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!



MAKING A GRUNGE T-SHIRT USING TIM HOLTZ' PRODUCTS

Okay, so we all know that Tim Holtz Masks, Ideaology, Alterations and Grungeboard items are nothing short of genius! We use them all the time to embellish tags, scrapbook pages and altered pieces. Have you ever thought about the possibilities of using them say.............on a T-shirt?!?!

Here is an easy step by step tutorial on how to make a really cool altered shirt. I will warn you though, it's addicting! With each new shirt comes a cooler idea or a new element you will think of to add to your design.

HAVE FUN and CREATE!!!

The designs are as endless as your imagination will take you!

Begin by assembling all of your supplies:

• A 100% cotton T-shirt: dark colors work the best, especially black


• A shirt form or something to lay in between the front and back layers of your shirt


• A work surface that will tolerate bleach


• All of the Tim stuff you can get your hands on to use as "masks". Actually, you can use anything that lays fairly flat and will tolerate bleach and vinegar. I am partial to Tim's pieces because they work so perfectly.


• Laces with larger patterns, large netting, buttons with big holes, plastic and/or metal objects, chains and all sorts of other things will work.
  
  LOOK AROUND YOU AND IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES!

You will also need straight bleach and straight vinegar (I use white vinegar), spray bottles set to the mist setting and a bowl with water in it. You will see why the water bowl is important soon.


Working on a bleach tolerant surface, place the shirt form or some sort of barrier between the front and back of the shirt. (This will keep the bleach from soaking through to the back). Lay the shirt flat on the work surface and lay out your design. I usually lay the large netting down first then place the other elements over the top of it. You can also "build" mini designs within your layout. An example of this is the butterfly. It consists of a rectangular plate from Tim's Ornate Plates, wings from his Grungeboard Elements, a small game spinner from his Ideaology Game Spinners, and an artist's pen point for the head of the butterfly. Another example of a mini design can be seen on the upper left shoulder. I have combined the Filmstrip Frames from Tim's Alterations with the star, crown and Fleur D' Les from Tim's Ideaology Adornments. Here is the layout of my "Imagine Shirt". Except for the lace, netting, artist's pen point and two little clock hands, this entire layout is Tim Holtz' pieces.

If you want to add what I call "starbursts" to your shirt, simply gather up material and wrap a rubber band around it to secure it in place. The folds will produce some really cool effects after they are sprayed.

Once you are happy with your design and you are sure it is laying as flat as possible, get your bleach spray bottle. Hold it approximately 12 to 14 inches away from the shirt and lightly spray directly down over the elements. You don't need to saturate it...just a light mist. Within a few seconds, you will begin to see the bleach reacting on the shirt. If you want areas on the shirt to remain black, don't spray there. But, remember, in order to achieve a mask effect,
you have to spray bleach around the elements laid out.

If you want larger blotches on the shirt, hold the spray nozzle over that area and gently pull back on the trigger of the bottle, letting the bleach trickle out of the spray nozzle onto the shirt. Some shirts turn brownish, some turn reddish...it just depends on the shirt. The end result will still be a slightly different color than what you think it will be.

When you are happy with your bleach effect, begin taking the elements off of the shirt and place them into the bowl of water to rinse them off. I do not put my Grungeboard into the water to soak but I do swish it in the water to rinse it off and then I lay it to the side to dry. (I have used my Grungeboard pieces to make lots of shirts and they are still as good as new! That stuff is amazing!!!) Remove all elements from the shirt. This picture shows you how the design will appear as you are taking the elements off of the shirt.

Here is the shirt with all of the elements removed. Lightly spray the front completely with vinegar. This stops the bleaching action. If you do not want to bleach the back of the shirt, remove it from the shirt form and lay it out to dry for a few minutes.

If you want to bleach out the back of the shirt, turn the shirt over......

Repeat the process you did on the front of the shirt. On this shirt, I just wanted some netting and some blotches on the back of the shirt.

I laid out the netting, lightly sprayed the back with bleach-leaving some areas to be blacker than others, dribbled bleach to make some blotches, let the bleach begin to work, removed the netting and when I was happy with the bleach effect, I lightly sprayed the back with vinegar to stop the bleaching action. I removed it from the shirt form and laid it out to dry for a few minutes.

Here is the back of my shirt.

Once you are finished with making your shirt, allow it to dry for a short time; maybe as little as 15 or 20 minutes. Then, throw it in the washing machine with like colors or other shirts if you make several. Wash as you normally would and dry as you normally would.

Your new creation is ready to wear and believe me, you WILL receive lots of compliments and people asking "Where did you get that shirt?"

Here is my finished "Imagine" shirt.

Have fun!!!! Email me pictures of the shirts you create! I would LOVE to see them!!!

HAVE NO FEAR! IT'S JUST ....

This vintagey, edgey Halloween book has ghosts and goblins and a spooky old witch that is full of surprises! She actually becomes a 3D display!

Even "The Raven" stops by for a spooky visit!

The book is 8 pages of fun filled Halloween nostalgia, pull outs and some pretty cool techniques! But, it's not just another book! It can set upright and opened out so that all sides can be seen at the same time! Definitely a wonderful Halloween decoration...and you made it yourself!

