So I finally found a way to put my singing adventures on the web too!
Myspace of course!
Why hadn't I thought about that site I used to be on for hours a day when I was in middle school?
After a tip off from my boyfriend's band's own myspace page, I decided to become a musican on it too.
I don't have any videos of my quite yet that I can put on youtube and fasten in here but maybe I will start doing a vlog soon and add something in so we can get to know each other even better.
I hope you enjoy my singing from graduate school and my recitals on myspace. Leave a comment on the one you like best!
Just click one of the pictures and it will take you right to my new site.
To check out The Dirty Souls- my boyfriend's rocking band, just search their name after listening to my site.
Don't overlook the Christmas section at thrift stores. Even though the holidays are over....and boy do we see the results of that on our body sometimes....you can find great project starters right in the seasonal sections of stores!
Of course in January these items are on HUGE discount depending on the store.
I found a snowman box that was in an ivory color- my favorite neurtral tone for crafting!
I didn't even have to paint this piece, I simply used card stock and cut it in the rectangle shape to cover up the Christmas scene.
I used decorative scissors to get the wavy effect on the purple cardsotkc.
ALWAYS LAYER CARDSTOCK PAPERS! It gives it a nice depth and works just like matting a picture you own in a frame. Much classier look.
Next, a great effect that I highly reccomend in all my projects is coloring the edges of a project.
This time I chose purple ink from a stamp pad and as you can see I lighty ran and dabbed it all along the edges of the box.
I wripped out paper from a French novel for the sides of the box. Always rip each side of the paper to give it a fun addition for a vintage look. My favorite part is the Paris mailing stamp I bought in a pack of four from Michaels that I added in black ink to the corner.
I love collaging these things all together for an eye catching ending.
Now I'm going to add tea bags to the box and set it on the table when entertaining.
My projects this week are have to do with upcycling things I find in thrift stores. I even made it a point to buy things NOT over a dollar!
You can find these boxes easily at your local swap meet store and simply follow these instructions to make them all beautiful vintage looking piece.
Step 1: Sandpaper your piece so that any wood sticking out or any funky edges smooth out.
Try peeling off any images on the box. Make sure since it's from a thrift store that you then clean up any germs or leftover sandpaper with an antibacterial wipe.
I found a great find at the thrift store too: Alice in Wonderland! You can pick up any classic novel at your thrift store to do this project, look for ones with illustrations still in them especially.
Rip out the pages for a cool affect and use a brown stamp ink pad or Holtz's distress ink to age the edge of the ripped pages.
Color in the illustration if you would like with pencils.
Modge Podge the top of the jewelry box and start to put the papers on top smoothing the edges down for no wrinkles.
After a little drying add modge podge to the top of the of the jewelry box as well....we are decoupaging y'all!
For extra effects I stamped a bee on the bottom of the lid.
I puff painted around the edges of the box and die cut a fleur de lis for the bottom of the box. Make sure to decoupage the bottom and top of all your paper prodcuts to keep them in place and looking shiny and good.
I even added the authors name to the bottom right of the box.
I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial. There are more to come of course. Keep your eye out for fun finds in the thrift stores that you can transform into little treasures!
Now I'm going to go watch millionare matchmaker! haha
I submitted my Paris glass pendant to over 200 thumbnails on that blog that people scroll through and can click to be taken to your blog. It's a party! I have found so many great blogs this way.
Here are some more things that I have been working on the last few days. I hope you like them. And remember I always use recycled thrift store items.
This is the top of a jewlery box that was AWFUL looking with 70s teddy bears on it. Now it is a chic French themed jewelry box. Repainted, coated, decoupaged and stamped.
Au revoir for now my lovely followers. Today I go teach two voice lessons....money to buy more craft supplies??
In other news, I have dived into the world of diamond glaze....yes it's true. My mother's friend Cydney who is a crafter from Austin has apprenticed me for the weekend and I have learned loads.
We have been working with pendants on recycled materials using modge podge, scrabble pieces, dominos, glass pieces and sliced wine cork. I've also started using a dremel- some of the people in the Atlanta Young Crafters group would be so proud!
I've started discovering that a lot of the blogs that I am following except people to submit their work in case it is good enough for display on their blog! Huge bloggers with thousands of readers like:
Made my first etsy sale and am feeling on top of the world. My twitter page is slowly but surely going up in followers, people I don't even know personally! I also started up a flickr account.
Each of these crafters use upcycled materials like myself
This house I created this week uses a reproduction of a royal young boy with splattered paint, stamping, paint pens, puff paint and marker.
I call it home is where the heart is. I even put the little bushes on the front with golden sequins. The door is behing the boy with green sparkle pen.
The whole piece is on an upcycled wooden house ornament held up with a piece or rugged looking string.
This weekend my aunt Nina came into town who I lived with when I was younger. We have a great bond and her daughter, Lucia, is my closest cousin as we are about the same age too. Nina and I are both crafty, her a quilter, I a collager I guess you would say.
As we talked our creative minds churned and we came up with the idea that all of us in my generation are in a sort of transitional phase. We should all join together and put our talents in one pool to create a sort of hybrid art store, cafe, teaching center, upcycled retail store.
I think that that was an incredible idea....but how?How do people even start their own businesses? What would I call it? Would my cousins and siblings be good business partners?
I think about little things in a store/cafe like that. Having designer clothes that we upcycle from thrift stores....picking out my favorite local art from people applying to display in my store....having opening galas....sales......making cappuccino....i could go on and on.
Maybe I need to find people with money for investing first. Yea.
This week I returned from Cancun, Mexico with my darling beau, Matt. We did a photoshoot on the beach and around the hotel and the pictures came out just stunning. We wish we had money to buy more of them but we are on that college budget type deal.
Now that I am back, however, I am having a most difficult time getting back into crafting.
I want to just lay on the beach on a hammock. How do regain my passion for art once again?
Taking a break was exactly what I needed but the craft table simply becomes more and more full of junk from the living room it's impossible to work at.
What tips would you suggest for finding that spark again?
This week I also, after reading many blogs about why I should, opened a twitter account.
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