lindsay ostrom

day nineteen... peanut butter and jelly

2012-02-19T06:46:00.001-08:00

...day nineteen....

you are the...

peanut better to my jelly

and so on

...

just have to say, that i just might continue this

journaling or at least some project

every day thru the end of the year.

Loving it!

How about you???

You are participating in the

29 day creative challenge???

Let me know

post a comment here...
..........
and
to watch a video of some
of my other recent journal entries...
go to my new You Tube site
here
(it was my first attempt - it will only get better from here)

day 18 ... success

2012-02-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

day 18

...

never

let success

go to your head

and

never let

failure get to your heart

...
some days this is how i feel...
today is one of those.
be still my heart

day seventeen.... Friends

2012-02-16T21:37:00.000-08:00

...

day seventeen

...

Friends

BFF

day sixteen.... Picasso

2012-02-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

...

day sixteen

...

so when i was at my folks this weekend,

i found a steve jobs book

and in it was a quote

from Picasso...

it was one of

stever jobs favorites

I love it too...

day fifteen... winter

2012-02-15T17:25:00.000-08:00

...

day 15

...

Winter

...

come and gone. it seems

day fourteen....LOVE!!!

2012-02-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

day fourteen

...

the day of love

...

that being said,

happy valentine's day

...

day thirteen...MUSIC

2012-02-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

...day thirteen...

...

Music

speaks

louder

than

words

...

day twelve... sisters

2012-02-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

day twelve

...

SISTERS

...

different, but the same

i mean...

the same, but different!

day eleven... kisses

2012-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

day eleven

...

KISSES

...

day ten... HOME

2012-02-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

day ten

...

there's no

Place

like Home

...

this post comes from Southern California

away from Home :(

day nine... snow moon

2012-02-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

...

day nine

...

Tonight there is a full moon.

On the way home from work, i heard

a story on the radio about the fact

that the indians would call the first full

moon in february a snow moon

to say thank you for all the winters snow

to bring food to them during

the autumn harvest.

...no snow yet tonight,

doin' a little snow dance!

day eight... full moons light

2012-02-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

day eight

...

she

keeps

a little

bit of the

full moons

light in

her

pocket...

just in case!

...

colored pencil on brown bag

love it!

day seven - circular motion

2012-02-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

day seven

...

some days i just feel like

i am going in circles....

day six... recipe

2012-02-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

day six

...

a recipe for creativity

...

I had to create a logo for an upcoming retreat and our theme this year is creativity. I found this clip art in google images and decided to recreate her. So... i used the printed girl for this little journal entry. She is looking up recipes for creativity and finding that you need imagination, friendship, colors, inspiration and lots of love. Stir well and voila! A creative masterpiece.

day five... a fine line...

2012-02-05T05:33:00.000-08:00

...

day five

...

there's

fine

line

between

love

and

hate

...

and we are watching the super bowl.

'nuf said

go madonna!

the clear winner

day four... you is

2012-02-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

...

...day four...

You is smart,

you is kind,

you is important

-quote from the help

...

who's posting to our flicker group?

who's staying on task?

( besides me, of course... hehehe)

day three.... Beauty

2012-02-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

day three

...bEaUtY...

...

just wanted to let you all know that I have created a flickr page for all of your creations to be uploaded to. I hope that you are all fulfilling this 29 day challenge, let's see what you are all making.

join the 29 day challenge

flickr site here.

Day two.... 29 day creative challenge

2012-02-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Day two....

- - -

she

wants

become

the

creative

soul

she

believes

she

can

...

i want to see your creativeness....

email me your progress

---

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

day one... creative challenge

2012-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

-day one-

_______________________

twenty nine day creative challenge

i'm focusing on 29 journal pages

what, pray tell

are

you focusing on?

_______________________

get creative.... everyday this month

keep a record,

have someone witness that you've

done your creativeness for each day

then... post

and

you could be a winner!!!!

a cool lindsay prize

you know,

something handmade!

so....

let's go

2012-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

A quick little CHA ( Crafts and Hobby Association ) update!

There will be more pics to follow later... but to me, it was

all about the people at this show!

Above is me getting ready to get crafty!

I took only one class.... suzi blu's art journaling.

She made me wear a bunny hat because i was being too anal and look what came out of it... above.

then i had a successful stalking. I gave Heidi Grace of

Cleaver Handmade a scarf I made that was in one of the magazines and now... we're BFF's... love her! (above)

Hung out with old school buddies... Allison Wong - designer for Creative Cafe, Robert Kauffman and Hampton Arts and Susy Ratto - lettering goddess and designer for EK Success.

Karen met her idol... Christie Tomlinson and they shared a moment

another successful stalking... Lisa Englebrecht

a fabulous letterista!

Three lettering artists... Me, Carol Snyder ( the first dot letterer) and then Susy Ratto

and just one sneek peek of what i saw and loved... this is from

Ice Resin... lovely!

More CHA to follow....

tomorrow starts...

29 days of creative celebration!!!!

come and join the fun on my blog!

2012-01-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is a 29 day PERSONAL creative challenge.

It will be different for everyone....

for me....

it's a 29 day revisiting of art journaling.

I found a fun button and string envelope and cut 29 white cards of watercolor papers, bristol, cardstock, ruled and other papers.

I may choose to draw, paint, sew, stamp...

whatever floats my boat

so...

what floats your boat?

Commit to mastering something in 29 days... could be planting a garden, drawing, learning some lettering, baking, sewing, reading a book, getting fit - ok... let's skip that one. Something that helps you to be the creative being that you are intending to be. Keep a record ( like I have posted above)... have someone sign off on each day that you complete your task. Email me the completed record sheet on the 29th. ONLY those that complete something EVERY DAY will be in the running for a prize. This prize will be a creative goodie bag filled with creative goodies!!!

it's leap year.... let's have a challenge!

2012-01-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

it's leap year!

that means there are 366 days in the year.

and with that one extra day...

and

29 days in the month....

I want to host a challenge....

stay tuned.

challenge reviel will be on

SUNDAY
the 29th of January

(and of course there will be a prize!!!)

and the winner is....

2012-01-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

drumroll please.... and the winner tonight of the she's crafty fabric box is...... drrrrrruuuuummmmmmmmm..... number 28! That's my lucky number and my blog used yo be called "28 days of creativity" .... which will be our next challenge for February also

and the person who picked the exact correct number was BETH!!!

Beth's comment was "Very cool, you do "do it cute" hehe - my number is 28". Well congrats Beth!!! Just email me your addy and I will send this cute little box off to you. After I get back from the Crafts and Hobbys show in Anaheim. I am off tomorrow. Watch for the announcement of the new challenge for February....
28 days of Creativity! It's a leap year... you know!

a productive day

2012-01-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

word for the day.... productive....

I started and finished 15 pieces... booh yahhh!

I am pretty proud of myself.

(don't forget to comment and leave your guess for the

NUMBER IN THE BOX

and you could win my FABRIC BOX... leave

a comment by this Friday the 27th)

little fabric box

2012-01-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, i spent the whole day in the studio. I wanted to make a fabric box like i used to make in high school. I made tons of these for friends and kept only one for myself... so I started with painting the walls.

I used a text fabric and did the painting on top of that - that is my new favorite thing to do!

when i assembled the walls, i stitched with a free motion foot around each panel. I think i liked the art better before the stitching... but it's ok.

