Witch 'Craft' - A New Class!

A long time ago.........

A cavernous house sat upon a lonely hill; broken & mysterious, a mystic ruin. There were rumors a coven of powerful witches inhabited the place.

Sometimes, when the moon was full and the wind was silent you could hear their chants as they conjured up trouble for their enemies.

From the Salem witch trials to the Wizard of Oz we’ve been both frightened & intrigued by images of witches. They’ve left a trail of superstition and fear throughout history, and have appeared in many forms.

Personally, I’ve always preferred the Dark Siren over prettier, more innocuous versions.

I’m a history fanatic- (aren’t we all?) I think it’s why I’m drawn to anything old. In middle school I was captivated by the story of the Salem witch trials. I remember feeling both fear & pity for the women, children & men who were accused & ultimately martyred to satisfy the paranoid bloodlust of a community.

A year or two later, Macbeth was required reading for new freshman. Macbeth’s witches were quite different; instead of victims, they were predators; they meddled & instigated trouble, cooking up potions and spells that spelled chaos for the wannabe King.

"Double, double toil & trouble"

- MacBeth

Created for The Wicked Tea, my assemblage titled

Witch-" Craft".

It was a challenge dreaming up a Halloween themed project in the middle of summer! The cabinet card with the ladies gathered on the porch has been in my stash for ages. Once I re-discovered it, the rest just came into place. 

I will be posting much more about this cool event soon!

But I gotta tell you, I am over the full moon about working side by side with Lesley Venable, Ann-Denise & Cindy.

Registration hasen't opened yet, but check out the

 Paper Cowgirls blog for information.

***creative credit to my niece Chelsea for the awesome word play in my post title***
~Lisa

Pillow Talk

I'm crazy about the beautiful pillows I see on everyone's blogs. 

Ann, Sissie, Lori, true pillow masters in my opinion.

I had 3 birthday gifts to make this month, so I decided

(for better or worse)

to try my hand at some of my own.

So here you go.

A trio of pillows Tarnished & Tattered style!

This one was for my Mommy Dearest

(my Step Mother dubbed herself that when we were little)

The elements I selected were very important.

The pillow is a belated Mother's Day gift.

I know, I'm a loser, but I'll play that triplet card!

Her own sweet Mother, Alice O'Connor loved visiting Ireland.

The runner used for the slipcover is pure Irish linen. 

 It was like new, an unusual choice for me.  I usually prefer things that look like they've been dragging behind a car for 100 miles, and then stomped on.

The sheet music I selected is a standard,

A Little Bit of Heaven They Call Ireland

The image I chose was my Grandmother's graduation photo.  I made a transparency over a poem about Mothers.

My friend Maureen supplied the gorgeous mother of pearl pin.

This one is for my sweet blog friend Julia.

Inspired by my love of nature, my bff Dawn & the awesome Michelle Palmer whose sketch on canvas is part of my patchwork design.

For Bolton lovers everywhere, a nod to a very famous photo of Sister Janets home. 

 The first time I ever saw a torn out suitcase pocket hanging on a wall.

******Update:*********

I just wasted spent a day looking for said picture of Janet's collage of nautre over her bench.

 Obessed.

Then couldn't stop looking at my old ME Home Companions.

 Maybe the picture was in Country Living??

******Update to the Update******

Photo found

Publisher unknown

My third pillow. 

 This was a favor for a dear friend & surrogate Grandmother, Judy. 

She requested a pillow with a photo of her precious Granddaughter to give to her DIL.

This project was a huge challenge, the photo was new & color. Changing the tone to sepia helped a lot.

I have mixed feelings about the result, but her DIL loved it. 

That's what counts.

My first class at Maureen's sold out, but we're adding a second class.  Check her blog for information!

I have more news to share with you on my next post.

Until then, have a creative day!!

Home !!

Vacations are great, but boy it feels good to be home!

I missed sleeping in a bedroom with a door.

(note to self, find hotel suites with a door between rooms)

I missed driving a car that doesn't have an inch of snack food carpeting the floor, spiderman stickers on every window, & the stench of dirty socks.

I missed my studio. 

&

I missed YOU!

I missed visiting, drooling over your creations,

 reading your stories & seeing what goodies you've found.

But I'm back!

And I want to tell you about my new teaching gig. My dear friend Maureen has invited me to do some workshops at her darling shop Cottage Panache.

My first class is

Elements of Collage

The class is scheduled for Thursday August 19, you can get the low-down from Maureen's blog.  Her shop is located in North Richland Hills, TX.

