Halloween, Lauren the Fashion Policeta, Iron-On Crystals and Brain Cookies

My friend, Lauren, thinks about her Halloween costume for months! I remember a Marilyn Merlot costume a few years ago and it's always fun to hear about them and see her finished creations. She loves the Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™ so much she used them in mass this year! Lauren ironed the Crystals to the dress and glued them on the brim of her hat and martini glass using the Aleene's® Platinum Bond Glass & Bead adhesive.

I hear The Fashion Policeta wrote citations for some pretty outrageous fashion no-no's. Love it Lauren! Thanks for sharing!

She also shared a photo of the brain cookies she made - yummy!

PattieWack, Lauren, Me and Mupu!!!

What a great weekend!!! I got to spend time with three of my best friends!!!

I had a long breakfast on Saturday with my friend, Frances. We don't get to see each other often enough now that we don't work together so it was awesome to spend 2 hours of uninterrupted time chatting and catching up. Remember, she got married last October and I was in the wedding.

Then, it was on to Santa Paula to spend an entire afternoon and night with PattieWack!!! Loved it! It was just Pattie and me for the afternoon - it was girl chat catch up BIG time! We can email and talk on the phone, but we gotta have one of those hugs and talk face to face to really feel connected. Lauren arrived in the evening (more on that later).

Pattie sure knows how to make people feel special! Not only were we greeted with a sign on 'It' (what I call the decoupaged mannequin in their entryway), there was a sign along with a rose in the bathroom AND not only a sign in the guest bedroom but pictures of Lauren and me too!

So, it's a Saturday and three crafty ladies are together. What to do? CRAFT OF COURSE!!! But first, we went to Mupu's Grill and saw the sights and murals of Santa Paula. After dinner we got out tissue, yarn and paper and went to town (or Pattie's Studio in this case!)

Pattie got us started by fan folding two colors of tissue paper and showed us how to make incredible flowers. (here's how to make them) We then moved on to create beautiful tassels and circle books. Thanks, Pattie - you're the BEST!!! BTW, we saw Scott (PATTIE'S BRAND NEW HUSBAND) only for a quick hug that night and early the next morning.

Lauren and I kind of invited ourselves to Pattie and Scott's and we're so thankful for their hospitality - our mission was to get rid of a bunch of craft supplies we'd accumulated over the years! We decided we wanted them to go to good homes so we blew them out at $1 each. We got up super early Sunday morning and headed to Ventura to sell our wares. I was in charge of making our sign so I used Aleene's® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™ to adhere cut out letters on foam core - it worked perfect! Notice that we used the tissue flowers we made the night before to decorate the pole.

This was truly a different experience - in the afternoon
the dreaded Santa Ana Winds came flying in and pop-up awnings and merchandise

was flying. A fire was raging in Malibu not too far away and the smoke flooded the sky along with ash as the afternoon progressed.

On my way home, the 2 o'clock in the afternoon sky was as dark as if it was midnight. Ash was everywhere. Just down the road from where Pattie and Scott live, I came within 10 feet of flames as a different fire had just started. Along the major freeway I took home, two additional fires were being worked on, the strong winds carrying the flames on to new territory. Keep the firefighters in your thoughts as all these fires continue to burn out of control.

Thanks Pattie, Lauren, Scott and Frances for being my friends and taking time from your hectic schedules to play and thank you to all the firefighters who are putting their lives on the line to protect us everyday!

Joan

Decoupage Sunflower Pail

Fall is here and besides beautiful colored leaves it means lots and lots of Sunflowers. I just love those photos of row after row of sunflowers. Where I used to live it was such a delight to go to the flower fields just outside of town and see a sea of sunflowers. The flowers in the area were grown for seed and I never grew tired of seeing the awesome flower fields. Ahhh...since I don't live there anymore I have the beautiful images in my mind and a tiny little flower garden in a pail - this was a kit complete with the soil pellets that I added water to and they expanded enough to fill the pail - amazing! The lid was a cardboard circle with a lovely illustration of sunflowers. I soaked the cardboard in water and the paper image slipped right off of the cardboard. After it dried, I used Aleene's® Instant Decoupage to apply the image to the side of the pail. I couldn't throw away such an amazing illustration. My sunflowers are about 2" tall right now, so I bought some sunflowers to Fallize my home until the little guys grace me with flowers.

