Thrifty Miss Priss

Artist Class and a glittery sugar house Giveaway!

My friend Mary  is sponsoring an on line Artist Class.  She invited me to contribute a project and I'm excited to present to you "A Pocket Full Of Treasures Scrapbook"

This will be an on line tutorial of how to make my scrapbook along with LOTS  of other projects from other artists. 

My scrapbook is meant for holding all those little treasures you collect throughout life, but usually leave tucked away in a drawer or box.  After you've made your own scrapbook you can keep those special keepsakes all in one place without gluing them down.  This book had lots of little pockets to hold all those trinkets and treasures.

I used one of those OLD record album books and altered it into a scrapbook.  I will provide step by step instructions on how to do this.

The beauty of it is you do not need to know how to sew.  It can be glued or sewn.  I used both techniques and have to honestly say I like the gluing method better!

I'll even show you my mistakes and how I fixed them!  I will be using my book to take to Silver Bella to collect business cards and MOO cards.

  I can also see this scrap book being used for a scrapbook to hold little love notes from your kids.....or to hold special treasures from a vacation or a special event like a wedding.

 

I've signed up for several on line classes and have always enjoyed the challenge of the project.  This class gives you LOTS of different projects..not just one!  And if you use my coupon code "Thriftymisspriss" you will get $10.00 off!  It will basically cost less than $4.00 for each project!  I'm offering a fun giveaway to a lucky person who uses my coupon code as well. 

Wouldn't you like to live in one of these?

I will enter your name into the drawing if you sign up using my coupon code  The lucky winner will receive one of my sugared Christmas houses!  I will mail it to you in November so you can enjoy it with your Christmas decor.

Hop over to the Artist Class and take a peek!

Have a great week!

A Beautiful Life Journal

I recently participated in an on line journal class hosted by Heather.  Everything she does she pours her heart into...and this was no exception!

The theme was "A beautiful life".  Heather provided a lot of beautiful images and wallpapers for us to download to use in the journals.  I found a few old song books that were small enough for this project.  I used sheet music from these books throughout my project.

 
I won't explain every little detail...but I wanted to use really special things that I've been saving.  The tatting used here was done by my Grandmother who was born in 1895.  A relative sent me her sewing box last year and there are all sorts of treasures in there.

I used a lot of Heathers images that she provided, but also used some of my own.  I ventured off course a little and made a "title page" in my book too.

 
The last page I created a little pocket out of Heathers image...and inserted a little tag.....I wrote on it what a "Beautiful Life" means to me.

I was happy to find the music "Gay Robin Redbreast" in the music book.  Anytime I see anything with the name Robin or bird related I like to use it.  I was born with a red birthmark right above my heart....and I think it's kind of funny that my mom named me Robin.....but then again...she named my brother Brett but the moment she brought him home she thought he looked like a "pete" and we never called him Brett again!  She used to call us Pete and Re-pete.

But back to the journal!  Heather is leaving the workshop open until the end of October I think.  You can work at your own pace.  Anyone can do this.  You can spend as little or as much time as you want on it.  I love my little book I made and will add it to my little growing collection.   Speaking of book collections.....the fat book sign ups were finalized last weekend.  The participants are:  Mary, Cari B., Joyce, Julie Ann, Lynnae, Karen, Kelly, Jill, Judith, Leslie and Carrie.  If you do not see your name listed and you signed up please let me know!  Also if you signed up but did not get an email from me let me know. 

This morning I stepped outside to get some decent daylight pictures of my journal.  I glanced up and saw this.  

 
 
I watch that little lonely sad face every morning as I back out of the driveway to go to work.  When I pull in at night she is there peeking out waiting.  She knows the time line and won't lay there all day...but around 5pm she gets back up on the couch and waits for me.  I can remember watching out the window down the street every night at 5pm waiting for my moms baby  blue mustang to come zipping down the street into the driveway......

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

   

Fat Book thoughts.......

Thank you so much everyone for all the wedding Love!  The day was perfect and will always be a special memory for our family! 

