simply me

tussie mussies

i dont know which is more fun, making them or saying the name!

i wanted to do something fun for the studio and took home a few packages of my large banners to see what i could come up with...these are so simple and fun to make i want to make them for every holiday, party and just all 'round decoration chachki i can!

with a few basic steps you can let your creativity spew all over these...let me show you how!

i started with 2 of my 9" poppy banners (and what's perfect are those eyelets are going to come in handy later)

sew them with right sides together and then turn them right side out (make sure to snip the point of the triangle square just below your stitches to make it easier to turn out the point at the bottom)

to make a paper book-text ruffle, tear pages into 2"ish strips and crumble to break the paper fibers this will make it easier to smush them to look like a ruffle as you adhere them around the top of the cone.

i use Helmar 450 QuickDry glue - it really is the fasted and best sticking glue i have ever used

once around then finish the ruffle with a ribbon and a pretty flower

i used some 20 gage rustic wire to create the handle and added some charms to finish the ends.

this is where the pre-existing holes comes in handy! i used a cropadile to punch through the layers that covered the eyelets and began threading the wire through (it was about 1 yard of wire, but i didn't measure)

i twisted off the end once through the second side and used the extra wire to curl and hang little danglies

this took me all of 15 minutes to make...seriously! wouldn't they be cute as a hanging banner or party favors? i used the pre-printed ones but you could also use the raw canvas ones and add stamps, sprays, stencils or even have the kid decorate them as gifts for the holidays!

book text, plain canvas & poppy designs

heres some clips of the few i have in the studio.

MY NEW STENCILS ARE HERE!!!

so flippin' excited!!
my new stencil release comes in both 12 x 12 and 6 x 6

they are super durable and made of really nice flexible, but sturdy plastic for making lots of messy art

and they are in the shop NOW!

my 2 new albums also arrived

my new MINI inspiration journal on the left has a sewn signature of different really cool style pages

and the canvas coffee cup book is AWE-SOME!!

if you take photos of yourself and your starbucks cup (like me, hee hee!)

this is a must have!

LOVE ME SOME COFFEE!

HAPPY PLACE!!

{P.S. look for a blog post tuesday with some new studio pictures!}

Easel Card Tutorial

Hi, it’s Maria and today I have an easel card for you showcasing some of Donna’s new products from Prima and Unity along with some PanPastel work.

Using PanPastel, I blended colors together to fill a 12” x 12” piece of Bazzill Smoothie cardstock. Colors listed below.

I love Donna’s new 2-step Unity stamps, but today I just used one part—the outline. I randomly stamped over the background I had just made with PanPastel until the page was filled.

After I was done I sprayed the card with Krylon Matte Finish to seal the PanPastel. You will need (1) 4.75” x 6.75” piece and (1) 4.75 “ x 3.5” piece of the paper for your project. Save the rest! It makes beautiful backgrounds in your Art Journal or to add to other projects. You will also need a 10” x 5” piece of black cardstock for the base scored at 2.5” and 5”.

I roughed up the edges of the paper and also added some texture stitching with the sewing machine around the edges of the PanPastel pieces. I stamped the sentiment on the smaller piece.

Using Donna’s new ATC Canvas pieces I used a masking technique using the same stamp that I used on the small piece of paper. This time I only wanted the word Inspire so I masked over the rest of the sentiment and the “d” in Inspired. This was stamped onto the canvas. I also edged the canvas with PanPastel.

One of Donna’s new Sculpture Poppies was added to the canvas with a ribbon behind it. I used Helmar 3D Zap Dots to attach the bottom piece with the sentiment to the card. It needs to be elevated to enable the card to become a easel.

Stickles were added to the centers of the flowers for a little extra bling.

Side view of the card

ENJOY!
 
