Huggy Pebmann

Kind of looks like a teddy bear floating in the air or something? 

I was trying to be cute.... I got a new 2012 calendar from Farm & Fleet for $.99 last week.... obviously almost a whole month into the new year, but I'm fine with that, and the price.  The calendar is about a teddy bear and each month he is in a different situation.  The bear reminds me of mine ♥.... and the month of January he was doing snow angels!  I had to get outside quick and snap a picture before our 4" of snow melts again!!!  We are at 43 degrees and lots of  'bear' grass is showing, again.

His name is Duepur (I think more like Doopur) .... a mix of the word Purdue.  Almost 24 years ago my husband and I met at a company function.  The week after we officially met, he flew off to Ohio(?) to watch Purdue basketball play in the final 4 (?)  I went to surprise him at the airport with our little mascot and a big I miss you hug!!  Bears (yuck, not the Chicago Bears, phooey)  have been a big part of my greeting card creating.... my first faux company name was Huggy ..... and I also toyed with Beary Patch Crafts. Stay tuned and see what path Doopur goes down! I've got my camera ready!!!

Let's open our minds wide, so we can let more in.

Balancing Act

This bird balancing on wire is too cute. Maybe he's walking the wire with no problem and just strutting his feathers! 

I think maybe I've showed him before, which means I really need to clean out my archives.... get fresh for the new year and the new SELF.  You can often forget what you have if you don't easily see it, or if it's visible you still may look at it not knowing it's really there. This weeks goal: organize and  purge my studio and my camera!

I got a notice from my GYNO office that I missed an appointment last year.  It's not that I was THAT busy by any means, but I figure over the last 18 years having two kids that I have been in the waiting room of many doctors offices from Tennessee to Wisconsin.  I'm so very fortunate to have medical insurance and  healthy children, most of these were only wellness checks or annual exams.  For each child alone I have been on at least:24 physician visits, 28 dentist visits, 14 orthodontist visits and 8 optometrist visits.  I may have been lucky that some appointments were together, one child went through two phases of braces, and that doesn't include the times seeing a specialist or going back to pick up a prescriptions or to get an extra shot, which totals approximately 148 visits. 

Now hang on, add to that my doctor visits (I'm not even including pre-natal visits, that's too long ago) I come up with about 100 times walking into some sort of medical office from having mammograms and blood tests to eyeglass and contact adjustments.... for a grand total of 248 (at least!!!) That averages to 13.7 times a year!   I have been to the doctor at least once a month for the past 18 years... (no wonder I missed an appointment!) 

 

Adding Texture

I will finish off my week of posts with a small collage of other things.  Two more pages from my ART Journal.  Hearts and flowers seem to be an easy theme to work with.  If I keep this up, adding texture to the book, it will be twice it's original thickness, is that a real problem?  

Right now in my 'studio' I only have 6 bottles of acrylic paint: blue, green, golden yellow, burgandy/red, white and black .... so all the pages have repeat colors smudged over them.  I've also been using water color crayons and I found in a drawer some oil pastel crayons from Crayola (I think I had to purchase them one year for the kids art class?) Also on my desk is Mod Podge, Gesso and a water dish.... I'm quickly running out of room.  You'll just have to come back and visit my blog to see how I mix my media in the up- coming weeks!

Sunny and blue skies today.  Love it! 

Year of SELF= S for smile.... :)

Although I have to tell myself it will make me feel better, when I walk the dogs and drive in the car, I turn the corners of my lips up.... to try and feel positive and happy...(I must look like a DORK?) despite the S for sadness I feel....I'm convincing myself or willing it to work!!

heART Journal

I'm practicing and cre8ting outside my comfort zone. 

I've had my ART Journal for almost 2 weeks and I have at least 7 entries of pages of mixed media. Here's the page I did yesterday, sticks to the Valentine Heart theme I've got going on the blog this week.

It's messy, you can draw outside the lines, you can add anything you want if the color fits.... or not .... too new at this, but from a distance, I like how my pages look.  But lucky for me, I've gotten great inspiration from Mixed Media Art Blogs... plus this month I'm taking part of visiting Jump Start Summit... a free online series of 30 artists and the way they Jump Start their art.....and they even have step by step video tutorials.... how to smear the ink, how to add a collage papers, craft pieces to incorporate, ideas how to start the layout and ideas that are sure to inspire. 

