From trash to treasure with fused plastic. This great idea came from the January 2009 issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. The artist was Alisa Burke, sharing this great technique.

 I laugh at trash to treasure...because I always save my grocery bags and use them for trash. This is not a perfect technique, but I found it very interesting. You fuse 8 grocery bags together, ink, paint, collage, stamp, stitch...whatever your heart desires and sew it into a clutch.

Here are 8 grocery bags, that were pressed between paper to fuse them. Makes a wonderful durable surface.

After I sprayed with colorwash, glimmer mists and painted with acrylics and stamps, this is what the paper looked like.

A little close up so you can see the wonderful texture.

 I sewed a handmade paper to the back of the plastic for the liner.

Earlier this month, I talked about being involved in an art doll swap.This was the beginning sketch of my art doll using heavy Davey board and charcoal that I shared a couple of weeks ago. I love the look of these whimsical little dolls that I have seen online and thought I would have a go at it.
I had thought about gussying her up a bit, but thought her new owner might have fun doing that. I've loved her just the way she is. Farewell my friend, now go spread your happy dust around in Wyoming. I'm sure you'll warm her heart too.

So what do you do with these mini pieces of art that you collect? Often people save them just like baseball cards, which is what I normally do in an ATC binder. When I make a few extras for myself, they end up in my studio and sometimes as magnets on my fridge.

We're having our annual art doll swap at the Paperartistsonline (PAO) forum. I've really wanted to try my hand at making a whimsical type doll. The problem, is that I can't draw. Well, Santa brought me some great sketching pencils and a pack of artist quality erasers in my stocking this year, so I thought I would give it a try. The sketch was made on heavy davy board and will be colored with Prismacolor pencils. She is about 12" tall.
I'm seriously thinking of taking an online class to learn to sketch faces. Have any of you done this? Do you have any feedback? Stay tuned, we'll see how she turns out. This is for fun, right?

As a hoarder of paper and just because I just love to stamp, I often challenge myself to re-create a paper that I like with stamps and ink. The stamps are from Club Scrap and Paper Bag Studios.
I added a little scoring and here is the finished product.
I love to look at blogs and see what inspires other crafters and artists. It's interesting to look through the eyes of other people, don't you think?

I'm working on an art doll, that I'll share in a few days. Have an inspired week.

So many people are keeping a daily photo journal  for a year. I've always thought that this was a major commitment, but a wonderful way to capture a year of your life. You take a photo every single day for a year. I decided I am going to try and do this, this year. We'll see how it goes. For those of you who have done this, do you print them and make an album? If so, in what type of format?

 I've been busy making cards the last week, as my stash is very low. I'm involved in a few monthly card swaps and a birthday card club, so this isn't good. I have a very difficult time doing cards assembly line style, I get bored way too easily. Lately, I've been trying to make 3 or 4 cards at a time of similar style to build my stash back up. For you cardmakers, how many do you execute at a time? I'm curious.

 A birthday card, "Here's a wish for happiness and many dreams come true, especially on your birthday, and all year through." The little girl is a stamp from Beeswax, colored with colored pencils and gamasol.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful and warm week. It's 10 degrees here in Michigan today.

Happy New Year! It has been quite awhile since my last post. I've had house guests for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed the holidays with family and friends. The decorations are down and the refrigerator is cleaned out. Time for 2011.

I thought we would talk about our own personal style. Do you have one? When I look around my home, I would definitely say eclectic..a mix of the things I love. Some traditional styles (tweeds and natural organic prints) mixed with antiques (shaker style, old warm wood) and just a splash of color here and there. I am not a decorator, don't pretend to be. But when people walk into my home, regardless of where it has been, they feel comfortable. Just last week a friend said, your house always feels so homey.

I find it very difficult to translate this style into my crafts. So, in 2011 I think I'm really going to try and focus in this area. I've made a couple of cards that probably most reflect my style, I hope you enjoy them.

Stamps are from Club Scrap, Hero Arts and PSX. I apologize for the photos, they were taken right on my craft mat. Can you define your personal style? Tell me about it, I'd love to hear.