Run, Molly, Run!

I love Molly so much!

Dawn took this video and I couldn't resist setting it to music.

Fangirling Much!

THE Julie Nutting, designer of a Prima paper doll line, liked one of my posts on a paper doll Facebook group!!

I can't even tell you how excited I am by this. I'm about to hyperventilate. Not really, but really.

And I appreciate all of the love from my fellow craft peeps as well. I don't post on there for accolades, I post because I'm excited about these paper doll stamps and I love sharing and seeing everything about them. It encourages me to go that extra step with each one I make.





Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may make a tiny commission if you decide to make a purchase. The products I link to are those that I believe in, regardless of any commission I may make from them. My goal is to help you easily find the tools, products, or other items that you will need to complete your project.

OK Go

Journal 52, Week 3, Your Favorite Song/Lyrics

It's impossible for me to pick one favorite song, there's just too many that I love. I don't know why, but I get emotional when I watch the marching band version of "This Too Shall Pass," by OK Go. But the version where they get splattered with yellow, blue, red and green paint was more fun to work with, so I went with that. 

For the square, I used one of those fake credit card ads we get in the mail and cut it into a "2x"2 square and painted on a layer of gesso. Yellow, green, red and blue gelatos were used for the stripes. I wrote the title of the song in matching colors, but them into tiny squares, roughed up the edges and glued them in place. As usual, I journaled on the backside.

After I have the fourth prompt done, I'll post a photo of what they look like in the little binder. I love it.

It seems an unlikely song, but it's one I play to remind myself during times of trouble that this too shall indeed pass.

Green, Green of Home

GREEN!

It's so refreshing to look outside and not see dead grass. The rain we've been getting here California is maaaahvelous, dalink!

My daughters brought these oranges home from their grandparents' when they went up to see their Papaw after their Mamaw passed away. We remember when they planted the tree, bitter sweet.

What my craft desk usually looks like, organized chaos, but without the delicious salad and hot tea. We don't have cable, so I craft while watching Netflix, Acorn or Hulu. We recently signed up for Amazon Primetime as well, so I can really get into the craft zone while doing some serious binge watching.

My daughter Dawn and I opened our 2015 “Happy Jar” and took turns reading the notes aloud. This was the third year we’ve done this, and I highly recommend you try it. Throughout the year, when we remembered, we’d ask other people who were visiting to write a little something as well, so there were a few surprises. (I was so hoping my sister had snuck one in there, but January was a rough month for her and then she was gone.)

It was wonderful reading about the things we felt were important enough to put into writing. We decided to change things up, so Dawn renamed it the Journal Jar. Instead of being tied to one format, we’d like it to be more of a what’s on your mind at the moment sort of thing. I already can’t wait to read the things we’ll be writing about this year.

Bird Crazy

These stamps, though!

I've been wanting these stamps for a long time. When my daughters brought them home to me I couldn't wait to try them out!

To purchase a set of these nifty stamps, see the link at the end of this post. (I'm trying out Amazon's affiliate program, so I do get a tiny reward if you purchase them after following the link from my blog.) There are also dies that go with this set, but honestly, they're quite easy to cut with scissors and a craft knife.

We interrupt this post for a moment of cute: Rarely does Molly show me outright affection, so when she rests her tiny head on my leg, I can hardly stand the cuteness!

I did some sketching! Using deli paper, I traced the general form of Molly by placing it over a photograph on my phone. It was tricky because every time the weight of the pencil touched the screen, it would change photos or enlarge the picture. So I had to barely make a mark on the paper and then do the real sketching on the table. It's okay to say she looks like an Ewok.

I was so pleased with Molly's sketch, I tried a self-portrait of sorts.

And then Molly fell asleep gazing up at me. My heart...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bird Crazy stamps by Stampers Anonymous





Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may make a tiny commission if you decide to make a purchase. The products I link to are those that I believe in, regardless of any commission I may make from them. My goal is to help you easily find the tools, products, or other items that you will need to complete your project.

YES!

Journal 52, Week 2: Yes or No

On 2"x2" cardstock, gesso, tissue paper, stamped with
Stamping Bella's Uptown Girl, Betty Loves Books, colored with colored pencils and inked

We have the choice of two prompts, and this week it was Yes or No. I chose YES...to more reading in 2016. I have So. Many. Books. Piles of books are waiting to take me away, and I am determined to shorten the stacks by reading and actually letting them go when I'm finished.

