50's and 60's Sock Hop Dance!!!


I had sooooo much fun this weekend!!! I did not know that so much dancing was humanly possible!

A friend invited me to a Rotary Club Sock Hop and we had to dress the part - she and her friend did way more so than me - especially Dana who dressed in a Poodle Skirt she made herself along with an embellished blouse. She even had a poodle purse she won at last year's event - Dana won first prize this year for her awesome costume! Way to go Dana!



I searched high and low for some black capri's to wear, but for some reason they weren't to be had - I found a great black flowy skirt and wore a white blouse. I needed a scarf to top off the outfit and Aleene's Fabric Fusion came to the rescue. I took a scrap of black and white fabric, hemmed the edges with Fabric Fusion and I was set. I discovered that in hot, hot, hot weather the Fabric Fusion dries almost instantly! Thank goodness because I was running behind schedule!

I thought I'd share the centerpieces from the party - I was the lucky recipient of one when we left - it was adorable! It was a Coca Cola lunch pail with a Coke glass full of candy and an ivy plant along with some red silk carnations and polka dot ribbon. Adorable!

I had a most wonderful evening Friday with my friend Frances. We no longer work together, so it was great to have a nice, quiet dinner to kick back and find out what's been happening in each others lives. The evening was a reminder how important true friends are - something I can't loose sight of even with the hecticness of my life. Friendships are too important to let life get in the way! It was great to hear about her new studio that's shaping up - we're planning a trip to San Francisco to hit galleries and get inspired for more creativity!

My family had brunch with my sister-in-laws family for Father's Day. Nice! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and I played games with Brandon, my nephew. He loves to craft and asked me to bring him some crafty supplies when I am in town later this week - I'm always eager to help out with that kind of request!

Now, to fit more crafting in this week - I went to a Keith Urban concert last week and I wanted so badly to wear my T-shirt from the concert, but after seeing the great ideas for altered T's at http://www.duncancrafts.com/ I just couldn't wear a plain ol' T-shirt. So, I want to alter my T this week and wear it for casual day at work this coming up Friday. That's my crafty challenge for the week!

Make it a great day!
Joan

• Cool Color Summer FUN
  
  OK, I snapped this shot just before leaving for work....
  
  Tulip Cool Color Spray for Fabric made this project super easy and I'll let you in on some techniques I used to make it even easier!
  
  Here's the scoop:
  
  What you'll need:
  ~ 100% natural fabric shirt
  ~ Rubber gloves
  ~ Tulip Cool Color Spray for Fabric (2 colors)
  
  1. Prewash shirt using no fabric softener. Do not dry shirt. Leaving the shirt wet will help the colors to 'melt' together.
  2. (here's a great tip and it saves on cleanup time!) Place a large plastic bag in your SHOWER (Yes, your shower) crumple up your shirt and place on the plastic bag.
  3. Wearing rubber gloves, spray on one Cool Color leaving white areas.
  4. Spray other color on shirt to fill in white areas.
  
  You're done! Let it dry and it's ready to wear.

Gettin' Back in the Groove

OK, so I'm back in the groove - it's been a month of fun, adventure and excitement but I am thankful to be settling down and getting back to CRAFTING!!!

I found these ceramic letters and butterflies (there were other shapes) at a local craft store for $2 each. They were plain white and I wanted to spice them up and knew that paint wouldn't stick long term. So, one day, I saw the beautiful napkins I'd gotten at a store on my vacation in Carmel. They were perfect to cover the shapes. Here's how I did it...

Express Yourself Paper Napkin Applique

• Remove and discard non-printed plies of napkin.
• Brush Aleene's Paper Napkin Applique Glue on top and sides of shape.
• Place napkin over shape, smooth on surface and on sides with your fingers - wrinkles add character.
• Brush glue over napkins.
• Let dry. Trim excess napkins on back.

You're done! I love it!

I enjoyed a lot of kicking back and relaxing over the last month and wanted to bring a little of that into my home life. I glued pieces of travertine marble (leftover from a remodeling project) on a ceramic ball (it had a hole in the top) with Aleene's Platinum Bond 7800 All-Purpose Adhesive. I grouted the ball and spread the grout on a bowl. I added a fountain pump and now I have a relaxing fountain on my deck - I love the trickling sound!!!

Birthday Weekend Highlights

Well, my birthday weekend was a blast! I did everything from having a party at my friend Doug's home to going to the cemetery for Memorial Day to painting ceramics with my nephew!

