be yourself: live with passion

a trip to SAS...

...is always an experience.

For those who don't know what SAS is or if you've heard about it but have never been, let me tell you a little about it.  It's billed as a "fabric by the pound" store.  It's located in Tempe and it's a windowless block building in an iffy part of town.  The sidewalk to the main entry is flanked by large cardboard boxes filled to the brim with large plastic grab bags filled with ends of trims, lace, and who knows what else!  When you walk into the store, don't expect a cheery greeting from anyone; in fact, if anyone as much as grunts at you, you know that they hired a social butterfly.

If you're looking for the customer service of a Nordstrom's, don't bother going.  If you're accustomed to a clean, orderly, well lit fabric store, this ain't it, girls!  So why do I go?  I guess it's all part of the whole treasure hunt thing but more than anything, they really have a lot of cool things that I can pick up in bulk for great prices.   It takes a lot of "stuff" to fill mini books so that they look good but to fill them entirely with scrapbook products would make the kits really pricey...hence, SAS.

Saturday morning, I ventured out to SAS, definitely in need of fillers.  I grabbed a couple of bags of fringe on my way into the store...these fringes are really awesome...and they expanded when I opened up the bags and spilled them out onto the ottoman.  They definitely stuffed those bags quite full!  Yay!  Can you imagine these on the edge of a mini book?

It didn't take long before my arms were filled with boxes of buttons, pieces of felt, rolls of vintage lace, tulle, etc.  Two of the employees looked at me with arms full...never said a word...and there are no carts available for shoppers (nor any room in the aisles if they had them).  So, I had to ask if I could put my things down on the counter while I explored the other half of the store.  The response was a grunt...I took that to mean a yes...deposited my stuff and went off in search of more. 

Back in October of last year, Miss Tena had picked up some vintage seam binding ribbon there for our demo at Memory Trends.  They had found some for her in the back room and she bought  quite a few for us to use...she also gave me several of them.  I love vintage seam binding...having grown up in a house with a clothing designer, we always had seam binding at home...the vintage stuff is soft and it drapes, unlike binding that's made today which is kind of stiff.

On a whim, I asked Miss Grunt if they had more seam binding.  She said that she thought they had some in the back...wow, a whole sentence.  But, there wasn't another sentence that said, "Let me go check", nor did she make any move to look.  "Ummm, will you go check and see, please?"   The response, a little grunt followed by "I guess".  Remember, not Nordies!

I followed her to the back room and waited outside the door...she couldn't find it back there but she knew where some was.  Again, no move to go get it.  "Well, are you going to look for it?", I asked.  Her reply, "I really don't feel like moving boxes right now!"  Wow...

So, I took a deep breath, and politely asked again...one of the other employees said that it was really old stuff and the colors were weird...um, vintage, ladies, vintage!   I begged, cajoled, pleaded with her...I think I finally shamed her when I asked her to show me where the boxes were and I would be happy to move them.  She moved them and under a pile of fabric was a box of vintage seam binding.  PAY DIRT!   Aren't they wonderful?

When I was checking out, the other employee who wondered why I would even want them, asked me what I was going to do with so many rolls of ugly colors?  Tee Hee...She's been around a while and knows me from my many visits there...she thinks I'm strange to come there and shop for paper arts projects.  Could be she's quite right, in fact, I'm sure she is!  But, in the meantime, I have fringe, I have beautiful lace, I have buttons and rhinestones AND, I HAVE SEAM BINDING...and we are all going to have some beautiful kits...down the road!!!

So, move aside Nordies...close your doors fine fabric store...who needs you when they can have SAS????? 

IT'S HERE...IN REAL LIFE...IN FINAL FORM!

Can you tell I'm excited? 

The advance copies of

Lifelines:  Creating Memory Art To Chronicle Your Personal Connections

have arrived at Tena's and at my house.  It's so exciting to see it in its final form...although I had a great preview of it at CHA...a huge sneak peek, so to speak, in having mock up copies.

But there's nothing quite like seeing the finished product.  We both loved Artful Memories but in many ways, we feel like it was a warm up to this book.  The topic of this one is very dear to us-personal connections- and the photography, styling and graphic design is just superb.  Major kudos to our F+W/North Light team:  Jessica Strawser and Jessica Gordon, our editors, Marissa Bowers, our graphic designer, and Christine Polomsky, our photographer.  They outdid themselves...thank you so much to all of you and to the rest of the publishing team that worked so creatively to put this book together.

The book is available for pre-order at Amazon now...and, we will be doing some book signings locally and in our travels once the book has shipped.

