Cupid LFB

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This is the final little fat book page that I will be making for the Stampassion Little Fat Book Club. Sadly, the owner of the store where the club has been offered has decided to close her doors. I was taken aback by the news and will miss my monthly get-togethers with the group of ladies there. I remember the first time I went to Stampassion when I walked to the store from my college campus my first semester of school. It seems like the store has been there as long as I can remember, so its sad to see it go. Rumor has it that some of the girls are thinking of alternate locations to continue the group so hopefully it will all work out anyway.

This page is for the "Cupid/Angel/Winged-Person" Swap that we decided to do for February. I decided to depart a little from the pinks and reds and I think the blues and golds are just as elegant and lovely. This page is pretty simple but I wanted the focus to be on the pretty victorian images that I cut from a Cynthia Hart victorian calendar. I embossed the words "struck by LOVE" on the front using a CTMH stamp, but its not as legible as I would have liked.

A Half Dozen Valentines

Well, I have been in Valentine mode for weeks now between inchies, twinchies, LFBs, secret packages etc...but when it came time to actually sit down and make Valentines themselves...I've felt drained and overwhelmed. I wanted to make some for co-workers, and my art friends in the In My Vintage Room Yahoo Group, but its not going to happen. Too much to do, and time has run out. Today I at least got this half dozen done for some family. My grandmas and my great aunt always love recieving handmade cards from me, and I think that the Kiss card will be for Jeff. I used some shimmer paper and the Gossamer Memory Box paper that I bought at Stampassion a few weeks ago, and the stamps and ink are Close To My Heart.

Bird Cage LFB

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door opening

a peek inside

This is the Little Fat Book Page that I made for the Stampassion swap with the theme of "mechanisms." Something on the page had to move, or open, or do something surprising. This was challenging for me, as I had little idea which direction to take. I decided on making my own bird cage with the door opening to reveal a bird inside. I printed the cage in gray-scale so that I could trace over it with metallic gel pens, then I added German scrap trim to dress it up more. I printed the bird twice to that I could cut out one with the wings lifted out to pop up when the cage is opened. I added stamping and flowers to vintage music paper for the background, and found a pretty quote for the back. Lastly, I stamped a bird at the top of the cage over the "believe" sentiment in versamark and brushed over the ink with pearl-ex powders. I was proud of this one--several hours of work after a long day at work...I'm surprised I pulled it out of me!

Beeswax LFB, Black & White Theme

After Marilyn's Beeswax Collage Workshop at Lori's I went out and purchased all the supplies to show my sister Elise, and my friend Ginger how to do it (because they couldn't make it to the workshop) and I had so much fun. I was finally able to sit down with the two of them this past Saturday and unpackage my new tools and play. I decided to apply the technique to the 4x4 I have due for an upcoming Stampassion Swap themed "Black & White." It worked wonderfully and was a lot of fun. I thought "Pure Joy" was an ironic sentiment for this sour pussed woman who seems to not at all like the man she's sitting with on the bench.

My sister is so inspired by the endless realm of possiblities beeswax will open into her fine art. Ginger seemed to have fun too, even though she kept having to do all the supply finding when we demanded buttons or ribbon or phrase stamps since we were at her house. It was a great afternoon!

Halloween LFB

I stopped my lesson planning for the night and took a break to create a Halloween LFB page for Tuesday's swap at Stampassion. I want to try to go with Lori because I haven't been in a few months, and even though I'm busy with school, I miss her and the other girls. It will be nice to just take a night off from reading and planning to visit and create. I hope we will be learning a new technique and playing with some fun products.

Patriotic LFB

Lady Liberty LFB Front
Lady Liberty LFB Back

This is the little fat book page that I created for next Tuesday's swap at Stampassion, in Latham, NY.

Happy Birthday Donna!