Now that it's behind me.....I've been wanting to take on a collaborative project for a long time. I've just been waiting for the right time to do it......

Last February I participated in a fat book swap hosted by Dede.  We made lots of pages based on the valentine theme and sent them all to Dede.  She separated them, divided them up and put them together into fat books and mailed them all back. If you go to Dede's archives and look in January 09 you can see all the beautiful pages there.

She altered a hardback book by removing the pages and inserted all the fat book pages inside.

I just drooled over this beautiful artwork for months after wards.  It sits on a shelf in my art room where I can see it, open it, feel it on a regular basis. It's nice to have the work of so many others in your own book.  I've wanted to participate in another one immediately after I received this.

I thought I'd host my own fat book swap.  I've thought a lot about the theme and I've come up with "Winter Whites". Wouldn't a book stuffed full of ivory, cream, and white pages be beautiful?    Each participant would make a designated number of pages..(depending on how many people joined) mail them to me by the deadline and I will assemble and mail the fat book back to you.

Here are some pages from the Valentine book

This was the first time I'd ever participated in something like this.  I was a little nervous but like Dede said....everyone has to start somewhere! 

Do you like to collage?  Sew? Paint? Rubber stamp?  If you answered yes to any of these questions maybe you'd like to join me?  You might think you don't have enough   images of your own to use for a project like this....well flickr has thousands of copyright free photos that you can use. I will provide you with lots of links to websites that offer free images. Do you know Karen the Graphics Fairy?  She has beautiful images that she shares on a daily basis practically.  Mary is another source of wonderful images....some free, some very reasonably priced!

If you are interested in joining send me an email at thrifty underscore misspriss at yahoo dot com   I will post all the details.........who, what, when etc.  You may be signing up to make as few as 5 pages or as many as 16!  The more we have participating the FATTER your book will be!  I'm thinking the deadline will be the first week in November.  That will give me time to get them all separated and assembled and back out to you by the end of the month...in time for you to enjoy all "winter" long!

Enjoy your week!

Family picture wall with thrifted frames

I don't have much to share....just counting down the days until my daughter gets married!  One week and I'll be a Mother In Law!

I've been collecting these frames from yard sales with the intention of doing a family picture wall.  An updated wall that is....not baby pictures and first days of school........

I think every frame I came across recently was gold...or teak.  The long one at the bottom had a decent mat but I didn't care for the pictures or the color.  That pressed wildflower one at the top is nice because it's two pieces of glass....no mat needed.

this old flashcard is temporary.  I'm expecting lots of nice family pictures next weekend and will find one for this frame.

   

I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.  I didn't spend more than a dollar for each one.  I used my home printer and did all black and white on glossy photo paper.  Now if I can just stay motivated to keep collecting frames......I'd like to fill the whole wall.  This teeny tiny hall is SO dark, using the hall light made everything glow a little.

I've been itching to get some more journal pages done too.  Thanks for all the sweet notes and comments on my last spread about my mom.  You guys are so sweet!  I know some of you are going through the same things with your parents and it makes it easier if you have someone to share it with.

SInce I was on a roll with pictures of my mom....I did a few more of her.  These aren't completely done yet I don't think.

I love the quote on the left page..."Hope sees the invisible...feels the intangible and achieves the impossible" Not even thinking about it until JUST now....how perfect on the page next to my mom!  She had more obstacles in her life than anyone I know but she remained upbeat and positive and her favorite saying was "it's NOT fatal"!  I have to be reminded of this occasionally.

This is what I imagined the dress to look like that my mom was wearing in the picture.  A few days later I was digging through an old photo box and found a tiny picture of her in the dress!  So I had to incorporate it in my journal of course!

Some of you asked if I used a spiral bound journal.  This one is spiral bound.  It's really a sketchbook.  I don't like using this and prefer to use the three ring binder version (which I will call my pretty book (ha-ha). I thought I'd have this spiral bound version finished in a month and move on.  NO WAY.   Using the three ring binder allows you more elbow room working on one page at a time.  I use card stock as the base page in that journal...and paint, glue, and paste on that. 