In my last post I included pictures of a Julie Doll tag I made for a swap. This is how I packaged her, with junk mail! Dawn received an offer for a credit card and when I saw the packaging I knew this lovely lady would fit right in it. I also included a few embellishments, so along with the doll, they showed through the windows. 

I spritzed some ink on the mailer and added some Washi tape around it. The paper doll was positioned to peek out of the actual mailer, which excited me to no end. I'm tickled with the way this turned out, and so was the person who received it.

I'm not sure how many of these trades I'll do in the future, but the two I've done sure were a lot of fun.



Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may make a tiny commission if you decide to make a purchase. The products I link to are those that I believe in, regardless of any commission I may make from them. My goal is to help you easily find the tools, products, or other items that you will need to complete your project.

Unexpected Grief

The Last Gift

I had a sort of a meltdown the other night at Target.

Christmas 2014, my sister gave me a Target gift card. It was the last gift she ever gave me. I’ve been carrying it around in my wallet, not intending to spend it. But how stupid to let it go to waste (she wouldn’t have liked that). Spend it and save the card, silly.

So my daughters and I were in line at Target and I gave the guy two gift cards (Dawn gave me the other one). It was quite hectic and he was an idiot, so in the moment of Dawn and I trying to bag stuff up and him using the two gift cards plus my debit card, he failed to give the gift cards back to me, and I forgot to ask. I usually use them in my crafting (they’re great for applying paint and glue), but I wanted to keep Martha’s card forever.

When I asked him for my cards back he said, “Oh, I threw them away, sorry.” And I said, “But…I’d like them back, please.” He looked down at the garbage box at his feet and started to bend down, but he didn’t and just said, “Sorry, they’re in the garbage.” And so I said, “But I’d like them back, please. My sister gave me one of them and now she’s dead.” He looked at the garbage again and just shrugged his shoulders and repeated himself. So I thought, okay, you’re making this into a bigger deal than it should be, it’s just a card. I finished paying and waited for my daughters to buy their stuff.

But the longer I stood there, the more I wanted her card back, and then I started getting anxious and teary. I kept telling myself, it’s just a card, stop being a baby about it. But I couldn’t and so I mumbled to Dawn I had to leave and ran/walked out, crying, unable to control myself. I sat in the car and bawled. Over a stupid piece of plastic.

And then Dawn called me and asked what the card looked like, did it have penguins or dogs on it and I said penguins, but when she brought it to me I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to just keep it and pretend it was okay because I was being stupid and their thoughtfulness trumped everything.

But they wouldn’t let it go and went back inside to the register and rummaged through the garbage bin themselves and brought me every single card they thought was anywhere near what I thought it looked like. They embarrassed themselves in front of all of those customers and made that guy allow them to look through that nasty box of garbage at his feet.

My daughters did that for me!

And so I continued to cry, but it was from happiness from the love they showed for me. This was in-my-face-we-would-do-anything-for-you love, but they did it with grace.

They did that.

For me.

Paper Doll and Art Journaling In Miniature

I'll never grow up.

I love playing with these Julie Nutting paper doll stamps! This one's for another swap and her name is Audrey. I can't wait to see what my partner sends me.

Aaaand, I'm in! Going through my 2015 art journal affected me in an unexpected way, so it encouraged me to keep on keepin' on. This is my first Journal52 2016 prompt, "Word Of The Year." Going to literally be doing a little each week. *snicker*

My daughter Dawn suggested I use Project Life cards, both small and large, because I wanted to go smaller and less complicated. Then she suggested this 2"x2" format and I was immediately enamored with this idea. Making my first one validated that feeling.

Dawn even gave me a little binder with sleeves that was made for photos this size. I'm still contemplating on how I'll be altering the cover. What I really like is that the binder allows me to expand entries to 2"x4" or 4"x4" if I'm feeling extra artsy fartsy. Sometimes I get in that zone and don't want to stop, so this pleases me immensely.

Here's to another year of crafting and making the world a happier place in which to live.



Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may make a tiny commission if you decide to make a purchase. The products I link to are those that I believe in, regardless of any commission I may make from them. My goal is to help you easily find the tools, products, or other items that you will need to complete your project.

Happy New Year 2016!

Photo by Dawn Walker

Throws confetti!