What's up with the girls?

I haven't mentioned my 18" girls in a while . . . well, they are excited to be going back to school and to see their friends.  They have new comfortable outfits suitable for sitting on the floor or at a desk and for moving around on the playground. My good intentions of sewing spectacular clothes for them were supplanted by the lure of the golf course, so I did some Etsy shopping. Here they are - all dolled up and posed in Annie's wing chair: Molly, Eva, and Marie-Grace are standing, while Caroline and Nellie sit.

Two outfits were chosen from Circle C Sewing (the navy/pink stripe and the pink/white dot) and the other three were purchased from Unending Treasures. I was pleased with the construction of all of the pieces, but I am not wild about the velcro closures that are standard issue on most 18" doll clothing.  The stuff gets caught in the dolls' hair. Sigh. But I understand it's done so little girls can dress their dolls easily. 

Just a FYI, there are vendors on Etsy who make couture and period clothing for 18" dolls - aimed at adult collectors - gorgeous garments in fabulous fabrics with real fasteners - and the prices rival those of adult clothing. Some of these garments are spectacular. But back to reality . . .

Once the clothes arrived and were tried on, I had to readjust my plans for which gal would wear what.  I bought the navy stripe for Eva, but she has such broad shoulders (from Cross-Fit), the top was way too snug. And it was borderline on the AG girls. Actually, this top would fit only Caroline well - her Madame Alexander body is slimmer than the three AG gals and Eva's Our Generation shape. So Eva wears the confetti outfit, which fits her body but not her tomboy personality. However, she loves the lime green leggings and her fish necklace.

Speaking of necklaces . . . Nellie is wearing her original American Girl heart necklace, but the other girls didn't have necklaces so . . . I made one for each of them using some supplies I unearthed from my short-lived jewelry-making phase. The beach-themed necklaces add a bit of pizazz to the outfits - Eva's is fishy, Caroline was partial to the sand dollar, Molly chose a scallop shell and Marie-Grace liked the starfish. I did have some supplies remaining and made a few additional necklaces with magnetic closures that I'll be selling. Exactly where, I'm undecided. :-)

Sweet Caroline

Nellie

Eva

Marie-Grace

Molly

Cheers til next time!

Silhouette tags

B-Line Designs is a stamp company I recently discovered through Beautiful Impressions stamping store. The many vintage style stamps in their catalogs fit with my mindset at the moment.  The catalogs can be viewed here.

I used several of their silhouette stamps to make these oval gift tags/hanging ornaments or decorations which were added to gift packages sent off recently.  Neat, aren't they? In another colorway they would look fabulous on a holiday tree.

Cheers!

S.

Color me amused . . .

 Crayons and coloring books were a staple of my childhood. The books could be had for $.25 or less at the local variety store and a box of 8 crayons was about $.79.  We spent hours filling in the blank outlines with bursts of color as well as bickering with our siblings or friends over the use of particularly popular colors. Remember, this was a predominantly TV-less life back in the 50's . . . and if there happened to be a television, it offered up four channels in black, white and shades of gray. Color was in our crayons.

The girl or boy who brought a box of 16 Crayola crayons (or gasp! a box of 64) to school, in a world of 8 fat crayons with a flat side, was the object of second-grade envy. Then coloring books lost popularity as "coloring outside the lines" became a popular mantra. "They" said that coloring books stifled creativity in developing children and kids should be given blank pads along with their crayons. Well, guess what. These creativity-stifling books are back  - for adults - and they are everywhere.

Browse the book area at BJ's after buying your super size whatever and this you will see -

Walk into Michael's  and this display is facing the entrance . . .  the sign reads "On Trend - Coloring Books for Adults" . . . hmmm . . .

 Back to BJ's . . . for a mere $8.99 each, you can purchase and take home something that promises to color you happy, calm, or relaxed. You can choose to color "amazing" mandalas, "beautiful" blossoms, as well as  Chinese or Japanese designs for fun and relaxation. 

"Magic" seems to be popular in coloring book titles and there are designs of the orient in Eastern Magic, beautiful floral designs in Blossom Magic, amazing mandalas in Mandala Magic and fantastic flowers in Magic Garden. The Mindfulness Coloring Book offers "anti-stress art therapy for busy people."  OK, then.

