A Window Seat...

Help make a wish come true….

2011-09-04T23:00:17-07:00

Mark is a very special person who has a birthday coming in just a few days. On September 10th Mark will turn 56 years old. What Mark wants for his birthday is to receive 56 birthday cards. It's a simple wish, won’t you help to make his birthday wish come true?

Mark has worked at NW Center for over 34 years as a valued and very well loved employee. NW Center is in itself a very special place for many reasons not justbecause Mark works there, but certainly that makes a difference! NW Centers mission “is to promote the growth, development and independence of people with disabilities through programs of education, rehabilitation and work opportunity”. I think beyond this mission there is much more and I have seen that in Mark when he comes to say hello. He is always cheerful, he strives to learn who you are and when he does he never forgets your name; first, middle and last! One of the best parts of Mark is his art and how he shares it with so many others. His cards are coveted by those who are lucky enough to receive them. They are pinned to the walls in cubicles throughout the building as you will see in this little video. The pride with which they are displayed reflects the respect that everyone has for Mark and the their love of his art.

Every holiday brings a card from Mark. Your birthday brings one . Mother’s Day and Father’s Day too! Nothing goes by withouth Mark and his very special cards. I think it’s time that Mark gets the cards he so very richly deserves and I would like to ask you to help! Just e-mail me at playzwithpaper@gmail.com and I will give you Mark’s home address so you can mailyour special birthday cards directly to him. You can be his ‘secret pals’ for this very special day in his life.

Now while I sit back relax in my window seat I will think about the view I get everyday looking at Mark’s beautiful artwork and how many people have a smile on their face each time the “Mark” card arrives at their door, their office or their cube on the farm.

Last Day @ CHA

2011-02-02T20:56:10-08:00

When I left LA yesterday I was so glad to be heading straight north. Becky in order to get back to Maine had to fly all night to North Carolina then lay over, catch a flight to Washington DC ( which got cancelled) and then finally home. She will not get there until early afternoon tomorrow. Sorry Becky, I feel your pain!

My last round of the CHA vendors was nice. I stopped by WeRMemoryKeepers to say goodbye to Jennifer, she saved two kits from her CHA class for me. How nice was that? It’s a great little book made with their newest papers and embellishments. I can’t wait to put it together. They have some great new tools! Jennifer designs the best stuff and I will write about them more later.

I said goodbye to Brandin and Shawna at Webster’s Pages. They told me it was another great show. Their new papers are wonderful but the new embellishments were what had my attention. Great new ribbons and trims as well as more buttons with a vintage look I may be biased but this company just continues to shine. Everything is always so cheerful in their booth.

Tsukineko has introduced some fun new products that are going to ship shortly. They are GlazOn, which is just fun to use on both metal and paper.. It dries in an instant! Kazuko Kocho did a make and take with it, using metal dog tags. We laughed ourselves silly playing with it. I think we did some things with it that the chemist may not have intended! But hey we are always going outside the box, right? They also introduced sprays to coordinate with the entire Momento line call Fireworks and then the last product is called IZing! I’ll write more about all of these later. It was wonderful to see John Petersen (Inkogneato) doing small classes at the Tsukineko booth. I hope it means we are going to see more of him in the future.

I ended up going back downstairs to the new vendors. I wanted to talk with Vintage Street Market again and Torginol. Torginol did not want to take their product home so I got six bags of the mica, one of each color. I cannot wait to give some to Don Zimmer! He is going to have such fun with it. I am going to be doing a ‘blind’ class for Vintage Street Market. There will only be six seats and it will be a first come first serve basis and I will let you know when, so stay alert. It’s going to be fun!

Stampendous, Impression Obsession and of course Penny Black were all visited today also. Each of them has some amazing new products. Stampendous had samples of painting on canvas that was stamped with their new ‘jumbo’ stamps. And when they say jumbo they mean it! The hanging canvases were beautiful. Impression Obsession has a number/month set that I have been looking for for years! Finally somebody got it right! And, lastly Penny Black has launched its own line of color cardstock. The colors are vivid without being too bright and the paper is duplex with a wonderful new finish. I brought home one or each shade. I think you’re going to like them!

