Russian Nesting Doll ATC Swap:

I have 10 folks signed up for the nesting doll atc swap. We will cut an atc into a Russian nesting doll shape. Using patterned papers,fabrics and fibers we will design our ten dolls for the swap.

New Swap: Christmas atc Houses 2009

I have hosted a Christmas House swap for the last two years and have always been pleased with the results. The houses are the usual atc size 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 cut in the shape of a house. Some are decorated with a snow capped roof, others hold a holiday image or view into the decorated living room of a tiny family. Last year I designed a Victorian house with tiny wreaths and lights. I then put my collection of atc houses on scrabble tile holders on my mantle to decorate my home for the holidays. If you are interested leave a comment or email me at valerieLmyers@yahoo.com. Let's have each participant make 10 houses to start.

Projects, Purchases and Eye Candy!

I am so looking forward to fall. The cooler weather, leaves falling, warm sweaters and cozy fires. Fall signals the beginning of the holiday season.

My daughter has jumped right into it, she is planning for a Halloween party for her belated birthday, long story but #10 must not be forgotten!

I ordered seasonal ephemera and embellies from Flea Market Studio for several of my upcoming Halloween swaps. She has a unique style in her packaging and creation of artistic items. I thought I would share the lovelies with you today. Every time I walk by them on the table I have to stop and rearrange them. I will post her blog address under friends who inspire me in case you are interested.

I also ordered these cute doll tags from the same vendor. Each has a doll image that is covered with tulle and then machine stitched. Every detail was tended to as even the cellophane packaging was stitched closed. It is such a joy to open an item when an artist has paid so much attention to the details of packaging. However, sometimes it makes it so difficult to open because you don't want to disturb the lovely package.

I have also posted a little closet shadow box I made in a class offered by my friend Lisa Super. I am very pleased with the way it came together. I love the way she transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary by changing the way you look at and use an object.

A Bunny Book Goes Full Circle!

Last year I was invited to join a collaborative book project on Beatrix Potter. The theme was her art and of course, Peter Rabbit. Everyone knows my fondness for bunnies so this was a definite yes.We could use a purchased book or bind our own. We had several months to put our books together, design the cover and our first page with an atc. There had to be a pocket to hold a removable atc and a second page, layout style. Originally there were 10 of us in the round robin and we had one month to complete each entry then pass it to the next person on the list. I really enjoyed seeing all the different books and how each artist customized their design for each entry. I especially loved the atc component, some were held in with little picket fences, vines, library pockets, ribbon and even flowers! The project took over a year and we had two artists drop out, one became terribly ill and a mother/daughter team that kept the books for too long. At one point one artist had five of the ten books! Well, we were able to get it back on track and the finished projects were a true delight.

A Blog Makeover and A farmer's Market Find

Well, after visiting Karen Valentine's Where Artists Create blog party I decided it was time for a makeover of my studio and of my blog. The studio will have to wait but with the help of my daughter Kaitlyn, my friend Lisa, and her husband, today was the day. I love the cleaner color palette and three column format!

In addition, I changed the name of my blog, well sort of...I translated Creative Chaos to French. I know it all sounds very continental but fact is there is another artist with the same name for her blog. ..So what do you think?

This week at the Farmers Market where I shop on Sunday I found this wonderful basket. It is amazingly light and holds everything, The leather handle makes carrying even the heaviest load comfortable. I bought it from a man who told me he imported them from Madagascar, how cool is that. It is round but he demonstrated that by soaking it with water it could be reshaped into any shape. He made all types of shapes from the basket, even a heart. I was sold and had to have one! As I was carrying it to my car filled with my edible bounty, I visualized filling it with vintage treasure at my next visit to the Alameda Flea Market September 6th. I can't wait!

A Fun Family Vacation times two!

We spent a wonderful week in San Diego and had the most perfect weather! My husband had a conference so we all hitched a ride with him to Southern California. We walked all over town and had a suite overlooking the bay. All day long ships of all sorts cruised passed our window, battleships, freighters, cruise ships and even a paddle boat in the evening.
The day we arrived home we had family visiting from Southern California and where did they want to go: San Francisco, of course. So we packed everyone up and went to the city, tourist style. I had not done so in many, many years so we worked down my sister-in-laws list: Drive down Lombard St, check, ride a trolley, check, harbor cruise, check, Pier 39, check, Chocolate sundae at Giradelli, double check...and the list went on. It was a blast and for the kids a real treat to do everything all in one day! Did you know that Angel Island was the Ellis Island of the Pacific for immigrants of long ago. Or that the Golden Gate Bridge is called such not because of it's color but because it was thought to be the golden gates to paradise by early visitors arriving by sea.

A Year of Color...

http://kari-ayearofcolor2.blogspot.com
I love this blog, I told several of my friends about it and they imediately joined, so I thought I would share it with you too. It is not free like most blogs but is very low cost. It is $1 a month paid for all at one time through Paypal.If you join you get all the prior entries for the year so you don't miss anyting joining late. It is just filled with great photos, tutorials from top designers, project swaps and my favorite: a monthly atc swap! Many of the entries remind me of on-line classes I have taken, stressing composition, color theory, design elements and technique. This month the theme is stripes and our guest designer is Cassondra Walters, she is a found object assemblage artist.Her 3-D collages are amazing. I am always pleased with each segment of A Year of Color and usually return to it several times a day for inspiration and just to enjoy the beautiful imagery. If you are interested please contact Kari at the above blogspot.