Alice in Wonderland Cake Covers?

So, I recently made several cake domes on pedestals. Here is a pic of the 3 different sizes I made as a trio. Obviously they don't go together collectively, but it was fun to have them all together for display purposes. When they were on display at the Girlie Show, several times I overheard people saying that they had an unusual, whimsical feel....they said they automatically thought Alice in Wonderland! That is funny to me now, as the boys were dressed as the Mad Hatter & the Rabbit for Halloween. (see post below) I guess when I am in the middle of a hefty production timeframe, everything around me influences my creations. Literally!

Advent Calendar Drawing @ Tulips!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If you are in the Norman area tomorrow, definitely try and make a stop by Tulips on Campus Corner. They will be having an amazing Black Friday sale! Talk about savings on the most beautiful home decor items...30% off your entire purchase from 8-9 AM, 20% from 9-10 AM & 10% off from 10-11! Another incentive to stop by is this Advent Calendar! I have donated it to Tulips for a drawing to be held on November 30, just in time for Christmas! Every purchase made between now and Nov 30 will be entered into the drawing. For any custom calendars ordered between now and then, your name will be thrown into the hat 2 times! I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving, and may the festive, Christmas frenzy begin!

Twisted Card #034 "Edge"

So this week's challenge at http://www.twistedsketches.com/ was to create a card incorporating "edge" as the twist. The card I created was for my aunt's 65th birthday. I incorporated the "edge" in several ways. The card reads, "live on the edge" and on the inside it says, "have the best birthday ever!" In addition, I used lots of different "edge" punches on the card itself. Edge punches are all the rage these days, and they are so fun to use. The edge punches I used are Martha Stewart's Loop Edge & Double Loops, as well as the Scroll & Dots by EK Success. Additional supplies used were: orange glitter alphas by Little Yellow Bicycle, black Dymo tape, swimming pool Loopy Lou stickers by Doodlebug Design, Sculpey hot pink clay, a sweet flower created using my Cricut Paisley cartridge and the yummy Hambly overlay, Vintage Patchwork. As for the actual papers, I used several sheets from the American Crafts Teen line...Class Clown, Class President & Honor Roll. The cool background paper that has the composition notebook pattern, is by Carol Wilson Fine Arts. Lastly I used lots of pop dots to give everything dimension.

To see the actual sketch, and other amazing interpretations please be sure to check out http://www.twistedsketches.com/ today! Thanks for stopping by!

Scarlett Arched Window

I hope everyone is starting to get into the spirit of the holidays! I know I am! I can't wait to start decorating for Christmas! I love all the reds, funky greens & silver....I am getting excited just thinking about it!

Today I would like to share with you one of the largest, unusual windows I have created to date. This behemoth measures a little over 45" tall, almost 4' tall at its highest point. I found 2 of these super amazing windows for $35 a piece back in the Spring at an estate sale. Although most of the 100+ windows in my possession are either donated to me, or picked up off the curb; I occasionally can't resist shelling out some $ for something quite this unique. As I mentioned, I have been holding onto these babies since March and have been looking for the perfect papers to fill the panes. When I laid eyes on the recent Scarlett line by Glitz Designs, I knew it was it. The green paper with the flowers in the corner just kept beckoning me back. I waited for several months to get my hands on it, and it was well worth the wait. I truly love the way it turned out. I am a total sucker for damask patterns at the moment, so I knew such a large window would allow me to create one of such intricate magnitude.

I still have one of these beauties left to create with. Any suggestions on succulent papers out there I should use? My sister-in-law has first dibs, so I know she will want some deep reds in it for sure. I am really eying the new Circa 1934 line by Cosmo Cricket. Thanks in advance for all your wonderful thoughts and suggestions! Amy

For the Luv of Art Member of the Week!

Julie Ann Shahin, an extraordinary mixed media artist chose me as the Member of the Week over at http://www.fortheluvofart.com/! What a wonderful honor, and Julie Ann's write-up about me was more than complimentary! Be sure to check out all the fun and inspiring creativity; the girls are so talented and I'm sure once you check it out you will be hooked! Definitely take time to see Julie Ann's amazing creations too! Her blog is http://julieannshahin.blogspot.com/. Here are one of my mermaids she featured in the post...I haven't created this little lady in awhile. I have a custom mermaid I am currently getting ready to create just like this. It used to be so much fun to create, and I look forward to making one more exist in this world! : )

Architectural Salvage...

Have you ever enjoyed an afternoon scouring an antique store or an estate sale rummaging through old architectural pieces? I LOVE finding such unique remnants. They are so old, and serve such an elegant piece of history. Occasionally I stumble across such pieces, and I do literally stumble in excitement. I found these lovelies at an antique store in Bethany, OK called The Rink. If you have never been there before and live in Oklahoma, it is definitely worth the drive. If you go,plan to spend an afternoon there. When I say an afternoon, I mean an ENTIRE afternoon. It is 27,000 square feet of the most unique, ecclectic, antique collectibles you can find. Check it out at http://www.rinkgallery.com/antiquemall.html

Now onto the details...

I took the architectural pediments and used them as the base. Already painted white with many, many layers of paint peaking through in shades of pale yellow, pink & mint green these babies were calling my name as soon as I saw them. To start with, I stamped text all over the center of the block using StazOn ink. For the center, I took a red/white pokkadot cupcake liner and cut out the center. I then, formed a smaller circle and made larger accordion folds. I applied silver Stickles around the outer edge of the liner and adhered it to the center of the board. Next I took a 4" cast iron star and topped it off with a vintage bingo marker. To accentuate the carved indentions in the wood, I took kraft paper and cut/glued it into the leaf shapes. At the bottom, I used vintage black wooden dominoes. To complete the found ephemera look, I decided to play along with the star since it is after all the focal point of the piece. Each wall hanging is intended to be separate with the titles of "SHINING," "SPARKLE," & "TWINKLE." At first I thought they had a festive Christmas feel. The more I think about it, how cute would one of these look in a child's room? I hope to make more of these very soon. As soon as I can find some more of these pediments! All 3 of these pieces are available for purchase at Tulips on Campus Corner, Norman, OK. Have a great evening, and as always thanks for stopping by!

