Interest in Pinterest?

Book Boat with Vintage Map Paper Sails Pinned from  Etsy Cotton Bird Designs

I wish I was the first to discover Pinterest but I must admit I was the second…or maybe the third.  I think one of the blogs I follow mentioned it... but then again it might have been on Facebook.  Anyway, none of this really matters.  What does matter is that Pinterest is So. Much. Flippin'. Fun.  I mean F.U.N.  What makes it so much fun?  It isn't just a place to keep all those scraps of (virtual) paper that you collect for inspiration, ideas, directions, or recipes.  Oh no, Pinterest is also a place to FIND all kinds of cool stuff.  You see, it works like this: you get or request an "invite".  Once you are officially invited you just register and you can start  "pinning".  FYI-, I keep the "pin it" button on my toolbar so it is simple and quick to pin from any website.

Vanilla Bean Carmel Sauce Pinned from  www.annie-eats.net

What makes Pinterest so useful is how easy it is to organize my pins into "boards" by any category, topic or color that makes sense to me.  When I need inspiration; whether to make a special gift for a loved one or maybe just dinner, I go to the appropriate board(s) and easily sort through the ideas.  No more notebooks full of small scraps of paper, cut from magazines and newspapers, falling apart and taped in place on unorganized pages.  No more piles of papers ready to be organized.  No more bulletin boards overflowing with scraps- each competing for attention until it because less inspiration and more exasperation.  Nope, on Pinterest everything is neat and tidy.  You have all seen my messy crafting life; I love how neat, tidy and "all in one place" this concept is.

Team Jacob Ring pinned from Etsy  DIVINE Sweetness

Before I discovered Pinterest I had to print out pictures or pages of things that I wanted to keep and that is not exactly Earth friendly and of course just creates more piles of paper that need to be filed into more 3-ring binders that get lost in the hustle of life.  Finding a particular project was very difficult at best.  Who doesn't have piles and piles of recipes printed from their favorite online recipe site?  What I think I love the most about the idea behind  Pinterest is that even thought it was possible to save favorites on websites like Etsy, Martha Stewart, or Epicurious now it is possible to save them ll in ONE place.  I don't have to remember which food site a particular recipe comes from or whether I saw a cool project on Threadbangers or Martha's site.

Pinned from Deryn's blog

 I love all the cool tutorials that are now one the various websites, blogs, and places like e-how and Instructables.  But I have bookmarks for miles of tutorials I might want to use.  One of my big problems, and I'm working on it, is that I want to make everything.  I literally need a staff to bring my ideas to life.  Because I have a "board" of all tutorials I can keep the handy and don't need to print them off or buy the supplies and then forget how to complete the project.  "I will not become a hoarder, I will not become a hoarder, I will…what?  oh, sorry,  I, um, I love tutorials".

pinned from HGTV blog

Using Pinterest is very simple.  You either request an invite from the site or a friend who already uses it.  Once you are invited you simply register and start pinning.  I keep the "pin it" button on my tool bar so I can pin from any web page that contains something fun.  I have found that Pinterest can't find any photos in an email but it is easy to fix by just clicking on the photo to open it in its own window and pin away.

pinned from Theater in the Clouds

One of the things that makes Pinterest so special is that  you can see all sorts of things you would never be able to find on your own by looking at the pins of other users.  You can see Staff Favorites, search for pins by categories or see what your  friends  are pinning.  I have found some really amazing art that I would never found on my own.  It is easy to follow a pinner or a specific board and they make it simple to post your pins to Facebook if you care to.

Pinned from Love and Olive Oil

Whether you are looking to organize your favorite DIY projects, find delicious recipes,  or find new artists, you will love Pinterest.  If you need an invite, shoot me an email though I had no trouble getting one form the site itself.

Laters Baby

What happened to the summer?

I thought I was going to scream when  noticed Target putting up the "back to school" display in early July.  Please, can't I have a little summer before you threaten me with that?  But then I realized that the college kids sometimes start getting ready to head back to class in early August; ok, so MAYBEEEE I  can forgive and forget; just enjoy summer. Then, just as my heart rate slowed to a more normal rate and rhythm, I went to Michaels… where they have for sale a bunch of Halloween stuff… ok, it takes time to craft, so an early start is best.  Buuuuuutttttt then I went to the party store where I heard "let me know if I can help you, My name is emily and I will be in the Hallowen section"- as in Halloween COSTUMES.  WTF?  Who is going to buy a Halloween costume in July?  Ryann went to the mall and came back reporting that Bath and Body Works at their Haloween products out.  Give us a big break.  I and will I don't see them bu

I can't believe we are heading quickly into August.  I love the summer but this summer has been much to deal with.  We have had far too many days of hot humid weather and not enough of the Michigan balmy breezy beautiful weather we usually get in return for putting up with a never ending winter.  We've had to turn our A/C on more days than I care to think about.  I hate the A/C….well I love the A/C because it makes life comfortable but I would much rather have the windows open and the breeze gently blowing the curtains.  I usually delay turning on the A/C until the rest of the family stages an intervention….revolt…. coup.