I left all the raw edges on the outside and did some very intricate fringing around all the edges ( while watching shawn of the dead with the kids)... that took forever but i liked the way it came out

Sadly, the box was a bit off center when it was finished. I do like it... but i am going to try it one more time. I did it with chipboard and batting inside. I am gonna try it with just batting inside this time...

this panel is for my ma... who always used to tell us to "do it cute" when i had my store - we never did anything unless it was cute!

that panel is front and center at the bottom inside of the box

all in all a very fun project. So... I have put a number inside the box - leave me a comment and you can win this little gem. I will be taking comments on this box up until the midnight on the 27th. I leave for CHA - the craft and hobbys show on the 28th. So... the number is from 1 and 100. Leave me a message and I will choose the winner on the 27th and post the winner on the 28th. So.... whatcha waiting for ? Leave me a comment below and be a winner!

2012-01-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Every year... through the Brooklyn Art Library and The Art House Co-Op , I participate in a project called the Sketchbook Challenge. You have about 6 months to work on your sketchbook , then mail it off to them. They catalog it and get it ready for a tour of the US. You can check out your book at different galleries acorss the country so I go to San Francisco in June to view mine. Then it goes home to the brooklyn art library - forever. This year my theme was Writing On The Wall.... hope you enjoy!

Oh... and, i always do the cover last - so stay tuned... the cover is coming soon!

2012-01-14T03:02:00.000-08:00

Monday, brent and i will begin our Bed-in. Just like John and Yoko did some 43 years ago..... ok, ok - so maybe not a 2 week in bed deal. But believe you me... I am gonna stay in bed as long as i can.

So i guess i am over exaggerating and being a bit extreme. I should back up... we bought a new mattress about 4 years ago. It was the last little bit of money left from my store and boy did we need a mattress. It was great for about 6 months and then the back aches and shoulder pains started. Bad nights of sleep followed. A few weeks back we were shopping for sofas and happened to wander into the mattress area. A super sweet sales lady told us that ALL mattresses have a 10 YEAR GUARANTEE. What??? Really??? So i ran home and called. Sure enough, they do. So they sent out the mattress inspector (yep, a real job). He mesured the HOLES in our mattress, made some "hmmm's" and " i see's" and "oh my's" sounds... and left. Three long days later they called with the amazing news. Sure enough... a full credit was issued. We RAN to the mattress shop.... tried them all and on Monday, they deliver our brand new Temperpedic. So excited!!! So, if you have a bum mattress... call the mattress police! You might just get lucky. Oh and Peace baby and sleep tight!

2012-01-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend's project included getting better after having a bout of a 24 hour flu, working on some ideas for some new home dec products, drawing up some pages for a few books i am commissioned to draw and created a banner for a magazine. Charley ( Brent's one year old bestie) is checking it out here.

I took a banner pole from work and got rid of the ugly garden banner and created my own. It's kinda a tribute to Luke ( and Charley, i guess ). The roof has free motion words that read...

the

door

to our

home is always

open to a

friend, family,

and any and all dogs

beer and deer... just

leave your shoes and

come on inside.

I love it. I handpainted each piece of fabric in it... and quilted the whole thing. Tomorrow it will be on it's way to a magazine. Hopefully, it will come back to me

when the snows are gone.

who am i kidding...

there has been no snow

but there is a full moon tonight...

and the air is a changing!

love notes for rena...

2012-01-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

It's 2012 and I need to keep up my commitment to myself to craft something everyday. Luke left us yesterday. He died in his sleep... we gave him a fabulous send off and today, we are missing him dearly. So, when the going gets tough the tough get crafting.

My friend Rena ordered some of my tree notecards from me to give to a friend. I for sure couldn't just put them in a sad little shipping box and send them off. No way. So i made a little love notes pouch ( yes Rena, you can keep the pouch and just give the cards)

I got some new pens for Christmas... noodlers pens and ink. I haven't tried them yet but when I do i want to do a little poem like this one... "Write sonnets of love on your heart"

I painted and stitched a tree with a heart, some scribbles sky and some white starts on one side....

and wrote love notes on the back side - oh and i used osnenburg for the fabric. The paint took to it fabulously.

I love how it puckered from the free motion foot stitching

Here are a few of the 10 cards that are coming your way Rena. My heart needed to make something beautiful today and you get it.

Below is the granite that our neighbor gave us to set with Luke. We planted a redwood tree right next to him. He would love that.

Make it a craftingly memorable year. Happy 2012~

The book of Luke...

2011-12-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me for this totally unlike me fluffy and sappy post on the eve of New Year's Eve. But all week my life has been filled with Luke the wonder Dog, aka Mr. Doo's or Lukie Doo's, if you please. He is very old, 15 to be exact and I am not sure that he is gonna make it to ring in the new year. He stopped eating a week plus ago, hasn't gone potty in the same amount of time and is non responsive and listless. He is going in for an ultra sound on Monday. They think he might have prostate cancer; which really wouldn't matter because they say they don't advise operating if he does. He's too old. Lost too much weight and so on. So, he is comfortable and not in pain because the two of us are so doped up on pain pills we are both seeing fluffy pink clouds. I hurt my shoulder this week lifting Luke into the car - tendenitious and burcitious ( i am sure i butchered that spelling, oh well). So here we have sat all week together... watching and waiting.

When Riley was 2 she went to a birthday party of a little girl who was the daughter of my cousin's best friend. I got a call when the party was over and Riley's little voice on the other end of the phone said "mommy, i got a puppy for a party favor". Believe me, our track record with dogs when the kids were little was not a good one. I said no. When i got there to pick her up she was holding this little ball of black fluff. He had white paws and a white chest. So cute. So, i said yes. And Mr. Luke ( of Luke and Laura or if you ask the kids, Luke Skywalker )came to be a member of the family. Best dog ever. So sweet. So loving and so Riley's dog. Even today when he wouldn't lift his head for me... he would for Riley. He still responds to her.

Bailey never drops by... but she did today. Everyone has said their goodbyes. 15... that's alot of licks, alot of going for a ride, go for a walk, alot of go get the ball, alot of dog parties in the back forest, alot of love and alot of good boy Luke! Not sure yet what will happen on Monday but I do know this; Luke the wonder dog is the best dog I have ever had. Thank you Luke for being there for all of us at different times in our lives. You rock! We love you.

2011-12-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

Well here it is... the Crafty Girlies Club Contract. I have had a few folks ask for it early. They must be adding it into their resolutions. I am gonna try and scan it again and i will keep it posted in the column on the right all the time so you will be able to find it all the time. So... print it out, fill in your name and the date and post it where you will see it all the time. Congratulations... you are now a proud member of the Crafty Girlies Club - i hope!!!

2011-12-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY GIRLS CLUB

starting January 1st, 2012

--------

This has been an idea of mine for a while now. I want to get everyone motivated to get crafty next year ( which is only 3 days away). So, i am starting a club. You will have to sign a contract and keep it in your craft space to be a member and commit to a certain number of crafts a month. Here's the basic idea...

This year I participated in 4 craft fairs during the holidays. I was able to make enough money to buy all our Christmas gifts without spending a penny of our own money. That's my goal for next year and I hope to motivate you all to do the same. If you don't want to participate in craft fairs, then sign up to get some crafts made to give as gifts during the holidays.

