Can't wait to see this!!!

One of my all time favorite places in Virginia is Lucketts General Store! Yesterday this postcard (don't you just love it?!) arrived in the mail about their upcoming holiday open house. GUESS WHAT!! I am going to be in Virginia over that weekend!! Whoopee!! I am so going to be there for that!! I will take pictures (if they will let me) and post them upon my return.Tuesday the housecleaners come. Most rooms have plenty of dust but are tidy. BUT! It means cleaning off the countertops in the kitchen and picking up the stuff on the floor. This is the main area for my art work. It is still not well organized. I had hoped to be better organized by now, but it just hasn't happened.This is the kitchen island. I love to stand here and work. But it is also heavily loaded with stuff for three different projects! Got to clean it off so the housecleaners can clean the top of the island.Here are the remnants from the Awaiting Halloween class yesterday. Decided to organize the Halloween stuff and put it all in one box and label it Halloween. Then out to the garage with the box until next year. This has to be cleaned off, too, as well as the stove top!Here is the "eat-in" part of the kitchen and you can see boxes on the floor and the chair. I don't usually clean off the desktop or the hoosier. I tell the cleaners to do the ceiling fan and the floor. Leave everything else alone or I will never find it again! I truly need a studio!! Somewhere I can leave the mess and close the door. I think its time to give serious consideration to the spare bedroom as a studio.

Awaiting Halloween class a lot of fun!

Everyone had a great time today in class and they all went home with a finished piece. Just look at those happy faces!!Here is JoAnne burning the edges of her transparency.While some burned edges, others sprayed pattern paper with water and inks to dye them for their piece. It helped to crunch up the wet pieces before putting them down on freezer paper to dry. Adds interest and texture. They also dried quicker if they were wrinkled and not laid flat.

Thanks Becky, JoAnne, April and Carolyn for a wonderful class!! You ladies were the greatest!

My scissors!

You know what drives me crazy?? Misplacing something, looking all over for it, and not being able to find it! I have a pair of scissors that are my favorite. They came from Creative Memories and they are the best scissors ever! I have misplaced them. I have looked everywhere; looked under everything; searched every room; and still no scissors. Do you ever do that?? If I don't return something to the general or specific place where it belongs, I spend a lot of time looking for that something because I can't remember when or where I used it last. Drives me crazy! I can even sit at my worktable, put something down, never get up or move, and still can't find something I just used! Now that's BAD!

Today's class at Mystic Paper

I am teaching "Awaiting Halloween" today. This is such a fun project and you don't have to use glue! All you need is a sewing machine. Everything is sewn down.

I will take pictures of the students as they create their own little wall hangings. They are going to dye their own tissue paper, burn the edges of the transparency, and then pull it all together. The tiny bottle at the bottom is full of eyes, beads, feathers, notes, and other things I am bringing along for fun. I will post pictures soon.

Parfumerie tin

This tin was the first one I ever did. The image on the cover is a favorite of mine.The image on the left was from a magazine. I stamped on it and then covered it with a piece of mica. The tiny gold beads were added last. The background on the right is a piece of tissue paper. The tiny perfume bottle is filled with roses potpourri. Dried roses and a rose earring were added last.

MOO Cards -- What are those?

I have been saying for months that I need to have business cards made. But, on Saturday I took a class at Mystic Paper and got to chatting with Maija who was sitting across from me. She gave me one of her MOO cards and showed me other cards she had collected from other artists. MOO cards are smaller than a regular business card, but serve the same purpose. Well, that was the answer to my business card dilemma. So this morning I got onto MOO's website and ordered some MOO cards. The great thing about these cards is that you can use your own art work on one side of the card. The other side has all your information. It was easy and simple to do. I should get them in a few weeks -- they come from England!

