Embellishments by tina

show me what you got tuesdays

Happy Monday ya'll.

tina

Day 3 - Jello Ornie

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Jello what? I know, but I have a ton of these fun little jello molds - mini, small & large

of which can be used for the traditional jello molding or used for sorting

things in your studio or put them even better use - your art...

So here I have created even more fun ornaments...but even easier really..

All you need is:

mini jello molds

tinsel

mini Christmas pieces and & e6000

I am sure you can tell just by looking at these what you need to do;;;

But really just set them up as a diorama of sorts...use the glue and

layer and make the itty bitty small space work and create a

wonderful little wonderland in the oh so small mold...

what do you think? I also punched a hole in the top of the mold
with my crop-o-dile to add a hange to to add to my tree.

Sweet right....and again as with the other ornaments these would look really great

on a Christmas gift - another 2fer...LOVE that

well I hope you are getting your ornaments together...and that tree decorated. have a great sunday!

I am linking this up to the following parties this week:

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT
SATURDAY SEVEN
SUNDAY SHOWCASE
SUNDAE SCOOP

tina

Day 2 - add-on Ornament

2011-12-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

even though I couldn't get the in-links to work I am still keeping true

to my 10 DAYS OF ORNAMENTS - hopefully some of you will share some cool

ornaments with me too....if not and you are just stopping by COOL...

o.k. so I know sometimes coming up with ideas are NOT easy but how about if you take

an already made ornament and JAZZ'er up a bit...this is really easy - like crazy easy...

I bought a pack of 2 gold glittered ornaments from the dollar store

then made a rosette (using my tim holtz die) and then I just took a vintage

german scrap santa face and stuck it on...

and check this out...looks kind of ritzy right?

I think these ornaments would also look great attached to a gift wrapped in white shipping paper or even kraft shipping paper and then a nice gold bow & these ornies hanging from the bow...

lavish - right?

Well - easy and used up more scraps - I can't complain.

I am linking this up to the following parties:

ill be back tomorrow with a another Ornament idea.

have a great weekend

tina

10 days of ornaments

2011-12-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

O.k. I gotta admit that I am full of great ideas and I often even share those

ideas out loud here on this blog and then after opening my big mouth

I forget or don't find the time to act on those ideas...I am greatly known for

opening my big mouth at the worst times...by accident of course...

But this time I am making a commitment and sticking to it.

Today I am starting 10 DAYS OF ORNAMENTS

If I can figure out how to add the in-links so you can share too...

I would appreciate all the participation possible. I think it helps when we share ideas...

wish me luck --- ok so here is my first ornament:

O.k. now I know you have most of these items in your home...

what you need are:

buttons

felt

canning jar lids & stoppers

jute or string

some floral embellishments

batting

spray paint

spray paint the lids & punch a hole into the lid

now you can sew all the buttons on (which is what I did with my 1st ornie) which

took a really long time...

or you can glue them onto a round piece of felt then add a layer of batting

to the back of the felt then place that on the stopper and put the ring

over the stopper & buttons add the jute for hanging

then finish of the back with more felt and embellish anyway you choose

wouldn't these look great attached to a gift a 2fer

geesh...I can't get the code to work for in-links...darn it...

ok so if you want to play just leave me a comment and I will definitely come by and visit

If you have any ideas on how to get the link tools up - I'd love to hear about it...

sleep

well

tina

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

We ran late this year on decorating for the holidays but I finally got my tree up.

Do you love that glow....I gotta tell you the secret - I have a gold tree.

May sound a bit on the old fogie side but I love my tree & yes it is artificial.

I have to tell you another secret - I kind of pulled out only the ornaments I wanted

to use this year. Left the kids "special" ornaments in boxes...

Is that bad? but I just wanted the tree less "cluttered" - I LOVE it.

How is your decorating coming?

I am linking this up to

mad in crafts

have a fabulous tuesday

tina

Burlap Beauty

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

O.k. I am beyond thrilled to share this Burlap Beauty I created.

For one of my Fall shows I decided totally last minute to make

some simple wreaths out of 1.00 styrofoam wreaths and left over burlap...

I added some simple bows to the tops and a hanger -

nothing much to them and of course they didn't sell - actually the

orange & black one did - not these 2 though...

So I decided to "SPRUCE" them up for CHristmas

and even better I went with a VINTAGE theme...

I added some funky & kitschy pieces---

some plastic ivy & the cool christmas Script sign...

What do you think?

Cute right?

How are your holiday ideas coming along?

I am linking this up to the following parties:

inspire me friday
the shabby nest
friday favorites
transformation thursday
sunday scoop
saturday seven
we did it wednesdays

xo
tina

Life....

2011-12-09T22:05:00.001-08:00

Is it sad that this was one of my biggest accomplishments this week?

I used Panko japenese bread crumbs and boy oh boy did they make the chicken extra crispy.

Yumm...and I tried out my "new to me" fryer...that takes a little getting used to but overall not a bad meal. Tell me you have weeks that you don't do anything to great but take great pride

in the smallest accomplishments...

Hope you have a great and accomplished weekend.

I have a birthday weekend set up for my girl...

talk soon...

tina

Sweet Green Trees

2011-11-28T09:35:00.001-08:00

In October I had made these fun candy corn inspired cones

Just used paper machie cones and yarn - made some fun decorations.

Because those came out so wonderfully and I got so many rave reviews...

I thought I would make some Christmas cones

and here are my

SWEET GREEN TREES

I added those awesome German glittered stars made from cereal box

cardboard and I used the German glitter because it will tarnish

fantastically. Sweet right?

My apologies for being away so long - but we had a big show

then a day later we left to Portland for a week for vacation and then

just got home and now I am sick - ugh!!!

But I am planning on making a good comeback - so please stay with me.

I am linking my trees up to the following parties:

The Saturday 7

SUNDAE scoop

market yourself Monday

ta-da Tuesdays

too cute Tuesdays

Here's to your holiday crafting getting it's groove on.

tina

Dreamy Portland

2011-11-21T22:41:00.001-08:00

We are having a great time here in Portland.

Gotta tell you it is cold and rainy and wonderful.

It is so funny to see the locals here walking around in just tennis shoes

and a jacket no winter snow gear - no hats and some not even carrying an

umbrella - they are so used to it-that this drizzle that was constant is NO

big deal to them...I love that!

I wanted to share some of the magnificent beauty I have witnessed today...

this is what fall should like

lovely leaves

beautiful bridges

thorny goodness

beacon rock

horse trail falls

love the mossy trees

I am just soaking up all this wonderful goodness

I look forward to the day that I can call Portland my home.

Hope that you are having a wonderful week so far.

tina

Wet...

2011-11-21T08:00:00.001-08:00

and cold....

we are in the NorthWest - Oregon and on Wendesday Seattle...

While we love this weather {cold & rainy}the kids are trying to get used

to it...but we are having fun...

Wishing you a wonderful week of

Thanksgiving preparations...

tina

Olives anyone?

2011-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have never really liked olives - there is something to be said for

those black and sometimes bitter little guys...

But a week ago my girls and I and their GS troop went to the local

Graber Olive House in Upland and got to see their whole system and can I see

when you step back into it you really feel like you are part of that time...

I mean it is really run the way things were run back in the late 1800's..

mostly by hand...

here is a little tour...

this is the line up where the olives are sorted

the packed and canned olives

the vats where the olives are are washed and soaked

a huge scale - yikes I walked clear around that baby!

where the olives are packed

look at those huge machines so vintage and controlled by hand...

cool right?

Love this vintage - old-school clock-in area...

all the cans waiting to be labeled

vintage OSHA posters {swoon}

and also - right outside the packing area was the bookkeeping & accoutning dept...with two little grey haired ladies working their way through the day and get this NO COMPUTERS coolness

BTW- we all LOVEd the green olives they served us here...

who'da thunk it!

also, did you know that those BLACK olives are totally dyed???

