Inspired at Home Radio – Great show tonight!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Sunday night – We had a great chat with our radio guests tonight – Lisa Sanford and Lea Cioci.  Lisa talked about her new book – Ethnic Scrapbooking. What a delight it was to talk with Lisa. She inspired us with her ideas for looking at the different cultures and ethnicity that we share every day.  Her book is filled with full-color images and ideas for scrapbooking from over 40 countries and cultures but her work reaches well beyond the scrapbooking world. You can find Lisa’s book through the link above or check out her website at ethnicscrapbooking.com.

Lea Cioci is the author of Creative Art Concepts for Papercrafts, a book filled with techniques geared towards self-exploration with many fine art materials and paper arts media. Lea talked about “what is an artist?” and why is it that so many of us don’t think we’re artistic.  We also talked about how she has integrated techniques for scrapbooking, collage and altered-art together in one book.  One of our lucky radio listeners (Vivian from Bellwood, IL) won a free copy of Lea’s book!

We also talked about the350project.net, the brainchild of Cinda Baxter who came up with this project to help you understand how to save your local economy three stores at a time.

We spoke with Aleene briefly about our desire to revive the “slow crafting movement” – a topic that you are going to hear us talk about a lot in the weeks ahead. Candace gave a great report on how to use pineapple for home remedies (look out pina coladas – you have competion!) and Heidi talked about the history of lacquer work. Did you know that in Japan an “Imperial Lacquer department” was established in the 4th century BC? And the Creativity Sisters talked about their picks for craft lacquers.Green Doreen reported on how to save energy = saving money around the house.

We also talked about a lot more — so we have an idea! How about you listen to the show?  You can go on-line and listen at your leisure!

Have a fabulous and inspired week and we hope you can tune-in to our LIVE shows on Sunday nights at 7 pm Eastern (6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific). >>Tiff

Fairie Garden Welcome

GRASONVILLE, MD – Thursday night - When I arrived at the Studio tonight to teach my SoulCreative TreasureMap class, I noticed this cute fairie garden that my sister Candace had planted today. It is sitting atop the table outside the front door of the studio. She is getting everything ready for our upcoming Herb and Flower Fairie Festival on June 6th.

So, instead of dashing into the Studio to set up for my class, I grabbed my camera and started enjoying every plant and every herb and every sign that welcomed me tonight.

I paused to enjoy the herb gardens which she has lovingly planted outside the front door of the Studio and the plants just seemed to sing to me tonight! Every one of them just looked so perky and our welcome signs made me smile!

So, I’m happy to report that I did stop tonight to smell the roses.  I am so grateful for the time and love and care that Candace gives to the gardens so that all of our customers, guest, friends and family can enjoy them too.

Thank you dear sister for sharing your love of gardening and herban living with us! I just wanted you to know that it does not go unnoticed! >>Tiff

Heidi’s Newest Mosaic Commission

LOS OSOS, CA – Tuesday morning – Well here it is –  all done –my newest commissioned mosaic. Yippeeeeee!  Well at least my part of the mosaic. Keep in mind I did not have to install or grout this piece. I created the mosaic on tile mesh, then the tile installers at the job site will be attaching it to a wall above my client’s cook top in the kitchen, then they will grout the entire project. This is for a new home in Cambria, California. I will get final photos when the project is complete.

It was a challenging week trying to layout this mosaic. The background tiles were almost 1/2″ thick, therefore I could not nip them with my handy dandy tile nippers.  The letter tiles had a crackle glaze finish…therefore extremely difficult to cut – no again to the tile nippers. Crack… chip… crack errrr!!!  Thank goodness for my friend and fellow stained glass and mosaic artist Nita Overley for letting me borrow her extra ring saw!!! Unfortunately, it was an older extra saw. I ran into difficulties on certain parts that had to be replaced (blade, ring bearing, belt, metal and plastic raceways). All said and done….. it is done and I am grateful.  Lots of lessons learned including pricing  (I’m worth so much more!)…. and I’m going to buy my own ring saw! Yep!! BIG lessons. Lots of Mosaic Love to you! >>Heidi

I Love My Aleene’s Instant Decoupage

GRASONVILLE, MD – Monday morning – I LOVE decoupage!  And wallpaper sample books make for great designs. Combine the two and you have a quick and easy project.  I love these mache bottles because they serve double duty. Not only do they look great just sitting on the shelf, tabletop or countertop, you can also fill them. These were designed as gifts for the bath, so I filled them up with aromatic bath salts!  You could also change the theme to kitchen and fill them up with an assortment of herbs!>>Tiff

Tiffany’s Decoupage Bath Bottles

Materials List
Mache shape
Acrylic paint – ivory
Brush – ½” flat
Aleene’s® Instant Decoupage Sealer & Finish
Wallpaper – floral design
Bath salts (see recipe below)
Plastic zip bag for salts

Instructions

Paint mache shape inside and out. Set aside to dry.

