Altered States

Spider man journal

2011-09-08T15:37:00.001-04:00

I call his my spider man journal because before I completely altered this

it was a spider man kids book! Haven't you ever seen a book , loved the shape but didn't care for the title or the entire book. That was one of those books for me so I altered it into a art journal with some decoupage, gesso, & lots of distressing. I decided this will be my next class. Instead of calling it the spider man journal, its got to have a little more artsy sound to it which will be Mixed media journal. Sounds artsy enough! Anyway I hope you'll come an enjoy getting a little creative, & alot of messy with me on Sunday, October 2 at 12:30.I don't believe the picture shows how pretty it is so I will take it to the store for you to see in person. Hope to see you in class!

My Baby Inspiration

2011-09-08T15:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, So for those of you who know me knows that I don't have "babies" small ones that is. My Babies just happen to be 23 yrs. old! When I hit that creative block, I can find a picture of my girls & I'm back in my creative space. I did this page using tons of prima flowers. I also draped a chain from an old tarnished necklace at the bottom & loved the way it looked. All my paper was distressed just a little & very lightly brushed with my foam tim holtz tool. Mostly the edges of the pieces of paper. In this page I used the black soot distressing ink. Not bad for someone going from no inspiration to this beautiful page. I really love the way it turned out.

Back from Texas

2011-09-08T14:58:00.000-04:00

I'm back from Texas! I've been back 2 1/2 weeks & I just now feel like I'm getting back into my routine. I was very busy & didn't get to do any scrapping while I was gone.I missed getting together with friends & this past Saturday my friend Kathy came over with some great pictures of her and her husband Frank. I decided to share the idea of the Donna Downey weaved page that I took the weekend before. It came out great! I took pictures to show off just how good it turned out. We used a different color palette all together. Nice & Bright. Good job Kathy!

On a roll

2011-06-10T13:59:00.003-04:00

I have been on a roll with starting and actually finishing projects. We all know how that goes. Starting new projects isn't the hard part it's actually finishing them. Lastnight at 9 'clock I decided to start putting together a 4x6 Donna Downey canvas album. I started out thinking I would just paint the cover. Finished that and thought,well that didn't too long so maybe I'll just paint a few of the pages.Before I knew it I was knee deep in the project and wasn't about to not finish it.I used a poppy red paint mixed with a little pink and all the pages I painted a light sky blue. I trimmed all the pages with orange and bright green ribbon to keep it simple. I didn't go too crazy decorating the pages because my goal was to just get them ready for pictures.I don't think the picture does it justice as far as showing how pretty how colors I used are. It reminds me of Sherbert.I of course had fun putting this project together until 5 a.m. this morning.Totally worth it!

Ready for Texas

2011-06-06T22:45:00.005-04:00

I leave next Wednesday for Texas. I'm going home for a short visit with my daughters. I have really been trying to finish up all those unfinished projects I have laying around. I bought the Donna Downey 12x8 canvas album at inspire and decided I wanted to use if for this trip.
So I started it and got completely sucked in.I'm a bit of a night owl, so as the sun was comig up this morning, I was just hitting the hay!I really wanted to finish it and to say I'm notorious for losing track of time would be a understatement.I would have loved to take pictures of every page but I wouldn't want to bore you so that's why I took a side view picture.I'm so happy it's done and can't wait to fill it with pictures.

Whoa Baby

2011-06-05T15:39:00.002-04:00

After Hattie's makeover I found another cute pic of a baby but the background was wah wah wah.... booorrriiing! I gave the baby a cool place to hang out & he definitely loves his butterfly wings. It was a quick project but fun to do.

Hattie Hogan

2011-06-02T01:43:00.007-04:00

So are you at all curious as to who Hattie Hogan is? Me too.I know she's from Greely Kansas. I bought her picture in a antique store in Boerne, Texas.I know she needed a makeover. You know the kind of surprise makeover like on tv!I got the idea from my somerset studio magazine.The photo was the normal Sepia color which made her dress look like a light color just like black and white. I started by cutting her out.Then I began putting different scraps of fabric around her until I found one I liked. I took my alene's glue and just started shaping it to cover the one she was wearing. I added some flowers in her lap, some in her hair, and of course I had to give poor Hattie some bling! I took gold stickles and made her a ring, necklace, earrings, and a gold bracelet. Homely Hattie is now Hottie Hattie! I can't be sure but to me Hattie almost has a little grin on her face now. I think she's loving her new look!

