This Past Saturday

Inside the front room of Whimzy

This past Saturday I taught still ANOTHER charm necklace workshop at Whimzy.  These workshops have been so popular.


Saturday's workshop was a small one - three in attendance.  It was really nice to be able to sit  and teach and even create a few charms myself for some necklaces I've been working on for an upcoming Holiday Bazaar at my friend Linda's home December 3rd and 4th.

Love these party crowns & hats!

Here are a few photos of Whimzy and Nancy McKinney, Lisa Coppini (her very first workshop!) and Jane Paquin.  


Thank you ladies for coming out and spending a few creative hours with me.  And thank you Whimzy for continuing to have me teach at your store!  *smiles*.

Christmas in the backroom of Whimzy

Nancy looking at the charm she created using a photo of her sister and her when they were little girls

another view of the front room at Whimzy

Lisa working on her necklace

Lisa sporting her Halloween shirt and completed charm necklace

Jane stopping briefly to give me her e-mail address

And before I go, I just HAVE to show you my three Paradise Found roses that bloomed last week.  I cut them and brought them in after taking this photo and you cannot BELIEVE the scent these three roses gave off in my bedroom!  Oooooooooh so nice.

Paradise Found roses

RSC Part II

Pam (in the middle) sent me some photos of our lunch together Saturday over at the hotel across from the convention.  Thank you Pam!  Here we are . . .

And here are some of the items I picked up at the convention . . .

And I love this vintage "shop" journal I picked up over at Blackbird Studios

And this has nothing to do with the RSC, but I just wanted to show you my latest Paradise Found rose that just bloomed.  I don't have a yard, so I'm growing these roses in a large pot out on my deck.  It is so beautiful and smells DIVINE!  

I cut it this evening and it is now in my bedroom so I can wake up and smell the roses.  Oh wait . . . that saying is "wake up and smell the coffee"!  Ok, so I will "take time to smell the roses" before I get up in the morning to go to "the day job" - *smiles*

Nite nite my blogger buddies :)  See you again soon x's & o's

Randomly Speaking

Papered and rusted bird  . . .

Lost and Found paper pack gifted to me by Mario last week via a Twittered Tweet . . .

Crowns for an upcoming workshop . . .

Some really cool tape! . . .

Don't like dryer sheets?  Did you know that you can ball up a piece of aluminum foil, throw it in the dryer and attract all of the static that would normally be on your clothes when you take them out of the dryer?  Yep, it works!

Rusted goodness from my friend Mary Ann . . .

An old stretched out sweater waiting patiently (see its arms crossed?!) to be made into a pillow . . .

Tags I made for some of my vintage suitcases that hold arts & crafts supplies . . .

And a couple of my Paradise Found roses.  They smell soooooooo good . . .

Remember to take time to smell the roses today!

The Twelve Tags of Christmas - Tag #12 and Tag Tuesday

Although this is Tag #12, I still have 5 more to do (2, 4, 5, 7 and 8).  I am having SO much fun putting my spin on Tim's Twelve Tags of Christmas!


Some of the grunge paper (not grunge board) rose petals were covered in decorative papers and some were rubber stamped - and of course inked before assembling.

I covered my tag with vintage music from a church song book.  

Products used to create this tag include:  Flourish rubberstamp, Grungepaper, decorative papers, white paint pen, silver flower leaves, a couple of rhinestones, Glimmer Mist, Glossy Accents, a piece of silver glittered leaf stem, Distress Inks, black acrylic paint, a Season's Greetings rub-on, ribbons and (yet again!) Platinum Stickles Glitter glue!

Thanks for stopping by! 

I'll be working on Tag #5 today - *smiles* 


PS  Have you seen the new die cuts that Tim is coming out with?  Be still my heart!

And for Tag Tuesday, over
on Louise's Kard Krazy
blog, today's challenge was to make a tag that was not in the shape of a rectangle.

I made a tag in the shape of a Christmas stocking covered with vintage sheet music of "Oh Let Us Praise the Christmas Tree", some German Glitter Glass and a few holiday trims and ribbons to finish it off.

Update on Luminarte Going Out of Business

I have removed yesterday's blog post that had the "plug" I had given to a company that was holding a 50% off sale of Luminarte products.

Someone e-mailed me from the company when they read my post, and told me I needed to update my blog post because I had said that Luminarte was having the sale.

My post was very clear on who was having the sale. I even asked some of you to re-read my post. The links were only to this company's blog and website - not Luminarte's.

