Halloween Party Transfers

Everyday script background paper can instantly be transformed into a Halloween themed backdrop using a few simple techniques and basic supplies. I'm not big on buying a bazillion different things in order to create something special. Creativity is about using the things you already have and putting them to use in such a way as to accomplish a desired end result. This is a project I made for Bic Mark-it Markers. You can get the directions and supply list here.

I wanted to point out the image transfer technique here for the folks who think they can't draw *wink*

Take any copyright free image you'd like to transpose to an already decorated piece of paper and print it onto a blank sheet of copy paper. Using a soft lead pencil (I used a regular Bic Mechanical pencil from the kid's school supply stash) and scribble over the entire backside of your image. Lay your image, pencil side down, over your decorative paper in the place you'd like it to go, and then simply trace over it with a ballpoint pen. The image will transfer to the underlying sheet and then you can color it in as you'd like. I used progressively darker markers to shade in the skull image to achieve the desired effect. Have fun and happy creating!

Big Thinking

 For those of you familiar with Michigan and the outlet mall in Birch Run, you've probably seen Tony's Restaurant right there next to the gas station before hopping back onto I-75. For those of you who have never heard of Tony's, it is one of those places every person must visit at least once in their lifetime just to say that they've been there. The walls are decorated with celebrities that have at one time or another visited and their menu is more akin to a family newsletter you'd get around the holidays filling you in on all the latest events and happenings than a list to order from. The offerings listed in the menu seem, on the surface, to be normal enough, the prices are very reasonable, and the staff are friendly and always ready with a smile. 

 In order to illustrate "big" thinking to our children, my husband and I decided we should stop by and let them order whatever they wanted. The kids were immediately giddy to see their Mythbuster Heroes on the menu and were wondering why it was that Tory and Grant hadn't come by for a visit while they were smacking the Michigan Mitten a high five. Laughing to myself, I found the most interesting thing about the scenario in how oblivious they were to the platters that streamed past them while they were so engrossed in the options typed on paper in front of their noses, how they completely missed the "big" whilst pondering the small print. 

 The waitress came by and took our orders. My daughter had chosen the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich. Promptly after the kids ordered, I asked them about big ideas and big thinking, what they would do if an idea got too big? The family discussion was entertaining to say the least... nothing is too big for a kid methinks. I mentioned that each of them had had an idea of what they wanted for dinner and an expectation based on past experiences of what they were going to receive. They all agreed that they had had the thought, figured it was what they wanted, and were hungry ("starving" said in an exasperated tone by the middle child) enough to eat it all and still have room for dessert.

 Dinner was served. The kid's jaws dropped and not one of them moved. Their "idea" was just so big that they honestly had no clue as to how to begin... they sat motionless and unable to move. I thought about how many times I have had this grand thought and how after thinking about it earnest, became paralyzed, unable to proceed.

 She (7): "What's the point of a big idea if you can't get your mouth around it? Maybe big ideas have to be eaten in little bites and maybe there are supposed to be left-overs." Me: "Maybe."

Halloween "Punkin"

Carving Pumpkins is serious business in this studio... as are Math, Science, and all forms of Geekdom. It has become a Halloween tradition to pull out the Dremel, Speedball Linoleum Cutters, and a Permanent Bic Mark-it Marker to come up with something the neighbors will get a kick out of. 

Reading Signs

A well done sign is universal, it transcends language barriers and even generations. I laughed when my daughter said, "That sign is EXACTLY how I feel Mom." I wondered if she would have read that sign any differently had she not been in desperate need of a restroom. It's interesting to think about how a sign can mean different things depending on what frame of mind we ourselves are in, what needs we ourselves have at the time. To my son standing near by, this sign said, "Lego Women on Thin Ice"... 

First Aid Tape

One of the many things I enjoy is discovering new uses for the stuff I already have on hand. I am so thankful that the folks at Bic Mark-it Markers give me the opportunity to use old materials in new ways to construct scrapbook pages that others can re-create on their own.

This being tailgating season and me being a HUGE football fan, I decided to use materials that are easy and accessible during the Fall Season and on college campuses dotting across these fine United States of America. The first, a disposable metal grill cover so many of us use while grilling various things over an open flame, is repurposed into a wonderful "grid iron" background that give one's lay-out more of a rough edge and touch appeal. Secondly, First Aid Tape from 3M lends itself to many more uses beyond wound management... here, it is a cool way to add text that isn't overdone and still embodies the raw and physical nature of a contact sport. Incidentally, First Aid Paper tape is a beautiful DIY Washi Tape alternative as well.

