Blissfully Yours

Welcome 2012 - A year of possibilities...

2012-01-01T13:53:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited about this new year. I don't usually get so excited but I feel like this is going to be a good year for me. I'm involved in a bunch of wonderful online art groups and I keep meeting so many amazing artists and friends. One of the things that I have been working on is finding a word that will be mine for the whole year. A word to think about and art journal with. It is really hard to pick one word to use for the entire year! I was having trouble narrowing it down. I decided that my word will be - Connect. I want to work on connecting with friends, family, other artists and even my artwork. This word will probably come to mean more to me over the year and it will be really interesting to see where it takes me. This idea came to me from Effy of Wild Precious. Effy is holding a year long workshop called Book of Days 2012. It is totally free! She is so generous! You can donate to her workshop but it is not required.

I am also taking a year long course on Willowing run by Tam LaPorte. The course is called Life Book 2012.

Check it out because it is awesome! Tam is teaching a class once a month for the whole year as well as one or two guest teachers teaching a separate class each moth. It is too exciting!!

Last night I sat down with my art journal while Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve was on. I was having trouble picking my word so I just started painting, drawing, doodling and then finally writing different words on my page. I stopped to fold some laundry and the word 'CONNECT' popped in my head and I ran downstairs to write it down. I had to do it right away because things slip out of my not so steal trap very easily! It is funny how things just come to you when you let them simmer for awhile. Here is the page I was working on:

Lastly, I came across 52 PlayDATES by Jan Fox Design's and signed up to be a part of that. When you join you add your name and blog and then you can go back to visit other artist's blogs and they can also visit yours. I am 119 on the list but maybe someone will start at at the end and find me??? It doesn't matter because I decided to finally post on my blog today just because of 52 PlayDATES! That is part of my resolution to Connect!! This new year is going to be wonderful! Happy New Year to everyone - much love and happiness to all of you!

I cannot end my post without a picture of my sweet girl! Also, a picture of a visitor from today. Junior is our neighbor and loves to eat Carly's treats! Both cuties!!!

Black & White Portrait

2011-09-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was working on the Dreamy Ladies Class by Ady. I skipped the black and white portrait to go right to the girl with purple afro that I showed you earlier. I guess I was excited about the colors and the afro looked like fun too! I'm really glad that I went back and did the black and white. It is so cool how you can really add dimension with just a black water soluable crayon and white paint.

I meant to take a picture of the one I drew before I started the process of painting and shading. I don't think my original was cross eyed and her lips were bigger but I still like how she turned out. It was so much fun to work on her and you really don't need much to do a pretty portrait! This is a great way to sit and practice portraits and not have to get all your supplies out. Ady is a wonderful teacher. If you are interested in learning faces and drawing then you really should look into her Ning group.

On another subject,
I love birds! I'm sure a lot of you know that already. I have a hummingbird feeder hanging out on my deck and look forward to seeing them every year. They only visit for a short while in the late summer/fall. They are very hard to photograph too! Every time I try, I miss him!! Yesterday I finally got a good shot except I was standing in the kitchen and the blinds were in the way!!! You can still see him pretty good ~

Isn't that kind of cool? I'm going to keep trying! While I was sketching and chasing hummingbirds this is what my little cutie patootie was doing ~

I kept jumping over her and she didn't even open an eye. She is the sweetest thing ever!!!

Dreamy Ladies

2011-09-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to share this painting that I started working on this morning. It is from a class called Dreamy Ladies in the group: Doll Dreams
"Ady" Adriana Almanza, is an amazing teacher and her class is cut down in easy to understand directions that even I could follow!! Just take a look at what I made just from watching her in my pjs, and then painting from her instructions in one morning!!

I still have work do do on her but I was feeling so excited about how pretty she looks and wanted to share her with all of you! :)

The Luggage Project

2011-09-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

I joined a group called LaFioReVida run by artist Brenda Figueroa. She is an amazing, lovely woman who loves to share her passion for art and is always there to help. The class I am taking with her is called The Luggage Project. You have to see her work - it is fun, whimsical and just beautiful!! Here is the link to her class if you want to check it out for yourself: The Luggage Project
In this class we take an old suitcase from a thrift store, Goodwill or wherever you can find one and alter it into a cute, colorful piece of art! Mine is not finished yet but here is a picture of it ~

Isn't that adorable?? Brenda goes thru instructions on how you can do the inside, so that is the next part for me. I have been collecting cases of different sizes and shapes that I am going to work on when this little cutie is done. I just love it! I am so glad that I found Brenda's group. She is an awesome teacher and becoming a fast friend too!

Nana's 95th Birthday!

2011-08-24T18:58:00.000-05:00

I have the best Nana in the world! She has always been such a wonderful and loving grandmother. Her actual birthday was on Monday, August 22nd. Can you imagine being 95 years old? Think of all the changes you would have seen and gone thru. It is just mind boggling to me. I asked her what she thought the most impressive thing during her lifetime and she said it has been computers. When I was little, my brother and I would spend weekends with her and she always had fun things for us to do. When Rick and I would play games with each other she would pull wrapped up prizes out of a special drawer! Can you imagine a drawer of wrapped presents to pick from when you are a small child?!? Oh my gosh! We even got presents from that drawer just for asking!! She would also let us have mac and cheese for lunch and taught us how to dribble a basketball under our legs and do tricks! Nana retired from Sears where she made custom drapes for people's houses. While she was sewing she would let me play with her scraps of fabric and make clothes for my dolls and Barbies. Nana taught me all kinds of things that I still use today. I think she really sparked my creative spirit!! She is a wonderful woman and I enjoy every minute of our time together! I wanted to share a couple of pictures from her birthday party on Sunday.