Cut floral design(s) from wallpaper. Determine placement on front of mache design. Mark and cut wallpaper design along lid line.

Brush Instant Decoupage on back of cut out design and on surface of mache. Place design on shape gently moving for proper placement.

Brush over top of cut out with Instant Decoupage. If needed, use your finger to gently press out any air bubbles or wrinkles that appear.  Repeat for top design.  (I also decoupaged a strip of matching wallpaper around the top knob.)

Brush Instant Decoupage over all sides. Set aside to dry.

Tiffany’s Designer Tips: You can turn this pretty decoupage container into a lovely gift by filling it with Scented Bath Salts.  Just mix ½ cup kosher salt, ½ cup Epsom salts, ½ cup baking soda.  Add 10 drops of your favorite organic essential oil. Mix well, pour into zip top bag and insert.  Add a little handwritten note that tells your recipient about the essential oil scent and to add to the bath by the tablespoon.  For a design variation, before you apply your wallpaper decoupage design or inspired word, lightly stencil a background image on the surface. On this design, I used a bamboo design stencil to give a very subtle textured effect.

Inspired at Home Radio – Great show tonight!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Sunday night -  Another great radio show tonight.   Our first guest, Phyllis Dobbs, talked about how we can spot trends and incorporate them into our creative designing. She also announced the launch of her new line of fabrics “It’s a Dog’s Life” along with new gift and garden products that will be available this summer. What’s old is new again!  Have you read about the 80′s style women’s clothing that is making a comeback – you know, those padded shoulders! We wonder how that is going to translate back in to the craft world. What crafts were you doing in the 80′s? We’d like to know!

Next up, Pattie Donham Wilkinson aka PattieWack got us inpired with her book Cookbooking: the Delicious New Way to Scrapbook. The ideas in this book show you how to take ordinary containers to create unique keepsakes and gifts filled with family recipes.  What a wonderful all-generational concept to incorporate your scrapbooking skills while preserving your family recipes.

We also talked up a storm in our open mic roundtable discussion. Pattie recalled some early childhood crafting projects and Phyllis says that she has tried just about every craft including decoupage, stained glass, doodling and painting! Listen to the archived show at your leisure! Click here! >>Tiffany

Where was Heidi last Sunday?

LOS OSOS, CA – Friday morning - For those of you who tuned in to the radio show last Sunday, I was on…..then I wasn’t.  Well, we were at my stepson’s wedding in Hollywood. It was a small beautiful ceremony. The reception was decorated by my very talented daughter-in-law, Nicole Hall. There was a lovely dinner at Miceli’s in Hollywood. It was fun to catch up with my husband’s kids and grandkids. With our busy lives we only seem to get together around the holidays. The grandkids seem to grow up so fast!!  It was a wonderful day!  Welcome to our new daughter in law, Mia.  Here are some photos taken on that special day! (This first one is a little fuzzy – the photo was taken on a cell phone.) >>Love ya! Heidi

I Love My Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue

LOS OSOS, CA – Monday morning - I love to recycle, upcycle and have fun with making un-ordinary crafts with ordinary things.  This week, I thought I would share with you my Window Screen and Tackle Jewelry. Aleene’s Tacky Glue adds some intriguing texture to this project while protecting the sharp edges of the window screen.

The guys at the tackle shop are going to wonder what you’re up to!

Have fun! >>Heidi

Materials
12” x 18” piece of window screen
Wire cutters
Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue®
Metallic acrylic paints: silver, copper, gold
Paintbrushes
30 gold jump rings
Needlenose pliers
2 (size 7) brass snap swivels for earrings
1 pair of fishhook earrings
21 (size 10) brass snap swivels for necklace (can be found wherever fishing tackle is sold)

Instructions

Using wire cutters, cut a total of 30 diamond-shaped pieces from window screen.

