Cut 'n Paste

Postmark: LA

After many months of work, and several blog hints and teases I am so tickled to reveal the secret project that Teresa, Charlotte, Rebecca, Pam, Amy and I have been working on. Without further delay, here is our baby, POSTMARK: LA

Imagine a girls getaway that fills your creative well. A trip that reminds you why you create and how much fun it can be. Imagine friends who understand your passion for vintage and your appreciation of pretty. Now imagine one of these friends whispering a dream, "we should do a book"....everyone laughs, then, a pause, and suddenly this dream seems possible. Achievable...dare we say, even fun!

Yes, as many of you guessed, we have created our own 'petit livre'! We've been hard at work designing the kind of book that we would like to read. One that celebrates friendship, vintage findings and inspiring thoughts. Heavy on the eye-candy graphics and also including several 'for your use' pages (including an embroidery pattern and vintage photos just to name a few) Postmark:LA is a visual treat.

It's been a delight to work on this book together  and I can't say enough sweet things about 'my girls' who included me on this amazing journey.

You can purchase your copy of Postmark: LA  HERE.

As a thank you for your patience and joy in sharing this project with us, I'll be giving away the embroidery project that I created for the book. Just leave a comment below and I'll draw a name on Monday! Here's a wee peek at what you could receive:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Paris here I come!!!

So thrilled to share that I will be traveling to PARIS in October for the Paper Co. and Show!!! I'm so very excited. Another opportunity to practice my French and immerse myself in French culture and architecture. I'm also excited about sharing my passion for scrapbooking and mixed media with European students. So if you're looking for somthing fun to do October 10-12, maybe a trip to Paris would be perfect?!

I'll be joined by some of my amazingly talented friends like Rebecca and  Kah-Mei - what a treat! Thank you Paper Co. and Show for the invitation, I'm counting down the days!

A little scared

Renovation time! This has been the byword in my household ever since I came home from my stay with Diane from Melrose Vintage. I was so inspired by her creativity, home and store, (and don't even get me started on how beautiful Wendy's home was!) that I've felt motivated to get movin' on some projects around my house. Rick and I have decided that after almost 8 years of living in the same paint color we are ready for a change....a big change.

Our living room has been taupe/brown and after we changed our trim and fireplace from red (last fall) to white, we feel in love with the wall color all over again. However Rick (more-so than I) felt that it was time for a change. So for the past week we've been living with several large poster boards with sample paint colors on them so that we can choose a color.....it was SO nerve-wracking making our choice. Do we go with the 'safe' choice, a soft neutral, or go more bold with a color? Here's my thought process and dilemma as I've been pondering what to do:  I've loved aqua forever, but also really love tone-on-tone cream/ivory/white rooms and also Scandinavian gray rooms.

My dream house is either version of the designer Carrie Raphael's house. See these two magazine articles: Her home in 2002 and Her home in 2008. What an inspiration she is! (PS: remember to sign up for her newsletter when you're at her site!)

So, after looking at the paint again yesterday we jumped off the cliff and ordered a pale bird's egg aqua. Today Rick began painting....and now he's scared. Not sure if he likes it... just. not. sure. Ahhhh...what to do?? Do we keep painting? Stop now and cover what we've done???? My guess is that we'll continue painting tomorrow and see what happens...

I'm sure I'll be sharing much more about our renovation as it goes along, but I thought you'd like to hear what we've been up to so far.

Melrose, part II

Did I tell you yet how much fun I had last weekend? Oh, I did? Well, it bears repeating. I simply had too much fun with Diane, Wendy and the Melrose students. Our project was more on the mixed media side than straight scrapbooking and it was a blast. For many, it was the first time they'd played with gesso and artist acrylic paints. I was so proud of everyone's projects and loved how each one looked unique. What a treat.

Here are more photos of the store and the class while in progress! (sorry that the color is a bit off on the class shots)

In addition to class time I had the privilege to do some antiquing with Wendy and Diane (we all found great treasures! I'll get the photos of my finds up on the blog in my next post) and we had a rip-roaring dinner with Kim on Friday night.

