Runway Line-Up

Artful Runway - A Tag Project this Saturday, August 18!

Who would you choose to grace the cover of your book?

I'm partial to blues and greens so I chose Marina to grace the cover of my Runway Tag Book.  At the last minute I decided to add one more Art Doll to the line-up.  SEVEN TAGS!!  Marina  may look familiar to those of you who have taken my workshops in the past.  She was introduced at my second Make-it-Take-it several years ago only she's sporting a different fin, new hair-do and the background and colors have changed slightly.

Your tags will sit safely in pockets attached in your book.  This book is super easy to assemble.  Believe me, with seven tags to paint, stamp and embellish, I do not want to make this a stressful workshop.   

Please consider joining me this Saturday for a fun and relaxing day at Stampin' From the Heart in Los Angeles.  But you have to call the shop by Thursday to make sure I get a kit together for you.  Call 310-391-0466 to save your spot and to get more info.  Hope to see you!

Hot Artful Runway Artventure

This Runway Tag is brought to you by the color HOT.

The colors I used on this tag where largely influenced by the current heat wave we have been experiencing in the Los Angeles area.  Actually there is another influence.

During the summer months of my youth it was not unusual to find me at my grandmother's home.  She was a working grandma and my aunt who is nine years older than me would have the "pleasure" of making sure I was safe and tried hard to keep me clear of mischief.  Once my grandma was home she and I would spend what they refer to these days as "quality" time.  She showed me how to make sherbet using Kool Aid, sugar and evaporated milk (honest, I recently looked up the recipe cause the only ingredients I could remember were Kool Aid and evaporated milk).  We'd make super simple but super delicious cakes from small boxes of Jiffy cake mix (do they still make those?) adding hefty doses of freshly squeezed lemon juice in the Jiffy icing (which also came in a small box). 
One hot summer night we took off to Kmart for a little girly shopping spree via the bus because my grandma didn't drive.  We headed over to the dress dept and there hanging on a T-rack for all to see was the latest-coolest-psychedelic-looking dress I ever saw.  I was drooling and my grandma sensed it.  We found my size, purchased it and zipped back to her home.  Once there I tried it on.  Don't ask why I didn't try it on at the store.  Well, the dress didn't quite look right.  In fact, it looked funny.  OK, the dress made my head look BIG and it hung sort of strange on me.  It was also a little tight around my chest area and I didn't have much there to begin with.  Needless to say as soon as my grandma saw me in it she began to laugh uncontrollably.  So did my aunt.  And so did I.  LOL!  We quickly discovered that we purchased a Girl's size 7, not a Junior's!  We took it back and I can't remember what I got but I'm sure it was cool cause my grandma was cool and she would never buy me anything that screamed HIDEOUS.  
I miss my Grandma Della but I have a lot of great memories about our times together.  The dress that I put together on the above art doll was influenced by that ill-fitting dress from that late run to Kmart one hot summer night long ago.  Funny how it seems like yesterday.  

Retro-Visionary Journal Artventures

Flower Power....The British Invasion....Groovy....Psychedelic...It's all part of the Retro-Visionary Journal theme.

But the retro era wasn't just about words or music.  It was also a simpler way of life.  We didn't have to go too far to have fun.  If we weren't at the park, we were in the backyard playing whatever we could think of.  It didn't cost money for us to have fun.  We got creative and used our imagination, if we didn't have the equipment.  We never thought to ask our parents for material things cause it wasn't important.
Well, actually there was something I never hesitated to ask for.  The Betsy McCall paper doll page from the McCall's magazine was always mine.  My love of paper dolls was re-ignited when I began to create altered tags featuring art dolls.
My mother's face below is featured on this tag which is a part of my Retro-Visionary Journal.  I wrote about her on the back side and I'll share it with you one day.   

Here is a sampling of the discarded books I salvaged which have several colorful pages with that vintage retro look.  You know the one - quirky designs with wild colors that POP.  All original and waiting for you! 

Please let Stampin' From the Heart know if you'd like to take this workshop.  There's a lot of prep work on my part in order to make this experience a smooth one for you.  You won't be disappointed and it's a journal that you can continue to add pages to in the future.
Art Dolls, and journaling, and retro-vintage pages.  OH MY!