 I am back soldering charms… or at least trying to.  Sally Jean makes it look so simple…. ummmm….well….. it isn't.  After several disasters and a few ok's, I am at least not horrified by my results.  What makes it tough is the fact that if I make the artwork and then the soldering is a mess- I destroy some awesome artwork.  But if I just solder empty glass it seems like such a waste, especially if one looks terrific.  I had to rescue two charms after I royally messed up the solder.  I broke the glass and pulled the artwork out.  Shhhh, don't tell anyone. 

In the mean time, here are some pictures of the stationary set I made for the
Mouse Paper Scissors Mom class I took in the spring.  Heidi Swapp and Jessica Sprague again taught the hybrid (part Photoshop and part actual paper) project.  I made a set for my mom and for Margie. Their Mother's Day gifts were the Parisian Bulletin Board and this stationary.  The photos are of Margie's set - my mom's was slimier but not exactly the same.  I LOVE the way they turned out.  Heidi and Jessica designed the basic set and we all used the same paper as it came with the class in digital format.  I took matters into my own hands with the embellishments.

Laters Baby

Oh La La

Last week we bid Adieu to Harry Potter.  My daughter posted on her FB wall "Good Bye Harry Potter, thank you for my childhood".  It takes all my will power to keep the tears at bay every time I think about that post.

This week it is back to showing some projects I have been working on.  The first is my Parisian Bulletin Board.  I bought 2 clearance bulletin boards at Big Lots in May.  The photo of the box is more of a "it could look like this" as the entire board and all the accessories were actually white.  All white…100% white….. void of color….BORING.  Of course sometimes all white is good…but not this time.

The "before"

I knew it needed something.  I had recently used an Aqua Glimmer Mist to color some white seam binding and it was really beautiful so I decided to use that as my starting point.  I guess the white and aqua got me thinking "Parisian" and my favorite House of 3 paper "Parisian Anthology"  Somehow all that made me think "gold".  Oh wait, everything I do ends up with "gold" or "silver" something so that isn't so surprising.

Let's begin…. I started by stamping the four edges of the frame with a repetitive diamond border stamp from the House of 3 Soiree collection.  Instead of ink I used Gold Leaf Adhesive.  When the adhesive was tacky I added Gold Pearl Ex.  The Pearl Ex stuck to the glue and also stuck to the frame itself. I left the extra powder there even though I know it will gradually come off as the frame is handled-  there is nothing more than static holding it in place.  I used rub ons to add the word "dreams" as you see in the picture.

Close up of the Gold

After I finished the frame I tackled the magnets.  First I used the Gold Leaf Adhesive and Pearl Ex on the 4 button-style floral magnets that came with the frame.  I topped each button/magnet off with a matching aqua rhinestone held in place with a little Glossy Accents.  Next, I discarded the faux push pins and made 4 new magnets using Parisian Anthology Paper and the Epiphany Crafts Epoxy Shapes Studio.  Adding the magnet was simple- I just used Glossy Accents to glue a small magnet to the back of each and instantly I had 4 unique and beautiful magnets.  The board came with two little white clothes pins.  They turned out darling after I glued Parisian Anthology paper to the front of both.  I applied the Gold Leaf Glue/Pearl Ex to the 2 buttons that hold the ribbon across the board.  I planned to remove the white ribbon but it proved impossible so, I just added the seam binding right over it.  I tied adorable little bows on each end and pinned the clothes pins on the ribbon.

Parisian Bulletin Board

I made a little flower using petal from a silk hydrangea.  I took the petals off the whole flower and pulled the plastic stamen out and discarded them .  Then, I just simply stacked the petals and added a rhinestone center.

Really this is such a simple project with a big impact.  I posted this on my gallery at the huge scrapbooking site 2 Peas in a Bucket and I have received several nice comments- maybe they wouldn't be so nice if they knew how easy it was to make!

a little look at her world from www.sallyjeanalexander.com

I am taking a class by the AMAZING (shouty Capitals intended) Sally Jean Alexander.  Sally Jean is soldered charms.  She was the first to make these beautiful pieces of jewelry and now many knockoffs can be found but none as beautiful as hers.   She uses her own artwork in the pieces as well and her aesthetic is just gorgeous.  I have been deeply in love with her work since I saw her ad on the back of Somerset Studio magazine probably 8 years ago.

Two summers ago she came to Ann Arbor and taught a class during Art Fair.  We made a really pretty flower necklace.  My design was beautiful and even Sally Jean was impressed. Then I got to the soldering and I made it a big ol' mess.  She is teaching another class in August which I originally signed up for- something I have wanted to make ever since I took her first class.  I noticed last week that she is offering "Soldering for Virgins 2" so I signed up.  I am so excited to get my soldering iron and my glass grinder and get busy.  If you have never see her work I recommend checking it out.  It is divine www.sallyjeanalexander.com.

Thats all for now….Laters baby,
Danee