Up all night with the artsy fairies...

I have these nights where I have so many designs and ideas in my head that I can not get a wink of sleep...last night happened to be one of them..so if I am a bit more dingy than normal, it is because of the lack of sleep..anyway, let's get to it and see if you like any of these things I came up with!

one of my fav art journal pages..gelatos and dyes

odd looking bit of blue texture island with sequins, etc...

the large bin of new items I have made lately

a football shaped chip and dip segmented dish (now in art room)

my first chip and dip dish...love it

sorta zetti fairy girl

More fun with dunce caps and collage, plus hand sewn around edges

small tag with collage image

Small tag with collage house and hand sewing

small tag with owls

These are just a few drops in the bucket of all of the things I have been making lately! It's a lot of fun, but I could sure use some good sleep!

Easy Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Hello and Happy Holidays to you all...I am just about ready for Christmas, which is a good thing, since it is going to happen whether I am ready or not! I have 4 beautiful grandchildren, 2 boys and 2 girls, and they are at the age where they all like MONEY ($$$) as much or more than if I had searched for months for that perfect gift!! So this year, I am leaning toward just a dollar amount and I am NOT going to fall for any gift cards..just cold hard CASH!!

But-if you have someone to buy for, either young or old, here are a few last minute gifts that the recipient will love and possibly cherish that don't take a lot or time or money...all you will need for this first one is some coordinating scraps of cardstock and scrapbook paper..plus go to the local Dollar Store for a few more items...

This is a paperback Bible from the local dollar store that I have recovered using scrapbook paper, cardstock, washi tape, lots of glue, chipboard embellishments and other odds and ends...the Bible cost a dollar, and I already had all of the other things in my stash...took me maybe an hour and change to make this, from start to finish...Behold:

Bible Front

Bible Back

I really like how this turned out...It is a nice sized book, and with the new covering on it, it should last the recipient for a long time...not to mention the memories and warm feelings it will invoke when they think of who made it for them! Handmade gifts are always a big hit, and the fact that they are a "one of a kind" makes them even mire special...Next up...the Bible and Scripture Journal that is an altered composition notebook, again from the dollar store, and using bits and pieces, scraps and whatnots from your stash...Great for studying scriptures and journaling about how they make you feel, or your thoughts on them...

Bible and Scripture Journal Front

Bible and Scripture Journal Back

Altered hardback blank Journal for Bible Study
FRONT

Altered hardback blank Journal for Bible Study
BACK

These two were super easy to make, it helps that they each have rather hard covers, because when you are recovering these, it seems to go a bit faster...I use hot glue on mine, and E6000 glue on the outside embellishments to make them really hang on there...the hardback blank journal came from Walmart in the art section and cost less than $10.00 (I think that's right)...they just started carrying these books about maybe a year ago...Anyway, covering these two journals took me maybe an hour and a half, or two hours each at the most...still using scraps and embellishments from my stash...You can also make a Bible and a Journal to match or coordinate. You can give someone both and they are set up for "Bible Journaling"!!  Okay...next on my list...

Blank Journal recovered and embellished

 Last of all, I bought one of the blank, lined journals at the dollar store, and as you can see, recovered and embellished using scrapbook and cardstock pieces, lace, rhinestones, and black squishy letters spelling out JOURNAL...The journal cost way less than $5.00, and all of the rest is of course, pieces and scraps from my stash...I have a granddaughter who loves the color pink...This may end up being a little part of her Christmas...along with the cash they are going to get!!!

I hope that this has inspired you to make up a couple of these, even after the holidays...I just love the altering part of the process, and I almost always have something on hand for a gift when something pops up... takes a lot of the pressure off, and helps you get in some artsy time for therapy reasons, lol!!!

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!!

Happy Creating!!

Laura

Laura's Uniques on Etsy

New Mail Art Postcards

I have made some new postcards, and thought I would post them for you to see... They are very simple, but fun to make, and about half-way addicting! I just love the simple yet colorful look of them...

The top two are as follows, "Blue Daisies", the next is "English Garden", and the last is "Trumpet Vines"...I made these postcards with my watercolor  (watercolour) pencils, and my water brush.

I also made a small abstract in my 5" x 8" visual; journal by Strathmore, and it is below:

Look at the journal page above...It is fair, isn't it? It could pass left just like it is...but...what if you added some pastels to the background and smeared them around and then some watercolor crayon accents? Then you might have a page that looks like this---

Quite a difference huh??? Just goes to show you how a background can make or break an art journal page...!!

Two Free Giveaways!!!

 

Would you like to receive free, weekly or monthly journal prompts for either your art journaling, visual journaling or your regular journaling? The prompts look like the one above as well as some others I have made into "word art", all on cardstock and colorful, which you could print off onto cardstock and actually glue into your journal or use on a greeting card, etc.! Here is the way to enter-If you can get someone new to sign up for my blog, and let me know in the comment section of my blog, I will enter you in a drawing for free journal prompts for 6 months!! Yes-I will commit to you for 6 months! I will send you one prompt a week or one a month, whichever you prefer (please state which you would prefer in the comment you leave, along with your and your friend's names, and your email address so I can send your prompts to you each time...). If you don't want to leave that info in the comment section, you can email me the info at "Lthykeson@yahoo.com". Please put "Blog Contest" in the subject line. I have seen sites on the web that send out journal prompts, but the ones I saw wanted money, which I am not gonna spend on journal prompts!  I would like to have more readers, and I think you can help me out! I will also be having a contest in the future for some folkart EXTREME GLITTER, so they may want to sign up before I have that drawing (December 15, 2010) so they will have a chance to win, along with you!

If you haven't tried the Extreme Glitter, you are missing out on a great product! So much better to apply glitter in the clear base, than to have to shake or pour over projects and then have your glitter flake off onto places you don't want it to be. So, if you would like to win some of this great product for free, watch my blog and get others to sign up for blog updates-simple as that, and they could also win! I will put your and their names in the drawing for the Extreme Glitter, but your name alone will go in the Free Journal Prompt Drawing!! Sound good??