For decades I have walked the shores of Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota collecting lake glass, or what those of you on the coasts call sea glass.
Apr3
Giving Mother Nature a hand
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Jul14
It’s ok, I’m here now
After two and a half loooooong months away due to an unplanned medical snafu, I am gratefully alive and finally venturing back into crafting.
Unlike the arrogant little tot featured in my project, I was much less confident about getting back to crafting. I decided to make the transition a little easier by using some of my favorite things for my first project: Gypsy Soul Lasercut’s Mini House Shadowbox, Paper Calliope’s Snarky Ancestors, 7gypsies paper and Seth Apter’s embossing powders.
Sep5
Under construction
Please pardon the weird sizing. My new design is under construction and there are a few glitches. That’s the problem with being a designer and not a programmer! Hopefully all will be corrected soon!
Aug23
New Site Under Construction
Aug28
What I’ve been up to
I’ve been so busy creating over the past year that I decided I better start applying for some holiday craft shows. Here’s a small sampling of what I’ve been creating over the last year. Please note that all creations are copyrighted.
Handcrafted cards with a Minnesota twist.
Mar14
An afternoon of creative fun with Silks shrink art
Once in awhile a project comes along and surprises you with childlike and carefree moments of creative play.This was one of those projects.
I got a much-needed respite when I spent a recent afternoon painting, shrinking and melting bits of plastic into fused combinations of happy color. I hope you hop on over to the ColourArte blog to see find out how to create some of this fun for yourself.
Aug31
Baby-snatching tornadoes and altered art–no really
Today the Robin’s Nest is featuring Part Two of the tutorial of Behind the Curtain–a Steampunk Homage to Oz.
I’m proud of this shadowbox and encourage you to check it out. You can also read how it led to my memory of baby-snatching tornadoes.
I feel a little traumatized
You see, I felt I needed to explain over at the Robin’s Nest why I don’t really like the Wizard of Oz. That led me to explain my family’s long-running joke about how they forgot me during a tornado.
When tornado sirens sounded, my family retreated to the safety of the basement. Only then did they ask one another, “Do you have Betsy?”
Jul29
Now showing . . . At a craft studio near you
The movie Paper Towns hit theaters earlier this week. Although, I’m not particularly interested in this flick, the title caught my eye. Paper Towns–could a more perfect title for a crafter exist? If you want to learn how to make this Paper Town Three-Drawer Night Light Unit, featuring rows of paper houses, please check out the free tutorial.
This three-drawer night light unit had simple beginnings as a leftover gift box and some foam core.
There’s an interesting side note about this project. Although he never said so directly, it was clear my Dad was not a fan of my art. Endless layers, textures, ephemera and more are the exact opposite of his style. A purist architect, who had once worked for the famed Eero Saarinen, my dad believed that “more did not make better”.
Due to both my journalism and graphic design backgrounds, I appreciated, understood and applied this approach in my professional work. However, crafting is my escape from rigid rules and precise measurements. As a result, most of my art has lots of “more”.
He suggested more than once that I design sympathy cards because there were none simple enough for his liking. I gave him a couple of samples containing a line art flower surrounded by lots of white space, yet those were still too ornate. At some point I gave up. Honestly though, I think the only card that would have pleased him would have been one teeny, terse phrase written in Helvetica All Caps:
It is safe to say he was a no nonsense man.
My dad passed away in June. As I was working on Paper Towns, my sister noticed it and chuckled, “You are channeling your inner father.” She was right. I finally made some art he would have liked.
So, Dad, this one’s for you. Thank you for being my night light and unwavering beacon of safety.
Jul4
You won’t believe your eyes when you see what this ancient tile is really made from
Take a look at this time and weather worn sun tile. Now, look again. Can you believe I made it from a simple sheet of foam?
Jun24
A creative life snuffed out
Back when I was teenager, I babysat a boy and his younger sister a few times. The sister was a perfect angel. The boy? Well, let’s just say he was a little hard to manage. Read the rest of this entry
