Homegrown Hospitality

CHA Season

For my crafty friends, it it "CHA" season so my head and neck have been facing down for the past two weeks and my fingers have been sticky, tacky, inky and stained...but the work is done.

Every CHA season I work on a project or 10, I feel like I have created my most favorite project ever, and then each CHA comes and goes, and it happens again.  Alot of it has to do with a awesome products I am working with but most of it comes from God.

Truly, it is my hands doing the work, Tim's products embellishing the process but the inspiration that NEVER SEEMS TO STOP..comes from God...that is again, why I call much of my work HEart.

HE is the source...ART is what my hands create.

Now, I am not sure when I can give you a little peek, but I am going to sneak you a look, and then if I busted, I will take it down... More peeks soon...as well as a new class announcement...eek, it is a a good one...on-line and in-store...

oh, okay, a little peek at that too..
okay, gotta go or I am going to bust myself!

Christmas Tradtions

Last week, as I was finishing up my preparations for our family Christmas festivities and traditions and preparing, organizing and collecting my supplies to scrapbook in 2013, I had a constant sting of sadness for the families who have lost loved ones this past year, especially in the past few weeks and often thought about how difficult the holidays must be as families gather together to celebrate and enjoy their own traditions...and how important it really is to keep our memories documented. 

As I reflected on our memories of past Christmas's (via the computer, boo!) I was reminded of our Christmas Eve traditions ...

December 2005 December2006 December2007 December 2008 December 2009 December 2010
December 2011 (by the way, I do have another child but I suppose his tradition is to "watch")

and realized that I still had not bought a Gingerbread House kit for the kids and I to work on.

This year, I just was not sold on the idea.

I was not sure why, but I would go to buy a kit, pick up the box, and then set it down and that went on the entire week leading up to Christmas. Store after store after store, I'd repeat this process and go home empty handed...

and then, on Christmas Eve morning as we were getting ready to pack the car and hit the road, the light bulb went off...

or should I say, the light bulb clicked on.

I went out and gathered some cardboard, cut out 26 snowflakes, grabbed glitter, beads, glue, buttons, more glitter, and more beads, packed it in a box and decided that this year, and for years to come, our family tradition of creating something together would bless others... There is still time for you and your family to create for others and what a GREAT way to start a new tradition and kick of a new year together...Click here for information on where to send your snowflakes!

p.s...This year I thought I'd join in on the other traditions, more on that tomorrow...

Repurposed

When unpacking the Christmas decoration boxes a few weeks ago, I came across last years Daily December tags: This morning as I was tinkering around with a little plain ol' tree in my entry way, I got an idea.

I took the tag off of the ring and inked the edges, added a little "chit chat" sticker that reads "memories" and placed it underneath the word "holiday" and replaced the tag string with a longer piece of twine...Then I took the red ball jar that I spray painted a few years ago.. and tied the "re-purposed" tag on the mouth of the jar, stuffed my tree into the jar and placed it on the kitchen counter
Fah Lah Lah...

Black Hawk Down

I win the bad blogger award because I was black hawk down with no camera.

gulp.

My camera died in Pennsylvania and like a good & patient girl, I waited until the black Friday sales to see what I could find.  PEOPLE...that was ALOT of days with no camera...but I am back in business.  The slight problem is I find myself very hesitant to pick it up with my inky, painty, glue-n-sealy fingers so the cross I just re-purposed...did not get alot of step by step photos.Here is all I got for ya:

1. I took the hardware off by simply placing a screwdriver under it and gently popped it off...super easy!  I left the little pookies there so that I could pop it back on when I was done. 2. I used Picket Fence Crackle Paint by Tim Holtz/Ranger and brushed it lightly over the entire cross and base to add a crackle (duh!) but to also add that wood-grainish texture to it.  (NOTE: the entire process was very similar to the Faux Woodgrain Finish I did on the frame HERE)
3.  I dried the Crackle and then added Pewter Distress Stain over the surface which gave it a slight pink tinge & I did not like where it was going so I wiped it off with a baby wipe and added another layer of white..JUST HERE & THERE to add to the texture. Then using brown acrylic paint on a DRY paper towel, I simply swiped the paint over the surface applying different amounts of pressure.  This made it so some spots were darker than others. I repeated this until I achieved the look I wanted. It really was that easy.  I did however have a baby wipe on standby to wipe off any spots that were to heavy.