Apply a generous amount of glue directly from bottle to all edges of diamond pieces, being sure to cover all sharp points. Let dry completely. If any sharp points remain after glue dries, snip them off with wire cutters. Reapply glue if necessary to cover all sharp points.

Paint both sides of each piece, completely covering glue and allowing paint to fill some of the holes in the screen. Let dry.

Using needlenose pliers, attach 1 jump ring to top point of each piece. For each earring, attach 1 silver diamond to small end of size 7 snap swivel. Attach 1 gold diamond to large end of same snap. Attach earring hook to end of swivel.

For necklace, link together all size 10 swivel snaps to form necklace chain. Attach remaining 26 pieces to necklace, placing where desired.

Heidi’s Designer Tip: Metallic acrylic paint adds a rich look but you can also change the look by trying other colors or other shapes.

Inspired at Home Radio – great show tonight!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Sunday night - We had another great Inspired at Home Radio show tonight!  Just in case you missed it you can listen to the archived episode from your computer or download it for free from iTunes.com.

Our first guest, Allyson Rice talked about her FABULOUS women’s coloring books – The Color of Joy and Dancing with Life. These books are designed especially for women and are great stress busters. Looking for a great gift? Just wrap up one of these coloring books with a yummy set of colored markers and you have a great girlfriend gift! Read about all the details at our show page!

Next up was Karen Elaine Thomas who inspired us with her book Origami Card Craft: 30 Clever Cards and Envelopes to Fold. It all started with folding gum wrapper chains as a kid and has turned into a lifetime passion! It’s time you get to folding Origami cards. It’s loads of fun! Read more about it on our show page!

Our special last-minute guest was Karen Bremer. Karen and her husband own The Red Bee, an 11,000 square foot independent creative store located in Tustin, California. We talked about how independents are able to better serve the creative consumer. Karen’s store website is www.theredbee.com.

My creativity sisters and I talked about links to over 25 website pages that we think you will enjoy checking out this week.  Be sure to check out the show page at our website for all the details of tonight’s show. Have a creative and inspired week!

Aleene – amazing example of how we should all look and feel!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Sunday morning – Just an update. Mom (Aleene ) wanted everyone to know that she felt the picture of her with Hazel Pearson made her look fat and that her hair wasn’t styled that day.

So just for the record . . . Mom you look wonderful, fabulous, magnificent! I think she’s an amazing example of how we should all lo0k and feel at age 85. >>Candace

The Craft Museum

LOS OSOS, CA – Friday morning – This past Tuesday my mother Aleene and I went to the Los Angeles area to visit again with Hazel Pearson Williams. Hazel had been ill for a couple of months…but we are happy to report she is doing very well at 95!!!! Here’s a new photo of these ladies for the archives taken 5-12-09!

Hazel and Mom were the pioneers in the crafting industry. When you walk into Hazel’s home of 60 years, it’s like a journey back in time. Her home is full of all kinds of craft memories — resin grapes…yep she has them — bread dough flower arrangement (s) …check — eggery collection…it’s there — paper tole/decoupage…lots on the walls — draped angels and wisemen…double check!!!  Every nook and cranny and lots of glass display cases fill the space with every craft she ever had including the early years of crafting.  Here’s one case that is filled to overflowing with the most incredible egg collection that you could ever imagine. And the greatest thing is that Hazel still enjoys her collection everyday.

In her garage and studio is a different part of the her craft collection. Since Hazel Pearson Handicrafts was also a  craft manufacturer and Craft Course Publishing was her craft booklet publishing company, there are boxes and boxes, from floor to ceiling all  neatly marked with designs and books and instruction sheets.

It’s the collection in the garage that we were there to pick up. (It will take several trips!) It is Tiffany’s and my hope to someday see an actual physical Craft History Museum to honor these women and the entire craft industry.  You have no idea how many crafts started from these two amazing ladies. Until that vision becomes a reality, we will, as time allows, start with posting  some photos of Hazel’s wonderful collection.

What an incredible day we had. We sat at Hazel’s table for several hours and reminisced about the old days. Mom and Hazel giggled a few times about the good times they had at the trade shows. (I think I will keep a few of those stories to myself!) It was a fun day for all. Mom and I were sorry we had to leave.

So I leave you today with a few photos of that wonderful day enjoyed by all and I’ll be posting a few more photos over the next weeks! >>Love,  Heidi