Project: Small Ideas Book

On Friday, I took another wonderful class from Carol Wingert at Scrapbooks, Etc. Her project is called Little Things and involved using aluminum tape, embossing, and lots of Glimmer Mist with masks. It was a fun class, as always.

I finished creating the book today in the studio. I am going to give this book as a Christmas present for a young woman in my life. I'm going to call it Small Ideas and fill it with inspirational quotes that I believe she will appreciate. My goal today was to finish assembling the major embellishments of the book and have it ready for quotes. After I insert the quotes, I'm going to use glass glitter and a few other embellishments to gussie it up even more. I'll post pictures when it reaches that stage.

For now, here is the book almost as Carol imagined it, awaiting my quote insertions:


The book is based on a cascading accordion book. Because Carol loves things with depth and texture, the pages include things like ribbons and jeweled brads, things that force the pages open. You can see the depth from this shot.


The bird was fun to make. We started with a die cut bird and glued on a sheet of cut cardstock that looks almost like a doily. Next, we applied a strip of aluminum tape over the cut cardstock and gently embossed the metal into the cardstock design. The results are amazing. It looks like a serious piece of embossed metal. It sits on a library pocked adorned with scrap of the cut cardstock.


Inside the first spread, the right page is an envelope holding a custom made insert with a ribbon pull. I added the bracket to the left page to emphasize the butterfly in the paper.


The right page has cardstock vines in blue and brown, with the brown placed underneath to look like a shadow. We bent the blue vine a bit, and applied the butterfly brad.


The center design comes from using a mask on the open book spread and applying a couple different shades of brown Glimmer Mist. The tree and bird are die cuts from cardstock.


Here is another page done with masks and Glimmer Mist. The reflection hides the image on the right page. It's a glorious effect, though.


The right page includes another piece of aluminum tape. This time, we embossed the tape using some of the Ten Seconds metal embossing plates and the Revolution die cutting machine. It sits on top of a brown lunch page, a chipboard die cut, that is tied together with a piece of vintage seam binding. Carol had this in her stash and included it for the class kit. She is very generous and gives us so much in each kit beyond the basics of the project, often items from her personal stash.


Inside the back cover. From this angle, you can't see the accordion stacked up on the left side. On the right, we have constructed a sort of Victorian posy starting with a metal rimmed tag embellished with paper and fabric flowers, metal leaves, and ribbon.

I'm going to give two of these Small Ideas books for Christmas. I purchased the blank cascading accordion blank to start the second one. I am sure I have enough paper in my stash to make the second one using a different color scheme, perhaps in orange and red. Next, the fun of selecting the quotes and deciding how to insert the writing into the books. I plan to hand write many of them, but may also use some vellum or heat transfer for others. Can't wait to get them both to that stage.

Planting Seeds and Sprouting Ideas

On Friday, I participated in yet another fabulous Carol Wingert class at Scrapbooks, Etc. We decorated a 16 inch torso, worked with Glimmer Mist, and did some laser copy photo transfer with gel medium. As usual, I didn't finish my project in class and still have some work to do on the skirt.

To add some depth, we sprayed Glimmer Mist on paper and used that as an underskirt. For some reason, mine curled up and never did lay flat. I need to use some glue dots to hold them down. I've also got some ribbons yet to add to give more color and fullness to the skirt, in colors ranging from peacock blue to teal to lime green.

Speaking of peacock, one of the women, Cece, brought in peacock feathers she collected from the peacock that has moved into her yard and is molting. She was very generous with giving away the feathers. In addition to the traditional eye feathers, there were a whole range of different feathers from this bird. I didn't know they had so many different ones. Thanks, Cece, for the feathers. They will go on top of the ribbons.

My torso is actually very boring and ordinary compared to the beautiful creations made by some of the women in the class. It was inspiring to see what percolated in their imaginations given the same instructions and materials. I'm always happy to be in the company of creative women. This monthly class has been so great for me because of Carol's presence and projects and the participation of the other women. I look forward to every class.

I had lunch with a friend this morning at Palatte, an adorable restaurant in downtown Phoenix at Fillmore and 4th Ave. We ate inside where they have a conglomeration of antique and assorted furniture styles. The outside dining area is even more charming, with seating areas in metal lawn furniture with overstuffed cushions. I had my camera with me, but didn't think to get any pictures. I highly recommend this place. The food was very good, the atmosphere was excellent. Great suggestion, Daniel!


