More Craft Fair items: Shadow boxes

Ok, so I am almost done getting ready for this thing. I have amassed so many little things that I make and do not use...or I buy, thinking I will decorate them and then they sit, stored while I make cards and layouts. Some of these things I do make for gifts and some for me to display in our home, but a lot of times, it is all about deocrating them. So I decided to add these to my sale next Saturday. I really like them, how they turned out. I know, that if I do not sell them, I will probably hang them up in our home, but now also, since I know that I can do these, I can make another one just like it for us too! Thanks for stopping by. We are heading to the "Facebook" wedding today...don't ask...I won't share anyway, but I will be back later this week. Love and Hugs, Lara

Manly cards

As I was getting ready for my craft fair, I realized that I have some really pretty feminine cards but not a lot for male population so I determined that I needed to break out something manly...I made some cards with Tim Holtz's Lost and Found...which by the way is such wonderful stuff that I believe that I will be buying the paper pack again. Love the colors, so rich and vibrant. I tell you, this stuff, looks better in person than on the website....I was so right in getting this, and cannot get enough of it! Love the pages, some are 12x12, some 6x6 and even smaller sizes and borders too. It is all double-sided to boot...love this stuff! So here are some of the cards that I made last night, just for the men! Love and Hugs, Lara

I create to....CREATE

It is something that I do...I make stuff...from paper and flowers and stickers. Rarely do I make it for me...usually as gifts. I have to create, it is something I do. I decided that I make all these things for me, but I do not keep them. I usually send them on their way to someone else.

Recently, I got a wild hair to enter a craft fair in St. Paul. I am going to try and sell these things...not so much to make money, but to send them to a new home, where my creative-ness will brighten someone elses day. So in a little over 2 weeks, I will be selling my crafts at a little craft fair in my neighborhood.

These are the altered birdhouses that I have made in the past few months that I am going to put out there, along with cards, mini-books and frames. I will be posting the frames later on. So here is to creating! That is what I do.... Have a wonderful week! (off to get a mammogram) =) Love and Hugs, Lara

Following a doily flower tutorial

Well, so I am a sucker for altered items and I stumbled across this on Christine MiddleCamp's Blog, Retrospection.

This is an amazing tutorial and eventhough I am varying my flowers slightly and my project too, I am finding that I am having quite a bit of fun with her layering techniques and it is helping me to be thoughtful about my selections for my products used, as well as revisiting many items that I forgot about or would never have thought of using. She is a wonder when it comes to layering and I love the ideas that she presents in her tutorial. I have been using variations of her products used, and to boot, I have been using a 8.5x10 shadow box frame that I already had as I think it is important to use one's own creative process and, I have so much stuff in my stash already, there is no need to add to it, by buying everything that she speaks of...it could cost a small fortune. But I digress, I am simply saying that this kind of project can reflect your individuality by using items that you bought for some good reason...like that you LIKED them.

I encourage you to check it out! She speaks that each flower takes about 3-4 hours for her to create(she is designing it, remember), but if you are in tune with your stash, you can make one in about 30-60minutes. The individual flowers are tiny works of art, and when it is completed I guarantee that you will not be dissatisfied with your own flowers, even if they do not look exactly like Christine's. It is turning out to be one of my most favorite projects ever! Thank you Christine! Anyway, must move on, flower # 7 & 8 await.

My work so far: