Pin Some Glamour to Your Coat

I made this pin out of a piece of .99 clearance craft item. All I had to do was glue (with strong glue) a pin back on it and attach to my winter coat.

Voila! It was so easy to do and I have gotten a lot of compliments on it. Reminds me of how back in the day  women always had pins attached to their coats. It's a trick that can add color, whimsy or elegance to your outfit.

The pin (which didn't photograph well for some reason!) is colorful enough that people think it's a spring accessory. If  that's all it takes to bring on spring, I say Yea!

Valentine Cards Easier than ever to Make

As I mentioned in the last post, I had decided to use my Gelli plate prints on some Valentine's Day cards I wanted to make.

As you can see, the results turned out pretty well. It was such a snap to take the Gelli prints which I had printed on old holiday cardstock, cut them to size to fit the card sets I had bought and add a focal point heart and some stamping. I then embossed the stamp ink so that the cards would have some shine.

Very easy. And I wanted to mention that I used my new Brother Scan n Cut to cut  out the hearts from cardstock and thick embossed paper.

Tools like the Gelli plate and the scanner make doing these craft projects much easier, and really, more fun.

Gelli Prints May Confuse the Viewer

Wondering what this is? Words of description may be escaping you right now. Words such as red, odd, stripey, messy, a creative bomb, masterpiece?

That last word might be one you would pick if you are a lover of Gelli Prints like I am, and apparently lots of people on the internet.

A Gelli plate is a gellatin monoprinting plate. A Gelli print is a print that is "pulled" from the actual Gelli plate which has been covered with paint and textures and then relayered and relayered until the artist is satisfied. You can work on the same print for as long as you like until you are happy with the results.

I hope to use this print and more like it in similar colors to provide the background for some Valentine's cards I plan to make. The Gelli Plate can make even the most beginning artist feel pretty darn creative. Check back!

Here is more information on Gelli Prints:

http://www.gelliarts.com/pages/gelli-printing-plate-demo

http://gelliarts.blogspot.com/

Nothing Like a New Box of Crayons

When we were young and getting ready for a new school year, the absolute best thing to have was a box of 64 Crayola crayons (with an actual sharpener embedded in the box.) Way cool.

I went to look in my office drawer for such a box to show you and found that I actually had a 96 crayon box hidden away from an old project. I didn't even remember that.

Not 64, but 96 Crayola crayons

I checked further on the internet and it seems that Crayola now sells a  box of 120 crayons (twice as many as when I was young) which is probably too many, but I wouldn't turn the box down.

I was talking with a friend about creating art and I thought about  how inspiring any size new box of crayons could be to someone who is looking for a creative project to begin or work on again.

So my suggestion is to go out and buy a box of crayons -- any number of crayons will do -- and start a project with them. Draw and color in an art journal, print out some mandala patterns to color or make some greeting cards for Valentine's Day. Doesn't matter what you do just that you do something. And don't be intimidated by all of those perfectly sharpened, untouched tips on the crayons. Go ahead and use them.

So many artists on the web talk about not trying to be perfect in everything, to strive for progress not perfection.

I think that is a good lesson for all of us.

   

Grocery Stores Getting Creative, Too

I know it costs more to buy small packets of clean and cut up vegetables at the grocery store. At my store visit today, I noticed that the produce managers had moved these packages from the left rear of the produce section to pretty much front and center when you come into the store.

I looked around at the offerings and decided not to buy any now, but I thought to myself what a great idea this was for the holidays. If you slave over cutting up celery and onions and other veggies to make stuffing, you no longer have to do that. You can just grab a couple small tubs of already cut up vegetables and concentrate on more important things, like mashed potatoes.

I neglected to check the pricing of these small items when compared to buying vegetables in their natural state, but I am guessing they will cost more. How much, I don't know.


There's the decision: Pay more for convenience or not?

It will all depend next week on the mood I am in when I shop for Thanksgiving. Not sure which way I will go, but I know what my decision would have been back in the day when my children were young. I would have snapped up those pre-cut veggies so fast . . .

Creative Fun with Lake Rocks

Lake rocks with Crochet Covers, stenciling, stamping

On a recent trip to Erie, PA to see the Tall Ships, we found a boat ramp on Lake Erie where smooth rocks by the thousands have come to rest.

I was intrigued by these rocks and gathered up a bunch to bring home. I found directions on the internet for covering the rocks with crochet using light thread (but I eventually made up my own patterns as it was easy).

I also began to stencil and stamp on them, using these techniques on the top rock, which I then positioned on top of a crocheted one. Very cool.

There's only one problem. Since the rocks are free and available and only need to be washed before use, you would think I would be making these by the boatload. But I just haven't had time to make the two hour drive back to Erie to gather up some more. Hope to do that soon.

If you are intrigued by this project, I hope you have a ready source of rocks like these near where you live.

Here are some more photos:

Halloween Cards Easy to Make

There's still time to make some handmade Halloween cards for all of the ghouls in your life. I simply bought some empty card sets at a craft store and rounded up some old paper remnants and some cute accents I had lying around for the October holiday. Even if you only have orange and black paper on hand, you can still come up with some clever ideas for card faces. And making them with little ones can be even more fun.

With so many neat card-making supplies and embellishments to choose from these days, making cards -- and scrapbook pages -- is easier than ever.

Happy Halloween!