LOOK FOR SMALL WAYS EVERY DAY TO BRIGHTEN UP YOUR LIFE AND MAKE IT SPECIAL.
Until next time - think holidays!
Joan

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

An estimated 178,480 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2007 alone.

Unfortunately, with statistics like this, we all know someone with breast cancer or a survivor. Sometimes it's hard to find a way to reach out - this journal is a simple way to show you care and allow the person to write about all of life’s important events and thoughts.

Want to be a part in finding the cure? Contact the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982 that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched a global movement that has changed the world. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. The foundation has raised and invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill the promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-800-I’M AWARE.

Remember to do your monthly exams and schedule your mammogram.

Journal

Materials needed
Aleene's® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™
Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Fashion Design™
Design 12
Tulip® Fashion Glitter Bond™
Tulip® Fashion Glitter™
Neon Ultra-Fine Assortment
Notebook/Journal
Paper, decorative with pink accents
Iron
Fabric or paper, plain pink
Newspaper

Directions
1. Cut decorative paper to fit front of notebook. Place paper, right side down on newspaper. Spray with Tacky Spray. Smooth on front of notebook.
2. Cut plain fabric or paper slightly larger than Iron-On Fashion Design. Iron Fashion Design to center following manufacturer's instructions. Spray back with Tacky Spray. Center on notebook.
3. Apply Fashion Glitter Bond where desired. I highlighted the dots and the edge of the paper/fabric around the plain pink to accent the Fashion Design. Sprinkle on Glitter. Let dry. Tap off excess on scrap paper. Return to container.

Craft Challenge at the Fair!!!

What a hoot I had this afternoon - I volunteered to do a Craft Challenge in the Home Arts Building at the fair and it was so much fun!

There were two teams and we each had the same box of craft goodies to choose from. We did two challenges and both times guys volunteered to be my partner. Tony, my first partner, was egged on by his six year old son. Tony picked a tin and decorated it with the Tulip Boho Appliques for Halloween, then he went for the Tulip Fashion Glitter - he couldn't get enough of that. When we still had time on the clock he opened up the tin and added fabric on the inside along with fluorescent colored wiggle eyes. Great job Tony!

In the second competition, my partner was Jason - he did an awesome job! He selected a clay pot from our box of goodies - he went to town decorating it with Tulip Fashion Glitter for grass, added some flowers with Tulip Soft Fabric Paint and even added a wiggle eye sun. Jason is one creative dude.

Thanks to Lindy who got all of the supplies together (and asked me to volunteer) and Alee the designer on the other team. Alee's mom was there taking pictures and she promises to get me some soon so I can post them here.

I took a few minutes before the competition to check out the creative side of the fair - I couldn't believe the floral arrangements - the pink object with gladiolus is one of those foam pool toys, one even included paintbrushes as accents and one arrangement had Slinkies!!! A+ for thinking outside of the box.

Crafty Weekend at the Fair

I can't wait for some crafty fun tomorrow! The big county fair is in progress and I get to go up on stage in the Home Arts building and do a Craft Challenge. It's a friendly competition with a fellow employee and two volunteers from the audience - I hear we get a box of goodies and have 15 minutes to create something - anything!!! This is going to be soooo much fun! Hopefully I can get someone to take pictures during the madness. I see glitter and glue in my near future.

Saturday also holds a catch up phone call with a very dear friend. You know how you always say you'll stay in touch when someone moves away and how life gets in the way of doing that...my friend and I have set up the first weekend of EVERY month to catch up - it's a relaxing time with no interruptions and we just gab and gab about everything. It's so nice to have a friend that you can let your hair down with and they still like you.

The rest of the weekend is catching up and getting ready for next weekend! Lauren and I have talked many times about all the 'stuff' we have that we need to get rid of and we've both tried ebay and found it to be time consuming, so we decided in Vegas that we'd go to a local Flea Market and get rid of a bunch of stuff. We're making it easy on ourselves by sticking to a couple prices and just blowing all the stuff out. We have an added bonus - the flea market we're going to is very near Pattie Donham (aka Pattie Wack) so we're spending the night before at Pattie and Scott's house - AWESOME!!! The three of us haven't been together for years, so I'm sure we'll stay up late, giggle and have a great time.

Oh, we decided on the theme for our Halloween party - I can't let it out yet - but, we'll be working on our costumes over the next couple weeks...