I, personally need that help because I don't feel comfortable doing this type of art.

Year of SELF: L= LIFE

I'm trying to find things around the house to give me texture and dimension since I don't have stencils and different brushes.  Here, the light blue is painted added to bubble wrap and stamped down on the paper.  After that dried, I ripped out a heart from an old story book and mod podged it down.... then added some acrylic paint, and outlined with a black pen.

Someones car didn't start... battery issues... maybe it's a "good thing" someone else is cre8ting from home!

 Hearts, hearts everywhere, in a line, singled, doubled, big hearts, little hearts, traditional hearts, broken hearts, conversation hearts, hearts made into other things..... all fun ways to describe for paper crafters what interesting things we can do with a simple little shape.  Here are some colorful pink, blue and brown hearts (they may look familiar, they are part of COTM.... and the tags I showed the other day used the same pieces, just another way) these are all balancing on a knotted red string looped through two SH!NE-y eyelets.  Added a 'few' kisses to the sides by xxxx down the edge to give it some faux stitching.

My window to the world... looking out into the backyard through the kitchen windows, I see little finches swooping down from the trees to get a snack from the bird feeder.  They are so fun to watch... and as I type, they catch my eye as they zoom by.  Here are two sweet birds Zindorf style. A special card with a congratulatory wish... the sentiment is slightly popped up.

Loss: feeling it again.  Ten years ago about this time, every day was a busy day.  The weekends were filled with basketball games and dance recitals.  There was piano and violin lessons and sports practices.  Five years ago... there were volleyball games and hockey games.... and now... there is NONE of that....zilch....the hustle and bustle of activity is very quiet in my house.... it is very noticeable... and I'm a bit(understatement) sad and broken hearted about that loss...with my Year of SELF... I am Learning ways to embrace new and old feelings... and hope I Find these memories created and enriched a happy family!

Peggy

Bee Mine

A secret smile for  Your Best Friend's Closet! ;)

Skip a Beat

Graduated color.... from pale pink hearts all the way up to beating red hot!  This was a fun card to make.  The key to anyone's heart. It is a post card front situated on a greeting card, a twofer!

The heart is the center of all vital organs, the red (blood) the passion, the strong emotion of love are all part of this little holiday we call Valentine's Day! A perfect time to send out FuN MaiL ....♥ don't go to Hallmark, give creative greetings a chance..... lots of love, friendship, thinking of you cards available. :0)

Oh, my heart skips a beat

When we walk down the street

I feel a trembling in my knees

And just to know you're mine
Until the end of time

Makes my heart skip a beat ~ Buck Owens

Hearts and Dots

Oh, a new color combo that really looks adorable for a valentine tag .... light pink, pale blue and brown. I was so happy how these turned out.  Felt like I really had a winning combination and layout.

Tags are great on a gift instead of a bow.  They are awesome to attach to a full size candy bar and write a bit of inspiration or good fortune on the back, or fun to dangle off the side of some bubbly bottle with a hearty ♥ cheers!

Maybe these are a little busy,  but I had fun adding dots and cut outs and circles and hearts and tying it up with a bow!  A festive Valentine Gift tag that is going out with February's COTM.

Had about 5" of snow on Friday during rush hour... it was a mess.  Thank goodness I don't have to drive in it, but DH did.  A normal drive home for him on a good day is 20 minutes, Friday it was 1 hour and 15.  We finally got to use our snow 'insurance'.  DH (dear hubby) felt our little snow thrower (not blower) had difficulty getting through the end of the driveway with the 3 feet of snow we had last February...and since we were losing a snow shoveler in College Boy and there was talk of having a very severe winter in 2012 (El Nina`), he found a great deal on a pretty nice big blower.  I hope I entertained anyone who was looking our way as I was trying to maneuver it around.  But we must have got a few inches of rain overnight..... there is bare grass once again that was just 6" all around yesterday.... it says 42 degrees out.  Perfect combination for winter colds to sneek in!!!