YUCK!

here's to you and your adventures...

tina

2012 gift ideas

2011-11-18T12:51:00.001-08:00

Really can we be preparing for a new year already? Geez...time really does fly! So since I am doing the craft show circuit right now I needed to make some sort of calendar for 2012 (I do some sort of version of one every year)

Here is what I came up with: it's not a new idea but cool right! I used taylored expressions calendar downloads and then some fun papers and used those "special" cd holders... They fold back to create an easel...but I am digging them lots! They make great co-worker gifts!

Well I hope you are finding some great gifts ideas out in blog land! Have a great day! xo
Tina

wednesday share

2011-11-16T23:05:00.001-08:00

wow - 6 whole days have passed since my last posting...

that's not good...I have been busy getting ready for another show

so I hardly have time to get anything done around the house let

alone hang out on the computer for a couple of hours like I like.

I have journals unkept...housework piling up...laundry waiting to be dry ed...

household projects that need work....and dishes that should be washed...

yikes...when I write it out it's really BAD! bad tina....

after this show I should be good to go....I hope...it's all about

finding a balance and I am not really good with that - truth be told...

anyway a project I had wanted to do for quite sometime - I finally did

but of course since I was in a rush to get'er done it didn't really turn out quite like

I had planned...

I made a fabric velcro coupon clutch...

used some great fabric and made my own pattern

added a velcro closure and some fun fabric flowers to

make the closure super cute...

just made it into an envelope shape....

added felt pockets with tabs...

thinking back the idea sounded great but - black tabs -

was I really planning to embroider the sections??? NO

so the idea was genius but the outcome NOT so grand...

(BTW - notice the red finger - it is ink...busy stamping and such...)

anyway...I am glad to report that this is very functional...and looks alright

but I need to try and tweak the pattern and tabs...

I am linking this to the following parties:

free style friday

Happy crafting

tina

Food for thought

2011-11-10T08:27:00.001-08:00

Have you ever thought much about breakfast? Yeah who does. But they say it's the most important meal of the day! So today I will feed my body right, And then nourish my body with a nice brisk walk with my walking buddy! Great start to my morning! Should be a good day!
Xo

Friends

2011-11-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

I am 41 and I have had tons of friends in my life. In all stages of my life I have had

Best friends, party friends, acquaintances and people I call friends for the sake of

calling them that in their company. I have gone for quite some time withOUT

a best friend. I sort of gave up on that years ago. I was hurt by my high school best friend

in a way that I couldn't figure out - and I am the type of person that you burn me once and

I am done with you...sad but that who I am. I gotta say that as I have grown up I have

begun to understand the meaning of a "FRIEND" you don't really need BEST friends

just really good friends. I have 2 sets of friends right now - that are in 2 totally

different places in their lives and in my life.

moving on...I am finally able to appreciate women in my life...I finally enjoy being

around other women. I have realized that you don't need to talk daily, or invade

each others space...I have found women that get me and that have something in

common with me...it feels great...and I really enjoy doing things with them.

Recently my friends and I planned a birthday outing for one our other girl friends...

and boy did we have fun.

we went to the candle light pavilion and watched CATS - interesting musical.

But overall the night was fun and silly and yummy and plain old fun.

I am the one in the striped sweater with that silly grimace.

It was my friend in the yellow stripes birthday celebration...

I look forward to hanging out with them and sure hope that you all are lucky enough

to have women who you can truly call friends.

Have a wonderful night sleep.

tina

Dinner with the family

2011-11-04T19:13:00.001-07:00

Taking time to be with family is always a good idea!

Dia de los muertos

2011-11-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

in english it's

DAY OF THE DEAD.

What it is - is a celebration of the special people that have passed away.

Hispanic people and others perhaps go to a special mass on Nov. 2nd and then

some may go in a procession with family to the burial sites of their

loved ones and decorate and perhaps eat there - almost like a small party

where we offer up in the way of a shrine and skulls

food and small gifts left for the souls to come back and enjoy

some of their favorites...It may seem a bit eerie but it is quite

a cool experience. We went early Halloween night - dressed in our

costumes and my girls decorated some tall alter candles with images

and I used an old box to make a small shrine with poem and images

and things that related to my mom & brother.

I used the number tags of the dates they actually died on 30 & 8

then I used a bingo card & some playing cards my mom loved 'palying bingo and my brother

loved to play poker and he loved his beer...

My hubbs made those 3 skulls in the front out of air dry clay and I

painted them up ... All in all I think it was special and my kids were

all apart of it and they loved being there.

It's the place I feel close to them and I love visiting.

There is just a little bit about our Hispanic culture...& traditions.

Have a great Friday

tina

the perfect pumpkin

2011-10-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Spent a few hours at the Pumpkin patch the other night and found

the perfect pumpkin. At least we thought so.

What do you think?

This is another tradition that we have as a family and that is to visit the Pumpkin Patch every year with my daughter's god father - he is like family. My mom used to come with us too years ago. But I suppose the tradition must continue even without her here now, right. She is thought of for sure.

Here is our annual shot from the pumpkin patch...

I think they will love to look back on all these photos and see them selves growing up and remembering all those times we went to the pumpkin patch. I love traditions...and make it a point to make sure there are lots of them.

Well I hope you found your perfect pumpkin this Halloween holiday.

have a great Halloween with your kids and family.

tina

Candy Corn anyone?

2011-10-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

I gotta tell you that I do love me some candy corn...something about it.

I like to eat it in bites - I bite the tip off and then take 2 more bites to finish these

little bites of waxy goodness. Oh and the colors of the candy corn is just lovely...

so in honor of my favorite Halloween candy I made these fun candy corn decorations.

cute I know....

SO here is the how to...

cones - paper machie cones which I came to find out that they aren't that

readily available...but find some of the cones and yarn - I bought small skeins of yarn

and there was plenty left over probably enough to make 2 more candies...

then just wrap...but wait it's not as easy as that sounds (found out the hard way)

so I used a bit of hot glue to hold the beginning of the yarn then through out the way up add just a

dab...just to secure it tightly. then wrap - I did it rather half hazardly

and gotta tell you that I love the look of them that way.

I love when things turn out just so...wonderfully!

How are your decorations coming along? Last minute ideas flowing?

would love to hear about them - and come by and visit...

have a great weekend...

I am linking this up to the following parties:

FREESTYLE FRIDAY

FEATURE YOURSELF FRIDAYS

WEEKEND SHOW OFF PARTY

A CRAFTY SOIREE

INSPIRE ME FRIDAY

tina

Sharing ME

2011-10-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

I try and be open for the most part on my blogs although when I think about

it I am not always nice or safe with the language...I do have a sailors mouth

and wear my emotions on my sleeve. Or on my face says my husband.

I thought I would open up a bit more and tell you whats in my heart today (tonight)

Stephanie Howell of JUST ME, MY SOLDIER AND MY 4 LITTLE CHICKS

is sharing on her blog and wants to hear from all of us. So here I go: this is what's in my heart:

1. I have been feeling like less than an adequate mom.

I get so frustrated with my kids constant fighting that I have noticed myself

yelling lots more. I always feel wound tightly. I feel like I am always too busy.

I know I do alot for my kids and with them but my fuse is short (really short lately).

2. My house and my mind are in total chaos. I am less than organized. I have stuff all over the place.

I have boxes that need to be moved into another room. I have magazines in every corner of the house.

I need to let go of so much stuff but can't get it sorted. My mind is always racing on what needs to be done next. I lose focus real quick. Sometimes it is really hard to have a

conversation with me because I go from one idea to the next in seconds.

NOTE TO SELF: work on that!

