back in business...

for now...FINALLY!

I exaggerated...
it only took 1 hour & 53 minutes to get back to email...not the usual 2 hours...
GEEEEZ........

In the interim, we did check into wifi...
we're not sure if that will work for us or not, with the limit per month...
that will be plan B.

Switching would also necessitate a new email...
YIKES...scarry to notify LOTS of people.

Hughesnet does not allow you to keep your email or to buy it like some providers do...I checked...

So for now, we'll stick with what we have...
and keep my fingers crossed...

While I was "ON HOLD" one of the 4 times...

I found that grungepaper is FINALLY back in stock.
It was sold out everywhere...nationwide...
I imagine because it's so fun...

I think I've replied to everyone who was trying to find it...but if not...it's here for sure...

SHOPPING...while I was on hold, kept me sane...
the mojito was for medicinal purposes only...I needed it really bad...

I was also happy to find the Core Impressions embossed cardstock that coordinates perfectly with my fav Jenni Bowlin papers...gotta have it...yep...I ordered...

HUGE THANKS for all the sweet comments about Rick's BUD art...that was fun! he got a kick out it too.

OK...
no stamp art to show, so I searched for photos to make this post interesting...

This is the daily routine here...

we go into the bedroom to make the bed...
Ranger pops out...
bites my toes, laughs...I SWEAR he does...

then scoots back under the bed...


With the house redo...
I vowed to simplify...
less stuff...

Because...
DUST is a really bad 4 letter word here...
right up there with IRON...
the worst!

Anyway, my attempt @ simple lasted all of about 1.25 hours.
With no stuff...the place was boring...
It had NO personality...

So...we're back to a pile of stuff ...
in the bedroom...


which sits on top of a cabinet that Rick's grandfather made.

It's NOT fine wood...or perfect...
but it has memories and we adore it...
we were thrilled to rescue it...

and speaking of decor...

I'm late...I'm late for a very important date...

LUNCH & antiquing with my guy...

we're...(OK...I'm) searching for a mantle to use as a headboard...

he doesn't know that yet...

I like to surprise him sometimes...

I'd like to surprise him & tell him I want all the hardwood floors ripped out & replaced...

but that just might put him over the edge...let's keep that a secret between us...PLEASE!

Anyway...

we've had a picket fence, an old door, a gate, a garden trellis and a million frames as a headboard...

I think a mantle would be cool...

the hunt is on...

for a mantle to...

make (bedroom) art!

wendy

ps...I'll report on our finds.

and the winners are...

THANKS to everyone for the comments...

My blog friends are THE BEST...
I'm CERTAIN!

Drumroll...
the winners are...

pixiedust61 said...
Sounds like a really fun weekend! Hope you had a great cinco de mayo. I ate way too much ! But it was so good, especially the homemade guacamole!Carol from southern Maryland
May 6, 2010 5:42 AM


Linda R said...
Glad you had so much fun Wendy. I'm feeling pretty lucky as I'm taking the classes in Greenwood and am so excited. Looking forward to blending some Vecchi into my system! 10 days to making ART, yippee.
May 5, 2010 8:45 PM

Rachel said...
What fun! When are you coming to New York? I really want to take your classes.
May 5, 2010 7:30 PM

Hey Rachel...here's the dates...
Sept 17-19th @ Buffalo Stamps & Stuff Amherst NY
I was there last year...I LOVED IT!

carpediem said...
happy cinco de mayo!!! wow, sounds like you had a fabulous weekend and another one coming up!!!lucky gals in iowa and indiana!
May 5, 2010 10:33 AM


lillianchild said...
How fun to walk into that fabulous store and see yourself as the center attraction - and so well deserved, Wendy. Your art ROCKS! And I totally agree with you - if the t.v. fits the space - buy it. If I dragged my hubby to a craft store for his "input" into my purchases, I think he might find a padded room for me to craft in. HA!
May 5, 2010 9:33 AM

CONGRATS to the winners...
please email me (wbv1213@hughes.net) & we'll send a little package of art stuff your way.

Our email isn't working...
so I'll be calling Hughesnet...AGAIN...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
my least favorite thing to do...besides ironing...
But I will receive messages on my Blackberry...so no worry.

