Never Give Me a Marker and a Blank Surface

All of my notes from high school and college, as well as book margins, folders, notes to the teacher, etc. all got doodled on. Anytime I had a blank surface and a pen and some time to kill meant there'd be drawings and words and notes and swirls and eyes and whatever else I had on my mind. Sooo, when I got my brand-new Artistro Acrylic Markers about the same time I got a new, plain black glasses case, well...I got busy.

True, I did plan this one a little more than I usually do if I'm drawing on scrap paper, but aside from the quote, it all came together rather haphazardly.

I used the light green marker at first for the drawing and lettering, but switched Elphaba's outline to dark green. I had to use the black marker to cover up my mistakes, since I didn't plan ahead. And I added the poppies after a million tries to get some kind of wing or monkey in the corner. I added the sparks to "don't" just because I left too much space around the word. But after all that, I'm happy with how it turned out. I used the same markers on my phone case.

The color isn't great because I had my hubby take the pic and text it and then I screen shot it and emailed it to myself. It was a whole thing. Could've just taken my phone out of the case and then taken my own picture, but that's a hassle—lolol. At any rate, to create this, I dripped some alcohol ink on the cover, then colored my doodle with the markers. I added way too many dots, but that's okay. The quote is one of my favorite Doctor Who lines but it works here too. And cupcakes are definitely another fave of mine.

I'm adding Mod Podge waterproof to both projects because I handle them so much, but if it were on a storage container for craft bling or something, I probably wouldn't bother with it. The paint is pretty sturdy on textured surfaces.

As for my doodling while on the phone or watching tv, trust me when I say it's out of control and if it's something you want to keep, do not put your paper near me when I'm holding a marker. Just ask my kids or hubby!

Happy Friday!

Chark

The Magic of Oz

Today I'm sharing a box project I made by covering a sturdy box from My Favorite Things with Graphic 45 The Magic of Oz papers. I've been employing the box to hold my planner and paperwork on the kitchen table. I knew I wanted to dress up the box since it's sitting out all the time and I chose my favorite G45 Oz papers to do so. It was so quick and easy, I already have plans to cover more boxes.

I added some of the chipboard pieces included in the package and cut the main image from the paper pack cover. It's slightly shiny, while the rest isn't, but I liked that it was large, so I fussy cut it and adhered it first. 

I drew in the hot air balloon, because the sticker only has the basket and the professor in it. I added red Stickles to Dorothy's shoes, although in this re-release of this collection, they used the original illustrated silver shoes. I prefer the ruby slippers from the MGM musical. They switched to ruby to take advantage of the brilliant Technicolor process they were using.

I added different patterned papers to the sides and doodled the black and white stripes on the sides.

I colored the witch's purple legs white to match the movie too.

I lettered the quote, which is one of my favorites...Are you a good witch or a bad witch? If only we could ask everyone that question right up front when we meet someone...lolol. I used Artistro black and white acrylic markers to doodle and letter, along with the gold Uniball pen on the balloon and letters.

I spent an enjoyable evening making this box and I enjoy using it every day. Nothing quite like making a useful craft!

If you like The Wizard of Oz, here's an article from Good Housekeeping that you might find interesting—34 Wonderfully Weird Facts About The Wizard of Oz.

Happy Friday!

Chark

My Month is All Booked Up

This is National Book Month, people! So excited! This means I have all the excuses in the world to read instead of clean...what kind of citizen would I be if I ignored National Book Month? 😃😃

I have to admit I've already been doing this for a few weeks. Yes, I see those cobwebs in the corner of the ceiling but I need to find out whodunit. Plus, since it's October, don't they add to the Halloween decorations? I'm pretty sure they do.

Some of my favorite books from my childhood or my kids' include Winnie-the-Pooh, Arnie the Doughnut, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Little House books, the Blossom Culp books and Guess How Much I Love You. Side note, the Colorado Craft Company is now making acrylic stamps designed by the illustrator of that last book, Anita Jeram, and I snagged a set. Can't wait til they get here.

Some books I think everyone should read include Red Scarf Girl (because it's a memoir that reads like fiction and takes you on a journey in China during the Cultural Revolution), Saint Iggy (because the main character is engaging and you want him to succeed despite the rough hand life has dealt him),  The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (because it's fun and funny and the narrator happens to be bisexual during the 1800s), Roots (because it's a riveting read based on the author's family history and it's an American story for all of us), and The Handmaid's Tale (originally it was a cautionary tale, and now it feels like current events).