3. Finally I feel FAT! Isn't that a horrible word? I hate it. I know it and I hate it and I

can't seem to make it go away. I know what needs to be done but damn just can't get the energy to

get motivated. Wait I take that back...I get the energy for a day or two but then LIFE

gets in my way! Again an issue with the focus thing...I would love to lose around 25 lbs...Sick I

can't believe that I just wrote that....oh my! NOTE to SELF: work on that ASAP!

well now you know whats been on my mind...scared? hopefully not.

stop by and see what Stephanie shared and please leave me a comment and her too.

have a great Day...xo

tina

Simply sweet

2011-10-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all...I wanted to take a minute and share the sweetest

little ghost ever - that I recently created.

I shared some halloween signs I made awhile back and had some left

over wood - I decided to make something out of all the scraps...

and here HE is:

just used some left over blocks of wood and some paint in cool halloween colors and some fun papers
adhered all that on with a brush and modge podge acted as the glue...

because I only had enough letters to add HAPPY - I decided these blocks needed a small ghost.

Just used some paper clay added the wooden toothpick legs into the bottom

before the clay dried then sculpted some cute little feet to help HIM stand

then added some white fabric and some cheese cloth to create the ghostly aspect.

then just wired up some fun alphabet beads to his hands

and tah-dah cutesy tootsey ghostly halloween decor.

Love when I can use scraps and make something really sweet out of it!

I am linking this up to the following parties:

Market yourself monday

ta-da tuesdays
one project at a time
too cute tuesday
mad in crafts

talk soon

tina

Feeling witchy!

2011-10-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

I am in full WITCH mode here.

I am anxiously making the finishing touches on my sellables for this weekends show.

Yikes---I never feel like I have enough "stuff".

I had to find the perfect hat for my mood lately...and here she is.

I found some plain witches hats at Michaels and used my

vintage books to cover the hat up...I thought about adding some raw sienna to age it a bit

but decided I wanted to keep the "plain paper look" to the hat.

Then the fun began and I got to "Embellish" it...

added some fun ribbon trim, a feather and a black rose..and the piece de resistance...

Cool right...

a black glittered hand coming up through the rose...

creepy but totally cool.

I am linking this up to the following parties:

Craft-o-maniac

market yourself mondays

Inspire me Fridays

ta-da tuesdays

wow me wednesdays

Hope your Halloween craftiness is in full swing.

tina

creepy ART

2011-10-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Remember those ATC cards I spoke about in previous posts?

well I took it to the next level and made mini 2 x 3 (approx) art canvases.

Cute right? Well not cute but the size is super cute...

and these images aren't they the coolest?

I got them from the very talented LISA'S ALTERED IMAGES...google her

and buy from her, she is a genius with these things.

I have some more creepy bits and some sweet Christmas cuties to share also

I'll save that for another day.

Hope you have a fabulous Friday.

tina

Quick Cut sign (idea #6)

2011-10-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

I gotta admit that I buy tools and new crafting gadgets all the time with every

intention of using them however, that isn't always the case. I am not real good

with reading directions (by that I mean I don't have the time to read the directions)

So my hubby is usually the guy to get my tools going for me and often will

do the project I have in mind for me. He's pretty great like that.

I have had the cricut for quite some time now and "RARELY" use it...I know the

possibilites are endless but it just seems like too much work...

I am a "GOT - GETTER- DONE QUICK" kind of girl. But recently I

had my cricut out and cut out a bunch of various images and words...

I had this cool idea in mind and this is what I came up with

something for Halloween

Just used an old canvas I had and painted her right up with gray paint

then used my xyron sticker maker and added adhesive to the back of the

cut pieces and adhered them. I know it is hard to see but the spider & bat have

black glitter on them. This was a quick and self gratifying project to make

and gave me some hope for using my Cricut more often.

I think it needs something. Maybe some polk-a-dots???

what do you think?

What have you been crafting lately?

I am linking this up to the following parties:

paper playtime - cricut (black, orange, purple)

market yourself monday

just somethng I whipped up

meet me monday

amaze me monday

ta-da- tuesdays

show me what you got

mad in crafts

Here's wishing you a wonderful start to your new week.

tina

From this (halloween idea #5)

2011-10-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

last years attempt at glittering up a paper machie skull mask...

using orange glitter & modge podge.

to this...

DAY OF THE DEAD RE-DO...

Gotta tell you I totally LOVE the way this came out!

painted over the glitter with gray paint then just dusted the top

with white paint - then added some dots & swishes...

coolness!

added some painted flowers to the sides of the skull

final touch were some felt flowers...

adds that authenticity to it- wouldn't you agree?

The die is by Tim Holtz for Sizzix and just ran it with some

basic crafting felt....

Brilliant if I do say so myself. I mean I turned last years glittered skull into

this years DIA DE LOS MUERTOS SKULL...

for NO money! (had all the add-ons in my stash) see BRILLIANT.

I am linking his to the following parties this week...

ta-da tuesdays

transformation thursdays

have a great week.

tina

remember these...

2011-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I shared these books turned pumpkins a few posts back...and while it looks o.k. up there.

Here is another take on the pumpkin...I used some burnt sienna paint with some

decoupage medium and just painted it on. It works to keep the pages closed and as a sealer.

I added a cinnamon stick & a wire leaf

On the pumpkin below - I made it half a pumpkin and used the book cover to hold

up the book pages and used the same painting technique from up above...added my cinnamon stem

and I used a leaf made out of the same book pages and added the decoupage medium

to the leaf and it gave a plastic feel - almost like tape ---very cool.

Oh and just to give you an idea...I added the Jack-O-Lantern face to the front

different but cute, right?

Just something to try.

Happy Sunday people!

tina

Subway Art #2

2011-09-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

I am digging these subway art signs...still NOT really easy to do but

I like this one the best so far. The color is cool and I like

the design on this one too. There are still some spaces left for me to add

something - hmmmm!!!!

In a previous post I explained how to make one - same thing I did here

but changed up the colors a bit and added some fun halloween images.

Here is one I did with yellow and gray paint...Neat right - just layered

the colors while they were still wet.

Hope your Halloween decorating is going along nicely!

I am linking this up to the following parties:

freestyle friday

feature yourself friday

Inspire me fridays

Happy Friday

tina

FUN WITH fLOWERS

2011-09-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

BUSILY MAKING THESE....

wait till you see what I do with them all.

Can you tell by the colors what some of them are for?

happy Wednesday!

doesn't this photo look happy!!!

linking this up to the following parties:

whatever goes wednesday

wow me wednesday

tina

Bar Stool Sunshine

2011-09-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Gotta tell you - it has been a few years since I tried my hand at

RE-DOING furniture...but here it is my first "recent" attempt

I swear why I didn't think of this sooner - is beyond me.

we had these ugly stools in our kitchen for-EVA...and I was done with them.

I was seriously thinking of getting rid of them...but had some left over spray paint...

In Bright yellow...I know first thought is YUCK...

But after sanding the legs of the stool

(Ugly right...even the black vinyl seats - ick!)

picking out the fabric to match (had it in my stash)

this is what transpired...

I gotta tell you that I wasn't sure about the end result but yowzers...

These look so POSH - so in.

Dontch'a think?

I wish I could give you a magic hint on sewing the seat cover...

but I used elastic and it came out pretty badly...but you get the idea...I think

that if this doesn't stay on I may just have to staple it to the bottom of the stool.

But for now - it will do and I do love the overall look...

Best part is that I could change up the seat cover later to mix it up.

exciting...

I have been looking around at all my furniture now and thinking up NEW looks...

my hubby is scratching his head and saying "OH NO - HERE WE GO AGAIN"

i SURE DO LOVE HIM....