TV report...

Yes...Rick is happy...
he got what he wanted & they will be delivered today...
They ALL looked the same to me...
black...

but what do I know???

The satellite guy will be here Friday for the upgrade on the dish...
I'm SURE we NEEDED that???
Probably as much as I NEEDED that bracelet from St. Louis! ha!

Ok...
time to stamp LOTS of grunge...
make kits & get the shipping containers loaded
for Fed-Ex.
We need to ship tomorrow for guaranteed delivery to Sharon's Crop Studio.

Have a good spring day...

Take time...
make art!
wendy

the weekend was...

FABULOUS & WONDERFUL!

I drove to For Keeps Sake in St Louis on Thursday...
went right to the store & unloaded my STUFF...
LOTS of stuff...
I bet they feared I was staying for a month...

We spent Friday SHOPPING & eating our way around St. Louis.
Just as expected...
Nancy was an awesome tour guide.

I was a fairly cheap date until I saw THE BRACELET"...
I lost my mind...
I had to have it...it has flowers...

I've said it before...
some days I'm a cheap date...
sometimes...not so much. But I try...really I do Rick...

Sue is the store's official photographer...
so thank her for the photos!

This is the display that Timi set up, using the samples I brought...


Our first workshop on Saturday started with SHOPPING...

for shoe lasts!

Each person chose the shoe that spoke to them...

This is cool...
Shirley found one with her maiden name on it...

I also found one with "MARY"...and we happened to have just one Mary in the class...

PERFECT!


I set up a NO CAL art buffet...
loaded with lots of cool STUFF...
Each person chose embellishments that spoke to them...

I had lots of images stamped on grunge & ready to be inked...

I had high expectations for this workshop...
I hoped that people would see what I saw...
the potential of these shoes...

these gals did not disappoint...

Each & EVERY one was sooo unique...
they used the new distress ink colors...

I was TOTALLY impressed...
this is what it's all about, this teaching stuff...

Prepare to be amazed...



More...



I won't post photos of all 30...
but here's a few more...



and another...
I LOVE that face!



last one...

The second workshop was the LOADED Maya Road layer book...

*

We had fun...we made mini art!

*

THANK YOU NANCY & TIMI for the invite and

THANKS to everyone in the classes...

You ALL did a GREAT job!

I shall return!

*

Now about that GIVEAWAY...

FIRST winner...left this comment...

*

CONGRATS to...stampinbetsy...

I was in Akron this weekend to take Tim's classes and do the convention! Lots of your stamps flying off the walls at the Stampers Anon booth!!! I had a great time and am totally inspired! stampinbetsy at yahoo dot com

*

and since I made you wait an extra day...

we'll give away 2 goodie packages...

*

SECOND winner...

CONGRATS to SHERE!

Shere said...

I love your work and just wanted to say a quick hello (I always lurk). When I saw your b-room, my first thought was that it looked exactly like your artwork! It's gorgeous (that too is just like your art). TFS

*

Please send your snail mail info (wbv1213@hughes.net) and we'll get a goodie package off to both of you.

*

If you're "in NEED" of a little retail therapy...like me...

I see Tim's NEW Sizzix Alterations dies are on SALE here...

*

just sayin...

if you NEED any...

and I see studio 490 stamps on sale too...

*

just sayin...

We MUST do our part to help the economy...

it's our civic DUTY...

*

That's what I told Rick (bracelet)...

he believed it...I think?

*

Today we're making MORE kits...

stamping...packing & getting ready for the weekend @ Memory Bound in Ankeny Iowa...

*

4 workshops...4 chances to have fun & get inky!

But before we start the kits...

I bought a little something in St. Louis...

but it needs a bit of altering...

*

Come back tomorrow...

I'll show you...

I'll take a quick break from making kits & I'll...

make art!

wendy

catching up and cages...

Happy Tuesday!
The sun is out...finally, but it's still bloody frigid here.

We had an awesome show in Columbus...
with lots of inky fun...

The BAD thing...someone allowed it to snow...geez...about 3 inches...

and we were also drenched with freezing rain...
I think I need to add to my contract...

...will work in nice weather only!

