inspiration monday - Happy Memorial Day!

with grateful hearts,

we remember the fallen heroes

who have fought for our freedoms......

and pray for those who

so bravely continue to do so.

wishing you a wonderful memorial day!

hello, blue birdie

i read recently that the blue bird is a symbol of happiness.....and i'm wondering if the person who wrote that was looking at this paper at the time......

because it has doodle-happy written all over it.....

and you can write all kinds of doodle-happy inside, too!

have a fantastic weekend!!!

you can read more about this birdie journal here in my etsy shop

wire and fabric and paper, oh my!

i was cruising the aisles at hobby lobby yesterday and i came to a screeching halt when i spied this.....a sturdy wire holder that holds three nifty wire baskets. it stands about 32" tall, and when the curved wire hooks on the sides of the baskets are inserted into the round loops on the stand.....

it looks like this! and when those baskets are filled with all of the rainbow-fabric-bliss from my stash.....

it looks like this!! it's my absolute new favorite storage solution!! and the best news is i didn't have to use that 40%-off coupon that was burning a hole in my pocket.....it was already marked at 50% off!!!

so, how did i end up using my 40%-off coupon?

well, even though my paper stash overfloweth,

sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.....

scRappy journal cover finale

the scrappiness continues.....are you getting tired of orange and yellow, yet?!! to finish the inside covers of my new journal, i used the same acrylic paints as for the outside covers (i used golden quinacridone gold and quinacridone burnt orange). on the front inside cover, i decided to paint a circle right in the middle of the page.....

and when the paint was dry, i went back and turned the circle into a doodle-flower using my favorite white pen......i like the idea of adding a "custom bookplate" to this journal!

and for the inside back cover, i used the same paints, but this time i painted a rectangle down at the bottom of the paper.....

and added a little message using my white pen.

now to start working on all of those yummy pages inside!

i've had such a good time creating this little journal......thanks SO much for joining me in the process! and i always, always, always thank you for your very sweet and encouraging comments!!! xoxo

scrappy happiness, part two

i had so much fun creating my little orange and yellow scrappy journal, i decided to ride the inspiration wave and go ahead and finish the front and back covers. i tend to keep my artwork on the very simple side (sometimes almost painfully simple!), so i thought i'd keep my color palette to just two tubes of acrylic paints.....my favorite colors being quinacridone gold and quinacridone burnt orange. and boy, oh boy, does the fabriano artistico paper ever take the paint beautifully!

after the paint dried, i distressed the edges using a foam applicator and a "fired brick" distress ink pad.

next, i used a large heart shape that had been punched out of one of the decorative papers with a scalloped-edge paper punch.......and wrote the journal title using a micron pen.....and then punched a smaller heart next to the title. finally, i used a needle to poke small holes around the perimeter of the heart and did some stitching using one strand of cotton embroidery floss.

for the final touches, i glued the heart onto the front cover, used a white uniball signo pen to add some doodling to both covers, and shaded everything with a 4B pencil.

and now that the front and back covers are finished, it's time to add some sparkle to the inside covers.....more on that tomorrow!

inspiration monday

in the war of quantity versus quality, i would say that i've got it won on both counts where my paper stash is concerned. i've got a lot of it.....and i love it all! i love it so much, in fact, that my collection has grown to the point of no return. so yesterday i took a deep breath and did a nose dive right into my stash.....over on the deep end where all of the orange and yellow lovelies were hanging out......

and created this scrappy journal with them! i wasn't sure how i wanted the covers to look, so i used yummy 140lb. fabriano artistico cold press paper.....it's folded in half and glued together, making it super stiff and sturdy. this way i can go back when inspiration strikes and use acrylics, watercolors, pastels, or maybe collage.....or maybe all of these

things(?).....to make it really fun looking!

in the meantime, i can also start playing on the inside! i can tear some of those pages down a bit more.....or use some of my paper punches to make some neat patterns in the paper.....or maybe hand-sew some more paper bits to add a little texture.....or just start doodling.....or add some rub-ons from my ever-growing rub-on collection......

and when i want to jot down a few thoughts, there's lots of crisp white 70lb. paper tucked in there for some writing, too! the perfect place to put wonder into words, and playful inspiration into concrete ideas!