After that, I drove around a bit downtown, pining for the days when I lived just north of downtown and could visit the area any time I wanted. I drove up Central Avenue and marveled at the light rail tracks and stations just waiting for trains and passengers later this year. I can't wait to ride the train. The route goes within one mile of where I used to live, and I had made plans to take the train everywhere before I moved to the 'burbs. Now, I'll have to find every excuse to go for a train ride.


A little further up Central, I landed at the downtown branch of Arizona Art Supply, my favorite of their three locations (perhaps because it was my closest location for so many years). My goal: to purchase my first art journal. I must have had "that look" on my face, because every employee in the store asked me if I needed assistance. I was on a voyage of discovery and wanted to explore rather than be lead right to the spot. I settled on a spiral bound book of bristol paper in 11x14 size. I think the paper is heavy enough, I'm just not quite sure about the size. There is a LOT of white space on each page! I went with the larger size because I wanted to give myself enough room to develop ideas. I can always switch to a different size or layout or paper if I'm not happy with this one. But the book is purchased and waits for me on the worktable. I'm excited to get started.

But something else has started. Over the last two weeks, I've had a handful of writing ideas that suddenly sprang to life in my mind. Some are old ideas that are suddenly juicy again, and a few are new ideas. I find myself thinking about them when I'm doing mundane things like brushing my teeth and driving. In fact, at those time, I'm not just thinking about them, I'm actually writing them. When I realized what was going on, I made a commitment to begin the writing process. But things have been hectic, and after typing and writing all day for my clients, I haven't been much in the mood for personal writing projects.

Then, about a week ago, I started dreaming that I was writing these things. I had the same dream over and over, only each time, I picked up writing where I left off in the last dream. I'm a person who takes dreams seriously, so I knew I had to start writing sooner rather than later. I'm happy to say that I started writing two of these ideas this morning, spending the first four hours of my day capturing the thoughts I've had and things I've observed myself writing (in my daydreams and dreams). The words and ideas almost dripped out of my fingertips, and I was typing at breakneck speed to keep up with my ideas.

It seems I'm having a monsoon of creative ideas right now in every area of my life. I love when this happens. I know it is just a season, so I capture as much as I can while things are juicy and return to these detailed notes later, when the inspiration isn't quite so fresh but I have the time to really craft my projects. I make an effort to always plant seeds for creative ideas, and pay attention when those seeds start to sprout into projects. I'm hoping to harness this energy and produce a lot now and have good ideas ready to go when I have more time in my schedule.

Depth of Experience

On Friday, I once again treated myself to a wonderful Carol Wingert class at Scrapbooks, Etc. This time, we made Carol's Dos-a-dos travel journal, a project she has taught a couple other times this summer. It's a fun red and black multiple part book. The front is an envelope/honeycomb book assembled with envelopes between the front and back covers. And the back is a another book, one with a sewn signature that opens from the back. When you look down from the top, the two books (joined at the back) make a Z shape.


I made a few changes to the covers. Carol used the same two papers on each front cover, and I used one paper on one cover and the other paper on the other cover. Inspired by classmate Marissa, I overstamped both papers with the assortment of travel stamps Carol provided. I love the way this adds another layer of interest to the covers. Oh, and don't miss the fun clipboard on the front cover (see Carol's picture).


In this picture of the back book cover, the paper background is tan and it has a swirling floral pattern. The word "travel" in the upper right corner (under the bird) is stamped, so are the names of the days of the week below that.

I nearly finished the embellishments in the class, and I'm working on this today because I am taking it with me next week to Santa Fe. I've decided that I need a change of scenery and since I visited the ocean in February, I'm heading for the high desert. I've been to Santa Fe more than a dozen times before, but it's been at least 10 years since my last trip. I'm very excited to visit all of my old favorites and discover some new ones.

I've actually had some difficulty deciding to take this trip. As I figured up the cost, I realized the fun things I could buy with the money and stay home. I have always been that practical about money, but in the past, I found it very easy to justify buying experiences over objects. It's only been the last 10 years or so that I've been more focused on having something to show for my expenditures. I'm not sure where that came from, but now that I see it clearly, I recognize it is a weed in my garden and I know it has been choking my growth a bit.