I know I've been AWOL...

so SORRY...the TO-DO list is growing daily...YIKES.

How can I not have a REAL job & be so busy???

And what is going on?

Yesterday I got my first stamp images from Zach(the stamp magician @ Stampers Anonymous).

He did his part & then sent them back to me for tweeking...

I got that done yesterday...now I'm waiting for the finals.

I KNOW this seems early...but in order to get them made into real stamps...(so I can start book projects...) the process starts early.

What will you see?

More large backgrounds...more...???

and some of those...too!

And I'm REALLY excited about the...

That's it for now...it's way too early to start the teasing...

these don't get released until CHA this summer...

On to the cages...

I had LOTS of emails & questions @ the show about tim's Sizzix birdcage, so I thought I'd give a few tips here...

It's cut from grungeBOARD...
because I wanted it to be thicker & stronger and to have more dimension.

I inked it with jet black archival...
right from the pad...
but I didn't cover it completely...

I inked the bare spots with brushed corduroy & in person...it looks like metal...

I used a piece of wire to shape it...

It's attached to the base with skinny strips of Wonder Tape...per tim's suggestion.

The wings are tim's die cuts...
they come with the awesome heart die.

They are stamped with (today's favorite)...register stamp.

And guess what?

We sold out of the cage @ the convention...

I guess I'm not the only one who LOVES it!


And speaking of cages...

Back in February I popped into Michael's looking for an odd sized frame for Rick's bathroom...

This guy caught my eye...

I tried to order 300...
I had big plans for a fun new class...

However...
Michael's doesn't do special orders...
darn...

So this...

turned into this...
what a fun class it would have been...boohoo...



I wove skinny strips of stamped grungepaper thru the wires...

I LOVE the accent dots with the Sakura glaze pen...
it's amazing that the dots will stick to metal...
and it even works on fragments.



So...instead of a fun class...
this will be a little Mother's Day gift.

The moral of the story here...
keep your eyes open for fun stuff to alter...

just don't expect to order 300 of them!

I hope you have a good day and can take some time to...

make art!
wendy

goodies for me...goodies for you too!

This has all the makings of a good post...

if I say so myself...ha!

why you ask?

it has lots of FLOWERS...

an awesome surprise for me, that I get to share with YOU...

goodies for 2 of YOU...

and a COOL discovery...

but...

I need to go back to a few weeks ago...

to jog your memory...

Remember that Ranger donated all 12 of the new distress inks for a giveaway here...right?

Remember that Donna won...right?

Remember her winning story/comment...

Here is my story...I don't have a BARN DOOR to open and store my distress inks in. However...I would CRUSH OLIVES and eat FOREST MOSS. I would walk on TUMBLED GLASS while wearing my CHIPPED SAPPHIRE ring, carring BUNDLED SAGE with a STORMY SKY. After doing that I would have to use my PUMICE STONE on a RUSTY HINGE(and my feet). When I am done I will dress in my VICTORIAN VELVET and enjoy some SPUN SUGAR and WILD HONEY all while reading Wendy's blog. That's my story and I am sticking to it!

Now to the "goodies for me" part of the title...

I got a box delivered on Saturday from Donna...

YES...THAT Donna...(that explains the intro)

Here's what was inside...

I love the repurposing of the Ranger tape and making it so arty...GREAT IDEA!!!

I LOVE that she stamped my flower and leaf on...

fabric...

I LOVE the tag inside...

with the berry tree and scallop...

Now just imagine me saying yippee when I found this next BEAUTY in the box...

It's PERFECT for the studio or our family room...

I couldn't decide...

so it goes where I go...and I can look @ it LOTS...

Here's a close up of the cool flower...

it shows that stamps aren't just for paper & grunge...

OMG... even the BACK is CUTE!

Check it out...

And be watching Justin & Alain...

you have a package coming your way...

it's a THANK YOU from Donna, for your awesome donation.

*

THANK YOU so much DONNA...I LOVE IT MILLIONS!

*

Next topic...the jenni bowlin butterflies...

PHEW...that little project generated lots of questions about where to get them & what color choices are available...

*

I used the brown...

I ordered black...

I LOVE the red...ordered them too...