Nana with my boys - Gabe (left) & Ben (right)


Nana telling me a story


Dad giving his mother a birthday kiss

Nana and her sister Edna

Nana was so happy when we were singing to her

She didn't need any help blowing out her candles!

Presents of course!


This was at the end of the night so not everyone was still there but as you can see we were all still happy to be at Nana's 95th Birthday Party!!!!

Love you, Nana! I am looking forward to next year's 96th birthday bash!!

La La La! Workshop

2011-07-25T10:41:00.000-05:00

I absolutely LOVE Suzi Blu! I take a lot of her classes online. The class I'm taking right now is called La La La! We are making little pictures of cute little dolls and animals. The first one is a cute little pink bunny. I started this one last night and just finished it this morning. It was so much fun because I got to use beeswax for the first time! First let me show it to you and then I'll explain it a bit better:

Isn't that soooo cute??? She teaches you how to shade the bunny with colored pencil. I felt like I really learned something wonderful and I will never color the same way again! When the bunny is just right you then cut her out of the paper. I took a 4" X 4" canvas and water colored the background, stamped some script, glued the bunny, some hearts and a flower with matte medium. Then I added some marks and a bit of paint here and there to finish it up and added some words. Suzi then shows you how to add beeswax to the whole thing and distress it with oil paint. It was a quick project because it is so small but sooooo adorable and so much fun! I can't wait to make more of these little cuties! In the lessons coming up we are working on cute little girls and a boy too. They are so sweet! I can't wait to show you what else I make from the rest of Suzi's class. If you want to take the class or to see her other classes I will leave the link for you HERE .

Today is a beautiful day. Finally it is not scorching hot and I am actually sitting on my deck with the laptop. My little brother, Alex, bought the Topsy Turvy for me. You know, that thing that lets you grow the tomato plant upside down? I really wanted it and my Mom saw it while shopping with him so he bought it for me! Isn't he the sweetest?? Everyone was making fun of me and acting like I was a big nerd but take a look at it!

It is HUGE! When the sun is bright the branches reach all the way up like it is really reaching out. It is kind of cool to watch this guy grow. I can't wait for the tomatoes to ripen so we can put them on hamburgers and salads!! Thanks, Alex! Next year I might get another one and try a strawberry plant. That would really be wonderful!!

While I've been sitting here a little visitor came to sit by me and say hello. How lucky that I had my camera sitting here! Isn't he cute?

I didn't add the third picture of him because he left me a surprise! Ha! I didn't think that I needed to share that!! Have a great day and enjoy the fresh air!

My baby sister is amazing!!

2011-07-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

My little sister is so smart, so talented and so driven! She will be 26 in about a week and has already had such an amazing career and has met so many really cool people. She worked for Obama while he was campaigning for president. Of course he got the job - my little sister helped!! While her former employer went off to Washington she stayed home and worked with Mayor Daley until he retired. She was all over the city with the Mayor - right by his side. She has traveled, met amazing and famous people - it is just the beginning!! Imagine what she will be able to tell her grandchildren one day! I am so proud of Nikki! It is a little scary when you lose your job in this economy but she has already snagged her next adventure! She is going to be in public relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Chicago. I hope they know how lucky they are to have her!!
Of course I felt the need to show her how proud I was so I made a cute card for her. She loves handmade cards and I knew she appreciate it. I look this class by Christy Tomlinson called 'The She Art Workshop'. Christy is a wonderful teacher and her She Art girls are adorable!! Here is the link if you are interested in the class: She Art Workshop
I made this card for Nik from the things I learned in Christy's workshop. Check it out!

She is cute, isn't she?!? By the way, I know I use a lot of explanation points but it is totally how I'm talking to you in my head!! Lol! I even painted the envelope to match the card. It was so much fun to make. I think I'm going to paint all the envelopes I send out from now on! Do you think the electric company will mind?!?

Morgan (my niece), Nikki (my sister) & me

So Hot !! What is a girl to do?!?

2011-07-21T10:07:00.000-05:00

Living in Chicago this past week has been so miserable!! It looks like most of the country has been excessively hot this past week. Last night I stepped outside and I couldn't believe the heat. I don't think I have ever felt heat like this here. It was 90 degrees at 10 pm!! When it is this hot out the best thing to do is to find a project in the air conditioning. I started rearranging my art room. I wish I would have taken a picture before I started it so that I could show you a before and after but I didn't even think of it. When I get an idea I usually jump in and should probably stop and give it more thought. I was even feeling a bit overwhelmed last night and started wondering what I got myself into!! Lol! When it is all done I will take some pictures to share.

A lot has been going on over here at the Aubert house. My youngest son, Gabe, was in a serious car accident on Friday. It was so scary and I don't really want to relive it but I will tell you that everyone is okay. One of his friends had to go to the hospital for a ton of stitches on his head but will be okay. Gabe's car is totaled but all in all it could have been much worse and I am so thankful that the boys are okay. It really was scary and I'm just so thankful......