October orange and black swap ATC's

The theme was orange and black. You could choose to do anything in orange and black. It did not have to be Halloween. But somehow Halloween crept into my ATC's. I tried several other ideas and they just didn't work.This is a transparency of an old "haunted" house image. It is on a background of watercolor paper that was washed with orange color and spattered with black.This idea sprang to life while I was on my walk one morning last week. I saw this image during a "dig" through my scrap box. So I decided to print her out and use her on my ATC. I love this image made up in a sailor suit with orange cheeks, and a spider web on her hat.

Boys

Boys! I have two boys -- ages 33 and 29. And a grandson who is 16 months. But what really prompted me to do this tin about boys is the fun picture I found of the little boy in his swim suit against a backdrop background in a photo studio, probably at the beach wherever he was!

Meet Frances Crowley

This picture was taken in April of 1931. This outfit just cracked me up! Why was she dressed like this? Where was she going? Where had she been? Was this haute couture in 1931? The only hint I have is that this was taken at Jacksons Camp, Columbia SC.

After a bit of research (love Wikipedia!) I determined that Camp Jackson (Fort Jackson) was an Army training camp activated during WWI and closed in 1921. It was reactivated during WWII and remains open today as an Entry Training Center for the Army. So, Fort Jackson (Camp Jackson) was closed when this picture was taken.

Woo-Hoo! The new Victoria!

Long awaited and at last it arrived today! The new issue of Victoria magazine! They quit publishing this magazine several years ago. I buy old issues at yard sales, thrift stores, etc., look at them carefully, and then resell them at Merchant Square. Back issues are very hard to find. Women tend to hang onto these magazines. I love the beautiful photos and romance in this magazine. Woo-Hoo! It's back!!

My favorite article in this issue is "The Antique Clothing Collection of Tasha Tudor." I love Tasha's art work, but was really taken by the beautiful antique clothing she collected shown in this issue. If you can, grab a copy of this issue and take a wonderful trip through Victorian romance, grace, color and timelessness.

Trick or Treat!

I was working on ATC's today and had to allow some time for them to dry before the next step. So I put together these two old spools of thread -- orange and black. Love the tickets! They sell them at Mystic Paper! Just a fun little project that was quick and easy!

Believe

Here is another of my altered tins. This one I call "Believe." Inside is my favorite smiling stamp. It is embossed in black, has a jewel glued to the upper left and the entire piece is glued to the tin cover. The right side is a little matchbox that has been decorated inside with a stamped domino and loose beads roll around inside the box. It is covered with with a piece of transparency and glued to a small piece of card stock that has been stamped. The whole piece was then glued into the box.

This is one of my favorite tins.

An Altered Tin - Scrap Box

This altered tin box I call "scrap box". I did it on a whim one day. I love doing these small projects because they are quick and easy.

I had the windows cleaned last week -- inside and out. I thought to myself yesterday that the birds will be flying into the windows thinking it is an opening. Earlier this morning a dove flew into the big window in my great room, then it flew over to the slider and onto the screen. It seemed frantic. Really startled me. I got up and went to the slider only to see this huge hawk trying to catch that dove!! Holy cow!! That really scared me! No wonder the dove seemed frantic!! I knew there were hawks in the area and that they hunt here. But I never thought I would see one flying up to my slider trying to catch a dove!!

I have also seen a small cottontail three days in a row now. I seem to scare him out of the bushes near my front door. He is small so I think he may be a baby. I hope the hawk hasn't seen him!

LIVE Swap ATC's and more!

Here are the ATC's I received at the LIVE swap at Mystic Paper last evening. Aren't they gorgeous?! The theme was autumn and I think they all captured it in vivid hues.

My friend, Chia, recently had a contest on her web/blog and I was one of several lucky participants to win a box of beads! Chia was at the LIVE swap last night and presented to me my box of beads. There are some "pretties" in this box and I know they will find their way to a hat pin or two! If you check out Chia's blog you can see pictures of part of her collection. I am a beginner compared to her! Here are some of the happy swappers in attendance last night at Mystic Paper.In October both Kim and Jennifer celebrate their birthdays. Last evening at the swap there was a delicious (YUM!!) birthday cake. It was chocolate cake filled with a dreamy layer of a mousse-like filling. Wonderful!! Happy Birthday ladies!!

