Actually posting something. Don't get all dizzy, now.

Recycled a water bottle as a bathroom salt container. Natural mouthwash and all that.

Weekly Report :P

Since last Tue Been down with the flu So, nuttin' fer you. It's true. Boo hoo hoo. So sue.

Weekly report #1

I really am crafting; I'm just unable to unload pics at the moment. I own two cameras: A Kodak digital that doesn't work, and a new Android phone without the USB cord, which I evidently placed for safekeeping somewhere in Antarctica. I will post photos later. This week, I finished a pair of earrings I began about 5 years ago; made a Perler bead and button pendant; and punched out dozens of shapes for garlands. I disemboweled an old mouse--that was much harder than I thought, getting through the outer plastic--and am planning some fun with the remains. A ladybug is taking shape from the shell. Fun times!

Pirating myself: Pt. 1

Taking a little time jaunt back to 2012...remember that year? Yeah, well, I was supposed to post this then and didn't, so I'm plagiarizing myself.

~CUE SPOOKY MUSIC~

I have had a week wherein I had to take everything in my entire kitchen apart and put it back together again, after a close encounter of the uninvited furry kind. That brought on a frenzy of pre-Spring cleaning which led from closets to drawers to cupboards--I just could not stop myself! Then the owner of the building I live in and manage bought a brand new Shark Navigator floor cleaner for me to haul up and down the four floors of the building (three residential, plus basement) which were horribly overdue for cleaning since the last vacuum broke down before Thanksgiving. Not much time left over for crafting. So easy to veg out in Gardens of Time or Words With Friends--dude, I was sooooo tired!

But know what? When I saw this on Pinterest, I knew immediately that I wanted to copycat it. Here it is at its original Tumblr page. Isn't it just magnificent? And what a (BAD PUN ALERT!) timely message. Ba dum DUM.

So I sat down late last night and covered my kitchen clock numbers with this constant reminder: Come on and do it, Sharon--while you can. There goes your life, tick...tick...tick..the time is always NOW.



Yeah, the Mod Podge was still too wet when I brayered over it to get some air bubbles out, and I didn't notice till later when it was already dry that one of the squares had rubbed off a bit. That's okay; it's imperfect, just like me. I'm not redoing it.

If drafts were dollars...

So, I just went back and looked at all the posts I started to blog last year and never finished. Yep--that's the story of Me, all right. Hey, there was some good stuff there. Now that I'm no longer addicted to Gardens of Time (DON'T!! JUST DON'T!!) or feeling depressed and lazy, maybe I'll pirate myself. Who'll know but me? Tee hee. After all, that's what empty journals, blank canvases, and new years are for.

Smash My Stash in 2013

For the entirety of 2013, I am resolved to make art only with what I already own. No buying paper, tools, glues, studs, ribbons, buttons, or any other geegaws and foofies--it's time to SMASH MY STASH! THE RULES: 1. No using anything from now until Jan. 1, 2014 that I don't already have in my already-overflowing hoard, unless it is a salvaged jar, piece of junk mail, or such from the week's recycling. 2. Must complete and post at least one full project per week, utilizing said stash. Caveats: I will continue to buy from my wonderful neighborhood Beverly's store as usual--who could possibly pass up such deals?--but I will list what I buy and put it away for next year. I am hereby making myself responsible to myself for this, since after not posting anything fresh in this blog for 11 months, I'm sure I no longer have any followers. ;-) FULL DISCLOSURE: I went nuts this past week stocking up on end-of-the-year goodies from Beverly's, knowing that my deadline was approaching. Good thing I had myself a Marvy little Christmas, thanks to my generous husband.

Saw It/Did It Saturday

I have had a week wherein I had to take everything in my entire kitchen apart and put it back together again, after a close encounter of the uninvited furry kind. That brought on a frenzy of pre-Spring cleaning which led from closets to drawers to cupboards--I just could not stop myself! Then the owner of the building I live in and manage bought a brand new Shark Navigator floor cleaner for me to haul up and down the four floors of the building (three residential, plus basement) which were horribly overdue for cleaning since the last vacuum broke down before Thanksgiving. Not much time left over for crafting. So easy to veg out in Gardens of Time or Words With Friends--dude, I was sooooo tired!

But know what? When I saw this on Pinterest, I knew immediately that I wanted to copycat it. Here it is at its original Tumblr page. Isn't it just magnificent? And what a (BAD PUN ALERT!) timely message. Ba dum DUM.

So I sat down late last night and covered my kitchen clock numbers with this constant reminder: Come on and do it, Sharon--while you can. There goes your life, tick...tick...tick..the time is always NOW.



