Lauren Ferguson | There are no mistakes in art, just opportunites to embellish. (tm)

Where has all the time gone???

Can you believe that my daughter is going to be 5 on Monday?

I can remember when I brought her home from the NICU.  I can remember her being so small that we had to give her a bath in the kitchen sink.

I had to pack her up today to go with Mom and Dad to NYC.  I was able to convince them to take her to go see the Little Mermaid on Broadway.  Not like it was all that hard.

They leave in the morning for the plane.  Then she is going to eat dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in NYC, Gallaghar's on West 52nd.  What a fabulous steak house!!!

Friday she will spend the day with her Auntie Shirley.  Shirley is my bestest friend in the whole wide world.  I have known her for over 20 years and she just happens to be the kids Godmother. 

They are going to spend the night with Shirley's 5 nephews and have a movie night with pizza and the works.

Then Saturday she is going to take the bus, ride the subway and eat dinner at Frankie and Johnnies on West 37th.  I love the creamed spinach there.  OMG to die for.  Then they are off to the 8pm show of the Little Mermaid.

She will be back on the plane Sunday afternoon for home.  Then Monday is the big day.  My girl will be 5. 

I can't believe that she has been able to accomplish in 5 years what it took me over 25 to experience. 

Just last week I was kicking myself because I did not get her a plane ticket to go to London with my husband for the five days.

Can anyone else remember when having a passport was a luxury?  It is now a necessity. 

Y'all, my girl is growing up so quickly.

OK, just to let you know, y'all were right...

Time goes by so quickly.  Enjoy them each and everyday.  Because not to long in the future, they may be changing your diapers.

until we meet again,

How do I do what I do??

I have been asked by three different people to figure out how I do what I do.

You know the book thing.  So let me tell you how it works. 

1. I have spent hundreds of dollars on books that tell me how to make books.  Some I get just for the pictures some I get for the instructions.  But my rule is that there must be at least three things in the book that I can see turning into more than one thing when I am done.
2. I look for books with good detailed instructions.  There are way too many books out there that do not have the correct stitching details.  Yes, in spite of what you believe, the editors allowed them to go to print knowing that the instructions are just flat out WRONG.
3. I look for books that are referenced in other books.  I must admit that if someone I like is writing a book and they make mention of another book (this is generally found in the introduction or in the forward), I go looking for that book also.
4. I have not found one book that does it all yet.  So I still spend on books all the time. And if I can remember to save the receipt and I really don't like it, I just take it back and keep looking.

So having said all that, here is a list of my staple books that I go to all the time.

Suzanne from Quietfire Designs has some of the best instructions that I have ever seen in my life. I actually tried out for her design team so that I could get closer to her and her books. I purchased the instructions before I ever knew that she was having a call of DT members. I have seen instructions before, but if you want to do most of the stitches that you see me do here, you will want to get them from her.

The Harlequin Stitched is the one that I did on the Copper Etched Book. 

So here is a link to her site for the Bookbinding Kits.  Buy the kit because you have everything that you need to practice and then once you have it down, go ahead and kick it up a notch!!!

The first book that I purchased which is a good place to start is Book Arts by Design Originals. I used this to make the Chi-Chi Star Book, the Piano Hinge (third from the right on left row) and Tag Flag Book.

The second and third by Keith A. Smith Non-Adhesive Binding Books Without Paste or Glue Volumes I and III.  OK, the first questions is why not Volume II? Vol II does not have as many stitches. Now, I will say this, they are extremely technical. He is verbose and at times text heavy.  The instructions are impeccable.  The diagrams have so much detail, that you may need to stare at it just to finally see the simplicity. Volume III is where I learned the caterpillar stitch (the last six photos).

Fourth is Books with Girth by Cherryl Moote. She does some great paper folding techniques and adds stitches to each in a very unique way.  I like this book.  I have to admit that I have not done any thing from this book.  I do love all the ideas.  I just may have to do one this week to show you.

Finally Cover to Cover by Shereen LaPlantz.  I love how she uses various materials.  I also love how she can take even the simplest pamphlet stitch and turn it into a piece of wonderful art. I guess that is the best way to say it.  All of her books and the samples that she shows are actually works of art.