It's strange but wonderful, but the house is back to 'normal' today.... new high school semester started, college boy is back at it, hubby is off making the bacon.... although bitter sweet.... I can crank up some tunes and dance around the house.... if I want to! :)

Come back again and see what's going on!

Passport Adventure

More banners!  Yesterday I posted about flags and banners, and again.... look!  More!  I got a few patterned paper stacks (%40 off) from J's.  This particular one is a Shabby Chic/Paris version.... thought the colors and style would look great for Valentine greetings!  It just needs a sentiment, but it really depends on who gets this card in some FuN MaiL!

***

Not everyone travels out of the country, but if you do, you need a passport. A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth. We got our passports through our local post office. That should be a simple thing to do, right?

My husband has traveled overseas for work and I have had a passport for a few years since we went on vacation in Belize, Mexico. We thought there could be a slight possibility that our kids might get a chance to travel (in the near future), either with us, or through foreign exchange programs in their schools. During this past winter break from school, it was perfect down time to get the passport task done; then we don’t have to pay extra fees for rush services or worry that it wont make it on time for a scheduled (or non scheduled) vacation.

We decided to fill out the paperwork, get the ID pictures taken and stand in line at the post office to the get documents finalized. First, we went to our local Walgreens to get the ID photos taken. A drug store by no means is a professional photo shop, but they do advertise they take ID/passport photos while you wait and they are fairly reasonably priced. It was a family outing to get the kids pictures taken. The photo gal had a few problems in the computer while doing our order, but we finally left with photos in hand, en route to the post office....

If you'd like to hear more.... please email me at prdesigns1@sbcglobal.net and put Passport in the subject line.  I'm trying something new! :0)

Spot that SH!NE

Darn, darn, darn.... gosh darn!  Don't you hate it when you have a great thought in mind, but you know you need some back up, and then you can't find what you are looking for?  Darn!  I know that in the past six months I took some pictures of the actual word SHINE!  And now I can't find them.  Have you seen it?  The word SH!NE?  It's used in a lot of advertising.... I've seen it on billboards, the name of a restaurant Shorts Burger & Shine (now I get it... it was short for MoonSHINE- a bar in Iowa City) On the back of a truck I saw Schuine & Company and someone doodled in the dirt :) underneath it. I am going to FIND me some more
SH!NE and post it here!

Cute little flags!  Banners and pendants and flags are everywhere in card making.  Made some faux buttons on the top... if this were to go out in the mail I don't want it to be too bulky and I get charged extra for postage.  The combination of the blue and green give me a 'cool' sensation..... it's brrrrrr out 14 degrees.  Oh, it makes me so happy to see my card stand.... my little bristly Flower Frog! 

Oh so cute!

It SH!NES :)

Tiny Presents

I'm always SEARCHING for clever ideas ...(Pinterest is still so inspiring)  This gift card holder is even better when it is created with fun and interesting PP (patterned paper)  Both tiny presents are cute, but the one on the right (I think) just seems a bit more whimsical.  My style.  They measure approx. 3" w x 4" h when completed.  The top slides off and keeps the gift card secure inside the 'box' part of the gift.  Add some scrunchy ribbon to the top (lid part of the gift)  and the packaged gift card holder is complete... maybe a fancy tag zipping off the side would be perfect finishing accent! To you -----> from Me  It could actually be put in some FuN MaiL.... (don't want to pay extra postage) sans the ribbon... hmmm will have to come up with something for that!

I'm LEARNING something new... thinking outside the 'box' and creating pages of mixed media in my new ART Journal.  I did a quick video below in the next post to let you see what it's all about.  I don't mind being messy, but I realize in this first week of journaling that my art before has been quite precise, clean and small.... mostly on cards.  I'm not ready for big canvas art... but have moved my way up to a 11" x 14" piece of blank paper.... and that is a lot of space to fill up!

Snowy, icy, icky day.... finals for Sissy.... her first time driving in this 'stuff'.  Makes for a nervous ma ma. 

I am working on my SELF.... it's time to get moving in

ART Journal first Week

Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Charmed Heart

wow!  Look at that mix of textures!  Smooth bejewelled charm, ripped ribbon, fuzzy fiber, wickedly looped wire, punched paper.... part of the front cover to one of my recently completed mini scrapbook albums.