Ben, my oldest, started a real job at a factory this week. He will be working full-time during the day and then he also starts college at the end of August. He will take all of his classes in the evenings and I think he has one on Saturday too. I hope he can handle all of this work! It is a lot for a person but he is strong and very motivated.

I haven't blogged in a long time and I do have a lot to talk about. I thought that today I'd do a short catch up and I am going to try to get on here everyday so that I can keep up. So for today the picture I will share is of Ben on his first day at his new grown up job. Stay cool everyone and drink lots of water!!! :)

Oh my gosh! I am a bad sister! I should also mention that today is my baby brother's birthday!! Alex is 22 today. He is just back from Afghanistan and is going back to college in the fall. Happy Birthday, Alex!!! Love you!

me, Rick, Alex, Nikki (my younger brothers and sister)

Clay over Cloth Doll

2011-04-20T16:52:00.001-05:00

I joined a group called Cloth and Clay Dolls - it is a ning site for people who enjoy making dolls. The woman who runs the group you might know as Gritty Jane. Her real name is Jane DesRosier.
She is amazing and so talented. The group costs just $10 a year so I decided to give it a try. There are some tutorials listed within the group and one was for the Gritty Jane doll. Here is a picture of the original one that she makes in the tutorial.

First you sew the entire doll using muslin and then stuff her with polyester stuffing. When the doll is nice and fully stuffed you then put clay over the body and head. The next step is sculpting the head and chest with clay. After everything is sculpted to your liking you start painting her - the cloth and clay parts. The last step is to make a cute little skirt for her. It was so much fun! Jane's videos are so easy to understand and she makes it look so easy. This project looked too complicated for me but when I watched the tutorials I decided that I had to give it a try. Here is my gritty jane doll ~

I realize I have a lot of practicing to do but I am so proud of her! I just love her so much!! Thank you to Jane for the wonderful class and the inspiration!! I am excited to start my next clay over cloth doll!!

I'm a Grandma!!

2011-04-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

I'm a Grandma! ~only for a couple of days, thank goodness!! My oldest son, Ben, is taking Child Development in school. Things are different nowadays and they don't have eggs to protect - they actually have these very real-like babies to keep for 3 days/ 2 nights. I was a bit anxious when I had to sign a form taking responsibility for a $500 doll!! Lol! It was also mentioned that pets might want to bite it when it cries and that you must use a car seat when driving it around. I couldn't wait to see this baby. Yesterday, Ben came home from school and he called for me. When I came into the living room I had a moment of panic! Really! Even though I knew it was coming he had it in it's car seat on the couch and for a moment it felt real! Here is what I saw:

The baby is so much fun! It is so cute to see my 6'4" son holding this baby, feeding her bottles and changing her diapers. I went into his room last night about 3 am and he was sitting up in bed changing her diapers. The baby doesn't shut off and everything is tracked - including if they are holding the neck properly. Carly wasn't sure about it when she started crying the first time but she seems used to it already too. Here are some pictures of our newest family member, Lupita. That was Ben's choice of names by the way. :)

Ben is going to be a good Dad! Someday.... not soon..... when we are both much, much older!!!! :)

Whimsy Girl with Wand

2011-03-01T14:41:00.000-06:00

This is the painting that I was talking about yesterday. I love how she turned out. I think I'm starting to find my own style. The background is collaged, painted, stamped and inked. I drew the girl in pencil and then painted her with acrylics and I also used markers and chalk on her face. I really wanted to add something 3D to this painting so I constructed a magic wand for her. I really love her.....

What do you think? I have to find a place to hang all of my little cuties!! :) Of course my post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my cookie face ~

She works very hard to keep me company!!!

2011-03-01T07:21:00.000-06:00

Gabe (my youngest son) is a wonderful writer and artist. He wrote a poem for his creative writing class last semester that I just love and wanted to share with everyone. When he read it to me I was floored with the depth and story within his poem. He amazes me!

Wolf Made of Wool

A wolf made of wool must travel alone
A wolf made of wool has no home of it’s own
But the birds of a feather
Who fly all together
And raise all their children to never say never

One day the wolf made of wool
Found a watering hole
He told all the birds his heart wasn’t full
Cause there’s no home in the world for a wolf made of wool
When he saw them all laughing
He looked at the water and looked at it deep
No wolf made of wool but a smiling white sheep

Gabriel - January 2011

My Whimsy Girls

2011-02-28T10:55:00.001-06:00

I have been stepping out of my comfort zone with two new techniques - working on canvas and with paper clay. I am just loving all of the whimsical girls that I am creating with the new things I have been learning. They are so much fun to create!! Everything takes a bit longer with these techniques and I don't finish things in one sitting but that has also been fun for me. I'm usually kind of impatient and working in this way is challenging but I am enjoying the process a lot more now. Maybe I'm just getting older???

For the canvas projects I begin with a collage of scrapbook papers, dictionary pages or music sheets. After everything is glued on I do a wash with white paint or a colored paint. I have discovered the cool effect you can achieve with watered down paint so that you can still see a bit of the back ground. I just love this technique!!

I used copies I made from my sketchbook for both of these pictures. I picked sketches that I liked, made copies and then cut them out. The girl with the purple hair is from a class I have been taking called Fabulous Faces. I made a black and white copy so that I could cut her out, paste her on the canvas and then paint over the drawn lines. The flying girl was just a fun sketch that I made and fell in love with her sweet face. I copied her in color and then glued her on the canvas that I created. I am working on another one right now that I'll show you very soon. I'm excited about how the new one is coming out!!