There is much more to write about the CHA show and I will in the next week or so. I need to clear my brain first. When you go to CHA you are on overload by the end of the first day. So, you can imagine after 4 days of being in an out of one booth after another everything just runs together. I need to set back and relax and not think about it at all for a few days. Then I will get out all the catalogs and samples and relive the show and maybe gaze out my from my window seat……what’s your view?

CHA Day 3

2011-02-01T08:12:40-08:00

Day three is done and again I spent sometime downstairs in Kentia Hall with some new companies. Vintage Street Market is one of them. They are a new company out of Colorado with a new concept in papers. The paper itself is even different. It comes in sheets that are 24”x 36” and are double sided with six designs on each side. The finish of the paper is not what you would expect. It’s not cardstock and it is not high end wrapping paper but it is something in between. I found it interesting enough to talk with them and get some samples sent to me to work with. I have some ideas. I especially liked some of the patterns, took me back to my childhood.

Torginol introduced a product line of materials for the craft industry that originated in the flooring business. They had wonderful Color Mica in sizes ranging from near sand to 3” chips. The colors were amazing. They had two other products; Color Granules and Color Flakes. The granules are like sand and would originally have been used to the coloring of swimming pools for design. The flakes are again flooring product used to enhance the design/color of tile floors. While they had no projects in their booth, they did say to me they had gotten an enormous amount of input from crafters with ideas of how to use their products. I was mostly interested in the mica and what it could do with wax. I got a nice sample bag and will share it with Don Zimmer when I get home! I’m guessing you will see it show up in some projects soon.

lilybeedesign had some cute papers. I looked at them once and found myself going back to check them out again. I’m glad I did. They had simple designs and wonderful patterns, loads of polka dots. I love them!

Coredinations has partnered with some great paper companies including Cosmo Cricket and Graphic 45. These packs are 12 x 12s in pre-embossed cardstock with designs to coordinate with my some of my favorites. I’m going to be doing a new project with Graphic 45 which will include these papers as well as items from Bottle Cap Inc. and a terrific book from Harmonie. Harmonie is a wonderful new Canadian company that specializes in trendy patterned papers as well as stamps, embellishments and some of the most beautiful acrylic albums ever. They currently are only in 12 x 12 but hopefully they will reduce some of them to 6 x6 or 4 x 6. We shall see.

Tuesday is a short day at the show but there is still much to see. I still have not visited Stampendous or Impression Obsession. They are at the top of the list for the morning. I'll wrap up my posts while I am at LAX later today. I still have to write about Webster's Pages and their new papers and embellishments. They just keep getting better. So for now I am going to just sit back gaze out my window seat…

CHA Day 2

2011-01-31T06:31:35-08:00

Day two is a wrap here at CHA and I had a great day. I spent most of the day downstairs in the hall the houses all the new vendors. For the first time in a few years there were many new companies displaying their new products, everything from tools to bling for your shoes. There were small tables to extend your sewing machine with guide rulers that would make sewing for folks like me a whole lot easier. Needless to say one will be showing up at my house soon! There were also overflow booths from up stairs representing some of the ‘regulars’ at the show. Creative Imaginations where I happily saw that they have expanded the line of Twinkling H20s and brought back many of the best and most popular colors in the line. I am excited and hopeful that they show up in the stores at home soon. They are still one of the best products to work with.

Two years ago in the new section was a company that produced shoe clips made with crystals. They were beautiful and extremely well made. I was happy to see that she was there again with her Buckle Boutique having changed up a few things and showcase new ways to use her product. I can think of several ways I will be using them in upcoming projects. Be sure to check them out!

For the fabric folks out there you are going to see more and more fabric coming from your favorite companies. Two that stand out for me are Graphic 45 and ADORNit. Can’t wait to show the catalogs to my sister so we can decide what to make with them for our shows this year, stay tuned!

My favorite of the new companies is one called Bottle Cap Inc. a little company from Nampa ID that is doing big things. Bottle caps continue to be popular and by the purchasing traffic in this booth that holds true at this show. They have loads of great bottle caps in fabulous colors and sizes along with some of the best matching art sheets I’ve seen anywhere. Every sheet was incredibly well thought out. They also had chain, and cabochons and epoxy rounds made just for them. I will be using their products in an upcoming Graphic 45 class.