Yeah, the Mod Podge was still too wet when I brayered over it to get some air bubbles out, and I didn't notice till later when it was already dry that one of the squares had rubbed off a bit. That's okay; it's imperfect, just like me. I'm not redoing it.

...the HECK was THIS?

Spotted in my kitchen when I got up to make coffee this morning:

It was not there at 1 a.m. when I went to bed.

So, am I sleepcrafting now?

82 Clothespins!

6 dozen plus 10. That's how many wooden clothespins I painted, beribboned, doodled, and decoupaged Sunday night while watching the first few episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford. Aren't they cool? Now I want to go back to the Dollar Store and buy bunches more. I'm thinking the next time, I'll put words and phrases on them, magnetic strips on the back, and use them like poetry magnets!

Where's my fairy godmother? Crafty Chica Cruise 2012!

Six years. That's how long the Crafty Chica Art Cruises have been happening, and that's how long I've wanted to go on one. What's not to yearn for? Eight days...beautiful weather...every yummy, pampery thing provided...off-the-page crazy, creative fun around the clock...and crafting flippin' ROYALTY!

Le siiiiiiiiigh. El suspiro. One more year to dream, dream, dream.

I met Kathy Cano-Murillo back when she was launching her Crafty Chica line at a Michael's in San Jose, CA. She and her hubby were just setting up when I got there, so I got to "pretend I was helping" and also chat with two of the nicest people on the planet. My jeans even got a mention on her blog! No, really! (My brush with greatness.) I've been a fan for years, and just wish some magical sparkles would drip off Kathy's left pinky onto me--maybe some creativity would stick.

So...the cruise. Oh, yes...when I win the lottery which I don't enter /publish my bestseller which I haven't written yet/inherit a million from a relative I don't know. That's when I get to lay down 900 smackers to abandon my DH on his birthday, cart my ageing tushy to a fancy ship to play with wild color and sip Margaritas and be waited on by cute little guys in cute little uniforms, and forget I have a cell phone and a pacemaker and grandkids and tenants whose toilets sprung a leak in the night.

And little piggies fly.

We all require fantasies; we can't live without them. This is one of mine. I am so happy for anyone out there who can take this dream vacay--and I hope you're one of them! If your ship came in (bad punsRus) then by all means, GO on this marvelous cruise! Have a blast and come back with glitter in your hair--and be sure to bring me back some extra fun stuffs, okay?

Life's little lessons: Obey them.

Or you might find the day you devoted to de-Christmassing the habitat, and also finishing up the embellished clothespins project, your head poppin' full of a hectazillion ideas--taken up instead by running through your home like a coocoohead because you left the water running full blast in the sink and flooded your kitchen. And you're still wiping it up at 11 p.m.

Some days are like that.

Book & Calendar New Year's Banner Display

Made a banner after dinner tonight. I used this template from the wonderful Lovely Design blog which I found doing a generic search, then fell in love with immediately. I used my old 2011 calendar pages with some highlight family photos from the year, plus the words FAST AWAY THE OLD YEAR PASSES printed in Castorgate-Distort font. Hung it all on a shiny ribbon I had on hand, rigbht above my desk opposite the Messy Crafty Corner.

After that, I got the idea to use a blank journal to represent the New Year. Printed out WELCOME, 2012! and YOU'RE A BLANK PAGE in Andalus font,, adhered with a glue stick, and wrapped a large brown elastic headband around the binding to hang it with.

Happiness and peace be yours in 2012! What will you write in the book of your life this year?

Rolled magazine pages starburst wreath

Still haven't found out how to spin straw into gold, but I sure did a lot with magazines this holiday season!

Here's the last-minute wreath I did for Christmas Eve. Just rolled pages hot glued to a paper plate, with foam half-balls, glitter, and ribbon. So easy, and much better than consigning old Family Circles to the recycle bin.

Backtrack: Christmas card

I didn't design a Christmas card this year, (although I get half points for doing one for my daughter's birthday on the 18th)...I am the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad person who finally slapped a few store-bought ones into the mail and called it a season. Or maybe I've lived long enough to know I can't do everything all the time; and if I really want a handmade one it's gonna have to start in, like, July.

So for those of you who just met me, which is pretty much anyone reading this except BBB (she knows who she is) here is one I did a few years ago and still like a lot. In fact, I think I'll just make the same one every year from now on and pretend it's a new idea...think it'll work?



Materials/tools I used: White card stock, printed image and text, crown punch, gold foil, bubble wrap, gold acrylic paint, vintage button, star stickers, torn paper, glitter, recycled coffee holder, glue stick, Mod Podge.