When I stopped at Michael's for magnetic clasps for my doll necklaces (more on that another time), I photographed the display facing the entrance shown above.  I had spent way too much time (IMO) looking at the coloring books at BJ's, so walked on by. I have my own stuff to color at home.

The adult coloring book phenomenon has not gone unnoticed in the media.  The librarian me has found some articles for those of you interested in "reading all about it."  

The Huffington Post article published April 21, 2015 is titled 10 Adult Coloring Books to Help You De-stress and Self-express.

The CNN featured article published April 24, 2015, leads off with  Adult coloring books topping bestseller lists. 

The New Yorker magazine published  Why adults are buying coloring books (for themselves) in the July 12, 2015 issue. 

And most recently posted on August 19, 2015, mbg (mindbodygreen.com) website offers a selection of six coloring books for readers with descriptions in their article The Anxiety-Reducing Activity You Haven't Tried Since You Were a Kid. (Click on the titles to link to the articles.)

Dover Publications has been selling coloring books for children and adults for decades as well as sponsoring coloring contests. The coloring books section of their website offers numerous themes including one called "Creative Haven," a best-selling series of coloring books for adults. Dover mentions articles in CNN, Fox News, and The Huffington Post, touting coloring as a great way for adults to relax and beat stress.

So, from stifling creativity to relaxation and beating stress.  Change happens. Color me amused!

Cheers!

New Baby Keepsake Card

I was browsing around Papercraft Clubhouse in Westbrook one day, taking time to look at the many samples the store gals have put together using products from their inventory.

I was intrigued by a creation that is called a "Card in a Box."  It reminded me of a mini Jack-in-a-box with "stuff" in it.  I decided to embrace the challenge and look up how to make one.

Below is a photo of a similar card taken from the Sizzix blog (since of course I didn't photograph the store sample . . .)

See what I mean about the Jack-in-the-Box vibe . . .

There are numerous YouTube videos as well as diagrams, templates and written directions that appear after typing "Card in a Box" into a Google search box. 

Take your pick . . .

I chose one, followed the instructions and Voila! 

You are absolutely correct . . . the picture above does not at all look like the Sizzix  sample.  Did I  neglect to mention that the card has an open bottom and folds flat to fit into an envelope? 

Well it does. 

The photo above is what the recipients see when the envelope is opened.  The absence of a bottom to the box reduces bulk in the folding.  I'm told there was a bit of puzzlement initially after opening the envelope . . . but after a bit of manipulation, the surprise below emerged. Voila!

Card folded into shape

Left side of card

Right side of card

The stamps used for this particular "Card in a Box" are from the  Make It Market Mini Kit - Wee Folk sold by Papertrey Ink (online), while the heart paper is from a sale pack found at Michael's months ago.  Assembly involved folding and cutting paper for the box and then stamping and die-cutting the images for the pop-ups and for decorating the sides of the box.

This card was made specially for a new little baby boy found in a cabbage patch in Florida.

The "Card in a Box" came together fairly quickly and easily  . . . and was much appreciated by the little fellow's parents. 

Cheers til next time!

Note Cards for Dog Lovers

Hello friends,
Longtime friends - a delightful couple - are dog people.  In the nearly 40 years I have known them, I can't think of many years when they did not have a canine family member.

Right now, they are without  . . . I recently came across a dog rubber stamp that reminded me of their Tess.  So home it came and was used to make a set of  doggie note cards.

Here they are . . . a set of six. I am hoping they make both the senders and recipients smile.

The dog stamp is from B-Line Designs and the papers are from a Little Yellow Bicycle paper pad called "Dog." I kid you not.

Here's how it was done . . . the dog was stamped in black ink onto cream card stock, cut in a oval shape and the edges inked. The patterned papers were cut to fit the purchased card blanks and the corners rounded on the horizontal cards. The scarf on each dog was colored with Prismacolor pencils and the dog ovals were layered onto patterned paper and adhered to the cards. A small strip of contrasting paper was adhered to the vertical card.

