Handmade Journals!

Back in the journal groove...made a couple yesterday.

"What you do today is important because you are exchanging

a day of your life for it."

-anonymous

Pepper Tassel!

A few years ago I did a segment for HGTV....they needed something that transformed an everyday item into something pretty!

This little Chef Pepper shaker was a widower.  His wife Salty was had long since moved on to ceramic heaven....but, I could not get rid of him.  He was just adorable, provided a service and was such a happy face to hang around.  Thus, the need to find him another purpose.  

That is when he became a tassel. 

It was such a simple thing to transform. 

1.  ran some wire from the base up through the pepper holes and back down, tied it off

2.  put a jump ring through the wire for a hanger

3.  tied some cording through the jump ring

4.  hot glued some black trim around the base

5.  hung it on a cute little chair

Chef Pepper will forever be with me!

Love him!

100 Proof Press Blog Hop!

Good day everyone!  It is time to announce the new and improved and updated and simply gorgeous new website of 100 Proof Press!

Plus, a wonderful blog that keeps everyone up to date on the latest happenings in the stamp world!

If you arrived from Gerri's blog, you are on the right track!

The order for the blog hop is Jennifer, Tracy, Gladys, Sara, Amy, Gerri, Alexa, and Nicole!  Go visit each and every one.....creativity at its finest!

I am not your typical stamper (in my opinion).  My creative juices flow in a lot of different mediums, but the wonderful stamps of 100 Proof Press add that extra punch and layer of creativity I certainly like.   I LOVE contradiction in my art.  And....the utilitarian benefit of using stamps in a creative business are priceless.

Below are a few ways I have incorporated 100 Proof Press Stamps into my little world of all things handmade!

FYI:  I love old stuff!

This is layers of old book pages...all colors and fonts with free form stitching all around the fantastic glass canning jar...with a teeny tiny little felt heart in the middles!

See the resemblance?

When attending a retail show I love to give something away.  Sometimes my little furry friend goes with me, so she does the giving.  This Boston Terrier stamp attached to a few pieces of kibble are a inexpensive and precious freebie!

When teaching an art class I always bring the supplies.  This is a fund craftsy stamp I simply applied to an eraser for everyone.  Love!

The "Spring Poppy" stamp contest was what landed me the honor of being a part of the 100 Proof Press Team!  The best!

Once again an old chair only helps to confirm the southern phrase "sit a spell"!

This cut glass pitcher stamped on a old playing card makes a great treat for the mail or tag on a gift!

I made some stationery from scraps of paper on my studio floor and sewed it on to a piece of card stock...the dust pan just adds to the beauty!

A fun box of old clothes pins I sell in my antique booth.  Remember, packaging is the key to sales!

A pin keep made from felt and stamped with a thimble!  Ah.

I LOVE children's doll hangers.  Sale a lot of them in my booth and use a lot in my art.  Great way to package them!

There is a prize  of  One Pack of Postage Paper Style #5, Postage Parts #5 and a Gift Certificate to the shop for $30.  Simply leave a post on all the blogs as you hop!  The winner of the prize will be drawn on Thursday 20^th September on the 100 Proof Press blog.

Happy Hopping!

Go 100 Proof Press!

Handmade Adorned Journals!

I am in a journal phase!  Found these thin, lined, faux leather covered journals and thought they would be perfect to embellish.  I sewed a ribbon tie to provide a little privacy.  Everything is sewn on.  Oddly, the faux leather just zipped right through my sewing machine.

Love it!

"After the writer's death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter."
Jean Cocteau

Fat Quarter Heaven!

My fabric stash has been scattered everywhere!

I hate that!

Started gathering all my fat quarters and look how yummy this pile is becoming.

There is nothing more inspiring than a colorful stack of delicious fabric.

Colored Pencil Art!

This summer I attended my first drawing class.  While on vacation with a friend in Rosemary Beach, FL, we signed up for a colored pencil drawing class!

I am not an artist by any means, my creativity is all based on imperfection.  If nothing is precisely as it should be, perfection is not necessary.  *note drawing below

"It belongs to the imperfection of everything human that man can only attain his desire by passing through its opposite."
Soren Kierkegaard

FUN!

Quilted Pillow!

This is the linen cocktail napkin....

that is now a pillow!

Take note of the pieced, quilted pinwheel corners.  Yep....I have plenty.

It is such a cute size!

The back was two yards of navy herringbone fabric I found at a thrift store!

Easy....peazy!

Quilted Hand Towel!

This is what I found at the Knitting Mill Antique Mall!

This cute little Christmas tin was only $10!

This is what was in it!

Oodles of pinwheel pieced quilt pieces!

The tin was full.  There may have been 200 pieces!!

Oh what to do with them?

This is how it started....

Pinwheels appliqued to a hand towel.

A hand towel!

First one I've ever made one!

Kind of cute!

Can't wait to see what else will be adorned with a pinwheel.....

Turbinator = Terminator!

The is the name of a hair dryer!

Wow.

Could not resist sharing this self-described product name with the masses.

This lovely dryer was a huge beat up black dome that you eased down and let hover over your roller curled hair.  In its day...maybe 60 years ago, it was probably the end all hair drying device found in only the posh salons.  I can actually envision a somewhat prim and proper lady of the house wearing her latest ironed cotton print, belted waistline dress reading a "Good Housekeeping" rag while sitting in a pink sculptured Naugahyde chair, legs crossed and this ginormous black bullet dome hovering over her head.  

Yep, that has the makings for a lovely doooo!

This product name was probably the root word foundation for our now popular "Terminator" movies and former California Governor.  Just think a feminine drying device could have been the early beginnings of how women tested their strength to endure the week for all of their housekeeping challenges...and we thought Arnold was the man.  He was inspired by women.

Go out and turbinate today!

Freakish For Felt!

Yes, FELT is FANTASTIC!

I have obviously been in a felt phase, unknowing until recent of the rainbow of fabulous felt colors!   The discovery of the buffet of color available I am blown away.

My memory of felt involves primary colors, popsicle sticks and Vacation Bible School....well, I'm here to tell you FELT is the new fabric!  

Felt is generally in small sheets of 15"x15" or "8x10"....not this stuff....I found yard bundles and unlimited bolts of the most beautiful shades of felt at Rainbow's End quilt shop!  Besides the unlimited yardage of fabric that would make you drool, there was a felt room!  Shelves dedicated to felt!

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Remember:

FELT IS THE NEW FABRIC!

100 Proof Press!

I have an art show coming up in November!  My new hope is to offer something free to pick up as you take the time to view my creativity.  Since this is an outdoor show, I know many furry pets will be in attendance.  So, a treat for them is my new offering.

The key to passing out freebies, is relative to three simple principles:

1.  must be inexpensive

2.  must be made uber quickly

3.  must exhibit some form of "handmade-ness"

This simple stamp from 100 Proof Press does all three!

Since I am massively in love with my puppy, Daisy, I thought a small Boston Terrier stamp (#3936) from 100 Proof Press would be perfect!  A small token of Kibbles-n-Bits, from one four legged friend to another.

So, I have begun the process of making oodles of giveaways.  

What I did....

1. purchased some small cello bags, approximately .007 cents each.

2.  fill it with 4-5 kernels of dog food.

3.  stamp my little pumpkin's head on a price tag.

4. fold over the bag and staple the stamped tag and pick up a scrap of colorful paper or fabric off the floor of my work room and staple to the top.

Voila'!  Simple, yet handmade freebie for furry friends!

I'm sure 100 Proof Press has something you can use the same way!

Everybody always loves a freebie!