on the worktable: art journal page

Art journal peek - finally I am getting my story down. Words in art - powerful and healing.

when your heart swells to bursting

Today I woke with a happy heart. I am just home from a quaint art retreat with a small number of friends. I am a not a person that shares their feelings outloud easily, and while I am not entirely "there" yet on that front, I can tell you this - I left that retreat a better, stronger, happier woman than I arrived. The simple acts of kindness and friendship that presented themselves in those few days were so very important to me. I left knowing it is okay to want to slow down. It is okay to be disappointed. It is okay to dream big. It is okay to want and need help to succeed in those dreams. I embraced my disappointments, reveled in kindness and gathered my refreshed strength to come home and try again. No wonder I woke with a full heart. I am so appreciative of the friendships in my life. The ones that are both near and far. The ones that are both new and old. They make me a better, stronger, healthier person. Thank you, friends, for that.

on the worktable: art journal

I had some fun recently experimenting with Gelli Arts, gel printing plates. This thing is SO cool! Once you get started you can't stop - it is totally addicting and super fun! Just squeeze some acrylic paints on the plate, roll with a brayer like this one, lay your paper over the top and press. Don't make the mistake I did in thinking you could only use the gelli plate a handful of times- you can use it forever! Silly me!

My favorite part of this was experimenting with all of the colors. Acrylic paints work best and that means getting to use budget friendly supplies, a bonus in my book. I experimented with book paper, deli paper, journal paper and even tissue paper. Each sheet turned out beautifully. I can't wait to journal on some of these papers. Thank you to my great teacher and friend, Roben-Marie for the tips and mini lesson.

my style: art and a little R & R

I love all of my readers and am so grateful for the time that they give to my little corner of the web each day. With that said, I am overdue for a little art time and R & R, so I am headed to a little retreat for a few days. Nothing but art and laughter and rest....a perfect way to rejuvinate! See you in a few days!

my style: sneak peek fancy photoshoot fun

My baby was twelve last week. Not possible, but they tell me it is true. I surprised her this week with a trio of special friends and a fancy photoshoot and tea party! I will share more photos later, but could not resist this one sneek peek. Baubles, bubbles, crowns and glitter - what could be better?

live the repurposed life: dental floss cord dispenser

Okay so this GOING GREEN thing has really made me look at everything differently. You know it is addictive when you can't throw away your empty dental floss container. After a closer look inside I realized I could recycle the container by rewinding thin cord, baker's twine or waxed thread around the existing core. It turned out like this --->

It was super easy if you want to give it a whirl. Easy step by step directions follow. Enjoy!

I love it! Easy. Portable. Re-purposed & Recycled. Just my style! I think I will make one for all the colors of cord I have on hand. Better start flossing sixteen times a day! Here are the links for the glue dots and cording that I like to use in my projects! SULYN CLUBHOUSE CRAFTS ELASTIC CORD and GLUE DOTS BRAND GLUE DOTS.

I use these products because I like them. I was not reimbursed in any way for promoting them on my website.

on the worktable: appliques & ruffles

I never tire of ruffles as you can clearly see here. These are a few of my favorite little "toss anything you like in" bags- and I take them everywhere. You name it and I stuff it into these bags.

I recently was creating a few new bags for a magazine submission when I had an idea to tweak this bag a little bit...

I still wanted to keep the ruffles and silky flower, but I decided to add an appliqued word to one side of the bag. I also added some glittery tulle over the top of my stitched wool leaves and gave them a scalloped edge. The last detail I changed was the seam binding zipper pull - adding a hand dyed touch. So what do you think?

storage worth stealing: mini stamp mania

I think I am suffering from mini stamp mania these days! It started with one little set of alphabet stamps from the dollar bin. I found myself using them on everything, like this and the next thing you knew I had collected five sets - all from the dollar bin. I love the dollar bin. I love alphabet stamps. What I didn't love was how they kept falling out of the lidless box they came in -

I decided that storage was key in my studio- as it always is with me, as was re-purposing. I dug around in the closet and found a metal box that used to hold scrapbooking tools. The only other thing I needed was some scraps of heavy duty chipboard.

Arrange your stamps how you like them, inserting pieces of chipboard in between each set. This helps separate the sets as well as give the little buggers some stability. This way when you are plucking the tiny things in and out of the box the other 25 stamps don't collapse into a pile.

I just eye-balled my chipboard and trimmed it to fit. You could always glue it down, but I chose not too, in case I want to shift them around later. Now all my little mini alphabet stamps are in one easy to reach storage container- yea!

my style: vintage bling & leather

I love bling. What girl doesn't? But I love leather too - good old fashioned chunky leather. I have some everyday leather cuffs I wear that are nice and wide and simple - and by simple I mean no bling.Like these little beauties.

 And then sometimes I want a little sumpin' sumpin' on my cuffs - like snazzy silky flowers

But then there are the days that I just need some good old fashioned BLING - lovely bling!

I think my leather just might be my favorite "jewel" now that I think about it. Paired with the right bauble or bling it is the perfect combination of "I can survive, I am a tough girl" and "dear me, I am feminine!" Just MY STYLE!

instagram: march in review

dyeing. in the distance. lovely. random love. on the worktable. i made this. my green yard. Easter sunset. all county orchestra.a sign. 21 secrets workshop. haute handbags feature.