On New Years Eve, I will post the contract for you to downoad and put up wherever you craft. You will need to commit to make 1 large project a month, 5 medium projects a month or 10 small projects a month. Then put them into a brown grocery bag and staple the bag shut until the fall. You will then have enough goodies to take to a craft fair or at least give as gifts.

We here in blogland would love to see pictures of whatever you make. You can email me photos and I will put them up here to inspire others. I will also be posting some ideas that I have seen sell well at craft fairs. You can also become a member of PINTEREST... the very best place for crafty ideas. And, you can become a member of The Crafty Girlies Club on Facebook where we will all post our crafty ideas. It's a private group so request to be added and I will add you! I will be giving you ideas for crafting and ideas for craft fairs. You can always email me or comment here if you need help... we are here to help!

So, get ready to ring in the New Year and the New You! A crafty girl in a neighborhood of crafters. Come on, it will be fun. And you will surprise yourself with how crafty you are. We will continue to have blog challenges here including our National Letter Writing month in April... but this will continue all year.

Here's wishing you a Crafty New Year!!! Get ready to craft!!!

2011-12-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

...and the bell still rings for all those who truly

BeLiEvE!

-The Polar Express

May the magic of Chrismtas be there for you

and all you love!

...Lindsay

i've been licensed!!!

2011-12-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... what a pleasant surprise I had in my inbox when i got home from Christmas shopping. It was a photo of all my art done by Designs Combined Incorporated. This is the Halloween collection for 2011 in their showroom in Dallas. I did embroidered samplers, shelf sitter dolls, signs, totes, pillows, ornaments and some little wands.... at least that's what i see here. I am so excited because at first they had told me they weren't using any of it. Now look... a whole collection. Very cool! Ok, just had to share... now let's get back to Christmas 2011!

2011-12-10T21:24:00.001-08:00

Ready for the last craft fair of the season.

These cute little wooden nickle pendants were inspired by my friend Kristen. She is doing some, i fell in love with them, bought one and had to make some of my own...

The rest is history. I haven't stopped making them since. Thanks Kristen for the idea. Hope you don't mind.

I have combined my old favorite thing of colored pencil drawings on brown bag paper and then a wooden nickel stamped with a cool dream stamp, a bit of distress ink, a bail and done!

Keep your fingers crossed. All sales are going to a good charity... buying milk, gas and a few Christmas presents for me, the hubby and the kids. Hope you like 'em.

glass tile pendants....

2011-12-03T20:16:00.001-08:00

Craft Fair number one was so much fun and a big success for all of us. Now i am working on some glass tile pendant pieces to take to the indie fair on Sunday next week.... The styles above are on watercolor paper with watercolor

these are my favorites on brown bag paper with colored pencil...

I love the way the colored pencil looks on the dark brown paper. The moon is my riley's favorite quote and this one was inspired by her.

Book pages are my paper of choice lately and colored pencil on top of those is pretty fun. I can't wait to add the glass and a chain and finish them up. Extremely fun weekend!

Fa La la la Craft Fairs!!!

2011-12-02T20:24:00.001-08:00

Fa La La La Craft Fairs....

the first is tomorrow.... at the Alta Dutch Flat School. Come on up if you live anywhere between Sacramento and Reno. Super cute town, great little hometown fair, The Little Bear Tree Farm - get your Christmas tree

and Emily's Nosh Sandwich Shoppe.

Then next Saturday... is the Colfax Winterfest in Colfax from 10-3pm. Also cute town.... at The Hair Studio

and last but not least... is

The Beatnik Studios Indie Craft Fair...

so fun, this one is in Sacramento - in Midtown.

So.... come and shop!!!

Craft fair craziness....

2011-11-29T20:37:00.001-08:00

Still getting ready for the Holiday Craft Fairs which start this weekend. I am up to my eyeballs in ornaments, family plaques and mini signs. The tree above is one of my favorites....

i did one of these signs today that had a family of 9 snowmen... wowie!

this is for my new little 2nd cousin... i figured i better do hers before i got tired of making them....

these are going to 7 roommates for their first tree... each one looks like the person. cute.

prancer with a pretty bow

And to all a good night! I just wanna get done so i can get back to my sewing... so many projects, so little time!

it's beginning to look alot like......

2011-11-28T09:22:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to look alot like it's time for Holiday Shopping! It's Cyber Monday and this is my own little shameless plug to sell my stuff! I have several ways for you to order these...

1. like me on facebook and you can see them all, choose the ones you want and pay thru pay pal

(lindsay waltman-ostrom on facebook)

2. Emial me directly and I will send you pics of the ornaments at lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

3. Come to a local craft fair... shown above.

If you don't order from me... that's ok. Just remember to support your local artist, shop local and shop independent. It does matter.

Have a holly Jolly Christmas!!!

Lindsay

all proceeds from sales of ornaments goes to give my family a happy holiday... hehehe, thanks!!! Oh and they are just $10 each...

all hearts....

2011-11-19T20:29:00.001-08:00

Tonight I just wanted to do something creative. Anything at all.

It's been about a month since i have done anything worthwhile. I have painted about 70 ornaments for craft fairs and that's about it. But to me, those don't count. I have done those for like 30 years.

So tonight was just for me. I did these also to take to the craft fairs. They will go in small vintage frames and will be available for sale... let me know if you need one of these, i know the artist and can work it out!

Baby, it's cold outside.....

2011-11-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

Oh yes it is cold outside Virginia.... it snowed last night and rained all day today. So today i stayed in, turned on the Hallmark Channels ( 14 new movies this season- what could be better ) and started working on new things for the local craft fairs.

The signs above are actually the same one. It's my new double sided signs. One side has a Holiday quote and the other side has a picture and a place for personalizing... so cute, huh?

These are my new little 3x3 hangers. I love them.... they are 3x3 with book pages and then art on one side and the other side is ready for personalizing.

She is my cubby angel. Sweet little thing. Let me know if you are interested in any of these before they hit the craft fair scene. Just e-mail me at lindsayostrom@yahoo.com and we will work out a deal! More to follow.... ho!ho!ho!

it's beginning to look alot like....

2011-11-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

I spent most of my year working on pieces of art for a company to produce for me. A few weeks ago, they let me know that they would not be using any of them. It broke my heart.

It was challenging for me to think outside of my comfort zone and I learned alot by doing that. I happen to love the pieces I made. I will be featuring a bunch of these one of a kind pieces at my Holiday Craft Fairs.

It's fall and this weekend we set our clocks back 1 hour. I love fall... and with it brings the need to craft, the joy of making handmade gifts and the watching of Hallmark Christmas movies... don't you just love Hallmark? Yep, it's beginning to look alot like Christmas.

Holiday Boutiques

2011-11-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Come and support your local artist this holiday season!

I will be at 2 shows this season

and will be previewing some of my wares

here on my blog in the next couple of weeks.

Don't live in California...

then send me an email and we can work

something out... or support

a local artist in your communtiy.

Halloween placemats

2011-10-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

i just thought that since it was halloween and i am thinking alot about candy and food.....

that i would post some pictures of some placemats that i made for folks at our MARS retreat. The top one was for my friend Sharen and the next one (above) was for my friend Wendy...

