Promises Promises!

Hi Bloggers!
A few posts and several days ago, I promised that I would post photos of what I have been doing, and explain why I have been gone from my blog.  And even though you who are closest to me already know this, I'll explain what's been going on and hope you understand.
Two years ago I became disabled.  I was always technically disabled, but always was able to rise above the challenges, work at a full-time career, and raise two children as a single parent.  However, recently, the pain of 30+ surgeries, arthritis, and joint failures, caused me to resign to the fact that I just had to slow down.  I had to quit working and became interested in my 2nd love, art and crafting.
When I was still working, between surgeries I made jewelry, learned to bead, and did some quilting.  I sewed all my life, made clothes for myself and my children from baby clothes to prom dresses,  and just loved crafts of all types.  Art has always been a part of my life, but more of a hobby than anything I did full-time.  And being a full time parent, working 50 hours a week in sales, I didn't have a lot of extra time for hobbies.
I was born with a condition called Larsen Syndrome, a genetic bone condition that affects joints and connective tissue surrounding the joints.  It can attack any (or all) the joints in the person's body.  In my case, neck, back, hips, knees and feet.  My daughter did not inherit it, but my son did.  It can vary in how much a person is affected--I was very lucky!  I was able to walk, and my son walked with crutches as a child, but now, as an adult is no longer ambulatory.  Our condition is painful due to the many surgeries we undergo to correct the many dislocations we suffer in our joints.  And it is this pain that finally caused me to have to quit working.

This was the 3rd surgery on the left leg.
I wish I could say it was the last one.

In the last few years, I have undergone several surgeries, including repeated knee surgery on my left knee.  And for reasons I won't divulge here, the knee joints I have had put in have repeatedly failed.  I'm on my 3rd knee replacement in the left leg, and found out Tuesday the hinge is broken.  I also found out that this particular implant was not a good one.  So my former doctor apparently used a sub-standard joint when better ones were available.  My bad.  I should have done better research!

See how swollen the left is?  It is swollen
due to the broken hinge in the knee joint.
Surgery is the only way to fix it.

I am now seeing a specialist in Orthopedics,  Leo Whiteside, M.D. located in St. Louis.  He is an amazing doctor!  He did my 2nd knee replacement on my right knee, and it's been in for 13 years!
See how nice it looks compared to the other one?   Why I didn't go to him for the left leg is beyond me.  I stayed in KS and went to KU.  Not smart on my part.  If you do this do your research!

Dr. Whiteside is an inventor, and his knee and hip implants are second to none.  I am happy he is going to be doing my reconstructive surgery.  It is set for June 14th...Two and a half weeks from now.
I'd be lying if I said I'm looking forward to it.  It's a very painful procedure to remove the existing broken joint.  He will have to saw the rods out from inside the shank of my femur and tibia.  Those rods are 6 inches up inside the bone.  This is a very serious and long surgery, and will take 2 years recuperation time.
So I'm a little behind in posting photos, because I've been dealing with all of this mess.  But in the next few days, I promise to put as much up as I can.  Please check back as YOUR photo may be on here!

If you've seen me, your photo will be posted here tomorrow!!!

And please don't give up on me.  I may be down, but I'm not out.        
I'll be back... I PROMISE!!!  (famous last words!  LOL!)
See you soon!
ReNae

Your Living Canvas

We all have a story to tell... one that we live and paint and breathe everyday... through our heartaches and trials, joys and celebrations, insecurities and moments of clarity.  What story are we telling now and what story do we have yet to create? At the end of the day, it's our living canvas that will tell our story. And our art journal.

In mixed-media artist Christy Tomlinson's six week course, she will help you discover that through art,techniques,journaling and soul searching exercises, you can create your canvas by design, not by default. 

The workshop is broken down into a six week workshop:
Week 1: Telling your Story
Week 2: Finding Balance Every Day, the 6 F's.
Week 3: Your Vision Board
Week 4: The 80/20 Rule
Week 5: Being Present
Week 6: Purpose, Passion and Being Proud


Join me in this workshop to self discovery and soul searching with exercises and journaling that will help us grow and define our living canvas. Then we will take those things we are learning and put them into ART. Through art journaling, on canvases and other pieces of art.. things that we can see each day will remind us of the canvas we want to create!

This class will be a work at your own pace class.. where you can come in a watch the videos and read the content anytime night or day. AND this class will be available for an entire year to access...so plenty of time to really take your time and do this class the right way! The class starts May 21st so there's still time to enroll!  I hope you will join me in taking this workshop!