Donna's Birthday Card

Donna's Birthday LFB Front

Donna's Birthday LFB Back

I made this card and little fat book page for Donna for her birthday. She is a member of my yahoo group's Birthday Club. I will be getting it to her tomorrow hopefully, so if I'm lucky she won't see this post before then. The Little Fat Book page is one that I started at Stampassion the first time I went last month. I finished it up and added the "put on your party hat" quote just for her.

Go Ahead, Seize the Cupcake!

"Dessert" LFB Front
"Dessert" LFB Back

This is the LFB that I created for the June Swap at Stampassion. The theme is "Desserts" and I was instantly inspired by my latest paper crafting obsession: all things cupcakes. I have cupcake paper, and cupcake stamps, and cupcake ribbon, and it was fun to put it to a use other than birthday cards. The paper is DCWV, the stamps are CTMH and GStudio. I used CTMH Liquid Glass in a puddle at the top of the cupcake to hold on the seed bead "sprinkles" and great a glossy frosting look. The strawberry bodice is a rubber sticker from K & Co. I'm not obsessed with eating real cupcakes (I just think they look adorable) but I have plenty of other vices I sometimes feel guilty about eating, so "Go ahead, Seize the Cupcake" seemed like a good phrase to use, because we only live once, we might as well enjoy dessert!

Summer Haze LFB

"Summer Haze" LFB front

"Summer Haze" LFB back

I haven't had any time to create in the past few days because I have been at work and when I get home I have been exhausted. Tuesday night, I went to Stampassion for the first time since I was at Siena in 2002. It's a cute little store with a neat selection of items I haven't seen before so I was really excited. I also got to see members of my Yahoo group in person again. We sat in the classroom off the side of the store and "played." I was hoping to learn a new technique, but we ended up just taking the time to create and visit. I will probably go again next month with Lori and learn how to use Flower Soft. I was so tempted to purchase the kit and try it on my own but I just bought a few little things instead. By the end of our two hours there, I had created the LFB above, and started a second one. I will post that too, when I figure out how I want to finish it.

I love the quote on the LFB, "Sweet calm days in golden haze, melt down the amber sky." As I mentioned, I've been working alot the past few days, and my commute is almost an hour each way. I have gotten out of work at 6pm and headed home with the sun glaring through my windshield and the heat built up on my dark grey interior. So with my visor and my windows down, my sunglasses on, and my radio blasting I've driven home as the sun sinks in the sky. The closer I get to home and the further north I get, the more I can smell summer. The most special summer days for me throughout my life have been spent at my Grandma's camp on Lake Algonquin. Since Jeff and I moved to Gloversville last Spring, we are a half hour closer to camp than I used to be when I lived with my parents. After a point in my drive home, its difficult to describe the scents that linger in the air, but they make me smile and think of summers splashing in the lake with my sisters, and roasting smores by the patio fireplace, or getting icecream at the little stand we dubbed "the spider shack" for the webs that collect at the top of the A-frame structure.

Driving home, I smell burning firewood, and barbeques, and fresh cut grass. The sky is amber and gold and the sun peaks from behind pine trees and over cow fields, and across miles and miles of country roads. I always complain that I hate driving, and that I hate the commute. It always adds at least two hours to my day and sometimes I just can't wait to be home...but lately, the drive home has been beautiful and it reminds me of what summer used to be about...lazy days and sunshine.

My First Stampassion Swap!

Vintage Children LFB Front

Vintage Children LFB Back

I'm so excited because Lori invited me to go with her to Little Fat Book Club tomorrow evening at Stampassion (a stamping store in Latham). I've wanted to try it out for quite awhile now, but it's a ways from my house so I haven't made the effort yet. They do a swap on club meeting nights, so I made one to join in. I'm looking forward to browsing the store's product selection and meeting some fellow crafters. I met Lori through my yahoo group and this will only be our second time hanging out in person. I love to talk to her on the phone, so I'm sure this will be a blast as well. We are carpooling to the store with her sister and meeting Ginger there. I look forward to posting the art that I get to create surrounded by such great talent!