OK, so the cute blonde is my brother, David. I am so proud! Doug had a Barbie contest and David was the winner - world famous craft designer, Cheryl Ball, and my cubicle mate at work, Gloria, dressed David - they only had 10 minutes and all the contestant and "dressers" did an awesome job! Cheryl EVEN made a purse for David to carry! He kept those bows on his shoes the rest of the evening. Doug, you're a wonderful friend!!! Thanks for making my monumental birthday so memorable!

I always have to do something out of the ordinary - as a thank you, I handed out boxes filled with homemade Snickerdoodle Cookies (OK, and sugar free candies to the Weight Watcher's group). I glued the flower and ribbon on with Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue. I love the fact that the glue dries clear, so if I'm a little messy it won't show!

Then there was my cubicle at work! I was stunned when I walked in and found bead butterflies and dragonflies hanging from the ceiling and balloons EVERYWHERE! AND ice cream bars later in the afternoon.

Thank you EVERYONE who made MAYhem and my birthday so wonderful!!!!!

MAYhem continues!!!

As my birthday month continues, so does the outrageous fun! My friend Lauren and I met in San Francisco for a long weekend and did all the tourist activities and then some!

Friday we rode a historic cable car to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Little Italy where we enjoyed a gourmet fun shaped pizza! Lauren treated me to the play Beach Blanket Babylon - it was such a hoot! Just when I thought it couldn't get any more outrageous, it did! The costumes were fantastic - at the end, one of the characters wore a "hat" that took up a good part of the stage with a San Francisco cityscape and then the cable car on the hat turned on its light and moved up the hill...the premise of the story was Snow White trying to find Prince Charming - she searched far and wide and finally found him - it was Elvis!!! So, you can see, it was a very different play!

Saturday we shopped, shopped and shopped some more! Both of us live in cities where we feel shopping challenged, so to have large department stores at our door step was awesome! The evening included another play called Shopping - it was so appropriate for the day's activities. We enjoyed the Farmer's Market down on the Embarcadero in the morning partaking in samples of everything from cheese, to fresh fruit to candies... yummmmy! I did pick up a little something while I was there - a new puppy - actually, Bab's (named after our theater experience) is an ivy topiary!

Sunday was the Bay to Breakers Race - well, we found out that the true "racers" did their thing early in the morning and then it was crazy time! Thousands upon thousands of people had on outrageous costumes, carried crazy banners - just about anything anyone could image was on the streets of San Francisco. The picture is of a 'float' that was in the parade - they stopped in front of us and hit fake golf balls into the crowd! We walked and walked the streets - we managed to use four types of city transportation while we were there - we were quite proud of navigating around the city.

Some more highlights - cupcakes were everywhere - we had to have a little itty bitty one at a wonderful gourmet grocery store - it was topped with coconut frosting and we admired beautiful cupcakes at Ghiradelli Square - $3 for a cupcake!...Chocolate when in SF you have to have chocolate...and I had to bring back sourdough bread for my coworkers.

I'm sure I've left out many, many fun things we did! What a terrific weekend!

PattieWack!!!!!

Oh my gosh! What an awesome weekend I had visiting Pattie and Scott. They have just moved to California after living in Oklahoma and this was our first get together since the trade show in January.

It was so fun to just kick back, drink Orangetini's from oranges picked in the area, devour chocolate eclairs at midnight and have nowhere to go except enjoy the company of friends.

Saturday, Pattie and I ventured to the lovely town of Santa Barbara - we both had fond memories of the city and we didn't leave one rock or grain of sand unturned.

We met with one of our friends from Aleene's - she was the director of the TV show - it was great fun reminiscing and catching up as we sat near the ocean enjoying beautiful flowers, the smell of the ocean and each others company.

We trended and trended! (OK, so it really was shopping!) We stopped at a cosmetic counter and had our make-up done...then on to more shopping and looking and touching! Santa Barbara has incredible shopping!!!

We met with another friend from Aleene's old days for a very long, terribly enjoyable evening. Kat was one of the camera guys on the tv show and now is a radio personality in Santa Barbara. The evening was incredible fun and I hadn't laughed that much in ages!

I am always amazed when I see where Pattie lives and this time was NO exception! I'm including a couple of her projects and a hint or two...she's so practical, uses things unexpectedly and all this comes naturally to her.