Typepad has done some "updating" and I wasn't able to respond to a lot of my comments.  Or when I did try it bounced back.  I think that is fixed now, but if I didn't respond last time it wasn't because I wasn't trying!  I think if you are nice enough to visit and leave a comment I certainly want to reply and try to visit your blog too.  I think it's rude when bloggers don't respond or at least attempt to respond to their readers.  It's like walking down the hall at work and saying hello to someone and have them look down and not answer you back!  RUDE! Anyway....when that happens to me I say, "Oh fine thanks, and you?"

And speaking of work.....we are going ALL electronic on Tuesday.  It will be a huge time saver (it's a doctors office) but lots of work at the beginning.  In fact....I brought work home this weekend and have not even started working on it!  Know why? here's the reason(s)

1) Because it's my birthday!

2) Because the weather has been beautiful and I can't stop sneaking outside!

3) Because I LOVE to wait until the last minute to do things....

Have a terrific week !

Journal Pages

It's been a while since I've made time for Journaling.  I go in spurts.

 

paper doll is from Suzee Que on flickr-great images that she finds and shares!

"photographs back ground paper" from The Graphics Fairy-always so sweet to share her BEAUTIFUL images with everyone!

Little girl in photo strip above and my new blog banner is from Jamie at Art-e-ology.  Jamie gave me her blessings to use the sweet image in my blog banner too!

I was playing with contrast and brightness in Picassa....it's free and a decent photo editing program.

I heard this quote the other day and it stuck with me.  This one is in my "edgy" journal....the one where I try different techniques and don't really care how it turns out.  The Little GIrl Lost page is from my "pretty book" (that's what I'm calling it) where I do my "safe" stuff.

I opened a book one day and this little fortune was in it.  How I managed to save it without loosing it I'll never know.

Over atMind Wide Opena challenge is posted to take a piece of digital art and do what you want with it.  I've never played along before but sometimes I'm just stuck and sit there not knowing what to create.  Driving home from work one day I was at a light and I was looking at blogs on my iphone (I wasn't moving!)  I saw this challenge and immediately knew what I wanted to do!  It just started spewing out of my brain so fast I couldn't think fast enough.

The theme is "daughter"

This is the beautiful image you are supposed to play with.  I of course ran out of blue ink that night and I was bummed.  I printed it out and black and white and made the best of the situation.  I told myself this was just a practice run.

I liked how it turnout out so I'm leaving it as is!  I have to send it to Mind Wide Open for voting on 9/8/09.  I think I will check back more often for prompts to get me going.

I like to journal about my mom.  I miss her so much!  She is here but she can't really communicate with me anymore.  She acts as if she recognizes me and my sisters but who knows.  She might be putting on a good act.  When she tries to talk it comes out all backwards and makes no sense.  Usually I just talk to her and keep the conversation light.  We might watch the animal planet or look at a coffee table book.  I never know whats going on inside her mind.  She does try hard to get words out but it doesn't always work.  When I heard the song "Landslide" last year while driving with my mom it really made me so sad.  It's kind of become "that song" that I get so sad about my mom when I hear it on the radio.  I hear it MAYBE once every few months.  Saturday driving to the bridal shower it came on the radio......oh the tears started!  I tried to slap myself to pull it together........so the other night when I was making the collage.....guess what song came on?  Yep!  Is that weird or WHAT?  This time it didn't make me nearly as sad.  Maybe art is therapeutic.

 Have a wonderful THREE DAY WEEKEND!  Yay!

I was smart and took today off to unwind from my vacation....or in all reality to prepare my brain for going back to work.  I'm geared up and as ready as I'm going to be........

I worked all day in my art room...it's become the dumping ground for every yard sale/thrift store purchase.  I was making great progress and then I'd find something interesting.  I'd stop and play around with this and that, then get back to organizing.  Then I had to stop and take pictures of my thrifty finds........then I'd get back to cleaning........then I felt it necessary to cover a cigar box with pretty fabric......then I got back to cleaning.  I need to see a dr. soon for ADD i'm sure.

