My journey through all things crafty.
I have been playing around making some additional ATCs. They are small, quick and totally addictive!
Square Meals
Cats
Friendly
An Age Old Battle
Fools For Love
All are available for trade. Just drop me a line if you want to trade. You can see other ATCs that are available for trade here.
I bought some Rummy-O game pieces at the thrift shop recently. I created pendants and then decided to make necklaces to hang them on while I was at it. I thought I should make matching earrings, too.
All of the beads with the exception of the flower beads on the bottom left are vintage. The flower beads are new fabric beads that I picked up at Bangles and Beads in Carytown. You can order them here if you like them, too. I don’t recall paying that much for them, but may have. Probably not, though, as I am CHEAP! If you like them and are in Richmond, they are at Torman, too.
What are you creating today?
Remember the altered tiny dominos I made a while back? Well, they grew up to be one charming bracelet.
Wouldn’t you agree? All of the findings are sterling and the beads are from a vintage necklace. The lighter ones are a bit iridescent in color. I have took it to Torman on Sunday so if you like it and are located in Richmond you know where to find it! I am definitely going to make more and I really like how this turned out. Lord knows I have the dominos!
My friend Ann took me to my first bead show on Saturday. Wow, talk about eye candy. Some of the beads were awesome. I saw one handmade glass bead, ONE HANDMADE GLASS BEAD I said, that was $80. It was lovely, I will say that, but man oh man how much would the finished necklace cost?
I like working with vintage necklace beads. I like that they have some age to them and are unique, too. You won’t see them everywhere and you won’t see 1000’s of them. It gives them some individual character don’t you think?
I went to Target on Sunday and bought Neil Diamond’s new CD and watched the interview with him on Sunday Morning. God, I love Neil Diamond! I always have and most likely always will. They mentioned he was 62 on the interview. I thought he was older than that. He must have been a baby when he hit it big.
Here he is from Youtube singing his new song Pretty Amazing Grace on American Idol.
Enjoy and have a great day!
Starting today it will cost more for this kind of goodness to arrive via US Mail. They are raising the rates today.
I had a lot of great stuff in my mail over the weekend. First, there was this scarf all the way from Finland and courtesy of Syko via Etsy. It is a t-shirt material and the birds are appliqued onto the scarf. It is just the right length, too! I love its bright colors and the primitive birdies on it.
It is so cute and the perfect thing to jazz up my outfit. Today I wore it around town with my jeans and my red converse sneakers. I felt like a somewhat urban Dorothy. I wonder, at times, if people think I am one of those sad ladies trying to be younger. I just like to show a bit of my personal style and my artsy side when I dress. When I work I show it with my jewelry choices. It is hard to dress trendy when you are in a more conservative environment from 8-5.
Next up are the ATCs from a 1:1 swap with Ann from the Netherlands. She picked a couple (this one and this one) of my ATCs and I created the Tipsy Button Fairy for her. The ATCs she sent me are lovely and I like them a lot.
She sent me From Pairs with Love, Lovely and April Showers. You can click on the hyperlinks to see them a bit better on Ann’s flickr pages. You should check out her other works while you are there. She is a great artist. And, if you are inclined you might see if she will trade with you. She also sent along some other collage pieces.
Lastly, but not least, I received the items for a 1:1 swap I did with Susan from PEI in Canada. I love her Dotees and the faces she creates on them. The two she sent this time didn’t disappoint either. Our theme was springtime and 
gardening.
I love the crooked grin on the Dotee on the right. Even with the eyes closed (I prefer to create my Dotees with their eyes open they have such a happy expression. Most of the Dotees I see look like they are sleeping, but Susan creates them to look like they are smiling even with closed eyes. Truly lovely and truly a great technique.
She also, as part of the swap sent along 10 ATCs. Susan has helped me to perfect my ATC technique along the way. First she helped with the dimensions, then the titles and signing them, and lastly the sleeves to protect them in transit.