In order to make it easy for you, I have added a widget for you to go directly to amazon and purchase these titles.

I will make sure that I keep a regular review going.  And it is now a new category "How I do what I do?"

until we meet again,

Finally...

I can reveal the copper etched books that I worked on 2 weeks ago.

I submitted it for the Quitefire Design Team.

Here is a list of the supplies that you will need to finish this book.

Flourishes 1, unmounted rubber stamp plate

Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder, Clear

Heat Gun

Clover Craft Iron

Copper Fabric, 8 x 10' piece, each

Copper Covers 5 5/8" x 4 5/8"

Kit, Harlequin Stitched

Gothic Border rubber stamp

Black Stamp Pad

Copper wire to stitch book together

Copper colored snaps or rivets (mine came in the original Crop-A-Dile Kit)

Big Bite, Crop-A-Dile II (to punch holes in the copper)

Kosher Salt Plastic container (you cannot use a metal... unless you want to electrocute yourself)

Battery Charger for the car (or anything that will give you a DC current)

2 pieces of Copper Wire to serve as a conductor (don't put the leads in the water, you will explode)

2 bolts

Packing Tape

Newsprint or copy paper

Steel Wool

You can find the detailed instructions from the post on January 15, 2008, Non-Toxic Etching on Copper.

Let the fights begin.  I am going to give it to the first lucky Publisher that offers me an article.  I should know in the next few days where it is going.

until we meet again.

I prayed for a Black Hole...

to suck up my kids this morning. 

Oh My, they had plucked my last nerve and they were funny while they were doing it. 

I told my daughter that she was "riding my very last nerve".  And her response was "on the motorcycle or in the car?"  Which is followed by the run around the corner and that cute little laugh that they do when they know that they have just shocked you into submission.

Then Mr. Du walks into my craft room and says to me, "Mama, you are the bee's knees."  I tell him that all the time.  And of course it is followed by "Gimme some sugars!!"  Lips poked out from here to there.

All Ziggy kept saying was "I need a kiss."  Ok, after the 5 millionth kiss, I was like no more kisses and then he would come back for another kiss and I would give him one and then again say no more kisses and he would come back again.  This went on for about 45 minutes.

I really wanted to scream but it turned into an emotional drain with a bunch of giggles.

You know the type of morning where all you can do is look at the clock and pray for nap time.

After I realized that it was only 9:30am and I had a long time to wait, my phone rang.

It was their Uncle OB, my Brother in Law.  He asks me can he come get the kids and can they spend the night.

See all you have to do is ask and you shall receive.  My Black Hole was there all along!!!

I got those kids ready, packed up some food, pj's and toothbrushes and sent them on their merry way.

I got my next project to the point where I need to let it dry for a few hours and now I am going upstairs to take a nap, finish this up and take some photos.

So the lesson of the day is... 

If you need a Black Hole, just ask.  I am sure that one is only a phone call away.

until we meet again,

Yes, Another Blog Quiz

OK, I could not resist.  I needed to know what kind of donut I am.

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.  But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.  You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

I love it these are my favorite and I need to set the record straight. 

DUNKIN' DONUTS ROCKS MY WORLD!!!!!!!!

Gotta love the truth. I would eat them everyday if I could. until we meet again,

Not Another Blog Quiz!!

OK, so I was surfing around the digital blogs this morning.

I found another quiz and here were my results.

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of.  And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

I would say that these things are pretty accurate if you answer them honestly. 

And that scares me.

I think the next time I may just lie so that I can see what NICE things they say about me.

Gotta love a little white lie.  Especially when it is to an algorithm that can't talk back.

until we meet again,

I promise...

I am not holding out. 

I really did take some great pictures of the metal etched stuff.

I even have some other stuff that I would love to show y'all, but behold, I cannot.

I have to wait until the newsletter comes out and I have to wait to make sure that they are going to take the other pieces before I can post them here. 

Who is they?

I cannot tell you that either.

It is killing me...  Y'all know that I cannot keep a secret like I can't hold my water.

But I do promise hopefully by the beginning of next week, I will be able to show and tell.