The other thing I have been working with is paper clay. I just love paper clay!! It air dries and is so much fun to mold. It is very soft and much easier for me to work with than polymer clay. I like polymer clay but it takes a while to condition to make it soft and my fingers just get too tired.

The girl with the blue shirt was created while I was taking Folk Art Doll Workshop by Moriah Betterly. Her dvd had so much great information and is very easy to follow. Her cute dress is made from dictionary pages that are cut into strips, curled and then glued on to her body. I really enjoyed creating her and that is what led me to make the girl in pink and orange. I am going to create lots more with this technique! I am hooked!!

I have to leave you with a picture of what my little buddy was doing while I was taking pictures and working on this post ~

Talent & Inspiration!!

2011-02-23T08:52:00.000-06:00

I want to post (and brag) about my nephew, Matt!! He is a very talented drum player and is already playing professionally!! I'm so proud of him that I just need to take a minute and share this with everyone. Matt has been playing drums for years now - practicing, taking lessons and even competing in state competitions. Matt and his friend Jeremiah have been playing at a restaurant in Chicago called Reza's Restaurant. Jeremiah is a very talented musician who also happens to be blind. They play jazz on either a Friday or Saturday night at Reza's. Here are some pictures of them:

I'm so impressed that they work so hard to be able to play professionally at their ages. Matt is only 15!! I also want to mention that it takes really wonderful parents to get to this level as well. You really need to stand behind your kids with encouragement - financially and with your own time!! I can't wait to see what the future holds for these young men.....

Mmmmmm.....Tuna Casserole

2011-01-03T19:18:00.000-06:00

My stepmom, Cath, makes the best tuna casserole in the world! It is my absolute favorite!! I've been asking her for her recipe for a few years and she kept putting it off. This Christmas she gave me a special little box all wrapped up and inside it was her special tuna casserole recipe handwritten especially for me!! I was sooooo happy! I made it for my family tonight and it turned out perfectly. It tasted exactly the same way she makes it!

As you can see - my husband really enjoyed it too!! Thank you, Cath!!

I also have a new picture to share. She is made with watercolor paints, colored pencil and copic markers. I like orange and pink together lately - so bright and cheerful!! Do you like her? I'm having so much fun making these cute girls.

Whimsical Girl Collage

2011-01-02T17:18:00.000-06:00

Last night I worked on a project I saw in the book, Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts. I love her work! I've been practicing my drawing by having her book open and trying to draw the ways she does. I know that is kind of copying but I need to figure out how to draw things first before I can make them my own. Hopefully that will come in time. She has this project in her book that starts with a blank canvas and then you collage the entire surface and add a white wash on top of that to make the colors a little more subdued. After I did those things I inked up spots here and there with distress inks to give it a little more interest and worn out look. I then sketched the girl on top of that and painted her with watered down paints. I love that part (the watered down paints) because you can see the collage underneath and it really makes it look very interesting. I went back and outlined her a bit more with black pencil and touched up her face a bit. She turned out so pretty! I just love, love, love this project!! It turned out just as I hoped it would. I even went out to the craft store to buy more canvases to do another girl because it was so much fun!! Take a look:

I can't wait for my Mom to see this painting. My son, Ben, told me that it was really nice and that it looked like something Grandma would make! She is very talented so I thought that was a wonderful compliment!!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T20:05:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! I can't believe it is already 2011!! I was just remembering when the year 2000 came around and everyone was freaking out. Remember? People were buying supplies and thought the computers were going to crash and it was going to be chaos?!? Lol! The clock hit midnight and nothing happened ~ we all lived thru it!

I was thinking that this year I wanted to make some resolutions for myself. I usually don't bother because I never follow thru with them but I'm feeling extra motivated and positive about things.

1. Blog more often - at least once a week.
2. Spend $20 or less for our family dinners every night.
3. Make a house cleaning schedule and stick with it.
4. Use coupons more often. Maybe at least one every time I grocery shop (minimum).
5. Art Journal at least once a week (hopefully a little each day at the very least).

I think that is a good start. I hope that next year when we approach 2012 I can come back to this post and say that I stuck to all five of my resolutions. Wouldn't that be cool??

I signed up for two Art Journal adventures online. I put the little button for each one at the right side of this page if you want to check them out. I'm so excited and I think that being a part of a group with keep me motivated and inspired.

I am in an art journal round robin right now. Here is a picture of the pages I just finished for one of the group members. I just love working in these journals.

Today I started my own journal for 2011. This is the first page:

I think I might go back down to my craft room and work in my art journal a bit more because I'm not sure I can handle all of the excitement at my house. Here are a couple of pictures of what is going on at this very moment at my house (keep in mind it isn't even 8pm!!):

Have a wonderful New Years Eve and I'll blog again soon!!

Felted Pumpkins

2010-11-05T11:14:00.001-05:00

I was just thinking that I forgot to show you the pumpkin that started it all! My friends and I took a really cute class that I talk about in the next post and here is the link to the actual class & a picture of it: Pumpkin Patch

The big pumpkin is the one we made in class. The smaller one I made at home but didn't have the same colors so it looks a bit different. The witch is cute too, right? I bought a download from: Seneca Pond Crafts. You just print her out, cut, glue and embellish. I had tons of fun with her!! :)

Cute, right?