There is more to tell you about other new companies but I will save them for another post. In the meantime I need to put my feet up and relax after another great dinner. I’ll check out the view from my window seat and hope you do the same.

2011-01-30T07:40:24-08:00

By the end of the first day here at CHA my feet were screaming at me. I only walked around the first floor! While the show seems a bit smaller than years past the booths are clearly larger in many cases. More to see when you get to them. There are new products from some of my favorite companies! That’s the good news. The bad news while not terrible is that shipping of some of the newest items won’t happen until February, March and in some cases April. It’s not the worse thing in the world but waiting is sometimes tough! They will be worth the wait you will see. I will have a catalog show at my studio in a week or two, so look for the e-mail.

Many of the booths here are decorated and not just with bunch of cards and layout pages. There are often projects that can make ones head spin. I love seeing all the talented work from people around the globe that show up in these booths. In fact the Communiqué book that I did as a workshop at Friends and Company was at the Graphic 45 booth have been done again by someone on their design team. Look for the book in the slide show!

Speaking of decorated booths one stands out far and above the rest! Not that their booth isn’t always nice but this year it is incredible. The dresses are to die for. I know you are asking what manufacturer am I talking about, well it’s DCWV. They are the standout booth of this CHA and you will see when you take a look at the slide show. Remember you can double click on any picture in the slide show and slow it down and you are going to want to see these dresses. The work and detail that went into them is mind boggling. Makes one wish they got to “play” at their jobs and create something like these dresses. Everyone is taking pictures of them, me included. I took pictures front and back of all of them. When I was talking with my friend Erin form DCWV she was telling me about them and how they had to be transported to the show! They had to hang in the truck and at angle so they would not touch anything else and when you see them you will understand.

I took pictures throughout their booth. Be sure to look at the “Twilight” dinner party with the Immortal Love paper line. This dinner party theme is going to play out all over the country I am certain. There is also a children’s birthday party that just makes you smile. Hats off to DCWV for just an outstanding display of creativity.

I saw t!m for a moment at the Ranger booth for just a moment. He was doing a demo using the new “stains”. They got my attention and showed some great versatility. I can seem them in some upcoming classes very soon. The best part of them is they are not just watered down re-inker in a bottle it’s a total new formulation. I loved that they can be used direct to rubber by rubbing the applicator right over the stamp. The clean up was easy! I will stop over there today and see some other items in the Ranger line.

I roamed around the hall and stopped to do a few make and takes. I did the most beautiful flower using a new type of template from Clover the sewing folks. I’ll do a make and take on these soon. You’ll be making them by the dozens! After the end of long day of being on my feet I ended with another make and take at Blumenthal-Lansing, the button people. We got to back the cutest bracelets from a little piece clear tubing, duck tape, yarns and of course buttons. I’ll take a picture later and up load it.

Back to the hotel and then off to dinner with Becky Conley. We dined at The Conga Room our last choice in a string of restaurants that had waiting times far too long. Let me say this; the last choice became the best choice. We had an amazing meal of Cuban food. If you are in LA check it out you will not be disappointed.

Then it was back to the hotel with the intention of writing this blog post. I got the pictures uploaded to the computer and the slide show created. I was nodding off waiting for the pictures and decided that sleep was needed more than this so I did exactly that, I went to sleep. Now it’s around 6am and I am wide awake and read to head back for another day. Until then I will relax a moment and wonder just what I will see from my window seat today…

Happy New Year...

2011-01-02T19:19:27-08:00

As I write this post I can say I have not wanted to get to a New Year more than I do this day. The past year, actually the past six months have been incredibly challenging for me. As some of you know I suffered and accident that injured my right hand and caused me to be in physical therapy for all this time. I was in a cast for several weeks and then a series of splints for near three months after that.
Since June until just this week I have worked hard to repair the (nerve) damage to my hand that left me unable to work in my studio, to teach classes and to generally just enjoy being creative! I had no idea what appeared to be just a simple accident could wreak such havoc on a person. I had no idea how important my creativity was to me until I could not do it! I am so thankful that all the hard work has paid off and I am now back in my studio and getting excited about what the New Year will bring.