*

Other cool colors...pink, awesome orange & yummy navy...so there's something for any project.

*

Next fun discovery...

*

I am IN LOVE with this new gadget gears Sizzix die...

designed by tim...

It has LOTS of potential for fun...

Here's my take on the gears...

*

this mini brain snap woke me early this weekend..

I HAD to try it...

I made...

*

I bet you KNOW what's coming...

*

GADGET GEARS...

FLOWERS!

*

Here's one version...and I have another style to show later...stay tuned...

I was happy to see that the 'gears' make a cool center for my large flower...

This will be incorporated into a class...VERY soon.

it's just too much fun not to share...

*

And speaking of sharing..

I'm sure you came to see...

who the jenni bowlin winners are?

*

Drumroll...

the WINNER from the comments on jenni's inspiration blog is JULIE!...

julie said...

I'm new to the Jenni Bowlin product line but I really do love what Wendy Vecchi did with the products. Thank you Wendy for introducing me to Jenni Bowlin products! LOveLy, just LOveLy!
March 4, 2010 1:23 PM

*

and the winner from my blog is...

JACKIE!!!

jackie said...

you amaze me, the finished product is unmistakenly "YOU". your mind sees how things can be altered and morphed into a whole other style....LOVE IT
March 4, 2010 7:16 PM

So...jackie & julie...please send your snail mail info (wbv1213@hughes.net) & we'll get a goodie package to you!

*

Meeting with the accountant in a bit...

taxes...BIG YUCK...

*

But before that, I'll have a few minutes to...

make art!

wendy

answers and angels...

The Q & A continues...

1. Love the Perfectly Practical Pocket Journel. Will that be an Orlando class???

Yes it is...

2. Whose booth are you demoing in at the Columbus show???

Stampers Anonymous!

3. love the idea of the perfectly practical pocket journal (say that 10 times fast). OK I have to ask what color did you the background stamping? I share your love for that bundled sage- gotta have it!

That would be my new favorite combo...
tumbled glass, bundled sage and brushed corduroy.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the 3 used together!

4. I see in your ink drawer that you have the adirondack inks too. I have them, but since the distress i forgot them.
Do you have any ideas to share using the dye inks?

I DO! That's a post for another day! Stay tuned.
I'll figure something out!

5. I was sure I knew ALL your stamps. What sheet is the text butterfly on? You used it on the class photo. I'm on the hunt.. I must have it.

Well...if you have my large butterfly stamp...
you already do.

This is the large butterfly stamped on grungepaper & the back is stamped with the new register stamp...

It's my current most reached for favorite background.
I used the butterfly back instead of the polka dot front...
to change up the look.

6. I LOVE the hanging & the book...can you do those in the store or only at conventions?

Hmmm...since I got this question 4 times yesterday, I'm thinking...
I guess we could just make it a 4 hour store class & do both. I aim to please!

7. THANK YOU for the larger roses stamps. They are so wonderful and are a great addition. I like the 3 sizes together.

Thanks! I REALLY like them too. I was surprised @ how much easier they are to make being large. I REALLY wanted to make a REALLY mini rose, but it's a REALLY a pain... especially that inside piece...
I said bad words...
but you just never know...

Ok...
that was the answers part of the title...
as for the angels...

there's only one coming...
but ANGEL sounded stupid in the title...

so I used ANGELS instead...

hey...it's my blog...
so I make the rules!

ANYWAY...I had so much fun making the art chick into an angel, I had to re-do her again in different colors...

the background is butterscotch and denim pigment inks...
with a splash of sunflower sparkle Perfect Pearls.

The plaid background was stamped with olive archival...
The chick is adorned with barn door flowers and a stormy sky butterfly.

Rick commented that he liked the "chink-a-do-ola" hanging from her hat.

This is aka a Maya Road chandelier trinket bead, dear hubby!



This is the back of the grungepaper...
the textured canvas side stamped with the register stamp.

I had an ahhh ha moment & realized that the small scroll is a perfect fit for the large butterfly.
I like it...

it wasn't planned...
it's...
just FATE!




Ok...got kits to make...
LOTS of kits...


I'll get them ready so if you're in a class of mine...

you will be able to...
(get this...!)
make art!
wendy

altered acrylic binders...101...