Snowmen - clay & wool!!

2010-11-05T10:39:00.001-05:00

I just want to show you a few things that I have been playing with. My friends and I went to a needle felting class at the St. Charles Library. Here is the link to the class description and the picture of us taken by the the instructors, Wool & Co.

Pumpkin Patch

The three of us got together to go shopping for wool at the Wool & Co. (of course!). What a beautiful store! We were thinking about the holidays and making snowmen, santas, etc. I took two foam balls and needle felted white wool on each ball and then attached them with a toothpick and glue. I crocheted a quick red scarf for my cutie pie and added a carrot nose, top hat (with gold wrapped around it), red brads for buttons & black glittery eyes. I think I might add branches for his arms and maybe some snow on the rim of his hat too? Look at what I have so far -

This has nothing to do with snowmen but I also made this little black bird by needle felting wool. He turned out pretty good for my first wool sculpture creature! :)

I think I'm going to put a black bead in the eye and then he'll be done. It is really a fun and easy hobby that you can do while you are sitting on the couch watching television. Isn't he cute?

Okay, I also made a snowman head with paperclay. I showed him in an earlier post. I don't think I'm quite done with him and need to add something to the head so we can hang him on the tree. I am thinking about a curly wire thing to add a bit of whimsy. I painted him and added chunky glitter to look like an older vintage ornament. I also took crepe paper to make a collar and painted glue on the edge and put fun silver glitter around the edges. Take a look -

Here is a picture of the three characters together:

And just for fun, this is what Carly does while I'm crafting or taking pictures! Lol!

Cork Message Board

2010-11-02T07:23:00.000-05:00

I have been rearranging and organizing our basement. We have a finished basement and it is a good size but it is full of "stuff"!! The two boys have desks with computers on them and I moved them so that one half of the basement would be like a little family room with the couch, tv, and desks. It really looks good this way. So far anyway.... I wanted to personalize the space for the boys a little bit so I thought about making cork message boards to put above each desk. I had envisioned making them very personal to each kid but ended up making them the same and they match what I want the decor to be down there. First, I'll show you the boards and then I'll show you how I ended up making them more personal.

This is the starting cork board. I bought them from Wal-Mart for about $8 each and they are really big.

You can see on the second picture that I sanded the wood frame. After sanding the frame I painted a light base coat and then a dark top coat. When the frame was dry I lightly sanded random edges so that it would look distressed. It really worked well because the light color didn't sand away and really popped against the dark color. Next, I painted the cork a really light color - kind of a creamy linen color. I then stamped randomly with a script stamp in brown, a flourish stamp in black and then sponged brown all over to make it look a little bit aged. One of them I used a glue pen and put black glitter on the flourishes and the other I left plain. I prefer the plain one and kind of wish they were both like that. Live and learn, right? For the finishing touch I sprayed a clear gloss over the entire frame and cork board for protection against teenage boys (if that is possible?!?).

To add a little personalization I had a brilliant idea!! Lol! I took out my bag of Scrabble tiles and found letters to make each boy's full name. Boy, I gave those kids loooooong names!!! I had to take out my game that I keep to play with the complete the names! Now, I have to buy some replacement letters. It was worth it though. Gabe helped me find the letters and when we had everything we glued flat tacks to the backs of the tiles to make personalized pins! I used Crystal Effects for the glue because it will hold anything - it is super strong. We let it dry about an hour before we put then on the cork boards. Here are close-ups of the names. You'll see what I mean about the boys having really long names!!

If you want to make your own scrabble tile tacks I added a couple of close-up pictures so you can see what I did. They are super easy and super cute!!

I'm so proud! Weren't the Scrabble tiles a great idea? You could probably do that with anything!! Magnets on the backs would be really cute too. What do you think?

Paper Clay Ornaments

2010-10-28T07:14:00.000-05:00

I started playing with paper clay. I wasn't even sure what it was. Is it clay? Is it paper mache? I think it is a cross between the two. I keep seeing really fun doll faces and ornaments made from paper clay so I have been trying to figure it out. I went to the store and I couldn't find the black package of paper clay that I saw on the internet and I was getting discouraged. I dropped something and when I bent down to pick it up there it was! On a bottom shelf shoved way back!! One little package of paper clay in a black package! I snatched it right up like a greedy little kid. There was no one around me so I'm not sure why I was acting like that!?! Lol! It is the coolest thing ever! I'm in love with it!! It is so soft and easy to use. I even found a recipe for it online so that I could make it for myself at home. Paper Clay Recipe Take a look at this site - she has lots of information and her videos are so useful!! I'm going to try to make it very soon because I already used up the package I bought. Here is a picture of what I working on:

I made two of the one that is round and has the cone shape sticking out of the front. I'm going to make a snowman face with painted eyes and a coal smile. One I'll cover in chunky glitter (like snow) and the other I'll do a crackle finish (like an antique style ornament). I wanted to see which type I liked better and which turns out nicer. I'll post again when I get them painted and add the finishing touches. Do you the like creepy toothy smile on the snowman head in the middle? He is my favorite!!!!