This one above is mine that still needs a bit more stitiching around the circle. I have to sew with invisible thread and am a bit nervous....

this one is done and it's for Karen #2... she is the reason that we all brought placemats to our retreat. She uses a placemat at every meal... so proper and lovely.

here's mine again... it says "please sir, i want some more and yummy in the tummy"... and a whole story around the circle. But you'll be able to read that when it comes out in one of the magazines.... hint, hint!

Oh wait... who is that? That is me and my man. Just getting ready for this years haunted house. This is from Last year. Stay tuned for this years pics... in a few days.

for now....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN...

swap....

2011-10-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

A few of my buddies and i are working on a ticker tape quilt. We were all running out of fabric, so we decided to have a little fabric swap.
We decided to swap 10 pieces of fabric that we could all use in our quilts. I have recieved one swap back from Cory... i can't wait to get the other 6. Mine got out tomorrow. Enjoy ladies!

24 years.... Plastics

2011-10-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

so... i have been married for 24 years. It was our anniversary on sunday. I spent it at my craft retreat and my honey spent it watching horror movies. When i came home... there were 2 pink flamingos in my living room. So cute. Brent told me that being married 24 years meant plastic... i laughed so hard. He knows me all too well. We needed these for our retro trailer... "lil' miss sunshine". We are towing her to Woodstock next year and the flamingos will be going along to the ride. I can't wait!!! I love you honey. Thanks for 24 years of love and plastic!

the biggest compliment....

2011-10-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

So, as i started to write this blog post tonight... i realized that I didn't really have any good pictures of my finished quilts. So, you'll have to take my word for it. This is me with Kristen Robinson and Ruth Rae at the CHA show winter 2011. A great day! This is where they chose my quilts to be in Art Quilt Studios and they took them off the walls of my booth and hand carried them to the studios of Somerset Studios Magazines.

So .... fast forward to a few days ago when i got an e-mail from Hannah and Kim. Two friends that have a blog called Expressing His Heart.

And... above is the quilt that they sent me. They are two friends who like to create art using text, drawing and quilting. They read the article in the magazine and saw my quilt. They said that my little quilt inspired them to make this big quilt. Beautiful isn't it! Check out their blog.... Leave them a comment and tell them that Lindsay sent you

and i promise that tomorrow, I will take a better picture of my finished quilt. Or just go out and buy the premire issue of Art Quilt Studios!!!

Rena's halloween ATC bag

2011-10-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Rena just joined our mail art group called UGRA.

So, i had anyone in the group that wanted to play send me an ATC card for her. The theme was halloween.

while they were all making their cards... i was busy making a little patched bag to hold them in.

i did a bunch of free motion foot doodling with words on it. I think it came out super cute

especially the pumpkin and the fabric was so cool to work on.

I presented it to Rena at the best day of my life! When she came all the way from Wisconsin to teach me and the UGRA gals to watercolor. I will post those pics next... we painted paper dolls that she designed. So cute, so fun, so wonderful.

winner, winner chicken dinner....

2011-10-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

I am on day 6, i think or making something every day. This was day four and I thought I would share it with you. I drew on a paper bag and then sewed and stuffed it. I added a bit of raffia and some wire and beads... i kinda like it. I am gonna keep drawing in paper bags....

and now.... drum roll please....

brrrrrrruuuuuuuummmmmmmmmppppp!

( yep, that's my drum roll!)

THE WINNER of the quote challenge for the month or September is..... CREATEOLOGY!!!! Yippie for you.... e-mail me with your address and I will be sending you a quoteable handmade goodie by me! Congratulations!

and next......

THE WINNER of the LoVe TrAiN challenge who get's one of my Scribbles lettering books is.... TRECE!!!! Congratulations Trece. Email me your address and I will send off your book....

so.... now, for the next few months it's all about me! I am gonna post things i have been working on daily and challenge you to do the same. Send me your pics of finished (current) projects and i will post them right along with mine....

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

last quote of the month....

2011-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this last quote of the month... i love it! Perfectly said. So what's on the blog challenge agenda???

1. Choose a winner for quote month

(coming tomorrow)

2. Choose a winner for the LoVe TrAiN

pay it forward contest

(coming next week)

3. Work on a project a day....

my friend Kristen (KaePea) Powers, posted a video on her blog and I got very inspired by it. And my challenge is to ask you to do the same. She has challenged herself to make something every day. Something small, something large... just something. I am doing the same. So... for the next few months... i hope to post what i am working on daily. If you would like to send me your creative endevours ... feel free. I just might post them here. So... Craft On!

Thanks Kristen for the inspiration...

hmmm, i might even try creating a video!

get on board the LoVe TrAiN....

2011-09-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Get on board the LoVe TrAiN....

artist Jen Osborn, is doing a Love Train give away on her blog right now... just because

and my friend Rena Askey is doing the same on her blog too.

So... i too am spreading the love on the Love Train

win one of my SCRIBBLES lettering books!

*Post a comment by October 3 at midnight

*I will choose a winner at random

* I will post the winner on the blog here on the 4th of October and you have three days to e-mail me your address and I will send it off to you.

and remember... it's still quote month for a few more days, so today....

"it is better to give than to recieve"

if you have a blog, pass on the love and give something away.... just link back to Jen's blog and my blog .... please!

Our House

2011-09-23T06:34:00.001-07:00

Our house is a very, very, very fine house....

my latest creation with one of my favorite quotes from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ; or at least part of it. I am having so much fun drawing on brown paper bag paper with colored pencils. Loving this quote month... don't forget to send me your favorite quotes with your art.

janet's quote

2011-09-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

"if you can dream it... then you can do it."

great piece and great quote from Janet Watson.

Thanks Janet... love your work!

Save our Post Offices

2011-09-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

This is my quote for today.....

I will write more on this later, as I am on my way to mail a few letters and get to work... but i woke up this morning to find out that the Postmaster general is closing 30o0 post offices across the country. NOOOOOO!!!! And one of them is my cute little Gold Run post office where my friend Shelly will be soon out of a job.

More importantly... we need to rally to save our post offices. I have thought about this for a long time but we really have to step up now. I am working on a plan but for now here are a few steps...

-write a letter

-send a card

-teach a kid how to write a letter

-buy some cool stamps ( a new dog stamp just came out and it's super cute)

-teach a kid some manners and how to write a thank you note

-send ONE less e-mail and write a note instead

-go buy some pretty stationey

-put down the texting device and send a note

Come on people it's not hard. We cannot afford to loose our post offices! Really, what will they take away next??? Think about it. This is a part of history that needs to stay with us!

art happens

2011-09-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Nothing more needs to be said...

thanks Cory for another great entry!

quote , unquote

2011-09-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

two great quotes today from my friend Janet. Janet used to be a fine art painter... but a medication that she now has to take, makes her shake badly sometimes. So, she turned to the computer. She digitally creates her art now... and I LOVE it.

This picture of this girl with the shells in her hair, she actually drew. She said she was inspired by the photos of my trip to Oregon. I love it. And I love how she incorporated it digitally with text. So inspiring. More to follow from Janet.

what are your favorite quotes and how are you using them in art? Send them to me... please,

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

quote of the day

2011-09-03T12:23:00.001-07:00

first quote for the challenge... from Tamara. She said she had this hanging in her classroom for years and it's her favorite quote. Love it... thanks tamara

how old???

2011-09-01T17:39:00.001-07:00

It's my birthday ... tomorrow. I will be.... well, let's see... according to this quote, how old do i feel? I still feel about 30, i guess. Maybe a bit younger. Not sure.... but i sure don't feel OLD. I am not responsible, i am a lover of loud music, i have a mouth like a sailor, all i want to do is play... nope, don't feel my age. That's for sure. Great quote!