On my reading shelf right now is Bowlaway, A Calm Brain and Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse. 

To finish up the post, I'll share a new artist I found on IG, @marnie_makes who has the best whimsical style and who has prints and digi stamps available at her Etsy store. I love this Oz stamp and of course had to buy it and color it up with my new Parkoo alcohol markers. I threw in a yellow brick road, a flying monkey and a Glinda bubble, though bubbles are apparently hard to draw.

                                                  

What's one of your favorite books from when you were a kid?

Happy Friday!

Chark

I Can't Wait Forever to Get Those Shoes

This line is from The Wizard of Oz and since I didn't celebrate the movie's 80th anniversary in August, I figured it was high time to put the spotlight on my fave movie. As I've mentioned before, it was a family favorite when I was growing up and my sisters and I always watched it with a bowl of popcorn. It was one show we could all agree on and with them being 11 and 7 years older than me, it was a rare thing. So, the movie itself enchanted me with all the singing and dancing, the beautiful and poignant Judy Garland and that pink sparkly ball gown of Glinda's. Oh, and those fabulous ruby slippers! But I also associate family time with the movie and a feeling of nostalgia.

Here's a link to some fun facts, and there were a few I didn't know! Like that Glinda's dress was first worn by Mary Blake in a 1936 movie. What?!

What I did know was that there were multiple directors, actors and directions they wanted this to go, along with accidents and injuries during the filming and it's amazing the movie came out with any cohesion at all. But they did it, and although it lost Best Picture to Gone with the Wind that year, it was up for 6 Oscars, winning one for Best Original Music Score. And I double-dare you not to sing along with it when you watch it. It only had minor box-office receipts, it's now the most watched movie of all time!

Here's a look at some of the Oz things in my house. A ruby slipper ornament from my buddy, Lupe, that I just keep on my desk (near a pic of my cutie bitty daughter who is now 25).

A McDonald's 2013 toy that I got by buying a kid's meal for myself...and it was the only one I managed to snag. Sadness but also yay, I got one!

My calendar with things my kids have gotten me and a locket that looks like the book that matches the ones I got my sisters (with pics of me and my hubby as teens smooching it up and about 12 years ago).

My current bookmark that I made with red glitter washi and a Dorothy sticker from Kindred Stamps. 

And here's a look back at a couple of projects. This first one is by me and is a canvas board that I collaged, stamped and painted and had the most fun making. 

I knew I had to put a rainbow in here somewhere, so I did a light painting over some cloud paper and the sentiment is a stamp from Graphic 45/Hampton Arts.

The red cellophane flower is die cut from my favorite Valentine candy, Russell Stover, that my hubby gets me every year.

The poppy, key and Dorothy are all from the Graphic 45 Wizard of Oz paper line that they reissued recently and that I just bought again. 

This next project was made for me by an online friend, Adele, that I used to hang out with on Creating Keepsakes site. She did a fabulous job and I use the album to put in notes and pics about my love for Oz. She used the same Graphic 45 paper that I bought at Scrapbook.com. They don't have it anymore but Funkie Junkie does.

It was such a generous gift of time that I will always treasure...I think crafty people are usually generous at heart. We share ideas, support and even gifts. I love that about our community. I'd better run along now, before someone drops a house on me!

Happy Friday!

Chark

Kindred Stamps in Oz

So I adore the style at Kindred Stamps, and I want several of the Pop Culture sets. I don't have any yet, but I do have some of their little sticker sheets. I think these would be perfect for planners, but I intend to use them on envelopes and tags too. Here's my first tag. I used alcohol inks to drip down some glossy paper in rainbow order.

Then I stamped OZ all over it in Staz-On ink and added stenciling in Sharpie marker...the swirl stencil is a background maker stencils with clouds from Honeybee Stamps. All that was left was to add the stickers. They come in two sizes so I put the little ones at the bottom and had the witches in the sky. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" "I'm not a witch at all!"

Happy Monday!

Chark

Jazzing Up A Purse

I bought a purse for Spring and Summer a little while ago at Target (I am not a high-end gal). It was a great size and the color seemed very Spring-like to me. But it was just a little plain for my tastes. It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted and I sketched out a couple of ideas.

