I'm so EXCITED!

Yesterday afternoon I found out that I am the winner of the August Hambly Contest over at For the Luv of Art.com. What an inspiring website, and a bunch of super clever, cool chicks reside there. Come check it out and share your inspiration! http://www.fortheluvofart.blogspot.com/

Tooth Fairy Love...

Okay, as usual I am fixating on the innocence of childhood. Remember those days when we thought of the tooth fairy often...it seemed like once we started losing teeth, it would never end. I love those memories as I child, to this day I still remember seeing the sparkling tooth fairy flying up to my window when I was about seven. Being my anxious self, I ran to my mom to tell her all about it. Needless to say, when I got back to my bed the tooth fairy had already paid a visit! What an imagination! I love telling my kids that story, and I love hearing the thoughts and images that go through their minds. My oldest turned 6 back in March, and has yet to lose his first tooth. Unlike anything else in my chaotic life, this is something I want to be prepared for...the first loose tooth. For quite awhile, I have been in search of the perfect tooth fairy pillows for my little ones. I found the sweetest little birds & elephants a few years ago on etsy and stored them in the back of my mind since then. The creator of these adorable creatures is an artist named Melody Miller. I contacted her a few weeks ago to see if she would make some of these for my kids....

Yesterday I received a package in the mail and was overjoyed with its contents. Melody Miller you rock! Her presentation, packaging, merchandising & marketing of her products is insanely cool. Not only were the sweetest elephants wrapped in funky tissue and ribbon, but she has designed her own temporary tattoos with her signage. Too cool for school I say! She is currently creating a new fabric line called Ruby Star Rising. It is supposed to debut this fall. I can't wait to see it! To check out more about this super clever girl, here are her websites... http://www.melodymiller.typepad.com/ and http://www.lettermdesign.com/

Eat, Drink & Be Merry!

Here are two more of my newest pieces. Once I again, I have incorporated those yummy ceramic letters I told you about in the last post. On both of these, I used black grout. Very unlike most of my creations, I typically use a dark tan grout. For these, I decided I would try something different, something unexpected. On the wall piece, it was so fun playing around with different materials...a large black baroque frame, vintage psychadelic gift wrap from the 1960's, a cork coaster, and some glitter green tile. I wish you could see this paper in person, as the picture doesn't capture the true vivid colors...super rich hot pinks, fuschias, lime greens, funky yellow and black, all wrapped up into a disco frenzy of beautiful swirls and flowers. Enjoy!

Dream A Little Dream...

Here is one of my newest creations. I saw something similar to this in an old craft magazine, and gave it my own "mosaic twist" if you will. The black frame is actually a deep window box. At the back I created a mosaic of dominoes, all vintage with varying color, widths and lengths. All the images I stamped onto the back of the dominoes are comprised of many different textures, patterns, and wonderfully inspiring words like joy, celebrate, believe, happy, cherish, imagine, etc. The word DReAM in the forefront of the box is very interesting. I wish I knew all the history behind the letters. All I know is that they are made out of some type of white ceramic/bisque from the late 1940's...they were sold at a chemist's estate sale, lots of vintage goodies from his lab that had been stored in a basement for decades! There were tons of numbers and letters for sale and I managed to buy most of them at $0.50 a piece; a small price to pay for something so unusually unique from the past...treasures I can incorporate into my work to give it that extra wow!

Thanks again for stopping by!

Brotherly Love

This layout is featured on Scrapbooking.com's online magazine! (Nov 2010) Please go to http://www.scrapbooking.com/ for all the details!

I created this layout using the wonderfully vivid new line by My Mind's Eye called So Sophie. The layout is about our adventure to the annual Medieval Fair this last Spring. Neatly tucked away under the image is another image of the boys holding hands as they walk up to the fair. Also included is my narrative about the day and their silly hats.

The insert reads as follows...The annual Medieval Fair at Reeve's Park. What a festivity of eccentric sights and fantasies all wrapped into one. There is tons to see, from fairies & mermaids to knights & kings. Jack tackled the bungee jump again, completely fearless. Add to it, the elephant & camel rides and the oh so yummy food, you guys never wanted to leave. The weather had been very cold, rainy & windy on Saturday, so we decided to take a chance and go on Sunday afternoon. Talk about PERFECT weather, we all had a great time. You both were bundled up in your matching red sweaters and those oh so crazy & colorfully fun beenie hats. Daddy found those for you guys at an antique store down in McAlester this spring. The hats are extremely old and very unusual. Made out of different panels of tan, aqua and red leather, they are covered in tiny trinkets that apparently would have come from old Cracker Jacks back in the 1940's. Daddy did some research, and we also found that the hats were possibly sold at the World's Fair back in the 40's as well. Either way, the hats are so cool and we hope that you all will treasure them for many years to come. Not to mention that you both look like the "Little Rascals!"

As for this picture, all I can think of when I look at it is pure LOVE. Jack you are such a nurturing big brother to Sam. Sam looks up to you for everything. He copies everything you do, and goes to you for protection. I hope that he always feels that you will be there to protect him as I hope he will always be there for you. Talk about a troublesome duo when you are together, but I wouldn't have it any other way!