In the mean time, I am really stuck on this metal thing.  I don't know why, but I am so feeling this.

I am going to dry emboss onto a copper sheet.  I have a great set of images from Stampscapes. 

So I worked the images in PhotoShop Elements and this is what I came up with...

I think this is going to look great on a piece of copper or even some aluminum that I got in my goodies box from Altered Arts Magazine.

And to think that when I got the box I turned my nose up at that piece of metal.  NEVER AGAIN.  Things have a way of coming back on me.  I am loving it.  I am going to work on this piece tomorrow. 

until we meet again,

The new Un-Du

OK, so maybe it is the old Un-Du, but it is new to me.

If you do not know it they have stopped making Un-Du.  Apparently the tree huggers of the world, and this includes all of the floaters in California, have decided that it is not good for the environment.

So here is what I found out:

un-du^®products recalled in California.
Manufacturing suspended. Aspen Shops Online received notification Friday morning, August 3, 2007 that shipments of un-du products from the manufacturer have been suspended until further notice.

This is as a result of a notice from the California Air Resources Board that the products sold under the brand name un-du^® may not be in compliance with their new Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) regulations.

Boy was I upset.  I ran out and purchased as many bottles as I could find.  I must have had about 15 bottles.  Who ever thinks that if you have 15 of anything that you would run out. 

Well guess what, I ran out!!!

Oh my, oh my.  I need my un-du.  I un-du my nerves when they are stuck together.  Un-du is my best friend, next to my Big Bite, Perfect Layers and craft knife.  I love this stuff.

Well, today while I was walking through the Hobby Lobby, I remembered that I needed some un-du.  I remembered reading something on 2P's about using something that would work just as well.

Once again, my good friend Cat from Chicago does a search on the board for me and finds that I just need to purchase rubber cement solvent/thinner.

Come on y'all remember how Dad would have it in the basement the can with the red line around it.  My Dad would use it to take all kinds of things off his hands and as a matter of fact, that was even better than turpentine. 

I poured it into a paper cup and put it in my un-du bottle and I am now good to go.  Gosh, it is such a wonderful feeling to know that those tree huggers will not stop me from changing my creative mind again and again and again.

Crisis averted and off to make art. 

until we meet again,

I just can't believe it!!!

This weekend, I went to spend some time crafting with the girls.  I got so much done that I could not stand it.

But that is not what is so exciting.  Y'all know that I have been going to the gym and working out and eating right and just making better life style choices.  Not just for me but for the kids.

So I have my standard pairs of pants that I love to craft in.  You know those pants that are just so soft and comfy.

Well, I did not realize how big they were.

Stick with me here I am about to digress...

After we got the cars unpacked with all our stuff and started setting up, I would bend over to pick up something and there was my butt just falling out of my pants. 

Now, mind you I craft standing so I do not generally need to bend down to get stuff.

So here I am constantly picking up my pants and rolling the tops over so that I can keep them up. 

Now I am sure that some of you are asking why not a belt, well, I don't own a belt because I could not fit one around my waist.  Oh Hell, What waist.  So I just don't have one.

Well, after about the gazillionth time of "The Girls" seeing my undies, which are also too big -- trust me, when my pants would fall, so would my undies, Amy and Teresa went to the Goodwill and got me two pairs of jeans that fit.

I AM WEARING A SIZE 14!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it is paying off.  I was so excited. I am really excited.

OK, this may sound funny, but I don't have a goal weight in my head, I do know that I want to be able to walk into the Mall and buy a matching bra and panties.  I do not want to go to into Lane Bryant any more. 

Thank god for her when I was wearing a 20 but not anymore.

until we meet again,

What a Surprise!!

I go to the mail box today and my Altered Arts Magazine is there.

I am just flipping thru the pages and I get to the back cover.  BLAMMMMMM!!

I was just so excited.  I must admit it made me proud. 

Well, I am off to crop with the girls this weekend.  I have not done the laundry, packed my scrap crap or even figured out what I am going to work on.

I am just so overwhelmed with all that I have and I have no idea what to pack.

Well off I go into the never ending abyss of paper, glue and embellishments.

Have a great weekend and chat with y'all on Monday.

until we meet again,