I am linking this up to the following parties:

Market yourself monday

too cute tuesday

sugar & spice

sweet peas & bumble bees

cool right?

have a fabulous day!

tina

Inspired

2011-09-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

I love blogging and I follow quite a few blogs out there-some for their content and some for

their ideas and crafting goodness. Sometimes I wish I was as good and some-

times I know I don't have the time to even try. I have some really bad

organizational skills and I just DON'T do good with deadlines!

I scold myself...quite often for not submitting my artwork to more publications or

for other online design teams but I can't keep up - I know this before I even attempt to try out.

Well tonight I got inspired by one of the bLogs I follow

Little Miss Momma

I am sure you heard of her - she is quite the blogger she is.

Today she wrote about her relationship with her hubby and the connection of it all.

I felt inspired to agree with her and felt it an important topic to write about again.

while life is pretty great and you got kids - and those kids got lots to do...

life can sort of become all about them - and those "you & him" moments can get pushed back

sometimes to --- struggling to stay awake until midnight to squeeze in some time with your sweety

because the kids just finally went to sleep...sad indeed but that's life.

I think it can take a toll on some marriages but if you are one of the lucky ones...

like I am - then you take those late nights and run with them.

You make the effort - you pay for a sitter when you really can't afford one...

so that you can just have a dinner un-interrupted. You sneak a hug and a kiss in

between making dinner - you "cop a feel" when you are taking the clothes out of the dryer...

You hug during the day and kiss just because.

I know things get busy I know you get tired I know it seems pointless

sort of a tease, but to keep your relationship healthy I think it is so important

to try and squeeze these types of things in on a daily basis.

I am very lucky and I make sure to steal a kiss and a offer a quick back scratch,

it's the little things that tell him I really do love you.

It's the little things that scream out loud amidst the screams and yells of our kids...

"HEY YOU - YEAH, YOU I THINK YOU ARE SEXY AND I LOVE YOU A TON."

I am no expert but this is an important issue and I think HE is totally worth it.

Here's wishing you some serious sweet talk...tonight.

tina

Halloween Idea #4

2011-09-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I have seen SUBWAY art all over the blog-o-sphere...

and with Halloween right around the corner I thought

I would give SUBWAY art a try...

I am by no means a professional nor a perfectionist...

that being said here are the materials I used.

I used flat canvases, gesso, acrylic paint and stencils

Gesso'ed the canvases first

painted them with my background color

then placed my stencils (in different fonts) and daubed

the paint on...

remember I said I am NOT a perfectionist.

what do you think?

I think I love it but gotta tell you it took some time.

but overall well worth the piece of handmade

halloween decor.

I made a few more...tried different canvases and

different words and colors...

I love making new holiday decorations...it makes me happy!

I am linking this up to the following parties:

Just something I whipped Up

freestyle friday

feature yourself fridays

inspire me fridays

SYTYC

Have a fabulous weekend.

tina

Sew Halloweenie

2011-09-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing like a crazy woman around here lately.

I gotta tell you first that I am preparing for a big show this October

so I am eagerly getting things ready! I usually make something sewn.

I have made mini pumpkins and some mixed media felt pumpkins...so I thought I

would try something different.

These pumpkins are super easy to make - the best and most fun is choosing the fabric.

I tried to stick with colors that "REPRESENT" halloween but could still

work with HARVEST & FALL - do you see it? I hope so.

I created my own pattern and just cut out the fabric and sewed up the edges

leaving an opening for the stem. For the stems - I think this is how I

add some character---I used burlap to create my stems & leaves.

I love the way these came out.

What do you think?

What are you up to these days?

I am linking this up to the following parties:

Market yourself Mondays

Craft-o-maniac

Creative blogger Party

tuesday trash to treasure

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!

tina

paper pumpkin

2011-09-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

Tis that time of year when the spooky scary stuff comes out of storage---

I just got the new MS Halloween magazine and am feeling even more in the spirit of things.

Around our house the kids love to put up stuff - the spookier the better.

To tell you the truth we actually already of our PLAYROOM turned into

the pre-Halloween "store" my kids put together...

I have a fun little - not-scary at all- Halloween or harvest decoration.

You know all the rage with vintage book pages and books, right?

I love scouring thrift stores and yard sales for thick, beautifully yellowed books and I turn

them into these lovely PAPER PUMPKINS

I photographed the pumpkin with the book beneath it...

so you get the idea...

This is a project you can make easily while watching t.v. or sitting at practice.

You need to cut off the book covers without ripping into the book itself...

then just fold the pages into the center...

eventually the pages will meet in the middle and you will have

lost the meeting point which is perfect...I usually add some modge podge to

the outside by just painting it on...kind of acts as a protective

coating, of sorts. Then you can add a cinnamon stick like I did

or even a real pumpkin stem or even a broken branch to the center.

Then maybe add some vintage velvet leaves or some cool 'wire

tendrils - or whatever your heart desires.

I will share the finished piece with you once I add my finishing touches.

This is just a starting off point for you.

I am linking this up to the following parties:

What-ever Wednesday's

Have a great day

tina

My favorite place to shop

2011-09-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say it was Macy's or the Coach Store - or even Nordstroms but alas

it is:

Joanns - the fabric & craft store...crazy I know. But I could spend hours looking

at all the cool fabrics and I love checking out new crafts and well I could

be there all day. I also have this weird philosophy which goes something like this:

I must use as many Joanns coupons as I can...if I have them I SHOULD

use them...oh and if it is for 50% off all the better.

I tease my hubby and say at least I am not out buying 100.00 pair of jeans and shoes.

He ~~laughs back~~ cackles back and states

"Yeah instead you can drop a quick hundy on stamps & paper & fabric"

Can't argue - it is so true...

One more bit about me...anyone else find their shopping thrills at a craft store?

I get to visit my 2nd all time FAVE store this week...

I am on my way out of town to - El Paso, TX and there they have the

dreamy "HOBBY LOBBY" can't wait.

hope you have a fabulous week.

tina

30 day photo challenge

2011-09-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll I decided I wanted to try this 30 day photo challenge that

eisy morgan designs is doing

She has her list on her blog what she is planning to take photos of - for the month

While I would like to follow her plan - I am going to try and keep it

{this 30 day challenge}about ME...

I think most of us women are in some way or another a bit timid or shy about showing

our true selves...I could be wrong...But I think we all have certain things we would rather

keep secret - shoot I am the first to admit that I even keep some things,

SMALL things secret from my hubby!!! fears about ME - myself...nothing more to that - promise.

So I am starting today with a self portrait:

See even this photo - is somewhat shielded - not fair I know...

But I gotta tell you that I like it...the hubbs says I look like a STAR...

No hidden lenses just the sun at a cool angel...I took it with my Iphone...

Join us...or me - just add a photo everyday that is about YOU...

it could be someone you love...something you have - someone YOU admire...

YOU get it right?

I am linking this up over at Eisy's design blog...

Have a lovely Sunday!

tina

What to do with Scrap Burlap?

2011-09-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well if you are a true "CRAFTER" then you absolutely don't throw anything away or at least scraps you know you ~~will~~ can make something out of - right?

I know we have all made banners out of fabric and other fabrics and may even have

tried making banners out of burlap - and that is what i made and had left over scraps from!

really small narrow strips of burlap...So because I was trying to keep with the

burlap -ish decor I made these:

VOTIVE CANDLE COZIES!

All they needed was one cut and one straight stitch with my machine up the back...

But wait - I regress and jumped way ahead...to give them the Halloween vibe

I used some speed ball ink and some foam stamps BY MAKING MEMORIES

old set I had - and it was a quick swipe and a stamp onto the burlap and

then the cut and stitch...easy

And yes the glow from the candles is totally noticeable...

Cute right? Quick right? Used scraps-cool Beans!!!

