You WILL...

delight in the details of this book.
I promise!

My friend, Lisa Pace's new book was just released @ CHA!

A GIANT...

YIPPEE, LISA!!
I'm so very proud of you!

This book is totally awesome & so well worth the wait...
like 2 bloody years...
and you know ...I am NOT patient...

I read it cover to cover on the flight home...

I KNEW I'd be impressed because I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lisa & her style...

But I have to say...

It's even better than I expected.

40 techniques...

100 projects...

awesome step by step photos...

each page shows projects photographed with just the right props, which makes it even more inspiring...

here's the cover...



oh look...
a project using a studio 490 large butterfly stamp...


and another of my stamps...

the large leaf...

sure looks different when used with felt...



this project is probably my favorite...
for today @ least...

plain old white felt...
transformed by Lisa into this georgeous album...
it's totally amazing...

it was on display in the Maya Road booth & believe me...
it's BEAUTIFUL...




You can get a signed/personalized copy from Lisa HERE.

Back to the Q & A tomorrow...

until then...

may you...

delight in the details...

and then...

make art!
wendy

grungeboard to the rescue...

* WARNING...*
if you are a seamstress...
this just might make you cringe...

I know nothing about sewing, so I used my paper tricks to make this work...

I had to try this...IT WAS BUGGING ME...

OCD? who me?

QUITE POSSIBLY...yes...

I've been wanting a little pouch type thing that I could toss in my purse, when traveling...

a safe place for my jewelry...

and...

a place I could put them @ night & leave it on the nightstand in the hotel...

So...I had this wool...

already washed & dried...and ready...

calling me...

I thought it should have a black felt lining...

simple so far...

just 3 straight lines of machine sewing...

but...the problem?
it was too flimsy...what to do to make it stronger?

Lucky for me I hadn't sewed the sides yet...

so I cut some grungeboard & slid it in the slots, then zipped up the sides...

It looked like this...

Hmmm...how to keep it closed?

2 Basic Grey really strong magnets...
one hidden under the flower...
and the other here...
PERFECT!


TADA!!!
DONE!
Now I have a cute (sans flower) pouch, that's very sturdy, thanks to the grungeboard...

I looked in my stash & found the perfect ugly rusty button for the finishing touch...

I'm sure a real seamstress would be appalled that I used that fabric edge that's probably supposed to be chopped off...
but hey...
it looked like trim to me...

Other things on my mind???

HOLIDAY HIDEAWAY is coming soon...
YIPPEE!
I'm counting the days...

And I just found this... on AMAZON...!!!

My sweet friend Lisa Pace's book...
YIPPEE!!
FINALLY...OMG!!!
2 years in the works...
it's worse than waiting 9 months for a baby!

It's not available 'til the end of January...
but you can see the cover here...
it might not be the final cover...

If you're coming to CHA-W ...she is teaching a class & also has a book signing scheduled...

Lisa is a Making Memories Master from 2008...
she's "THE QUEEN" of glitter...done with vintage flair...
her projects are always awesome! trust me!
Plus...she is THE SWEETEST friend ever...

So...
CONGRATS, my friend...I want my copy autographed!

Want to..."make art"...like Lisa?

She does wonderful on-line classes...
here's the scoop ...
She has a "very vintage workshop" starting soon...
check it out!

Now about those 24 pieces of art?

7 done! 17 to go.........

You know where I'll be...
mak(ing) art!
wendy
ps...giveaway details tomorrow! See you then!

We had a WONDERFUL weekend in Wisconsin

So...here's the report...


We did 2 really fun classes. The Make It Merry hanging class was special...We were interviewed & taped for tv. Unfortunately...I didn't get to see it. I hope I didn't say anything dorky.........YIKES!


But...we did get to see Chris, the show promoter, and her interview on the Sunday morning news. My roomie called me out of the shower to see it...so wrapped in a towel ( NOT a pretty sight!)...we saw her talk about the convention & she showed the Make it Merry hanging. That was very COOL!!


AND...we also had a reporter in that class. We made the newspaper and some sweet customer brought it to the booth for me.




We didn't exactly MAKE stamps, that's Mr & Mrs Stampers Anonymous' job...but... still a fun photo.



We made over 100 grungeboard tulips @ the Make & Take Friday evening...that was hit.


We made LOTS of people very happy...I saw huge smiles as they left the booth LOADED down with stamps, grungeboard, craft sheets, inks and more.


I demoed how to stamp on grungeboard...that was fun. Most folks had not seen that before.


They snow cap white pigment ink was also a huge hit. I think it's fun to combine it with the distress inks and use the products in another unique way.


Lots of customers commented that they couldn't wait to get home & play with their new purchases... so like I said...we had happy customers.


I was worried that with the economy, sales might not be good. NOT SO..... Sales were absolutely great.