Thanks again to each of the students and Wendy and Diane!

Melrose Vintage

What a weekend! A huge thank you goes to Diane, Wendy and all the students who shared their evening with me!

See, I told you that the store is gorgeous!!! I look forward to sharing more about my weekend soon :-)

sweet things

Just a quick note as I finish packing for my trip to Phoenix tomorrow.

Had some great luck last week at 2 different antique stores last week. Beautiful millinery, mother of pearl buckles, an old journal and an itty bitty baby doll.

Looking forward to being with Diane tomorrow and meeting new faces at the class (there is still room if you'd like to join us!).

I'll be back on Monday! Have a fun weekend.

When friends gather

Magical things happen when friends gather, challenge and inspire each other. Many of you may remember that I spent a wonderful time with Teresa, Pam, Charlotte,Rebecca, and Amy in California after CHA. We spent much time laughing, sharing and simply enjoying each other. Something magical has been born out of our trip and we are this close to telling you about it. So, so excited.

You MUST check this girl out!!

One of the things that I love about this blog world of ours is how it connects people and brings artists together. I am absolutely delighted to introduce you to my newest friend, Tammy Fischer.

Over the past 2 years (starting with my first purchase from my friend Kelly Jacobs) I have become a huge fan of jewelry made from vintage bits and bobs. As soon as I saw Tammy's offerings in her etsy shop French Kiss I knew that she was someone whose work I could get behind and support - not to mention enjoy immensely. After a flurry of emails, we quickly decided to engage in an art swap. No sooner had we agreed to said swap, then Tammy had a houseful of guests, followed quickly by the unfortunate passing of her beloved cat...so as would be expected, our swap took a little longer than we thought to complete. Poor Tammy is still beating herself up about it (see her post)...silly girl!  I think I've finally convinced her that it's OK :-)

This week I received my package from her, and I want to tell you, if you're looking for a wonderful gift with PERFECT presentation and packaging, indeed Tammy's shop is the one to visit! The care and detail that goes into the presentation is unlike anything I've ever seen. Absolutely top notch! Tammy has done an excellent job in showing lots of photos on her blog. So considering that my lighting wasn't very good today, I'll let you visit her blog to see it all. Seriously, I'm now so embarrassed for her to open my box. I begged her to just imagine as she opens the box I sent to her that bubble wrap is a highly covitable vintage accessory - ha!

Without further ado, here is the necklace Tammy made for me. I know you'll love it as much as I do. In the photo, the stones that look slightly orange-ish are actually a fuchsia color...It's so beautiful. Tammy did an excellent job of taking my list of what I liked in a necklace and what I didn't and translating it into a necklace that didn't need one single edit. Be sure to stop by her blog and tell her that I sent you over!

Here is the 'official' description from Tammy for those of you who love jewelry design:

Four different styles of old-ish chain are layered together. A vintage religious medal serves as the pendant. The medal is attached to a vintage pink glass connector piece. The connector is then attached to the first style of chain. On one side a rhinestone rondelle is sandwiched between two faceted sapphires. These sapphires connect to a vintage rhinestone chain which leads back to the clasp. On the other side another rhinestone rondelle is sandwiched between a faceted ruby quartz and an organic shaped champagne freshwater pearl. The quartz and pearl are connected to more chain which also leads to the clasp. The second style of chain is a silvertone color and is broken up by a large faceted blue agate on one side and a vintage rhinestone bead ball on the other side. The third and fourth style of chain are connected by lengths of vintage mother of pearl rosary on each side. A vintage rhinestone clasp (it looks like marcasite in the photo but it really is rhinestone) is connected to all of these pieces by champagne freshwater pearl and tiny faceted iolite. The shortest layer measures about 25" long and the other two waterfall down from there.

Tammy also sent some of her popular 'Loop-d-Hoop' earrings which I'll photograph and post sometime next week.

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I look forward to teaching at the Precious Memories scrap booking event in Langley tomorrow. (BTW, if you're local, you will want to check out their new store. I went in for a moment today. It's so bright, airy and beautiful. Well done!) If you're coming to the weekend, I'll see you in class!

