inspiration monday

kristina werner  makes really fabulous cards and she's very generous in sharing them with us in her weekly "make a card monday"  videos.  and along with that, she's created a holiday card series, giving us "25 days of Christmas" card ideas!!   this card from day 18 is super cute and has totally inspired me to break out my holiday papers and start playing!  i hope it brings you heaps of happy inspiration too!
(you can watch this video in larger format here at you tube)

you can see kristina's other holiday designs here 
(and make sure you sign up for her fantastic prize pack giveaway!!)
and if you'd like to see her card designs from her holiday series 2009, click here!

p.s.  lots of activities last week took me away from my computer, so it's been a while since i've visited you.....i'm so sorry!!  i'm looking forward to getting back into the bloggy swing of things and seeing what you've been up to!! xo

so thankful for you!!

"there is a calmness to 

a life lived in gratitude,

a quiet joy."

ralph blum

wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving!

xox

inspiration monday

remember when we were kids, and Thanksgiving week rolled around and we would make those turkeys by tracing our hands in school.......and then we'd take them home and our moms would proudly attach them to the fridge using about twenty magnets?!  well, i was thinking about that, and i decided to be a kid again.....but instead of tracing my hand, i used my all-time favorite heart-in-hand and had a little gobbledy good fun......

do you think it's "fridge-worthy"?!  

 heeheehee

the other reveal

i've had a little feedback that the pictures of my artwork in yesterday's post were a little small to see......i didn't have too much success trying to photograph the pictures in the book, with the glare on the page, and on and on.  so, i'd like to share some photos that were taken before i sent the artwork off to the publishing house last year!

"keys to a happy home"

materials:  provided "swap fabrics", brads, house keys, beads, thread, 

batting, buttons, sharpie pen for lettering

"inspiration garden"

materials:  hand-carved stamps, stamp ink pads,  batik fabrics,  

letter stamp set, batting, thread, beads, buttons

"live, laugh, love"

(this is a photo of the page before it went into the round robin book)

materials:  page template, batik fabrics, batting, seed beads, buttons, 

hand-lettering, computer lettering, thread

thank you all SO much for your sweet comments......

i sincerely appreciate every e-hug that you've sent!!!

hope you have a great weekend!!

xox

secrets revealed

oh.....my......gosh......

it's here!!!!

after months and months of creating and waiting, this fabulous book that chrissie grace has authored is finally here!!!

right now i'm feeling like a giddy schoolgirl who just found out that recess has been extended by 15 minutes, and when we come in there's chocolate cupcakes for everyone!!!

and now i can finally reveal some of the projects that i was working on last year....

project #1:  this is the project where a group of seven of us each purchased a yard of fabric and sent it to chrissie.  she then cut each yard into equal pieces, and then mailed a package back to each of us that contained one piece of each participants' fabric.  then we all created our own projects with the fabrics that were provided (you can read more background here).  i created a little wall quiltie entitled "keys to a happy home".

one of the many things that i love about this book is that the photography is excellent, and each step shows a photo so that you can make one of these yourself!  there's even a little diagram to show placement of the pieces!

project #2:  this is another little quiltie that i lovingly call "inspiration garden".  for this project, i used hand carved stamps for the flowers, leaves, and vine background.  the instructions are included for this one, too!

and the third project that i was honored to participate in was the round robin book.  the theme was "she said" (see more here) and this photo shows only a small sampling of the participants (my page is the third from the left, the one with the hearts).....but let me tell you, this round robin book is an absolute masterpiece!!!  i was especially treated because my name was the last on the list to receive the book.....so i got to see what everyone else had already done!!  my little dutch sweetie chuckled at me because when i first took it out of the box,  it was just like handling a newborn baby!!  it truly is a special artpiece.....and chrissie provides a template in the book if you're interested in creating one of these structures for yourself!

i could go on and on about what a spectacular job chrissie has done in coordinating all of these artists and projects!  and i'll forever be thankful for the opportunity to participate in such a once-in-a-lifetime project......this has been such a sweet, sweet blessing!!!  

thank you, chrissie......and congrats to every artist who participated!

you can read more about this book on amazon here !

please click on images for a larger view!

inspiration monday

"there are always flowers for those who want to see them."

henri matisse

here's to nurturing the beautiful inspiration garden

that's growing in your heart!

wishing you a wonderfully creative monday!