"September Challenge"

2011-08-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Quote , Unquote.... that's the theme for the September Challenge. I love quotes and I use them all the time in my art. You probably do too. So, i want you to pick your favorite quote...

like....

"gee toto, i have a feeling we're not in kansas anymore"

CLASSIC, right?

You know who said it, you know where it's from and it just takes you to a magical place when you hear it.

there is dorothy and her cute little dog toto... great "quote".

Quotes can be used on jewelry, in art journals, on greeting cards.. wherever! So.... find your favorite "quote" and put in on something creative.....
These are just a few ideas.. more to follow. Put your thinking caps on and get "creating". Then, by the 25th of September.... upload a picture of your thingie and e-mail it to me at

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com
Last but not least, ask your "friends" to come and leave a "comment". The person with the most comments wins a "quotable" handmade goodie from me :)

Ok.... tell your friends too... send them the link to the blog and lets try and make this the biggest and best challenge of the year!

"I bet the alphabet is in that order,

because of that song"

- author unkown

(another one of my favorite quotes.... )

Happy Place... Ben Franklin, and WINNER!!!!

2011-08-31T17:38:00.001-07:00

we had a few last minute entries for our HAPPY PLACE challenge for the month of August....

Annie (above)... her happy place is right in front of the computer doing data entry at Ben Franklin!

Kurtis... also happy in his job at Ben Franklin. His happy place is doing social media and photography for Ben Franklin

Kaity... her happy place at Ben's is sleeping at the Paper Arts desk. hehehe......

Karen has several happy places.... one is coming to work at, guess where? Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames in Grass Valley

and the other one is .... doing anything with a glue gun, at Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames.

._________________________.

ok..... so, kinda kidding here. My friend Cory... who by the way was the ONLY ONE who entered this months challenge... was in my work today ( i work at Ben Franklin). She was bragging that since no one else entered... that she won. I told her that we had until MIDNIGHT and surly someone else would enter. Nah... that is not looking promising. It's kinda funny... she seems to win most of these challenges - she and JOY!!!!

so....

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

(oh like it's a big surprise....)

the winner is....

Cory Dogwood Blossom Moore!!!!

whoo hoo!!!

congratulations!

Glad you are in your happy place...

Prize to follow....

back to linzi-ism's

2011-08-30T18:51:00.001-07:00

This is a little gift I made for a friends mom's birthday. It was her 50th last weekend and she wanted a gift that was totally her. So i put together a book of linzi doodles for her to embroider. There was one or two for each holiday. It was pretty cute if i do say so myself....
Then ... i added in a couple of hand drawn pieces on tea dyed muslin that she could stitch around the borders and then hang. This is my new favorite thing to do... coloring on muslin.
She gave her this one of herself and her sister and she cried. That's when you know you have done a good job. She's not going to stitch around it... just frame it. Sweet!

crafternoon in the saloon....

2011-08-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

my happy place today is the saloon.... if you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know my hubby is building a saloon. Today he and a buddy got all the posts up to start putting in the floor. By looking at it... i see about 12 6' tables fitting in there - perfect place for some crafting classes..... hehehe

all the wood was donated by his friends... and the metal roofing, the bar, bar stools, poker table, velvet picture of dogs playing poker... ok, kidding now. But everything he has to make it was totally free. Very cool!

I also get happy when i smell the smell of raw wood and lumber, and seeing his tool belt. . . love it!

He got a bunch of railroad ties and hinges from the old tracks that were put in for the transcontinental railroad.

i will keep you udated from time to time until the grand opening day of the saloon. Who want's to come to artsy fartsy classes... "crafternoon in the saloon... at high noon"...?

2011-08-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

Cory has shared 4 of her happy places... at her crafting table, being with her daughter teresa, crafting with fabric and going to MARS. Great pic's Cory.

Where is your happy place? Share it with me at

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

my art journal....

2011-08-19T20:23:00.001-07:00

I made a deal with one of the girls at the store to not bring any tech toys or crafting on our vacation to the Oregon Coast....

So... i tried, i really tried....

I brought my computer to check e-mails only and then put it away....

and i brought an art journal that i started on the trip. I never really painted like this before. I told myself that I would paint without any outlines in pencil first.

I am pretty happy with the results.... except for one little problem....

this cool sea urchins page and mermaids cave page... stuck together. Really... stuck like glue... and when i pulled them apart... i pulled off some of the text.

i was sad, at first and then decided... it's a challenge and it has to be fixed. There are no mistakes in art... only happy accidents.

so the mermaid will be getting some angelina fibers added into it and i think the sea urchins might get a bit of sand. Easy cover up....

i have a few pages left and I will finish those.

i took pictures along the road and have those to paint from.

i kinda like this painting thing... and i got some great ideas for some sea related art quilts...

all inspired by the oregon coast, the full moon and a beautiful and restful vacation....

day 16... my happy place

2011-08-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school. These are a few years back... but i love these pics. This year, i will have a senior in high school, a senior in college and one still at junior college. Wow... now, that's a happy place!

day five...your happy place...

2011-08-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Most of the time when you go on a vacation, you count the days until you can leave. You really need it. No matter if it's 2 days or 22 days... there is never a better feeling than when you get to come home. Today my happy place is home.

day five.... your happy place

2011-08-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today my happy place is at Glass Beach... looking for sea glass. I love collecting it, looking at it through a glass jar and thinking that it is only at this one beach on this one particular spot on the coast. Very happy!

(this is where we are headed on our trip today.... wish me luck on my glass findings and watch for a cool project to follow!)

day four.... your happy place

2011-08-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a funny picture? I guess that could be my happy place.... except for the outfit :) - weird. So... I am still off in search of my happy place... how about you?

day three.... your happy place

2011-08-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today... i thought i would share my honey's happy place.

His slot cars, slot car track and slot car buddies...

he could do this 24/7 if he only could.

day two... my happy place

2011-08-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

Where is your happy place?

In the Garden
Doing a craft project
cooking
traveling
reading a book

Tell me about it.... send me a picture and a little story to post at

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

my happy place... vacation day 1

2011-08-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Out of the office this week....

finding my happy place in the cool summer ocean breezes of

the Oregon Coast.....

your happy place...

2011-08-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

perfectly put.

thanks kurt vonegat!

where is your happy place?

my happy place....

2011-08-04T15:32:00.001-07:00

My happy place is definately in my craft room. Every waking minute right now, i want to be creating something new.

Last weekend I worked on my self portrait. It was last months blog challenge and I had this idea for a while...

I started with the face - drew it out, colored the hair with colored pencils and used peach/ flesh strips for the face and neck.

I added all my favorite things into the quilting... doodling, free motion foot quilting, the alphabet, embroidery, buttons and some other goodies

I finished it off with a gathered headband, one of my new techniques and added a hanger with some osnenberg scraps

I wrote one of my little stories at the top and used some white paint to tone it down a bit

and voila..... me

onto my next happy place.... and I don't mean paying bills!

What's your happy place... share your pics and words with me and I will post them here this month.

lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

your happy place...

2011-08-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

The August Challenge is....