Click ***HERE*** to link to Christy's workshop information

Each week I'll be reviewing what I've learned here on the blog.
Hope you'll be joining me starting May 21st!

Until then,
Happy Creating!!


ReNae

I'm back!

Hi Bloggers! 

For those of you who follow my blog, you know I have been away from it for a couple of weeks.  I have missed you all, and want you to know I appreciated all your supportive and well wishes sent my way.

I am going to have knee surgery, but won't have it scheduled until the latter part of May.

So let's get back to normal for now, shall we?  I am ready to show you what I've been doing these past weeks, because though I was away from the blog, I was elbow-deep in new projects!  Lots of them!

For the next few days I'll be showing you some of these projects, so let me know if you like them, and also let me know what you want to see here.  I am always excited and happy to research any technique or product for you.  

Thursday (tomorrow) I will be teaching two technique classes at Ink Paper Rubber, one at 10 a.m. and one at 6 p.m. so be sure to sign up!  I will make sure you learn a lot and leave the class with lots of goodies to use on your future projects!  Just email Jen HERE and she will reserve your spot.

I'm writing this at 1 a.m. so I am going to stop for now, and will return with more Wednesday morning.

See you soon!

Happy Creating!

ReNae

Umbrella Man appears at Stamp Club!

Hi Bloggers!

If you were in attendance at Stamp Club at the Scrapbook Page last night, you know who showed up!

The Umbrella Man in all his glory!

Everyone had an awesome interpretation of the Pop-Up card, and we all learned lots of great tips in working with Acetate.  In particular, how best to adhere it to cardstock.  (Double-sided tacky tape rather than glue)  Thanks to all who were there to make the meeting fun and rewarding!
I have attached some photos from the evening's class.  Enjoy!

Cindy and Ann-Marie share some ideas during class time!

Cindy is trying to figure out that acetate scalloped circle!

Samantha is assembling her card

Frances is "cutting" to the chase.  

JD is busy assembling his card

Janine stamping her card with a variety of Tim's images

Jeanette just had to be different! (creative)
She is making a balloon pop-up card using the same scalloped die!

Catherine organizing her papers and preparing to stamp.

Janine's finished project, BEAUTIFUL!
She chose brown for her card instead of black.  I loved the result!

Jeanette's finished card.  "Celebrate!"

Janine's card is gorgeous!

Ann-Marie's take on the project!  She let the paper work for her...

What are they up to now????
No good I'm sure...LOL!

Let's see what happens if we emboss that Umbrella Man...

The umbrella man after heat embossed with Rustic embossing powder by Judikins.
It actually looked JUST LIKE METAL!  Stunning!
 

Stamp Club is a wonderful place to come and share ideas and enjoy learning new techniques!
Hope to see you next month at the Scrapbook Page!
ReNae

Umbrella Man Pop Up Card Tutorial at Stamp Club

The April Stamp Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 10^th, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the Scrapbook Page.  I will be doing this month's Stamp Club Tutorial which will be featuring one of the Sizzix Pop-Up Dies, the Scalloped Circle Die.

Here is the card we are making Tuesday

Please watch this video which is the Scalloped Circle Die Tutorial.  It is by designer Karen Burniston, and you will see how easy, fun and versatile these dies are!  I will bring my own Scalloped Circle die to the meeting so everyone can use it.

The card we are making is the Clock/Umbrella Man Card that features various Tim Holtz dies, (as seen on the Scalloped Circle die Tutorial Video above.)  

This is the front

Front (note all the stamping)

Umbrella Man with Clock Dies

Finished card with embellishments

 To make this card, we use the Umbrella Man die, the Clock die, and the decorative trim die, shown in the video.  I will bring all of these dies plus the Tim Holtz stamps that coordinate this card as well.  I will ask that everyone bring the supplies listed below.

Supplies each person should bring:

(1) 8 1/2 x 11" or larger sheet of patterned cardstock...choose something that has a TIME or CLOCK theme. Karen uses paper that resembled text, or newsprint.  Bo Bunny, DCWV, Graphic 45 and Tim Holtz all have paper with a clock theme that would work nicely.

You will be making a 6 x 6 inch card, so you want enough paper to make the card itself, and enough so if you wanted to cut out any images like a clock, or another image to use as embellishments, you can.

(Look at the example in the video to get inspiration and ideas.)

