New Opportunity!

Hello Everyone!

 

I am really excited about a new opportunity here in Franklin, IN. A cute boutique opened up recently, and I am now selling my cards and sketchbooks there! It's called Simplify, offering all kinds of handmade goods by local artists. I am thrilled to be a part of it! Here are some pics of my display and some new cards. I have kicked into high gear getting inventory for the shop, and I'm starting a full time job this Tuesday as well. It was a big week!

 

Card Mania!

 

 

Some close ups!

 

My new friend, Franklin, hanging with me all day. Love him!

 

In the Works

Yesterday, I met up with the art journaling group in Indy. Here are the pages I worked on. 

I used Distress Ink Stains for the background and covered it with a layer of gesso. 

This background is acrylics and I just started doodling and writing. 

I got my postcards in the mail to Kat for Liberate Your Art!

Today's project: Keep working on another art quilt.

I ordered a lot of cards from MOO this time. I often put them in packages as a Thank You, and send them to friends. I took a few and put a set of my mixed media collage images in my shop. I am trying to get the inventory built up in there and want to do more with it. 

A Stack of Journals

I love stacks of stuff. 

And, I love to see a stack of progress. I am busy making more art quilt journals. I am finally getting back on track with my Etsy shop and might be doing some craft fairs this summer. Time to get a move on! 

Alcohol Ink- Lovely Messes

On Saturday, some of my friends from the art journaling group came over to do some sewing, painting, book making, cutting, stamping, and of course, eating and chatting! 

Shaun showed a couple of us how to make a simple book with all kinds of flaps and possibilities. Do you ever see something made and wonder why you never thought to do something so easy as fold the paper differently? That's how I feel about this book. It's really just 3 long sheets of paper stacked and all having different sized flaps and folds. Simple and yet so much more interesting!

For the cover, I basically just went crazy with alcohol inks and blender solution! I let it drip and run and bleed through. I really liked the effect, but wasn't so happy the next day when I picked up my journal and had silver hands! Ha! The blues and pinks were fine, but the metallic silver transferred onto my hands easily. Nothing a coat of varnish couldn't fix...but good to know for the future! 

More Fabric Arrived!

Hurray! My banjolele fabric arrived today! I just got a fat quarter to see how I liked it. 

I love it! I also want to play around with it in photoshop, or somewhere, and mess with the colors. I'd love to have some with a black background and white pen.

"Play Your Banjolele"

Working on more fabric designs

Two more sketches ready to become fabric!

Did I tell you I got a banjolele in November?  I managed to play some Christmas carols and I am busy practicing chords every day!

My fabric arrived

I received a gift card from Spoonflower for Christmas. I have been so excited to make my own fabric. I used some pages from my sketchbook for the designs. It arrived today!

Horse Looking Back

I am trying to get more sketchbooks made for a possible Indianapolis craft fair and my Etsy shop.

I already have three canvases in the works with the idea of turning them into fabric. 

A new addiction? Uh Oh! 

I like Messy

I made myself a sketchbook cover for my Moleskine.  Time to try some stuff.

Drops of Daler Rowney acrylic artists ink onto denim.

Stitch all around it.

Sew on a messy loop with some scraps. Perfect for my pen.

View of the back. I like how it creeped along the side.

Some day I will run out of this fabric I dyed in a class years ago- until then, it's my fabric to do test runs with.

Insert sketchbook. Ready to travel.

Countdown to the Craft Fair

Hello!

I am getting so excited about this craft fair next month...just a few weeks to go and I am madly sewing, collaging, and organizing. I wanted to have more of my art quilt sketchbook covers-- so here's one I made today.

 

I had forgotten how fun these are to make!

 

I'd love to hear your stories and advice from doing craft fairs, too!...total newbie here!

Art Journal: The Goodies from Mail Art Friends

I get a lot of cool stuff pouring out of envelopes from mail art friends. I have piles of it. Boxes of it. Tins of it. Envelopes of it. Folders,too.

Why have I not been using it? Why am I hiding it away? Dare I say, hoarding it?

It should be used!

So, I started a new art journal- my first themed journal- and it is all about using these bits of paper, ephemera, stamps, cancelled stamps, envelopes themselves, stickers, altered and painted and stamped paper, and all kinds of fun stuff!

Here are my pages so far! ( Maybe you'll see some of the things you've sent!)

It is going to be fun to have a journal of these treasures from my lovely friends.

Views on the deck

Sitting in the sun on the back deck today.

I got a new sketchbook the other day. This one is for a friend and I to mail back and forth, sketch, paint, collage, anything, and fill up over the next year.

Got it started so I can throw it in with her birthday package.

Making Things....

I adore this fabric...what mail lover wouldn't, right?

So, I made this mini moleskine fabric journal tonight.

I plan on making all kinds of things this 3 day weekend! I can't wait!

So in Love

I used an embroidered girl I had done and put it into a sketchbook. The embroidery was one I drew freehand and stitched. Here's how she turned out.

I love this fabric I found with postmarks and mail.

The end of the year is fast approaching...

December is zooming by and a new year fast approaching. I pulled out my 2011 list of goals and was thinking about all the things I've done this year. I had specifically written on here "Keep the list in front of you" because I am always making these New Year's lists and never see them again until the following year, or later.

This year's list was all about crafts. In years past I have had things like "learn a musical instrument" on there...and, well, that didn't go far. However, I can play "Silent Night" on a harmonica...poorly.

Here's my list:

I did accomplish a few! Yay me! Ha!

1.Sign up for some classes ( egg tempura painting and mixed media with Serena Barton in Portland!)

check.

2. Try more felted pincushions and submit them. ( I'll give myself a "sort of" on this. The felted dolls are sort of pincushions, too. Hee)

3. Submit my art doll (this I did do...still waiting to hear. Fingers crossed. It's a doll I've never posted.)

check.

4. Try new doll techniques. ( Did a lot of that!)

check.

5. Play with shrines. ( Still want to do more with those. And I have some great ones from Donna!! It'll be on the 2012 list!)

6. Small quilts. ( made 5 tops, finished one, bound 3 but haven't sewn...ugh)

7. Sewing brush cases (done, and gifted to friends)

check.

8. More seasonal cards ( uh...this just didn't happen except for 3 I whipped up yesterday...)

9. Do a series of work. ( felted dolls...5 finished! Yay!)

check.

10. Take more photos. ( Even got a new camera for my birthday in May. This one was easy!)

check.

11. Make more from what I have. ( Hmmm, I did well in the fabric department on this one, but wool is another story!)

12. Less for blogs, more for me! ( When I first started this blog I was mainly doing challenge blogs and really ended up creating for those. It wasn't leaving time for what I really wanted to do. I had a great time, and it helped me find the things I really love to do, but I definately moved into more creating for me and my mood now.)

check.

I didn't even have "open an etsy shop" on my list, but that has also been a fun new adventure. And thank you all for your kind supportive encouragement! It's going along well...and for 2012 I may have to put on my list "less for etsy, more for me"! Ha! I am definately the kind of person who right out of the gate is pretty obsessed with things...oh, I'll admit it, I'm a bit of an etsy junkie these days!

We still have a few weeks to go and Christmas is nearly here, but it was fun to pull out my sketchbook and look at what I have done this year.

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season. See you soon.