I am linking these up to the following parties:

sweet peas & bumble bees

things I've done thursday

free style friday

feature yourself fridays

friday favorites

inspire me fridays

Happy Friday Folks

tina

Baby girl gift idea

2011-09-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am meeting my little niece for the first time today -

this is my first time as an auntie and I am exited to meet her.

Sadly, I was unable to make her baby shower so I am giving her this sweet

framed name today.

Originally I had planned to paint in her name but wanted it to look perfect

so then I though how about if I cut out letters with my cricut - which would have come out nicely.

Then I thought why not use up some of my scrapbooking supplies - tah-dah BRILLIANT

This frame was under a dollar at the thrift store and I think it had some corny

illustration in it before I got my hands on it...

I painted the inside white (with spray paint)

then the outer trim I painted pink with the new MS paints

then I dug into my chipboard letters and some extra GIRLY chipboard pieces

and used modge podge to adhere it all down.

This came out quite sweet if you ask me - hopefully my brother and his wife will LOVE it

and will be a piece my niece can keep with her forever...

Easy and I used up some of my stash. double LOVE

I wish you all a wonderful Labor Day

I am linking this up to the following parties:

Inspire me friday

Craft-o-maniac

Market yourself Monday

Just something I whipped up

savvy homemade mondays

creative blogger party

tuesday trash to treasure

tina

Pretty Bud Vases #2

2011-09-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of posts ago I shared some bud vases I made from various jars

& vintage bottles I had ~~laying around~~ collected. I made a set in a beautiful

turquoise blue and now I have a set in cameo pink to share.

Just a note: I used spray paint on the outside for these....

I feel it gives a much cleaner coating of paint and you don't

have to worry about scratching up the inside..

Because I thought pink vases weren't enough I thought why

not decorate them EVEN more. Because my motto is always

MORE IS BETTER & GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!!

Ok so on 2 of the jars I added some sweet pink lace around the neck of the bottles and

a few posies to finish them off. And the ~~gaudiest~~ most fashionable vase is

definitely the one I lined with HOLE-LESS buttons (vintage I might add)

Nice right? Best part is that you could really customize these for any style.

Retro Kitschy red, shabby white and even baby blue for a powder room or little boys room.

It's all about your selection of spray paint.

Jars are fun and I have a few more ideas floating around to share --- all spin offs

from other crafty ladies in the blog-o-sphere.

I sure hope you have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.

hugs

tina

Button Ornie

2011-08-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

I know Christmas ideas already...but truly it is never to early to get started.

I participate in holiday craft shows and boutique during the winter months

and try to find new and different ideas to try and make "sellable" items...and that is how these

very sweet, vintage inspired and a wee bit shabby ornies came about.

If you are like me - I am assuming that you all have most of the these things

lying around to make one of these sweet little ornies.

I used the lids to those ball canning jars (painted them white) (you can find tons of them at the

thrift store. You'll need some vintage buttons, felt, ribbon and holly leaves.

and this is how I did it:

I sewed my buttons onto the white felt in a circle shape and I left that felt piece

a bit larger than the inside of the round cap. Then after the buttons are sewn on I

added the felt piece inside and added a few more circle of felt to make it TUFT out

and stuck in the other round metal piece of the lid and that in turn will push out

the button cluster (do you get it?)

To finish the back I added another piece of felt to make it look pretty & done.

Last thing is I added the leaves and glued them under some of the buttons then

added a red flower button ...oh most important things I forgot to start with

is before you start working with the felt make sure to punch a hole in the metal

to serve as a spot to add ribbon for hanging...duh?

Here is the second ornie I made - cute right?

Imagine this attached to a brown bag wrapped gift...

LOVE

linling this up to the following parties:

hope you give a try

we'll see you soon

tina

Spray Pink

2011-08-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I must be crazy or at least my hubby thinks so...

I have been a spraying fool...I love to go thrifting and have found

quite a bunch of new vintage BRASS pieces - mirrors infact...

The mirror above is plastic and has those matching butterflies

I think these dated to the 1970's remember those it was a trio or more sometimes and usually in the

bathroom or even in the "DEN"

I just wanted to update it a bit maybe even use it in your little girls room...

The mirror below reminds me of the "PERFUME" tray that I would always

see in "RICH" people's homes...imagine if you can; some vintage

perfume bottles resting nicely on this and perhaps a vintage hair brush set...

cute right!

I also got one in a rectangle....it's big and sweet...

I am all about pink! It fits in the shabby chic style or the little girl style

and even a grown up punch of color style...

So are you a sprayer too??? what have you sprayed lately?

Have a great weekend.

This weekend I will be crafting something serious...

gotta get stuff done!!!

have a great one

tina

Monkey See Monkey Blue

2011-08-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Consider this a tutorial of sorts or a WHAT NOT to DO hint

I have been seeing these types of projects out there in blogland for quite

sometime and have been dying to try it...

all the directions I have seen out there have called for using

2-3 parts water & paint and SWISHING it around inside the bottle and

letting it drip dry...

So here are my finished jars...a couple vintage 1 not so vintage

pretty right?

But wait those are the finished products...

Look here (bottom)

the glass to the right (lighter shade of blue)

that is the one I actually tried using the paint inside the bottle

I know it is hard to tell but the streaks left from letting it drip dry

are yucky! I even tried painting it with the NEW MS paints on the outside

hated that and wiped it off...so what I figured out was

SPRAY PAINT in KRYLON cosmic blue????

(closest blue to turquoise my LOWES had)

and the spray paint adhered so nicely and evenly!

I am thrilled with how they came out...and happy to say I painted

a few more in a shabby pink - will post those tomorrow...

I am linking these sweet things to the following parties:

todays creative blog

show me what you got

Have you been crafting lately?

tina

Betty Crocker Goodness

2011-08-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

I am a collector, mostly of all things vintage...I have a shop on EBAY where I sell

the things I can't fit into my own collection or home decor.

I found this cool cookbook at a recent yard sale for 1.00

Vintage Betty Crocker - what's not to LOVE.

and it's in great condition except the front cover - but good enough for COOLNESS.

Love the inside graphics - so vintage looking.

and what about the cool matching kitchen gadgets...

the mallet and the egg basket - sweet right

can you picture it in the corner of your kitchen...

I am planning to list this lot in my shop tonight.

I would love to check out your collections...

have a great night

tina

Vintage Photo

2011-08-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

re-do

Occasionally I find a bunch of great photos and most I keep to save for future artwork

but I have a bunch of vintage black and white photographs that I aren't really special

so I decided to try something really rather cool, in my opinion.

I am a scrapbooker and card maker usually with stamps and stickers and fun papers.

This time I wanted to do things differently.

You'll need a * blank card, vintage photograph, some small scraps of paper or ribbon *

Then just start lightly gluing down some paper, and the photo in a pleasing way,

then sew the parts down or don't, whatever you think is cool looking.

Add some pieces of ribbon and some cute little flowers

my favorite part is:

I used my {vintage} typewriter to type out the sentiment

you could also use some letter stamps if you don't have a typewriter.

see the details up close. Cool right.

I think this would be such a neat card - to give totally different.

Just imagine the fun you could have with the photos and matching

them up with some funny sentiments. Your choice.

I have more in the works...will share soon.

I am linking this up to the following parties this week.

MARKET YOURSELF MONDAYS

SEW CUTE TUESDAYS

O.K. it's late - sleep well, pleasant dreams

tina

Art Cards Batch #2

2011-08-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

I am so fond of this new background technique of art cards

I have tried. The colors are so much easier to match up to the paper and the images.

Yellow (golden rod yellow) and pink odd combo but

I think it works so well here.

this second set of artist trading cards is currently listed in my

EBAY shop....I LOVE making these cards.

If you haven't traded or even made some of these little bits

you really should give it a try...it's so rewarding - because you

really do get some instant satisfaction.

or maybe I should say instant gratification - they take hardly no time at

all and the possibilities are endless.