Her ATC this time were truly lovely, too.
I love the ATC she made from the playing card and all the little embellishments. You can see what I sent to her here, here and here.
So pretty! Thanks, Susan, for another great swap!
My Mother was taken from me by lung cancer when she was 56 years old. It happened just before my 21st birthday. We really were looking forward to that birthday for some reason. Maybe because it meant I was an adult? Maybe because it was a special number for her? Or maybe, just maybe, she liked a really good party! (She did!)
My Mother had 7 children and I was next to the youngest. She cried happy tears easily and wore her heart on her sleeve, but she would tolerate NO CRAP from any of her children. She was a smack first and ask questions later kind of gal.
Her 79th birthday would have been May 16th. It is hard for me to picture her old as in my mind she is still as vibrant and full of life as ever. I refuse to remember her as she was at the end of her life. I was thankful she went quickly (diagnosed at Christmas and gone before the end of March). She was a great painter, a quilter, crocheter, and a flower gardener extraordinaire. My Mom could do it all! Mom had a great sense of humor. We gathered to sprinkle her ashes at the farm she loved in WV and it was on April Fool’s Day. I kept wishing she would jump out and say, “just kidding April Fools,” but she didn’t. I have wonderful memories, the crafts she taught me and lots of happy memories.
One of the articles that made her laugh the hardest was this one by the late Erma Bombeck. I remember it yellowed and taped to our refrigerator from a newspaper that Mom clipped it from. I am sure Mom and Erma are having quite a time in Heaven and really yukking it up! Mom loved to laugh! Erma made her laugh until she cried!
by Erma Bombeck
My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!”
My mother taught me RELIGION
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL
“If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
My mother taught me REASON
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
My Mother taught me LOGIC
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
My mother taught me FORESIGHT
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident”
My mother taught me IRONY
“Keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper!”
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM
“Will you “look” at the dirt on the back of your neck!”
My mother taught me about STAMINA
“You’ll sit there ’till all that spinach is finished.”
My mother taught me about WEATHER
“It looks as if a tornado swept through your room.”
My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS
“If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen THEN?”
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times–Don’t exaggerate!!!”
My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
“Stop acting like your father!”
My mother taught me about ENVY!
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do!”
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION
“Just wait until we get home.”
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING
“You are going to get it when we get home!”
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD
“If you don’t pass your spelling test, you’ll never get a good job.”
My Mother taught me ESP
“Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?”
My Mother taught me HUMOR
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
My Mother taught me about SEX
“How do you THINK you got here?”
My Mother taught me about GENETICS
“You’re just like your father.”
My Mother taught me about my ROOTS
“Do you think you were born in a barn?”
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE
“When you get to be my age, you will understand.”
My Mother taught me about JUSTICE
“One day you’ll have kids … and I hope they turn out just like you!
Happy Mothers’ Day, Mom! You taught me well and I really did listen! I love you!
This story destroyed me. Talk about an “ugly cry!” What a remarkable set of young ladies.
You can see the video here.
My Dad always seemed to have money. He, however, was not too great about sharing it. When I was little he would give me money, a $10, a $20, a $5 whatever he thought the occasion called for. There was one catch, he knew how much change he expected you to bring him back. You never knew the number in advance and if you brought home more he would give you the difference, if it was too little you got read the riot act and then were expected to work it off.
In all of my years with my Daddy, 30 to be exact, I never figured out his system. I tried to under spend in order to come home with the right amounts, but was only successful about 50% of the time. My brothers never seemed to care and would spend it all and take the accompanying chores to pay it back.
They say that your parents are different with their grandchildren and Dad sure was. He bought them things that I only dreamed of having. My 5 year old nephew was given a large boom box, a Walkman, and many other extravagant things. Once my Dad asked me to take my nephews to the amusement park. He gave me a $100 bill to do so. Once I paid the admission and bought us a couple of sodas and hot dogs the money was gone. I had to dip into my own money to pony up for other drinks, t-shirts, and snacks. I was out about $60 on top of the $100 Dad had already given me.
