These are a few of my favorite things...

I absolutely love thrift stores, and when I found a box of vintage wooden dominoes for sale at a little shop in a nearby town, I snatched them up. Dominoes can be used in so many creative ways, but after participating in an altered domino swap recently where my contribution was a necklace, that's where I decided to start.

I began by sanding the edges of the dominoes to add to their vintage and rustic appeal. The above domino features embossed foil tape that I colored with alcohol ink. Foil tape seems to be my new favorite thing as far as creative endeavors go.

I am often drawn to this pen nib stamp; it's definitely a favorite. This is actually a section cut out from the stamped image. I think this calls to the writer in me, as well as the lover of nearly all things vintage. The color on this piece was provided via watercolor pencils, specifically Inktense pencils. They're amazing! I wish they'd let me be their spokesperson. Once you brush them with water, they become as vibrant as ink. So much fun, and the best watercolor pencils ever, in my humble opinion. I finished this necklace with a coat of dimensional glaze (also on my list of favorite things) to give a glossy, glass-like appearance.

I believe the above necklace may be my favorite of the three. I liked it so much, I actually made another pendant just like it to keep for myself. This one was colored with Distress Inks (yep, you guessed it, favorite stamping ink) and also finished with dimensional glaze.

All three of these necklaces are available for sale in my Etsy shop right now. In the works is a bracelet made from some of the dominoes and also featuring the pen nib stamp. I haven't decided yet whether to part with it or keep it for myself...

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you all an artful and glorious day filled with some of your favorite things.

Another round of Seth Apter's The Pulse

Hello, readers! Just a quick post to let you know that another segment of Seth Apter's wonderful series The Pulse is happening this Sunday, August 19. Yours truly will be one of the artists featured. For this portion, Seth asked us to provide a photo of a favorite piece of art we'd created, and its meaning to us. Please go have a look at all the inspiration that Seth works so hard to bring together!

Thank you!

Ancient Woman Mini Book

Hello, readers! For those of you still with me despite my infrequent posting over the last year, I'd like to share a new project I just finished up.

I'd been wanting to take part in a Blockheads Technique Challenge, and when they issued the call this month to work with simple bookbinding techniques, I just knew it was the perfect time to join. I've been making handmade books for years now, and even though I find myself drawn to more complicated binding techniques nowadays, it's always nice to get back to your roots. This little book was a blast to work on, and the added motivation of winning something fun from Blockheads kept me in the zone and focused.

I made the front cover by sticking some foil tape onto cardstock and running it through my Sizzix using a Tim Holtz Texture Fade. Alcohol inks provided the color. I cut out a window for viewing the ancient woman I had stamped onto the first inside page. A sheet of acetate was attached to add some stability and keep the cover from flopping around all willy-nilly.

I embossed a piece of acetate using my Sizzix as well, then used alcohol inks once again. I love embossing acetate!
 

Detail of the acetate page.

Back cover.

Stamps used in this project: Ancient Woman 3, Cosmos Collage, Stargazer Set.

I had so much fun creating this, and it's got me wanting to make a few more books. I already have a rough idea in my head of the next one I might make.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to check out the other players via the blog hop!