Paired with matching envelopes, the cards are set to go!

Cheers!

Vintage Style Note Cards

Hello friends,
Recently I was invited to a golf outing  . . . for those of you not into golf etiquette, it is customary to bring a gift for the person extending the invite (or invite her back to your own club) since she is covering the invitee's costs.  When I was asked to play, my hostess quite forcefully said "And I don't want a gift!"

Oh that can not be!  I can not appear "empty-handed!"  This lovely lady has been quite intrigued by and supportive of my creative pursuits . . . and was instrumental in my being included as a presenter in the Adventures in Lifelong Learning program at Three Rivers CC.  Since she enjoys writing and mailing notes and letters, what better gift than an assortment of note cards?

So I ruffled through my supplies (yes, it took some time), and made a set of six cards -
two of each design.

The branch with berries (Stampin' Up "Simply Sketched") was stamped in green ink with red dots and the edges of the paper torn.  The portrait of the 1920's lady (B-Line Designs) was stamped in black and cut into an oval shape. The pear image (Stampers Anonymous Classics) was stamped in sepia ink and squared with a paper cutter.  All edges were inked with Distress Ink in Tea Dye color to provide visual depth and interest.

Script paper was cut to size and layered onto a cream colored card base. The images were mounted to the patterned paper and voila!  Note cards.

Paired with matching cream envelopes and accompanied by the vintage thank you card described in yesterday's post, they were a home run with the lovely lady.

Just for the record . . . I experimented using sepia ink on the portrait card, but it does not work at all with the background paper. So it lives in the file labeled "Experiments - close but not quite"  until I deconstruct it and stick it on a different background.  Sigh - I can't just throw it in the trash . . .

Cheers!

Vintage "Thank You" card

I was poring over the July/August/September issue of Somerset Life magazine and lo and behold -  in an article by Connie Fong are projects made with a stamp that I own. How about that?

Using her idea, I made the card pictured below for a friend.  The stamp is from Catherine Moore's Character Constructions line called "Adventures in Tea."

 

The gal was stamped on cream cardstock and then again on the plaid paper.  I cut out the body and dress/hat and inked the edges with Distress Ink in Tea Dye. Using Prismacolor pencils, I shaded the body with peach, added blush to the cheeks and a dot of blue to the eyes. Pink pencil defines the dress folds, edges, the flower on the bodice and the bow on the hat. The garments were adhered to the body base and a white gel pen was used to color in the necklace.

I stamped a purse from a Julie Nutting stamp set in white ink on black paper, cut it out and embellished it with flowers cut from a paper scrap. The handle was trimmed. looped over the arm and the purse glued to the doll. The Thank You sentiment and outline label were stamped from a Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous set called "Simple Sayings" and trimmed.

A vintage dictionary page was cut to size and adhered to a black card. The doll was layered on the page and a strip of scrap paper adhered as a border down the left side. The sentiment was positioned at an angle and attached. I used a plain end page from the same dictionary, wrote a greeting and glued it to the inside of the card.

My friend, who is a vintage fan, was thrilled.

If  $14.99 is a bit much for you to spend on a Somerset Life magazine, you can take a look at Connie's projects (wall art) made with my stamp (lol) on her blog at Artful Play.

Til next time!

S.

Lyme disease strikes the unsuspecting (me!)

Hello friends,
Early in July, I was feeling not quite like myself . . . I was achy and tired  . . . so tired that I would fall asleep while watching Gibbs (!) . . . and periodically had the chills  . . . my mind was scattered and everything seemed to take longer than usual . . . then I woke up one day with a ridiculously painful stiff neck - pain radiated up behind my ears, making it truly uncomfortable to wear my glasses and to touch my head or comb my hair.  I soon realized that driving my car was a challenge (and I spend a goodly amount of time on the road) since I couldn't turn my head much.  I was popping  Aleve like candy but nothing helped the discomfort. Car-guy son said "Mom you are sick . . . there's something wrong with you . . .you never sleep this much."

