New items added to Etsy

I just added three new items to my Etsy shop, Vintage Recycled.  Thought I would share them with you here and then you can check them out on Etsy if you would like.

I found this tiny silk fan at an estate sale a long time ago.  It has been sitting in a box on my desk and I take it out every now and then to admire it.  You can see it is tiny and in very good condition.  On the back it is stamped "Made in Occupied Japan."  Nice addition to a fan collection.

This is a cute red leather heart box with gold trim.  It is about 2 5/8 inches across.  Perfect little box for storing jewelry or trinkets.

A new little journal with a lady in blue on the cover.  She is so sweet!  More information about each item is available in the Etsy shop, Vintage Recycled.  Click the above link or on the widget on the right side of the blog.

Keepsake Album with Ruth Rae

What a lovely person and teacher Ruth Rae is!  I really am glad I met her and was able to take her Keepsake Album class at Art Unraveled 2010.  I didn't get finished in class.  But will finish the album next week.  Here are a couple of the collages I did in class:

Love the mica pieces as the burned edges of the organza.  Didn't know you could sew on mica.

Lots of pockets for memorabilia.  A pretty pin on lace.

I learned about a pour on resin that made that music paper transparent and like glassine.  Can't wait to do more of that.  This is my mom, by the way, at age 17.  I made 6 small collages that will be sewn onto the felt pages of the book and then bound.  Will show you once it is finished.

This is another of the little journals that I finished last week.  She will be in my Etsy shop in a week or so.

Queen Bee and a covey of quail

I was reading Dorthe's blog, Den Lille Lade, a few days ago and fell in love with a cloth heart that had a "queen bee" image on it.  See it here.  She noted in her blog that the image came from Digital Antiques.  So I did some searching and found it here.

After I got the images I promptly printed some on coffee dyed muslin and made this little journal.

I was lucky enough to find a wooden button in my stash that had a bee on it. 

Never one to let the back of something go without some detail, I stitched around the edges and put two daisies with flowers on the back.  Striped fabric to match the bee, flowers for the bee, and a beeline with the stitching.

I wish I could have gotten closer to take this picture, but the quail would never have stood still for that.  And it all happened so quickly that putting another lens on the camera would have taken way too long.  As it was, I only got this picture of papa quail standing on the rim of the fountain with about 9 babies running around.  There were lots more babies but they had disappeared behind the wall and the fountain.  Best guess is that there were nearly 15-18 babies of varying sizes.  I wondered if some babies get mixed up and join the wrong covey to hang out with.  Anyway, what a treat to see all these little guys running around!  Too stinkin' cute!!!

Rhinestone Cowgirls

I have made a set of mini journals and decorated them in what I call "rhinestone cowgirls."  Here is the first set I want to share with you.  These will also be posted for sale on my Etsy shop, Vintage Recycled, a little later today.  Got to do some more cropping.

I call them my Rhinestone Cowgirls because I decorated each little journal with pieces of old rhinestone jewelry.  The two cowgirl images at the left and center are pics of Prairie Rose Henderson.  She was quite the cowgirl in her day!  She was the first to actually make and wear pants instead of a long split skirt while participating in rodeos.  I do not know who the cowgirl is on the right.  The cowgirl on the right is Mabel Strickland.

Here are the backs of the journals.  They match to the ones pictured directly above.  I love using the left over bits and pieces from all the collage work I did in Collage Camp with KC Willis.  Great way to use them up!

I am off to do some cropping and then post these on my Etsy shop, Vintage Recycled.

Spring giveaway

I noticed that my blog has had over 25,000 visits.  It's time to have a give away to celebrate all of you, my readers and visitors, and say "thank you"!!

Here is what I am giving away.  It is a personal notebook or journal, 4" wide by almost 8" high.  I decorated this ready-made notebook as a shop display piece for Mystic Paper a couple of years ago.  Just recently found it while trying to clean out my garage last week.  I then decided it would be a good piece for a giveaway.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this April 6th blog.  On Monday, April 12th (by noon), I will pick a winner's name by random number generator and post it on my blog.  Then as soon as I get your mailing information, I will put the notebook/journal in the mail to you!

