Upcycled Glass Jar Tea Lights

 I wanted to share a fun upcycle of glass jars and inexpensive vases that I have been playing with. They look really great when lit outside in the dark, but it is a little hard to see the fun detail of the the finish in those pictures, so I took a few pics in my light box.


















This little vase was from an inexpensive flower arrangement, but I loved the shape! I took my Alcohol ink in Lettuce and Silver and used the Tim Holtz application tool to dab the colors all over the outside.


















This was an old pasta sauce jar, and I have been saving them since I figured out how to do this, looking forward to doing some of these in oranges and purples and putting on my porch for the Halloween season. This one was done with Watermelon and Silver Alcohol inks. On the places I felt like the silver was getting too heavy I would add a little blending solution to the applicator tool. I did this one first and was a little more heavy handed with the silver than I was on the green. I like them both, but the light comes through the green one a little better because there is less silver on it and the silver is opaque.


















I love fall and crafting for the seasons and events is one of the biggest reasons why!

B-

Last Monday of the Summer

Well, it has been a gorgeous last Monday of the Summer, and I have been trying to enjoy every little second of it. A few hours of fun tennis in the perfect weather, some relaxing and a little work just to keep me on track so I don't get behind on anything.

World Card Making Day is just around the corner, and I am so excited about it! I am going to be making a set of Christmas cards to donate to the Festival of Trees, a fundraiser that is held here in Utah for the Primary Children's Hospital every year. And I am hoping that if I plan and prepare I can hopefully donate not just one set, but a few. So the plotting begins!!

Hope you are enjoying the last few minutes of your Summer too!
B-

Got No Love

Monday was a deadline for submissions for the Paper Crafts March/April issue and I took a little time to submit a few projects. Yesterday the acceptance emails went out and none of my projects got picked up, I think they need to see some sunshine so I am going to share some "rejects" that got no love  ;o)

Both of these were made while I was visiting with Karolyn and Kim during one of our crafty sessions. This one uses Hambly rub-ons, Memory Box dies, white ribbon, Studio Calico for Hero Arts stamp, and a Paper Trey impression plate. The lighting doesn't capture how elegant and textured this sweet card is, I just love it!




















And this sweet project uses Paper Smooches stamps and Studio Calico for Hero Arts (banner pieces), there is a Paper Trey Impression plate on the background of this as well and I used Fresh Ink for the wonderful ombre treatment on the banner and pulled the colors of the mom and baby from that. :o)

If anyone else had projects that got no love, and you want some love from me I am glad to give it, leave a comment with your blog link and I will pop on by!!

B-

Letting Go

From the outside looking into my life you might not see the constant creative chaos that I have been living in. I love every second of it, and am so grateful for all of the opportunities and blessings that have been showered upon me. But for this summer it has been too much and I wasn't sure how I would continue to do it all. Then I had a duh moment where I realized I didn't need to do it all and that I am no good to anyone if I am spread to thin. I would have to make the incredibly hard choice of what to let go of, and with the smallest of my responsibilities lying in a cute online shop in Issaquah Washington called Ellen Hutson it was my contributions to the CLASSroom blog, posting projects and tutorials that I would have to let go of.  It was incredibly hard as I love sharing my penchant for all things technique-y and geeky to make this choice, but it is also one of the places in my brain that took a lot of fire power and that was what I needed most to re-arrange. So with much sadness I had my last post there today and have been replaced by the delightful Julie Ebersol who is sure to dazzle and delight with her clever design and quick wit.

So what is it that has kept me hopping?

For the last year I have been contributing to the Graphic 45 in house team, and have loved every second of it. My assignments range from creating projects for special events or the trade shows to writing up instructions for classes. I love this job, the team that I work with is incredible and I feel very blessed to be able to call each of them friend.

On top of that I have been working with a local store called Heartland on their design team and as a class instructor. This decision happened in a very round about way, I was heartbroken when I received an email from the previous owner saying that they were closing down both stores. So when the Bountiful shop was purchased I determined that local businesses need help to survive and that I would do what I could to help them. There are so many great online shopping opportunities that it has really placed a strain on the smaller brick and mortar shops to compete, and what is it that they can offer to bring in customers? People who know and love paper and are willing to share that enthusiasm. Well, I can do that and while it hasn't been easy to fit into my schedule, but I am hoping that it makes a difference.

This is a Magic of Oz class that I am teaching on September 29th. There is a ton of product in the kit, and four projects to make. I am looking forward to sharing my love for Graphic 45 products with those who are able to join me that evening.