What are you up to these days?

hope your weekend is going swell.

tina

vintage EMBROIDERED finds

2011-08-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share my latest ~~scores~~ finds..

They all have one thing in common...

EMBROIDERY

do you remember this little girl

HOLLY HOBBY

Here is another pretty embroidered floral piece

it is 5 x 7 in size and the thread seems a bit thicker, almost yarn like.

Oh and my favorite piece is this sweet terrier dog

embroidered on this sweet pot holder.

I often wonder how this sweet, oh so fragile, pot holder

could have been used to handle something hot. OUCH!

perhaps it was just for decoration.

I think I am so enamored by all these hand stitched items because

I could never do anything so exact or let me rephrase I could never

sit and take the time to make something so precise...But I do envy those that can.

What cool things have you found lately?

I would love to see.

thanks for stopping by - xo

tina

little bits

2011-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

started playing with my "LITTLE BITS", of art that is...

and decided to try something different - I used paper & stamps

instead of the usual paint...

I got my cut 2.5 by 3.5 base papers then added some solid cardstock,

then took out my stamps and inked them up and stamped up some

backgrounds...

then added some fun images and some very sweet words.

I love the soft colors and the images go so well together!

I am absolutely in LOVE with them

I have a few more to share tomorrow but I'm just so excited.

Do you ever have those times when you sit down to try something

or get some art done and it just flows...Love when that happens.

Hope you are getting your craft on and it's flowing out of you!

sleep tight

tina

Magic Rice

2011-08-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

I know many of you have heard of rice packs, and may have made one or used one.

I decided to make one myself, I am NO seasoned seamstress or sewer but it was all straight lines really.

So I decided to make a pillow case type cover and a solid white case to hold the rice and

lavender. That way should the case get dirty you could wash it .

The idea behind these rice packs is they are great for relieving minor aches and pain

when they are heated and you can put them in the freezer and use them for

cuts and scrapes or sprains...or even to cool off a bit.

I guess you could say I went a little crazy and created all these rice packs.

A little bit of magic wouldn't you say?

I varied the fabrics - cool right...best part is I made little bitty ones too

how great for little kids - I will share those tomorrow.

I am linking this baby up with the following parties:

get your craft on

too cute tuesday

sew cute tuesday

have a great night

tina

Hold my place

2011-07-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

O.k. so ready for something completely unique...

well check these cool book marks I made...

I had seen these years ago in a magazine and decided to try it myself.

Grab up your NOT SO favorite books (preferably VINTAGE)

and carefully cut off the spine ... sometimes you can get the book binding
with it but sometimes it comes detached and then do as I did and just
add some cereal box cardboard (just to make it a bit more sturdy)
then of course use some gel medium and add some nice paper to cover
up the card board...then punch a nice hole at the top and add your tassel.
I actually had these tassels in my stash but I suppose you could
create your own rather then purchase them.

I am in love with these and am preparing a thrifting and junking

trip JUST to find cool books with AWESOME covers...

Well sorry for the layout of this post but I am having trouble with blogger at the moment.

I am linking this bad boy up to

whatever wednesdays

women who do it all

Have a sweet week

tina

Sew wonderful

2011-07-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

I have been on a sewing kick the past week or so and have been

sewing up a storm. I plan on stocking up my etsy shop with the new

sewn items real soon...

Here is a farmGirl themed banner...I probably shouldn't label it Farm GIRL since I think it would work well in a little boys room or even a farm house perhaps on the patio...

I used a varied selection of fabric..

cows, cowboy hats, bandana red, and route 66 fabric...but the colors work so well

together. Then I had this vintage red & white binding and added that to

bring it all together.

These are super easy. CUT TRIANGLES - SEW UP 3 SIDES - PINK 3 SIDES -

THEN SEW TO HANGING FABRIC OR BINDING of your choice.

I love it.

I am linking this up to the following parties:

funky polk-a-dot giraffe

sew cute tuesdays

get your craft on tuesday

sister stuff

there you have it...I even got one more done will share that next week.

I'm off to vegas - have a great rest of the week.

tina

summer in pictures

2011-07-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share some fun photos of our crazy busy summer vacation this year.

above we are in the civic center in San Francisco - the TENDERLOIN

here me and the kids walked to a antique store

this is at the boat dock nearing the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

THE ABOVE DATE WAS TRULY THE ONLY DAY THE SUN WAS OUT

it was in the low 60's the whole time we were there

in JULY...crazy

love this part of San Francisco

love Pier 39

this vintage arcade was the best fun and alot of it for a quarter to play...

right in the center of city hall by the civic center there

are 2 small playgrounds for kids - very cool

right across the street from here is the

county library

totally cool photos of the kids in front of a fountain with a bird flying through

it's a sign.

you can walk right along the coast right under the bridge

fun!

on our way home we stopped by the EBAY headquarters

next stop on the vacation tour was me and the hubbs in INDIO

at our condo-near Palm Springs

ugh...ignore the chlorine infused hair please

we have had a great time and now...

the last leg of the tour is Me and the Hubbs ALONE in VEGAS

2 nights 3 days...can't wait.

How is your summer going? Hope you are recording it with photos and

can't wait for you to share it with me.

have a great week

tina

Where Bloggers Create

2011-07-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today's the day
Today's the day!

My Desert Cottage O.k ladies if you are here by way of My Desert Cottage's 3rd annual Blog Party thenWELCOMEI am thrilled you took a minute to stop by. This post is loaded with photos so I hope you have time to sit back and visit FYI- I am one of the Creative Spaces that DOES not belongin magazines but it is a real space and a narrow space in our garage that is 6 feet by 12 feet...which is decorated with things that make me happyand I do admit that it appears cluttered because it is...mostly because I have SO much stuff. On with the tour...Meet my hostess with the mostess my beloved LOLA - my dress makers Form...I scored for 25.00 at a thrift store

This is the view when you step out into the garage from tthe kitchen

see the narrowness of it all

hence the cluttered appearance

to the left are my cork boards

that I attach my own artwork and photos of my family

kind of like my daily HAPPY reminder.

below the boards is my wire basket shelf

the top holds vintage jewelry boxes with vintage jewelry that I plan on using SOMEDAY

below are baskets that hold my spell binders and Tim Holtz dies

and lots of miscellaneous items

up close shot of my jewelry boxes

below is my general work space

it is a utility table and underneath it I house those roll away storage units

that I house my scrapbooking embellishments and my wood mounted rubber

stamps and other embellishments

here is the top of the table:

my ink pads on the left, on the right are my sprays and glues

and a container of pens and what nots

below you see my tools, and some vintage books that I use for clippings

when I am making ATC cards...and some paper clay pieces I have waiting to be played with

Peg board is the most genius tool - I think and if you use it correctly you can

really hold a lot of things on it (I need to work on that)

you can see my washi tapes, my seam bindings and some other tools

This something I saw at a friends house and had to make it for my own studio.

I used some cheap (walmart) brand cafe curtain rods and had the hubby

drill them into the wood and hung up my punches...

below is my cricut and my BIGZ dies

this is the back wall

I have lots of pieces of art from swaps and all and my favorite

doll head collections

below is my sewing SPOT

do you see my new serger - yet to be used...I so want to make a shirt

another shot of my fun sewing spot

This wall - my hubby put up a bunch of shelves for me and they

hold ALL my PRIMA Flowers and glitters

next to that is another roll away storage unit

that houses all of my acrylic stamps

on another shelf are jars of "STUFF"

I have my vintage flower posies, my vintage game pieces, magnets and jewelry parts

another storage unit

with more family inspiration

inside are all my paper pads and scrapbooking papers, along with

more vintage cut apart books

another unit and ON TOP are more vintage books and how-to's

inside the unit are More punches, glitters, recipe cards

and Cavellinni stamps

Below is my bins of ribbon - sorted by color

pretty right?