journal page finished using acrylic paints, pan pastel, micron pens, 

uniball signo white gel pen, 4B pencil

gingham birdie

i stumbled upon this sweet stamp set over at hobby lobby the other day, and immediately fell in love with this fabulous gingham birdie.  and the fact that i had a 40% off coupon burning a hole in my jeans pocket made the decision easy that this little cutie was coming home with me! 

 after we got home, it was time to get acquainted with each other, so i stamped the image onto a piece of scrap fabric.....

and then i gave him some much needed legs (they're long and lean, just like i wish mine were.....) and a wing that was a former tear-shaped shell button, along with a black bead for an eye.  but no gingham birdie is complete without a happy garden to wander in, so i stitched some colorful french knot flower buds to make him feel right at home.  

and now that we're good friends,  i might even show this little birdie where my chocolate stash is......well, maybe.....

hope you have a great weekend!

DQ happiness

it's wednesday afternoon......

could there be a better reason to celebrate the crowned jewel of brazier foods?!!

happy pnutbuster parfait to you!!!

:))

inspiration monday

okay, so technically martha's birthday isn't until tomorrow......but when you have a dear friend who inspires you as much as martha inspires me, that's worth getting the party started a little early, don't you think?!!!

 most of you already know martha as an extremely talented and accomplished artist, but did you know that she's also an absolutely gorgeous child of God, has a heart the size of texas, is a fabulous listener, will cheer you on like there's no tomorrow,  will tickle your funny bone with her witty sense of humor, is an absolute blast to go to calligraphy workshops with,  and can draw and paint like one of the masters (i know that falls into the "extremely talented and accomplished artist" category, but there are some things that could never be stressed enough!)?!!  

martha, your friendship is such a sweet, precious blessing,

and i celebrate you not only today, but every day!!

much love and happiness to you always, birthday girl!!!

xoxo

want to wish martha an early birthday?! click here!

artwork finished using micron pens, watercolor pencils, handcarved thumbud stamp, 4B pencil

play happy

in order to push through this "limbo thing" i've been going through, i decided that the best thing i could do for myself was to stop thinking, and just start doing.  so, i went to all of those secret-stash-spots in my studio and started pulling out things......things that i loved, in colors that i loved.  i knew that i probably wouldn't use everything, but just the act of pawing through my supplies began to inspire me......

and before i knew it, i had created this!  

i cut apart some chair tassels and whimsical brads and used them for the center of the flowers, and then just layered some of my favorite fabrics  (the yellow layer in the middle is actually a piece of card stock) and did a little distressing on the edges to give it more texture.  and then i decided with all of that wonderful dimension in the flowers, that the letters looked flat, so i used my 4B pencil to add some shading, and to my surprise, the pencil worked great on muslin!  i also discovered that pan pastels can be used on fabric (i added a bit of color around the edges of the fabric).

but the most important discovery i made for myself is this:

stop thinking.  

start playing more.

keep playing more.  

play every day. 

 and play happy.

xox

starting point

i've been going through this "thing" lately that i want to do something......i just don't know what that something is.  i don't function well when i'm in limbo.....i get impatient.  and then my impatience can lead to frustration......and i warned frustration a long time ago that it isn't allowed across the threshold of my studio door.  

so, i've decided that my limbo/impatience/hovering frustration might be my creative self's way of letting me know that maybe it's time to do a little "let go, and let grow".....maybe it's time to do something a little different.  so, today i've put away my journal, my papers, and my glue stick and i got out a piece of muslin fabric.  and you probably know me well enough to know that if i'm gonna let go, i'm gonna let-grow-happy.....and for me, happy comes in the shape of letterforms.....happy letterforms.......using a new pilot fabric pen that has japanese lettering all over it.

i'm not really sure where this piece is going yet......time to start rummaging through my growing collections of "essential supplies" and hopefully add a bit more happy to this.....

inspiration monday

 my friend donna owns the most spectacular rubber stamp store .  not too long ago, she showed me a wonderful card structure.....

and i thought it would be perfect to make one for our friends who have just welcomed their first baby into the world!  it's really kind of two cards in one.....the smaller piece on the front opens from left to right......

and the larger piece opens from right to left......to reveal a sweet message inside!

and this version contains a little gift card inside!
here's how to make it.....

i've made a quick little video showing the steps.....it's super easy to put these together, and it only takes about five minutes!  have fun!!

you can watch this video in larger format here!

card dimensions:
larger card:  cut one piece 4.25" x 9.5"
score at 4" from the left side
smaller card:  2.75" x 7.5"
score at 3.75"