SOCIAL MEDIA

Painting Pottery @ Earth Goods!

1.31.2015

There is a store/studio in Minocqua called Earth Goods and you can paint your own pottery there...I've been itching to go see what it was all about for some time now and today after work I met up with some old friends and we had some fun painting for the entire afternoon! It was so fun and I can already tell that it's going to be something that may very easily become addictive for me.


We walked in and got to select what item it was that we wanted to paint and then we got to choose our paint colors and brushes as well as other tools we may have wanted to use. They also had idea books that you could look over if you so wished.

Zoey knew right away that she wanted to paint a plate with humpty dumpty on it. I was a bit surprised but when asked why she wanted to paint humpty dumpty she shared that she wanted a plate to match her humpty dumpty spoon that she has at home. :) Funny girl!



I warned her that having something so detailed might be kind of tough to paint out with the brushes but she went ahead with her idea and it turned out great! I can't wait to see the finished product once the firing is completed.


We get to pick up our items next week.



The colors you see in the pictures will actually be quite a bit darker once our items have been fired. I was thinking this piece would be fun to use for a little herb garden in the kitchen or to hold special pens and pencils in my craft room.




It was so fun to catch up with our old neighbor friends! Such a relaxing afternoon...they gave us chocolate and coffee too which was a pretty sweet deal. Perfect way to spend the day with friends!



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A Layout Sharing Photos of My Craft Room

1.29.2015

You knew it was coming right? Earlier this week I shared photos of my craft room, where it is that I love to create and of course I had to create a layout using them! The funny thing about this is that I cleaned my room to take the photos and then promptly made a disaster in it creating this layout. Oh well!

I used machine stitching on my journaling strips to add interest and to ensure that they stay on the page as well. I wanted to share several of my photos so I printed them wallet size.


I used my Silhouette for the digital cuts for the word create and for the iron designs (cut using kraft paper), this pattern was actually a 12 x 12 design but I cut it down for this layout.


My light when I was taking these photos was a bit orange-y as you can tell when looking here. My walls aren't really orange, I promise!


You get the idea though!


Hope you're having a great week!
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Are You a Friend on Facebook?

1.28.2015
I'm sharing quite a bit on Facebook these days in addition to here on the blog. It's a really quick way to share updates or a little bits of information here and there. It's where I share lots of photos too. If you're not already a fan please consider finding me here

As always, thanks for the support!

A Tour of my Craft Room

1.27.2015

In the past I've always had my scrapbook space (or creative place) tucked away off in a corner such as when we lived here or in a shared space with another room like when it was in my bedroom here. This is the first time I've ever had a whole room to dedicate my crafting to and it's so very nice! It's interesting though because it's the one room in the whole house that has wood walls which makes it darker than any of the other spaces I've previously had but...I make up for the dark, funny walls with all the space that I have gained!


What I find personally interesting is that I always seem to gravitate to setting certain parts of my space (no matter where it's located) in the same way. I've had these desks for so long now and they are covered in paint and a bit marked up but they work. I attached curtains to the front of them to hide storage underneath. It's where I keep papers, albums, and all of my design team supplies and work.


Behind my work station and desk I have my camera and lenses on a shelf, bins of small embellishments and my sewing machine is on the top shelf. I got my sewing machine dust cover as a gift from my mom (found on Etsy)...she got me a coordinating one for my Silhouette too (on the top shelf on the bookcase on the other side of the window).


You can see it in this shot. I LOVE these covers so much!


I am so excited to have this fun little cube storage unit now too. I picked it up for $30 locally and the grey bins were $4 for two and are perfect for housing little things. One holds all my adhesives, another is for my inks, one is for my copic markers and another serves as a place for my paints and embossing powders.


My bulletin board serves as a little inspiration board of sorts. I have two of my favorite layouts on it, a picture of my mom and dad and some favorite supplies that hopefully will inspire me to create.