On the drive back I was sweating bullets and getting myself prepared for the ensuing lecture and the attached to do list to make up the money. My Dad was asleep when I got home so I had to worry about it overnight. The next morning I snaked down to breakfast and he asked if we had fun? If the boys enjoyed it? …and DID I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY??? I explained to him that the $100 barely got us in and bought a small meal and that I had to spend my own money to buy things the rest of the day.
Next thing I knew he was opening his wallet and pulling out the money to repay me. I must have been staring at him like he had 3 heads as I heard him say “is that enough?” and reached to take the money from his hand.
I guess the pressures of raising 5 kids left at home on a bowling alley managers salary was hard for him. Once he retired he had more money and we were all out of his hair and his wallet.
Did your Dad have a special money math, too? If so, I would love to hear your stories.
Here is a post about the perils of trying a new glue on a craft project. I went to the store to get my trust E6000 glue for this project. The store I went to didn’t have it so I thought I would try Gorilla Glue. After all, it claimed it was the strongest glue there is!
Enter the project. Some Rummy-o game pieces with scrapbook paper attached to them. I had the idea as I was buying some broken clip on earrings to affix them to the pendant for a 3 dimensional look. I read the directions for the glue and then glued the earrings to the game pieces.
Do you see that stuff that oozed up between the beads? That is the freaking Gorilla Glue. I thought it might go away as the glue dried, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! And let me tell you it may not dry pretty or clear, but it IS strong. I couldn’t take it off.
I am glad that I am out a bit of time and 15¢ per earring that you see here. So, I am not out a whole lot. Let this be a cautionary tale…try the glue first on something you could care less about if it is new glue.
They would have been really pretty if it had not oozed through. Needless to say the Gorilla is going back and the E6000 is going to be found!
See, it is not all goodness in crafty land!
These ATCs are for a 1:1 Swap entitled “Happy Hour.” I am swapping with Karla of Sugar Bear Designs. I bought a book over the weekend Doodling for Papercrafters and thought I would try out some of the techniques on the ATCs I was making.
There are aspects I like and ones that I am not thrilled with. All and all I like how the ATCs ended up.
Have you tried doodling when you papercraft? I would be interested in hearing about some of your experiences. I love when it is done well and the whimsy it creates and that it is more individual then just using rubber stamps.
I have also started making some more button fairies. I enjoy making the items in bits and doing a bit each day on them. It lets my mind embrace the creative process and I can think about each part before I create it.
Do you create start to finish or do you create piecemeal?
I guess the process is as individual as the creator.
I embellished a few more tote bags over the weekend. And, SURPRISINGLY, they all seem to be in a bird theme. The first is the City Bird pattern that I have used before.
I love the bird with the wind up key. I found it by using Google image finder and also located the other birdie that way too. I Googled bird outline.
I am really pleased with the way they ended up. The tote bags were thrifted from Goodwill. The bottom two bags were brand new and still had the tags attached. I love when that happens.
He rocks in the tree-top all a day long
Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and a-singin’ the song
All the little birds on J-Bird St.
Love to hear the robin goin’ tweet tweet tweet
Rockin’ robin (tweet tweet tweet)
Rockin’ robin (tweet tweet tweet)
Oh rockin’ robin well you really gonna rock tonight
Every little swallow, every chickadee
Every little bird in the tall oak tree
The wise old owl, the big black crow
Flapping them wings sayin’ go bird go
A wordy little raven at the bird’s first dance
Taught him how to do the bop and it was grand
He started goin’ steady and bless my soul
He out popped the buzzard and the oriole
He rocks in the tree-top all a day long
Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and a-singin’ the song
All the little birds on J-Bird St.
Love to hear the robin goin’ tweet tweet tweet
