Spring Cleaning = Mystery Treasure Boxes

I know it's been awhile since my last post.  I've been busy with some swaps that will be blogged about soon...but I've also been working on cleaning up & reorganizing my studio.  Right now, it's in that stage I always go through when cleaning & reorganizing...making more of a mess than I had when I started.  Do you do that???  It seems I can't avoid that step.  No photos today...maybe after it's all cleaned up.

And while I've known this for a long time, my biggest problem is that I simply have TOO MUCH STUFF!!!  (I can hear that George Carlin routine about stuff every time I'm in my studio!)  It's all GOOD stuff, of course...because I like good stuff.  However, when you can hardly even get to the shelves in your studio because of all the stuff, it's time to do a serious purge of that stuff.

Here's where the Mystery Treasure Boxes come in.  I've started to fill some Medium Flat Rate boxes with an assortment of stuff.  It's all stuff I like to use or have too much of...or couldn't resist because it was a great deal in that clearance bin years ago.

I've moved part of the studio mess into the living room where I have some room to work & so far I have 3 Mystery Treasure Boxes filled up & waiting for new homes.  From the looks of things, I can fill many more boxes before I'm done.  I'm offering these boxes for sale...I'd love to be able to just share them, but since I'm still not working, that option is not available.

Here's the deal...each box sells for $30.00 which INCLUDES the Priority Flat Rate postage & Delivery Confirmation.  I can fit a lot into one of these flat rate boxes...the people at the PO are always amazed at that.  I'm not just shoving a bunch of stuff into a box...I'm making sure there is a good assortment of everything that's currently available in these.  They're great for mixed media, collage & art journals, any papercrafts.

Each box is an assortment of paper, ephemera, embellishments, stickers, fibers, ribbons, trims, vintage greeting cards, playing cards, tickets, tags, book pages, fabric pieces, vintage advertising & much much more wonderful stuff. 

If you'd like to take a chance & see what fun new-to-you things are in these boxes, please email me privately with your name and snail mail address.  Paypal is the easiest option for payment, but if you'd prefer to send a check, we can work that out.  At this time, this price is only for US mailing addresses since it's Priority Flat Rate postage. 

We are a non-smoking household, although we do have a sweet kitty.  I try my best to keep her hair off of my supplies, but she loves to rub on boxes & check things out, so if you're severely allergic to cats, this may not be the treasure for you.

Thanks for reading this no pix post...I'm heading out to work on packing up a few more boxes.

Make ART not trash

I have to admit...I can look at many things & find an art use for them.  Bottle caps get carefully removed so as not to dent them...they can be used as the base for a magnet or charm.  Mesh bags that lemons or potatoes come in make great textures on a page of a journal & can be used as stencils, too.  But one of my favorite art supplies that never lands in the recycling here is matchboxes...yep...matchboxes.  Small ones from restaurants (if any restaurants still give those out)...and the ones from the large kitchen matches that we buy to use to light candles.  With some paper & paint & embellishments, they become great little gift boxes that are actually a gift themselves. 

This is an example of one I made for my online art friend, Bev.  I had some goodies to share with her & decided the matchbox I had just emptied could be part of her little gift.

I really liked the drawer pull on the drawer...I thought it was a nice touch.  You can buy this pull & some other styles from SkyBluePink in the Hardware category.  The girl image is from Red Lead Paperworks.

Here is a peek inside the matchbox...

You can fit a lot of little art bits into one of these.  Oh...and to make sure the drawer moves more easily when pulled out, I apply a bit of JudiKins MicroGlaze to the bottom & sides of the drawer itself & also to the inside surface that the drawer will slide on.

The small matchboxes are fun to use as a little gift box for a charm or a gift of beads & buttons and other small goodies.  The one below was sent to a swap partner of mine, Sally...that's a small fabric yo-yo as a flower.  These are so small & sweet...and a nice touch for gift giving.

So my advice is to take a look at that item you might be tempted to throw into the trash or recycling bin...it could be an art supply!  Does anyone have any other wonderful "hidden" art supply ideas???  I'd love to hear them.  Just leave me a comment...and keep making art!

Still waiting for SPRING !

I have to admit the snow is gone...the grass & trees are green...and flowers are trying their hardest to bloom...but it's still gloomy and cold here in NE Ohio.  We keep fluctuating from warm back to cold & it seems to take forever for it to warm back up again.  

To me, springtime means warm SUNNY days...I sort of remember SUN here.

Have I told you lately just how much I miss Southern CA?

Since I can't seem to have Spring weather, I guess I'll have to settle for making some springtime artwork.  The girls over at the Red Lead Paperworks Yahoo group are currently hosting an altered house swap with the theme "Fly Away Home"  Before the swap was announced, I had been working on the house you see above.  The chipboard houses that are used for this swap are so much fun to work with...and don't you love the chipboard bird, too?  The little 1" high picket fence seemed like the perfect finishing touch for this house. 

I still need to finish the 2 houses I'm doing for the actual swap.  This swap is due by June 1, 2010, so I'll be getting those done very soon & I'll share them in another post. 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom !

This is a photo of my Mom, Eleanor, when she was almost 4 years old...that would have been in 1929.  The original photo is hand tinted...and must have been quite an extravagance for my Grandma, who was a widow & single Mom back then.  The entire photo also includes my Uncle Ed...Mom's big brother.  I love this photo of her...little Eleanor...look at that huge bow in her hair!

Here's my Mom at the age of 21...in 1946...not yet married & looking forward to her future.   Mom & Dad married in August of 1951...and I was their first baby...a chubby little girl...in November 1952.  My brother, Bob, joined us in April 1956...and I threw a tantrum and tried to block the door when they brought him home...I wanted a sister. 

Turns out it was better to have a little brother to get in trouble...but that's a whole other story!

Mom crossed over in November, 2008...almost 20 years to the day that Dad crossed over.  She never recovered from his death & I know they are together somewhere over the rainbow.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! 

I'm in the mood for...charms!

Yesterday was my art friend Kimber's birthday...Happy Birthday, Kimber!!!  Awhile ago I decided to make her a charm bracelet for her birthday.  The photo above is the finished bracelet.  She received it & loves it, so it's ok to share it here now.

(I know the pic could be a bit clearer, but we had so many gloomy days & I had to get it into the mail to her...so I did the best I could do).

I really enjoy making art charms...and attempting to make charms that have something to do with the favorite things of the person I'm creating for.  I find it makes creating the charms & sending the gift all that much more special. 

Enjoy your weekend, y'all!  We had tornado WARNINGS to the west of us & then to the east of us last night.  Here we got high winds, heavy rains, lots of lightning but no tornado warnings.  Tornadoes scare me much more than the CA earthquakes ever did.  Although...I wouldn't mind taking a visit to OZ!

Remember...May 4, 1970...40 years ago

13 seconds...
67 gun shots...
9 wounded...
4 dead at Kent State University...
May 4, 1970

In memory of...
Jeffrey Miller
Allison Krause
Bill Schroeder
Sandy Scheuer

All murdered by the Ohio National Guard...40 years ago today

Happy Birthday, Pete!!!

May 3, 1919...Pete Seeger is born...and today he is 91 years young!!!

Happy Birthday, Pete...keep on singing...and keep us singing with you, too.  Many thanks for all the music you've shared with us throughout the years.  You are a true American treasure.