YEP....HALLOWEEN IS COMING!!!!

Fall is here although you'd never know it in Springfield, Missouri right now! Our weather is beautiful...sunny and in the mid 70s with not even a hint of the leaves beginning to turn yet. That's okay though. I LOVE this weather!
I finished my Halloween canvas! It was so much fun to do! It was inspired by my friend, Jeanne. She introduced me to frozen Charlotte. LOVE THESE! I have since also found frozen Charley and have a growing collection of both. (smile) Since Charlotte had no legs, Jeanne thought of sticking her in a pumpkin. More about that in a minute....

Here are the front and back views of my Halloween Canvas.

The witch's gate actually swings out to reveal Miss Charlotte in her cute little yellow mum tutu, sitting in her pumpkin. I also made a little Halloween mask for Miss Charlotte to hold. This was made out of a toothpick for the handle and a little piece of scrap cardstock painted with Black Diamond stickles. I glued a scrap piece of orange tinsel garland to the top for some extra color. 

The gate is actually a little piece of fencing from Dept. 56. I took the "feet" off of the bottom of the fencing so that I could use it for a gate. I made the gate swing out by sticking little eye pins into the wooden side of the canvas. Then I used Tim Holtz ' jump rings to attach the bar of the gate to the eye pins. The sign on the gate was made using Tim's fragments and Glossy Accents.

I love all the "stuff" on this canvas. The cool metal lion's head reminded me of something you'd see on a spooky old door of a witch's castle. Chains hanging from the lion's head hold bottles of "Witch's Brew" and "Life Renewal Potion". I found the little bottles at Hobby Lobby and filled them with orange and black seed beads in one and green paint in the other. I sized down the labels I found on the internet to fit the bottles. Then I coated the labels with Tim Holtz' Rock Candy Stickles. Those are amazing! They add so much depth and color to anything you rub them on.
The black cat is a Bethany Lowe place card holder that is holding Tim's new Happy Halloween ticket stamp. His new vintage witch face is also making an appearance on this canvas, coming out of a little "attic flower" I made out of black hug snug seam tape, vintage milners' netting and a little center brad from My Minds' Eye Halloween brads. Tim's ornamental plates are so versatile. I couldn't resist using one on this canvas. I loved the little pumpkin boy and his owl and cat friend I found on a vintage postcard. So, they stand guard at the gate.
Have a wonderful week and take time to play and create! It's "soul" food!



IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE ... HALLOWEEN!!!

I LOVE the fall with all of it's sights and sounds and smells. The trees are never more glorious than in the fall when they burst alive with their vibrant reds, yellows, oranges and every hue in between. Going for walks on crisp autumn days and watching the leaves gently float like snowflakes to the ground. Hearing the rustlings of the leaves as they are tossed about by the biting autumnal breezes. Eating candied or caramel apples. The wonderful aroma of pumpkin pie or homemade bread baking in the oven permeates every room of the house.  I can't wait for fall!!!  I also love it because of ...... HaLLoWeEn!!! 

What a FUN holiday to make art pieces for and then decorate the house!  I'm having some of my "Artchix buddies" over and we're going to make this cute little witch hat.  I say "little"...actually this paper mache hat measures 12" tall and 16" across at the brim.  Hardly "little".  But, it sure does make an adorable "vintage" table centerpiece or a cute addition to your Halloween decorations.

It's very simple to do. Just spray a paper mache hat with black flat spray paint. Cut tulle into strips. I used off white, orange and black tulle. I cut it into 4 1/2" wide strips. The length of the tulle was probably around 54". I gathered all three together: white on the bottom, then orange and black on top. I ran a running stitch on my sewing machine to gather them together. Then pull up the gathering to make a nice ruffle of tulle. There will be enough out of one strip to cover the brim and also make the little tulle "top knot" on the top of the hat. Hot glue those into place. Cover where you hot glued with some sort of covering. Gathered and ruffled crepe paper works well.  I used some tissue paper garland. Next, I sized and printed out some "vintage" Halloween postcards and Stickled them to make them come "alive". You can mat the postcards on Halloween fabric, card stock, kraft paper or pretty much anything you can adhere to the hat.  Stickles or a nice little tinsel garland makes a nice finishing trim. I found some gold stars in the Christmas section of Hobby Lobby. I sprayed them with Glossy Wood Tone to "vintage" them up and dull their gold shine. It worked great! Then I hot glued them onto the hat and it's done!

Next....I'm working on a mixed media piece.  It's a Halloween canvas!  Spooky!!! 
Can't wait to show it to you!!!

We're Off To See The Wizard!

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Wizard Of Oz. I love the all the characters, the songs and the dialogue. I wanted to create something fun that would pay tribute to all of those wonderful things I hold dear from that classic film.

So...I decided to make a little library pocket book. With five library pockets, a couple of small pieces of chipboard, some Tim Holtz Ideaology Corners, various colors of Tim's wonderful Distress Inks, some Perfect Pearls misting sprays (I made using Tim's technique of mixing Distress Ink refills, Perfect Pearls and water in a Mini Mister), a 1" Memory Frame and some ball chain, a little "Toto" sterling charm, some Hannah Silk ribbon, shipping tags, Stickles, a few Wizard of Oz scrapbook papers and die cuts and a little of my own computer ingenuity; I created this fun little book.

Each library pocket is devoted to the characters and a song from the movie that is associated with them.

As you can see, each of the pockets are full of fun "stuff".  Each pocket holds a two sided book mark with more pictures and dialogue from the movie. 

Here are just a few of the bookmarks.

They also hold the lyrics to all of the songs. I distressed all of those lyric sheets to make them look old and worn, as if they had been tucked away in an old trunk for years.

Here are just a few of the songs.

The book is packed with all sorts fun things to look at and read. It gives me so much joy to pick it up and rummage through it. It's amazing what just a little bit of "stuff" and imagination can do!
Take time to play! It's good for your creative soul! 

I remember the lesson that Dorothy learned on her "visit" to Oz...if you are looking for your hearts' desires, you should look first in your own back yard. What a simple yet truthful statement. How often do we take for granted the things that surround us and make us happy, thinking that there is something better beyond the rainbow?

I hope you enjoyed my little Wizard of Oz book!

I can't wave a magic wand and send you home. But, I bet if you click your heels three times and say "There's No Place Like Home" you'll get there!

Thanks for stopping by!