I've had several questions recently about how to alter my acrylic stamp storage binders.

Today I thought I'd offer my ideas...
and a few tips...

They come naked, with 3 giant (3 inch) binding rings, so that they can be customized to coordinate with your decor.

The binder makes it very easy to flip thru the pages of stamps, choose your stamp, use it & put it back on the storage sheet.

It's so MUCH better than digging thru a box.

You'll find that you will use them more often, because it's easy.

If you collect cling or Maya Road clear stamps,

blank pages can be added to the binder to store them too.

One pages holds a lot, because you can store stamps on both sides of the blank sheet.

Here's the first binder, which houses my first stamp release.

You'll notice that all the others have a VOL. number on them...

This one doesn't...

since it was my first, I didn't want to jinx myself & say...
VOL. 1...

that assumes there would be VOL.2

If no one besides me liked them, there would be no VOL 2.

But now that we're on VOL 4...

I can safely call this one ...VOL 1!

YIPPEE!

I stamped the border, using jet black archival ink.

I carefully heat set it & you'll see that almost 2 years later, the stamping is still perfect.

It's AMAZING, considering this has been sent across the country many times.

Another option is to stamp on the inside of the cover. Remember to stamp images only...

words won't work on the inside, since they'll show up backward from the front.

I used lots of grungeboard & grungepaper as my base for stamping on all the binders.





Here's VOL 2...

the papers are all graphic 45 and are glued to a base paper.





and VOL 3...

which is a combination of graphic 45 & jenni bowlin papers.

I machine stitched these pieces together to resemble a quilt...






You'll see the newest 2 binders...

VOL 4 in the previous post.


So here's my suggestions for creating them.


The goal is to see NO adhesive on the front.

Remove the protective blue film.

remember...

KEEP THE HOLES ON THE LEFT...trust me!

1. Choose the paper that will be inside the front cover.

it can be one piece...
or mutliple left over strips...

stamped or unstamped...

sewn together or just glued to a paper/cardstock base...

Keep it flat...the embellishments will be added to the front of the cover.

Have it completely ready to go.

2. Lay the paper in place under the front cover, but do not use any adhesive yet.

3. Plan the layout on the front...lay everything in place & move it around until you are satisfied with the look.

4. Glue your largest embellishment to the front of the binder.

5. Open the binder & you'll see where the adhesive is, so put some adhesive there to hold the paper in place.


Now, it's easy to keep words straight, by using the paper as a guide.

6. Add the rest of the embellishments on the front & glue in place.

7. Open the binder again & add adhesive in the adhesive spot areas and press the paper in place.

8. Since the paper is inside the binder, I don't have glue covering it entirely...

It's just where there is something on the front to hide it.

9. TADA! CUSTOM...done & very fun!

One more thing...

I've used several adhesives with success...
Glossy Accents, Art Glitter and Fabri-tac all work fine.

Normally I don't use Glossy Accents for glueing large pieces of paper, because of the quick drying time...
but for this purpose, it's perfect.

Just a tiny dot will hold the paper to the binder.

Remember to be sparing with adhesives.
A little goes a long way & you don't want to see any seeping out.

So there you have it...

altered acrylic binders 101...

If you have a naked binder...
get it out ...

have fun and...

make art!
wendy

it's like the twilight zone around here...

first...
someone STOLE some December days...
HOW did that happen?
It's the 18th already????

SERIOUSLY???

That makes Christmas NEXT Friday...
Is my shopping done?
well...NOT EXACTLY...
YIKES...

Then I look outside & see this...
I couldn't open the patio door...
it's too frigid...
it looks like these guys escaped from Alfred...

or possibly a twilight zone episode...



I took this one from the office...
they're EVERYWHERE!!!
MILLIONS of them...

Better stop before we all have nightmares...

On to real business...

I have a guest artist for you!

Her name is Eileen Bellomo & she resides in NYC.

Eileen was the grand prize winner here of EVERY Ranger product that I used in my first book...

remember that giveaway?

Then I got to meet her in real life on the Mexico cruise...

She was wearing an AWESOME bracelet, adorned with grunge roses...

OMG...

Serious drool material!