BTW, I'm working on a Breast Cancer Awareness project that I'll post over the weekend.

Have a safe and creative weekend,

Joan

Four Days in Las Vegas and creativity was never far from my mind...

My friend Lauren (from our days working at Aleene's on the tv show and magazine) and I met in Las Vegas to celebrate her birthday.

It was a whirlwind four days - we NEVER lack for something to do and Lauren's rule is you NEVER come back the way you went, so we're always seeing new sights and interesting things - there is never a dull moment on our trips.

In Vegas you expect glitz, but it was EVERYWHERE and on EVERYTHING! Ideas to use Tulip Fashion Art products kept running around through my brain - Fashion Glitter, Iron-On Crystals...you'll be seeing some of the ideas I came up with right here very soon...The things I saw were hugely expensive and I'll show you how to make them inexpensively.

What we did...
Bellagio...whenever I go to Vegas I have to go to Bellagio and see the conservatory. They change the setting and decorations for the seasons and it is never disappointing. This time there were huge colorful blown glass leaves hanging throughout the casino.

I have been to Bellagio many, many times and never knew that just around the corner from the conservatory is the World's Tallest and Largest Volume Chocolate Fountain - it is quite impressive.

The desserts looked very yummy including my favorite - crepes (we didn't indulge, but I did promise Lauren I'd make crepes for her the next time we're together).







We chatted with a limo driver at the airport and he told us we had to go to Slots o Fun and have a ginormous hot dog for only 99 cents that would feed a family of 5 - with that kind of recommendation we just had to do it and then walked on the strip taking in all the changes and happenings.

When Lauren and I get together we don't need to spend lots of money to have the best time!!! At one point of our weekend, I was looking at some of the photos I'd taken and in one I had the goofiest face and decided to enlarge it to see it up close - it was so out there that we started laughing and couldn't stop - it was one of those awesome mascara running down the face times. I feel sorry for the nearby tour guide who was trying to get people registered for a tour while we were laughing uncontrollably. Thinking about it still brings a smile to my face.

Talk about creativity! This motorcycle was at one of the casinos. The accents were completely made of metal.
On our last night in Vegas, we went to the Wynn to celebrate Lauren's birthday. The Wynn is a fabulous hotel/casino/entertainment center. The settings are incredible - the bars unbelievable - The Parasol with of course, parasols all over, Bliss...very beautiful!

This incredible ceiling decoration was at the entrance to a restaurant in the Wynn - it's made of plates, silverware and a serving tray - it was awesome!

We went to see a performance of La Reve (which in French means The Dream). It was a phenomenal show - done in water. It's hard to explain, but it was part Ester Williams and part circus act...we had VIP passes - huge seats, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and monitors that showed what was going on behind the scenes before the show and what was going on under the water during the performance.

Our fun always has to come to an end...after staying up way too late last night, we were up at dawn to make our way back to the airport and fly to our respective homes. But, we're already planning our next adventure!

Thanks Lauren! You're a great traveling buddy!

Halloween is coming!!!

Thoughts of costumes and decorations are buzzing around in my head. We have a costume contest at work and our department is trying to come up with a theme for our group.

Meanwhile, I decided to Halloweenize my home and came up with this quick and easy idea. We hear alot about craft projects being fast and easy - well, I can guarantee you this project is one that can literally be whipped up in just a few minutes.

I found this delightful new product from Glade®. It's called Wisp® Flameless Candle. I love scented candles, but from the perspective of a person who almost burned down her house once because I got a last minute invite to a movie and left a candle burning for hours, I'm always on the lookout for a safe alternative to candles. I love this new idea and it looks like a real flame. It's battery operated and every few seconds it puts out a puff of scent. It's awesome!
The only drawback I see is that the globe is pretty boring. So, once again my crafty brain went into gear and just had to 'dress it up'.

Here's what you get - the outer globe and the inner 'candle'.





I absolutely love the new Aleene's® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™!!! It's what makes this projects so quick - and there's no drying time.

Materials needed
Aleene's® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™
Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue® Glue Sticks
Glade® Wisp® Flameless Candle
Felt, black
Scissors
Garland with wire
Tissue paper, orange

How to make it



Crumple tissue. Smooth with your hands, keeping some wrinkles for texture.










Spray Aleene's® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™ on glass globe.












Press tissue on globe to cover.