From my youth, I've been a person who wanted to experience as much of the world and as many different ways of living as I could fit into my life. I have always valued quality over quantity, and so I've avoided having the same experiences over and over (quantity). I've also chosen to avoid the path of the crowd, so I'm not a fan of shopping malls and I don't see all of the popular movies and listen to the hit radio stations. I seek out other things, art house and independent movies, world music, small import shops over big box retail, and documentaries on TV rather than prime-time series. I feel this gives me a richer life, and more texture in my thoughts than what is available through the mass consciousness. I haven't seen a single Seinfeld episode (and hence miss the references to that experience in the collective consciousness), but I know more than a little bit about art history and I've seen landscapes from most of the countries of the world (through photographs). I've experienced the prayer practices of several faiths, and love to chat with people from other places about their homelands.

It's not the life that most people want, but for me, it feeds my thinking and feeling, and nurtures my writing and my art.

Fabulous Summer Whites Class Project

I had the best time yesterday in Carol Wingert's class at Scrapbooks, Etc. We made her Summer White book, the same book as her kit this month. Lots of painting, texture painting on the covers, glassine to cover photos, and stamping on fabric. I didn't get the project finished in class, and I've added to my unfinished project list. I'm going to make it for my mom for her birthday in September. I just printed out some old family photos in black and white and sent them to my neighborhood Walgreens. I'll pick them up later today and add them to the kit package for later.

My favorite new material: glass glitter! I haven't used much glitter in my paperarts projects until now. I love sparkle, but I haven't been a fan of the usual craft glitter. Now that I've seen this glass glitter, I'm hooked. In fact, I bought some turquoise before I left the store. I'm going to buy some small (1/2 oz) salt shakers to hold glitter, and I'm going to start collecting all of my favorite colors. It's so amazing, the sparkle is bright and vibrant. I can't wait to start using it.

I also printed out some pictures that I'm going to use on a family project. I'm going to make a folded star accordian book, the one that looks like a square when it is folded up, but opens to be a flat almost star shaped book. I'm going to use an assortment of Christmas pictures and make a sort of photo collage of Christmases past to take home around the holidays. I also selected 60 photos of formal Christmas portraits (I take them of the family every year) and a lot of great candids contributed by lots of family members. I will use some two-sided Christmas cardstock as the base, and I'm sure I'll be adding glass glitter somewhere in it.

On Sunday, I'm going with Melissa to meet some of her friends and work on our projects. I'm working on the project for my friend's son's 18th birthday. Let's see, let's call this project "Guitar Hero" since he plays and I've got pics of him playing. I'm building the base of the project today, and I'll take the photos and start building the layout tomorrow. I picked up some adhesive foam yesterday because I want to be able to temporarily position things for this project. I want to build in hidden journaling locations and some pull-outs, and I want to do some background painting and stamping. I need to map out the photo locations before I start building the depth and adding the ornamentation. I hope this foam works well!

I should have some in-process pictures of Guitar Hero in a few days. I have finally opened my new camera, the battery is charging today and I'm heading out to buy a huge (4GB) memory card this afternoon. I should be in business by dinner and taking my first pictures it.

Fun Class Tuesday Night

Last night, I took the Book It class with Jennifer Wagner at Scrapbooks, Etc. She was fun, the project is adorable, and I had a great time. I'm going to modify the project away from the Father's Day/Men theme. I've got an idea about what I'm going to do, but I won't be sure until I get started. I'll post a picture of the book when I get to it.

My day job is going well. As I've mentioned, I have huge deadlines on Friday. But due to my client not being able to meet his deadlines, a portion was pushed back a month. This made it possible for me to make my deliveries today, two days early. That's why I felt I could take a class last night.

I've got a huge list of things I'm going to do with the next few days, including napping, resting, sleeping, and otherwise taking care of myself. I hope to spend some time in the studio, and hope to have some ART to share on my art blog. What a concept.

After I wrap up the wedding gift, my next project is a birthday event book for a friend's all grown up son from his surprise 18th birthday party pictures. I can't wait to dig into it. I've been buying things for it for a couple months now, shopping for inspiration. I'm ready to jump in!