To change the metal embellishment from purple and orange :all I did was dry brush over the purple paint with red acrylic paint, and gold paint over the orange.  Then using the White Picket Fence Crackle, I LIGHTLY brushed over the leaves and petals, dried it and popped it back on. I am pretty sure I hear angels sing when I look at it. and if you are wondering...I did call the other Aaron Brothers in our area to find more crosses and there are none.

boo.

Whirling Dervish Surge

It always happens.  About 48 hours before any type of class or boutique I get this surge of " I MUST MAKE MORE THINGS"

Tomorrow is the 1st Annual Athlete's Choice Holiday Boutique where 10% (+10 more%) of all of the proceeds will go the the Jessie Rees Foundation.  I have told you about it on FB and here on the blog and I have been making things here and there along the way and then...

BAM

I got that "whirling dervish surge" and just started making things left and right, wasting what I thought was a TON of time, sewing, stopping...cutting & stitching and then stopping again, then painting and stopping and then more stitching...and stopping.  I finally made myself dizzy from the sporadic back and forth, I stacked it all up and put it away. (which is just 1 of 100 reasons why the Shead-Teau looks the way it does.)

I am not sure if it was the canvas, the hearts, the stitching or what, but something clicked and I drug it all back out, started completely over and created the 2012 version of my raviolis.  (In the past, the raviolis have been in felt, this year, canvas) and I kinda love them.

The nice thing, is they can be a gift tag, an ornament for the tree, a bottle hanger but best of all, just a cute little reminder of the important things...

Joy

Hope...
Peace and of course, LOVE, duh. so what I thought was wasted time was well spent time, because had I not taken all of the steps I had taken, I would not have these.

If you are in the area, be sure to come by Athlete's Choice tomorrow night from 7:00-9:00 pm.

23252 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

And One Other Thing...

I Stitch.

I stitch when I don't know what else to do...when I have to wait...when I have open empty in-between time...to fill up my "Basket Of Happy"

The Ol' Basket of Happy is almost empty because I have been passing out little felt happy balls to those who either need something to hold onto, something to squeeze or, something to throw really hard at something, or someone...to spread a little happy...plus I am headed to my 2nd favorite place on Earth in two days

and in order to re-stock, I must use what I have...

In case you want to make your own "Happy Basket" of felt balls to, you know...throw..

really, all you need to do is cut some felt..stitch it
and stuff it! Happy Creating....

Grip Tape Snowflakes

I now know why I have spent many an hour at the local skate parks and why I know where all of the local skate shops are...So that I would know what to do should a roll of grip tape fall into my lap.

When my husband found a roll of clear grip tape from a job site, he knew. He did not know what I would do with it, he just knew that I would do something.

Cut a piece, remover the backing and fold it together so that you have one piece that has grip tape on both sides.

Insert Big Shot...
Die cut snowflakes.  Notice that I missed a few of the edges? It is okay because I trimmed this one into a smaller snow flake, duh. Then, using Tim Holtz Picket Fence Crackle Paint, I swiped the brush back and forth until I got enough paint on the flake.. Then I grabbed my BRAND NEW JAR OF DRY STICKLE ROCK CANDY GLITTER...and I dropped it.  So, instead of FREAKING OUT...I drew a heart in it, swept it up and poured in all back in the jar...including the dust. Then I sprinkled just a little onto my snowflake, dried it, punched a hole into the top, added a string and smiled. Now, I am not real sure that you will run out to a skate shop and buy some grip tape, but you can do the same thing I did and use cardboard or sandpaper! Happy Holidays!

The Swing of Things

AimeeB in Oregon.. YOU are the new owner of my doodle!  Please email me at homegrown1(at)att(dot)com.  THANK YOU all for your comments!  ...and thank you to all of you who made a purchase over on the ETSY site!  Orders will ship this weekend and hopefully I will be able to add some more art in the coming week, or so.

Structure is back in full force with school/work starting and it is just what the dr. ordered.

