Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you mothers out there were able to spend the day with your loved ones or at least be in touch with them by phone! My day was quiet since we are empty-nesters and no one lives nearby. I did have lots of phone calls, though, and these gifts have been arriving the past few days.

You can see that my kids know my chocolate addiction, which makes it easy to select gifts! Yum yum!

In addition, my daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby took me out last Sunday for brunch while we were in Albuquerque and this week we will see my youngest daughter in Chicago!

So, I've had a wonderful Mother's Day and hope you did too.

Another "grand"

Spent last weekend in Albuquerque babysitting this little guy who just turned 10 months on the 8th! I wish we could keep them at this age forever - so, so cute. Drew isn't walking alone yet but stands and walks around things and is so proud of himself.

Dress Tag Swap and some "grand" photos

It's been a busy week. We went back to Austin for a long weekend to visit this little guy

who is growing up way too fast!  My son flew in from San Francisco to attend a concert so we got to see him too!

And while we were there, Kelly and Josh rescued a boxer pup about to be sent to a shelter. As you can see, Carl and Ginger are already best buds, sharing a drink from the hose.

On the art front, I was recently in a dress tag swap with an online group.  The only requirement was to make a paper dress on a tag.  This is the tag I sent to my swap partner.  I covered a manila tag with pretty pink patterned paper and did some stamping. The dress is simply a crumpled piece of music paper soaked in a mixture of white glue and water and then formed into a dress shape. Once this was dried - and it took quite awhile to dry - I sprayed it with green mist, accented it with a bit of Stickles and glued it to the tag over a tiny metal hanger. The collaged words were actually the title on the music paper.

This is the tag I received. It is really lovely.  I love the little purse with a chain strap and the pearl and glitter accents on the dress. Thank you Joan!

This weekend we are off to Albuquerque to visit the other grandbaby who is now almost 10 months old! How time flies...

New! - Vintage Image Transfer Canvas Class

For my newest class, I created this beautiful keepsake canvas.  Using the back side of an artist canvas creates a shallow shadowbox to showcase one of your favorite photographs (vintage or otherwise) - I used a photo of my maternal grandmother at age 18.  You will learn how to transfer a photo to fabric and add bits of papers, fabrics, lace, ribbons and embellishments to fashion a lovely memory piece.

You will need to bring two laser copies of a 4"x6" photo. Any copy place can make this for you on one sheet (have them use regular paper, not photo paper). This technique will NOT work on an inkjet print from a home printer.  Think beyond vintage photos - wedding, baby, anniversary, graduation photos will all work. I designed this in a neutral palette so it will work for anything. If you have special mementos, bring them to incorporate into your collage.

Class is open for signups now. Please stop by the LBH or call 817-431-7930 to reserve your seat in any buffet!

Personalized Baby Board Book

I finally finished this little personalized board book for my grandbaby, Carl.  The idea came from Kimberly Petersen's post which I found here on Pinterest.

This took me far longer than I thought it would!  I had to find the photos, edit and enlarge and add text, then decoupage them all into the prepared book. I had bought two little 6" square board books years ago to alter and they worked perfectly. They had too many pages, so I just cut several out. Since the pages were glossy, I gessoed them all to give the pages some tooth for the decoupage glue to stick.

This is the cover. I was going to use duct tape for the binding but didn't want to buy a large roll for two (yes, I'm also doing one for my other little grandson) 6" strips! I found a strip of black plasticized webbing (from garage - have no idea what it's for) and this worked perfectly to glue over the spine.

Here's a peek inside the book. There is a page each for Daddy, Mommy, Grams, Pops, 3 aunts and 2 uncles, 1 cousin and both great-grandmothers.

I needed one more photo, so used our dog on the back cover.

I first tried using Photoshop Elements to create the pages, but after a few days of trial, error and lots of frustration, I simply opened a blank page in my word processing program (Pages, Mac) and dragged the photo into the page! How easy was that!  I resized it so the smallest dimension was 6" and added a text box. The text was typed in either black or white depending on the photo. Then I printed a copy on regular copy paper and cut it to fit the book page. I used Mod Podge to decoupage the photo to the book and then Mod Podged over each page to protect it from wear and tear.

I hope this will be a fun book for Carl to remember his extended family (maternal) and to put faces to names.  Drew's book is almost complete too - just need to add a few more photos.

New Card Keepers Class

Come join me at the Little Blue House for my newest Card Keepers Class, 

Tuesday April 23

10:00 am to noon

or 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

We will be making two cards and a fun tag - all using the new Tim Holtz Distress Paints! 

Learn about the special properties of these new paints and

 some of the fun techniques you can use with them.

One of the cards uses a Mother's Day stamp but you could easily

use this card for any occasion.

Call the LBH (817-431-7930) to sign up!

Garden Party

You Are Invited!

Garden Party
Specialty Workshop

This day will be “blooming” with wonderful techniques and sure to inspire you and “grow” your creativity! 

Come receive great Hands-On learning while creating some fabulous Blossoms and you will receive this Standing Framed Chalkboard too so you can showcase your flowers individually. 

 You will be creating with a variety of NEW Lotions & Potions from Ranger, Art Anthology, VerDay by TSS, and so much more!!!  You will also be treated to a refreshing lunch during our Garden Party. 

 

 

 When: Fri. April 19^th 
or Sat. April 20^th

Time: 10 am to 2:30pm
What to Bring: Scissors only
(everything else will be provided for you)
Cost: $60
Lunch Provided

Reservations are required and seating is limited. Stop by the LBH or give us a call at (817) 431-7930 to reserve your seat. 

We look forward to gardening with you and watching your creative skills grow!

Miss Tracy, Elaine, Susan, Lynette