OklaVision features Amy Baldwin of Curly Q Mosaics!

I am telling you, I can't even express the gratitude I have for all the media attention I have received these last few weeks! Yesterday, OklaVision featured the Girlie Show from Friday night on their daily TV show. If you live in the OKC or Tulsa, OK areas you have probably seen the tv show on Cox Communications, channel 3. If you haven't watched it before, it is a great resource for checking out arts & entertainment in our area. If you didn't see the segment on tv yesterday, it's okay! You can see it in it's entirety by going to http://oklavision.tv/#/home. Go to Program Guide, and look under Nov 09. The Girlie Show segment begins at 00:04:53. It will be permanently archived on their website after this week. Be sure to check it out to capture the pure essence of this year's show. Enjoy!

The Girlie Show 2010 = Huge Success!

Well, the Girlie Show has finally come to an end and it is time for me to finally stop and take a deep breath. Talk about lots of work, but so much fun too! Thanks to my many supporters and fans of Curly Q Mosaics for helping it to be a continued success. Having so many of you stopping by just to meet me or to let me know that you were there just for my art, was so wonderful to hear! I sold lots of pieces at the show, and have many custom pieces in the works. With all the heavy marketing & advertising the Girlie Show does, it creates such a buzz around OKC. This last week I was a featured artist in the article titled, "Powered by estrogen, 'The Girlie Show' enters it's seventh year of offering female artists a platform to sell their wares." Having been in the show 4 years previously, they wanted a seasoned artist's perspective. What great exposure for me! To see the exciting article in the Oklahoma Gazette, please visit http://www.okgazette.com/visualarts/11-03-2010/Powered_by_estrogen_The_Girlie_Show_enters_its_seventh_year_of_offering_female_artists_a_platform_to_sell_their_wares.aspx

Twisted Cards #032 "Punch"

Let me start by saying that when I first saw this sketch, I thought I would have difficulty creating something exciting and different. Wow was I surprised! I think I must of had some major creative mojo going on that day! I made this card for my mother-in-law's birthday and I think this has to be my FAVORITE card I have ever created. I tried to think outside of the box, and pulled out all the stops on this one. From stitching to layering and "fussy" cutting, I think I covered almost every technique I know. (I would have to say that my cousin inspires me to go the extra mile, and do the very best I can.) I am sure most of you know this super amazing chick, Nancy Hanttula. Yeah, she has been on the Twisted Sketches team for over a year now creating the most unbelievable layouts known to womankind! If not, you MUST check her out at her blog, http://www.justaboutthedetails.com/. I warn you now, you will be jaw dropping and drooling like crazy!

Okay, here are all the yummy details about the card. First I started with just your basic kraft cardstock. I folded it in half and cut it down to a standard 5 X 7. Then, I took solid red paper (My Mind's Eye) and punched 4 "Fancy Squares" at the top and bottom of the rectangle. (McGill) After mounting it to the cardstock, I punched holes and stitched around the squares using black embroidery floss. Recently purchasing the new Basic Grey Jovial papers, I knew I wanted to incorporate them into this card. Using the Winter Garden paper, I chose to cut out the flowers & leaves. To accentuate, I found a black & white patterned cardstock to create some contrast. (Crate Paper's Crate Avenue Collection, Simple) To make the flowers and starbursts, I used the Martha Stewart Daisy Fan Deep Edge Punch. As you can see in the images, I took 2 punches and put them together using a brad. The flower was then done. Taking it one step further, I cut the scalloped edge off to create the starburst. For the last finishing touches, I used pop dots to give everything dimension, Pink Paislee's Cherry Chipboard Alphabet for "happy", Stampin' Up's Happy Everything for "BIRTHDAY", Ranger's Black Embossing Powder for intensity on the leaf, Swingline's green staples, & CTMH's Liquid Glass & Prisma Glitter to give it extra sparkle. I hope you truly enjoy this as much as I do.

Anam Stubbington, creator of Twisted Sketches creates the amazing designs that inspires us to create. Won't you stop by and check out all the other wonderful creations? http://www.twistedsketches.com/

Homespun Chic Calendar

Just in time for the new year, I have been creating more of my fun perpetual calendars. Sometimes a new line of paper comes out and I know right away I am going to put it to great use somehow, someway. When GCD came out with the Homespun Chic line this last summer I went crazy for all the fun patterned papers and embellishments. Here is the calendar I created using it, don't you just LOVE the vintage sewing patterns and the chic women? I know I do! This calendar along with many others will be available for purchase at the upcoming Girlie Show in just 2 days! After that, you can find many of my creations at Tulips in Norman, OK. Please stop by sometime, I know you would love it! http://www.tulipshome.com/

Featured Projects in Scrapbooking.com

As a follow-up to my post back on September 24, Scrapbooking.com asked me to be a featured artist in their online publication for November. The projects they chose were my Brotherly Love & Happy Mother's Day layouts as well as the frame/card I created for Ms. Lizzie. Scrapbooking.com maintains a comprehensive directory for just about everything in the scrapping world. It is a great source to go for ideas, tips, & how-to's. Please check it out over at www.scrapbooking.com. Thanks for stopping by!