Here are a few "sneak peeks"

This picture will give you an idea of what your finished book will look like. The witch stick pulls out of the "Witch Hazel" bottle. The ouija board lifts up to reveal a picture of "the lost Lenore".

There are fun little pullouts and surprises on every page!

"The Witching Hour" is 12" high and 6" wide and made from heavy chipboard. Using the spiral binding gives the support needed for the book to stand up and when the pages are spread out, you have a wonderful Halloween display!

Edgar Allen Poe laments over his lost love, Lenore while "The Raven" quoths, "Nevermore!"

The Goblins Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out!

Cemetaries Don't Have To Be Spooky!


What's A Halloween Book Without A Witch? Only...She's Got A Surprise!

Eh....Heh....Heh!



Classes will be held October 2nd and October 9th, 2010. Vicki Conquest of "Conquest Keepsakes" will be hosting the first class in her new classroom area. The cost of the class is $45. This will be an all day class. The day of class, you will receive a "The Witching Hour" kit featuring all of the images, vintage photos, and all other ribbons, trims, etc. to completely finish out your book.


You will also receive a detailed instruction sheet with step by step instructions and pictures. I will be teaching the class and giving personalized help where needed. A small class list of supplies and all other information will be provided to you upon registration.

Email me now for more information and to reserve your spot.
ccolwell9@mchsi.com

Classes are already filling up and the class sizes are limited because this is a labor intensive class and I want to be sure to give personalized attention! You will love this book!


Experience "The Witching Hour" for yourself!

COMING SOON!!

A NEW HALLOWEEN BOOK CLASS

BE WATCHING FOR DETAILS....

It has been a while since I've posted but that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy! I completed a new studio in my home in July of 2009 and I have really given it a work out!

I LOVE my studio!

A lot of people have asked me to post some of my work. So today, I am doing that. I love art in all forms but my favorite style is undoubtedly the vintage, heirloom and nostalgic.

In my opinion, the absolute "Guru" of this style is the incredibly talented artistic designer and product developer, Tim Holtz. Check out his website and blog at http://www.timholtz.com/.

One of the top things on my "bucket list" is to have the amazing opportunity to meet and be taught by Tim someday. Those wonderfully creative people who have attended Ranger U and have been selected to be on his design team are living my dream. :)

Not everything I do is nostalgic, heirloom or vintage but when it is, I draw from my wonderfully simple "Normal Rockwellish" childhood. I love to revisit the sights, smells, sounds and memories of events and people living and passed on that fill my mind and heart.

We've all gone to flea markets and see something that instantly conjures up a memory of something familiar....and it makes us smile. I love it when someone picks up a piece that I have created and starts talking about their family or their memories. To me, THAT is what vintage, heirloom and nostalgic art is truly about.

I also love altered art and the edgey grunge look. That is so much fun to explore.

So, as you spend a bit of your day looking at my creations, I hope it brings a smile and inspires you in some way. Have a wonderful day and take time to PLAY and CREATE!! It's "soul" food!

These "Family Blocks" are one of my most favorite things I have done. The first block begins with my husband's and my grandparents and great grandparents. The "F" block is devoted to my parents. The "A" block is all about my husband's parents. The "M" block is my husband's and my block. The "I" block is our son and his wife's block. The "L" block is our daughter and her husband's block. The "Y" block is devoted to our grandchildren. Each block is full of pull outs, fold outs, pocket and all sorts of surprise elements for adding several pictures on every side. I have adorned the blocks with vintage laces, little "attic flowers" I have made from old laces, organza, pearls, netting, etc. There are old buttons and lots of metal elements on the blocks as well. Tim Holtz' Ideaology line is full of little negative film strip, wonderful little knobs, metal corners, and all sorts of other little metal embellishments that are perfect for pieces like this. The FAMILY letters on the front of each block are chipboard but brushed with Magic Metallics to make them look metallic and also aged. The blocks are a labor of love and definitely do what I hoped that would do. When people see them, they have to pick them up and study them. They explore all the pull outs and pockets ... and again, it sparks stories about their families. LOVE it!! Pictured are some of the sides of the blocks...but it is had to capture all the little special touches given to each side. They are really meant to be picked up and explored.

I have seen books online called "Squash Books" or "Explosion Books" and they fascinated me. However the ones I always saw were made with bright colors and cute papers. Being the vintage, nostalgic nut that I am, I decided to make my own version of this book. The picture on the front is actually taken from a board mounted picture of my great grandmother when she was a young woman. Don't you love the big hats and poofy dresses? I love the old house in the distance, too. I selected this picture for the cover of my book and stamped "GENERATIONS" on it because the photos inside are of the blessed women in my life that spans 5 generations. Here are a few pictures from this book.

I made this "Christmas Memories" book a few years ago for my brother who was battling a rare form of cancer at the time. He was afraid that that Christmas would be his last. My heart was breaking for him. I decided to make a very special book for him beginning with his first Christmas and ending with the most recent Christmases I had pictures of. Fortunately my sweet parents always took and saved lots of pictures. My brother cried when he opened it. As I watched him study the pictures and gently run his fingers over pictures of himself as a small boy on Christmas morning, I cried too. We talked for a long time about our Christmases through the years. He said it was one of the most precious gifts he'd ever received. I am thankful that my brother is still here and doing very well. I love the nostalgic art style because of the memories and conversations it always seems to spark. Here are a few pages from his book.