I took other pictures, but they were blurry. Hmm! Thought I had a steady hand and I know I used the image stabilizer on my camera. Operator error I am sure!!

An Altered Tin - Coco Chanel

I love doing altered tins. I have 5 of them I would like to share with you over the next few days.
This first one is classic Coco Chanel. I did some research on Coco while making an altered book about Paris. Coco was a fabulous fashion designer in her time. The basic black dress and pearls were her signature pieces. I love the look! But black dresses and pearls are no longer in my wardrobe. But I do include them all the time in my antique booths at Merchant Square. (See my October 3 blog!).
And, of course, there is her signature Chanel #5 perfume. I love it! My husband often bought it for me as gifts. But kids come along and perfume goes by the wayside in favor of baby powder and Johnson's Baby Shampoo. The round "dots" you see on the left are actually tiny mirrors. When you look in the tin they reflect your image or the light. I actually found the miniature Chanel perfume bottle at an estate sale a long time ago. It fit in the tin perfectly!

Autumn ATC

This is my ATC for tonight's LIVE swap at Mystic Paper. The theme was autumn. I found both images in Memories of a Lifetime's "Florals & Nature" artwork book. Since the weather has cooled down some here in Phoenix, this evening should be delightful. I am looking forward to going. Kim and Jennifer have also added a lot of new things to the shop and I want to get some of the new crackle paint and ribbons that they showed on their blog this week. Because the weather has cooled off here in Arizona, sage is in full bloom. This is silver sage and it is just beautiful. You see it all over in the area. There is also Texas sage which is in full bloom, too. Sorry, no picture of it as yet.

I haven't been working on any projects this week. On Monday I had to clear off my kitchen island (aka my work table) because the house cleaners were coming on Tuesday. Since then I have been busy trying to get my fountain up and running, pricing items, and cleaning up and rearranging my booths at Merchant Square. All of which has occupied a lot of time. Getting the fountain up and running meant numerous trips to Lowe's and Radio Shack to get a remote box to run the fountain and a new electrical hook up to replace the remote that died. Gruesome! I wished that my husband was still alive. He was the wizard with electrical things! I know very little about electrical things other than I can get shocked.

Trouble bubbled!

This morning I went to Mesa to visit the ladies at Mystic Paper and to browse through RJ Peddler Antique Mall to see what treasures are left. But just as I left the exit gate to my community, there was a rummage sale at the church which is just outside the gate. Now, I don't pass up rummage sales!

The "rummage" was pretty well picked over before I got there. I didn't realize the sale started today. I thought it started tomorrow. Oh well! But I did get this hat for $1. Now, I don't wear hats. I do sell them in my antique booths, but not this kind. I bought this for the flowers, the ribbon (maybe, it is glued down pretty well) and the butterflies. The rest is destined for the trash bin. I am going to make the roses a bit more tattered. The butterflies will be used in a future art piece. My next stop was Mystic Paper to see Kim and Jennifer and to check out new stuff. After my visit there and a bit of shopping, I went to RJ Peddler to go through some of the stuff left in their shop. It is closing out and it is still full of vintage things. I found the button cards, the hooks and eyes and the bits of black trim. More things for junking up a book or ??

My next stop was where trouble began to bubble. Domestic Bliss! If you haven't been in there, you are missing something! I found the masked trickster, three alphabet balls, Trick and Treat tickets and a pair of beautiful pillow shams for my bed pillows. I can NEVER get out of there for less than $100 -- and today was no exception!Here is the trickster again, but the backdrop is a gorgeous spidery webby table cover, lamp cover, whatever. I found that at Bella Fine right next door to Domestic Bliss! They are double trouble for me!! Shown with the trickster are three of the ATC's I got back today from The Girls Club swap of last week.