So Eileen has been playing along with tim's 12 days of Christmas tags...

and...

she uses my stamp to make her roses...

First...her art...

then below, you'll find a great tip from Eileen...

She said...
Since I mostly make roses for bracelets, I came up with an idea for attaching them, and I used this trick here. Before adding the additional layers, poke a brad through the first (the largest) layer, then glue all the other layers as per the directions on Tim's blog. When it is time to assemble your tag, all you have to do is put a little hole where you want the rose, push the brad through, and it is attached....no glue, no waiting for glue to dry!
After my roses were fully assembled I did give them a quick spritz of spray....I used gold perfect pearls and water; no reinker because I only wanted to add sparkle to the paper, not change the colors.

I did add an additional layer (using part of the large flower from Wendy's Flower Art set) to the red rose. I also added a third rose. I use Wendy's flower from the Rose Art set to make my roses, and it is smaller than the flower that Tim uses. So I thought I'd need to either beef up my roses or add another. I guess I wound up doing both, though I don't love that added layer on the red rose. However, you can't really see the petals, and it does make the rose a bit larger, so it's OK.
I continued my Wendy theme by using the leaf from Rose Art and one of the flourishes from Flower Art; both are stamped on grungepaper, inked and cut out.
The tag is finished off with some bling as Tim did, and done!

Pretty cool huh???
THANKS Eileen for sharing your art!

And speaking of roses...
bigger IS better...

I'm just sayin'...I've been playin'...

I've been working on book projects...

I got some new ideas...

some different stamping surfaces for us...

FUN STUFF...

But...
I can't spill the beans just yet...and it's KILLING ME!

Happy weekend...
I need to get going and...

make art!
wendy

day 4...celebrating more

hey...that rhymes!!

Sorry for the late post...Mr Blogger has not been one bit cooperative today...
I've been tangling with him since 6AM!!! grrr...

Here we go again...another quickie gift idea for you.

This is also a candle...
I like the kind with a glass lid...
or a metal one like this one...



Cover the top of the lid with paper.
If you're lucky to have a perfectly sized punch...
good for you!

If not...(like me) just glue your paper in place, trim the excess & sand the edge with tim's sanding grip...

Next, ink your background stamp with coffee archival & lay it rubber side up, then press the lid onto the stamp.

The benefit here is that since the lid is recessed, you can press from the inside of the lid to get a good image.

You can also stamp your paper ahead of time...but it you're trying to center an image...the first way is easier.

Ink with brushed corduroy distress ink and a little faded jeans...

Add some pen stitching...
and now the lid looks like this...


Make the rose according to the tutorial I did here...
then lightly accent the rose with rock candy distress stickles.

Stamp the large flower and the smaller onto the smooth side of the grungepaper, using jet black archival.

Ink both with faded jeans, using the blending tool.

Overstamp both flowers, front & back with your choice of background stamps and jet black archival.

I used the alphabet one on the larger & the polka dots on the smaller.

Assemble as shown below...

Next...add a bow made from netting, then add a word stick to the bow using a jump ring...

The finished candle...

What's cool about putting the flower on the lid is that once the candle is all used up...
toss it...
just buy another same sized candle & swap the lid...
and you're ready to go again!
SIMPLE!

Now for PLAN B...
You can add a trim strip of patterned paper around the jar...

or PLAN C...
you can roll the candle on a large background stamp.
That's a bit tricky...but if you have a FUBAR...
just clean the glass with alcohol blending solution...
and start again.

On to the giveaway...

nonnie DID contact me yesterday...incase you were wondering...

OK...the winner of my book, some multi medium & MORE is...

Miss Iowa said...
Your posts always crack me up. I'm a big fan of dishes, too. Would love to win your book and the Multi-medium. Happy Hump Day!
December 2, 2009 11:14 AM

Miss Iowa...you need to contact me by 7am tomorrow to claim your prize.

And speaking of prizes...
here's a HINT...for Fridays FINALE...
it's a gift certificate from Simon Says Stamp
and here's their store...

It's a nice one...really nice one...

NOW...
Leave a comment today & I'll give a copy of my book and
some Maya Road goodness to a special commenter...

Enjoy your day...
make art!
wendy