Here's some journal pages I did on vacation

  

Here are a few I did in my "Journal of Interest" book, which I will now refer to as my "pretty book"!  I'm using all my best papers and trims for this book.

 

I found this picture when we went to Lucketts in June.  I thought this little girl looked like she was up to something, in fact...she reminded me so much of my oldest daughter when she was a baby.  She was a little schemer and once when she wore me down from begging and whining for something..she walked away and told my husbands mother "Works like a charm every time!" so I thought this was the perfect caption for this photo!  The date at the top is my daughter's birth date.  I forgot to share this with her so I'll have to show her!  It's been a big family joke ever since then.....wear mom down and it works like a charm every time!

So after I was cleaning and throwing away today...I came across this picture of my mother in law as a baby.

Do you SEE the resemblance????  The little girl in the top photo looks JUST like my mother in law

so I had to dig out my favorite picture of my mom and do a two page spread dedicated to the both of them!

  The background journal paper is from Lori.  In fact, the little watch that belonged to my mother is glued on to a little decoration Lori used on one of the bags she sent me in our swap.  I like to recycle!

The lace is tatting that my grandmother did years ago and never used it for a project.

 

I don't like having to use the flash but I was in the mood to take the pictures so I couldn't wait for daylight.

 

while I was cleaning I came across this box of flash cards I got about TWO years ago....I know....the things we find when we clean!

I've been having fun with these all afternoon.

 see what I mean?  I copied the pictures of the mamas and now they're in my sight every time I sit down to play.

That little "k" on the bird picture came from Karen's shop at Lucketts (Karen is also the graphics fairy

Later this week I hope to show you all the great things I found on vacation!

Here's a sneak peek:

Have a great week!

Back to reality

We just got home from the best vacation EVER.  We went to Ocean City, Maryland, about a 4 hr drive for us.

We stayed in a penthouse condo right on the beach.  It was pure heaven.  Except for the whole elevator thing......

The condo was decorated so cute!  Pure beach style all the way.  The colors were a little bright and not what I'd choose to decorate but it was really done well.

This is the living room overlooking the beach. 

and here's the dining room

Master bedroom

and the second bedroom

   

this room was on the ocean side as well, with it's own private balcony overlooking the beach.  That little chase lounge is where the little one slept while she visited.  It was all slumber party style...we had cots, couches, and all beds in use at different times. 

Waking up early to squeeze every possible moment out of every day.....

This was the stairway going up to the bedrooms!  We all almost busted our behinds more than once on this....but still it's just so cute and quaint.

We ate a ridiculous amount of good food....got an enormous amount of sun and sand and were out late whooping it up every night.  I've never laughed so hard for so many days straight in my life.  These two had a LOT to do with that.

 

My daughter and her friend that went with us.  They are both walking comedians. 

We went down to the beach last night around 7.....when the sun is gone...it's perfect timing for great pictures.  I made them do 100's of poses...they felt so silly but I kept telling them "you'll never see these people again in your life!  who CARES?"  they got into it and I got some GREAT pictures.

See what I mean?  One would do something to make the other laugh uncontrollably...and laughter is contagious!

see that CUTE blanket?  and that BIG pearl ring I'm wearing?  Yup...found myself some junk places!  I'll be sharing the loot later in the week but lets just say by Wednesday I was in NEED of some junk.  I did google searches and with the help of blogging friends...found a few places!  Went back a second time too!  I was LUCKY enough to find a Church Rummage sale...small town style...my favorite! That sweet blanket was $2.00!

I pulled it out of the car and thought "PERFECT beach blanket!"  It's lightweight and made of sear sucker.  My daughter thought it was silly to take it down for our photo shoot...but these were times I wanted to remember!

In the afternoon after we'd come back from the beach, I sat on the balcony listening to the roar of the ocean waves working in my journal.  I stuffed as much stuff as possible into this box, and only used what I had.

So now it's back to work, laundry, yard work and all the other things.  I guess all good things have to come to an end sooner or later!

