Craft Room Tour 2

Hi Bloggers!

A few months ago, I showed you a glimpse of my craft room.  After several months of searching for new and creative storage solutions and fun ways to decorate it, I think it's almost finished!  That is, if I don't buy ONE MORE THING!
Hope you enjoy the photos!

I purchased some paper organizers from Archiver's, then used a painted shelf for the top.
They stack on one another, so I will be able to add more as needed.

Next to the paper organizers, I added small plastic drawers and another shelf.
Notice that these are all sitting atop of 4-drawer plastic chests of drawers from Walmart.
I use them to store seasonal stamps, punches and other supplies.  The smaller drawer sets hold Sizzix dies nicely.

Atop the shelves sit some special memorabilia and whimsical decor.

Flowers brighten up the room in a fun whimsical vase, and a little Mary Englebreit chair adds color.

I like to collect vintage crocheted doilies, and this one was too pretty not to show off!

I like to decorate with bright colors, and put decorative fun frames of my family in my craft space for inspiration.

There are happy memories all around me when I create! 

Bright storage boxes and dividers make this garage sale shelf look organized!
Use various textures and colors to add interest to your storage shelves.

A sale print from Bed Bath & Beyond and some rolling carts give this wall lots of character!
The window lets in the sun, so I put all my clear stamps in the shoe boxes (right) to keep them from discoloring.

The rolling carts are a great way to store paints, sprays, inks, fun flock, you name it they store it!
And you can set flowers or paper on top.  It's easy access for card-making!

These boxes, made to look like books are so pretty I had to decorate them with a bird and birdcage!
Inside are supplies I'm using for special projects, so they're all together and ready to use.

A pretty card made by Gia Preston graces my "shoe box" storage boxes in bright pink!

It's even gorgeous on the back!

Buttons add charm and can be useful and pretty!
I separate the special buttons from the regular ones
to make it easier to find them.

You can store anything colorful and pretty in a transparent jar or box!  I also use the different colored
shoe boxes to keep items sorted and organized.  They work great to store stamps, acrylic blocks, paints and brushes.

I'll show you the other half of the room tomorrow.  Until then,

Happy Creating!
ReNae

A War Where Nobody's a Winner (editorial)

Hi Bloggers!
Some of the nicest benefits about being a crafter are the relationships we build with one another.  I have always been impressed by how helpful and supportive my crafter friends are.  Even people I have never met.  I have watched how-to videos on You Tube, and other sites such as Split Coast Stampers, and crafters are always ready and willing to share a technique and a trick or two.  We are nice to each other!


So you can imagine my shock to turn on the TV and see a side of crafting I never saw before!  I'm talking about a new show on TLC called "Craft Wars". I couldn't wait to see a new show that featured crafters, being one myself.  As I watched, I could see that the contestants were positive and hard working crafters, but the judges and the host,  (people calling themselves crafters) fought, criticized and sniped at each other.  Maybe it was the editing--the show was taped over a five hour period, but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Don't get me wrong-I love a television show with a craft theme.  But this new show falls short.  It's debut was last Tuesday, and it featured three crafters, one a teacher, one a stay-at-home mom, and one a professional mixed-media artist.  Great right?  This sounds good so far...but as soon as the first challenge ended, I knew this show was not for me.


The three contestants were asked to craft a sports bag out of all sorts of sporting equipment.  The results varied but all were very clever.  A couple of the contestants did not get quite finished.  And were they publicly humiliated for this sin!  Then, instead of declaring a winner, only the person who lost was singled out.  A mean-spirited comment from Tori Spelling, and that contestant was gone!  I heard one judge say "Rah Rah Rah, sis boom BLAH!  If that was my project it would have really hurt my feelings.


For the final challenge, the two remaining candidates were asked to fashion a play house out of materials that were brought in.  The materials were school supplies, --items such as composition books, paper, pencils and the like.  Each candidate was given a 4-member team to support them and five hours to complete the task.


The "judges" consisting of Jo Pearson, (creative expert for Michael's),  and her fellow judges Erica Domesek (author of the DIY book "P.S. -- I Made This") and Stephen Brown (author and founder of the gift and holiday decor company Glitterville Studios) evaluated the playhouses  while criticizing the contestants and each other with corny and insulting digs. 


The playhouse made by the art teacher was very cute on the outside, but lacked things to do  inside.  Her husband put the house together, and her contribution seemed only to be gluing pencils on the window boxes.  It was neat and tidy and pretty but kind of boring.


The other entry was a school bus, made with about every single type of medium imaginable.  Outside it was bright and cheery, with a whimsical border on top!  Inside it was all fun from a corkboard apple bulletin board, to crayons, paints and all kinds of activities to make this play house full of fun.  This was the obvious winner.  So guess who won?   Yep.  The schoolhouse.

One contestant at the end of the show was heard saying, "It's kind of humbling hearing you're NOT GOOD ENOUGH."  The contestant of whom I am speaking is none other that Christy Tomlinson, one of the nicest and most talented mixed-media artists around.  She is known for her collage techniques, her online workshops such as the She Art Workshop and the Three Heart Workshop,  her Unity stamp line, and her positive and warm demeanor.  
In fact, she just finished hosting a 6-week workshop called "Your Living Canvas" in which students are taught not only how to value their art, but to value themselves as people!  