Pinks, reds and purples... must be a book from the heart!!

The flower punch is a new one I got from EK Success.... that was the item I got at J's 2 weeks ago that had a bright orange clearance sticker on it and the cashier rung it up full price.... I had to go back in the store after checking my receipt, realizing the mistake and then waiting in line to get a refund. 

Anyhow, it not only is a cute punch, but it creates a strip of the flowers together, like a ribbon.  So on this mini, I used it to hide or create the spaces to hold mini tags.

If you are a Green Bay Packer fan, you know that our football season is over.  They were certainly fun to watch.  Now my Sunday's have been freed up!

We took Bubba to the bus stop yesterday, he got back 'home' to Iowa last night at about 6:45pm.  Miss him already!  But he is in a great place.... growing up! (like we want him too) MLK(no FuN MaiL...) day, Sissy is off of school.... maybe we'll be back to normal tomorrow.... hope to LEARN a bit more about creating in my ART Journal, oh yes... need to tell my blog about the passport... stay tuned!

White Out

Ok, so you've heard my comments on past posts.  We all knew the day would come, it's winter in the mid-west for goodness sake.  We got our first measurable snow fall.... almost 5" here.  Other areas around us got up to 8".  It looks pretty!  And as the scientist say.... you do need snow in the winter time or it does cause problems for the crops in the summer time!  Mother nature and her cycle, must continue round and round.

 But it's so funny, because earlier in the week it looked like this!!!  It's all good!  At least it gives us something to talk about!  remember when... we didn't have snow until January 12, '12.... all that global warming!

Hot pink & red... sweetheart colors..... trying to use more paper piecing and less doodling this week.  Also trying to make flatter cards that can go through the mail without extra postage. I have no problem FINDING my mojo, maybe it's my early morning iced coffee, but I'm not sure where to start my day... there is so much learning to be done!  Happy Friday!

Left-Over Scraps

I've mentioned this before, I like to watch the tv show Hoarders, or Buried Alive.  It's like a train wreck. I am fascinated how truly horrible some people live (honestly, it is really really sad and I hope the people get help).  And I've heard this too, it makes us(me) want to clean up my little piles of clutter because I don't ever want to become like someone on the show.

Paper crafters lovingly and laughingly admit they hoard supplies... especially pretty paper.  We love to buy it, don't want to use it, then it hurts to cut into a 'fresh' piece and then we can't throw away even the tiniest of scraps. We could use them.... someday!

 

Now, for writing purposes I'm embellishing a bit.... but I always think I can use that 'scrap' paper. I have a seperate bin just for scraps that measure 3" or smaller.  Well, I did find a cute card layout I could use my 1"w x 3" h color scraps.  Added a bit of twine and a kind sentiment.... easy and simple .... yet colorful card!

We are hearing that we might get 'snow'.... up to 7" possible... yikes! Come back tomorrow and see what happened!

It's All in the Details

Shopping and Christmas are synonymous don't you think?  Woman and shopping..... completely compatible.. Scrappers and paper crafters on a limited budget ... means SMART shopping.  All I can say is be careful out there when you shop, look at the sticker prices on the item, on the shelf, watch the cashier ring up the item and by all means check your receipt before leaving the parking lot!

On this post I'm adding a few pictures of some the mini books and notebooks I have.  The little details and the fun do-dads make these books fun and whimsical.  It's like eye candy for the creative soul.  Textures, dimensions & color.

Last week I was at a big box craft store more known for carrying material.. we'll call it J's.  I've had 'trouble' there before.... is it computer error, the way the sale's tags hang from the shelves, or is it the checkout registar, human error, or all of the above?  This last time I bought a super uber nice paper punch, it had a big orange-ish red sticker blaring on the front CLEARANCE $8.99 .... deal!!!  BEFORE I check out, in my mind I have an idea of what my total should be.... in the city this store is located there is not only state tax, but city & county tax added on the receipt!  Something was fishy.... the clearance item rang up at full price...$20.  She had to re-ring the entire bill, give me a re-fund and start the transaction all over again.