I thought it was just the boys who needed it, but it is me that needs it most!  I am embracing it all with my God given long arms and feel a sense of peace as things get back in the swing of things (although my new schedule does not allow for my summer workout schedule or my early morning creative time)

I am also embracing this VERY SIMPLE but meaningful quote:

and really, it is simple and an awesome reminder, in fact, it helps me to relax a bit. 

Speaking of relaxing...I went to work on my stitching project as an after school treat yesterday and just as with doodles, for me, it is VERY relaxing!  I hope to have the kits listed in the next few days.  All you need to supply is a needle, some thread and a little time..

oh, and stuffing if you want to make a happy basket filler!

Now if the heat would turn down a notch, I could pull out the ol' crock pot and get ready for Fall!

Happy Friday.

"Tremendously Interested

in making things....from paper, fabric, felt, paint, ink, batter, dough "...and  that is what my answer will be when someone asks what is your favorite thing to do.

I can't pick just one thing.

Create @ Home Faux Watercolor

I guess using the word Faux would indicate something "pretend" but what I mean is I am not using "watercolors" for this project, but in fact Tim Holtz Distress Markers, which, when mixed with a squirt of water...

becomes a water color

Let's move on, shall we?

So, first I stamped an image (a super cute one, if I don't say so myself and hey, they are on sale..25% off!) onto cardstock with Black ARCHIVAL ink.

Then, I created some purple watercolor paint by coloring in a section on my little pallet thing with the Dusty Concord Distress Marker :and adding a spray or two of water = Watercolor paint:

Now, I have a paper towel in my left hand (not pictured) and as I paint, I blot a little here and there

then using the other colors I chose (Wild Honey for the petals & flower center), I continued to paint until I was happy..NO, actually I stopped, because painting makes me so happy, I would have never stopped.

moving on...

Now, dry it almost until dry and then using the fine tip point on the same color Distress Markers you used to make your watercolor paint, add some detail to your work by adding little dots.  You can also go back and use the brush tip to add a little more detail by swiping the color right over your dots. Take a close look at this photo to see what I am talking about (I know, a video would be good at this point!)

• I used the Broken China brush tip to add shadow around the right side of the flower and petal (well and a few spots on the left, too!)
• I used the Dusty Concord brush tip to add some shadow on and around the inside of the scallop frame.
• I used a slightly darker marker, Spiced Marmalade to add detail to the petals and then the brush tip of the Wild Honey to blend
• Color in the stem and the leaves using the brush tip of Shabby Shutters.

Now, you could leave it as is, add a sentiment and call it a card or you can trim it out and set it aside for the next part of this little tutorial.

Using the Broken China, Tumbled Glass and a little Shabby Shutter, I scribbled out a bunch of color on my mat, squirted it with some water, made some paint

and using a wet paint brush, I painted it onto some paper and dried it :

Then, using the fine tip of the Black Distress Marker, I just started writing the word CONGRATULATIONS over and over and over.  In all caps, in lower case, in cursive, in upper and lower...just repeat the sentiment, keeping your words close together until you fill up the area you are work on:

Now, do not say "I don't write like you..." or "I wish I wrote like you" or "If I had writing like you"

You write like YOU and do not worry about how it looks..and if needed, take a close look at how willy wonky my letters are:

and 9 times of of 10...I do not dot my i's.

moving on...

Okay, now using a hanging manila tag, cover the front surface with glue stick:

and adhere the tag to the WRONG SIDE of the colored/word paper.  Use hand pressure to smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles and then dry.  Trim Tag out.

NOTE: at some point I must have added some Walnut and Shabby Shutter Distress ink to the edges of the tag and blended it into the blue, which gave it a green tint. Thing is, I was so happy and carried away with how it was looking...I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES...

whoops.

Now, adhere the stamped flower piece that is sitting to the side patently to your tag using popdots, glue dots..whatever you like.

I had a package of "Soul Food by Melody Ross" typed word embellishments (before I had any Chit-Chat) that was perfect for this tag so I grabbed a few, distressed them by adding a little Wild Honey Distress Marker, blended with my finger, adhered them on...

and called it done. 

Happy Creating! 

Here are the products I used:

Ranger Heat It Craft Tool	Jet Black Archival Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Markers	Distress Ink - Antique Linen	Distress Ink - Walnut Stain
#5 Manila Tags	Ink Palette

InLinkz.com