The owl is made from shrink plastic and several hang from the market umbrella in their backyard along with wonderful ribbons - and, here comes the Pattie practical part - she attached the owls and ribbons to the umbrella with paper clips. She said she thought the movement of the ribbons and owls would keep the birds off of the umbrella as an added benefit.

OK, then there was the bathroom...I was amazed to find a little ceramic turtle sitting in the bottom of the shower. Then there was the hanging heart from the shower head...then...she used a magazine rack to hold towels! She's just amazing!!!


I was so happy to see the "man"equin made the move! The decoupage prints are so fun - I had to read EVERY square inch of it AND the black background is painted with chalk paint so as inspiration comes, writing sayings is highly encouraged.

What a wonderfully refreshing weekend...we'll do it again soon, I'm sure!

Joan

Vacation...

In looking back over the last week, many wonderful things came to mind...

1. Seeing tons of whales along the coast spouting and flipping their tails - awesome and perhaps the highlight!

2. Learning how to ballroom dance (and actually liking it!)

3. Doing skits and improv (OK, I'm still a little uncomfortable with this, but I did it)

4. Having two massages and hearing the lull of the ocean just below me

5. Meeting people from all walks of life and leaving as friends

6. Seeing a May Pole Dance (how fun and colorful!)

7. Delicious food that I didn't have to cook!

8. Seeing and 'drinking' in the ocean for 8 days!

9. Doing lots of creative things - collage, painting, etc...

10. Sleeping in and taking naps!

OK, 11. Seeing a totally Snoopyed out car - it was parked next to me at a hotel - amazing! Even the door lock knobs were Snoopy

Oh, yeah! On my way home, something hilarious happened and also signaled that I had had a completely relaxing weekend - I was out in the middle of nowhere and needed gas. I slid my credit card into the machine and it asked me to input my zip code - I COULDN'T REMEMBER WHAT MY ZIP CODE WAS!!! Thank goodness I had some paperwork in my car that had it on it - yikes!

Well, I'm off once again for vacation - 9 relaxing and wonderful days away from it all!!! We're going to be doing some creative things and I'm doing some shopping while I'm gone too. When I get back I'll let you in on the latest trends out there at the chic boutiques and what I made during my vacation. Until I'm back with great news, I'll leave you with this photo from my last vacation. Ahhhhh...

Joan

I've been crafting...

and it feels sooooo good! I've been itching to get some crafting in and well, I just plain ol' made the time and it was wonderful!

I've always been one to organize my tax papers throughout the year (OK, in a previous life I did work for the IRS for 5 years!) - I always keep a file folder in a convenient place to just drop the papers in as I get them. This year I decided to make my "holder" a little more fun and pleasing to the eye. I found the cool wood box at my local craft store and wanted a wash look, so I added water to Tulip Soft Fabric Paint and brushed it on. I wanted a soft look to my photo, so I tore the edges, but didn't like the white, so I painted them with Copper paint. I adhered my photo to the box with Aleene's Thick Designer Tacky Glue. It's so much nicer than an ordinary file folder. Ahhhh, now to start saving money...

I'm getting ready for my vacation and want to take along a journal. I just couldn't stand the plain cover, so I tore around the edges of my photo and glued it in place on a purchased journal. Now, I have my feather pen and I'm ready to let my thoughts out. Just a few more days...

Then, (yes, I crafted a lot this weekend) it was my sister birthday and being the thrifty person I am, I wanted to wrap her gift in something useful and save by not buying wrapping paper. Her gift was her name spelled out in ceramic letters. We're always reminding each other to remember to play so I found the sand bucket at my craft store for only a dollar and added a large flower and bow.

I even got some ceramic painting in this weekend. Whoosh, I had so much fun and I vowed to craft more often.

Make it a great week!

Joan

A blast from my crafting past...

Well, my mom brought out one of my old creations - we think I made it 20 years ago - I made it from posterboard and wrapping paper. I remember forming the posterboard around the bunny shape, bending and shaping it to fit the pattern. You can see I used tape and how it aged. Oh, if I'd only known about Aleene's Tacky Glue back then!

Doug and Bows

You asked for instructions on Doug's projects...well, here's the link to learn how to make his fabulous bows - he had about 60 people learning how last weekend! More of his projects coming soon - I'm helping him out with his website where he'll have oodles and oodles of projects soon. Here's the bow making link:

http://www.myalice967.com/pages/DougAlvesBowInstructions.pdf

Spring in to Spring!

My oh my! Did I have a fantastic day on Saturday - I got to see beautiful model homes, learn how to make a bow and watch my extremely talented friend Doug Alves create!