YOUR HAPPY PLACE

This is something i have thought alot about lately. There are so many places and things we do that make us happy... find yours and make something creative to represent it. A mixed media piece, a photo, a collage, a postcard, a mantra... whatever. And send it to me so that I can post it here. And yes, there will be a prize for the most creative interpretation of your happy place. So, come on get happy!

e-mail me at lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

(this cute little picture i found on pinterset makes me happy)

_____________________________

***************************************************

______________________________

Below is a picture of a southern belle... and yes, there is a story here. My friend Joan talks about her mom all the time... she is her happy place. She just got home from visiting here on the shores of South Carolina. Her mom will be 99 on August 14th. Amazing. She still swims, lives alone, plans big shin digs at her house and is a true Southern Belle. For her birthday, Joan is trying to get her 99 cards - one for each year. She still needs some. I said "No problem", my blog group and card making pals will be all over that.... so.... who's in? Just let me know so I can tell her the card is on it's way - e-mail me at lindsayostrom@yahoo.com and mail your cards to......

Ann Davis

1305 Whittaker Drive

Columbia, South Carolina 29206

_________________________________________

Below is a real last minute self portrait from my friend Carmen. She posted it on facebook for me, but duh... being a bit lame... i didn't realize that she wanted me to take it from there and post it here. I got it now... it's super cool. Done using photoshop. Anyone got some crayola crayons? I got a hankering to color! Thanks Carmen!!!

last minute portriats....

2011-07-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Three last minute portraits... from three of my favorite ladies...

above is my friend Sharla's. I wish i had a picture of her because I gotta tell you, that's really is what she looks like. Love it Sharla.

The one above and below, is my friend Chris. This too looks just like Chris. A little note about the duct tape. We have a little saying.... "Duct Tape your inner critic to the wall". We say this whenever we get hyper critical about our work.... well,

Chris sent me this beautiful picture of her and said her teeth look like sharks teeth and she can't do eyes and blah, blah, blah. SO i sent her a note and said "duct tape"... meaning to stop putting herself down. Well, 10 minutes later, she sent me the pic with the added duct tape.... hehehe. Thanks CHris

Last but not least is my friend Cory's. I think she must have taken a walk at the MOMA museum first and looked at some Jackson Pollack pics.... because she sent me this Jackson Pollack inspired self portrait. Nice Cory.... do you need some Duct Tape??? Hehehe......

self portrait

2011-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

nope.... it's not a bad dye job on my hair....

it's my self portrait! Finally....

Still a couple of days to get yours in.... remember, no prize this month - just a self searching journey of creating yourself on paper, canvas, jelly beans, whatever you choose.

I did mine on canvas... muslin

colored the hair with colored pencil

pieced the flesh tones together

I have some hand sewing to add a headband, flowers and maybe my glasses - eehh gads.....

next weekend I am going to a friends house who is teaching us how to create faces. If that doesn't go well.... i will be adding two buttons and calling it quits. But for now... this is me. A bit dishoveled and unkept.... perfect! Watch for the finished piece very soon!

NEW CHALLENGE BEGINS.... AUGUST 1st

(with a prize....!!!!!)

softie pocket book

2011-07-29T07:40:00.001-07:00

Today is a day to work on projects. But before i do.... here's a little peek at a mini pocket book that I am almost done with.

I can't show the entire cover of this cool little book that I have been working on... becuase then the recipient would know that it was for her. But here is a little sneek peek of a corner of it. Lot's of stitching

Each page has pockets that are all a bit raggey with a place for wording ( coming next ).

posies intwined in thread....

love the pieced flower here

love the shaggy rectangle elements here....

another favorite... wool felted heart. love that too...

this one is my favorite one so far.... love open circles. I am gonna do my next mini quilt with open cirles.

this is where the name of the book will go. I have to finish it this week and get it off in the mail. So excited. By trying a whole bunch of different stitches, techniques and applications in a small book; it opens your eyes for many new projects to come.

enjoy the weekend!

be crafty!

MAQ

2011-07-27T21:41:00.001-07:00

Today I went to a meeting of the Mountain Art Quilters group from Nevada City.

They were revieling their challenges for the past few months... these were a few of my favorites. This one by Linda Waddle, from the whole cloth

That means that they start with one piece of fabric. I loved the colors of this... she painted the whole piece and then added wool felt appliques... it was my favorite....

I am sad to say that I cannot remember who did this one. Again for batiks... but i loved the buttons, spirit threads and colors

what's not to love?

This was my favorite... because of the text. By Sandra Bruce...

I think the catagory was about women who influenced us and this was for her mother, who was deaf... so I also liked the sign language part....

and the colors

beautiful....

this was with sharpies on silk...

yep... i said sharpies.... like the pens!

Another favorite was my friend Heidi Emmett's batik quilt of Lindsay flowers, although... i am sure she doesn't think of them like that. But i do have one tattooed on the back of my neck for like the past 35 years and I drew it... so yeah, it's kinda mine.

I have been invited to be part of this amazing group... there wer 10 others who were also invited. They cap it off at 50 and i think they have 3 openings. I am the 3rd one on the list... so, it's looking good. I am honored to even be considered. It was a great day!

wedding signs....

2011-07-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

The last of my weddings went off without a hitch this past weekend. I am sure the signs looked beautiful in the venue.

I have been making signs for quite a few brides this season and these were some of my favorites.

They got married at Empire Mine in Grass Valley and these signs were for the reception at The Miners Foundry in Nevada City.

These signs were about 4 feet tall. They were there to cover some windows on the site. I loved this one the best. It had flowers to match the invite and I loved the saying....

It's always been you... super cute and sweet.

Ever since the DIY weddings being so popular, lots of brides want more of a homemade and cute look. This is so cool. Signs, banners and cute letter is all over the wedding venue - menus, table cards, thank you's, drinks etc..... Love it!

a blog prize...

2011-07-24T21:47:00.001-07:00

Last months challange was dictionary pages .... and I hope you will go look at some of the older posts to see what folks did.

The winner of the challenge was Cory Dogwood Blossoms.

Congrats!

Here's her prize ( don't worry cory, it's gonna be in the mail tomorrow ).....

I felt it was appropriate for this months challenge too.... self portraits. This is my portrait of Cory... painted onto dictionary pages and then colored in with colored pencil and then a cute little twisty wire hanger deali-bop.

By the way... WHERE IS YOUR SELF PORTRAIT? There is still time to get yours to me. Don't worry... I am doing one too. Just wait... patience! But .... i want to see yours... NOW!!!! Make one and e-mail it to me.

colours and colors....

2011-07-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

I started a book of Colors when I was on the plane to and from CHA. I bought a used book at a library book sale in Sisters for 50 cents. I decopauged the cover, sewed up the flaps and gessoed and painted over the text ( sorry, poetry guy that wrote the book). The idea for the book came from my love of colors by even more from my love of rock and roll song lyrics. The design came from one of my new art stalkings.... Beth Fuller. She does this painting and then drawing over text and book pages.... I wanted to do something similar, in a lindsay way.

As fate would have it... the poet dedicated his book "for Beverly"... well, i kept that for my mom... beverly. One time when i was like 15ish... we were cleaning my room. I guess one of us threw out one of my journals. I was really upset... and my mom spent hours going threw garbage cans with me. We never found it... but that was a learning experience. So... i never dedicate books... but i did this time. Seemed appropriate.

Then the first color... red....