You can read about this project at the Bic Mark-it Blog and see this project as well as many other scrapbooking ideas in the scrapbooking section.

TCCE 2011

The Creative Connection Event held many surprises for me this year. I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend by a dear friend and mentor, Beckah Krahula. Due to the overlapping in events with the New York Maker Faire, I was only able to experience the BlogHer sponsored portion on Thursday.

As a person who not only teaches those who'd like to earn a living creating as well as making my own living via the various things I personally make myself, this event embodies so many things "done right."

1) Not only are people (not just women) encouraged to take risks and be bold in striving for those things they desire in their lives, they are shown real world examples of ordinary everyday folks who did, and continue to do, extraordinary things to enjoy atypical success.

2) The focus on networking and lifting others to achieve their dreams is something I think we forget in the corporate world. With an ever connected social media existence, we forget that it's not about us inasmuch as about the community in which we are all trying to populate and thrive in.

3) People blog for many reasons... some for personal edification, others for monetary gain, some for validation that they aren't just some human sucking air and giving off carbon, whilst others are just trying to prove that they aren't so alone perhaps. I loved the fact that many people at this event had no agenda, that is, they had no idea what to expect but, we ready, willing and wanting to receive it.

4) We all had a place at a round table. There were no name tags or pre-determined seating arrangements yet, there was a custom spot for each of those who attended. We were lavishly gifted many trinkets and sundries, served dessert first and given silverware with linen napkins. I think it is important to feel as if one is intended... that they matter and have purpose. It was wonderful knowing that the strangers we sat with not only became acquaintances by the end of the meal and presentation but that, even though we may not have known what it was we were to offer to our companions upon sitting down, we did upon leaving. The willingness to share and ask specifically, 'how may I serve you?', is powerful folks, it is powerful to build another up to their full potential by using the talents you were given.

For me personally, the reason I was supposed to go was to see faith in action and taste the richness of dreams poured out. 

Walls

Along any country mile one is bound to see a wall or two dotting the landscape. Many of these walls mark a property line while others have another, less known, purpose for being built into existence, one we may never know. My Grandfather always said, never take down a wall until you can figure out why it was put there in the first place. Even as a child, I wondered why it was that the area trapped inside was always smaller than the everything beyond the enclosure.

The defintion of space, the territorial stance of "this is mine, not yours" happens the moment we exit the womb and take our breath sans the aquatic environment of our mothers. Independently, with our own lungs, we suck in the air claiming the oxygen it possesses as our own, belonging to us and no other. It is natural to set up boundaries and stake ownership. It is a matter of survival. The interesting thing one notices about country walls though, is their height. Somewhere along the history of things people realized that even though boundaries had to be set to maintain peace, they also had to be able to reach over the walls to trade, to barter, to share, to communicate and learn about eachother's existence. Civilization cannot advance and we as people cannot grow completely closed off from the everything beyond our enclosures   

Reflectors

Repurposing various things has been a passion of mine since the day I discovered I was tall enough to open my parents kitchen junk drawer and peer at the contents inside. The amazing thing about creativity is that it is seen when we repurpose what is on hand and use it in a new, unexpected and innovative way. Oftentimes, we discover something about ourselves when we are forced to use what we have instead of what we want. Our creation becomes a mirror of sorts, it not only shows us who we are but, it shines with that light from within and gives us little hints of what we are made of, what we are capable of reflecting in darker times.

These drink coasters were created using bicycle reflectors rubberstamped with an image from Judikins using Tsukineko's Staz On Ink.

Ruffles Attached

As I get older, I realize the truth and wisdom tucked away in that adage, "there is nothing new under the sun." Styles, trends, and daresay, ideas, all have their seasons and all in turn, come back into favor at somepoint. Today it was about ruffles.