Please tell your blogger friends about my giveaway on your blog, too!  And if you haven't signed up as a follower, now would be a good time to do it.

Lots of good things are going to come from my garage clean out!  Stay tuned!!

Christmas journal give-away

I promised the readers of my blog a give-away. And here it is. This little journal is so sweet and would make a great gift for a dear friend or for you! The vintage photo says "Joyeux Noel" at the bottom and depicts a mother and daughter and a very pretty doll she probably received as a Christmas gift.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this December 10th blog, and on Tuesday, December 15th (by noon), I will pick a winner's name out of the hat and post it on my blog. Then as soon as I get your mailing information, I will put your Christmas journal in the mail to you! And you should get it before Christmas. Be sure to check back with me by Tuesday, December 15th!! So leave your comments and check back! Good luck!

Santa Journal

Decided to make these little journals as gifts for friends. I will also be doing a give-away of one of them next week. Stay tuned!

Time for a give-away!

As I near the 17,000 visitors mark (as I write this, the number is at 16,930 visitors) on my blog I am going to do a give-away! This is a big thank you to all who read my blog, leave comments, and have posted my blog address on your blog! And here is the piece I am giving away:

It is a little journal (3 1/2" x 4") that I created before I went to Virginia last week. I ordered the image from Paper Whimsy. Isn't she just the cutest little girl??!!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this July 29th blog, and on Monday, August 3rd (by noon), I will pick a winner's name out of the hat and post it on my blog. Then as soon as I get your mailing information, I will put your little journal in the mail to you! So leave a comment! Be sure to check back with me by Monday, August 3rd! Get in on the drawing!

Little Buckaroo journals

Two little buckaroo journals I made from scraps. These images are transferred onto canvas fabric. Love the barbed wire accents! Too cute!

Journals

Sorry I have been absent for so long. With that said, I am going to share with you the journals I made with Kelly Kilmer week before last.This is the cover of the first journal we made. I love this cover. Can you guess how I made the "garden of flowers" on this cover? Inside this journal I mixed colors and painted the pages using an artist's paint brush -- it is a trusty left over from my tole painting days. I was not real happy with the way these pages turned out, but, hey, this class was for learning techniques.I did get a couple of pages collaged and I think this one turned out pretty good. Never thought to use pink and orange together, but it worked for me!This is the cover of the second journal we did. The cover of this one is made from wonderful shiny paper (although you can't see that in the photo). The edges were covered with tape. Actually the tape holds together the folded outside edge of the journal so that there is a pocket on the inside of the cover. I love the bird tape and the silver flower tape. Kelly had a big bag full of different types of tape we could use on our covers.

This is the inside of the journal. You can see the taped pocket on the left side. We used stencils to create interest on the pages we painted.

In this journal I used a different brush -- a cheap 2" wide bristle brush that I found in my husband's can of brushes he used. I liked this effect much better. I am going to buy a couple more of these brushes since they are pretty much disposable when they get too stiff and worn.

I have not done any journaling in these books yet. I think I should. I have signed up to take a journaling class with Quinn McDonald at Mystic Paper this Saturday. I am also going to sign up for Kelly's "Prompt a Day" to see if that will help me get over this "funk" I have been sinking into lately.

Creative journals

I spent two days with Kelly Kilmer and made two big journals from scratch. I had a ball and I love the journals. Although I must admit that there isn't much in them except for painted pages on the signatures. I hope to do a page a day and finish each journal as this year progresses.

Here is Kelly explaining some fine points to the class.This is really "outside the box" for me! Lots of puddles of acrylic paint and gel medium! Lots of color mixing and application to the pages in the journals. Fun, messy and great therapy! I am now ready to try my hand at finishing the journals and filling them with my own personal journaling. Something I have not done, ever! I am going to give this a try! Make it personal! That is now one of my goals for this year. I will show you the journals tomorrow.
I LOVE this fountain that is in the round-about just in front of Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale. How pretty is this?! Geraniums blooming, beautiful horses, the sound of water in the fountain! I have been to Scottsdale many times, but never wandered over on the west side of Scottsdale Blvd. Lots of galleries, lots of cafe's tucked in corners, jewelry stores, wonderful things to explore. Wished I had more time and money!All I can add is "Yee Haw!"