I just wanted to share with you one of the projects I did that's in the book.  It's called "Coffee Spoons" and it's actually my art journal.  I had a lot of fun starting it for Lifelines and have been excited to add pages to it when the mood has struck over the past few months.

This is the cover and the title page...

 

To see more, I guess you'll just have to buy the book! :)

I also wanted to say thanks to our guest artists who did such a fabulous job with their contributions...so varied in their styles and yet all so very talented...   Heidi Swapp, Jessie Baldwin, Kelly Anderson, Celine Navarro, Laurie Stamas, Katherine Brooks, and Stephanie McAtee.  Thanks girls...we love you!  It's like our own personal line up of Oscar nominees, isn't it?????

So there it is...the cover, a teaser and an amazing group of contributing artists for the galleries.  I hope you order a copy for yourself...take time to read it and share in our inspirations and stories...make some of the projects...and personally connect with us through this wonderful world of memory art.

the thrill of the hunt...

Did you ever go on treasure hunts as a child?   Weren't they just the most thrilling thing?

When I was young, my parents would take my grandmother grocery shopping every Friday night and my brother and I would stay with my grandfather at their house.  A favorite way for us to pass the time was to play a game we called "hot and cold".  One of us would hide one of Babushka's hair pins and the other would have to find it.    This  was always fun because Babushka was a collector and loved her tchochkies, which translated to lots of hiding places.   The person hunting for the pin would travel around the room or rooms, poking around looking for the treasure and the person who hid the pin would call out hot or cold, depending on how close to the pin you were.  Then, of course, there would be the you're so out in the cold...you're warm...all of those varying degrees of hot and cold.  We loved that game so much we played it every week.  What was it about that game that kept bringing us back?  Certainly not the end prize...a hair pin...the same prize every week.  It was the thrill of the hunt.

When Ashley was young, her grandparents would do Easter egg hunts for her.  Not wanting to duplicate their efforts, we  created a treasure hunt for her.  The end prize was a muchly desired Breyer horse.  (Better to buy her a model horse than to pay for cavity fillings from Easter candy was our motto!)  Anyway, when she was really young and didn't read well, I could create these little cards that would say "GO TO {insert pic of fire hydrant}. My drawing wasn't great, but good enough I guess that she could figure it out.  So, she would go to the hydrant, where there was another such note and so on and so forth.  What a charge she got out of the whole treasure hunt.  When she got older, I would write funky riddles for her to figure out.  Eventually, it got to where we ran out of hiding places and I ran out of brain power to write harder riddles.  Ashley definitely missed those hunts...she still talks about them on occasion.

During the past few weeks, I've been doing some treasure hunting...it has really been fun.  I just wanted to share a few things that I have found or have ordered from people who are also hugely into treasure hunting.

The old lace, spools of beautiful cotton crochet thread, tiny leather baby shoes and the old frame (pictured below) all came from my Sunday adventure at the antique mall.  That was really a fun time, browsing through stall after stall, rifling through bins of old fabrics and tablecloths, and looking through old and dusty books on the shelves.  I'll definitely be going back. 

The little copper box, vintage red labels, funky safety pins and beautiful rose colored and clear crystals, and white and brown fabric leaves came from Janice at  Papier Valise.  She is fabulous at finding awesome treasures and I have to say I have never been disappointed with what she has sent me.  The copper box is so cool...it opens up to reveal a little compartment...perfect for the cover of a book...just love it.

The gorgeous large pocket watch cases were a find from Mystic Paper.  Kim had just acquired them from a man who brought them in to her store...what a cool, cool treasure.  They're large enough to create a great collage inside...can't wait to play with them.

This is a closeup of the corner of the old picture frame I found.  It's really large and definitely has some signs of wear, especially in the corners and along the edges where the design was plastered over the wood. 

My plan is to create a bulletin board out of the frame by filling it with linen fabric that I will stamp a flourish pattern onto.  Don't know yet if I will paint the frame a shabby black or leave it as it is...what do you think?

So, there you have it...hunting...the thrills and the treasures.

Hope you find lots of thrills in your treasure hunts...happy hunting.

a sad, sad day...

I put off posting about the subject this weekend, childishly hoping that if I didn’t address it, it wouldn’t happen.  But it is a reality that I’ve known about for a while…and it was confirmed in an email broadcast on Saturday afternoon.  On Sunday, I found myself tearing up, wiping my eyes, sniffling, remembering…

Ink It, the store where I have been teaching for the past two years will be closing its doors next month.  I’m excited about the plans that Mary Ellen has for a new gallery to take its place; I understand the concepts of living with passion, of having something that gets you out of bed in the morning excited to meet the day, and of sometimes changing directions in life.  But I wasn’t quite ready for this chapter in the book of my life to come to an end.