Yesterday I was at M's with Christmas gift card in hand.... and 4 items in the other hand.  ONLY 4 items.....total comes to mind.... chatty clerk, beautiful day yadda yadda.... I wasn't sure of my gift card total....rings up 'everything'.... one of my items was on an endcap... did it have the 40% tag on it???? Good prices!!!  I walk out of the store... get in the car and she only rung up 3 items. (Yet all 4 were there in the bag)  WWYD.... what would you do... walk back in for a $4 item and say "Hey, you under charged me?"  Ugh!

Also too, be a good consumer at a fast food restaurant.  I know special orders did upset us, multiple orders being paid from one car in the drive thru were often a pain the @ss, silly people say two Big Mac's one they mean one... I worked at McDonald's for almost 5 years...it can be a tough job (insert sarcasm...maybe?) ....within the past year I stopped at a drive thru to get a 'happy meal' ...cheap, right amount of food... I still like McDonalds....3 items in my happy meal....a burger, fries, and a drink... they forgot to put the 'freakin' fries in the little happy meal box.  It was an order of 3 items.... and they forgot one.... how hard can that be????  I guess very!!

I'm one little consumer.  My items didn't cost that much.  But how many people are walking away from the register with in-accurate register receipts.  Stay tuned... as I will share a story about our experience getting passports.... employee names and store numbers on the receipt really do mean something!!

ID is PR

Here is a cute little project I found at Two Paper Divas.  The envelope for the card is a standard #10 or the kind that you normally receive bills (ugh) in.  With a few folds and a little bit of glue, you make the envelope look like a gift package.  The black strip with the circle and heart are a belly band that keep the flap down, and of course they add to the over all look and feel of the cuteness.

Next special card making holiday coming up, of course is Valentine's day.   This card was tucked inside the newly vamped envy and it fits perfectly!  Love the combo of pink/white/red and black!

The great thing about card giving is that there is at least some sort of holiday each month.... even if you don't believe in the holiday....(do a google search, there are holidays every day... some just not nationally celebrated.... but they are on a calendar.. somewhere)  it can be a season or time of the year!  Tell me who wouldn't want to get FuN MaiL.... just because (you thought of them?)

The name behind my REAL faux card company.  Simple, my initials are PR and I like to design things....so years back I always signed the front or back of all my artwork (like you are told to do in your first basic art class.... accept and acknowledge your work as YOURS) I thought the name had a 'ring' to it, and it sounded professional. Someone once thought it was a Public Relations firm.  The high school the kids go to, goes by it's initials.... PR... one parent thought my email paid homage to that (I'm not THAT crazy) Of all the different things I've done over the years.... I've really been happy with my name, my blog name, my creative id!

Define Your Art

Despite the fact that I'm thrilled about it, I have to blog about the big elephant in the room (look at those trunks in the above picture, ha ha) ... there is NO snow in my backyard on Jan. 9, 2012.... there has only been a trace, a light dusting.... it is very weird.  I can't help but feel this is so unusual.  The college boy, who is still home for another 6 days... asked me recently if I remember not having a Christmas or a winter without snow....I can't recall and give you a day and a year.... however, this is very strange here in the mid-west.  The "snow" insurance DH bought back in October has really paid off.... hee hee.... he bought a brand new snowblower! Since we were losing one shoveler!

Officially ... winter is until March 21.  February 2nd is ground hog day.... what will I be posting about in the next few weeks.... I'm almost scared to think about it!

So excited to show off my card today..... no CASe-ing.... all me!  My image.... but when you have two buddies this cute, it's easy right? 

I'm trying to work with mixed mediums, getting my creative muscles working in the Jump Start summit... art journals... paint, water color, ink.... I'm outside my comfort zone as an ARTIST. (not shown) In defining a graphic artist for an email recently, I really think I am one....A professional discipline that focuses on visual communication and presentation through typography, visual arts and page layout! I like crisp outlines and defined shape and a clear cut message.

It's a good Monday morning to think of all the possibilities the up coming week will bring.  What new things will I LEARN?  Can I FIND new ways to express my SELF* in Art, cooking, communication, friendship.... please come back and find out!