(1) 12"x12" sheet of black cardstock for use in cutting out the Umbrella Man, the clock and the clock arms.

(1) 8 1/2 x 11" sheet clear cardstock for use in cutting out the scalloped circle.

Tape runner or ATG gun

Black embossing powder-we are going to emboss the Umbrella man and clock.

Heat gun

Versamark ink

Black Archival Ink

Tim Holtz trinkets or other embellishments, as many as you would like to use on your card.  

Click here to get ideas for findings to decorate your card:  http://www.timholtz.com/findings.htm 

I will provide all the dies for this project, so we will just all take turns cutting out our die cuts.  If anyone wants to bring a Big Shot, that will speed up our cutting process.  Some of us can be cutting the circle while others are cutting out the Umbrella Man, and so on. 

For fun I will bring a few additional dies, so that if anyone wants to, they may cut out die cuts they may not have at home.  Time permitting, you can make another card using my "Floating Frames" die.  The tutorial for this die is HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCb090sOOxo.  Look at these samples and if you have an idea to make a card, and wish to use this die, please bring the paper you want to cut and you may use it!  I will also bring my chandelier die, and any other dies I feel might be good for using on a pop-up card.  

 *****If you have a Sizzix Pop-Up die not listed above, please bring to share!******

Look up Karen Burniston or Sizzix Pop-Up Dies on You Tube to view several helpful videos useful when making these lovely pop-up cards!

See you Tuesday April 10th at the Scrapbook Page, Shawnee, KS  

6:30 p.m. sharp!

~ReNae

That Doggie in the Window...

I am sad today as I post this...
My son recently moved into a new apartment, and he cannot have his precious pup Luci with him there.  I have been keeping her for the last week, but with me facing surgery soon, I realize that I won't be able to keep her either.

Luci at my son's apartment, happy as a clam!

Luci playing with Skippy, my dog, (notice his submissive behavior, they play nicely together.)

Skippy and Luci playing Tug-o-war with a stuffed doggie.  This was so funny to watch!

I have an older dog, Skippy, who requires less physical activity and quite frankly, with knee surgery on my horizon, two dogs is more than I can handle right now.
So I am left with a dilemma...I need to find Luci a good home.
She is a cute little Yorkshire Terrier, she has all her shots and she has been taken care of medically since we got her. (She has a wellness plan at Banfield Animal Hospital)  I rescued her from Animal Haven and gave her to my son a couple years ago.  Since that time, I rescued another dog, Skippy, so I don't think I can handle caring for both dogs.

She is a bit active and high strung (barks at birds, squirrels, small dogs)  as small terriers can be.  I think she would do well in a family with a house, not an apartment with all the noises to bark at, and one with older kids that wouldn't pull her tail.  She has shown signs of aggression towards the chihuahuas next door.  Little dog vs. Little dog I guess.  She barks when people come in and out of my apartment so a house is best for Luci.
If you know of anyone who would like to adopt Luci, please answer this post or leave me an email at Jewelrymkr@gmail.com.  She is a loving animal and deserves a happy loving home.

Thanks!
ReNae

Watercolor Card using Emboss Resist Technique

Hello Bloggers!
As promised, tonight we are making a beautiful card using the emboss resist technique.
I am sorry the post came late this evening, but my neighbor was bitten by a dog, and I took her to the emergency room.  It was quite a night!  But on with the show, as they say!
This card can be customized to your own taste and color preference, so remember to think outside the box!  I am going to be using four different Distress Inks but your choice of inks will not effect the outcome of the card.  It will be beautiful using any color scheme you choose.
By following these simple steps, you will be able to make beautiful watercolor cards which can be altered by using different color combinations with ink, or using a variety of stamp images.
So remember to use your imagination, and don't get hung up on being "perfect".

Create what you love, and love what you create!

To begin, you will want to have the following supplies ready to use:
1.  Distress Inks in any color combination.
2.  Acrylic Block
3.  Craft Sheet
4.  White Embossing Powder
5.  Heat Gun
6.  Spray Bottle filled with Water
7.  Watercolor Paper (3x5 inches)
8.  A2 sized Card in your choice of color
9.  Coordinating paper in your choice of color (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch)
10. Versamark Ink
11. Dictionary Stamp, Focal Stamp, Sentiment Stamp. (3 in total)
12. Embellishments, (flower, lace, etc)
13. Scissors or Trimmer
14. Adhesive or Tape Runner

We will be working on a Craft Sheet.  I will first tell you how I will be making MY card, but feel free to deviate from what I do, by using your own choice of ink colors and stamps.  You will still have a beautiful result! Try several color combinations of ink color to really see what the possibilities are!

