Sugar Plum Bazaar this Spring

Staci and I are very happy to be a vendor at Sugar Plum's  Spring Bazaar!  Looking forward to it.

 

Alex win's 3rd Place Overall in Pine Wood Derby Race!

Alex is now in his second year in scouting.  Last year as a Bobcat, his PWD car won 2nd place overall (over 70 cars) and 1st place in his Den.  This year, as a Wolf, he won 1st place in his Den and won 3rd place overall (about 70 cars).  Since David helped Alex with his car, this was a happy victory for father and son!  The boys were very proud and happy with the results.  Laura and I were also proud of our boys!       

   

A fun evening for our family

Alex painted his car black with a top layer of gold glitter paint

My contribution...using Photoshop Elements Alex asked me to make him a license plate.  The 7 represents his age.

 

Vintage Hankie Dresses & Vintage Embroidered Linen Birdies

Creating these vintage hankie dresses has been fun.  I just finished about 30 of them, a mix of floral and white embroidered hankies.  Yesterday, I purchased a few floral  hankies at an Estate Sale.   Today, I plan on going to another estate...perhaps I will find more.  Hopefully, next week, I will add a few of these Vintage Hankie Dresses to my Etsy shop.

 I have also accumulated a good batch of vintage embroidered linens during recent estate sales .   I sold most of them at craft shows last year, especially at Sugar Plum Bazaar --  so I need to re-stock.  I look forward to creating more birdies!

Paper Hot Air Balloons

This is perhaps one of my favorite projects from Margie Romney Aslett's

 

The  minute I saw Margie's Paper Balloons, I knew I had to make them.  Staci knew where I could find paper lanterns -- our local Cost Plus.  I love hot air balloons!  So much so, that I am planning (God willing of course) to go back to Albuquerque's International Balloon Festival in about 4 years --when I turn 50!  My friend June promised she would join me when we return and actually take a balloon ride.  Truth be told, the idea of riding on a hot hair balloon scares me, but if I check this item off my bucket list on my 50th- well that would be fantastic!

That me!  No, it's just my souvenir from one of  trips to Albuquerque's Balloon Festival -  Love my hand blown purple glass balloon.  Hangs over my table in my studio where I create all my projects

But, until that day comes, I am happy to create a paper balloon.  Like I said, Margie's class is very informative and I quickly gathered my supplies to create two balloons.  Of course, the colors are purple and teal and the theme?  Butterflies, of course!  Since I love working with felted wool created from  wool sweaters(up-cycling), I had to create a felted wool butterfly garland for the balloon.

All the bling pieces are from estate sale finds.  It's great when my finds work their way into my projects, whether it's items I sell or for me.  Last Friday, Amy and I had our craft night.  We went out for a nice dinner then came to my little studio to craft.  I finished my smaller balloon Friday night.  It's always so much fun to create with friends!  Here are pictures of a small paper balloon.  Both are now hanging from the ceiling in my basement studio.  

The little metal pail was the wrong color -- I painted dark purple!

Again, if you want to learn how to make these paper balloons, check out Margie Romney-Aslett's blog to sign up for her e-course.

Vintage Dictionary Paper Wreath and Bird Nest

One of the first projects I created from Margie Romney-Aslett's Spark the Event Online -Love, Love, Love class is this Vintage Dictionary Paper Wreath.

I love purple with teal, so my wreath ribbons reflects my favorite color combination.  To learn how to make this wreath, check out Margie's blog to sign up for her wonderful e-course.

Another easy project taught in Margie's e-course, Spark the Event Online, Love, Love Love was creating a little bird nest.  Creating this was easy and fun!

 

Vintage Hankie and Paper Origami Dresses

This past week has been a very productive week - creatively, that is.  My house chores have been somewhat neglected but I guess that's okay, right?   I have been inspired to create many things thanks to two on-line courses I am taking.

The first one, Creatively Made with Jeanne Oliver.  This was week 2 of 4.   Absolutely loved it and inspired to create mix media projects.  I am currently gathering my supplies and even purchasing a few things to create those projects.