I went with a Wizard of Oz theme, which may not surprise some of you as it's my favorite movie. I knew I wanted the witch's cool striped legs and ruby slippers (this is the movie version...the book version uses silver slippers but the director wanted to take advantage of the new Technicolor technology so they switched them to ruby). And this is how it turned out.

Obviously I wasn't going for realism, more of a quirky/kid's version. I love Glinda and this quote is a good one, especially because of Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch's) look afterward. 

I used some paint markers to make it (different manufacturers since it was from my stash) and the yellow one kinda died. It had paint and the paint came out, but in globs and whenever it wanted. So I just globbed it onto paper and used the marker part to pick it up and put on the purse. The bright pink is actually a chalk marker. 

Since the purse has a slight pebbled texture, it wasn't perfect but it was fun to make and I like that I finally got brave enough to try this project. Obviously, a canvas bag would be easier to work with, using fabric paints, but I thought I'd give it a go on the fake leather. Of course, I had to add some Stickles in Xmas Red to the shoes!

If you're interested in painting a bag, you can look into the materials you want to use. They have a leather paint for fake and real leather that might be worth a look. Also, I didn't seal this, because I'm not too hard on my purses. But you could certainly spray it with some sealer to save it.

So that's my experiment. I might try stamping with Staz-on ink for the next try. And then color in with paint markers or permanent or alcohol inks. Stay tuned!

Happy Saturday!

Chark 

Dorothy in Full Color

I made a Dorothy card for my oldest sister's upcoming birthday. Me and my two older sisters have a thing for the movie The Wizard of Oz...mostly I think because we always sat down together at Easter time to watch it and for girls who are 11 years and 7 years apart, finding something we could all agree on was kinda rare.

There's something magical about the Oz story, literally and figuratively. A girl can go on adventures by herself (okay, with her dog), be alone, make friends, make enemies, be scared and be brave and then end up safe and sound back home. Plus, she gets to wear fabulous shoes and sing wonderful songs!

Here's my card featuring Latina Crafter's Dorothy clear stamp. They have some cool products and they're based in the U.S. They usually support the Coffee Loving Blog Hop and that's how I found them. I still have some wood veneer nerd glasses I haven't used yet--they're too cute!

Since the opening sequence of the movie, starring Judy Garland, were filmed in sepia (but then shown in black and white for some reason), You get to see the sepia/color versions of the card :)

I added the plaid to the skirt and Red Xmas Stickles to her shoes and lips.

And here's one of my favorite Pentatonix songs called The Wizard of Ahhhs...they are an amazing a cappella group and my daughter introduced me to this compilation song. 

Happy Monday!

Chark

We're Off To See The Wizard!

I'm joining in with the Faber-Castell's September Take the Challenge with Mou. I love Mou's style and I've learned a lot from her on their blog. All the artists there are fab and really helpful. I love the gelatos and use them whenever I can. This month's challenge is to make something in less than 30 minutes. This little gift box definitely qualifies—it took less than fifteen, even with fussing with the washi.

It started as a kraft jewelry box and I added a gelato sky and clouds, and used gel medium to glue on an Oz die cut from scrapbook.com. I've had it for awhile, as I tend to pick up Oz things when I see them. This needed glued down, but they carry stickers as well from Paper House Productions. I had to go back in and color more sky in spots after gluing. I added some blue gingham washi tape to the box lid edges and called it a day!

I'm planning to use it for a gift, but since I looovvee The Wizard of Oz, I don't know if I can part with it. They look so happy!

Join me in the Challenge with Mou this month and check out the Faber-Castell blog for great inspiration!

Happy Wednesday!
Chark

Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

I thought I'd highlight a gift mini album that I received from a pal, Adele. when we used to hang out on the Creating Keepsakes site. She knew I loved The Wizard of Oz, so she spent who knows how much time making this gorgeous album. The papers are Graphic 45 and you can still find them here and there on Etsy. 

Here's the cover, with ribbon, a key and flowers.

This is one page inside where I put a photo I took at the Wizard of Oz museum in Kansas!

I put some of my favorite lines on the tag and this page.

And this is the back cover. THANK YOU, ADELE! It's seriously one of the best presents ever because it was for no reason and she just made it out of the kindness of her heart. I put some pics of my sisters and me in the album too, because they are the reason I love the movie and story so much.

Here's a link to some free Oz digi art from My Chaos Stems From My Inability to Sit Still if you're itching to make something Oz ish.

Happy Weekend!

Chark