art house

when the art-to-the-5th gals revealed this week's challenge to draw a house….

i went a little crazy with my art supplies…..

and came up with my own version of a fun little art house!
{and there's a bonus room inside with belgian chocolate tucked away,
because all well-designed art houses have a special spot
for the chocolate stash,  you know.  heeheehee}

i hope you have lots of time to
make really awesome stuff this weekend!!  xox

{supplies for this week's DLP challenge:
moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 lb HP paper, 
derwent inktense pencils, micron and pitt artist pens, pan pastel,
washi tape, 6B and 4B graphite pencils}

inspiration monday

here's a great way to take a journal page and turn it into something new!
first,  look through your journals and find a simple design,
and then scan it into your computer.
(i changed my design to black and white for the transfer.)

then, following the directions on the package,
print your artwork onto a piece of sticky fabri-solvy by sulky.

now, just peel off the backing paper, and stick it onto a piece of fabric.
(here,  i've used a piece of cotton flour sack)

now choose your favorite stitches…..

and add all your favorite colors of thread and other fun stuff!

once you're done stitching, rinse the fabric in warm water
until the fabri-solvy dissolves.  let your fabric dry and iron it, if needed.
at this point, you can call it finished…..

or you can take it a step further and add some more color directly to the fabric!
here, i've used a watercolor crayon:  draw a small amount of color onto the
fabric and use a waterbrush, sparingly, to activate the color.  if you add too
much water, it will bleed out into the surrounding areas.
i added a bit of water to the color, and then i dried it immediately
with a heat gun to keep it from bleeding out.
continue adding as much color as you like…..

and reward yourself with a nice piece of chocolate
for taking a page from your journal, and turning it into
something that you can enjoy as a wall hanging or
maybe even sew it into a sweet little pillow!

to see a complete demonstration of the fabri-solvy, click here!

{supplies:  sulky sticky fabri-solvy,  cotton fabric,
assorted embroidery floss, orange seed beads, needle,
lyra aquacolor crayon, waterbrush}


✭✭✭

happy memorial day to all my friends here in America!
we remember all those who have sacrificed to protect our freedoms!
xox

the little moments

here's to all the little moments in life
that make our hearts smile!


{this page was created in my moleskine planner for the
week twenty-one DLP challenge to use embroidery floss on our page.
other supplies:  fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper, pitt pens,
derwent watercolor pencils, 6B graphite pencil,
assorted embroidery floss, needle, washi tape}

inspiration monday

when i was a kid in school, i took home economics instead

of art classes, and i discovered waaaay back then

that i truly love to sew.

and even though i started out sewing clothes for my barbies and my troll dolls,

my favorite thing to do now is create fun things for our home. 

so when i found this free tutorial over at craftsy,  my fingers 

started itching to get stitching again!

this sweet little bucket bag was super easy to put together…..

and there's lots of special pockets on the outside  

to hold lots of special and important stuff.

 so now, my journals and all those other things that inspire me

 are never too far away! 

{click here for a free craftsy bucket bag tutorial….

signing up for an account using an e-mail address is required,

but this class is free!}

{bucket bag fabric:  mill creek/crosby blackout and mustard polka dot }

words sweet as honey

the documented life project challenge for this week is
 to use a rubber stamp in a new way, and after thinking about it for a
looong time, i finally came up with an idea!  so, i got out some favorite stamps….

and then i cut a "mask" out of a piece of tracing paper.

then i used washi tape to hold it in place on my watercolor paper…..

and i started stamping inside the opening with
one of the stamps from this stamp set.

i wanted to create something that looks like a vintage bee-keep,
so i used a waterbrush to move the water-based ink around
and then i added a bit more color with a derwent watercolor pencil.

next, i needed some bees for the bee-keep,
so i drew a simple bee shape and then i used one of the heart stamps
from this set to create the wings.
(i also covered part of the bee when i stamped,
since i didn't need the entire heart shape)

then i defined them a bit more by using a pitt pen.

finally, i added all my favorite details, and…..
challenge complete!



{supplies:  moleskine planner, fabriano artistico 140 HP paper, 
"positive strokes" by paper smooches,  crushed curry ink pad by stampin' up,
"i made this" set by technique tuesday, derwent inktense pencils, pitt pens,
5B graphite pencil, white pilot "choose" pen, pan pastel}

inspiration monday

i'm a firm believer that inspiration can be found anywhere.

all you have to do is think about what makes you really happy…..

and most of all,
follow your heart.

and before you know it,  the doors of inspiration will open to you
where you didn't even know they existed!


{supplies:  walls notebook, pan pastel, sakura gelly roll pens, pitt pens,
derwent inktense pencils,  8B graphite pencils, white pilot choose pen}

celebrating mom

today, i'm not only celebrating my mom's favorite things
{including this song she used to sing to us when i was a kid}….

i'm also celebrating the fact that she's one of my dearest friends.

but most of all, i'm celebrating YOU, mom….
not only today, but every day!
happy Mother's day!  i love you!  xox


 sending big, chocolate-covered hugs to all you bloggy moms….
enjoy your special day!


{supplies:  fabriano medioevalis paper, derwent inktense pencils,
pitt artist pens, 6B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

hello, bloggy sweeties!
i had a wonderful little break, and this gorgeous weather
has had me channeling spring flowers!

this is the perfect time of year to add some spring-bling to
 a journal page, and to me, there's nothing better than
a spray of blue and pink happiness to brighten things up!

(and if you're going to do blue and pink, you've got to add some
purple-happy in there too, right?)

i've never had much luck growing the perfect garden outside,
so i'm very thankful that my paintbrush and calligraphy nibs
can help me create one in my journal!

enjoy this day, and have a fabulous, creative week!  xox


{this page in my moleskine planner was created for the 
DLP week eighteen challenge to write an inspiring quote.  
supplies:  fabriano artistico 140 HP paper, derwent inktense pencils,
pitt and micron pens, 6B graphite pencil, koi watercolor, washi tape}

garden of happiness {elvie-encore-post #7}

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!  xox

{happy may-day, mom!  love you!} 

{i'm currently on a little bloggy break...this is an encore presentation 

of a post originally featured on may 5, 2010}