I love the beautiful creamy elements used in this collage.

Pretty faded slippers, various images,

beautiful laces,

And again with the resin papers.

(Sorry, I can't help myself)

This is going to be a small, intimate class - only 6 students!

So I'm going through my stash & selecting really special vintage items for each kit. 

I'd love to see you there!

I just saw that my sweet Sissie girl is having an awesome give-away!

 I Love this runner, how cute draped over a kitchen counter!

Congrats Sissie!!!

I'm off to catch up with my blog friends in-between loads of stinky socks!!

Surprise!

Oh I love it when I see overseas postage!

At first I thought I ordered something in my sleep!?!

Then I saw the tag,

Tiny Bear, oh Tina..what did you do?

The most amazing pocket!!

Those Nordic girls are in a league all their own. Amazing artists, every one!

I am in love pockets,

 & I love that each pocket I admire

reflects the style of the artist who made it. 

Tina's is unlike any I've seen.

Do you see the little doll head poking out??

Dolls are to Julia, Tina & Dorthe what hats are to Karla & Beth.

But I've heard that lace is not so easy to come by. 

We are a lot little spoiled here in America, land of estate sales & hoarders!

So when I receive something covered in yummy lace & ribbon I know they must really love me!

Tina's work is so unique, her style is most defiantly all her own.  Every single time I go visit her blog I find a new technique or design that I can incorporate into my own work.  She very willingly shares it with all of us.

Thank you Tina, what a perfect surprise!!!!!

I thought after Paper Cowgirl life would settle down to a dull roar,

But Noooooo!

July has become another challenge altogether,.

 days filled with kids activities,

projects, swaps, birthday gifts & more deadlines

Here's a little sneak at my next workshop.

I'll show you much more & tell you where to register next week!

This weekend we're ditching the insane Texas heat & heading for the beautiful cool mountains of Colorado!

We'll spend a few days in Denver with family, then go in search of some new places.  Does anyone have any favorite spots in Amarillo or Colorado? Any tips?

A Challenge & A Story

Last week my friend Mary at Green Paper invited everyone to an art challenge.

The rules were very simple, use all or part of a collage sheet she provided & share by today!

So here is my story of Miss Mary Hayes.

Miss Mary Hayes was secretly in love with a boy who wrote beautiful letters of the heart.

He was very romantic.

Once a week after he was paid, he would pick up a small bouquet of her favorite flowers from the corner shop. 

On their 1st anniversary he surprised her by having a charm made from one of the blooms.

She wore it around her neck until the day she died.

Miss Mary kept every trinket he ever gave her.

Little hearts, ribbons that once tied up a pretty package.

And a button that came from the last gown he saw her in.

Their relationship was very complex & veiled in secrecy.

It all came to an end when he left to fight the great war.  The last letter Mary received was on July 18, 1919.

Mary never gave up hope that her true love would return one day.

She died alone, with only her memories & some tokens of a love story.

~Lisa

Little Dreams

 Lily & I took a break from those smelly boys last week.

A young girls right of passage, her first time to American Girl!!

To say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement.

We shopped,

we ate,

made wish lists,

best of all we got a new hairdo for her doll 'CeCe'. 

Look at the poor thing, 

she had big 'issues'.

(this was the before)

And after!

Ta da!

No more Don King hair!

When we got home there was a package waiting at the door.

Return address, Karla's Cottage!!

Karla was so sweet to include the kids with some awesome summer reading &.........

Horns!

*&^^%$^*

Thanks a lot Karla!

(they loved them)

But lets get to the really good stuff. 

I had heard there might be a 'Kansas hat' headed my way.

And what a hat it is!

The most beautiful taupe & cream color. Busting with buds, pods, & velvet.

I just LOVE it!

But there was more!

This box was too pretty to open.

 But I forced myself anyway.

Inside a beautiful soldered charm in the prettiest velvet lined box.

Vintage eyelet trim, a cameo, yummy buttons, & more flowers!

(so that I don't have to pilfer from the new one)

 I LOVE the doorknob painted with one of Karla's signature roses. 

Thank you my friend, you made 3 kids & their Mommy very happy!

Have you seen Mary's newest Green Paper challenge?

You've still got a couple of days play!

I'm hope to finish mine today.

Here's a little peak at something I'm working on for a swap I'm doing with my very good friend Diane Knotts.  My project is inspired by the wonderful quilts Diane & her daughter Holly do.

Well, I'm off to see what you've been up to!