Let me take you back to 2001, when I first discovered Ink It.  It’s close to my house and I passed it countless times, never knowing what was inside the store.  Actually, I thought it might be a printing shop or something. LOL!  After I started scrapbooking, someone had mentioned that it was a rubber stamping store and when I went there for the first time, I almost stopped breathing…literally.  I felt a little like Alice and wondered what rabbit hole I had fallen into…one that was a visual and artistic candy store.  Oh my!

The rest is history.  I got into the habit of popping in and chatting with Mary Ellen…I had tons of questions for her about products and how to use them and she had tons of patience and answered each and every one of them.  Her reward?  I bought product…TONS of it!  In fact, Stevie, Mary Ellen’s daughter, would often say that if they ever needed an inventory of rubber stamps they carried in their store, all they would need to do is to come over to my house.  (Vern, if you read this, she was just kidding!  Really!)

Over the years, Mary Ellen and I have become friends…we have celebrated our successes and shared our griefs,  we’ve told each other family stories, we’ve moaned about community issues,  and have swapped puppy and dog stories. She is an awesome person-caring, giving, creative and talented in so many areas.  The store has felt like a bit of home to me and it will be hard to see it close.  I’m delighted that Mary Ellen will continue in another format in the art world…and I definitely look forward to popping into her new store and picking up wonderful pieces of jewelry and art that I know she will carry.

Thank you, Mary Ellen, for the inspiration you and your store have been to me…for having confidence in me to teach there…for sharing so much of yourself with your customers and the community.  Your store has been the highlight of so many people’s visits to Arizona; it will be missed but will always be remembered as being the ultimate paper arts store.   I wish you the greatest of success in your new venture and it makes me smile to see the light in your eyes when you talk about your plans for the future.   To new beginnings…best wishes…bonne chance!

Sunday musings...

Happy Sunday Morning!

I wanted to share the first outside view I had this morning.  I went outside to say bye to Vern and Ash as they took off for their Sunday morning horseback riding and this is what I saw from my driveway.  I just had to laugh as I watched those goofy blackbirds...squabbling as though there wasn't enough room in that tree...all wanting to perch on the same branch...loud and generally obnoxious...definitely a funny sight.

Then, I had to take a picture of one of the new buds on the tree...spring has definitely arrived in Phoenix and the warm weather definitely means I need to put in some gardening time.  If you're buried in snow up to your roof line, don't despair...this is meant to give you hope that spring is just around the corner for you!

The deep freeze we had in January took it's toll on many of our backyard plants...plants we have tended and nurtured for almost 8 years.  Unfortunately, they are tropical succulents and they don't do well with frost so major parts if not all of the plants are gone. 

In the next few weeks, I'll definitely be paying visits to a few local nurseries, who will undoubtedly be doing a huge business.  It'll feel good to get my hands in the dirt...to relax...to plant...and to watch my babies grow.

So far this weekend...

*I have a clean house...I've adopted a "clean as necessary" attitude and with company over last night, it was necessary.

*The birthday party for my mother-in-law yesterday was a big hit.  She really seemed to enjoy herself...including the piece of cheesecake she ate in honor of the occasion!  (She's diabetic so usually doesn't indulge that way!)

*True to form, friends Kelly and Jeanette came through with sources for a cord sleeve...and both had their list emailed to me less than an hour after I posted...didn't I tell you they are queens?

*I have all of my materials gathered to build the next two projects I'm working on...they are on the agenda for today.

*Speaking of agendas, I came across this cool idea from the blog of my creative and inspiring friend, Teresa , and actually had one created this morning.  Here's a small sample of what I did...check out her blog for a large image of the card...very fun!

*My friend, Nicole, emailed me a very cool list of quotes this morning and gave me permission to share.  Here's one of my favorites:

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

Thanks, Nicole...you know how much I LOVE quotes!

*I want to check out an antique mall that I've never been to before later on today...who knows what sort of treasures I'll find???

OK, enough musings...off to create...need to start checking items off the list, you know!

Let there be light!

And there is!

Yesterday, I hung a new mini beaded chandelier which I had just received from PBTeen...it's in the once dark corner of my studio.

This light makes me smile.  It's white iron, all covered with clear beads and it even has a beaded sock to cover the bulb.  Just the perfect little addition...

Now all that I need to find is a white sleeve to cover the ugly wire hanging down in the corner.  Can't see the ugly wire?  Of course not...it's photoshopped out! But since I can't do that for real (wouldn't that be fun???)  I need to make it pretty.  I have two friends who are queens when it comes to home decor/interior design sources, and I think that between Kelly and Jeanette, my wire sleeve will be found!  If anyone else knows where I can get one, please let me know...