Have a terrific week! 

Journaling again.....

Here's a few more journal pages I've made recently.

The one below is about my sweet mom....I was thinking of my visit with her on Saturday....gearing myself up for it Friday evening last week.  I start thinking about what we'll do for the afternoon while I'm with her.  Usually its lunch out and having her hair done.  Sometimes my sisters and I take her to a local park and walk thru the trails in the woods.  She seems to love this and asks to go back often.

She always seems so shocked when I walk in the door..as if she forgot about me until that very moment...then it seems like pure surprise and happiness to her.  I don't think she has thoughts of me or my sisters during the week...out of sight...out of mind...but she knows us when we're with her...and she is just so giddy and happy the entire time.  I often wonder if she'll call me by name.....and sometimes she does...

It's been two years now since she's been in assisted living, with the last year she's needed assistance with almost everything connected to daily skills.  Dressing.....eating, everything.  At first we were so depressed and sad over her diagnosis....but the pain has eased....for the most part.  I'm still so sad about what she's lost...and what me and my siblings have lost.  I see active vibrant seniors and wish it could be my mom.  I also know first hand what it's like to loose your mother (my mother in law) and how my husband would give anything just to have his mother for one more day.

One of these days I'll  do a page dedicated to my mom that's not related to her illness.  It's not that  I really need to document this.....believe me...it's something I'll never forget.

Now...on to other pages!  I've been following along in Teresa's "Journal of Interest" e-zine.  I'm having a great time trying new things.  The picture below was a challenge to draw something without looking at your paper.  I totally ignored the prompt for a few days because there was no way I'd draw something without looking.  I finally pushed myself to do it and was shocked at the way the bird came out.  It looks nothing like the one I used as a model.....(a print on the wall) but the fact that I could see that it was a bird shocked me.  I started at the top beak and worked my way around the head, and body...when it came time to circle around the bottom for the belly I had the BIGGEST URGE to look.....I kept on until I couldn't stand it anymore and I peeked.  So right about the spot where the bottom beak is where I finished it off while looking.  I added the details etc while looking of course!  I also journaled around the drawing. About certain teenage kids that think they know it all....ahem!

I see that I set this page down in a blob of pink paint.  That's ok......I don't care that there's a little blob of pink in the middle of the text!

Another page......

Here I used some of the vintage ephemera that Beth sent to me.....and some bits and pieces of fabric that I had laying on my desk.

So another Friday is upon me...and again I think of my mom and what adventures we'll have tomorrow when I visit her with my sister (it's always a duel visit...she gets "two kids for the price of one" and my sisters and I get to visit with each other more than we ever have!

Have a fun, creative, treasure filled weekend!

A Journal of Interest....

Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful comments on the dining room re do!  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  One of these fine days I'll look up what the wall color is...I've had lots of you ask....I actually purchased that paint from the OOPS bin at Home Depot (I KNOW!) for $5.00.

Switching gears a little here....while I'm not elbow deep in paint anymore, I'm still trying to be creative everyday.....I signed up for "A Journal Of Interest E-zine".  A few times a week we get prompts and instructions on how to complete a new page in our art journals.

Here's a few of my pages so far.

I got the Victorian Game Card images from Mary at green paper they are beautiful and I'm finding so many ways to use them!  Thanks Mary!

On this page we were to make a statement.....or a quote....this says
"To live a creative life, we must loose the fear of being wrong"

This page was about giving yourself permission to use certain materials.... to take the time every day to create........

The little bits and pieces are fun to add!  I got this from Karen, The Graphics Fairy!

When I added my name to the inside cover, I wanted to be sure and keep Agnes' name displayed.....she must have been a previous owner of this old music book....from 1904.  Agnes and I can share the book!

Have a creative weekend!

Finally......

I finally opened my Etsy Shop!  Only took me a little over a year!  I guess now that the task is done I'll want to add to it regularly!

I also covered all of my chairs that I bought a few weeks ago and they've been sanded and ready for painting.  I hope to finish this huge project over the holiday weekend!

Happy Wednesday!