HOT HOT HOT products in the Stampers Anonymous booth...


studio490 stamps...of course...I demoed with them.
Imagine that...


AND...


Tim's new Christmas stamps. My very fav is the skinny tree stamp. I made a quick tag & those sets were ALL gone in 10 minutes. Luckily...if we were sold out, customers got their order shipped for free.

I grabbed mine before the show started! SMART move!


The new Distress Stickles were a HUGE hit. We had lots of every color in stock...and sold them all out. We had a few disappointed customers who only bought a few colors on Saturday...then...came back on Sunday for more & guess what...gone.


So...the moral of the story...when you see them...
GET THEM QUICK!


Trust me...They are a TOTALLY awesome product for vintage art.


I got to visit with some friends from past classes. That was fun. Dirk took my wreathe class in Illinois & he brought some to show me. I'm hoping he sends some photos so I can share them here. You'll be impressed.


I also saw a few of my BFF's...hey a girl CAN have more than one BFF....RIGHT??


Oh and.............


Don't forget to check back on THURSDAY...
THANKSGIVING DAY...
I can FINALLY share some totally exciting NEWS!
It's KILLING me to keep my mouth shut...SERIOUSLY!


NOW...
...on to some art...


When I got home, I had some emails with photos of projects made with my stamps. That is SO exciting for me...


Here's a whole different take on stamping.


This was made by my friend Lisa Pace.
She's a Making Memories Master...
...and here's why...





She stamped on felt & used the poinsettia stamp as her pattern for embroidery...AWESOME...Lisa!!


Here's a closeup...........






I'm hoping that for her next project she uses my Christmas tree. Since it's an outline too...it's perfect for the same technique.


If I sewed...I'd stamp 2 trees, cut them out & stuff them...for fun ornaments...


Get the hint Lisa?? I'm waiting.........


What else?


Need some inspiration for holiday ART???


Check out our Maya Road design team challenge. This one about killed me. REALLY!


Our challenge was to use ONLY 5 Maya Road products on a holiday tag. Initially I thought...easy as pie...Oh so...WRONG!

Once I got started...only 5????????

YIKES! If an 1/8th of an inch is naked I need to add more stuff.

I can't figure out how to link the entire newsletter here...so I'll be back with an edit when I can find it... EDITED!! Here's the entire newsletter.

It has lots more GREAT tags & instructions...you'll love it...

Anyway...here's mine...with the ingredients and instructions...







"Be Merry (vintage)" by Wendy Vecchi

1. Paint the letters with Ranger's metallic crackle paint. Set aside to dry. When the paint is completely dry & cracked, rub black PIGMENT ink into cracks, then wipe off the excess. Paint the roofs on the houses with black crackle paint & set aside to dry & crack.
2. Ink the tag base with vintage photo distress ink. Distress the edges with black soot distress ink. Using Coffee archival ink, stamp the tiny dot stamp over the entire tag.
3. Using black archival ink, stamp the ruler stamp close to the bottom. Stamp the screen stamp toward the top.
4. Stamp the Christmas tree on grungeboard with jet black archival ink, cut out then ink on the front & back with peeled paint. Overstamp with the grid stamp. Color the trunk with black soot distress ink. Curl the left side of the tree to create dimension.
5. Ink the houses with faded jeans, then stamp as shown with jet black archival ink.
6. Color the microchip scallop frame with black soot distress ink & glue in place to create the window. Add a scrap of lace behind the window, before assembling the house.
7. Stamp just a portion of the ruler stamp onto a scrap of chipboard, to create the door. Color with vintage photo distress ink.
8. Assemble the tag as shown.
9. Add the finishing touches… lots of dots from the black glaze pen, the gold accents, the bow, the star & some pen stitching with the precision pen.
10. Add 2 swivel clasps & join them together with a jumpring, to create the hanger.


Here's the 5 Maya Road Supplies I used...

C903 2-Ring Scallop Layer book

C792 Heart and Home Chipboard Set

C704 Microchip Neutrals Scallops

C793 Jonathan Chipboard Alphabet

SMP944 Metric Ruler Singleton Stamp

Done!!

Guess what?

I'm off...to...


MAKE ART!!
wendy

Did you know...

That the distress inks are great for changing the color of ribbons & fabric?? Here's an example of Maya Road's black & white ribbon, that I altered with vintage photo distress ink. I love the look of black & white, but for this project, I NEEDED a vintage looking ribbon. It's a PERFECT match & SIMPLE too. Try it!

***

Congrats to my master...LISA PACE! She signed a deal with Memory Makers to publish a technique book. I am beyond thrilled for her. Lisa is the queen of glitter..that vintage looking glass kind, that tarnishes after a bit...Her style is sooooo cool & her attention to detail is what first caught my attention. Now the bad news...we have to wait 'til 2010 to get this in our hands. I'm sure it will be well worth the wait. There's that "P" word again...PATIENCE.........