I e-mailed the vendor and asked them to re-read my post. But even after doing so, they still accused me of telling all of you that it was Luminarte that was holding the sale. So, I give up *sigh*

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the part that I didn't delete . . .

I first read about this on Gina's blog SOUL GLO , and could hardly believe what I was reading!

Don't know who Luminarte is? See those cards above? They were rubberstamped (several years ago) and then painted with Luminarte's Twinkling H2O watercolors.

And remember those coffee filter watercolored roses I made for about 3 or 4 months non-stop? Yeah, well, I used Luminarte's Twinkling H2O watercolors to paint them, as WELL!

Here are some I painted. It's hard to see the "twinkle" in the photos, but if you click on the photos to get a larger view, you can see it better . . .
I just LOVE Twinkling H2O's!!

Got Coffee Filters?

Coffee filters are so versatile, and they are lint-free! Below are some ways to use coffee filters in your artwork.

I make roses using coffee filters - used and unused. Depending on the strength of your coffee, and how long you leave the wet grounds in the filter, each one will be different.

These are some of my used, dried coffee filters

This is one of my roses made from used coffee filters


These are some watercolored roses I made from unused cone coffee filters. Take time to smell the roses? Or wake up and smell the coffee?


I use coffee filters (used and unused) to wipe off my paint brushes when I'm painting. Once the coffee filter is completely *painted* and dried, I cut it up and use for atc's, backgrounds,collage work, etc.

artist trading card backgrounds


Here I used coffee filters to make a skirt for a doll. I can't show you the completed doll, you'll have to wait for the release of the Winter 2009 Somerset Gallery - Expressions Page *wink wink*

Below are 28 additional ways to use unused coffee filters around and outside the home:

1. Clean your mirrors, windows and wine glasses with coffee filters
2. Use coffee filters to serve cookies to children (and messy adults) - they catch the crumbs!
3. Line a flower pot with a coffee filter to stop the soil from leaking through the holes in the bottom of the pot
4. If the cork in a bottle of wine breaks off in the bottle, pour the wine through a coffee filter
5. Stack your good china with a coffee filter between each plate
6. Recycle your used coffee filters to make an altered book
7. Clean your eye glasses with a coffee filter
8. Use a coffee filter to clean your computer screen
9. Polish your furniture with a coffee filter
10. For a mess-free popsicle, poke a hole in the center of a coffee filter and place the stick through the hole. The coffee filter will catch the drips
11. For an ice cream cone, put the cone in the center of the filter and hold the cone with the filter
12. Reuse cooking oil by draining it through a coffee filter
13. Strain blueberries through a coffee filter and not lose them down the sink drain
14. Use coffee filters to shine your shoes. Apply shoe polish and then buff it off with a clean coffee filter
15. Coffee filters make a good chip bowl for kids and adults on the run
16. Don't have cheesecloth handy? Wrap herbs like bay leaves, cloves, and peppercorn) in the center of a coffee filter and cut away the excess at the top. Tie the coffee filter with a piece of cotton twine and toss it into whatever you're cooking. Remove after cooking
17. For something impressive, bake giant cupcakes in coffee filters
18. Use coffee filters to cover foods in the microwave
19. Cut the end off a cone-style coffee filter to make an instant funnel. Keep a few in your car and use them to avoid spillage when you add oil
20. Keep your cast-iron skillets rust-free by placing a coffee filter in the skillet when it's not in use
21. For an instant air freshener, fill a coffee filter with baking soda and twist-tie shut. Tuck these in shoes, closets, the refrigerator, . . .
22. To absorb the grease when preparing bacon, use coffee filters instead of paper towels (which bacon can tend to stick to)
23. Use a coffee filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering thin fabrics
24. When taking indoor photos, place a coffee filter over lights, lamps, or even your flash to lessen the harshness of direct light
25. I haven't tried this one, but I would think if you were in desperate need, you could use coffee filters in place of toilet paper
26. Use a coffee filter on a plate to keep deviled eggs from sliding around
27. In a pinch, use coffee filters as napkins
28. Use coffee filters to strain yogurt when you need to make a sour cream substitute

Do YOU have any other ways to use coffee filters that you would like to share?

Roses are Red . . .

A few photos of the naked roses after I painted them with various shades of Twinkling H2O red watercolors, let them dry overnight and then shaped the petals.

Click on the photos to get a larger view and see the "twinkle" from the Twinkling H2O's. I love these watercolors!!