Cut excess tissue around top and bottom.
Cut eyes, nose, mouth and 2 bats from felt.

Glue eyes, nose and mouth to globe using Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue® Glue Sticks.
Glue two bats together with one end of garland between.
Place 'candle' insert into globe. Place bat coming out. Press top of 'candle' to light.












Here's my jack-o-lantern ready to glow for Halloween.

Be sure to carve out a little time for you today!

Joan

P.S. I got my Wisp® Flameless Candle at Target. They have delicious scents available.

Da Weekend

It was one of those weekends I long for...one with not too much pressing, the energy to get some things done and of course, to be creative!

I took these pictures last year, but since the season is changing I thought I'd include them. Ahhhh...

Friday, I had some work projects that needed done, so I got those out of the way - well, most of them.

Saturday, was spent doing some catch up things and in the afternoon my sister-in-law and I went to see a movie. I hate to admit this, but I hadn't been to a movie in probably over a year. We went to the somewhat new theater in my hometown - very strange for a small town to have eight screens and in the process of adding four more. Growing up we didn't have even one theater in town. Strange indeed. We did the girl thing after the movie - we SHOPPED! Nicki is used to having two little guys in tow, so she enjoyed just browsing and an unhurried pace.

Sunday was a very quiet day - I got my long walk in, worked some more and have been doing the usual catching up things everyone has to do.

I am going to Las Vegas next weekend to celebrate a friends birthday. We'll be gone almost four wonderful days - it'll be good to get outta town, have some fun and do some different things. Meanwhile, I'm trying to find the perfect gift for the person who has EVERYTHING!!! I did manage to scope out some tickets for an interesting VIP performance while we're there. I don't want to let anything out of the bag since my friend reads my blog. You'll just have to wait until I can spill the beans and tell about our wild trip in little over a week.

Until then, get out your glue and have fun!
Joan

My ceramics pieces

Lindy and I got our ceramics pieces back from David. They are awesome! The techniques were so easy - can you guess what the black lines are made from on the vase? If you guessed string dipped in the glaze, you're right! Think of all the crafty accents you could use that technique on. That got me to thinking about using a feather for the same technique.

Lindy and I got so excited about our pieces that we just decided to take one lunch time EVERY week and get going on our holiday gifts. I'll share some pictures as we get going. Fun, Fun, Fun!!!
I have lots going on this weekend - I'll share as it all unfolds. I hear the balloon festival is going on this weekend - I'm not sure I want to get up before daybreak and head down there...we'll see.

Make it a great day!
Joan

Speaking of ceramics...

I was at my brother's home this last weekend and asked my 5 year old nephew if he would help me get some stuff out of my car. He came over to help and saw all the boxes and asked "Did you bring me ceramics?" I do believe he is enchanted with the whole ceramic thing. Just before he started Kindergarten a couple weeks ago, he and his brother (OK, Mom was included) painted and painted some more. Their pieces turned out fantastic! I can't wait to see where these two little guys go with their lives.

Joan

What a fantastic day!

Yesterday, I had the great PLEASURE of spending the day learning about ceramics from a world famous instructor - David Hoff. It was a day away from the office with just David and a co-worker, Lindy. The day was bright and beautiful and David's home was incredible with an amazing yard and great studio.

I am now writing/editing the ceramic instructions in addition to craft instructions so it was time to learn from the master. We went through the Creativity Guide (catalog) and talked about glazes and how they were different and what to apply them to. Then, it was time to make projects! We made a Wine and Dine plate and Saucer Vase.

David made us a wonderful lunch (he even bbq'd the chicken -yum) for our tasty salad. The day was warm, so we enjoyed chatting about ceramics in his backyard and watched squirrels running across the fence.

Our pieces went in the kiln yesterday and David will bring them by today - I can't wait to share with you.

It was a very informative day - thanks for sharing David! Lindy and I are already making plans for spending our lunch time making holiday gifts.

Joan

Bedroom Makeover, Seeing My Friend Lauren, Going to a Concert, a Party...

Seems like I could just cut and paste because I'm always doing the same things - but it's all very different...

My bedroom has been (shhhh, don't tell anyone...) a pile of boxes here and there, with a mishmash of stuff and things - certainly not the way I'd like it. I finally took some time earlier this month and went through boxes and took a tour through my local Target store with my skimpy budget in mind to find some girlie things. My parents had given me money a few months ago to buy one of those bed-in-a bag thingies, so I had a good start.