and now i'm wondering if the orange and yellow pretties in my stash have made me this happy, maybe i should take a dive into the blue and green section and see what happens......

journal finished using a variety of decorative papers, 70lb. writing paper, fabriano artistico 140lb. cold press paper, pva glue, waxed linen thread

when second becomes first

i have so many things on my to-do list today......porches to be swept, flowers to be watered, a house that needs to be cleaned, groceries to be bought, errands to be run, a neighborhood garage sale that i need to prepare for (notice how that's last on my list.....ughhh)......

but i've decided that i much prefer the idea of baking some chocolate chip mini muffins. and calling my mom. and then maybe doodling some doodles. and binding some new journals.....

so, here's to all of those things on our second list becoming first on our life list! happy weekend to you!

spread the light

there are two ways of spreading the light:

to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

edith wharton

journal page finished using acrylic paints, micron pens, 4B pencil, uniball signo white pen

click on image for larger view

ask a simple question.....

it started out quite innocently.....with just a simple question of "i wonder what would happen if i moved that cubby storage unit out of my studio closet". and before i knew it, my dutch sweetie and i were moving furniture, not only across the room, but out of the room.....and moving furniture from other rooms into my studio. ask a simple question, and you get an unplanned studio-reorganization. although i must admit it was worth the work (and the bruises on my legs).......this little dresser was nice in the spare bedroom, but it's SO much nicer in my studio!

and just so i won't forget what i've put in all of those drawers, i labeled them. (i'll probably still forget where things are, but the tags look really cute.....)

and while i was at it, i decided to try and make some sense out of my work table. i don't expect everything to be neat all the time, but i do expect to be able to find a ruler when i need one! i found this little holder at a going-out-of-business sale.....i love it because it's nice and wide, and i can see everything.....now that i know where my glasses are!

this little planter box is a simple solution for my magazines......and i'm tickled pink over the fact that they're all in one place now!

and here's my new favorite thing......i found this nifty ribbon holder on sale at michael's, and i love it! those spools of rainbow happiness look so fabulous all lined up next to each other! and the really good news is......it looks like there's some extra room on the bottom rod to put more! woo hoo!!

inspiration monday

sweet bloggy inspiration.....

here are just a few of my favorite spots:

{want to make some cute cards? kristina will show you how...}

{martha stewart does it all......here are some good things from her crafts department}

{beautiful photography, simple stories, & two friends living 3191 miles apart}

{see what olivia has in her field journal}

{bakerella does sweet stuff right}

{visiting corey makes me want to move to france}

{one word: crescendoh!}

{andrea joseph takes the ball point pen to the genius level!}

{whimsical.colorful.happiness......all at carolyn gavin's}

and for even more inspiration, check out my list of

favorite places in my bloggy sidebar!

busy hands equals happy heart

there are lots of times when i have the desire to be creative, but my day only allows me about 20 minutes to be creative. those are the times where i'll pull out my watercolor pencils and putter around in my journal, or grab my camera and run out into the garden to see what's waiting for me there.

but then other times, my fingers will start getting that itch-to-stitch, so here's a quick way to keep the fingers nimble and the creative spirit satisfied:

take one of your favorite rubber stamps (if you have extra time, you can carve one....watch this!) and stamp the image onto cotton fabric. then embellish with your favorite stitches using embroidery floss, cotton threads, bead string, or whatever suits your fancy! it's easy and it's quick.....and when you're done you'll have a sweet little something to add to the front of a card or your favorite journal.....or place some fabric behind it, sew around the edges, add ribbon to the top and you've made yourself a cute little ornie......or place the fabric in a wooden embroidery hoop, trim the fabric around the edges close to the hoop, and hang it on the wall! have fun!

this project was created using cotton fabric, hand-carved heart stamps, ink pads, and cotton threads.

white

mother's day rose from spencie and sue

favorite ceramic plate

treasure from a stitchin' sister

table treats from my little dutch sweetie

craft room must-haves

*i love white.

i think it's the unsung hero in the crayon box.

*it's pure, it's genuine, it's clean, it's uncomplicated.

*white is the official color of angel clothing.