The Girls Club ATC swap cards came back in this wonderful Halloween bag. Inside was a small bag filled with these papers, pictures, cards, netting, rick rack, and glitter. AND a small bag of candy corn -- which is my favorite! Yum! You don't see the candy?? -- it's gone! Thanks to Debbie Guffin for all of this fun! You are the greatest!! What a wonderful surprise!!

These are the ATC's I received in the swap.
These are going into the 7 Gypsies ATC holder.

While reading blogs. . .

I decided not to watch TV and read some of my blogs tonight. Please take a look at Artsy Mama's blog of September 28 here. This nursery, Nature's Harvest, that she visited will take your breath away! Artsy Mama likened it to falling down the rabbit hole! It is such a visual delight and she took wonderful pictures of the nursery. Too bad Minnesota is such a long way away!! Do you know of any nursery here in the Phoenix area that has a display for fall like this one? If so, let me know!! This made me long for Centreville, Virginia where we used to live and the wonderful Reston Farm Market that was such a delight to visit in the fall. Oh well, life goes on!

Upcoming Sale at Merchant Square

This weekend, beginning Friday, is the first fall three-day sale at Merchant Square. So I have been busy this week rummaging through my garage, closets and also a fruitful trip to Goodwill in order to have a good inventory for this sale. I took pictures today after I had rearranged my booths and got them refreshed and new looking for the sale.
This is my "girlie" booth. I love this long black dress. If it had been in my size I would have kept it. The ruffly formal to the left is a vintage prom dress. It is beautiful!This is another corner of my "girlie" booth. The chair is "new" but it is so feminine and the fabric is in the colors I love. This is a very cozy little corner.This wall is my favorite! I love the mosquito netting hung on the wall and then the desk/vanity placed in front of it. The chandelier has lots of glass prisms on it and is very pretty. The black curio cabinet holds perfume bottles, beautiful plates with roses on them, feathers for vintage hats, and old reading glasses.This is my other booth. I call it my "back booth" because it is at the back of the center section in the mall. It is part "girlie" and part "country". I love the sexy black dress with the purple furry stole at the shoulder. The other dress form has a vintage 50's Christmas apron of green netting with felt Christmas items on it. The old mink stole is just like my grandmother's. The black coat is a dyed fox jacket that is really cool!This is another corner of the "back" booth. You can see all the pretty plates as well as frames, pictures, and other fun things.This shabby china cabinet holds a lot of pretty jewelry, great evening purses and vintage toys too small to leave out of a locked cabinet. The other shelves hold vintage kitchen items and country style items.

So now you can see what I have been up to the last few days. I will be at the mall off and on all weekend. Saturday morning is the parking lot flea market which I never miss! I always find something great there!

October already!

I turned the calendars over this morning. Another new month! Where does the time go? Guess when you are having fun it just flies by -- at least that is what people say!

Last week I bought this 7 Gypsies ATC card holder at Mystic Paper. I can hardly wait for my next batch of new cards to come in so I can add them to the holder. I already have one 3-ring, 3" wide binder full of cards plus a second 3" binder that is half full. My own ATC's are in another binder by Stampin' Up!

It is bulging and cannot take anymore pages. I hope the card holder doesn't swell up too quickly!These tags I did yesterday morning. I bought the tags at Art Unraveled and they were already joined and stained with walnut ink. This project was just for fun to try out new things. I tried three Glimmer Mist colors (terra cotta, coffee shop and gold) on them, then cut out the cute fall pictures. The letters are rub-ons and then punched out. The letters were glued down and then Copper Stickles outlines each. The cutouts and felt leaf were glued on last. You cannot see it well, but I also tried the new 7 Gypsies texture rubbing and glitter sheet. You can barely see it, but look carefully right under the hole at the top of the tag. I plan to separate the cards, put ribbons through the holes and then clip them to ribbon like a banner. What do you think?Progress on my Halloween altered book is slow, but steady. I think the cover is just about finished except gluing down the ribbon and the picture. Pages have been inserted, but I have a lot more to do. This is just a hint for you!