AND  Margie Romney-Aslett  started her one week (3 Classes) course.  Margie is truly an inspiration.  The ease with which she teaches and her humor are wonderful.  As a scrapbook collector, I actually have many of the things I needed to complete these projects on hand.  Although ,I did purchase a few things like paper lanterns and  foam bases for wreaths.  I will post pictures tomorrow.

Before I started to work on the projects from Spark the Event Online-Love,Love,Love, I created more Vintage Hankie and Paper Origami Dresses.    Here are a few pictures:

Papers from My Minds Eye - Lost & Found Collections 

Vintage Hankies with Vintage Buttons -- Just need to sew on the Hangers

To display my Vintage Hankie Dresses (at craft sales -- planning ahead!), I created a Vintage Crochet Garland.  This past December, I took Margie Romney-Aslett's Spark Your Christmas  (you can still sign up for Margie's e-courses) e-course.  In that course, Margie created many type of garlands, including a Vintage Crochet Garland.  Here is my version:

 

Isa Creations Vintage - A New Name on ETSY

I have given this some thought and finally decided to make a change to my Etsy shop.  Originally, when I first signed on to Etsy I was just shopping.   My user name was Catpainter.  When I opened my shop on Etsy, I kept my original user name not realizing at the time I should probably of started a new account under a new name.  Once I realized this, my store had many items for sale and honestly, I did not have it in me to start over.

Recently, Etsy has given it's shop owners the option to change their shop names.  We only get to do this ONE time.  So, despite the fact that my business cards have  www.catpainter.etsy.com as my Etsy web address, I have decided to change the name to reflect my business name:  Isa Creations.  In order to reconcile both, years ago I added Isa Creations by Catpainter on my Etsy Banner.   The good news is, Etsy will re-direct www.catpainter.etsy.com to the new address:  www.isacreationsvintage.etsy.com.

Sadly, I did run into an unexpected problem.  The name Isa Creations is already in use by someone on Etsy.  I checked, it's not a shop name but apparently (according to ETSY) it could be a user name or a name used by someone who closed their shop.   So, I had to think about this.  Do I change my Etsy shop name or leave it the same?

Finally, I decided to change it to Isa Creations Vintage.  I chose Vintage because so many of the items I create use Vintage materials like embroidered linens, buttons, tart tins, thread spools....see what I mean?  I am also considering adding a vintage section to my shop where I will sell some vintage buttons I have been collecting from numerous estate sales.  So, really, the name change reflects my current name with an addition to reflect the direction of my little shop. 

With the name change, I thought a change in my Etsy shop banner was in order..  I wanted the banner to reflect my use of felted wool and vintage linens along with my love of butterflies and flowers.  Here is my new Etsy Shop Banner:

Here is a view of my shop:

I have spent countless hours this past week updating my shop.  I plan to continue to add to it but for now, I think I have a good sampling posted.  Come by and visit my Etsy shop.
  

My Creative Path

Painting is the first medium I explored in my 20s which made me realize being creative was therapeutic for me.  Embracing the creativity in me feeds my soul...I have always known that.   I love to create items with my hands.  I took many Tole painting classes in the 90s.  I even had my work schedule changed so I would have an alternative work schedule which allowed me to take off most Fridays.  I did not mind working 10 hour days if it meant I could have the Friday to paint!  After my daughter Laura was born and I became a stay at home mom, I continued painting but  discovered scrapbooking.  With limited creative hours, I spent more time scrapbooking and less time painting.  The mediums I have explored over the years have been many and have introduced me to many creative people.  These days, most of my creative time is spent with up-cycling felted wool sweaters and vintage finds like embroidered linens.  Many of the items I create using felted wool and vintage finds have been to sell at the craft shows and my Etsy shop (which I really need to make time to properly update).   I also create many things just for me or my friends/family.

One of the things I learned when I took Kelly Rae Roberts e-course, Flying Lessons  Tips and Tricks to HelpYour Creative Business Soar was to make items I truly love.  Don't over-think the process of whether the item I am creating to sell will in fact sell.  Will people like it?  I realized I was second guessing myself.   I think the most important lesson I learned from that e-course is to create what I like...be true to myself.  Every item I create with the intention to sell is created exactly the same way I create items for me or my friends and family.  I love listening to music when I create.  I don't like to work in silence...I have to have music.  It's an essential ingredient in my creative process.   I am so grateful my little studio is in the basement of my home because I can enjoy listening to my music as I create late into the night.  Although, many nights I have stayed up late "working" on many items for my little business, it does not feel like work at all.

