazing Autumn colored collage.

Can't believe she used this beautiful book cover.

Sewing, inking so many elements layered on. We are about to begin work on a special sewing themed project. This collage will certainly inspire me along the way.

Yesterday something totally unexpected arrived on my door step. Overseas postage hum............

It was from Tina!

This idea is so clever, Tina flipped a tiny lampshade upside down & turned it into a basket.

Trimmed in laces, handle wrapped in ribbon & a prism dangling from the bottom.

Precious!

She also packed the basket with these lovely trims.

Thank you friends, I love it all!

A couple of packages left the house too.

A couple belated birthdays.

Spoiler alert*

On a trip to the mall I found & bought up all these

velvet frame backs.

Perfectly faded from years in a window sill.

Can you tell I'm ready for fall?

The fern in back is encased in wax.

It sat in my car for days waiting on me to bring it to the post office. Gosh I hope it doesn't look like a melted birthday candle by the time she receives it!

I'm linking up with Debra & all the other's for

Vintage Inspiration Friday.

Wishing you all a nice cool, breezy weekend!

Where Bloggers Create III

2011-07-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

I love my art room.

Sometimes I call it my studio to sound professional, it's actually our dining room.

I needed an art room much more than a formal dining room.

A place I can go to forget the stress of the day & get lost in a whole other world.

Sometimes I dream of having a 'real studio'.
A big room, separate from the rest of the house.
But for now my room is perfect.

It's in the center of the house, close to the kitchen & living room.

I can play with my toys while the kids play with theirs.

With 3 little ones, I get my art fix when I can.
But my favorite, most creative time of day is early morning before anyone is awake.
My head is clear & the house is silent.

I can, & do whittle away hours looking thru my drawers,

boxes ,

& suitcases

searching for the perfect element to complete a project.

There are some pieces that are just to precious to me,

I don't think I could ever use them.

I just like to take them out & stare.

Shelves filled with gifts from sweet friends,

things I've made,

and many,

many,

collections.

Thank you Karen for once again organizing this awesome party. Every year I look forward to poking around your studios.
So I'm off to snoop!
Thanks for stopping by.

Camping in Broken Bow

2011-07-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

Back to the real world.

After 6 days of sun & fun, we've returned with suntans, new friends, bug bites, lots of memories & 5 hefty lawn bags of stinky laundry!

I'd say our vacation was a great success!

The kids were in heaven.

They played from the minute they woke up, until the last firefly was captured.

Those days will forever be burned into our memories.

The park was packed with families celebrating the holiday.

There were so many kids to play with & so many new things to experience.

Like tubing.

And horseback riding,

& Lily rode her bike for the first time...........

sans training wheels!

Beaver Bend State Park is gorgeous.

Mountains, lakes, creeks, lots of hiking trails for nature watching.

The weather was hot, 100+ everyday.

One afternoon there was a terrible storm, we were in town shopping thank goodness. We had to take cover from hail & high winds.

I would not have been a happy camper inside our little trailer with 3 kids.

Soon it passed & left behind the most amazing sunset.

Even Owen was impressed.

In fact, I didn't hear the phrase 'that's boring' all week!

We ate pretty good too!

I tell myself I'm losing weight when we camp.

All the hiking, biking & working....

Truth be told the s'mores, ice cream & campfire cobbler negates all that exercise.

Oh but that food tastes so good when cooked outside!

I was all prepared to do some art on our trip, but I found myself quite happy in my chair doing nothing.

The kids were pretty creative tho.

The scrap fabric I brought came in handy for the 'arrowheads' the boys made.

I promise we're not part of some militia,

I'm thinking it's a boy thing.

When the boys wern't batteling aliens, Lily had them baking cakes in her 'workshop'.

I did eventually get out of my chair to go into town for provisions. While I was there I found an antique mall!

A vacation's not a vacation unless you bring home some junk!

The prices were great.

This awesome book was $1.

If you ever find yourself in Southeast Oklahoma, check out Beaver Bend State Park.

art supplies

2011-06-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

I love art supplies.

When I hear about something new I can't wait to get my hands on it & play!

I also love it when I can replicate the results with things I already have on hand.

A couple of weeks ago I bought this amazing tissue paper by 7gypsies.

As you can tell by the price tag it's not cheap, but just a little bit in the right project is beautiful.

I used some in the windows on this journal page.

When I finish I think it will look pretty cool.

I like to make my own tissue paper using this simple method I learned from Hanne Matthiesen.

Tape a deli sheet to a piece of copy paper. Make sure to tape it down carefully so it doesn't get caught in your printer.

I copy book pages, journals, anything, it's awesome!

At Paper Cowgirl fellow teacher Shelley Massey introduced me to PenPastels.

I think they've been around for awhile, don't know how I missed them!

I love the consistency & the way they blend on so many surfaces.

I waxed my homemade tissue paper onto cardboard, then applied the PenPastel over the top.

It works go great on wax!

Next I copied this gorgeous picture & used color pencil to add highlights.

Using beeswax I covered her with my tissue paper & added even more depth with the PanPastel.

I'm really happy with the results.

I switched it up on this one, placing the photo on top.

I know this was a short post but the kids are about to explode with excitement.

We're on our way to Broken Bow, OK for a week of camping!

Have a great week!

My Paper Cowgirl Post

2011-06-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Another amazing Paper Cowgirl weekend has come & gone.
Once again Cindy outdid herself.

Paper Cowgirls are the coolest...

& classiest girls around!
Also they are uber talented!

Ann-Denise sculpted this amazing gown from over 400 coffee filters!

Pretty cool, huh?

My class went off without a hitch.

I had expert help setting up,
Beth 'hooshed' my table,

& Karla doodled it up.

I think everyone liked their kits.

They started like this.

Don't they look neat all together?

Then after a little wax & fire...

Each box represented techniques I taught in the class.

We managed to burn wax & fibers without setting off the smoke alarms.
(I promise we were not in the classroom Cindy!)

Everyone made the most amazing projects!

See what I mean?

My sweet friend Lisa made this little book for me,

All the girls signed it for me, it's a beautiful keepsake from my weekend.
Thank you so much to everyone who took my class I hope you learned something you can apply to your work.

I always come away from Waxahachie with a big haul, this year was no different.

Zinc engravings from Neat Stuff in McKinney.

Lovely trims from Debbie & Beth.

Alabaster birds & lovely lace.

I bought about 10 of these scrapbook pages.
The pictures are so playful & the captions in white ink are wonderful!

Sweet Jamie was at vendor night again, & the line was 3 deep!

It was like a clearance sale at Magnolia Pearl!

Had to show these again because they are so killer!

Debbie & Cat has 100s of these slides, I can't wait to create something cool with them.

Well that's it for now.

I'm back to full time Mother-hood so I'm sweating at the pool,

making Mario Bros costumes & cooking up a storm.

Stay cool & have fun this weekend!