Supplies used:

• PanPastels colors: Permanent Red, Orange, Yellow Ochre and Diarylide Yellow
• PanPastel Sofft Covers
• Ranger Archival Ink in Black
• Krylon Matte Finish
• Donna Downey for Unity--Create to Breathe Stamp
• Donna Downey for Unity—Peony Stamp
• Donna Downey for Unity—Insightful Meadow Stamp
• Donna Downey ATC Canvas with Grommets
• Donna Downey Sculpture Flowers Poppies
• Helmar Zap Dots
• Stickles: Orange Peel, X-mas Red, Yellow

 

NEW donna downey: "Poppies and Peonies"

a NEW line, a NEW logo, a NEW look!

pre-order yours today!

{please note: this line is shipping late feb/early march!}

i have been so excited for this release and i cannot wait to see it displayed on the CHA showroom...like seeing your child in a school play...i am going to want to stand up and clap seeing it on "stage".

so whats coming out in the Poppies & Peonies line you ask?

• not just "brown holes" anymore...lots of happy colored holes!
• new cabachons (i even made purple ones...but they are so pretty:)
• fabric banners - raw canvas as well s pre-printed in large and small sizes)
• new albums - 6x6 album with one of my favorite pieces of poppy art and a raw 7 x 9 (more the size of a real journal)
• canvas atcs
• layered poppy flowers!!!
• new perfect bound jourals with heavy weight paper so we can get messy!!
• and my new canvas 12 x 12 pages...HAPPY PLACE!

trying to get my mojo to get up and go...

right now i am all over the place and finding it hard to focus long enough to get a whole lot done. sometimes that is a good thing. so today i am tying up a lot of loose creative ends and as i am working i figure i will leave the door open for creative inspiration to strike.

some of things i have been working on are getting ready for CHA in a couple weeks.

above is a peek at the workshop i will be teaching for Faber Castell. i love using their products and i am honored to have been asked to work with them.

this fun canvas incorporates, one of my NEW Unity 8" wood mount stamps, as well as some of my NEW canvas banners and 10" foam stamps with Prima. both of these new lines will be debuting at CHA.

this is the cute little make 'n take i will be making in the Prima booth, so if you will be at CHA, stop by!

here are some sneak peeks of some of my new releases over on the prima blog.

check it out!

need. to. empty. my. thoughts.

sometimes with so many half ideas running around in my head, when i get one that i can see clearly i have to stop everything and execute.

to be honest with you i think it is one of the things that keeps me sane (ok that and the Lexipro).

that moment of clarity amongst deadlines and creative pressure can sometimes be overwhelming.

over the weekend, about 9:30 pm, settled under a blanket, watching tv i got up and headed to my studio with this idea. bill doesn't even question anymore other to ask, "will you be coming back?"

i got up and wanted to make ruffles! soft flowy muslin ruffles using the base of my new canvas bag. ideas like these literally take me only about 1-2 hours to execute.

CLARITY...like i can already see the finished result before i start. weird huh?

anyway, today i am sitting here thinking of a million other things that i would rather be doing outside of the creative pieces i NEED to be creating.

i am thinking the secret is to not work on the things you need to do and only create the things you want to do. the things you create with your passion may lead you in the direction you needed to go all along.

i am going to test out that theory today.

i have also been adding some great new products to the online shop. be sure to check it out!

huge giveaway today...dont miss out!

the PRIMA blog is giving away FREE ADMISSION to my 12-week online video workshop with Big Picture Scrapbooking!

take ALL 9 incredibly dynamic, filled with product knowledge and demonstration workshops, from your home...in your jamies (or someones elses jammies that's ok too) and at your convienience -- FOR FREE!

go leave your comment now on the Prima blog...the Drawing will take place on Thursday. September 9th, 2010!

i am telling you friends this is the biggest, most creative and inspired workshop i have given yet!

you are not going to want to miss out on this.

my new "happy bag"...

yesterday in the mail, i got a package of fabric i had ordered.

as i opened the package and "touched" the fabric i kinda felt this twinge. i would call it a twinge of guilt.