And a song by donovon

and a title page dedicated to a song that will be featured in the book by Paul McCartney and Wings... Bluebird

Not too fond of the cover... but i am working on it.

I would love to have any suggestions that you might have on songs with COLORS in the lyrics / title. I will keep you updated from time to time on new pages. Enjoy.... and taste the rainbow!

CHA SHOW... greatness

2011-07-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ok.... i'm on overload. I saw so many great samples today and new product, i didn't know where to start. So... I will show some samples. Above is a burlap canvas from Canvas Corp... one of my favorite new companies

These are little mini hoops with Prima Flowers -Dream, Create and Inspire... cute.

This was a bag a girl was carrying and I think she made it herself. Really cute..

This was at the Buttons Galore booth with a bunch of my samples that I made for them too... I am on their design team. That's fun! Check out the blog here....

Loved this dress made of buttons and the wings were chicken wire, painted with gauze... so cool!

Ok... so this was my favorite piece i saw today. It was made by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer ( i lover her ) .It is part of a contest to create a piece of clothing using paper. Ahhhh.... just look at it.

Yep... she art journaled a whole panel of it.... awesome

These were little flaps that lift up... look at the colors.

OMG... love love love this so much.

this was a ruffle in the back

oh wait.... i showed this already. What the heck... it's amazing, right? Look at it again!!!!

This is the entire dress... She is super cool!

Arghhhh.... look that that collaged face. Julie, you had me at believe! You could vote on these and the winner will be in cloth, paper and scissors magazine... i voted. Just once, i swear i only voted once. Really, i did! More pictures coming.....

the rena fanclub....

2011-07-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

So... on Wednesday, I get to meet my friend Rena ( rhymes with Tina ).... actually, we are virtual friends. We met on Facebook and we clicked instantly. I love her. I am her biggest fan... president of her fan club.

She is about the best artist I know. And she is super cute and mega talented....

This is me here... a little blury... but it's me.

so on wednesday morning... rena and I will meet in person. In the lobby of the CHA show ( that's short for Crafts and Hobbies Association Show ) I told her i would be the one with the pink carnation...

Here is one of here pieces. Check her out on flicker and on her blog... Oh... did i forget to say that when I got to Chicago, I road the moving sidewalk thingie with Steadman, Oprah's boyfriend? It's gonna be a great week!

a few fun projects.....

2011-07-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

I am now in Chicago and trying to go to sleep to get up super early for the CHA show tomorrow... but obviously, i can't sleep. So i thought i would post. I will be sharing more photos and events from the show... but for now... here's my cute kids. We 5 are hardly ever in the same room anymore. But it was bee's b-day and we went to take her to dinner and view her art on exhibit....

These are two of her collaged cityscapes... great, right?

This one is a small wood piece done with collage, pen and ink and watercolor. Living in the city has really brought our inner artist.

This one is mine! She told me if it doesn't sell that it's mine. I love it. Again collage with pen and ink. Not a proud mama or anything....

I made this canvas piece for a friends baby shower. They were doing a farm theme room for baby Hank...

It's a long and skinny canvas with barns and barnyard animals. I really like the way it turned out.

That's it for tonight. Check back tomorrow for more posts from CHA... and I will be posting on the ben franklin blog too at

www.benfranklin-crafts.com

Happy Crafting!

Sew what......

2011-07-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today i finished two projects that are heading off in the mail on Monday. The first is going to Art Quilting Studios for the winter issue....

This is a little sneek peek.... this poem is on the inside back of the mini quilt. It flips up to reviel this poem about finding your inspiration. And today... I found mine while watering my yard in my own backyard...

This is how it started... on a piece of walnut inked muslin with pen and colored pencil...

And this is how it ended up. See the stems on the flowers there? That part is the part that lifts up to show the cute poem. If you want to see more... you will have to wait for the magazine to come out.... sneeky, huh?

This sweet box is heading over to Sew Somerset magazine.... it will have in it a vine of leaves - all quilted and hangable; and this little cel phone and pen tote that I made for myself. I really like it... i just hope they do too. It will be traveling with two other little pouches for the winter issue.

Tomorrow it's back to reality... working on Christmas Home Dec goodies for my new line coming out for the holidays in 2012! Have a great weekend....

sneek peeks and self portraits

2011-07-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Blog Buddies.... I will be leaving for the CHA show on Monday. That's the show where we get to buy all the new products that we will have in the store for fall and winter. I love going! Usually, i post pictures here on the blog every night. This year, i will still post some pics... but the majority will be on my work blog. www.benfranklin-crafts.com , so check that one out Mon - Thurs. of next week.

For now.... here are a few sneek peeks. Prima is offering up some jewelry pieces to go with their embellishments. Above are leather snap bracelets that you can add these cute little bits and baubles to. I can't wait to see what else is in the offering this year. Those in the area can call my work and join me for a free recap on the 26th where i show and tell about all i found at the show. It's at 5:30 and you can call to reseve a spot

at 530 273-1348

Next.... here is a new self portrait from Tamara, who is obviously a Harry Potter fan. I am sure by now Tamara has seen the movie.. but here she is waiting for Harry along with her movie treats! Thanks Tamara....

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There is still time to get me your self portraits for this month. Anyone can share. Just e-mail me a self portrait made by you, of you. Made with maccaroni, crayons, watercolor, with string, thumbprints, digitally... whatever you like. Make it real or abstract.... just channel your inner child and make yourself look as you want to! My e-mail address is lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

until then.... happy creating!

SISTERS and self portraits....

2011-07-08T22:20:00.001-07:00

So... here i am in a $180 jacket in Sisters, Oregon. We ( four friends) are here for the Sister Quilt Show. We got here a day early to shop the stores and boy did i! I didn't buy this jacket... yet! But i think i need it, right? Anyway... this is my self portrait for today!

This digital beauty is created by my funny friend Janet Chance. She drew herself with duct tape over her mouth. We have a retreat twice a year and we have a running joke saying that if your criticize your own work, you get a piece of duct tape over your mouth.... to duct tape your inner critic. Thanks Janet... this is perfect for you!

This one is from Laura Kelly ... the sharpie spokeswomen! I don't see too much doodling going on here... just a super cute collage girl. I love it. It does look alot like Laura... thanks for this one laura!!! Check out Laura's blog for more of her doodles!

More pictures from Sisters Oregon and the quilt show tomorrow!

first self portrait and winner!!!!

2011-07-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

Hey lookie... our first Self Portriat from my friend Patti Moore over at Simple Blessings. I would tell you the story of the picture, but click on her link and check it out yourself. She did a great job. Thanks Patti.... she is super cute, i mean... you are super cute!!!

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And now.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

The winner of the dictionary page challenge is CORY with her cute covered hanger! It was a close second with Joy and her bag coming in second... but , nope... CORY came in the lead! Congrats Cory.... you will get a drawing on dictionary paper, made by hmmmm... ME!!!

new challenge........self portrait summer

2011-07-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

Chuck Close... artist, photographer and self portrait creator....
I have always loved the self portraits of Chuck Close. He was a photograher and artist who used tons of little cubes of colors to paint a portriat of someone. When you stood back, you saw the person... when you got up close, you saw the colors.

that leads us to andy warhol.... he did self portraits of himself with a camera and others of celeb's with paint and a brush.

then there is the art of the self portraits done by kids...

kids art is some of my favorite art. When i was in grade school... i painted a picture of my mom with a big pearl necklace and earrings. I loved it... it looked nothing like her - but neither did Picasso's work!