Feeling the love

Do you ever download photos from you camera and feel your breath hitch because you captured a moment so precious that it takes your breath away?

This past weekend my side of the family celebrated Rick's birthday combined with my nephew Daniel's birthday. Rick's celebration was a few months late (poor guy! trying to get the whole family together with everyone's schedule is crazy hard), and Daniel's was a week early. As you can imagine with Rick being a police officer, he is the hero of our nephews. They mimic him, ask him for police stories and are pretty much always pretending that they're police just like Uncle Rick. At one point during the evening Daniel asked to pose for birthday photos (he loves to see himself on the screen of the digital camera) after I did a few with him, I asked him if he wanted a special photo with anyone else...well surprise, surprise, he wanted a photo with Uncle Rick. The two of them fooled around a bit as I was snapping away, and I discovered as I downloaded the imaged today, this gem. It's horribly out of focus, it's in no way a good photo, but I feel it - it really speaks to me of the relationship Rick has with Daniel.

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If you'll remember a few posts back, I talked about inspiration and how I've been feeling so inspired lately, so I thought I'd share a purchase I made which has been inspiring me.

Laurie Meseroll is an artist who specializes in folk art pieces. I first discovered her work in the home of my friend Sally, and I was instantly enamored. It became a goal of mine to purchase a piece or two for my own home. A few weeks ago the site that sells Laurie's pieces, Earth Angel Toys, had a sale, so I finally began my collection. I plan to hang the painting in my studio at some point. For now it's in my kitchen.

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Before I leave, I need to let you know whose name I drew for the stamp giveaway. KIM HARTER you're the lucky winner! I'll be sending you an email for your address as soon as I've finished this post.

Have a great day everyone!

Melrose Vintage

I am beyond thrilled to announce that I will be celebrating National Scrapbooking Day with a class at MELROSE VINTAGE in Phoenix, AZ Phone: (602) 636-0300 on May 3rd.  Diane the lovely owner of Melrose Vintage and I have talked for three years about having me come do a class. Three years people!! The stars have finally aligned and we've done it. My ticket's booked, the sample's made and we're set to go. All that's needed is some of you delightful people to come spend the evening with us.

If you've never been to Melrose Vintage you're in for a treat. I can honestly say that I have never been in a store like it before. It's inspiration on hyper drive. Imagine the home you'd like to have, full of Shabby Chic furniture, beautiful crystal chandeliers and vignettes that inspire you to accessorize and style your own home. But wait, then you round a corner and behold, a carefully selected assortment of scrapbooking products is also available. Specializing in shabby chic and vintage products, Melrose Vintage's scrapbooking department is a hidden jewel for those who adore romantic, vintage style.  Can you tell that I love this store?!! I'm sure you'll find it as wonderful as I do.

I invite you to join me on Saturday May 3rd from 6:30 - 9:30PM. We will have the store to ourselves and Diane will host us in perfect style. Our class? Designed specifically for those who love vintage shabby,the 'Glittery Memory Board' class is a delight. We'll be working with gesso, acrylic paint, scrapbooking papers, a charcoal pencil, luscious ribbons, German glass glitter, vintage ledger and book pages, a set of classic brocade acrylic stamps and crepe paper. You will learn background collage techniques in addition to 2 different ways to create those popular rosettes that are used frequently in shabby chic projects. Each student will have the choice between completing the project in two different color schemes; soft and pastel, or bold and vintage. Your finished project will be a home decor piece that will look beautiful hung on a wall or door. For those of you who are local, Diane has the class sample in the store if you'd like to check it out!

To register please call Melrose Vintage at (602) 636.0300. Class cost is $65

I can't tell you how excited I am about this. Let me know if you're coming...I can't wait to see you!

To close out the week in grand style, here is a wee giveaway from me to one of you! Leave a comment to be entered in a draw for these two rubber stamps. As I will pay for shipping, giveaway is open to those in Canada or the USA (thanks for your understanding). Giveaway will be open until 10AM on Tuesday morning. (April 22) Good Luck!