Sunshine Friday

2011-05-27T11:52:00.003-04:00

My Grandaughter enjoying a day at the pool.

Woo Hoo the sun is out, the heat temperature is up & I'm loving it!I'm from Texas! I have to love the warmer weather.I guess I would have been up a creek If I didn't. Today is one of those days that I'm all over the place when it comes to figuring out what I want to do today. Isn't that annoying?! There is the "I need to" list & then there's the " I want to" list. So I need to go to the gym & after that I'm putting in a good movie & working on something fun.I just might have to cook something yummy while I'm at it or even better yet, I'm gonna order some shrimp pad thai. Yummm. I hope everyone has a fun Memorial Day. It's nice for all of you who get a day off from work so enjoy whatever you do & if anyone creates anything really cool, send it to my email & I'll post it here on the blog for some inspiration for someone else!

Vintage Sunday

2011-05-22T22:57:00.005-04:00

This picture is my Mothers wedding picture taken in 1945. She joined her soon to be husband in South Carolina where they were married before he shipped out for Germany. It's probably one of my favorite pictures of her. I wanted to give it that vintage look because it was the 40's after all. I used old lace, broken vintage jewelry pieces.The paper I used was Basic grey,& Graphic 45.The flowers and stick pins I used were Prima,& maya road.The charm in the corner was by making memories. Behind the photo is an old doily I had. I distressed the edges with Tim Holtz walnut distessing ink. Because the photo itself was so light I tried to add color in the embellishments. Pretty paper & flowers for a pretty picture.

Inspire pictures

2011-05-21T21:52:00.006-04:00

Here are a couple my inspire projects. I really didn't think I had a favorites but when I went to take pictures these were the two I picked up first.I've done encaustics classes before but never bees wax with pigment in them. It was so fun building up the wax on the hearts which is a new technique to me.

When I first saw the felt tree with the jute I wasn't sure how I felt about it but when I saw it I loved the whole idea right away. It was time consuming and took a ton of glue sticks but fun to put together. I'm not sure if you can see how the jute is twirled to make patterns which was a little tricky but still alot of fun.So that's all for now. You'll have to keep watching my blog for more pictures!:)

Back from Inspire

2011-05-20T22:44:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I really did have every intention of posting pictures of all the cool projects I worked on at Inspire but I have a real good excuse why I didn't. No really. To use internet would have cost $60 a day! Forget about it!I thought well, I'll get caught up this past week but that did't happen either. I spent my week getting back into my usual routine.So I will get you up to speed.I learned alot & really enjoyed all the classes. Well, there was one that I wasn't crazy about but I'd never kiss & tell which one and besides 9 out of 10 isn't too shabby! I just found it amazing how we all start out with the same idea & everyone had a different spin on it. There were people so creative there that it made me feel like a clueless kindergartner on the first day of art class. The gift of creativity that people had just blew me away. Now with all that having been said, I still haven't taken any pictures of any of the projects I worked on! I will be doing that tomorrow, promise, cross my heart. Have a wonderful weekend & watch for upcoming classes. I have so many great new ideas & techniques that I can't wait to share with you all.

Oh so sweet

2011-05-04T12:57:00.003-04:00

I've been off the blog for a couple of weeks! I went through a "what to do" moment or two. We all have them right? I just played around with stuff but just wasn't inspired enough to put anything together. Lastnight I broke the dry spell! I did a page with my grandaughter Evie & her baby doll. I had some Crate paper that I was itching to use & my fabric from Stamping Up.I made the flowers with pages from a childrens book & the letters I used to spell sweet at the top were white so I used my copic markers & colored them red along with some stickles. I've also been working on my art journal. I have just been doing totally random themes for pages.I'm getting really excited about my trip to North Carolina for Donna Downeys inspire.I leave Tuesday and will gone all week.I'll try to take pics while I'm there for the blog so you can see what fun we'll be having.
I won't promise, but I'll try.

