i spent a big chunk of sunday doing that thing i have been dreaming of doing for months on end; making for the sake of making. it was a cool crispy day, drizzling rain all morning that opened up into a beautiful autumn afternoon. amazing to think that last week it was 90 degrees. it was as if the seasons shifted exactly on friday. hello autumn!

while i was in the studio i had a few different projects in the making. a few, like this tattered cuckoo clock i had started last spring and then set aside. i decided to do some followup. the cuckoo clock base is from kaiser crafts, something i have had on hand since i used it in a scrap kit for kR about a year ago. i have 3-4 more and i have some plans for those as well. i want to experiment more with the layering.

i thought i’d give you a quick little tutorial on what i did. this is the easy explanation peeps, but feel free to ask any questions in the comments and i’ll answer them there too. ;)

the base was covered with some plaster sheets {you can get this at any craft store}, i’m a big fan of stephanie lee (can’t wait to take her class at artfest next year!) and have wanted to play with some techniques i learned from her book with judy wise plaster studio.

after wrapping the base and gable with the plaster and letting it dry {this was done 5 months ago… lol} i dyed it all with some tattered angels mist in spanish moss. it’s a beautiful color, a soft and muted steel blue with a gorgeous shimmer. i need more. alot. more.

then i started the adorning. lots of vintage tattered laces and linen applied to the gable {see the original pic above}. just cut and layered really simply.

wrapped linen & lace rose with a little 7gypsies brass stud for the center and added it to the front.

i added a brass hanger loop and that gorgeous bee charm.

then the altered clock face made with a large brass 7g’s charm from the display kit. a piece of vintage open weave linen. antique buttons piled in a circle.

add arrow book turn and a large key then i dangled it above the cuckoo opening.

it was a great day, i’m still smiling as i type this out, remembering how relaxed it was to be out there making this. messy. fun. happy time creating. here’s to many, many more of these types of making days.

today i’m working on putting together a little mini halloween kit for the kR shop. it’s cute. and very limited. and hopefully will be listed by wednesday so you have plenty of time to put it together. it’s also making me happy on day 2 of making and exploring.

happy monday!
x0

i made a video tutorial which was posted on the JBS blog yesterday showing how i used paint with the exclusive stamp & stencil from the August JBS Mercantile papercrafting kit, so i wanted to link it up here too. it was really fun to make, and i didn’t realize until these past two months {since the kits have started including the stamp/stencil exclusives} just how these additions have inspired me to create more & experiment with old techniques. funny how that happens, right?

i have a few more video plans that i’ve been working on, including an “anatomy of a page series” {me scrapping from beginning to end} that i’ve been filming this week, i love seeing the process of others i’m inspired by, like this. i’m totally falling in love with video and using our camera and have wanted to do this for so long, so making this one has pushed me a little to get out of my safe zone which is really, really good!

happy wednesday!
x0

i have a stamped embroidery project up on the jbs blog today, head on over and check it out.

schools out and i’m finally starting to feel better after i got the icks from my littles. thank goodness for helpful husbands and being able to rest while they were at school this week.

happy friday!
xo

a few months ago my sweet friend amy asked me to submit a project for the birthday issue for her amazing online magazine, inspired ideas. amy is amazing, as i’m sure most of you know and has inspired me countless times with the sweet little things she makes. and, being a huge lover of previous issues {they are amazing!} as well as knowing her ever since i participated in on of her first club little house swaps i of course i said yes! yes. yes. yes!!

well, the day has finally come and the latest issue, 245 pages of beautiful birthday inspired projects, has been released. you can find it hear and i’m a little amazed that it’s only 3.30, that’s less that my online version of martha and inspired ideas doesn’t have any advertisements!

i know everyone involved put so much love and time & energy into their projects, it’s obvious when you see it {the peek of my birthday bouquet project is above} but i just want to send a HUGE thank you out to amy, and to our sweet friend pamela because i know the work and hours they put in was incredible, and it’s obvious from the beauty of the final pages.

happy friday!
x0

i adore the new jbs mini tart tins and i was lucky that they were included this month in the his add-on. i could think of a thousand ways to create altered decor pieces with them and wanted to show you a mini tutorial {it’s a quick 15 minute project} using them, the add-on kit and some vintage flatware to create a photo display stand.

here’s a good shot of the back.