Staying focused is sometimes an issue for me.  I have more projects in my mind than time.  Sometimes, I have to make time to work on other projects just for me.  I struggle with allowing myself that time. One of the things I like to do just for me is working on mix media projects.

Mix media gives me the freedom to explore and just play.  I can combine my love of paper, fabric, lace, stencils and of course, paints!  One of my favorite classes was the She Art Workshop by Christy Tomlinson I took last year.  This is what I created...for me.

Mix media artists who have inspired me have been Christy Tomlinson, Donna Downey, Kelly Rae Roberts and Julie Nutting.  One of the instructors I was introduced at Christy Tomlinson's, the 12 Arsty Ornaments of Christmas e-course was Jeanne Oliver.  When I visited her blog, I was immediately drawn to the e-course she was offering.

The e-course started this last Monday, January 9th (although registration will remain open through January 16th).   I highly recommend this course.  It's is so much more than just tutorials on how to create a vintage or altered journal (week 1).  It is inspirational and has touched my creative soul.   After I finish my current paper garland/dress and vintage hankie origami dresses (because it currently occupies all the space on my table)  I plan on creating various mix media projects.  I have started little piles of papers and elements to use in my vintage journal I plan to create. I am so glad I am taking this 4 week e-course...

Paper Garlands and Dresses

This is so unlike me, but during the month of December I did not create any new projects.  After we returned from our vacation it was time to catch up on everything then Christmas came...very quickly!  I was too tired to craft(again, not like me because I am rarely that tired)! Usually, when that happens, I read a book or two.  I enjoyed the two books I read over the holidays, The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Claire and Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick.

I also took two on-line courses which I absolutely loved.  The first one was a 5 day online course by Christy Tomlinson along with other instructors. 

One of the instructors was, Margie Romney-Aslett's whose  blog I love.  While reading her blog, I learned she was teaching an e-course , Spark your Christmas:

Taking these on-line courses is just what I need sometimes.   There is always something new to learn . Best of all, I am inspired by these wonderfully creative souls.  Spark your Christmas did more than spark new ideas in my head,  it also inspired me to create my own version of the paper garland.  I love doilies and watching Margie create a garland using paper doilies and crochet doilies was just fun. 

So, this past week, I have taken time to create a new project.  One of my favorite paper lines is from My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found.  Years ago, when I first started collecting  vintage hankies I created an origami style dress using the vintage hankies.  I sold most of them and then focused on the felted wool items I now create.  However, this past year as I shopped at numerous estate sales in search of vintage linens, buttons and sewing notions, I would come across the vintage hankies.  Recently, I started purchasing the vintage hankies thinking, maybe I should make those origami style dresses.  Instead of folding paper, I ironed the hankies to create this:

I also created some paper dresses using my favorite papers from My Minds Eye:

 

 Margie's paper garland inspired me to create a paper garland using the same paper line so it could also become the clothesline for my paper dresses:

I love working with felted wool...but, I also love working with paper.  I am in process of creating paper garlands and coordinating paper dresses from all the different Lost and Found paper lines by My Minds Eye.   I just finished many hankie dresses using lace trimmed embroidered white hankies embellished with vintage buttons:

Christy Tomlinson's e-course also introduced me to another mix media artist...Jeanne Oliver..more on that tomorrow.




 

Wonderful Surprise...I got Published in Belle Armoire!

Happy New Year!  We had a wonderful time this past weekend with our dear friends, the Heddens Family (who came from Houston, TX) in Keystone.  The fireworks at Keystone by the outdoor ice skating rink were fantastic...although, we were all very cold!

Just before we left for Keystone, I received a wonderful surprise from Stampington & Co.  My work was published in one of their magazines, Belle Armoire (Winter 2012 Issue).  They had a creative call for two articles, Fabulously Felted and Perfectly Pinned.  I submitted some of my felted work and to my surprise, they published it!

      Part of Fabulously Felted Article-- my matching Handbag and Scarf.

 

Part of Perfectly Pinned Article...my two felted pins.