***

And if you have been following the email/HughesNet saga...after 3 days of NO email...they decided the upgrade didn't work & have switched us back to the old email system. I'm no computer genius, but I knew on SUNDAY that it didn't work...AMAZING...

Most, but NOT ALL of the emails have been received. I'm thinking some are lost in space, never to be seen by me. So, if I've missed anything important, please resend it. THANKS!!

***

Ok, off to the studio for some work...actually... it's PLAY!

wendy

Phew.............what a ride!

Sorry for the contest delay. This OLD art chick was dead ass tired and in low gear all day yesterday and didn't have the energy to unpack & count/record my art.

.........................................................................................................

I'm not even sure where to start on the story. I was extremely proud of our booth & all the great work done by our design team. It looked great...(I hope you don't think I'm prejudice)...We had TONS of wonderful comments from all who visited. Many customers came back all 4 days to order, look, get class ideas, ask questions and take photos. It was a rush to hear all those kind words. THANK YOU all!!!!!!!!!!!

..........................................................................................................

We worked hard...VERY hard, from booth set-up, to taking TONS of orders, to booth take down. The booth was packed with customers from the 9am opening until 6:30pm...an hour PAST the closing...simply amazing. It was quite apparent that everyone loves Maya Road products. We slept AT MOST...4 or 5 hours every night, which explains why I didn't post yesterday.

............................................................................................................

We got to meet tons of store owners, magazine editors, fellow artists/designers etc. We got to see old friends and make some new ones too. We got tons of teaching offers...actually more than I could do in a year. Most were from the US, but we got international teaching offers too. How fun is that??

...........................................................................................................

Our DT co-ordinator Lisa Pace got an exciting offer, but that's not my story to tell. VERY VERY exciting indeed. We are all soooooooooo proud of her and her talent!! We were jumping for joy & crying all @ the same time! YIPPEE LISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

..........................................................................................................

As for me, I am still in shock. My little brain finally processed this offer on the plane ride home. I have SOMETHING in the works, but can't let the cat out of the bag yet. Let me just say that the discussion left me in total shock, with sweaty hands, a sick stomach & totally speechless. Yes... it was REALLY that GOOD!! If this happens, it's a dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Believe me...I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

............................................................................................................

Ok...now the contest scoop...

I made a total of 37 projects for the booth. Way more than you all guessed!

Catalog cover art...

Far right corner...color art layer book

To the left of that...card with 2 yellow & one green blossom

Directly below that, the scroll/flower

and last...the card box/card set.

Inside the catalog...

The heart & home set on the vintage ruler

On the sheer sets page, the skinny photo of the sheer & chipboard flower

The cover of the color layer album

and last...on the clear stamp page...Lisa with the crown.

Since no one guessed the exact total number of projects or chose all the right art, we put all the names in a basket & Rick chose the winner...

But first.................

one more thing..HA!!!...several of you guessed the LOVE art on the chipboard alphabet page. This makes me laugh, because I too did a double take, wondering if that was mine...! Nope...it's not.

DRUMROLL>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>The winner is.......................................................................

margie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to you!!! Wait 'til you see what's coming your way!!! Please send me your email & shipping info and we'll get that out to you on Monday! Thanks everyone for playing!!

..........................................................................................................

Teaching updates...

We'll be playing with grungeboard & glass @ Scrapbook Friend'z in Bloomington, Illinois on March 8th. Fun with a capital F!~! Don't miss it!

...............................................................................................................

Details & times are now finalized for the SSAT convention in Rockford, Illinois. The classes are scheduled on Friday March 14th. Details are here. These are 2 really fun classes. We'll play with grungeboard & glass and in the second class we'll do the Ranger Distress Ink technique class, which actually is a mini Ranger U!! I hope you can join us and learn all about these cool inks.

.............................................................................................................

On Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30 Linda Cain & I (the dynamic duo) are doing a total of 4 fun classes @ For Keeps Sake in St Louis, Missouri. If you're in the area, check it out! It promises to be a great weekend full of arting, sharing, making new friends and chocolate!

.............................................................................................................

I made some grungeboard flowers for Tim, for his Advantus booth @ CHA and came home to several emails with questions about the stamps I used. I'll be back tomorrow with that info.

............................................................................................................

We really didn't get to see much of the convention, but I did get to see Tim's new stamps @ the Art Gone Wild/Stampers Anonymous booth. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ATC sizes........need I say more??

His new products thru Advantus had me drooling. I NEEEEEEEEED them all. Absolutely outstanding & cool!! I can NOT pass up anything vintage looking & metal! I have every single one checked on my order form. The new grungeboard minis are TO DIE FOR !!!!!!!!!!!!!

