Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A Sugared Banner!

Finally! A real banner made by someone who has the talent I lack with image editing. I've admired her work since I "discovered" her etsy work, the lovely Kris Hurst (Blissfull Elements). I'm behind already when I think of the Christmas presents I need to start making. This should give me some inspiration!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Major Mojo Buzz

I'm so full of inspiration right now. I finally have come up with a concept for an etsy store. The variations on the main idea are endless, and I have PAGES of notes for different colors, themes, presentations, and names. The excitement running through me sometimes feels similar to when you first see your full stocking on Christmas morning- so happy and full of potential.

It is taking some time to bring everything together, I am anxious to have one piece finished. (I have many started. Isn't that how lots of projects go?) I have to set up the shop as well, and decide whether or not I want to keep my current buyers name or start a new account for the Sugared Songbird.

Not giving any peeks yet, as everything is in the early stages, but I hope it will be worth the wait.

Cause I seriously need to earn some of the $ back I spend there.

Monday, October 6, 2008

It's Actually All About Me!

Well, at least this altered composition will be. When I decided I wanted to do a scrapbook album of my own thoughts, ideas, favourites, etc. I knew I'd want a place to track some of these ideas before they hit album pages. On Scrapshare we've taken to calling these albums "Book of Me" or BOM after the book written by Angie Pedersen. I have yet to start my album, but at least I have a cool composition to inspire me! This one is covered in Basic Grey's Haute Couture line (one of my favourites) and a vintage book page. Some of the ephemera is printed by K&Co. and some other bits are by Jenni Bowlin. Little green pearls and golden circles are from my craft box. I also used vintage collage images I had collected off of etsy.
The spine is tied in yellow seam binding and holds a crystal chandelier drop.
The back- you can also see ribbons from Basic Grey's Haute Cotoure to divide "chapters"
Happy thoughts once again, this time running up the inside of the back cover.

You're my Cuppy-cake (Journal)

I started keeping notes in a plain old composition book on ideas for arts-and-crafty goodness. Things like themes, great color combos, favourite supplies, and a list of my Doodlebug embellishments (they are so yummy and come in so many colors I had a hard time remembering which I had of what!). But the cover was so dull. So I dressed it up in my favourite paper line (Basic Grey) and added my favourite colors (red and pink) and favourite sweet (cupcakes) and loads of my favourite embellishments (Doodlebug, Jenni Bowlin -love crepe paper!, evalicious newsprint buttons, wish tickets, seam binding, ribbons of all varieties)
A small pocket inside the front cover
Aside from the cover stating to "Think Happy Thoughts" a perfectly "Happy" flashcard adorns the back.
And absolutely everything in here is full of inspiration!

Finished Spooky Banner

All the pieces made it here, and I was able to tie it all together with a combination of seam binding and tulle.

I {heart} Jenni Bowlin

I love her kits! In August she asked for willing participants to send in layouts and other items using that month's kit. I'd never tried something like that before, so it was fun to experiment with the constraints of the challenge. I did one layout of my daughter in a blouse I had sewn for her with her choice of bottoms. I also presented an altered journal.

While I did not win, I certainly had fun trying. I'd never attempted a design spot before, so this was new to me. I hope to try again sometime.