Easter memories

2011-04-21T13:42:00.008-04:00

Lastnight I was going through old pictures of my kids when I came across Easter pictures of my son Mario at the age of 2. Made me a litte weepy.He's now 26 yrs.old & it makes you wonder where the time goes.

My scraps basket

2011-04-20T03:51:00.011-04:00

I wanted to come up with a catchy name for my easter basket.Lastnight or this morning (4a.m.) when I went to post it nothing was coming to me and that's probably because it WAS 4 a.m. and I was feeling a little tired! This morning I sat down with my cup of coffee to post and I thought to myself you need to put up the pictures of your scraps basket. There it was. Scraps basket! maybe not so catchy, but it best describes the materials I used in making this. It started out as a bird nest which I made out of the box stuffing paper from my stamping up order. In my collage class Sunday we were joking about keeping that stuffing or tossing it and I said I felt like I could make a cool dress with it by scrunching it & misting it. Instead I misted it & made into a birds nest/basket. The eggs In it I started out by taking toilet paper rolls & them cut into 3 pieces. Then stuffed them with paper and started taking strips of a paper bag brushed with watered down mod podge. Then I starting shaping them into an egg shape. Basically paper mache. When I finished the eggs I sped up the drying process with my heating tool because I'm a little on the impatient side. I first painted them & didn't like the way that looked at all so thats when I got the idea of using buttons to cover them. For an impatient person that took too long so I only did one egg covered with buttons. I loved it but no way was I gonna do all three eggs. The other two eggs I covered with pieces of old shirts that I have in my fabric stash. Then I added a little bling by adding old jewelery pieces to one & sequin flowers to the other. I made grass out of green crepe paper that I cut with my martha stewart scissors that cuts in strips. The handle to the basket I've had forever. Some ribbon on the trim, a bow on the side, a few flowers & Ta da! I had a beautiful, one of a kind easter basket. It's crazy what all we can make with scraps, a little creativity, & alot of imagination.

Spring in the classroom

2011-04-17T22:24:00.006-04:00

Today Spring was in the air & in the classroom! It was our dc collage class this afternoon and I think this might be one of my favorites. Everyone really stepped out of their comfort zones and ended of with collages to be proud of. Thank you ladies for making time for some fun time in the classroom! I really enjoyed my time with you all & hope to see you soon.

Saturday scrap page

2011-04-17T01:51:00.004-04:00

Tonight usual get together.Fried fish,hushpuppies,& fries for dinner. Sounds healthy huh? Not so much. Boy was it yummy! Anyway,after stuffing myself I wasn't sure what I was gonna work on. I started with putting my kits together for tomorrows dc collage class. Then I found a great picture of my daughters & some of their girlfriends. My new stampin' up paper that I got from Tessa came in & I really wanted to use it.That's just what I did. In my layout I also used jenni bowlin buttons, prima flowers & lace trim. I love the way it turned out. Very girly without a drop of pink in it!

Barbie Fun

2011-04-12T01:29:00.006-04:00

Saturday I had the usual gang over for dinner & crafting. I wasn't really sure what I was gonna work on when my friend Kristen started talking about some barbie pictures a co-worker had on her computer or something like that. She said the dresses were so pretty. I said well, "What do the dresses look like?" Long story short she found the pictures on the computer & I said, I thought I could draw them. We decided to put them on 11x14 canvas. Kristen didn't finish hers but I just finished my tonight. It was a fun relaxing project. As a kid I loved playing Barbies. I loved dressing them, & I had everything from clothes to cars, to the Barbie townhouse. Remember that? Oh ya. I had it all. So this project kind of made me think back to those fun days. I used acrylic paints, copic markers, Toulle for the dress along with flowers on her skirt. I also used a ton of stickles because I love bling!