I remember wanting a ruffled skirt in the 3rd grade. I wanted this skirt so badly that I had decided to go on a hunger strike until I was given one. The idea of a ruffled skirt permeated my every thought, it was an invasive species that had attached itself to practically every sentence that left my lips. I had become dead wood and this ruffled desire, was fungus eating away at my shell. My great-grandmother, being the amazingly astute person she was, sat me down and taught me how to sew a ruffle and add it to anything my heart desired. She taught me a valuable lesson that day. We have the power to change the things we'd like by learning a skill and having the initiative to do-it-yourself.

This afternoon my daughter came running into the kitchen wanting ruffles on her skirt... and history repeated itself right there before my eyes.   

Luck

Luck doesn't keep a horseshoe to a hoof; nails, a honed skill, and hard work do. There are some who believe that luck follows certain people around, smiles on them a bit more, clears the way and sweeps the stones from their path so they do not trip... they believe undeniably that luck chooses some people over others and that it is just the way of the universe.

If luck were a game of horseshoes, the one getting closer to the stake taking it all, I suppose I'd rather be the person who knows how to make their own horseshoes. There will always be someone with better aim, more favorable conditions, and more experience pitching a toss than I but, if I can make my own well, that just changes everything doesn't it? 

Slow and Steady

 On my adventures over the summer, we came across this meditative area in the woods. I saw this bronze statue from a distance and instantly felt kinship to it... she was an Indian Princess from a Michigan tribe represented by the turtle but, I saw her as the patron saint of slow and steady. As an artist, so many things in my studio are in various stages of not done... works in progress. My natural instinct is to hurry them through, complete them and cast out the clutter rather than have to look at the mediocre waiting to find a stroke of genius and be deemed well, better than mediocre I suppose. In this statue I saw an act of charity extended to all those who create in their shells, in the sanctuary of their own hearts. It is in the knowing that one isn't alone in the woods, that there are others there meditating upon that same patron saint of the slow and steady and that we are all perhaps, works in progress.

School

Our second born child pouts... often. He'll hate me later on, years from now, for writing this but, it's true. His internal sense of efficiency is oftentimes tested by the irrational (according to him) way one must be 'forced" to use time, time that belongs to a person and should not be aribitrarily usurped by someone else. School would be one of these things. "We gotta learn by doing things, not by sitting and listening to stories about what other people did. You know, all those people who did amazing stuff, built rockets and discovered other planets, well, they didn't do it sitting at a desk doing worksheets in some school. You can't dig space rocks from a piece of paper." 

He makes me laugh. Now that the kids go to a virtual academy, learning isn't "school", it's self-initiated. They have their assignments that they are indentured to but, the rest of their time belongs to them and they are free to chase after all the rockets that didn't manage to leave the backyard to prepare them for their next mission. School is starting for so many kids this week... may the education they received playing and discovering all summer give them the incentive to finish what they must, so in that, they can go make their mark, be the people the kids of the future will read about, and be free to learn simply because they can.

To learn more about this scrapbook lay-out and how it was made, visit Bic Mark-it

Thirsty

It's amazing to think of how many plants grow next to fountains and are yet parched and dying of thirst. So committed in their rooted existence, those plants are unable to move, to bend, to reach out and drink in that which is so close. I noticed this beautiful Dahlia and was struck by the fact that it required someone to physically water it each day for it's survival despite being within feet of a sparkling fountain. It left me wondering about how many people are like this beautiful flower... dependent on others to meet their thirst, unable to fetch a cool drink for themselves. The creative often creates in solitude yet, they must seek inspiration for themselves, they must find water lest they wither away.

End Of Summer

Summer is the childhood of our lives. It a series of carefree moments as unnumbered as the grains of sand are at the water's edge. The days are endless, the adventures are sun-kissed and the memories are vibrant and in full color after staring at the sun. We tend not to realize we are in Summer until the days start to shorten and a horizon of sunset colors reflect themselves in the trees lining the pathway home at day's end. 

To see this project and how it was made, please visit Bic Mark-It

Fresh

Strawberries taste better when you pick them yourself. There is something more in it's sweetness, that lingering aftertaste of self-initiative and accomplishment perceptible to the person who tilled the soil, cultivated the plants, had their work boots covered in mud, and bite into the fruit of their labor.

Everyday we are given the opportunity to grow something, be it an actual seed or an idea, a person or even a community. We are given a field, a canvas, a workbench, an outstretched hand and the amazing chance to taste something so sweet, so fresh, so incredibly good.

(For the complete project & stepped out instructions, please visit Bic Mark-it)