This is Frieda Kahlo... awesome and wild all at the same time!

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So... where is this all leading? You guessed it! It's Summer and time to create a self portrait of YOU! That's the challenge for the month of July.... no prizes, no winners... just you figuring out YOU! Use macaroni, use finger paints, use mosaics, use pencil, use fibers, fabric, sand ... whatever works for you. I want to see them ALL. We will post them and enjoy them all summer long.

E-mail entries to lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

... by the way... voting is still open on the dictionary challenge... too close to call right now. Voting ( by your comment) goes thru July 15th....

drum roll please....

2011-06-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

Ok ladies... I need your help. The dictionary challenge is almost over and i need help picking a winner. Please leave a comment, vote once and If your piece is entered... please don't have every friend you went to grade school with vote. Just vote ONCE. I will pick a winner on the 1st of July. Our next challenge... will start on the 1st of July. So... COMMENT!!!!

1. the butterfly wreath ( butterflies with dictionary pages)

2. Dictionary papers birdhouse ( dictionary papers in there somewhere....)

3. A is for artist dictionary page pendant

1- again dictionary butterfly from the butterfly wreath

4. dictionary cuff bracelet

5. garden dictionary tote bag - this person also had the dictionary page tote... can't find the pic of that one :(

6. dictionary hanger

7. dictionary christmas card

VOTE!!! leave a comment... now!

Click on the comment button

last dicitonary posts... i think

2011-06-28T08:57:00.001-07:00

Before we get to the dictionary challenge... i just wanted to share the retro upholstry for Little Miss Sunshine... my 1960's canned ham trailer that I am every so slowing restoring.

Above is the bed area...

Here is the eating area... the tile flooring is the next step on the remodel trail... I think i want it aqua with little flecks in it

It's such a cool retro pattern fabric... I may just sleep out there tonight!

ok, enough personal stuff... now onto the challenge.

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Joy got so carried away with this dictionary challenge that she is incorporating them into her Christmas Card for this year... which she made last weekend ( we hate her, i know!). But it's really sweet joy... love it!

And she made yet another Joyous tote from a flower/ garden dictionary she found at a thrift store. Love this joy... will you come teach this class at Ben's for us...pretty please?

Next challeng starts July 1st..... I gotta get mySELF ready for that one!

spools o' dictionary words

2011-06-25T21:15:00.001-07:00

So it was my friend Gloria's birthday this week, so I wanted to make her a card.... but i needed a thingie to put it in, so i made a cute little bag too.

here's the card....

and here's the bag.... i made a cute little fabric flower and

i put a bird on it and used a cute button from

BUTTONS GALORE!

see... there is GLORIA's name in dictionary pages. did you know that the word Gloria is in the dictionary? Neither neither...
And there it is again... only it's Glorious! She is Glorious!

I loved making this. I think i will make some more!

Only a few more days to e-mail me a picture of what you have done with dictionary papers.... lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

these hands....

2011-06-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a project that I am working on for a progressive book that a friend started....

I made this last weekend when we had a two day garage sale last weekend. The theme is These Hands... and we were instructed to trace our hand, do something inside of it and then send it to her. She is collecting other submissions of hands and then binding them, by the wrist, into a book. Great idea. I had alot of fun doing it!

a sketchbook project

2011-06-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday.... my friends took me to see my Art Journal from the sketchbook project. My car broke :( so i wasn't able to get there on my own and they offered to drive me. I am a real starving artist these days!
A year ago i signed up to be a part of this project through the Brooklyn Art Museum. We had 3 months to complete our journals. My theme was "Down My Street". It then went on tour of the USA and finally arrived here in San Francisco this weekend.
When we got there, we were issued a library card. We could check out books by author or theme. I checked out my book and then they gave the the book next to it also to compare it to yours.
It was a fabulous day, with a bit of beer tasting at some great micro brew pubs and some crazy ice cream tasting and some amazing eats and shopping along the way.
And there my book sits, ready and waiting to move along to the next fair city. By the way... did you notice the dictionary papers on the front and back cover there? If you want to be a part of next years challenge... got to the Art House Co-op and check it out. It's a fantastic feeling to participate in~!

look it up!

2011-06-16T20:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I am looking to you all to inspire me and I must say that I haven't had any e-mails recently with any dictionary projects in them. So, I took myself to the internet to look stuff up. Found the bottle necklace above on Etsy... so cute.
Love this pretty little mixed media piece with houses and dots.
so pretty button centered flowers on a book jacket....
hmmm... where have I seen this pretty frame before, i wonder.
And how cute to cover a lightswitch cover with dictionary papers. Come on... what are you guys working on? Bring it on! Send it to me.... lindsayostrom@yahoo.com

Cory's Hangers...

2011-06-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Cory loves to participate in these challenges and she kinda sets the bar really high for the rest of us.

She took an already cool wooden hanger and collaged it with dictionary pages.

Then she added in one of her beautiful fabric flowers at the top. She added a button and a ribbon and said it was perfect for a prom dress or something dressy. Can i just have about 100 for everything in my closet? Love this Cory... thanks for playing!

the ostrom sisters....

2011-06-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Ostrom Sisters... who are really not all Ostroms. I just don't know their maiden names. But Lisa... one sister, made the dictionary page necklace yesterday. And today... Joni gives us this super cute butterfly wreath.
Also made of dictionary pages. Love the butterflies and love the colors. So pretty... thanks for sharing Joni
This is again by Lisa ( sister of Joni ). She made a bracelet from an old encyclopidia. She added a rose from the same book and bits of ribbon and some leaves. I love the stamped alphabet on the edge. She wore it to lunch the other day and two folks wanted to buy it. I want to buy it! Super cute ladies... thanks for sharing!

dictionecklace.....

2011-06-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, the challenge this month is Dictionary Pages... and yesterday, i got an e-mail from a friend who said she was gonna come by the store. She had a gift for me.

It turned out that her sister, Lisa, made this for the challenge. I told her how cute it was and handed it back to her. She said it was for me..... what? Are you kidding me? Well, it just got really super cute!!! I love it. It has an "A" on ther front. Me being a bit brain dead said, that's my middle initial. My friend Joni said, turn it over - the back says... Accomplish, A, art and artist. So cool. She made it for me.... thank you Lisa. I love it. And as for kissing up and winning the monthly challenge... well, too soon to tell. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge! Ok ladies.... show me your dictionary pages!

"Joy"... a feeling of happiness

2011-06-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ok folks.... Joy; blog reader, letter writer and friend... ran to her printer to try the dictionary printing technique and lookie what she did here. This is gonna be a tag for her husband for Father's Day. Love this, can't wait to try it myself!

"scan"" through your dictionary

2011-06-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

When you look at blogs devoted to arts and crafts... you will find art and dictionary pages. At indie craft fairs, in recycled art pieces and on etsy... dictionary pages are popping up everywhere.

These cool pices are dictionary pages that people have used as copy paper. Scanning or printing images directly onto them. If you get to a garage sale or a trhift store. . . pick up an old dictionary, hymnal or smutty romance novel. Give it a try and see what you come up with.

These are my favorite. The artist took their photos and printed the image onto the dictionary page. What are you working on this month for the dictionary page challenge? Let me see as soon as you get them done.... lindsayostrom@yahoo.com