Saturday fun

2011-04-03T00:26:00.004-04:00

I had my usual saturday night gang over for food & fun. Tonight the menu was simple. Hor'deurves. Of course I ate too much & will no doubt have to try & work it off at the gym this week. I have been working on a really funky, fun project.I put the finishing touches on it tonight & I have to say I like it alot. In it I used Tim Holtz gears, watch faces, prima flowers, butterflies, & buttons.I first started with a canvas & gesso to prime it. I picked my background colors & it just took off from there.I started painted my ladies face & gave her a bee hive sort of hair do because I knew I wanted to layer it with gears,& flowers. I love the look of steampunk & have wanted to do a project with this as a theme for a while. I had so much fun with this project but now that it's done I have to think of another fun new project.

8x8 Fun Pages

2011-03-30T02:19:00.004-04:00

I love doing random pages.I start by just putting bits & pieces down on my paper.When I'm doing pages with more of the ecclectic feel I definitely don't go for matchy, matchy.Just like with the cd class,& the mini canvas class this is a fun way to use up odds & ends of paper,ribbon, & ephemera.You don't always have to have pictures in mind to put together fun pages.Alot of times I don't add pictures until later & sometimes I just add ephemera to make it a collage book. I guess its pretty much the same as my art journaling pages.I like to make different sizes of pages. I may start out with 8x8 & then do an 8x10 so you can get that staggered look that you can add tabs to. On the 8x8 pages here I used my sewing machine to sew on the pages, along with duct tape, buttons, pieces of hankerchiefs, & paint. Its about not overthinking & just letting go & creating.Remember there is no right or wrong in art. Sometimes its not that something is wrong but you may not be getting the look you're going for. When that happens I just keep working with it by painting, or layer over what I don't like. Every now & then I can't come up with something I like so I just set it aside & come back to it later.Putting on my favorite music always helps bring out that creative mood.

Things that make me smile

2011-03-29T00:00:00.002-04:00

Every now & then the creative juices don't flow. Something new to get me out of my rut is to take pictures of things around my house that I like. I collect buddhas so I like taking pictures of those or goodies brought to me as gifts from other countries. Sometimes it just helps sprucing up my work space so I can start with a clean slate.

DC Springtime Collage

2011-03-26T20:52:00.008-04:00

I wanted to put up a picture of my April 17th class project.. I have to share the story behind the idea first.I was shopping & saw this cute picture of the New York skyline cut out with pieces of paper.Of course its a printed & not real paper. But I had to get it because the price was right & I love New York. My daughters were moving into their first real home in Arlington since graduating college. I wanted to make them something fun & artsy to hang in their home & thats when I thought why not make them a picture with the DC skyline like my NY picture.I had a picture laying around with this poster picture I was totally over.I took out the picture & used the card board backing from it & covered it with a mixed media canvas. I started by painting the background & cutting shapes of the DC monuments.I painted my frame pink & lo' & behold I had a very unique artsy piece of art! Only bad thing is this picture has never made it to my daughters' home. I showed Cheryl & she agreed that it would be a really fun class. So thats the story behind this project.

My new goodies

2011-03-25T00:39:00.005-04:00

I was itching to use all my new Pink Paislee products I bought yesterday.I bought the butterfly collection, the Dailey Junque collection, & the Soiree collection! After sitting down with it all in front of me like a kid at Christmas ooing & awwing over it I decided I'd do a Birthday page for my twins who just turned 23 Monday.Of course I used the soiree line. I love, love, love it! I'm crazy about the stick pins with the large pearl size gems at the tip & how could I pass up using the wooden stick pin with tinsel.I couldn't! The trim packet comes with 24 different trims which in the picture you can see I used the banner trim. I also used the new tag piece from the Jenni Bowlin line. The Flowers I used are Prima of course because they are my favorite. I can't wait to use more of it this weekend. Hope I'll see some of you at the Salem Baptist crop.

