More flower pages

Here are more of the "skinny" flower pages we swapped at my last retreat (the Artful Gathering).

poppy by Dee with pretty punched birder and a tiny 3D bee

Sue D's orchids

zinnias by Dawn - love how she signed on the stem

Julie's peony - from her yard

more zinnias from Claudia

Linda F's calla lily - love the banner and tissue tape

a photo of Jean's rose in her yard

dahlia by Renee with a darling butterfly stamp

a sunflower tag in a tiny envelope from Kris

Aren't they all wonderful? I'm always amazed at the uniqueness and creativity of all the pages when we do a swap like this. So many ideas!

Back from Retreat

I'm home from retreat and what fun we had! This is an annual gathering for an online group of about 45 women - we had 22 attending from all over the country this year.  Each year we have a theme and do an involved book project with that theme. Lots of members also bring make-n-take projects for us to do and we also have a swap. This year we made 3 x 5.5-inch flower-themed "skinny pages" to share and then bound them into a booklet.  Here is mine with 22 pages in it.  One of the gals (thanks Joan!) brought nametags for each of us and I added mine to my book so I wouldn't get it mixed up with the others. The name tag is adorable and so clever - she used a base of corrugated cardboard and a canvas strip, stitched wire for the name and wrapped bailing wire to frame it.

And here are some of the flower pages:

Liane's watercolored iris on glossy paper

Jeri's shabby chic peonies with tissue tape

Joan's foxgloves picture with lots of bling

Ellen's embossed and colored sunflowers with bling on pretty stippled background

Roxanna's poppies on vellum with leaf ribbon and black German scrap border

Nancy's watercolored lily with fun title

Annette's paper pieced bluebonnet (lots of tiny pieces)

Sue F's watercolored hydrangea

another hydrangea - by Diann

a primrose by Joyce stamped on vellum  over a leaf-stamped background

Linda S's roses on a metallic paint background framed with crackle paste

Whitney's stamped and colored sunflower with a Zentangled petal

The retreat was a blast but I'm exhausted as we were busy every minute.  Also attended the Heirloom Stamp Convention on Saturday which was next door to our hotel. That was a disappointment - only twelve vendors this year and very little new products or techniques. At least I didn't spend much!

I'm off to unpack, regroup and repack for another retreat tomorrow. This time it's for the Little Blue House and should be far more relaxing. We are going to be brainstorming ideas and planning for the fall and holiday seasons - classes and events. We'll also be working on our personal projects. I'll be back in a few days with more photos of projects.

Getting Ready for Retreat

I have been a member of a small online group for many years and for about the last five, we have been gathering annually for a retreat in Texas. Lucky me that I live not too far from the venue so I've been able to attend every year.  This year 24 gals are getting together!

The retreat starts tomorrow and I'm busy gathering supplies and packing. This retreat is a little different than most - we do a themed book project and several make-n-takes for two of the three days and one day is spent at the nearby stamp convention which is scheduled for the same weekend. So, there's not much time for personal projects, but it does make packing a bit easier!

We also do one swap that follows the theme which, this year, is Botanical/Garden.  We are making 24 flower "skinny pages" (3"w x 5.5"t) of our favorite flower and then they will be combined into little "fat" books.  I chose to do hydrangeas since I love these flowers and I had a perfect stamp!  Here's what I came up with.

First I colored the stamp with water-based markers in lavendar, periwinkle and green, spritzed with water and stamped on ivory cardstock.  This is an easy way to achieve a watercolor look.  Then I masked the image and stamped the background with a new Tim Holtz background script in white pigment ink, let that dry and then used sage and stone Distress Inks on the background.  Keeping the mask on, I spritzed all over with gold Glimmer Mist (the glimmer doesn't show in the photo but it glistens!).  I swiped pearlescent lavendar and periwinkle Brilliance inks on vellum (did you know that Brilliance is one of the few inks that will dry on vellum without having to heat-emboss?), then punched tiny hydrangea blossoms and glued them sparingly over the stamped flower.  The final touches were the lace and Dymo label (one of the requirements was to add the flower name).

I can't wait to see the 23 other pages! How neat is this going to be all bound together!

I won't be posting for the next few days but will post a report of the retreat and convention upon my return on Sunday. Have a great week - I know I will.

Glassine Embellishments - Make your Own

Remember these two cards I recently created with the June Front Porch Kit (One Sunny Day)?  

Both the flower and the butterfly were made with the glassine bags which were used in the kit to package the exclusive Front Porch Kutz.  I love to use unusual supplies in unique ways and this glassine made gorgeous embellishments.

I have a complete tutorial including lots of photos on the Front Porch Kits blog today.  Click here to check it out.  And if you would like a kit, we still have a few available for purchase on the website here.

Front Porch Kits Live again

Tonight on Ustream, Lolly will be sharing this fabulous project she made with this month's Front Porch Kit (One Sunny Day).  Join in the fun here at 8:30 pm CST and learn how to make those darling flowers! Hope to "see" you there!

Happy Halloween - in July ? eek!

No, I haven't totally lost it.  But I wanted to share a new intimate teaching venue that I am so excited to be a part of.

Black Velvet Halloween will be held on Oct. 1 and 2,  2011, in McGregor, Texas (near Waco and Crawford) in the home studio of a good friend.  This will be limited to 20 students and four awesome classes will be taught.  The fee includes all four classes, lunches for both days, snacks, etc.

This is the class I am offering:

"Beware" Halloween Banner

Click on over to the Black Velvet Halloween blog HERE to check out the other classes and to learn more.  Don't miss out on this fun opportunity!  It's guaranteed to be a "bewitching" good time!

Front Porch Kits Featured on Practical Scrappers

Practical Scrappers featured our Front Porch Kit, One Sunny Day, on their Thursday post here.  Check it out and have a chance to win a free kit by becoming a follower of their blog as well as the FPK blog.  I love the projects that they made with the kit - additional inspiration for anyone who has bought the kit and it's always fun to see what others do with the same supplies!