On Saturday, July 18, after about 10 days of misery and lousy golf, one of the gals walked up behind me on the 18th green and asked if I had been hit by a baseball "or something" on my shoulder blade.  She noticed I had what looked like a big round bruise.  My friend, Jan, looked and said "oh no,  that's a tick bite bulls eye." So off I went to the clinic where Dr. Motyl confirmed that surely I had been a "meal for a tick," and prescribed a 21 day course of  antibiotics. She also let me know that no matter how many Aleve or other like pain relievers I took, they wouldn't touch the nerve pain caused by Lyme.

So  . . . I took my last blue capsule on Saturday morning and had been feeling worlds better until I woke up this morning with another headache. Dismayed that perhaps this was not gone, I dialed up the Center for Disease Control website for some confidence-building information. Anyone heard of PTLDS?

Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome . . . "lingering symptoms of fatigue, pain, or joint and muscle aches after finishing treatment, most likely caused by residual damage to tissues and the immune system." Studies show that additional courses of antibiotics are not helpful and cause more harm than good.  Most symptoms normally disappear within six months.  Let's hope I'm better than normal . . .

So my plan is to soldier forth, think positive thoughts, get plenty of sleep and resume my normal activities.  A plan.

"Wrap it up" at Three Rivers Community College - Adventures in Lifelong Learning

Hello friends
Way back in mid-April, before a trip to Pinehurst and the start of golf season, I was the presenter of a program titled "Wrap it up" for about 25 enthusiastic "lifelong learners" at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich.

The intent was to show how to use recycled materials combined with items commonly found at home to create trendy and strikingly wrapped gifts. As a librarian friend once told me (her husband is a chef) "Presentation is everything."

Starting with these  . . . 

 . . . results in these. Can you pick out the Martha Stewart snack bag?

Upcycled gift bags - who would know these were free? (Van Heusen outlet)

A cheap-o bow from The Dollar Store with some added "stuff" graces an inside-out cereal box

From lunch bag to gift bag . . .

Merchant logos are hiding under these embellishments - who would know? 

Of course, some basic supplies are needed to transform the Aveda bag to a gift bag - scissors, tape, glue, a standard hand paper punch, ribbon, an interesting note card and tissue paper - many of these standard items can be found in most homes. Tags can be cut from index card weight paper.

So what do you think? Do these make the cut?  Inspired as you are now, go forth into the wrapping world and upcycle!

Cheers!

It's Golf season

Hello friends

I am on the golf course - the game is coming around (finally) after hand surgery three years ago. It has taken longer than I expected for everything to feel normal and my confidence to return. 

Playing around with Christmas things - and holiday Julie Nutting paper gals.

Here's several jointed gals in progress. They are not stamped but traced from a Julie Nutting stencil and hand-cut. Then the hair is colored with Prismacolor pencils and edges inked prior to wardrobe. They all need some glitz and trimmings as well as banners with holiday words similar to the "READ." Don't you just love the glasses on the reader gal?

Interestingly I've discovered that documenting the "making" process (for a blog) to be more time-consuming than the actual making.

I will be trying to post once a week during the summer. I'm out there (or in my creative space) doing and making rather than talking about doing and making. 

Kudos to all the bloggers out there who post frequently. It is a challenge! (But a good one.)

Cheers!

"Painty" workshop with Dyan Reaveley

Sunday, Sunday . . . a fabulous all day workshop with Dyan Reaveley at Papercraft Clubhouse in Westbrook. For someone who is new to painting on paper, I came home with some pages that surprised myself!  [Interview with Dyan can be seen HERE]

We started at 9:30 am . . . and after some basics and introductions, started creating art journal page backgrounds by using Dyan's three basic techniques: painting with baby wipes, painting with a brayer, and a paint block technique using the Ranger blending tool. When all was done, there were seven or eight layers of paint on each page, including the stencil images and spritzes of ink. The paints we used were the new Dylusions paints developed to Dyan's specifications. ("If you stamp your feet hard enough, you get what you want.") Videos of Dyan demonstrating these techniques and talking about her paints can be seen on the Ranger website HERE.