Prior to stamping, rub stamping surface with an "Embossing Buddy" (powder filled bag) to rid stamping surface of static and oils.

Ink up Dictionary Stamp image with Versamark Ink and press onto 3x5 inch watercolor paper. 

Line up stamp on watercolor paper.

Press onto 3x5 inch watercolor paper. 

Shake white embossing powder onto image.  

 Tap off excess powder. 

Using heat gun, melt embossing powder on paper and set aside.

Select Distress Ink desired and press color directly into craft sheet or acrylic block. 

Spray with bottle of water until little droplets appear.

Take embossed image and press firmly into watered down ink.

Swirl paper to get coverage.  

If desired, dab extra ink off of image with paper towel.

Save left over ink for next card, (as seen later in these photos)

Let dry naturally or dry quickly with heat gun.

Ink up Focal image with a dark shade of Distress Ink.

Spray water onto stamp until little beads appear.  

Press firmly and let the ink sink into the paper.
Note: Watercolor paper is heavier than regular paper and needs more time for the ink to sink in.

Look at how pretty the image is!  What a beautiful, natural, watercolor resist!

Let dry naturally or dry quickly with heat gun.

Using four different Distress Inks gives you many color options for your mats and cards.

Mat the embossed image with the coordinating cardstock by adhering it to the image. Cut this piece of paper to measure 3 X 4

Ink up the focal image again this time using Versamark Ink.  Stamp image all over the A2 size card      (4 1/4 X 5 1/2) as a sort of "background".  Once dry, adhere the embossed image to the A2 card, centering it.

Using the left-over ink from the first stamped image, you are able to make an additional card without adding any ink whatsoever.  However, you may add more if you wish.

Select the colors for the mats and cards for your stamped images.

Embellish with lace or flowers, or both as desired.

Using only four ink colors and a spritz of H2O applied one time to your acrylic block, you are able to make two absolutely gorgeous cards!
See how different they look, although the exact same technique was used on each one!

Try variations by using color instead of Versamark on the background, OR by stamping sentiment on a banner, and affixing to the front of the card.  There are lots of possibilities. Samantha used the ink that was left on her first stamping, re-sprayed it with water and made another card.  The colors are more subtle, but the card was beautiful nonetheless!

Many, many thanks to Samantha Ivy, who not only suggested tonight's lesson, but graciously demonstrated the tutorial for us!  Note: Samantha took care of Skip (background) while I ran my neighbor Sharon to the Emergency Room!  Thank you dear Samantha!  Your cards are gorgeous in spite of all the chaos!


IN REVIEW

Step 1

Prior to stamping, rub stamping surface with an "Embossing Buddy" (powder filled bag) to rid stamping surface of static and oils.  Ink up Dictionary Stamp image with Versamark Ink and press onto 3x5 inch watercolor paper.  Shake white embossing powder onto image.  Tap off excess powder. Using heat gun, melt embossing powder on paper and set aside.

Step 2

Select Distress Ink desired and press color directly into craft sheet or acrylic block.  Spray with bottle of water until little droplets appear.

Step 3

Take embossed image and press firmly into watered down ink, swirl paper to get coverage.  Let dry naturally or dry quickly with heat gun.  You will not re-melt the embossing powder.

Step 4

Ink up Focal image with a dark shade of Distress Ink. Spray water onto stamp until little beads appear.  Stamp focal image down onto the embossed watercolor paper.  Press firmly and let the ink sink into the paper.  Note: Watercolor paper is heavier than regular paper and needs more time for the ink to sink in.

Step 5

Trim the embossed image to 2 1/4 x 3 1/4.  Mat the embossed image with the coordinating cardstock by adhering it to the image. Cut this piece of paper to measure 3 X 4

Step 6

Ink up the focal image again this time using Versamark Ink.  Stamp image all over the A2 size card      (4 1/4 X 5 1/2) as a sort of "background".  Once dry, adhere the embossed image to the A2 card, centering it.

Step 7

Embellish with lace or flowers, or both as desired.

Step 8

Stamp sentiment inside of card with coordinating color of Distress Ink.  Stamp envelope as desired with focal stamp or coordinating focal stamp.

Hope you enjoyed our Thursday Technique Tutorial!
Happy Crafting and Creating!
ReNae
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