Getting creative in the classroom

2011-03-23T19:29:00.006-04:00

The creativity was flowing in the classroom today!This was the cd recyling make-up class.Not everyone likes to get down & messy but I was so proud of Dawn today for letting loose & doing both. My favorite cd she made today was her Paris cd. We all know that people think of Paris as being romantic & for her it really is. Thats where her hubby preposed to her in 1989.It doesn't get much more romantic than that.Her favorite cd she made was actually her last cd that says "When you wish upon a star". She saved the best for last!

Mixed Media scrap pages

2011-03-23T00:43:00.007-04:00

Tonight I put the finishing touches on two more mixed media pages that I think everyone will really like.In the first page I used several neat techniques with tags, masking, & misting.I also made a few cool flowers with book pages that really add texture & dimension by using pop dots to adhere them.All the techniques are so easy & fun. In the second page layout we'll be using stitching which is one of my favorite ways for adding texture & we'll also add some mask misting,distressing inks, & paint. When you finish you'll get to bring home two great page layouts & some new learned techniques that you can use on other pages.I will be doing this class on a Sunday. Keep an eye on the Scrapdoodle blog class calendar for all the information.

Fun Finds

2011-03-20T21:54:00.020-04:00

To me finding anything that I can alter or change using art is fun. I love the dollar section at Target and of course the dollar store. The Borders near me is closing so I've been finding alot of great books, & journals for next to nothing.I'm sure you've heard the term looking for things with "good bones". With books and journals I try look at the shape & binding.I love spirals because ribbons or charms can be tied from them. I bought some really great spider man books but guess what?I could care less about spiderman!I bought them because they have great shape.I want these books to be a class in book altering 101.The book above was a guitar chord writing book. You wouldn't have know if I hadn't told you right?
Same concept with the spidey books.By the time we take the spidey book apart, use a little sanding, gesso,& paint it will totally be transformed into this great art journal.I'll be looking at the class calendar to check dates for what I know will be a fun, fun, class. Watch the Scrapdoodles blog for all the class information.

A little of this and that

2011-03-18T01:18:00.006-04:00

All my scrap pages start with bits & pieces layed out on a 12x12 piece of paper. As you could see from the last page lay outs I posted that even though the color scheme matches I mix patterns alot.Tonight I started putting together bits & pieces for another class idea. In it we'll be using tags on this layout that we'll be learning a fun technique where we'll be using a slow drying medium with masks. When your done your left with tags that have this fun textured look of almost a western engraved belt. I love it & I know you will too. Keep watching for class dates for this class.

Wednesday whimsy

2011-03-16T19:58:00.014-04:00

Do you every find yourself needing a little inspiration? I know I do. I thought I'd put up some fun pages I've done in case you're finding yourself in one of those ruts. As you know I love breaking out of the box & some pages aren't so cutesie. These pages I love because they have that whimsical kind of feel & for me are very cutsie. Hope you find them inspiring!

Sundays mini canvas class

2011-03-14T15:27:00.009-04:00

I took a few pictures from my mini canvas class yesterday. It always amazes me how everyone starts out with all the same materials but the end results are so different. Its fun seeing all the different styles in peoples work. Thank you ladies for spending a few hours out of your day with me creating something that hopefully brings a little smile & joy to your home.

Keepsake box

2011-03-13T03:18:00.004-04:00

I really enjoyed making this keepsake box for my friend Kathy. The box is for special keepsakes that belonged to her late husband Frank. I picked out some colors & ended up using blue as a pop color. I also used prima flowers, a prima butterfly & rhinestone swirl patterns. I first started by painting the heart shaped box black & then gave it a couple of coats if gloss lustre decoupage. I sped up the drying process by using my heat gun. Then I just began layering it with old lace doiles, feathers that I sprayed with blue glimmer mist to match a rhinestone blue jewelry piece I really wanted to use. I gave Kathy the box tonight & was so pleased she loved it. Turns out Franks favorite color was blue. Coincidence most would say but I'd rather think of it as meant to be.