.............................................................................................................

I got a sample of Ranger's new Inkssentials opaque white pen...Another MUST HAVE for doodling and the infamous BANDANNA technique, developed by Robin Beam. No skipping...nice bright white color...I was very IMPRESSED with the quality!

..............................................................................................................

I'll try hard to get back in the blogging routine & post more show photos soon.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Thanks for visiting!!
Wendy

ps...I tried to edit this & put spacing between the paragraphs, but Mr Blogger isn't cooperating. So...I added the dots instead.............

Happy Birthday to MY MASTER, a little art & some REALLY exciting news...

Happy Birthday to my friend & mentor...LISA PACE! She's co ordinator of our DT @ Maya Road and has the really big task of keeping us all in line! I hope this arrives in Texas today...HAPPY BD LISA!! She's 43, if you NEED to know that & a Memory Makers Master for 2008. She teases me about having an accent...I live in Illinois...she lives in TEXAS...now who do you think has the accent?? HELLO...

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

This is her BD tag. It started with a Maya Road 5 x 5 square chipboard book. What was really fun, was using the calendar stamps as a background on the MR letters. VERY fun. The tiny crown is from the motifs chipboard set & it was a perfect fit for U4-1149 Paper Scallop stamp from Stampers Anonymous. The background paper is my new favorite from K & Co & it's called Typography. I just bought 12 MORE sheets earlier this week. God forbid I run out...And, my latest addiction is pearls. For some unknown reason, I've been adding them to everything. It's odd how this art stuff works. Never used a pearl before...

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

You can see the other tags created for Lisa here, on our DT blog.

Now for BREAKING NEWS...Stores will get their newsletters TODAY...showing ALL the COOL NEW PRODUCTS! We got a preview yesterday & I am sooooooooo excited. This is THE BEST RELEASE. There are TONS of WAY COOL products, with unlimited arting possibilities!! I can't wait to share WITH ALL OF YOU!!! So...come back...after the stores get the OFFICIAL word, we can spill the beans...It will be later TODAY...Link below!!! updated @ 10:45am.

***Here's the link*** you won't believe your eyes!!!!!

http://www.mayaroad.com/2008CHAWinter.htm

Check it out. Over 100 NEW exciting products!!! Don't forget...study hard. The contest is coming!

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

Now you'll need to study this catalog...there's a BLOG CONTEST coming. I'll give you a head start. The contest will involve selecting which artwork on the cover & inside the catalog is mine...pay attention...the prize will be REALLY good!!

I'll be back with an update & a link to the catalog later!

Thanks again for visiting and a final HAPPY BIRTHDAY to LISA!! I hope your day is THE BEST EVER!

Wendy

ps...check out Tim's blog, & if you are an animal lover...please donate! I did!

NEWS flashes...Read all about it!

Congrats to Linda Cain on having her book chosen to be displayed in the Maya Road booth @ CHA!!! YIPPEE!! Lucky Linda gets $75 worth of FREE Maya Road goodies as her prize. FREE a GOOD 4 letter word!! And...Linda will get a goodie or 2 from me too!


There were 14 other entries chosen. Any other blog friends get a call from (my master)...Lisa Pace?? Let me know! I'll be happy to send you a goodie too! I call her my master because she is a Memory Makers Master 08! Talent to the max in that gal...amazing. You'll see her work in lots of scrapbook publications.



In another news flash, yesterday the Design Team got a preview of the new Maya Road catalog cover. WAY cool eye candy and lots of inspiration. 4 of the photos on the cover are mine! I'm super happy! I can't wait to share this photo, but mum's still the word. The minute we get the OK...I'll post it. You can count on it...


I got several emails about the cool new metal flowers in the sneak peek...all wondering what I'll make with them. Guess what? I'm still wondering too! I haven't used them yet. I have to find just the right project. Yikes...I better hurry..I leave 2 weeks from today.

This is fun...check it out...blog

And other things you probably don't need to know...

I actually used PINK! And I used it twice yesterday on some CHA stuff. Never ever before have I used pink, but this idea NEEDED pink. Well...ok...I tried before, didn't like the results & trashed it. However, these dabber paints are perfect for chipboard & just the right color of pink. Shell pink & cloudy blue...way different for me, but fun stuff. I'll show you when I can.


And...this is hard to believe...I did one whole BIG project with no vintage photo. HORRORS. Only colors...matter of fact, that's the title...COLORS. That's one of the photos that was chosen for the cover...I even used MARMALADE! Imagine that!!


Ok...enough blabbering for today. Time to open some vintage photo! I was almost in withdrawal...........phew......

I hope your weekend is THE BEST EVER!!

MAKE ART!!
Wendy