With all that life gives us, it would stand to reason that learning how to adjust would get easier at some point, but I think that change actually gets harder and more complicated as relationships develop. Letting go is hard to do.

B-

9.10.11

I love numerical coincidences! I am not good at finding them or seeing them for myself, my brain is a little too big picture to recognize or identify them, but when they are pointed out I enjoy them so much! I feel very lucky to have a few of the small picture/detail brained people in my home so they are very patient and kind in pointing out these lovely moments for me.

This is one of those "lucky to be me" kind of days too, I have been watching the US Open tennis tournament cheering and talking to the tv because it has been so exciting, cruising through itunes and using the gift card Laurel gave me for Mom's Day to purchase the Maroon 5 album (I have had "Moves Like Jagger" stuck in my head!!) and doing a little crafting (very little, the other distractions are so FAB!!) I really need to run to the office store to buy some ink for my printer, I have a few layouts on my desk that are waiting for pics, but I need to feed the printer so it will be willing to spit those out for me  ;o)

Over at the Hambly blog, I shared a tutorial on weaving washi tape. It is a really fun technique, and not that hard.

I won't be blogging tomorrow, but I wanted to share a memory from 9/11/01 in remembrance of the ten years that have passed since that tragic day.
I was a chaperon at my sons 6th grade camp and it was the day we took them out on their long hike through the beautiful Wasatch Mountain range. It was a beautiful day and the kids were behaving well for typical 12 year olds. We stopped on top of one of the ridges that offered a spectacular view and marveled at the beauty.    While we were doing this huge swarms of ladybugs moved through the air and landed on all of us, as well as the trees, bushes and ground. Having hiked a lot and spending a lot of time outside and never seeing anything like this before I was in amazement, it was one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had in my life, and the other adults in the group made similar remarks. We continued on our way and dropped into camp a couple of hours later, exhausted and ready for some quiet time with the kids in the late afternoon. As soon as we arrived one of the teachers who had stayed behind pulled all of the adults aside and informed us of what had been happening through the day. They were left with the decision of how to handle it with the kids, and whether they should even tell them or not. We ended up out at the big campfire ring telling the children about the events and then having a somber dinner and packing up the next morning and heading home.
Watching all of the news and reviews of the previous days events when we got home was so overwhelming. I couldn't understand how something so awful could happen and how so many lives could be lost in such a few short moments. Ten years later, the loss is still mind boggling and we are left with the question of how much did this change the path of America.
My take away from the event is to live life to the fullest each day, and to live that life generously, kindly and with forgiveness, no one knows what the next day may bring.

B-

Paper Smooches FOLKal Points

While in Seattle I had the opportunity to play with the FOLKal Points stamp set from Paper Smooches. The set is so cute (but isn't all of Kim's work absolutely adorable?) and this Matryoshka  doll makes me smile from ear to ear! She is so sweet, and it was really fun to paper piece her from a couple different lines of Prima's newest paper pads. I used Printery in 6" x 6" and Romantique in 8" x 8". The colors were warm and have lent a nice warm and vintage feeling to this card.

I left it without any sentiment so it could be used for any occasion. What do you think, does it need one?
Spent today playing some tennis, hiking in the mountains and doing some creating with the latest Graphic 45 products, so in love with the ABC Primer collection, amazing!
Anyway, the kids are loving the University of Utah and it is super cute that Tyler and Chloe have a math class and first semester French together (awe!) Having three college students still boggles my mind, but having them all at home makes me so happy, LOVE them!!

B-

September 1st!! Already?

Okay, after a whirl wind trip to the gorgeous Pacific North West and five days of blissfully perfect weather I am back to my wonderful life and happy to be back with my family. I had a wonderful time with the spectacular Karolyn Loncon and incredible Kim Hughes. We ate, laughed, cropped and even played some bingo, seriously good times!!

I took a few things to play with, some of which was the new Doodlebug Monster Mania line with the super easy and fun to use Create-A-Cards and was able to put together some Halloween cards that I just adore!


















I hauled pounds of crafty stuff and Karolyn has a palace full of wonderful toys, but for some reason I didn't come home with as many projects finished as I probably should have. Might have been all the munching on the delicious fresh fruit I was doing instead of working  ;o)

That is okay though, it was supposed to be a vacation, so no expectations went with me. I came home refreshed and now I am ready to tackle what ever comes my way, unless it is a rhinoceros, that I might dodge.

B-