Swaps?

So, here's my latest swap: A Halloween 6x6. I'm pretty sure the person it's going to doesn't read my blog.

I had the hardest time figuring out what to make. I'm not big on Halloween crafts, which is part of the reason I signed up, to stretch my imagination.

I finally decided to start out by covering the background with dictionary paper, as I've decided that's what I do with everything. Then I colored it with alcohol inks, and it's hard to tell, but there's a definition of Halloween in the lower left corner. And then I was stuck again, because I don't do a lot of crafting at Halloween, I don't have a lot of supplies for it. I finally found the bats, which were a ribbon, and cut them apart. The leaf is from some fall thing, I glued that down and decided the skeleton needed to be on top. I had this skeleton which is about 6" tall, only thing was, he was bright green plastic. I painted him white, which was a challenge in itself, the paint would not stick. After gluing him down, I applied som Mod Podge, which tried to take the paint off again. I decided he needed googly eyes instead of holes. The rat, is rubbery, I got him a few years ago when I bought a bag for my collage group, he doesn't glue very well. I finally had to cover his feet and tail, if you try, you can still take him out.

I love how this turned out.

 

I really miss swapping, and there seem to be less and less out there. My normal sites/blogs that do swaps aren't hosting any as of late. Does anyone know of any I can join, or would like to do some kind of swap with me?

I bet no one will, but I'll ask anyway

I'm looking for hope. I've been depressed lately. I was dealt a huge blow a couple of weeks ago and I don't seem to be getting as excited about things as I have in the past. I'm not finding things as fun as I used to. Anyone wanna send me some hope, or at least something to cheer me up?

Anyone have any hope for me?

Random Rambing

So I'm sitting here feeling bummed about Okoboji and decide I need to take my mind off of it. I see a cute piece of trim and decide I should make a tag with it, which leads me to my craft closet, then I get distracted by my butterfly piece and decide I need to use some gel pens to highlight the butterflies. I finish that and see a piece of paper that would work for this tag. I don't get very far with that but see a vintage photo I've been saving for something else, I notice it's tearing more so I figure I should get started on that piece, but decide she would look better on book pages. So, I cover the background with dictionary paper, add her, but she won't lay flat. I figure a piece of tinfoil and a book will fix that, as I'm washing the Mod Podge off my brushes, I look down and realize my foot's bleeding. Just another typical day for me. At least i found my muse.

Does that ever happen to anyone else. You sit down to do something and you get distracted by three other things laying around?

A crafty purchase

I've been horribly uninspired lately, but I did buy something pretty cool.

One of the blogs I read, Artjoystuff, was having a Christmas in July sale in her Etsy store, so I decided to buy something. When I opened the package, I also got this cute little picture with it:

 And here's what I bought, a little collage picture.

It is now with all the other artwork I have acquired whether through purchase or swaps. I'm trying to collect more of other people's work, so someday when I have a house, I can have a dedicated place to display it. Plus, if I buy someone else's work, maybe someone will buy mine. Of course, then I'd have to make some and put it in my shop.

Goodie Bags

So, my birthday's next week. I'm having a dinner party with friends and I decided to make goodie bags. I had all the stuff to put inside, but hadn't done the actual bags yet. Yesterday, I finally sat down to decorate them. Here are six of them:

 Starting at the top left: it's covered in a dark blue paper, there's a wavy sticker at the bottom. I added green glittery plants to it, and underwater stickers. The middle one I covered with a green patterned paper, on top of that is a German book page and then an old photo. There's also a pink butterfly in the corner. The one on the right I covered with stickers of bugs, I put glittery grass at the bottom.
On the bottom row, the one in the right corner is covered with a Celtic-y print paper. There is a green ribbon the side and a picture of a rhino in the middle. The middle one has brown stripes as a background with another striped paper on top. There's an image of children on a bicycle and a button sticker as well. The one on the right is covered in yellow paper, you can't see it, but there's a green leafy rub on on the left side. There's a cowboy image mounted on green paper on the bottom (this one I decorated with one of my guests in mind).
Here are the other four and a piece I've been working on for awhile. Apparently my kitchen has better lighting, so this picture is a little washed out.

 The top left one I covered in strips of tissue tape, I have no idea how to finish it, everything I put on it looks wrong. The second one on the top is covered in music patterend paper, with a light blue paper on top and an image of ruins. The bottom left one is covered in a bluish regal pattern. There's another regal pattern paper on top of that and an oval, again I'm not sure how to finish it. The bottom right one is covered with a piece of patterned cardstock that I added clock images to and enhanced the patterns on it with glitter.
The butterfly piece, I have been working on since last February. Liz, sent me an envelope of hearts leftover from this project. I glued them on, rubbed alcohol ink on it and then got stuck. Then I started adding butterflies, most of them are from napkins, there's also a few stickers on there. I'm not sure if it's done or not.
Here's what my bags look like closed:

The pin wheels were originally supposed to go in the bags, but they're a little tall. I figure I'll have them on the table in a vase and have everyone take one as they leave. The roses are made of wood, and have wire stems, so I threaded them through holes in the bags.
The last four (or two), are drying, I plan to put them together tonight or tomorrow morning.

I'm really sick of planning my party. My menu is pork tips with noodles and a veggie and ice cream cake for dessert. I invited 10 people and am still waiting on a few to get back to me. Because of that, I can't have all the food purchased yet.

One of my supervisors said I get a whole week to celebrate. I don't think that will happen. I don't get a lot of mail, even for my birthday. Normally, I only get presents from my immediate family, since I'm having a party this year, I'll get some more, but nothing will stretch for a week.

My birthday

is in two weeks. I'm excited/something. I'm turning 30 this year. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I'm having a dinner party with friends. Here's my party favors:

candles, wooden roses, pin wheels, glow bracelets, bubbles, hand sanitizer, and animal squirts. And chocolate, I just haven't bought that yet.

Still haven't done anything creative, except maybe put the party favors together. I'm so not interested lately, I don't know why.

Not very creative

I'm failing miserably at being creative lately. So, here's some stuff I purchased lately for you to look at:

 bird tag bought from MellieJaneRustics.

So, my birthday's coming up. Three weeks from tomorrow actually, I'll be turning 30. I'm freaking out a little. I don't have a salaried/benefitted job, or a permanent place to live. I'm trying to save money because my health insurance is way too expensive. I'm working as many hours at my job as I can, which is part of the reason I haven't been creative. I just don't want to do much when I get home.

 Hope bracelet bought from TheGiftoftheMagi.

I wish people would send me cool stuff for my birthday, but I probably won't get much. My mother says she'll resize a ring so I can wear it again. I know I won't get anything really cool. But, if people want to send me something, let me know. I would totally repay you on your birthday.

I keep thinking I'll get creative, I started a glue book, and then got distracted, so all my art stuff is spread out in my hallway. I need to shove it all back in the closet.
I'm planning a dinner party on my porch for my birthday, but my friends might want to see my apartment, which is messy as usual, so I really should clean it.