Here's my baby wipe pages before the black stencil accents

I had too much paint on my blending tool :-(

This journal page  is ready for adding words, doodling, stamping, or whatever

And the brayer pages:

Before the black accent stenciling

We removed (i.e. tore out) six pages from the journal, on which we created "accidental" backgrounds by using the paint left over on the palette and on the brayer and painty blending tools after doing the pages within the journal.  I wasn't quick enough to complete all twelve sides of the six pages  . . . I managed five sides in one colorway and the  three sides in another but four blanks remain.  These pages will be taped back into the journal . . . I think I'll have to buy some paints  . . . but not just yet -  I have projects already filling up the craft table . . .

Five clean up sides in the pink, red, aqua, lime combo

Three reverse sides of the five sides shown above

And here is one of the two paint block technique pages I did . . .

Dyan would put more black accents on the page as well as pen doodling.

The star page below is a block technique page that was painted over . . . well actually painted around a solid star shape (the inside of a stencil) that I held in place  . . .  when removed the painted background shows through. The black was softened by some pounced on pink paint from the blending tool. Dyan's style adds words, outlines and images, perhaps using a white pen .  . . but at least four hours of drying time is necessary before adding any pen doodling or journaling. 

The second paint block page . . . covered with black

Next we were told to begin with a white page and a large stencil . . . rubber stamping (with Dylusions stamps) an image within the stencil shape. Then the background was filled with black. I added some pink stenciled stars and a bit of pink pounced paint for contrast.  The purple and lime circles were a clean-up of  blending tools.

The final step in the class (it was a bit after 5 pm at this point) was to decorate the cover of the journal using one of the three techniques we had practiced.  First we painted white gesso onto the kraft color journal cover so the paints wouldn't look like mud . . . I chose to use the baby wipe technique with stenciling for my cover.

Journal cover opened flat

The front cover . . .

Front cover

Hands down this was the best workshop I've attended. It was an honor and pleasure to meet Dyan Reaveley. I can't begin to describe the individual she is and the respect I have for her philosophy of making art. Personally, I stretched well beyond my comfort zone with colors and patterns and the result was pretty good, if I do say so.

The recently formulated Dylusions paints are wonderful for paper painting and I can see myself incorporating painted papers into my own work. Many thanks to Traci at Papercraft Clubhouse for making a great day happen.

A New Girl in Town

My birthday happened on Easter this year and a present came to my doorstep from Texas . . . from me to me.   Surprise!

Meet Marie-Grace Rousseau Gardner - an archived American Girl doll.  I fell in love with her face and the beautiful color of her eyes. She is truly unique since Marie-Grace is the only AG doll who wears this particular face. Pictures of the eight face molds and the dolls wearing each one can be seen HERE.

Marie-Grace and her friend, Cecile Rey, appeared together in 2011 and were archived together in May, 2014. I've read that it was the shortest tenure of any AG historical dolls.

The accessories for Marie-Grace include a straw hat, a fan, and a gold locket.

Marie-Grace is the twelfth historical character of the American girls, representing New Orleans in the 1850's.  Her father, Thaddeus Gardner, (Thaddeus, the name of both my dad and my brother) is a physician who has hung his shingle in numerous places since leaving New Orleans after the deaths of his wife and baby son when Marie-Grace was a toddler.  They have moved back to New Orleans and Marie-Grace hopes they will stay. She and Cecile Rey (the eleventh historical girl) meet at singing lessons and become friends. Their adventures are told in a series of nine books.

Cecile and Marie-Grace - New Orleans belles

Here is Marie-Grace after I liberated her from the box. American Girl dolls are packaged well with protective hairnets and are fastened to the box with twist ties and foam sheets. I think she is so pretty.

Marie-Grace has l-o-n-g hair . . . longer than any doll I have ever handled . . . along with some little tendrils of curls at the sides. Braids wrap across the back of her head and in case you are wondering, her hairstyle is going to remain that way.  I would not have the slightest idea what to do with it all, having spent 95% of my life with short hair and not having daughters. Nor can I imagine a young girl (or a frustrated Mom) having to deal with all that hair . . . the scissors might have to come into play.  Perhaps that's why the longevity of Marie-Grace and Cecile was only 3 years?? Take a look at Cecile's hair. . . sausage curls.  Beautiful to look at . . . but we all know how little girls like to comb doll hair . . .

