This Can Only Mean One Thing!

This is a partial picture of one of the tables in my studio. It's not my fault. Really. One of my favorite students suggested I come up with another Halloween class, so I did. This is most of the 31 piles that each make one page for a black wire mesh "page a day" calendar. All the pages are numbered, so you can turn one page a day from 1 to 31 or countdown style from 31 to 1 counting down the days 'til Halloween. Here is aneak preview of some of the pages:

It's gonna be fun, and you can come if you wanna. Here are the details!

Saturday, September 17 10am-5pm with a break for lunch

Halloween Countdown $50. Class size limit: a spooky 13

Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale, AZ 480.946.0007 Call or visit the website to sign up.
Price includes the metal mesh tray, scary skeleton, papers, embellishments, doodads, and all supplies not on the list!
Supplies to bring: Glue, standard size one hole punch, scissors
Optional: Sewing machine with needles and bobbins, If you choose not to sew, you may glue this project. Three machines will be available to share, for no additional charge. 


Thanks ever so much!

I just wanted to say thank you again to all the wonderful people who stopped by the See Jane run table to talk to Jeane and me and to buy things today at Art Unraveled. It was so rewarding to see people who came back a second year as well as the new faces. The day was an amazing success in a number of ways. I have my teaching schedule on the sidebar of this blog for those of you who are interested and available to come. Even though all the classes are not yet posted on the Frenzy site yet, you can still call the store and sign up. All of the classes except the Halloween countdown have pictures on other posts, and the info. on how to access them is also in the sidebar. When I get that all squared away, I also plan to have a giveaway. Stay tuned for that.

A Sneak Peek: Art Unraveled

Art Unraveled is just around the corner! I will be participating in The Teacher Showdown Competion, Meet the Teacher, taking a few classes, vending, and teaching my Double Double class (There's still room and still sewing machines available, if you want to come. Details are the sidebar of this blog.) You will receive enough materials and "patterns" to make two different sized books, so this really is double. Below are pictures of the kits my students will receive for participating in the fun. This is only the part that goes in the class folder. Fabrics, ribbons, more papers, etc. are in a separate sharing place. Among the things inside the individualized folder are personalized labels for their books, a little gift certificate to my table at the shopping extravaganza, and a sewing badge, just for fun. Below these pictures are samples of finished Double Doubles, so easy to make, even a beginner can do them!

And since people have been wondering what I will be selling at the extravaganza, here are a few sneak peeks since I can't post them all. I will also have some fabrics, rubber stamps, and miscellaneous supplies.

Cigar boxes that can be used as purses or for storing precious memories and goodies

Notebooks in different sizes, greeting cards, postcards, etc. from my Scrappy Paper Collection featured in a recent edition of Sew Somerset Magazine

And lots of journals in various designs, staring with some Double Doubles

that when open look like this

One of my Barely Bare White Journals, (great for babies, weddings, vintage photos, christenings, or everyday occasions), Sew Scrappy Journals, Selvage Journals and one Black and White Journal

You can click on any photo and make it larger. This actually helps with the glare and my bad photography skills, so you can see the details better.

I'm so looking forward to seeing old friends, working with my students, and making new friends as well.

Stronger Every Day

It's a funny thing, the kid and me. When people meet my four-year-old granddaughter and me, the most common response is, "You two look just alike." The funny thing is that I am discovering we think a LOT alike as well. Before she was even a year old, I had her in a fabric store, and she reached out to touch bolts of fabric as we went by. When I stopped and allowed her to do so, she smiled and giggled. She didn't do this in the other aisles of the same store. Hmmm. She loves being in the studio and talks about making clothes and what goes with what. Yes, really. She knows just what I like and what I can tolerate. She knows the difference between when my checking into something is what she calls "an emergency" and when what lies before us is just not worth noting.
Yesterday, when she was sleeping, I was looking for a good online tutorial for something. Now, there are A)some darn good tutorials out there, and B)some exceptions to that, disappointing for a variety of reasons. Once in a while, you just get what you pay for when somethin's free. Anyway, when she awoke from her little nap, she came in and took a seat near me, to the right and sort of behind me, where she couldn't see my face. She watched in silence. It was one of those category B tutorials, no doubt. I was wondering what she was thinking being so quiet, but said nothing. At the close of the video, she broke the silence with, "Nona, does that just make you want to cry?" If that hadn't been so funny, I may have, but you gotta love a kid when you know that your bond gets stronger every day.