Merry Christmas from the Shannons!

Confessions of a crappy stamper

I am so, so bad at stamping.

No, really, I am. This is not a putdown or pout session, just a fact. I tried for years to master this particular crafting technique--it looks so easy when Tim Holtz, or even my 4-year-old grandson, does it. I've taken classes, bought books, watched videos, had one-on-one instruction. I own two drawers full of mounted, unmounted, rubber, acrylic, matched stamp sets and all kinds of loose ones. I have purchased dozens of inkpads, foam stamping mats, acrylic blocks, and every accouterment I found at our local craft store to help me get past my stamping bungling and cluelessness. None of it helped.

My stamping efforts are blurry, smeary, uneven, pathetic. Many are the nice cards and tags that lay ruined because once again, someone to whom stamping comes as naturally as sucking air in and out convinced me to give it a shot "one more time". (Cue Charlie Brown and the football.)

And we're not even gonna mention the word embossing anymore. Okay?

I surrender!

Seriously, my wannabe stamper days are behind me. Life is too fleeting to spend in frustration--at least, mine is. Besides, I found that magazines, old books, online clipart, junk mail, catalogs, and wrapping paper are all unending sources for wonderful images I can Mod Podge or adhere with a glue stick. I love cutout magazine and newspaper letters like these and find they add a really nifty touch to my collages and such. I'd rather spend time doing things that make me happy.

And I have a whole bunch of stamps to barter with other crafty friends for stuff I really want, like handmade papers, buttons, and empty Altoid tins. Time to set up a swap!

Shoutout from Dollar Store Crafts!

Heather from one of my very favorite online resources, Dollar Store Crafts, gave me a really nice little pat on the shoulder on Facebook yesterday. Apparently she liked my glass glitter post. Now, isn't that a great way to kick off a new blog? YEE-HA!

Rice Cake Hanging Bird Feeder Medallions

PLM (Project Messy Level): 5

Materials/tools I used: Rice cakes, birdseed, peanut butter, apple butter, ribbon/shoelaces/string, glass cake pan, metal skewer, waxed paper, little Chinese-food-shaped gift boxes, pinking shears, punch-cut shapes, bird clip art, glue stick

First I got out my good friend the green wobble-legged card table (which I trash picked from one of the tenants who moved out--another story)and spread an old tablecloth over it. Then I put down a sheet of waxed paper and began. All I did was cover the rice cakes in peanut butter and apple butter (jelly would be fine, but we were out of it) and roll them in the glass cake pan which was filled with birdseed. After patting them gently to secure the seed adhering better to the rice cakes, I laid them back on the waxed paper sheet and pierced each with the skewer. Now I had a nice hole to put the hanger through. Serendipity of the day: Shoelaces make fantastic hangers! They're easy to thread through the holes, and also sturdy.

When I'm done (which with all the interruptions of normal, everyday living did not happen today) I'll have a dozen of these; today I finished these two. I'll pack all of them in waxed-paper lined little gift boxes which I scooped up at last year's post-Christmas sales for 10 cents apiece and add a cute little clipart birdie tag.

The mess continues for tomorrow. My husband is a saintly man.

Listening to:

O Tannenbaum

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A nearby community gallery put on an Alternative Tree Exhibit. I made some of my folded magazine trees for the exhibit and was pleased how they came out. Then I was inspired to do this mixed media piece for myself. It looks so great in my house, I decided the gallery could just do without it.

Materials/tools: Blank canvas, hot glue, 24k gold spray paint, rolled magazine pages, tissue paper, grapevine wreath, cork, Stickles Gold 1799, Memories Mist in Cherry Smoothie, plastic medallion, broken piece of brooch, cut letters from magazines, and of course, Mod Podge--cuz it rocks!

Noel Noel, Noel, Nooooooelll

I did one of those clove-studded lemons! I used to do these years ago, but stopped because it was so hard to stick the cloves through the peel. (DUUUHHHhhh--use a skewer first, Silly!) It smells absolutely Heavenly.



This is my favorite project from this year--folded magazine trees! I made a slew of them as gifts. This little one, which used to be the manual for my old Verizon phone, is the one I like best. I learned the process from watching MisadventurousMommy on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flpDtE4Zwng

Bling bling tree '11

This year I got a great idea: I thought, I love to wear my jewelry, so why shouldn't my Christmas tree love it, too? So, along with the vintage glass ornaments, I went through my necklaces, earrings, brooches, bracelets, and hair clips--even a tiara-- and put most of them to work as tree trimming. I really like the outcome.










No, I love the outcome!