Trip to a Creative Wonderland!

Yesterday, my friend Lorine and I took a mini-road trip out to the Eastern shore of Maryland to visit our friends, Tiffany Windsor and Candace Liccione. What a treat! Candace has a beautiful home overlooking the Wye River and the day began with some creative talk by a warm fire. Then we sat down to a delicious meal of quiche and salad followed by yummy warm apple cake. After MORE creative chat, we headed over to Candace's studio- the ultimate in crafting heaven! There were beautiful projects all over the walls including mosaics, jewelry, wall hangings, frames, you name it... Jars of colorful embellishments lined the walls and windows-tiles, beads, charms. Another nook was dedicated to tea and various herbal items. Several work tables were set up for classes and workshops. I found it difficult to stop looking around surrounded by all of the cool stuff.

Over tea, we discussed the state of the craft industry, where we see our talents and goals fitting in and shared ideas and fellowship. We got on the road and talked the whole way home about our visit- such a great day. Thanks to our creative friends, for sharing your time with us!

Recycled and Glittered Tissue Box

Did I mention being snowed in for a week? Here's a project that I did while held captive by the storm.

This week I finished doing my taxes! Normally, I file my receipts in a gray metal file box. But usually they collect in a pile on my desk for a while in case I need to return something. So I decided to use this pretty box on my desk for temporary storage.

The box was found for $1.50 in my favorite thrift store, the Closet. First, I spray painted the box with aqua Krylon. I decided to experiment with my Copic markers and glitter. I used 2-3 values of each color in red/pink and green. It was really fun to just play with the markers and kind of scribble and blend the colors as I went on the raised flower section. After I colored it, I added Stickles on top for a little glitter. OK, I'll admit it was hard to stop once I got going... but really, can you HAVE too much glitter?

I like how this project came out. It's definitely much neater to look at than stacks of store receipts, plus everything is in one spot for when I am ready to file it all.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! It's snowing like crazy here and I had the urge to make something pretty and spring-ish. I came across this sweet little bundle of flowers in a drawer the other day.

The flowers were given to me by my daughter for Mother's Day several years ago, along with a box of Godiva chocolates and a funny card. She was a senior in high school and we were going though a rough patch as she got ready to head off to college. When I see the flowers now, it makes me grateful for my three daughters. I love watching them pursuing their dreams and goals and am so proud of them.

To make this cheery wall hanging, I started with the ScoreBoard Notebook Pocket die, the Big Shot and 6" x 13" piece of matboard. I ran the die and matboard through the die cut machine (Big Shot). I folded the box up and used strong double sided tape to hold it together along the back tabs. The cool shimmery pink finish is a metallic adhesive sheet by JEJE Produkts which is cut to the width of the box. The pattern on the top was punched out using a Martha Stewart border punch. I peeled the adhesive backing off and lined it up evenly on the front and pressed it down and around to the back of the box. After arranging the flowers, I looped the pretty ribbon through the brad holes in the back to use as a handle and wrapped and tied the ends around to the front.

Check the Sizzix blog for another project using my fun ScoreBoard dies. Hope your Valentine's Day is LOVEly!

Snow Day(s?)

The weather dudes are in their glory. Last night I was very disturbed to find that the storm coverage preempted "Shark Tank", my new favorite show. I am not and never will be a weather channel watcher- the weather basically does what ever it wants and you just have to deal it. But this snow is worthy of writing about.

My job is to take a broom and whack as much snow as I can off the trees and bushes in the yard so they don't break from the weight of it. I went out at 1:00 and came in at 1:40 encrusted with snow and tired from trying to make my way around to the various vegetation that needed attention. I don't like to wear hats. This is a problem when you are standing under a tree poking the branch that is laden with 50 pounds of snow, hence "encrusted" :-) I still like snow. For lunch, we had grilled cheese with a side of Spaghettios and mini-meatballs. It's that kind of day.

Word has come down that taxes must be completed ASAP so last night I assembled the paperwork, spread it out on a table in the family room and busily started making notations and piles of receipts. When the CFO fell asleep on the couch, I came downstairs and got started on several really cool projects. The fun thing is they are a little different than what I normally make. Stay tuned- will share some when they are finished.

Stay warm and cozy wherever you are!