I am starting something new and I hope you will join in the process. I am going to begin teaching classes at my studio. There is a great community room just across the hall from the studio where the classes will be held. I will start teaching classes in January trying for once a week and hoping to build from there. If you are on my e-mail list you will get one in the next couple of days with my schedule, both at the studio and stores. Getting back to teaching and sharing art has me really excited.

I will be heading to CHA at the end of January. I can’t wait to see what’s new from my favorite companies and to see who has brought something great to the crafting world. I will be bringing catalogs back to share with everyone and hopefully samples where I can. I love going to CHA. The show is always filled with great energy and amazing new products. It’s also a chance to say hello to friends I’ve made old and new, to touch base with them and see what’s happening in their life. Last year it rained most everyday I was there, hope that I get a little sun and warmth this time around. It’s in a different location this year, we will be downtown LA instead of Disneyland!

My year was not totally idle I was able to do some sewing with my sister and we continue to add products to our growing little business Twisted Sisters. We made some great new purses and they will soon be available in our Etsy shop, so stay tuned on that. Here’s a little slide show of them! We did a number of craft shows again with great success. We are in the throws of planning new items for this year! I like doing the craft shows, it’s so much fun interacting with all the shoppers and meeting new crafters/artists at each one. And most of all it’s great spending time with my sister!

I hope your past year was a good one for all of you and most of all I hope that this new year will bring all that you wish both personally and artistically. I for one will look for a bright new view from my window seat; what will your view be?

Art for the Heart

2010-10-05T19:51:23-07:00

Art comes from many places and in many forms. I know for one I didn’t think I had much of an artistic bent at all. Then one day I discovered the ‘art’ of rubber stamping and my life changed. I not only found something that was fun to do but I also discovered that I had a ‘muse’ hiding inside for all my life. Art is its own reward and for me the rewards have been varied and wonderful and most of all more than I imagined. I’d like to tell you about another artist that I hope you will like and support her and her special art.

Debbie W is a very special artist. Debbie is supported by the Northwest Center here in Seattle whose mission is to promote growth, development and independence for Debbie and others through education, rehabilitation and work opportunities. Debbie creates beautiful bracelets that are her individual pieces of art.

Northwest Center has employment specialists who work with clients such as Debbie to help find ways in which she might be able to earn a small income. I discovered while talking with Debbie’s employment specialist she had spent several months with Debbie and her family and friends learning everything she could about Debbie and what she liked to do. During the course of her work she found that Debbie liked beads. She liked to run her fingers through them just like many of us do! She wondered if Debbie could learn to string her beads into jewelry, so they began to teach her. And just like all the rest of us when we found something we loved we excelled and created a world of art. Debbie now designs these beautiful works of art that she sells at fairs, neighborhood markets and now through her website.

I hope you find Debbie’s bracelets as beautiful as I do. The best part of this story is that anyone can support Debbie’s art and I hope that each of you will want to do just that. You can support Debbie by buying one of her beautifully designed bracelets. They are only $10. Go to her website and please order one today, remember Christmas is just around the corner and what a wonderful gift. Where else can you support a deserving artist for such a small price? And, most of all you can put a huge smile on Debbie’s face. Debbie’s bracelets are truly Art from the Heart…

And when next you sit in that window seat, relaxing I hope that you will think of the Debbie’s in this world and the art they make and think about what a better place it is because of them!

A Bit Off Subject....not really!

2009-12-29T09:50:15-08:00

When I started to develop this in my mind I thought it would not be much about creativity but in the end it really is. You will see.

A while back something wonderful happened to me and I need to thank a few people involved. First and foremost I must thank the person responsible to begin with, Doris Goulet, owner of Friends and Company in the heart of West Seattle. She kindly nominated me in a local dental contest for a complete smile makeover. Smiles by Bond, located just at the top of the West Seattle Bridge at 35^th and Fauntleroy ran the contest. Surprisingly, to me

anyway, I won! Without Doris taking the time to write my entry this could never have happened. Thank you Doris!

