Swap Meet Adventures

After lunch today, my daughter Shelby and I drove to a swap meet we had heard about. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that a few of the vendors were already packing up their stuff to leave. We found out that the sale had begun at 5:30 this morning; way too early for us! Even though we arrived "late", we managed to find some good stuff. We rummaged through a box of greeting cards and found a few older ones, so we snapped those up. At another booth, I found a small, in nearly perfect condition, green ledger that I fell in love with and had to have. The lady I purchased it from was very sweet and in a bargaining mood, so I managed to get it for half the asking price. The inner pages have no marks or writing on them, so I think that I will use it as a personal journal.

My next purchase was a small shoebox containing old photos. Some had been removed from a photo album and had black paper spots on the backs. Some of the photos had notations on the back, and all of the others were blank. It always makes me kind of sad to see treasured photos of someone's loved ones now ripped out of the album and put into a shoe box (sitting on the ground) for sale. I love these photos and try to think up little stories and scenarios about the people.

Another treasure I found is a magazine called Delineator, which I have never heard of. It's dated September 1943, and the original price was ten cents. I absolutely love the very fashionable lady on the cover powdering her nose. The magazine has fashion ads, recipes, stories, food ads, and home decor articles. I will see if I can scan some of the ads and post them later; the magazine is a larger format than my scanner so I may have to take some photos. I scanned the cover, and as you can see I wasn't able to get the entire thing.By this time, all the vendors were packing up, but my last stop netted me a few older postcards. After I scan them, I will post some of these.

Oh, and not to forget about Shelby...she found a darling, collectible figurine, a background rubber stamp, and some vintage trim. Both of us came home with little sunburns on our necks and faces, free of charge.

LolliShops Summer Design Challenge

I was so excited when I received the LolliShops design team kit from Sadie Lou containing the sweetest vintage goodies ever. The vintage birthday card was absolutely darling, and I couldn't resist the lace, ribbon, sheer fabrics, buttons and the most adorable velveteen flower with a little heart shaped pin. The precious little girl was not only on the front of the card but also on the inside, so I determined that I would use both of them in my creation. In keeping with the vintage elements, I decided to do a shabby birthday themed collage on a canvas. I began by layering acrylic paints, vintage calendar pages, birthday sheet music, dictionary pages, paper scraps, the fabric and elements included in the design kit, and I rubber stamped swirls and flowers to finish. I hope you like my first design team creation. I'm really looking forward to see what challenge Sadie has lined up for next month.

Shabby Repurposed Journal

I heard about an online journal making class given by Mary Ann Moss, and after visiting her blog, I couldn't wait to sign up and get started. I love the idea of repurposing pages from old magazines, books, ledgers, receipts, security envies, leftover scrapbook paper, fabric, maps, and anything else that I can get my hands on. The possibilities are endless, and finding things to use for my pages is like going on a treasure hunt.

Here are pics of my first journal. I didn't make a sewn cover for this journal, but decided to use chipboard instead and covered it with scrapbook paper and then collaged. As you can see, the pages are sewn - very easy and fun. Since this journal is done in shabby style, sewing isn't precise, adding to the shabby look. For my next journal, I'll definitely be experimenting with a sewn cover.

I enjoy watching Mary Ann's many videos; she explains everything clearly each step of the way. I especially like that there are no time limits - I am able to work at my own pace. Included in the class are many printouts of journaling boxes and ephemera to use in the journals. I highly recommend this class.

A New Challenge

I've been chosen by my friend Sadie Lou to be a guest design team member for the Summer for LolliShops. Sadie Lou is a wonderful artist and always manages to come up with the most amazing creations. Visit Sadie's blog, Sadie Lou Who to see what she's been up to.

I was a little nervous and very flattered that Sadie would give me an opportunity to create for LolliShops. Not only did she invite me to play, but my daughter Shelby as well. Shelby is a budding artist and has incredible talent. It will be fun sharing my studio space with her.

I was really excited when I opened my packet from Sadie and found the darling vintage birthday card, lace, ribbons, fabric, buttons, and a few other embellishments (not in the photo). Now the challenge begins...let's see what I can come up with. I'll post on June 1st.

National Letter Writing Month

Did you know that April is National Letter Writing Month? I had no idea until my friend Lindsay Ostrom posted a 28 day challenge on her blog. Lindsay comes up with some fabulous ideas for challenges each month. If you would like to play along, just email Lindsay. Each day was an adventure going to my mailbox to see what fabulous, creative mail art would be waiting for me from blog pals near and far. Making cards to send was a great creative challenge for me, because I don't really consider myself a card maker. I almost purchased some ready-made cards to send, but couldn't find any that I liked or were appropriate for the challenge. Instead, I purchased blank cards with envelopes and some blank tags with envelopes and brought them home to my little studio to see what I could come up with. I made the decision that I would try to use up the images and scraps that I had left over from other projects. It was an incredible adventure and exercise in creativity, and I was amazed to find that my leftovers went together fairly well. I really got hooked on making cards, and especially loved making tags. I thought you might like to see what I came up with.

Signs of Spring

There was a break in the rain, so I took the opportunity to go for a walk at Western Gateway Park in Penn Valley. Squirrel Creek flows through the park, so I decided to meander down the trail that parallels the creek and led to this little bridge. The oak trees hadn't begun to leaf out yet, but the creek had lots of water from the abundant rain, and the new spring vegetation was green and lush. In the damp, shady spots I found patches of lovely, succulent miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata). As the name implies, Miner's lettuce was harvested by California gold rush miners of 1849 as a source of vitamin C to prevent scurvy. It was most commonly eaten in salads, but could be boiled like spinach. It was also a favorite of California Indians. I love the taste of Miner's lettuce, which reminds me a bit of spinach, so of course, I had to gather a few young leaves to munch on. I wandered onto anther trail and spotted a chunk of bark with moss and lichens. The dead leaves on the ground were quite a contrast to the lush surroundings, but I noticed that shoots of green grass were poking up through the rotting leaves. As I neared the end of my walk, I was happily surprised to encounter a patch of lovely wild violets. I couldn't resist picking one of the violets - the fragrance was delicate and amazing. The fragrance was so lovely that I kept sniffing it all the way home.

1960s Shrine

This shrine was inspired by a challenge for our Blind Faith art group. I applied gesso to a cigar box that I acquired at a yard sale last summer, choosing red as my main color and blue for some of my lettering and for accent. I found some 60s themed scrapbook paper to cover the front and as a lining on the inside of the shrine. I glazed over the papers to mute the bright colors and then stamped peace symbols in white. I bought a package of zig zag cigarette papers and painted them using acrylic colors that coordinated with the scrapbook paper. To make my collage on the inside cover of the shrine, I photocopied some of the mini posters and other ephemera I had collected when I frequented the Avalon Ballroom and Haight Street in San Francisco. I drew the flower child and gave her bell bottoms and a tie-dyed shirt. The "roach clip" is actually a hair clip that I embellished with beads and and charms. I printed out the words from the song Where Have All The Flowers Gone on a transparency, cut them in strips, and glued them around the inside of the shrine.