To start I took the medium tart tin and turned it upside down. then, using a vintage fruit knife, i pushed a little divot into the tart tin so the knife had a little well to sit in and then i hot glued it into place. then i hot glued the vintage punch-card onto the knife, added the flower and some of the sweet skinny ribbon.

i LOVE these flowers. wish i had more but i’ve used every single one of them. the photo of my grandparents when they got engaged is attached using a little vintage clip. this way i can swap it out if i want.

i hid the small amounts of hot glue that you could see at the base by wrapping an extra little piece of that skinny ribbon and tying it off. of course seam binding would look just as cute.

simple right?

hey, don’t forget that i’m hosting a chat tonight at 8pm pst on the new jbs forum {the chat i believe will be linked right on the front page} for our first ever online crop this weekend.  i hope you’ll come say hi!

happy friday!

sharing | a clock redo tutorial over on the JBS blog
marveling | at the beauty of my bean who turned eight yesterday
revisiting | and remembering that first day of having her with us, eight years ago
plotting | a birthday for the papa tomorrow
finishing | a warm cup of my husband’s handmade latte. mmm
stopping | and remembering to be grateful for the blessings i have in my life
listening | to the hubs playlist of dr.dre, e-40 & drake
queing | usher
feeling | that i need to get back to the gym, asap
loving | that the house is quiet and that the garage is getting closer to being cleaned out
thinking | that I need to get the bean’s birthday party invites out today
reminding | myself to drink more water
making | oscar night invites for my girlfriends
planning | an online class for the end of march ;)

happy tuesday!

i spent the last weekend in los angeles with my dear friend dina and the one thing that kept being tossed around in our conversations was the idea of making & discovering. having playtime in the studio to figure out and experiment. to make for the sake of making. putting aside time to play so that you can grow and search and find and sometimes, just be, in the moment. no expectations. no formula or guidelines.

“to create one’s own world in any of the arts takes courage.” – georgia o’keeffe

i’m certainly not the first person to find that the road of discovery should be one that is made important in the life of someone who makes things with their hands. and i’m certainly not going to wax poetic here. you don’t need to hear me preach. i know you all get it as i think that it is a topic that repeatedly comes up; whether artist, crafter, scrapbooker, sewer, knitter, builder, baker or candlestick maker.

we all need to listen to our hearts. follow our paths. build upon the foundation of our dreams.

when i got home monday morning i found an invite in my mailbox from my friend kelly to join her on a journey of daily making in february. to join her and others in the act of creating, however you choose to do so. it was perfect timing and there is something about the joining of forces that can make you accountable. to help you set a pattern, hold a schedule, begin a habit.

so tuesday i began playing. no expectations and no lofty dreams that what i make will be earth shattering or rock the world of anyone but myself. i painted a house on tuesday and shingled a roof on wednesday. but the best part was that i loved every minute, every little minute that i dedicated to myself. no rushing, no time line. when it’s finished it will be finished and then i will begin something new.

i had three packs {i know, i love them} of the girls’ paperie chipboard alphas that i had yet to use and had this thought in my head of shingling the roof of this chipboard house with them {took about 2 packages}. cute huh? the houses were a three piece nesting set that i bought at beverly’s here locally {this is the medium size} and the paint is picket fence crackle from ranger.

next on the angenda… embellishments ;)

happy thursday!
xo

I was short on inspiration in the craft department through the holidays. i’m sure that this is common, so much going on, the hustle and bustle. add to that the little mans hurt arm, which was casted due to severe bruising {no break afterall, thank goodness!} and then i took him to the pedi 2 days later to find out he had pneumonia. seriously?! yea. no inspiration here, i was too busy helping unstick his head from his shirts and snuggling on the couch watching elf.

so i didn’t get anything finished for the december jbs mercantile reveal. but this past sunday morning i sat down and pulled off a few little items. things that took under an hour to make, like the bambino prize ribbon you saw yesterday and the mini inspiration magnet board above. just enough time to create something, but not nuclear in time commitment.

I thought i’d share a few step by steps of how i made the board since i took a few pics during the process, not sure exactly what i was going to end up with.

the magnet board {8″x11″} was a thrift find from a craft thrift store in the nearby town of sebastopol. the little ladies run it for a local hospice program and it’s where i get all of my luscious vintage trims and odd bits and bobs. all they sell is vintage craft things. i know, i’m a lucky girl. :)

i covered the front in the luscious curio paper from the kit and then backed it with some vintage wallpaper {the dr.’s office industrial fabric variety} on the back, then pinked the edges. beatrice, my sewing machine, is at the spa or i would have added some sewn borders too.

the adhesive mini tag is basic grey and i backed it with the same wallpaper, then i again pinked the edges.

added a strip of magnet, which luckily for me came with the board :)

done. see, super quick and i have a bunch of the little frames left from the jbs project kit so i think i’m going to add some more of those and turn it into a message board for the back of our front door, since it’s the place we seem to tape items so we don’t forget to do something. so organized am i.

isn’t it the cutest? could totally be made into a pin too, or a bookmark, or…

happy thursday!

ps : thanks for the welcome back notes on tuesday, totally made my day to see so many familiar friends saying hi and wishing me luck on this new journey. cannot wait to see where 2011 takes me, and you!!