Marie-Grace's dress is pretty but just OK. It is not spectacularly put together - notice the non-matching plaid at the back seam (in the hair picture) which drives me nuts. I've been able to match plaids since I was ten years old. There are pantaloons rather than a slip and she is wearing knee high socks under white and black boots to resemble black shoes with spats.  

Her accessories were included in the purchase (a big deal in the doll world). The straw hat is well made and I've determined from seeing the picture of Marie-Grace with Cecile, that I put it on her backwards. Oh well, next time.  The gold locket is pretty but the fastener was difficult for my large hands to maneuver. And the fan . . . well it is just an extra piece, I guess, because it's New Orleans and ladies used them. However, it can't be held by the doll and the loop on it is not large enough to fit around her hand to dangle from her wrist. As I said, an extra piece.

The only negative to my Marie-Grace is that her limbs are not as tight as those of Molly and Nellie so she doesn't stand well or hold a pose.  She was obviously NRFB (never removed from the box) so there is no way anyone could have known that. I will have her joints tightened but I'm not ready to send her off just yet to the AG Hospital. She'll be supported by her sisters for now.

Marie-Grace does need a few things for her wardrobe so I'll be going through fabric in my stash to see what might be fashioned into some new things for her and for my other girls. For any sewists out there, JoAnn's has a deal on Simplicity patterns this week -  5 for $5.00 . . . and there's a separate doll fashions catalog on the pattern browsing table.

Back L to R: Nellie, Marie-Grace, Molly
Front L to R: Eva (Our Generation) and Caroline (Mme. Alexander)

Aren't they just fabulous? There is something to love about each of them.

Cheers!

Junk Drawer Wall Art

What is Junk Drawer Wall Art?  Well that's what I showed to a group of about 40 attendees in the "Adventures in Lifelong Learning" program at Thames Valley Community College last April. Preparing for this year's presentation (next week), thoughts of last year's event surfaced.

We all have "stuff" and trinkets we pick up as we go about our lives . . . when we come home, our pockets are emptied and the "stuff" moves from the counter to the junk drawer. Why not put it on display?

Credit for this idea goes to Paula Cheney at One Lucky Day, who created a very popular Junk Drawer Advent Calendar  (See picture of that kit here) several years ago for the holiday season.  Photos of calendars sent in by people who were inspired by Paula's work of art can be seen here. (Scroll down to view.)

As a collage and assemblage lover, I created a "non-holiday" version so it might grace the wall all year. Items from my jewelry box and the junk in the drawer of my nightstand were unearthed for this project. Here it is . . .

The frame is  22" x 26" (found at WalMart) with the glass (actually plastic) removed. A piece of foam core board was cut to fit inside the frame and was covered with burlap for a bulletin board look.  I collected my "junk" and played around with grouping items, then arranged it on standard manila tags (2.5" x 4.75").

The stuff was glued, tied or pinned to a tag - whatever worked for the particular piece.  Tape, stamping and stickers embellished the tags and the edges of those in Row 3 were inked with Distress Ink. Then the tags were pinned to the background.  Notice the different strings and pushpins on the tags . . . since this was a sample project for the presentation, I wanted to show the difference in look some simple changes make.  The tags unify the collection of very different objects and are pleasing to the eye, which looks for consistency.

Junk Drawer Wall Art - Row 1

Junk Drawer Wall Art - Row 2

Junk Drawer Wall Art - Row 3

A second sample made for the presentation illustrated how to display a collection of similar items.  The golfers in the family bring home golf pencils that spawn in the drawer.  So here they are . . .

The pencils were hot-glued to strips of heavy paper, the strips were arranged and then pinned (like the old insect collections) to a piece of foam core board that had been covered with a layer of quilt batting and tan flannel left over from a sewing project. A Boyd's Collection golfer pin and some golf push pins were used as embellishments.  This piece is a unique one -  some of the golf courses are now closed and others have experienced name changes.  But all of them were played by someone living in our house.

So that's what Junk Drawer Wall Art is all about . . .you can do this too!

Cheers!