I was quite in shock when I received the call from Dr. Bonds’ office. Sierra said to me, ‘you won!’ I was a bit stressed this day from other things and asked her, won what? She just laughed and explained that I had won the contest and that I would need to make an appointment with Dr. Bond. At my first appointment I was greeted by two of the nicest people ever. Dr. Bond and Sierra did a complete assessment of the dental work I would need to make a ‘perfect’ smile. Smiling? Me? I was always hiding my smile, I hated my teeth and was ashamed of them. Dr. Bond said that would not be a problem when he was done with the work!

Ahh, the work! Everything about this makeover was donated by all involved. Dr. Bond, his staff, the lab who made the crowns and caps, everyone! Since everything was donated the work was done in hours before and after their normal work days, most of them anyway. Some were done on days that the office was normally closed. Those included some incredibly long appointments! I was always glad when those were finished. Having had some not so great dental experiences in my past I am grateful to have found Dr. Bond. I suffered but a minor amount of pain throughout the entire work time; he is a gentle person inside and out and cares deeply about his patients.

The process took a little bit more than a year from beginning to end. Since that time I have had some adjustments, some tweaking and received a night guard to help keep everything aligned! Once it was all finished there was a need for new pictures. Having my picture taken is nearly as painful as going to any dentist in my book. Hate it hate it hate it! But off I went for the end of this great story. Dr. Bond sent me to Photography by Steven in Burien early on and now I was back for the ‘after’ shots. Steven said I would have fun and love the end results. I said sure!

To make a long story short, I had a blast taking the pictures, even the ‘dental’ shots that had to be taken. Steven made it fun and comfortable. And I love my picture! Thanks.

I said in the beginning that this was a little off subject but not really. It isn’t at all. I am always writing about being creative and art and this is no different. Dr. Bond is an artist in all sense of the word. He created a beautiful smile for me that I am proud of today. Without his artistic talents I would still be ashamed of my smile. Instead I am happy and do not shy away from showing off my beautiful teeth every chance I get. For now it is time to sit back in my own window seat and thank each of you for changing my view of the world…Doris, Sierra and everyone at Smiles by Bond, Steven and especially you Dr. Bond I will never be able to say thank you enough.

Summer is gone...

2009-10-14T13:29:47-07:00

Summer is gone and fall has arrived. The cool air is crisp and the colors are changing every day. I am finally settled in my new home and ready to get back to the world of crafting. It seems I took a bit longer break than I anticipated. I cannot believe how fast time slips away from us. My studio is a complete disaster! I didn’t realize just how much crafting stuff I had a home. My new place has room for some but not all of what I had so I took it to the studio. I am going to have to pull it all out and rearrange everything. It will be a good time to purge materials that I am not using. Get rid of paper and scraps that I save for who knows what. Elaine Woodhouse of Carved Stamps sends art supplies to the troops, so she will be getting all of what I part with this time.

I am excited about the new stamps from Tweety Jill! Alice in Wonderland, everything! I just found out that she now has paper packs to go along with her stamps and collage packs. I see about a bazillion classes in the future with this line! Look for samples very soon!

It’s craft show season and I am in the midst of working on a few things for those shows. My sister is a seamstress and we started Twisted Sisters Emporium earlier this year. we've been making handbags. I sat down to a sewing machine for the first time in nearly 30 years, didn’t see myself sewing ever again but surprisingly find myself enjoying it. It 's been loads of fun spending a different kind of time with my sister. Amazing that we could sit side by side in a tiny 10x12 room for nearly two weeks and not lose it! J We did the Summerfest and now have a few big holiday shows coming up. I will keep you posted.

For now I am just learning to appreciate the new view from my window seat. It’s quite different. Sit back, relax and enjoy the view from you own window seat. I will post new work soon…

2009-07-19T09:00:09-07:00

It’s Sunday and I actually have a free day. Hmmm, what shall I do? Go to the beach; maybe to the Seattle Center and the Bite of Seattle? Though I may drive to Karen Lockhart’s and visit with her since in just one short week she is moving back to California. I am going to miss her! There’s been loads of fun having her here in my backyard. She’s a very special person. Thankfully she’s just a car ride or a short flight away. I always need a new excuse to go to California!

We are still working on the real change for the blog. I have some specific things I want Michael to create. Today I just went into the templates and changed to this one. I thought I needed something new today! For now I think I like this!

Sit back, relax and enjoy your view today, do something fun!