Handcrafted ring swap

2010-09-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

I was recently in a swap for handcrafted rings. The swap was to make two rings for each of our two partners. I just discovered making this kind of jewelry and it is so much fun! It did take me a long time to think of designs because I have never made rings before. I loved the whole process! Take a look -

For this one I used wire to make a nest and then added a bird to it and attached it to the base. Easy but so cute!! I love birds and I just wanted to make a fun ring that was a bit unusual.

These rings are made from memory wire. I didn't realize they made memory wire for rings but it is really cool because you don't have to worry about the size of the ring. The beads just roll over your fingers and the rings fit very comfortably. I put half of the clear beads on and then a focal bead and then the last half of the clear beads. So simple and easy!

More pictures:

What do you think? I was really proud of them and had a hard time sending them away!! :)

Beautiful quilting blog!!

2010-09-02T08:08:00.000-05:00

A very good friend of mine teaches quilting. She has a blog here: Learn 2 Quilt Online
You have to check it out!! She is very, very talented and I feel so lucky to have her friendship and the easy access for my quilting questions are a bonus!! Lol! Chris has been teaching for years and is very knowledgeable. If you are a quilter or you just want to give it a shot this is a perfect place to check out. She has lots of information and helpful links. Awesome blog - go see for yourself!!! Learn 2 Quilt Online

She's pretty cute too!! :) Congrats, Chris, on your new adventure!!!

Crazy Quilting

2010-08-12T10:32:00.001-05:00

I have always wanted to give quilting a try. I joined a swap to make a crazy quilt square. There is no pattern - you just add fabrics and make it end up as a 12" X 12" square. Part of crazy quilting is to add embroidery and embellishments. It is from the old days when women didn't have much and they used what they had to make quilts. They can be very interesting and beautiful. Here is a look at the one I made.

Flower Charms

2010-08-12T10:15:00.000-05:00

I joined a group on Swap-bot that makes jewelry. Actually, it stresses me out because I am not sure what to do. I joined the swap to make charms with 'flower' as the theme. I thought to myself that would be an easy one!! Well, it took me FOREVER to figure out what to make. I do like the end result with my charms. The first one is a rose charm I made with Tim Holtz Grunge Paper. If you have never used grunge paper or grunge board you have to give it a try! That stuff is awesome!! The tutorials for the flowers are all over the internet too (Google it). You use your big shot to die cut the flowers and then I inked up the pieces, glued them together and added a bale. I think it might look nice on a black velvet ribbon as a choker or something like that. I felt like this was maybe too easy since I already knew how to make these flowers so I made another charm too.

These charms still have the flower theme but I took a bunch of different elements and put them together. I really liked these as well. I put the white kind of shell piece on the metal spokes with really strong glue and then added the metal flowers to the white piece with the same glue. I twisted the crystal beads on wire and added them to the bottom to dangle just to add a bit of interest. I hope my partners like these. I got a few gray hairs over them!!! :)

Button Bracelets

2010-08-12T09:59:00.001-05:00

I made two different styles of button bracelets for a swap on Swap-bot. I wanted to try them both to see which on I would like better. I really liked how each of them turned out so I sent them both to my partner! Take a look ~

What do you think? Do you think she'll be happy? Her profile said she liked colors associated with the ocean and I think these buttons worked well for her. Luckily, I am obsessed with buttons and have big jars full of them and they are all sorted by color! I just grabbed my big jar of blue buttons and sat down and watched the Shining with my son, Gabe. The bracelets were done before I knew it!!

Happy 25th Little Sister!!!

2010-08-01T10:32:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday, Nikki!! It seems just like yesterday that you were my little doll to play with!! I love you very much and wish you the happiest of birthdays!! Love, Kel

Cupcake Softie

2010-08-01T09:35:00.000-05:00

I made this cupcake softie for my swap partner. I used super soft fleece. Isn't it sweet??

Fibro Sucks!!

2010-08-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

I have been having a heck of a time lately. My pain has been very intense and I have just been feeling so crappy. I had a check-up this week - just a regular one. I was surprised to find out that I had a fever and bad ear and sinus infections. I had no idea because I can't always tell if I'm sick or it is the fibro acting up. Ugh..... So, I want to be up and crafting and doing things but this is what I've been up to most of my days....

I know in the second one I look happy but I just love my dog!! She is the best buddy for me because she is always okay with snuggling and being lazy!

Placemat Clutch Purse

2010-08-01T09:21:00.000-05:00

I just completed a swap where we made clutch purses using a regular placemat. I found a placemat at Target that I thought was kind of cute. I liked the colors and it was not an average looking placemat so I thought it might be a fun one to use.

I happened to have a fabric that I thought would be perfect for the lining and then I made the fun fabric flower to cover the snap on the outside. I think it really turned out cute!! I love the colors! :)
Here is the link to the Fabric Placemat Clutch Swap and the Placemat Clutch Tutorial. Try it! It is super easy and really fun with lots of possibilities!! :)

Captured Creature Bottle Swap

2010-07-25T07:27:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!!
This swap was so much fun and I just love how it turned out!
Here is the link to the actual swap: Captured Creature Bottles
We were supposed to find a bottle of some sort, create a scene inside and add a little captured creature. The creature could be anything. I put fun little fairies in mine. My husband loves this certain kind of salad dressing and the bottles it comes in are really cute so I have been saving them. I glued fake grass in the bottom and added a bit of potpourri for color. Our neighbor's tree is always shedding little sticks from it's branches so I took a couple of those and glued the fairy to it along with some glitter and a little more potpourri. I took two more sticks and twisted pretty yarn around them so that it would look like vines found in a fairy home. I covered the bottles with tulle (so the fairies could breathe!!) and tied it with pretty yarns and ribbons. A little bird tops the whole thing and adds the perfect finishing touch!! :) Check it out:

Do you like them? I just love them and I think I will make more to give to friends and family. They are so sweet!