Project: Tim Holtz Distress-a-polusa

[Note: I've updated the photo using my new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80]

I just got home from a fabulous class with Tim Holtz at Scrapbooks, Etc. I took a quick picture of my finished project with my cell phone, but it does no justice to the project. I'll retake the photo after I replace my digital camera.

The purpose of the class was to experiment with the distress product lines. And who better than Tim to teach them! The class was full, I heard there were 40 attendees and a waiting list. I went in with high expectations, and the class exceeded them all.

First, Tim is great. He's down-to-earth, a guy who is living his passion in life. His passion is contagious. His teaching style is laid back, and he knows how to plan a class. It's the first project I've ever finished in a class! He totally tells you to do anything, do random things, and not to overthink it all. He's friendly and accessible. And did I mention that his projects totally rock! If you ever get a chance to take a class with Tim, do it.

The project is based on a 10" IKEA mirror, just like the one on my studio worktable for the wedding project. We were given a series of chipboard pieces and acrylic shapes from his Fragements line. We distressed each one, and they got glued to the mirror in a patchwork pattern. Then, we attached bits of found objects to the tops of them.

The heart of the project is the chipboard pieces. They fell into three groups for distressing.

1) We used crackle paint on the largest pieces. When the crackle dried, we used distress inks over the top. The crackle colors were a bit too pure for my liking, so I was thrilled to see how totally the colors changed with the addition of a layer of ink. It's not so much the color of the ink that changed the crackle paint, it was the texture of the ink that changed the texture of the crackle paint more than the color impact. I wish my photo showed that kind of detail. All I can say is you have to try these paints and ink over them, even if you use the same color ink.

2) We used embossing powder on the smallest pieces. The distress embossing powder is different from regular powders because it has grains that are supposed to fall away to give the distressed look. So the color after embossing is splotchy. We next inked over these, and again, the ink changed the entire look of the pieces. It filled in the distressed splotches.

3) We inked the remaining pieces, and then used black archival ink to stamp on them. We didn't use the distress inks for this because the products would have blended together instead of giving a sharp black stamp image.

We next created the acrylic squares by gluing them to pieces of paper from Tim's discontinued ephemera paper line.

Once all of the pieces were crafted, we arranged them around the mirror using a template Tim gave us. We tweaked the placement by swapping out pieces of the same size and shape until we liked the layout. Next, we selected from the bag of found object goodies the items we wanted on the pieces, and arranged them around the mirror. This was a blast. The goodies included things like a game board spinner, a small lightbulb, pressed tin crown, game pieces, and a button Tim made to hand out to the class attendees, among other things.

As much fun as I had all of the way through, I thoroughly enjoyed gluing down the individual pieces. We used a Ranger product (I don't remember the name) but it is clear and dried very quickly.

It was fun to see what everyone else created. We had the same materials available to us, and they all look so different! I had Tim sign the back of mine, too! I can't wait to hang it up in the studio.

A New View

Thursday night, I had an amazing dream. I interpret my dreams based on the work of Carl Jung because I have found his approach to really help me understand my dreams in terms of personal growth. My dream was about a shift in my work life and my perspective on my work life. How appropriate for someone who is working to make art part of her working life (instead of remaining an escape from work)!

I attended a class on Friday taught by Carol Wingert at Scrapbooks, Etc. It was fabulous. We made an easel project that included three different metal techniques using copper. The largest copper piece we dipped in liver of sulfur, stamped with black ink, and then embossed the design. The next piece we also dipped in liver of sulfur after we stamped it (so the image was the only part that wasn't patined by the liver of sulfur. The third piece was copper mesh which we used heat to patina and then stamped. When I get my piece finished, I'll include pictures of it here. The class was so much fun, and Carol is great. She is teaching a series of classes now at Scrapbooks, Etc. for those of you in the Phoenix metro area.

I'm working again through the weekend on my other occupation (I'm a technical writer), working to meet a huge deadline in early June. As I ponder the life/work changes I'm making on the back burner, I'm excited and happy about the changes. And at the same time, there are other feelings and other thoughts that surface and sometimes surprise me. I understand that change is the blood of life, and I'm entering into this change willingly, but I know that every time we gain something, we let something go. I'm willing to embrace the change, accept the new, and release the old.

Here's to happy art for everyone!