We're In Cahoots, It's Official

I feel like I could have a heart attack. While just messing around today with "the devices," I discovered that I could take one of Keegan's iPad designs, download it to a company that will transfer it to custom made fabric. That has been done, and I am just waiting for the mailman. Here is her original design:

When I downloaded this to the fabric site, I got to choose the way it would be printed and chose a mirror pattern. The result can be seen here.


I think it is pretty amazing, and I love the way a set of K's came out in the mirrored image. This will become part of a dress for her. Those little dress forms won't be naked for long! We are officially in cahoots!

Heart Racing / Just Ain't My Style

I didn't realize how far I had drown myself in my day job until I started looking in to new possibilities of how to spend my life. Don't get me wrong, I had a plan. I started easing in to being an artist, submitting to publications, teaching adult art classes, making sure I would have supplies so I wouldn't be need to be running to the store every five minutes, so to speak, several years ago. I didn't want to be one of those people who are so lost when retirement comes that they just go back to work for anything to do. I thought I knew what I was getting into, and I did, but only to some degree. I forgot what it felt like to feel my heart race, but it has all come back to me several times since June 2nd. When your heart skips a beat, you know you, you remember it, and you realize how you have missed it.
The most recent skipping can be attributed to what is in the photos below. They came yesterday. I raced downstairs when I heard the doorbell, opened the box and put them together immediately. They are dress forms in child sizes 3-4 and 5-6. Are they stinking adorable or what? I considered putting jewelry or fabric on them first, but decided that will come later. In the last few days, I have been thinking not only about what these two will be wearing but what fabric and designs will be incorporated into the clothes. Don't be surprised if you see some hand painted fabric or something you may have seen on one of my journal designs in the clothes that are coming. I won't be limiting myself to ordinary stuff. Just ain't my style.

Life's Workbook

In between all the life happening around me, I have been busy in my "workbook," recently once for 8 hours straight. Joy. If you read the words, I will warn you that some of these are written in the language of "Jane," so don't waste your time trying to decode what they really mean or the subject matter. K, loves? Really. Pages that seem to go with one another really do not, perhaps there is an unintentional transition there.
Most people call them journals, and I do too, when I revert to old habits. Somehow, I just like the idea of workbook better, and since it is my book, it is what is is, no?
I have always loved workbooks, way back as far as I can remember even as a little kid. I would pause at the section of the grocery store that sold workbooks and coloring books. I never remember wishing I could get the coloring books, but what I would have done to get one of those workbooks and taken it home, filled it out so neat and as perfect as possible. In the book I am working in now, I am experimenting with loose leaf pages again, since I want to be able to take the pages out and sew on them when I feel so moved and then put them back in. This also allows me to work ahead on as many pages as I wish, then find the perfect page for the perfect day and move it up in my workbook, so it stays as close in chronological order as possible. Anyway, here are a few of my pages. Some of these I started back when I was doing Journal Club with the girls at middle school this past school year. I have added bits since then, like the little bows on the pointy shoes. My goal is to add more texture to my pages using 3D objects other than paper and paint.

When we started Journal Club, we used old datebooks. I wanted the students to see how they could repurpose books for journalling without having to buy or make a book. Later we actually made our own fabric covered hard bound books. The first two spreads were to show the girls some examples on how to use the space.

I think this might be one of my all time favorite spreads.

It is kind of hard to see from the photo, but the spinner is actually clear and attached with glue dots. It is from an old game, and "jumps" off the page in real life.

This one has secret messages under each layer of stacked paper.

This is the page with real ribbon bows I tied and glued on the shoes, a picture from a magazine. The lesson 2 flap can be raised up. There is a secret message underneath as well. Kitty is one of the code words from "Jane."