Disappointing side note: Here is a picture of the bottle I got from my swap partner. It is just a plastic bottle with cotton stuffed in it and three little foam stickers on it. I understand that we all have varying artistic capabilities but it seems that little or no thought was put into it. I really don't want to be an unkind person but I wish she would have taken more time with this project.

Wonder Cabinet Fantastic Relic Swap

2010-07-23T16:39:00.000-05:00

I just finished a project for a really great swap on swap-bot. It was called, Wonder Cabinet Fantastic Relic Swap. If you follow the link she does a fantastic job of describing cabinets of curiosities and oddities. It was so much fun to research and learn about these things! I even went to the library to check out books on the subject and read lots of information online. I highly recommend looking it up and reading about some of the creepy things people collected!!!!

I think the toughest thing for me doing this swap was coming up with an idea. Each participant is supposed to come up with a relic, a way to display it and a tag or something to identify it. I was trying to make a mummified fairy from a tutorial I found online but I was having trouble with it (I will go back and try to do that again though! - too cool not to make one of those!).

I ended up putting two frames together so that it would be thicker like a shadow box. I stained the outside, banged it up with a hammer and trimmed it with ribbons. On the inside I put a piece of red velvet for the background where I would display my relic. I had a piece of an old wedding dress that a swap partner had sent to me awhile ago so I cut a piece of that and attached it to the velvet. I made a tag describing it. You have to look at the pictures to see what it was!! :) I love how it turned out and I hope you do too!!!

Do you love it? Can you read the tags?
The front says:
Cinderella's Wedding Gown, A long, long time ago, Circa. 1600s, France, One of a kind.
The back says:
This piece of Cinderella's gown was found by her chambermaid. It was torn my Prince Charming in a fit of passion on their wedding night. It was the beginning of their happily ever after.

This is the package all wrapped and ready to be sent to my partner. I hope she likes it!!

Mother's Day

2010-05-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

I made these bird nest charms for Mother's Day. My Granny passed away a few years ago and I think about her all of the time. I wish I could ask her things about her painting and art. I wish I would have thought of these questions a long time ago....
My sisters-in-law and I got into beading awhile back and she took apart of bunch of her necklaces and gave us beads. The little eggs in the nests were from beads she gave to me years ago. I have been saving them for something special. I thought it would be really nice if all of the women/girls in our family had a matching charm with Granny's beads. I made a whole bunch (my family is BIG!!) and sent them out. I think everyone liked them. I wanted this Mother's Day to be thoughtful and full of sharing. I wanted us to celebrate Granny's life. I will always miss her.

Shrinky Dink Dolls

2010-05-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

Remember Shrinky Dinks?!? You can still buy the plastic sheets at any craft store. I was in a swap on Swap-bot for these cute little jointed shrinky dink dolls.

Fairy

2010-05-20T11:57:00.000-05:00

I made this fairy for my Nana. We have been swapping crafts with each other and having lots of fun sharing our creativity.

I made this from looking at the book, Felt Wee Folk by Salley Mavor. You make the fairy with pipe cleaners and twist embroidery floss around her to create the body. The skirt is made from silk flowers and the top is a piece of felt that I embroidered. The wings are from another felt flower and the face is made from a wooden bead that I drew a face onto. The hair is a pink feather!!! Isn't she adorable??? I can't wait to make more of these little cuties!

My baby brother

2010-05-20T07:26:00.001-05:00

My little brother, Alex, was deployed overseas recently. Two nights ago his base was attacked. I don't know anything except that his unit is okay. Thank goodness!! Please keep him and the others in your thoughts while he is there serving our country and for all of them to return safely to us.

This was Alex's deployment ceremony. From left to right - me, Rick (brother), Alex (brother), Nikki (sister). I love this picture of the 4 of us kids together. I just sent it to Alex along with a nice care package. I hope he gets it soon and loves this picture as much as I do. :)

Altered Barbies

2010-05-19T07:04:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of a Barbie my swap partner sent to me. She knows I collect flying pigs and she turned her into one!! I just laughed so hard when I opened the package - my whole family did! How funny and creative!

This is the barbie I worked on. I dyed her hair pink and she has curlers in her hair made from drinking straws.

Here she is completed. I made her into a fairy. She has sparkly skin, long eyelashes, beautiful pink hair, and of course she is carrying her bottle of fairy dust!

This is the other barbie I was working on at the same time. I made her into a mermaid. I also curled her hair because it was so much fun to put the curlers in! She has glitter make-up and a tail made from that plaster stuff on strips. I just taped her legs together tightly and then wrapped the plaster strips, sanded and painted. I glued flowers to her chi-chis (I couldn't find shells in my stash). She turned out really pretty and she was so much fun to make!!

So much to blog about.....

