Valentines Day Cards

Here's a couple cards I made for my loved ones for Valentines Day! This one is for my honey bunny....

This one is for my daughter... 

These are Greeting Farm stamps that I colored with Copic  markers. 

My Altered Box Project for JadedStudios Secret Squirrel Cigar Box Swap

Hey there!

Here is a quick video of the box I altered for a Secret Sister group I am in over at JadedStudios. I had a great time altering this box and it went out to my partner today. :)

I need to get back into the groove of writing letters. Life has been busy and I've been slacking with mail art and letter writing a bit...so my goal for the next two weeks is to get caught up and respond to all the letters that need responses.  :)

My first "official" crafty YouTube video!

I did it! I conquered my fear of going on camera to record this video showcasing the writing desk box I altered for the Secret Valentine's Day Altered Box Swap over on Life on the Scrap Beach. I love how this box came out. It was my first altered box project.

I used the Mariposa paper line by DCWV as my partner wanted her box red, white and black and I immediately thought of this paper. I just love butterflies and I hope she does too. The roses are all from I Am Roses and I colored them with Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Sprays, then I used some prima bling and flatback pearls and lace trim. 

 I am shipping this out tomorrow so I can't wait till my partner gets it. Yay!

Valentine's Day-ish Mail art

I'm not sure what's come over me but I've been making lovey Valentine's day mail art recently. With some old fashioned collage images, embossing the envelopes, and using glimmery sprays to make it all sparkle. I'm loving it.  :)

Jan 2012 Mail Art

I'm working on a few other projects that I will post once they are done. One is a writing box for an Valentine's Day altered box swap that is almost finished now, and the other is a Travelogue for Your Paper Pantry which is a mini album that will be going to 9 partners to share and travel and be decorated. I'm excited for this. Just need to finish my pages and off it wil go. I wil post photos when these goodies are done...and I really need to get brave and do my first you tube video! I'm shy and a little scared, but I will....eventually I will.  :)

Flowers in the Mail-Art

So today I was in the mood to make some flowers...and what's better than sending some mail art flowers? I made these big bouquets today and will be sending them in the mail tomorrow to some fellow mail artist pals of mine. I hope they do not get destroyed in the post office. I am taking them in by hand tomorrow to have them hand cancelled, but you never know with those machines. Hopefully they will make it OK.

flowery mail art with a paper doll that's going in one of the envelopes as a little surprise treat that my mail art partner is getting. I hope she likes paper dolls! I like using them in my art projects.

close up of my hand made paper flower and handmade envelope

Fairy Mail Art

I did a few envelopes of mail art today as I had a stressful morningat the Dr's office where I sat with my 8 month old baby for two hours...why do they do that? If they are going to have me sit there and wait then make my appointment for two hours later! Do I need to come in at 9:30 if I don't even get called back into a room until 11, then in the room I wait another 30+ minutes?

Anyway, being creative helps me de-stress and gets my mood up. So as soon as I came home, I started playing with my art stuffs and the frustration melted away.

So here is what I created today...modeled on my new Corona Typewriter that I got as a Christmas gift this year. It just came in two weeks ago and I love it. I can't help imagining what it was used for, what kind of secrets it holds...it was made in 1937... so long ago... I wonder what stories it has hidden in it's history...maybe a long distance love affair, or letters to a brother at war, or an aspiring writer...who knows.

My new Corona typewriter

fairy mail art

more fairy mail art

this one is my favorite

I'm not sure who they are going to just yet but I hope whoever does get them in their mailbox loves them.  In the meantime I need to get back to my art journal soon as I've been neglecting it since NaNoWriMo.

More Mail Art

I must be honest and confess that I have been procrastinating... getting caught up in the web....reading art inspiration blogs...does that ever happen to you...it starts with a art journal photo on flicker, then goes to art techniques on a blog, then you're watching you tube videos, then you realize you need to buy new supplies....ohh my... if you give a mouse a cookie....

Anyway, here is a little bitty bit of mail art I have been working on this week. I know it's a bit odd. I'm experimenting with my new stamps and having a lot of fun. 

Playing with my new stamps, a collage mail art envelope. It's embossed too but you can't see it in the photo.

A little envie I made for a christmas letter I am sending to one of my pen pals. 

I did it!!

I am officially a NaNoWriMo winner!

Fifty thousand words!! And the best bart, I wrote it all freehand! In a composition notebook! I will post photos later.

I'm so excited. And now I have time to clean my house and do everything I put off doing last month while doing this amazing writing project.

I feel fantastic.

NaNoWriMo Update

4,000 words to the finish!

I'm so close! Two more days and I have just 4,000 more words to reach the 50k word count. I can do this. I can actually be one of this years NaNoWriMo winners. I'm so excited. This was one of my goals for this year and here I am making my dreams come true. You really can create the life of your dreams if you just commit and follow through.

4,000 words to go!

Next Goal :  To loose weight and get healthy by my birthday on Aug 14th 2012 I officially start this January 1st, 2012 but I will unofficially start December 1st, 2011 just to get a head start.

What are your dreams and goals?

Mail Art and NaNoWriMo Update

So I have been fighting this NaNoWriMo beast with all my might. I almost lost it this weekend after missing two days and getting behind about 5,000 words. My fiance came to the rescue and gave me the whole day yesterday to write and get all caught up, which I did. I am almost done now! Only 7,000 more words to go and I've hit the 50k mark. Then I will be throwing myself in letter writing and swaps and my neglected pen pals.

Anyway today I worked on a mail art swap I was in with a theme of fairy tales - Red Riding Hood. I really love how this envelope came out. You can't see the glimmer mist sparkles on it in the photo but its so sparkly and shimmery. I used some graphics from an old book I had and cut and colored them a bit. Then I collaged them onto the envelope which was spritzed with glimmer mist and stamped with some distressed inks.

Fairytale Mail Art

Side of the envelope before I put in my swap partner's addy.

I will be so happy when my NaNoWriMo is over. But I am still going to try and keep writing every day, not 1200 words a day but maybe just for an hour or so, unless the muse demands a longer session. One thing for sure is that I am no longer creatively blocked. The writing is flowing free. Now if only I could come up with something fantastic to write about! But hey, you can't have it all. I'm grateful that my creative block is gone. Baby steps on the road to my dreams...baby steps.