*it can be cold as ice or warm incandescent light.

*it gets along beautifully with every color on the color wheel.

*and it even tastes great in chocolate form. :))

reach high

reach high....

reach higher than you've ever reached.....

stand on a super-tall-ladder

if you need to ........

and stretch your go-go-gadget arms

as far as they'll stretch.....

and after you've grabbed a handful of stars.....

keep reaching for the moon.....

you can find more info about this mini doodle quiltie here in my etsy shop

inspiration monday

inspiration comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. and when i received this box from my brother jeff, a master craftsman jeweler and artist, i realized that inspiration and happiness definitely come in the form of a little yellow box with a champagne colored bow tied around it......

because when i opened it, this is what was smiling back at me.....

a "vaguely familiar" heart-in-hand pendant that he created using the lost wax casting method and sterling silver. jeff has included fun details all over this little goodie, and i just love the contrast of texture with the etched silver and that delicious glossy red heart!

and it's just as spectacular on the back, too!

jeff carried the theme one step further and carved the word "love" into the silver....but, it doesn't stop there.....

to make it even more personal,

he carved the word "elvie" into the bail as it wraps around the leather cord! is he a genius, or what?!!

there's no doubt about it......this is just-plain-over-the-top-fabulous! wearing this little pendant makes me feel SO happy, SO inspired, SO me......and SO truly blessed to have a brother who would use his multi-talents, and the extremely small amount of spare time that he has, to create something that would bring me SO much pure and absolute joy!!

thank you so much, jaffro.....my heart is swollen-the-size-of-texas!!

xox

happy mother's day!

flowers have the sun,

and children have their mothers.

wishing you a beautiful mother's day!

etsy dandelions

i received an e-mail from sweet patty saying that she had seen this beautiful treasury featuring my dandelion journal......on the etsy front page!!! i'm as giddy as a schoolgirl!!!

congratulations to the very talented benjamin, over at apple tailor, who curated this gorgeous dandelion treasury.....and wooo hooo to all of the etsians who were featured!!!

and most of all.....thank you SO much benjamin for including my journal....

you've made my day!!!

you can see this fabulous treasury up close here!

garden of happiness

he who plants a garden plants happiness.

to all of you who take the time to stop by this little spot in cyberspace.....

to all of you who share your big beautiful bloggy smile.....

to all of you sweet-little-purple-flowers-with-yellow-centers in my bloggy garden...

thank you.....you make my heart happy!

confession time

well, i must confess that i didn't get very far with my studio re-org yesterday.....as a matter of fact, if i'm brutally-honest-oprah-tell-all:

i only worked for about an hour.

i decided to make this mini doodle quiltie instead. my studio is still a disaster, but i figure that if i had taken the time to clean it yesterday, it would already be a mess today....so see how much time i saved myself?!

this mini rainbow is in my etsy shop here.

inspiration monday

i don't pretend to be a neatnik, but when my studio starts to rival scenes on "world's scariest tornado aftermaths", i know i'm in trouble. part of the problem in cleaning all of this up is knowing where to start: like maybe adding all of this fabric to my stash (but then do i also have to organize the stash?!).....

or tackling these overflowing baskets of ribbons and yarns (if i'm brave enough to reach all the way back into that scary dark area....yikes!)......

or finally finding a home for all of these tubes of beads.....

(but rest assured, i won't be spending the three full weeks that would be necessary to untangle that nest of bead string!)

and then there's the stacks of books and magazines that seem to be lurking everywhere......

and the paper.

oh.....my......goodness.

the paper.

okay, i'm overwhelmed!!

but i am somewhat inspired by how fabulous it will look......

when i'm all finished finding the perfect spot for all of this stuff.

i just hope i can remember where i'm putting everything.....

grow strong

this is another little doodle quiltie that i created using inspiration from one of my journals. i'm always looking for projects where i can combine lots of different things that i love to do, and these doodle quilties seem to fit the mold!

this quiltie is a little smaller than the others, but still has lots of hand-stitching, beading, hand-carved stamping, and i even snuck some of my painted dryer sheets into the leaf layers....

grow strong!

you can read more about this quiltie here in my etsy shop