2010-05-19T06:46:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged for a long time and have so many projects to post and talk about!! My fibro has been kicking my butt lately and I run out of energy pretty quickly. It is kind of frustrating but I just keep plugging along. I think I'll post pictures of all the fun stuff I have been making lately and a small description. In the future it would be nice if I could blog more regularly. Lol! We'll see, I keep saying that! :)

Altered Barbie Adventures

2010-04-28T19:15:00.002-05:00

I am working on a swap for an altered Barbie. I found this really cool tutorial: eyelashes for Barbie
I took black embroidery floss and a needle to thread the "lashes" thru the back of her head to the top of her eyes. It was kind of tricky and my fingers are sore (need to find a thimble!!) but it was a totally cool process. Here is a picture of her before I stiffen and trim the thread to make them look more like fancy eyelashes. So cool, right???

Finished Alice doll

2010-04-27T07:39:00.000-05:00

I love how she turned out! Do you like her? I should have taken a picture of her without her dress tied on. I drew little underwear on her and a belly button! :) She was so much fun to make and I was sad to see her off but hopefully my swap partner will enjoy her.

Alice Doll

2010-04-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am late with my Alice in Wonderland paper doll. I sketched her and made her dress and apron but I had an awful headache all day yesterday and didn't get her completed. Luckily my swap partner is very nice and understanding!! :) She is turning out pretty cute and I'm really having fun creating her. I am excited that I'm starting to draw better too. I think I'm starting to see things a bit differently and that really helps. I love that I can draw a simple girl's face. I'll post a picture of my Alice sketch. I was looking off the picture from Somerset's Shoppe - (the Alice paper doll set they sell). I just drew a cute face for a shrinky dink doll that I'm making too and she is also cute! My whole life I haven't even been able to make a nice stick figure!!! Lol! So strange, I know.....

off to finish Alice now.......

Alice in Wonderland

2010-04-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

My project for today is to create an Alice in Wonderland paper doll for a swap. I have had some ideas in my head but like always I have procrastinated and it is due in the mail tomorrow. :( I think I'll be okay. I have printed off some examples that I found online. I think I might use an Alice printed out and make her cute little blue dress with fabric and maybe pretty ribbon in her hair? I better get started because I always take longer than I anticipate!!! I'll post a picture of the finished product. (I'm dying to see Tim Burton's version at the movies in 3D). I have only heard wonderful things about it!

Frida is with my swap partner now....

2010-04-21T08:29:00.000-05:00

My swap partner for my Frida Khalo Shrine sent me a picture of the shrine I made for her. Here is what she wrote when she rated me for this swap: "It's beautiful, I love it! If I could rate it any higher I definitely would. It went up on my new kiva instantly! Thank you so much, it's truely a work of art." I love comments like that one!!

Doesn't it look nice at her house? I'm glad it went to someone who would love it as much as I did!! :) Here is a picture of the Frida Shrine I got from my partner: You can peek in the box and there are little red candles in there. It is much cuter in person!

Frida Khalo Shrine

2010-04-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

I made a shrine for Frida Khalo. It was part of a swap and is on it's way to my partner. I had so much fun creating it. I went to the library and got the Frida movie and another biography movie about her to get inspiration. I also read a lot online. She had such an interesting life. She was very sick as a child and her parents said she had polio but I guess she really had spina bifida (sp?). One of her legs was a different size than the other so she wore lots of big skirts and dresses to hide that. When she was older she was in a bus accident and didn't know if she'd ever walk again. She had to stay in bed for a year and during that time she painted a lot. Her parents put a mirror over her bed so she could see herself so most of her paintings were self portraits. They depicted the pain she felt in her body and also emotionally. She met Diego Rivera and married him. He was much older than she was and they were both very passionate people. She wanted to have children but her health was preventing her from carrying her babies to term. Her life was full of sadness and tragedy. She finally divorced Diego when she found him sleeping with her sister. They had an open marriage and while she slept with both men and women she couldn't handle finding her sister with the love of her life. They did remarry before she died. They were a pretty interesting couple to say the least. Anyway, these are some of the things I learned about her and that is how I came up with the ideas I put in my shrine. This is the first shrine I have ever created and it was a lot of fun. Actually, I think the researching part was just as fun as the creating part.

a new start....

2010-03-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

I really want to blog more regularly. I have been creating some really fun and pretty things and I think it would be neat to show them off. I always take pictures of my creations but no one ever sees them except for me and the swap partner I send them too. When I am assigned a swap partner (one Swap-bot) I just love to read their profiles and if they have a blog linked I always check it out. I like to see the kinds of things they create and then it is easier to figure out what colors or styles to use when I'm making a project for them. I'm working on my first shrine - a Frida Khalo shrine. Her life and paintings are so interesting to me. I am super excited about this project but also a little nervous that I won't do a great job. I keep reading about her and getting ideas in my head so I'm going to sit down and really work on it over the weekend. Maybe I'll be able to post some photos of either the completed project or at least the project while I'm working on it. Well, it is getting late for me so I'm off to bed. Dreaming all things crafty!!!

August 27, 2009

2009-08-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is my first blog. I have been creating so many fun things that I wanted to be able to share them with everyone!! I hope I can figure this whole thing out because it is a little confusing to me. I have recently signed up to Swat-Bot. You pick different swaps to participate in. There are so many categories to pick from. I like it because I can send out things I'm making and receive things from all over the world. It is pretty cool to see how others do things and different ideas people have. I recently got an ATC (artist trading card) from Berlin, Germany. It is beautiful! If I can figure out how to put pictures on here I will post that one.