He made a fabulous placesetting using the Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint™ and Tulip® Soft Fabric Paint™. He used a stencil and the Soft Paint to paint the flowers and then accented them with the 3D paint. For added flair, he decoupaged daffodil giftwrap paper on a clear charger plate. I was so impressed!

Well, it's Friday afternoon and it's time to kick back just a little. I'm looking forward to tomorrow with my friend Doug - he's doing an interior decorating/ craft workshop at a local model home. He does fabulous work with inexpensive things and things you probably have around your home - I'll have pictures up soon.

I've been cleaning and cleaning and getting rid of lots of things. It's a good feeling! I've found some craft supplies that are calling to me - I did take the time to decoupage on a wooden box. I plan to finish that this weekend.

Have a fantastic weekend!
Joan

It's National Craft Month!

I was just writing some copy for the Duncan website about March being National Craft Month. It made me stop and think that I really need (OK, and want!) to take time to CREATE!

Last weekend, my 5 year old nephew and I painted using the Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint™ - every time he visits (which isn't often enough for me!) he asks to paint. I LOVE IT! We went to a local craft store and he selected a wood 'bug carrier' as a gift for his brother's hamster. Well, after he got it painted, it quickly became a holder for the plastic animals he had also gotten at the craft store.

Back to me being creative. My next stop is to check out the Duncan website and get inspired for my next project. Hmmmm...tie-dye, invitations for a special party I'm planning - I'm sure I'll find something!

Oh, I am getting to test another new craft product this week - can't wait to share that with you when it's released! Just a little teaser!

Here's my weekend craft!!!

My new saying is 'Let go of the outcome'...I've been using this whenever life seems to get a little tough and it is working amazingly well for me. I wanted to keep a reminder of it close at hand, so I decided to put it in front of me where I spend most of my time - in front of my computer.

I wrote the letters using Tulip 3D Fashon Paint on some stiff plastic and when it was dry, I peeled it off and applied it to my computer. If you don't feel comfortable freehanding the lettering, write it out or print it off on your printer and place the plastic over the lettering and trace with the paint! The flowers are dots made in a circle with more paint in the center. My mind is racing with ideas for each month - 4 leaf clovers, Easter eggs, flags...when you're ready to change them out, they easily peel off.

If you look really close, you'll see little hearts - those have been on my computer for literally years using the same technique.

My Snow Buddy...

Ahhhh...fresh air, a little snow, a little relaxing, a little contemplating...

It was time to just get away and leave everything behind. I jumped into my car yesterday, headed to the mountains to chill and rejuvenate.

When there's snow, you gotta make a snow buddy. You can't tell by the picture, but this guy is only 6" tall. I was out in the boonies, so it was hard to find things to decorate with - but I happened to have a red marker pen.

AND, I crafted this weekend!!! I didn't have time to upload the photos, so I'll show you my creations hopefully later today! It felt so good to get in there and make something! It isn't grandeous, but just felt good and it's inspiring too.

Make it a great week!

Joan

It's on the newsstands!!!

The latest edition of Paperworks magazine is on the newsstands - I'm featured on the inside cover - what a hoot!!!

What's up in my world?

Well, it was a week of lots of overtime, getting new products/packaging ready to be printed and shipped to your local store so you can express yourself in only the way you can!

This weekend I got to do something very fun that HOPEFULLY will make it to you very soon.
I got the opportunity to test a new product. It was fun to squirt it, play with it, experiment with it...now to write up the report to make sure we create the best product for you. I'll keep you posted when it's ready to be released! It's fun and will revolutionize fabric painting - oops...too much of a hint???

There were lots of other fun things going on, but I need to get back to some work so we can get those awesome products out for you!

Have a wonderful week!
Joan

Creativity is where you least expect it!

It was a covert operation - keep my nephews out of the way while their parents got ready for a surprise party! My 11 year old nephew knew about the party, but the 5 year old did not!

So, we had lots of time to kill - 3-1/2 hours to be exact! We did the shopping thing, eating thing and I just started driving around the countryside near where I grew up.

These fun 'people' are made from soccer balls, brooms, gourds and lots of organic material. It's on the way to a nearby town and I've zoomed past it zillions of times, but this time I stopped and we got out and really got up close and personal - the party on the back of the trailer is a hoot.

BTW, my little nephew was TOTALLY suprised!!! I got them awesome 3D kites and they ran around the farm trying to get them to fly - now we need some wind...