Oh and let's not forget my muse

the Mona Hisa - (not a typo)

this was painted by my brother and I love it...

See I wasn't lying...totally doesn't belong in magazine but it

is a true studio - has lots of clutter most of which is JUST excess...

need to unload it or figure out more organization idea.

It is used and I love it ---- it is small but looks like me

creative, messy and a bit all over the place...

Have a great weekend...

Thanks so much for stopping by.

tina

Off to visit some other blog party participants...

PS please leave me a comment so I can stop by and visit YOU...

hugs

What an honor

2011-07-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share something with you.

I am truly honored to have my first article published in

SEW SOMERSET

this is the summer issue

{below}

Here is my article -

the entire back page

I am in AWE...

What makes it even more satisfying was that I wrote the article about

a project I made as a token of my love for my mom and

the tole it took on me and my family when she past away.

That first Christmas was tough.

I will share a photo of the actual piece later this week.

I am thrilled and inspired to write more...and of course

to continue to create works of art

that mean something to me.

Here's wishing you a great week.

tina

Do you see a pattern?

2011-07-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

As I was preparing for a big show in November and was

gathering my photos to submit - I realized something?

I tend to lean towards a certain direction.

Above are hair accsories, rings and brooch pins...

Down below are small altered art canvases...

Here I have some scrapbooks that I make - I call them

mini albums

then here are some home decor pieces using vintage and found items.

The colors are relatively the same, - I think my art leans towards

shabby Awesomeness...

I guess I am drawn to pinks, creams, and vintage...

How about you?

What are you into?

Have a great weekend

tina

It's in the bag...

2011-07-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

I love to sew but gotta admit that I am not

super good at it...but I did master this easy peasy boho bag technique...

so much so that I made a ton of them...

just went to town...

I was caught up in the RED HAT LADIES

and made this bag with them in mind...

Purple and red - works right and that there red rosette was done with felt...

I think it is good to excel at one project - dont'you?

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July

keep cool...

tina

shabby Paper Weight!

2011-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Ha - you thought I meant paper - NOPE here is a sweet idea for you to try.

If you are like me you may have some teapot lids that are orphaned due to breakage...

Well, I had some pretty cute tea pots and hated to throw away

their lids...Fear not my friends...Crafty Me to the rescue.

all you need are some tea pot lids, some plaster of paris and some felt...

mix up your plaster of paris in a can and pour into your lid

wait for it to dry - it adds the weight you'll need to turn these into

PAPER WEIGHTS.

Once dry add your felt to the bottom with some e6000

Then comes the fun...EMBELLISH the lids

I added some vintage flowers to the top and some little glass Japanese

figures...to the white one - seen above.

The pink lid is in the shape of a bee-hive with some bees on it...

very cute on it's own so I only added some cute flowers to the very top.

These would make some great accents on your desk -adding a little shabby-ness to your studio.

Have fun with it.

Thanks to my sweet friend Maria- of the JOYFUL STAMPER for the fun award.

I will add my 5 things later today....

I am linking this up to:

Inspire me Fridays

whatever wednesdays

transformation thursdays

frugal fridays

Happy 4th of July.

tina

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Above (while messy) is the spot my beloved laptop would sit

and here she sits -

I am so sad - it is fried and I have lost my {LIFE} basically

all my photos [of which I haven't backed up in years] my music my important documents

GONE...

because I am on a mission to see the bright side of all things...'

NOW I can get my IPAD - well maybe not Now but soon...

Too see more wordless wednesday photos visit

5 minutes for MOM

have a great day!

tina

Crafty Goodness

2011-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

I am seriously loving this.

I have seen other things similar to this...lots of embroidery in the hoop

but cute embroidery - some button designs...so just to make it my own

I made a NOT-SO perfect heart out of my prized collection of vintage

white buttons and used some old aida cloth and then to add some color

I added the blue (hand dyed) seam binding bow to the top...

Super simple but so sweet and I gotta say adds a bit of vintage appeal.

I am linking this up to :

sew cute tuesday

sumos sweet stuff

sew much ado

making the world cuter

funky polk-a-dot giraffe

have a great day

tina

feeling the LOVE!

2011-06-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

ever have those moments or days when you just love your hubbs...so much

you just can't believe how lucky you are.

don't get me wrong we have our moments and sometimes days when things

just SUCK...but I always love him. We are very opposite but it totally works for us.

I am loud and obnoxious and very IMPATIENT he is quiet, kind and overly patient.

I lose my cool fast and he reminds me "THAT IT'S NO BIG DEAL" I get mad about the small things

and he reminds me "IF WE CAN'T CHANGE IT DON'T SWEAT IT." I hold grudges he

let's things go real fast...I think the most important thing is how I feel around him..I feel

safe and happy and pretty. He loves me for me and I am a whole lot of "pain" to deal with, at times.

I know I wish for you all to be as happy and I hope your LOVE makes you feel pretty...

I hope you don't mind me being sappy but sometimes I think it's good to talk about

what makes you really happy.

have a great week

tina

Happy Birth-DAY

2011-06-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

Today is my little ones 4th birthday

While he does drive me nuts, and sometimes makes me want to pull my hair out

he does love me everyday, tells me I'm beautiful and offers minute to minute hugs and kisses

my life would not be as exciting without him in it...

today we celebrate his birth...

(blogger is not cooperating this morning - having trouble loading my photo)

will try again later...

off to LEGOLAND with the fam - to celebrate his DAY!

tina

What's in a name?

2011-06-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a sweet little gift I made for a friend of mine's daughter.

I know this may seem like something totally useless but I think

that it's totally personable and a statement of the little girls

room and her space...it's all theirs...

this was any easy project to get done.

all you need is a 2 x 2 x 8 piece of wood cut into pieces..

depending on the name or word you plan on adding..

Then just paint it the color you want - I used acrylic paints

they are cheap and dry really quick.

Then let your inner artist out and paint a sweet

design on the wood and add your word or name

easy peasy and super sweet and best of all HANDMADE!

By the way I added three small holes and added some

wire that I twisted to make small photo holders and attach them in the

holes with some heavy duty adhesive....

I love it and hope she does too...

I am linking this to the following parties:

craft-o-maniac

market yourself monday

just something I whipped up

inspire me fridays....

(see the links in my sidebar)

Happy Monday

tina

Worlds Best Dad

2011-06-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

I may be a little bias but I am sure we all think our Hubbies are the coolest guys out there...

and well I do too.

He is warm hearted,

a bit silly,

a great and patient daddy

and with a little tornado of a guy

patience is KEY!

and he is a soft teddy bear that my girls still love to hug and kiss

on the lips...he tells them he loves them everynight...I love

guys like that who aren't afraid to show their sweet side.

Here's wishing you all a wonderful Father's Day and hope you lavish you

hubbies in the best way you can on this special day.

tina

wordless wednesday

2011-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Summer sleepover in Big sis's bed...

Love them best whenthey are sound asleep!

happy wednesday

tina

back to the drawing board

2011-06-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

I had this genious idea to make my girls a especially cute

Disney pin holder for their trading frenzy they go on when we

get to Disneyland (season pass holders)

This is what I came up with...don't look to closely didn't really take my time

with sewing edges and such...but I do love the colors I picked...

not bad and my girls were eager to put them on...

went to Disneyland last night...

The main reason for these pin holders were because the backs fall out

quite often and get lost...so I was trying to come up with a plan to keep them

safe...my idea was good...but I gotta admit...it is back to the drawing board for me.

What you don't see is that as soon as my girls wrap the purses around them

the entire inside pages of the purse fall in - the pins are too heavy.

UGH!!! ok well I never claimed to be a seamstress but I am NOT a quitter and will

try again.

