Happy Anniversary....

Have been too busy to do any artwork lately but today my hubby and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. Yesterday we were chatting about it and scratching our heads, just WHERE has that time gone?! We had the most beautiful wedding day you could ever imagine and I remember it as if it were just yesterday. Anyways, this morning he surprised me with roses and a very sentimental card. You've changed my life too honey;) Love you and hope you have a great day!

Birds on my brain...lol!

I've been having so much fun with this new 7-Gypsies paper (Conservatory - Aviary) that I decided to make a book on bird study:) I started out with a Maya Road birdcage chipboard book. I painted portions of it with gesso and then went over parts of it with Claudine Hellmuth's studio acrylic paint (love this stuff!) in yellow pastel. Then I cut some papers and added them along with bird images and torn paper from the same line. Added some Maya Road ribbons and some Kaisercraft flowers. So fun! All items are available at my favorite scrapbooking store - Hannahs in Antioch, IL. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for stopping by!!!

Fun Project :)

Had a little creative time recently and made this vertical banner for my favorite scrapbooking store - Hannahs (Antioch, IL). It's made with the new 7-Gypsies paper "Conservatory Collection - Aviary" that I was so anxious to work with. A very simple, inexpensive and fun project for those of you who love birds like I do:) It's just the thing to hang on a door or on your wall. This would even be a great project for kids to make as a gift for their teacher, now that school will be back in session. Hope you have some time to make something creative yourself....Thanks for stopping by!

Published - 'Take Ten'

To my surprise the other day, the Autumn 2010 issue of "Take Ten" arrived in my mailbox. I had submitted this card for an upcoming issue of 'The Stampers Sampler' but somehow it ended up in TT on pg. 13....lol! Here is a photo of it before I submitted to the zine. I apologize for my lack of photography skills but it was late when I took the shot and not much good lighting available. The image is from www.digitalcollagesheets.com and the background stamp from 'Stamp Camp'.

Now, no teasing that it's in my favorite color Again...pink.) Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by:)

Love it!!!!

When my friend Linda and I went to CHA a few weeks ago, I spotted some bakers twine in a vendors booth. I wasn't quite sure what colors I wanted so I passed on buying some. Then a week later I could have kicked myself in the pants for not doing so:( However, after a bit of searching I found this awesome website. They now carry bakers twine and it's only .15 a yard! Yep, what a deal. I ordered a few colors and it arrived in my mailbox in just a couple days. Needless to say I LOVE IT!!!! In the past I purchased some Martha Stewart bakers twine at Micheals but this beats it by a margin. It's thicker and more sturdy plus comes in some fabulous colors. So.....if you are aching to find this in the stores and can't, just visit this site - www.reasonableribbons.com. Bonnie (the owner), carries it in wonderful colors such as orange, lemon, aqua, black, apple, cherry, cotton candy and oyster. JUST LOVE IT!!!! She also has some amazing ribbons too. More goodies to buy and stuff to hide in my art room. Shhhh...don't tell my hubby...lol! Have a great weekend everyone:)

Great weekend!

My friend Linda and I went to the CHA supershow this past weekend. For those of you who don't live in the USA, the CHA (otherwise known as the 'craft & hobby association') hosts a convention twice a year. The first part of the convention is held for merchants to purchase products from companies to sell in their stores. The second part, (also know as the CHA Craft Supershow -held on Fri & Sat) is held for the public/consumer. Usually the show is held in Florida or California, but this time it was held in Rosemont, Illinois. For us it was about an hour's drive to get there so we decided to check it out. There were tons of 'make-it, take-it' booths and we kept really busy doing all kinds of things. Many of the companies hosted these projects and everything was, believe it or not - FREE (sponsored by companies such as Michaels & JoAnn Fabrics, Delta, Plaid, Crafts & Things, Paper Crafts Magazine, National Sewing Council and numerous others. We sewed dog colars, flowers from fabric, made beaded necklaces, painted t-shirts and wall hangings and the list goes on and on. Simply wonderful and what a fun time as everyone was enjoying themselves. The National Sewing Association was even raffling off sewing machines on both days!

Many, many well known artists also were there, including the fabulous clay artist - Lisa Pavelka (who used to be on 'The Carol Duvall Show') and mixed media artist Bernie Berlin! I think my jaw dropped when this woman standing in front of one of the craft tables turned around and I realized it was Bernie! I hadn't expected to see her but had always hoped to one day. She was teaching people how to create ATC's. Even though I've made a few of them myself, I couldn't resist sitting for awhile and soaking up any info she was sharing. She's an amazing artist and in my opinion, a real 'earth angel' - a kind, generous and gentle spirit. For those of you who don't know her, Bernie operates and owns an animal rescue called 'A Place To Bark'. Anyone who has saved over 600 dogs lives, in my opinion should be given a special place in heaven. I asked Bernie if I could take a photo of her so I'm posting it on my blog. Thank you Bernie for showing us how to create ATC's and for being the beautiful person you are! She does accept donations so if you want to help her with this incredible mission she's on, please visit her blog. http://www.aplacetobark.com

Have a great nite everyone and thanks for stopping by:)

B-day card....

Today is my friend Linda's b-day so I thought I'd post the card I created for her:) She loves ballerinas and I thought she'd get a chuckle out of this one. I started with a water color paper that I washed with some ink, then stamped with a vintage background music sheet and a birthday word block that I cut apart. I used some scrapbooking paper for the banner which I added the word 'party' cut into pieces. (Stamps are from Purple Onion Designs, girl image from Lisas Altered Arts.)

Hope everyone is having a great day. Still hot here in Wisconsin!