like i wanted to drop everything i had to do and make something with this fabric, but i went back to working on deadlines and assignments. after about an hour of feeling the creative twinge tug as my heart, i got up cleared off my workspace put everything aside and took out those fabrics and started ripping them into first strips, then ripping those strips into squares.

truth be told i suddenly felt excited and inspired by the mere action of doing what i wanted to do, not what i "had" to do.

looked around my studio and dug out a canvas messenger bag i had stashed in a corner and out of the way and began putting together the puzzle pieced patchwork of new fabrics.

of course i added my favorite discontinued/hoarded book text fabric (why oh why do companies discontinue such awesome products??)

 

glued each piece in place (helmar quick dry) and then machine stitched around each piece (that was kinda tricky. i ended up sewing each side vertically, then sewing each horizontal side of the fabric squares.)

then crazed i started pulling out pink, turquoise and green items from my stash. ok, see that pink imagine metal thing? literally had that in my stash for 5 years or more. at least now i know why i saved it so long.

 

ok now this is my favorite part!

the watch face is a working time piece! my frickin' happy bag tells time!

oh, i almost forgot...look at the back!

ahhh...creative release. this bag makes me happy i could just scream it from the roof top! (i am not going to, but believe me if my husband has to hear me say, "honey just look at how cute this bag is!" one more time, he might just regret his decision to work from home.)

ok so here's to a creative weekend and giving into the creative "twinge" when it starts tugging at you!

supplies used:

• Punctuation Green Tutor Stripe Yardage
  Punctuation by American Jane for Moda Fabrics
• Kate and Nate Cotton Candy Corduroy Yardage
  Kate and Nate by Sheri Berry for Northcott Fabrics
• Paradise Daylight Pond Yardage
  Paradise by Patricia Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics
  
• Alexander Henry Turquoise Farmdale Blossom Yardage
  Alexander Henry Fabrics
• book text fabric was designed by sweetwater and manufactured by moda -DISCONTINUED
• canvas messenger bag
  
• cameo - websters pages
• large iron-on birdcage and birds - one of my new designs with prima. should be in the shop next week.
• canvas buttons
• fabric tree
• fabric letter "d"
• watch face - michaels
• cabochons (small plastic turquoise flowers) - etsy
• white frames - melissa francis
• crocheted flower - ?

how flippin' cute is this?!!

wendy from arizona made this headband for me and it is so cute! normally i have a really bad headband head but this is adorable! thank you wendy!

finishing up the final touches to some new artwork for the shop. have some new product to display and hopefully finding the perfect pair of closed toe, mary jane-slightl- healed black shoes.

*****************************************************************************************

INSPIRED. tote contest!

We are having a contest for all that attended my Inspired event! Each attendee received a Donna Downey Canvas Tote Bag and Prima would love to see how you altered them. All you have to do is post a comment on the prima blog here with a link of your decorated tote. Their panel of judges will select the winner. The winner will be announced, on the Prima blog June 9th.

 

Here are the details to be eligible to win a fabulous Prima prize:

 

1) All participants must have registered and attended the Inspired Event.

2) Comment here on this Prima blog post with a link showing them your finished project. You may link to any online gallery, Facebook or your blog.

3) All entries must be posted no later than Monday June 7th at Midnight PST!

 

We are looking forward to seeing your fabulous totes! If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail with any questions to cari@primamarketinginc.com

have idea must execute...

i woke up out of a sound sleep this morning with my brain moving a mile a minute and this total curiosity, "how would my canvas apron look covered in prima flowers?". for the past 3 hours i have been gluing down happy colored paper flowers and bling centers. however now i know!!

my curiosity stopped there, but this little cutie certainly needs ruffles and ribbons, gonna have to wait for that idea to wake me up!

inspiration wednesday tomorrow.

still havent figured out why the video from last week will not upload. i can watch it on the camera, but it wont upload? we figure i did something to the settings in the camera when i filmed it?

i will hopefully film everything correctly tomorrow!