I literally haven't slept in 3 years, so I was on a mission to make my bedroom a sanctuary - my criteria was to find something to keep the light out of the room at night and to have some 'noise' to drown out the hustle and bustle of the city.

I love what I found at Target and they were all on sale - I think I spent less than $50. The swoopie thing on the ceiling is actually a velvet burnout TABLECLOTH that I thumbtacked on the ceiling. I gathered some ribbon and thumbtacked it at each corner and I had some tassels with rope attached that I put cascading down the wall and at the center of the canopy. I had a gold tablecloth (that had originally been the swoopie thing on the ceiling) that at the last minute I decided to tack to the wall. I had the framed flower image and hung it over the tablecloth.

Then on to a 'me' place - I bought a microwave stand (great for storage underneath!) for $30, draped another tablecloth over it and proceeded to bring in some of my favorite things without cluttering things up. Here's where my noise 'machine' comes in. Remember my fountain I'd made out of travertine tiles from a remodel job at my last house? I moved it indoors and it's the perfect trickling sound.

This weekend I'm going to ANOTHER concert - this time Big and Rich - I don't know much about them, but we'll have fun. A couple weeks ago, a friend and I went to see The Doobie Brothers and Peter Frampton - AWESOME!

Last weekend my high school class celebrated with a 50th birthday party - we had about 35 people there from all over. It was great to catch up with my classmates - one was a guy I went to elementary school with too and we hadn't seen each other since high school graduation. My college roommate (we went to the same high school) was there and we chatted about all those memories...It was a great evening! We're already planning our cruise!

We're expecting rain starting tomorrow - I love this kind of weather. I can't wait to spend some time indoors - it was a wonderful summer filled with trips, lots of exercise and family and friends but it will be nice to start making soups and thinking about my indoor projects.

Keep crafting,

Joan

Happenings...

Sorry that I haven't been posting a lot lately. You'll see why...I've been traveling, CRAFTING!!!, and having lots of fun.

I'll give you a little snippet of what's been going on the last few weeks and then more detail with pictures hopefully tonight.

Clear out the cobwebs...

Labor Day Weekend - My friend Frances and her husband Rudy (remember them from the wedding last October?) had a 'no special reason' party that Friday night. It was great to just kick back, chat with friends and enjoy!

The rest of the weekend was crafty! My bedroom was in a major need of a 'dress up' - I had boxes in the corners and it wasn't very nice. I cleared out the boxes, straightened things up and got to it. It was one of those projects that just evolved. I had purchased one of those bed in a bag things a few months ago and that's where my motivation started. You'll have to see the pictures to truly see what I did. It sure was nice at the end of the weekend to stand back and see my handy work and finally have a bedroom that was a sanctuary.

Doobie Brothers and Peter Frampton Concert - being a girl of the mid-70's Peter Frampton was IT! Well, almost 30 years later, he's on the road and it was fabulous to see him. My old cubicle mate from work and I headed to my hometown for an evening of music. Strangely, Gloria and I went to the neighboring town to have dinner since my hometown doesn't have much in the way of eating establishments. The town we went to is the county seat, so it's not a small town, yet, not huge. As we walked into the restaurant, I had a feeling that I was going to see someone I knew - just as I was thinking that I noticed out of the corner of my eye, my parents best friends and then looked at the couple they were with and it was my parents - yes, a small world. The concert was absolutely awesome - we decided to leave just before the concert was over to beat the traffic, but we found ourselves dancing, skipping and having a good ol' time in the parking lot! Thanks Gloria - I needed that!

Last weekend was again spent with my Aleene's friend, Lauren Johnston - Friday night we went out dancing (great exercise, by the way!), Saturday we went for a walk, indulged in a massage and after the massages we were so mellow we hung out watching TV the rest of the evening. Sunday was busy doing girl things and all of a sudden it was time to head home.

This weekend my high school class is celebrating our 50th birthdays with a football game and dinner the next day. We decided not to do the centerpieces - I'm disappointed, yet I'm relieved that I didn't have to paint all the ceramic cake pieces.

I'm sure I've forgotten all kinds of things.

Oh!!! My friend Pattie Donham filmed her web segments for Life Time last week. Check out her blog for great behind the scene photos - she even mentioned me! http://www.pattiewack.blogspot.com/

Make it a great week!

Joan