Dylanbug Gets Published! - Update

The Stamper's Sampler has long been one of my favorite idea/inspiration magazines.  Last night we returned from vacation and I found my newest issue in the mail.  What a nice way to relax after a very long journey home.

An even bigger bonus?  Seeing my work on a 2-page spread!  I can't show you the pages themselves because the issue doesn't hit the newstands until July 1st.  However, the table of contents is listed online as proof of their existence.  Check out page 26:

Generally, when you submit to a publication, your artwork disappears into a black hole, never to be seen or heard from again.  It's best to just send things off and forget about them.  Which I did - months ago.  This was only my second or third attempt ever - the first for this publication.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that my work would appear in such a wonderful way.

If you get a chance, pick up the new July/August/September issue.  Not just to see my work, but also to see the rest of the extraordinary artists featured inside.

I'll share the actual pics when the issue is released.  Whoo hoo!  I'm still doing my happy dance!

Update:  a much-published friend let me know it's ok to share the pages with you.  Here they are:

New Toys for Pam

 It doesn't take much to amuse me.  Cool file folders.  Funky colored paper clips.  Glitter, pens, a really fantastic piece of handmade wrapping paper.

What do you think of this little beauty?  Pretty, right?  It's one of the new dies that I got from Cheery Lynn Designs.  I've heard mixed things about their products, but I decided to try a couple and see what they were like. Now I can't stop making butterflies!

Doilies are all the rage in the papercrafting world right now.  You can buy them already made, but that's not nearly as fun as making them yourself.  This one is traditional white, but I plan to make many in different colors.  Maybe I'll even go wild and try patterned paper!  See what I mean about "easily amused"?

Here's a look at the whole doily die.  It's several sizes in one set so you can layer them or make frames.


This ought to keep me busy for awhile, anyway!

(til the next cool thing catches my eye)

Ink Spots

Finally made it to the art store to buy some watercolor paper.  Since I don't paint, this isn't one of my normal supplies.  But, I have long wanted to try my Distress Inks with watercolor paper.

Distress Inks are reactive with water, so you can create many wonderful techniques with them.  They come in pads, stains, bottles and markers.

In this case I used the stains, and pads.  To create a background color, I rubbed an ink pad on my no-stick craft sheet and very lightly misted it with water.  Then I just laid the watercolor paper on the craft sheet and pressed down with my palms.  I did not move the paper at all.

Next step was to wipe the craft sheet clean and swirl some stain on it so that it beaded up in good sized beads.

Lastly, I laid the paper on the craft sheet face down.  I did not press it down, just let the ink touch it.  When I turned the paper over, the ink was beaded on the surface.  I took a narrow plastic straw and blew the ink around on the paper.  I swirled the straw in circular motions to create the spidery looking splatters.  Then I let the sheets air dry.  I didn't use the heat tool because I didn't want to move the ink around any more.


Now I just have to decide whether I want to cut these up and make cards, or just enjoy them as they are!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!

Pocket Watch Pendant

I love when I find a new treasure that immediately inspires me.  A vision of exactly what I'm going to do just pops into my head and I can't wait to make it reality.

This amazing pocket watch case is engraved with wonderful flourishes around the sides and on the back.  The back pops off so you can fill the inside with whatever you want.

I filled the inside with silk flowers, a cameo, and a vintage  chandelier crystal.  Then I topped it with some charms and vintage jewelry parts.

The best part is the front window flips open when you push the button on top of the watch.  The front glass is a magnifier, so you can really see the inside.  When you flip it open, it's just regular glass.  Very sweet!

I love that it's so easy to find intriguing art supplies in Portland.  And there are so many uses for found objects and little vintage baubles.  So glad to live in such an artistic city!

Thanks for visiting.  Have a great day.

Wistful for Letterpress

I have always been drawn to letterpress cards.  Probably because the colors are so clean and vivid.  Doing simple cards without texture and embellishments is pretty far out of my usual comfort zone, but I was really inspired to try something different.

There have been several sets of rub-ons in my drawer for months just waiting for me to figure out how to use them.  Here's what I finally did.

I now love this set so much that I don't want to give them away!

 I think the pink chandelier might be my favorite.

Or maybe the opera glasses.  I can't decide!














I think that I should keep these around where I can see them for all those times when I don't think I can do clean and simple.

Have a wonderful day!

12 Tags - March

Tim Holtz has this great project going on his site.  Every month he posts an inspiration project, and we can all make something based on his work and post it to his blog.

So, we did faux mosaic this time.  I didn't have the same materials he did, so I improvised on my tag.  I took an adhesive chipboard frame, peeled off the back and flipped it over.  Stuck the paper pieces to it, covered it in embossing powder, and melted it.  I think it came out nice - reminds me of Tuscan pottery.

Sorry such a fast post.  Must go get Dylan from school.  Have a great evening!

Gift for Mom

Now that Christmas is past, I can share something I made and gave to my mom.  This started out as a plain tan-colored paper mache' box.

Getting it to its finished state required a lot of patience on my part.  Not usually my strong point.  But there are several layers that each required full drying before the next step could happen.

Some of the ingredients that went into the box were:

• Pretty paper napkins
• white gesso
• rubber stamping with solvent inks
• Vintage black velvet ribbon
• Vintage jewelry pieces
• Antique lamp crystal (colored with solvent ink)
• glitter glue

I have to say it was really satisfying to watch this project progress through each step and then wind up with this result.  It is exactly how I imagined it.

And hopefully my mom liked it as much as she let on :)

I'll be back with another post about my mother-in-law's gift.

Stay tuned...

Why I Love SCRAP

If you don't know, SCRAP is this totally cool little place that people donate all kinds of weird stuff.  And artists, crafters, quilters, and tinkerers of all types can find surprising supplies there.  For next to nothing.  The cool part is that the inventory changes all the time, so you can always find something different.

I stopped by today and here's what I came home with...

• 1/2" stack of bright red tag board
• 8 sheets of alphabet stickers in various colors
• Several yards of embroidered ribbon
• Vintage doilies
• Button blanks for my iTop tool
• Fine purple glitter
• Red frog fasteners
• Round ceramic tiles
• Two pairs of shoe laces
• Paper Crafts magazine
• A gorgeous red and white upholstery fabric sample

And I paid a grand total of $6.80!


This is such an amazing community place.  They have a little gallery of art projects that people have made with things from the store.  If you have kids, this is a great place to go stock up on art supplies and not spend a fortune.  Dylan loves taking a couple of his allowance dollars and seeing what he can buy for his craft stash.

It's like a little treasure hunt and you don't have to feel the least bit guilty about buying art supplies!