Here is a close-up of my little storage unit. I am so happy with it! As you can see, I have a mix of old and new things in my space. I love the white metal basket in the center of my cubbies. Right now it holds my loose single clear stamps that I've accumulated from kits and design teams, etc.


In addition to holding my Silhouette machine on the top, this shelf stores more embellishments, small tools, rub-ons, ribbons and all of my punches.



 I've got random boxes and bins around holding different things such as my letter stickers...


On the wall across from my desk is this old wall shelf meant for holding plates...I use it for storing some minis and cards that I've made. The hanging basket (it's actually one of those three tiered ones) to the left will hold my handmade cards. I haven't moved them into the baskets yet since I just hung it up today.  :)


Underneath this is a low, long table that holds my printer and a small TV. I forgot to get a picture of this.

And then I can't forget to share Zoey's little easel that has made it's way into my space. She works here quite often and it also serves as her little work station of sorts. The basket underneath holds a box of her markers and crayons, paper and her laptop.


So there is a little peek into my space! It's usually not as organized and picked up as it is now so I had to share pictures while it was still in good shape. The only thing that's missing is a comfy chair...I have my eyes on a nice grey one that I'm trying to save up for. It would be nice to have a place for a friend to sit if they were to come over, or simply a place for me to chill when not creating!

Meet "Apollo"...

1.25.2015

Zoey had it in her head today that she wanted to make a doll. I had things to do and errands to run so we didn't get started in on the project until mid afternoon.

I picked up a two pack of dish towels for $4 and a bag of stuffing at Wal-Mart for $4 and we were set. 

Zoey drew the doll body on one of the towels that we had folded in half and then cut it out. Zoey was going to hand stitch the body and actually started to but we decided that I should machine stitch it up so that it would be more sturdy and since the legs and arms were a bit skinny and therefore trickier to stitch up.


Zoey picked out the button eyes and decided on hand stitching the mouth and found some yarn she wanted to use for the hair. She cut the yarn and in a bundle of three strands each, we knotted the pieces of yarn in the middle and she stitched it on the doll's head. Deciding on how to attach the hair was probably the most difficult part!

She completely designed this doll all by herself! She is so proud and in love with her new doll. It makes my heart so very happy...my grandmother Evelyn made dolls and doll clothes and it looks like Zoey is following in her footsteps. 


"Apollo" (named by Zoey) was finished just in time for bedtime so she was able to sleep with Zoey tonight. What a busy (but fun) afternoon. 


We love you Apollo! Welcome home!


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Layout using the January Sketch from Scrapbook Circle

1.24.2015

Sometimes it's fun to create a layout using a sketch or a creative prompt. I created this layout using the January sketch from Scrapbook Circle. It was a pretty quick one that I created before work here today but it got my creative juices going and I had fun!



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Valentine's Day Cards - love u!

1.23.2015

Sharing some simple valentines that I made using my Silhouette machine the other night.  I love how the bold contrasts make the message really stand out. This was another super cute cut found in the Silhouette online die-cut gallery. It's so fun to see what new designs artists have come out with every month!


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Violet Is the One in the Middle

1.22.2015
I've been cleaning and going through rubbermaid containers in the basement this afternoon and discovered a bin filled with old papers from when I was in grade school. It's amazing when I think back to my school days and how there were certain teachers that stood out from the rest. Always for the same reason it seems. They saw me. They took time to understand who it was that I was trying to become and they encouraged me. I would like to think that they saw a little light in me that made me special.  :) 

Mrs. Bergenske (my third grade teacher) was one of those teachers. This is a short story that she wrote about her (our) class going to visit a home for the elderly when I was in the third grade. Violet was my special person. This just brings tears to my eyes to think my teacher wrote this, saw this...shared it. She also encouraged me to submit my writing to publications and got me published three times before the age of 9! Pictured are two of those publications. 

We are truly shaped by so many in this life.











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