art journaling pages

2011-03-12T01:31:00.004-05:00

This isn't my first art journal. It's one of a few I'm working on.Most times I don't even have a plan. I just turn on some chill music & just start putting down on the page whatever comes to mind. Most times they are very random but other times they can be very telling of what kind of mood I'm in or what kind of day I've had. I am definitely going to be looking at a date for doing a class on art journaling. I know once you see how I get started with page ideas, you'll learn to love it as much as I do.

cd restyling class

2011-03-09T21:16:00.004-05:00

My cd re-styling class was post-poned back to a Wednesday morning. I thought it would be good to try an evening class but I think we're gonna stick with the 10:30 Wednesday slot. I will post the make-up class time as soon as I check the class calendar.

Scrapaganza weekend

2011-03-07T21:53:00.003-05:00

Scrapaganza was this past weekend & I'm catching up on my rest. It just amazes me everytime I attend an event where so many come together with one common interest...Scrapbooking! Its funny watching grown women turn into almost little girls again at a sleepover with every kind of junk food you can think of. I don't remember too many alcoholic beverages at my early childhood sleepovers. Teenage years, well I'm just gonna leave that one alone. It was a good weekend & hanging out with my girlfriends never gets old. I'm so looking forward to my cd restyling class this wednesday. I can't wait to see what creative fun everyone will whip up!

cd re-styling class

2011-02-06T21:19:00.007-05:00

I'm really excited about my mixed media scrapbooking class this upcoming wednesday but I'm also looking forward to my upcoming cd-restyling class in March. If your anything like me you hate throwing away cd's that are scratched.I'll just try & skip through the scratched part & end up nothing but frustrated with a stack of cd's that for some reason I hang on to. I finally found a fun & creative solution for this problem. Please come & join in on the recyling,re-styling fun!

Class date is Wednesday, March 9th at 6:30
Fee : $15

Please bring basic tool kit supplies along with markers,& paint brushes

Saturday success

2011-02-06T20:43:00.004-05:00

The gypsy ballerina class was great fun. I loved how everyone just let go and made their canvas their own. All different background colors,hair colors,& dress styles made each canvas unique. Thanks to those of you who came & made my first class I've taught in a while so easy & fun.

Mixed Media scrapbooking

2011-01-25T20:23:00.006-05:00

I love the idea of breaking away from the tradtional scrapbooking techniques. On these pages I used paint,embroidery,& various types of embellishments to add texture & dimension to these pages.

Santa's little helpers

2011-01-12T23:33:00.002-05:00

I couldn't resist posting the christmas pictures of my two buddies, Nik & Coco.

Shabby chic mini canvas

2011-01-12T23:15:00.003-05:00

Last May at Donna Downeys Inspire Workshop I attended a class where we made a smaller 4x4 version of this mini canvas. I used a 6x6 canvas this time & have to say its the perfect project for using all the little odds & ends that you don't want to throw out but don't know where to use them. This mini canvas is the perfect solution for that dilema.

gypsy ballerina

2011-01-12T21:34:00.003-05:00

In the New year I really want to get better at posting new art projects I've been working on. Here are a couple of them. The gypsy ballerina is my favorite of the two latest projects. I think this 6x6 shabby chic mini canvas is really cute too.

2010-03-26T11:48:00.003-04:00

Rainy days are nice every now & then as long as they don't hang around too long. I have Billy Holiday playing while sipping a cup of coffee.It doesn't get much better than this!Take a look at my April's Marie Antoinette project.I had fun putting this together. It has layers, texture & just enough color to make it interesting but little enough to keep it looking vintage.One of my favorite details is in the handle. If you look close enough ou can see the words "eat cake" mixed in with the pink & white glass beads! The date for this fun shabby chic project is Sunday, April 11th at 2:00.Please call the store & get your name on the class list.Hope to see you there!

Fun with altered fashion pics

2009-09-10T14:40:00.005-04:00

These images I completely altered from a few of my favorite fashion magazines. All you need is Gesso, paints, & a creative imagination. My fashion Altered cards are probably one of my favorite things to do.

My two favorite trick or treaters!

2009-09-09T21:22:00.001-04:00