Happy Tuesday!

tina

Shabby Album

2011-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

I love all things shabby and all things paper and when I put those 2 together

I make something like this. I love making mini scrapbooks...and here is one I created using

some fun papers and cool embellishments and all out of a paper bag base!!!

left the photo placement areas pretty clean and simple...

gotta leave room for all that goodness to showcase it!

but isn't it pretty all together

Love this layout

this whole album came together nicely.

Best part of it all is that it could really work for a great gal pal

or would look great showcasing a young little girl.

These also make great gifts for showers or birthdays!!!

If you ever need a custom order email and let's getter' done!

Have a fantastic monday

Linking this cutie up to: (please see links on the side)

craft-o-maniac

market yourself monday

just something I whipped up

making the world cuter

made by you mondays

tina

Paris baby!

2011-06-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

On my bucket list - One of the places I have to visit is

PARIS...

THERE IS SOMETHING MAGICAL i HAVE CREATED IN MY MIND ABOUT THIS PLACE.

I want to eat the food, visit all the places, take lots of photos

and shop the PARIS FLEA MARKETS

doesn't this photo look divine....

well when given the chance to try and win a trip with someone who personally lives there...

I am in...so why not go and enter yourself -

one can wish right?

visit

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

and give it a shot...

I was entry number 7.895 - so you see what our odds are right?

But WHAT IF?

good luck

Make-over

2011-06-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

I have a long to-do list - a bunch of make-over type projects.

I gotta tell you that I saw something similar to this on another blog

and I am sure you are all aware that your local THRIFT STORES are

a great place to find cool do-over items...things that just need a coat of paint

or some new fabric....So I found a cheese plate (wooden round) and a glass lid

and and old broken plastic candle stick.

gotta tell you that the candle stick was a bright red and the round

was maple brown wood...I then spray painted the two pieces in white...

and used E6000 to glue the round to the top of the candlestick - then added trim

and a flower and

wah-laaaa

here is my new display piece...

cute right?

I am linking this up to

tina

new medium

2011-06-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

As any artist knows there are a gazillion different mediums that we

are exposed to on any given day. Most often paper and canvas are my choice

but there other day I got this crazy idea to paint on barn wood.

Not your usual sign or phrase but rather this....

rustic and cool - LOVE that.

cute right and best of all it came from this

an old used piece of fence wood.

Best of all I was on a roll and created another fun Halloween scene

and 2 other special paintings inspired by one of the coolest mixed

media artist out there...Julie Nutting

I'll share that with you tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday

tina

teacher gifts

2011-06-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

End of the year treats for great teachers is almost a tradition.

You give to the ones who gave to your kids all year long.

I decided to make my kids teachers this cool wooden shaped pencil.

I used to make these alot - years ago and actually found these 2

pre-cut shapes in the garage. So you can make your template as close

to a pencil as you like. This is my version. Simple and basic.

Then I used acrylic paint and painted it up to what I thought looked close

enough to a real pencil.

You could really make this look super neat and add shading

to the grey metal part below the eraser.

I used an OLD scribble painter to write in the

teachers name. I am not fond of the way it looks - a bit clumpy.

I think using a paint marker or even a sharpie would have looked cleaner.

what - ifs's right?

Well happy to say that the teachers LOVED them.

wouldn't these make cute bathroom passes - funny!

I am linking this up to the following:

Market yourself Monday

Craft-o-maniac

Just something I whipped up

made by you monday

making the world cuter

(please see side bar for links)

Trying something new

2011-06-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

If you are like me and have an etsy store or an ebay shop then

you probably have hang tags or special packaging you make up for your sales.

I am always looking to try something new.

Here is something simple and new that I tried.

I just took a shipping tag and stained it and then used a cool stamp set to

add something different and cool.

What do you think?

cute right?

what is your signature thank you gift?

tina

ATC update

2011-06-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

have you all tried playing around with ATCs

artist trading cards.

They are just smaller works of art 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 and have endless

possibilities...you can actually get quite creative with these little guys.

Here are some new ones I have recently made:

love the colors on this one (above)

painted backgrounds and clip art = fun

i sold this one

this one recently sold

cute right?

So what do you think?

If you ever need someone to trade with - let me know.

Happy Thursday

tina

Drop it like its hot

2011-05-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

I gotta admit - I do use the F-word a lot. Bad girl, I know.

So I thought how funny to make a "Stress-ball" in the shape

of and "F BOMB" - its filled with rice and lavendar and can be played

with at work or home - in all your stressful places...

Let it go!

How great the world would be if we all threw these types of

f bombs around - right?

For all you sewers out there - THis is made using black t-shirt fabric

and I created a ball shape and added the f and flint to make it look semi-real!

So go ahead and drop it like its hot - as Snoop Dogg would say.

I am linkging this up to the following:

(please see side bar for link)

Just something I whipped up

Sumo's sweet stuff

craft-o-maniac

funky polk-a-dot

made by you mondays

make the world cuter mondays

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day

tina

sew cute tuesday

Traditions

2011-05-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

{Little A - winning his 1st cake at the cake walk @ the carnival}

Do you live for tradtions, for doing something over and over again

because you know your kids will always remember those "types" of things

when they are older?

I sure do... andnwe do alot of things - yearly things - dinners, lunches & outings.

Take for instance, for the past 20 years I have been visiting this same

Memorial day carnival with a family friend, my mom and brothers.

Now we are all grown up and have kids of our own

and my mom has left us but we continue to go; now with my kids...

and the same family friend - and it is something they have come to look forward to

and something they can depend on year after year,,,

I love that and I know for years to come they will come to remember the rides,

the foods and talk about it

and I think it's a great tradition -

one I look forward to each year.

{daddy & A; sliding down the big slide @ the carnival}

Hope your memorial day weekend is going wonderfully and filled with tradition.

tina

Feeling good!

2011-05-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Bare with me here! Had to make one more of these Tim Holtz inspired

shadowboxes. I think this one has more of a Tim - feel to it! still not as good,

but I just need more time and more stuff and it'll get there.

This was another 1.99 find from the thrift store and I didn't change the color

but what I did do was add paper to the inside of the smaller boxes using matte medium

I used TH vintage paper stash for the paper and then went on a scanvenger type

hunt in my studio for bits and pieces of "FAMILY" related trinkets to add.

The theme of this box - is FAMILY - duh!

I get that not everthing shown here is really family related but it does give it

a homey feel right? Well at least everything looks old right?

I gotta tell you that most of this stuff I used here is truly old and very vintage and was in my

"LOVE TO LOOK AT, BUT NEVER WANT TO PART WITH" stash of goodies...

I felt like it was time - otherwise really - I may as well die with it all.

No sense in wasting good vintage findings.

Well I hope you love it...

I sure do.

Hope your week has gone smoothly...SUMMEr started over here

in this house...working hard to finish off some goodies for a farmers market I am

selling at tomorrow night - so back to work I go.

tina

Shadow Box Madness

2011-05-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

I adore Tim Holtz and just love his vintage junky goodness and have been

eyeing his configurations boxes and decided to make something similar

well something along the lines of close to the same but so NOT even close tim holtz style...

I had bought this plain tower at a thrift store and I think it was like 1.50

the back of the house tower had a Hallmark sticker on it...

So I painted it up in blues and pinks to make it look SHABBY

then scoured my finding and collections for little bits and

pieces of girly baby items...

I added book images to the back of the walls and some book

definitions to the some fo the pieces.

Most items here are vintage - the little porcelain shoe

reads: GROW

the very top compartment houses a vintage baby diaper pin pinned

through some vintage lace...

I think this would make a great gift for a new mommy.

Sweet right?

Hope you are doing crafty fun-ness and getting some projects done.

I am linking this up to the following parties:

market yourself monday