In other news, I had a great Valentine's Day with 2 dozen gorgeous red roses and a wonderful dinner out from Vern...he also gave Ashley some beautiful flowers...he's such a sweetie!

One of the deadlines is done and Fed-Ex'ed out...the other needs to be completed and jpegs sent today...but hey, at least I have some good lighting!

Tomorrow we're having a birthday party at our house for Vern's mom...I guess I won't say which birthday since I don't know if Mom wants the blog world to know.  I've often wondered at which point women start being proud of their age and happily tell you how old they are.   Now my dad, he's quite proud of his age.  He turned 82 in January and he's now telling everyone he's almost 83!  Too funny.

Happy Friday...hope your day is filled with light!

Do you have any...

fun memories of Valentine's Day as a child?

I have vivid memories of Valentine's Day when I was in 4th grade.  My teacher...really my idol at the time...was Miss Werner and I thought she was totally fabulous.  She asked me to decorate the Valentine's Box which sat in the front of the room and which housed all of the valentines we exchanged with each other. 

Miss Werner couldn't have picked a better person for the job.  The paper-aholic, who had every color of construction paper, who saved special wrapping paper (including heart paper), and who was happy to create her own patterned paper with stencils, pencils and crayons.  I was totally in my element!  It was definitely icing on my cupcake when Miss Werner told me it was the most beautiful box she had ever seen.  Whether or not it really was doesn't matter...I was just tickled at the time...enough to still have clear memories of the event.

So here I am...many (many) years later, still covering cardboard with patterned paper...and that's exactly what the plan is after I finish this post.   I have several deadlines which need to be met by the end of the week...so I will happily be playing with paper, crayons, paints, stamps and inks!  Funny how some things don't change.

Hope this helps inspire some fun Valentine's memories...have a Happy Valentine's Day!

what goes up, must come down...

...FINALLY!

Yesterday, I took Christmas down...yep, FINALLY!  The goal was to have it down before Valentine's Day and I'm happy to say I met my goal and since I took Christmas down on February 13th last year, I beat last year's time by 2 days.  Impressive, huh?

I'm fortunate to have an understanding family.  Whenever I would start beating myself up about not getting this chore done, they would tell me to chill...they liked the Santas on display. 

I typically need a solid 8-10 hours on a weekend (the closet where I store my guys is in one of our business offices) and with being out of town, teaching, meeting deadlines and prepping new classes, my January weekends were pretty much shot.

But it's done...and my house is back to normal...or as normal as it can be.

I have a new washer coming this morning.  I'm excited about this one...it's a front loading Bosch that looks pretty awesome.  Our other washer is only a year old but I just hate it...hated it from the first load I did.  It's noisy and it goes off balance, even when the load is all blue jeans or bath towels.

The sign above the washer in the store said that you can put 17 bath sized towels into one load.  My first thought was "Wow, that's impressive!".  My second thought was, "Who has hamper space to store 17 dirty towels?  And, who even wants to wait until they have 17 towels?"  So, I guess it's all relative, but I am excited about being able to do tons of jeans and sweats in one load.

Better go...the delivery guy just called and is coming in about an hour...need to clear out the laundry room.

Just a quick thought...if you're beating yourself up because you're behind on a deadline or you feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do...don't.  Just pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that you are great...act a bit self-righteous...after all, you got your Christmas stuff down loooong before I did!  :))

New Life Stories Class...

...for February...is done!

                              

I'll be teaching this class at Scrapbooks, Etc. on Wednesday, February 28th from 10:30 to 1:00.  I'm excited to share some fun new techniques and to get your brain thinking about the stories of people you love.  Great papers, cool techniques, 3 layouts and a theme of stories and people we love...what more could you ask for?  This class is selling very quickly so call the store today at  480-854-2303 and reserve your spot! 

out for hire!

Wouldn't you want to hire someone who could prepare a salad that looks like this?  With heirloom tomatoes and rare watermelon radish...drizzled with a homemade dressing.  Is your mouth watering????

Ashley, I'm just kidding about putting you out for hire!   I'd be crazy to do that since I love the meals you prepare... so very much!

This is the salad that Ashley made for Vern's birthday dinner.  It was so beautiful to look at (hard to take that first bite) but once I tasted those special tomatoes and radishes (amazing, aren't they), I just plowed right through that whole plateful!

She also made a shrimp and scallop saute with veggies and some homemade cous-cous.   What a delight.

Vern and I are VERY lucky to have a 21 year old who loves to cook...we are happy beneficiaries of her explorations into the cookbooks she has started to collect.

Hope I haven't made you too hungry...just wanted to share some extra special culinary delights.

Have an extra special delightful day!