I have seen a video on the Brave Girls website (women's art community) where Christy and artist Melody Ross, while in Chicago one Thanksgiving, gave out written affirmations to people on the "EL" Train.  It was very sweet and very moving...and very positive.


This Craft Show was the exact opposite.  It was probably one of the worst displays of artists interacting with each other that I have ever seen!  And what made it even worse, was that the bad behavior was coming from the judges and host! What makes good reality television Housewife style does not translate to crafting!


If you want to have a positive arts and crafts experience, get involved in a workshop such as Brave Girls Camp,(http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/427)  Your Living Canvas, (http://www.scarletlime.com/workshops.html) or Milliande Art Community for Women. (www.milliande.ning.com) and keep the TV turned OFF!


And here's a testament to how positive Christy Tomlinson is, read her blog post after the show aired HERE!  I don't know if I would have been so gracious!  But she is an artist!

So until we meet again, 

HAPPY crafting,

ReNae

Contest Winners!

Hello Bloggers,
Here are the results of the Give-away!

The winner of the Memory Box Die of her choice:  
Mary


The 2 winners of the Jo Ann or Michael's gift certificates: 
1. pattyo  
2. ljrhew

Winners please email me at jewelrymkr@gmail.com and provide me with your address so I can mail you your prizes!  Hurry!  I leave for St. Louis July 9th, surgery July 10th.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

WE FINALLY HAVE PHOTOS!! (OR) Confessions of a Blogger

Bless me bloggers, for I have sinned:  
It has been 2 1/2 months since my last Blog Post.
These are my sins:
I lost my adapter cord and didn't post any interesting posts for 9 weeks-
I disappointed my blog followers by not posting anything worth reading- 
I cursed a few times when the replacement cord arrived and did not work-
I probably lost some readers in this whole ordeal-
I am sorry for these sins and all the sins I have committed against my blog followers.
*For my penance I will promise never to miss another week of blogging again, even when I have my surgery; and  I am saying 2 serenity prayers while chanting the KU Rock Chalk chant (I'm a Husker fan, not a KU fan) while jumping up and down on one foot!

WILL YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME???? 

Just to get back in your good graces, I plan on kissing up and am doing a BIG GIVEAWAY!
LEAVE ME A COMMENT and let me know if I'm forgiven!  Also let me know what you would like me to feature here on my blog.

I will reward 1 lucky winner with a Memory Box die worth up to $20.00! 

Second and third place winners receive a gift certificate for $10 to Michael's or JoAnn's (your choice)
You may choose the die you want, but you have to leave a comment by Sunday evening July 1st.
This contest is open to international bloggers also, so please EVERYONE leave me a comment!  Even if you just say hi!  To leave a comment, wave your cursor over the word "comments" and click on it.
A box will appear and you can leave your comment there.  You can do it ! If for some reason you can't, please send your comment to jewelrymkr@gmail.com and I will post the comment for you!
EASY right?

And now, what you have been waiting for, THE PHOTOS!

Gia Preston

I will start with a demonstration from Ink Paper Rubber, featuring Gia Preston, mixed-media artist extraordinaire as she demonstrates how to make backgrounds for virtually any paper project!  Enjoy!

Gia is showing her pretty backgrounds to the group 

Gia explains the layering techniques 

Newspaper makes a perfect base for your background! 

The captive audience listens intently... 

Okay ladies, listen up!  You can do this!

First you put down some paint.
Gia is showing the difference between the gel base and ceramic base.

Using a brayer, she smears the paint on the base.

Ceramic base, and...

Gel base-

You can paint on a stamp, and use stencils and masks too!

We want lots of layers.

Put the paper down and...

How cool is that?!

Don't forget to use the back side of the painted stencil/mask to layer also...

Once you get started, you can't stop!

Let's try one more mask...

Voila!

So cool!

Judith Judy and Kathy give it a try while Samantha supervises! 

Sandy and Cindy are working intently!

These gorgeous backgrounds are fun and easy to do! 

WOWZA!

Gia shows magnets she made using her pretty backgrounds and some ceramic tiles

How true!

Now Gia just has to decide which one she wants to use!

Gia shows some of her beautiful cards made with the backgrounds she made earlier 

Everyone is getting into it!

Cindy's hand shows her handiwork!

Connie Riley gives it a shot!

This beautiful altered bottle was Gia's birthday gift to me!
Thanks Gia!  I love it!!

Please leave your comment below!!  You have until Sunday night to qualify for the giveaway.

And please scroll down to "Join this site"  You will receive email notifications of all new postings!  Happy Creating!

ReNae

The ever-elusive adapter cord!

I have been searching HIGH AND LOW for the adapter cord that transfers my photos from my camera to my computer.  
It is not where it usually is, and I've been searching for it for a week!  I have drafted several posts, with photos of many of you, and they are sitting in limbo while I search.  
So Wednesday I am breaking down and buying a new cord!  It is the only way I know that will make the original one turn up.  You know, Murphy's law...sort of...
So instead of promising for days on end, I am just going to say check in later today and you may find that I have posted several photos of the past month's activities of all us artsy farts!
See you later...wonder how much that cord is gonna cost me???  LOL!


Check back soon!!!