Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

I love using this hand scrub after working at the art table all day! Jan DeBellis is hosting an Apron Recipe Card Swap on the Paper Whimsy Forum and I am tickled to share this recipe for the first go-around...won't you come and join in the fun?

Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

Ingredients:
1 ½ Cups Sugar
1/3 Cup Kosher Salt (or substitute more sugar)
3/4 Cup Olive Oil
Zest from one Large Lemon (or other citrus zest)
¼ Teaspoon Lemon Extract (optional)

One recipe makes 2 cups, enough for a 1-pint jar, or 2 half-pint jars.This project is great for reusing old jars that have been cleaned out; jam jars, sauce jars, or canning jars that you might have around.

Directions:

• Step 1: Combine sugar, kosher salt, and olive oil in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the oil is evenly distributed throughout the sugar and salt mixture.
  
• Step 2: Using a micro-plane zester, grate the zest of 1 large lemon. Add zest to the bowl and stir to combine. If you would like a stronger scent, add 1/4 tsp lemon extract.
  
• Step 3: Spoon the scrub mixture into a clean jar. Make sure to wipe up any spills on the outside of the jar. Tighten the lid and decorate according to your tastes.

Rolodex Card Swap

My friend Christine Shebroe is hosting a Rolodex Card Swap and here are a few that I made to trade with the other artists in the group.


...and here are the backs of them; just need to fill out the personal info and out in the mail they go!

Paper Whimsy Valentine Swap

Sweet Theresa is hosting a textile Valentine Card swap at Paper Whimsy this month and I am so excited to do it! What fun to mix fabric, paper, fibers and embellishments and then mail it off to a PW friend...couldn't be better!

Cemetery Angels 8x8 for Tanya

At Altered Art Swaps this month, I was to create an 8x8 tip-in spread for Tanya whose theme is "Cemetery Angels"; nothing morbid or sad...it was to be uplifting and spiritual. I hope I accomplished this for her. I love this photo of the "black angel" that I took in a cemetery in Council Bluffs, IA and had fun dititally altering her. She looks so comforting to me. The collages are 100% paper but I stitched them all together and added some dimensional elements.

Christmas Art Exchange!

Now that Christmas is over, I can finally post the 12x12 canvas I created for my friend Nancy. We decided that we would exchange art for gifts this year and I'm so glad we did! Here is what I created for her:

...and here is what she painted for me! I love it!

ATC's for Paper Whimsy PJammer Retreat

I haven't created ATC's for several months so it was fun to do them again! I came home with a lovely assortment of ATC's from the other ladies at the retreat too! Woo-hoo!

Halloween Gothic Arches for Paper Whimsy Swap

I had so much fun with these Halloween gothic arches. I tried so hard not to use witch hats on any of them but my little guy just demanded one of them. I found a wonderful old book when I was in Noblesville, IN and am having a blast finding fabulous words to use in my art. These arches are for a 3:3 swap at Paper Whimsy hosted by Lynn Fox.

Christmas Memory for Gina

...and believe me it was difficult to choose just one! I have so many....Baked Eggs, Home-made Rolls, Ham Balls, Stockings on the fireplace...but I guess those are really favorite traditions. Here is the arch I made for Gina...you know "To: Gina" "From: Carol" :))

The first photo is the front...I made a little gown and coordinating robe out of paper and then made little wire hangers to hang them up.

The second photo is the back which has a pictur eof my mom in a Santa cap surrounded by Christmas trees, ornaments and a hang-tag that says "Do Not Open Until December 25th".

And finally, the third photo is of the back with the "tag" in the open position...it is a personal note to Gina telling her about my favorite Christmas Memory. Would you like to know what it says? I'll be happy to tell you...but not until December 25th. LOL

8x8 tip-in Pages for Sandee

Here are the 8x8 tip-in pages I made for my friend Sandee...Her theme was "your favorite poem" which really stumped me because I have a difficult time choosing my FAVORITE of anything. LOL All I knew was that I wanted to do something with faeries so I started creating art and found the poem afterwards. I got to try out some stitches on my new sewing machine and it was fun to stitch/embroidery on paper. The right-hand page consists of 3 layers of transparencies over French text...how fun! Hope you like it!

I'm hosting a Gothic Arch Swap

...and here are the one's I made for it. For the swap we could make 3:3, 6:6 or 9:9...of course, I'm greedy and want 9 so I had the pleasure of making 9 to swap with others. There are 19 participants in the swap and I am soooo excited to see first-hand what these wonderful artists create. Here are my nine...LOL Do you like them?

Brothers Grimm Swap

I am participating in Lenna Andrews Grimm Fairy Tale Collage Swap. If you are not familiar with the Grimm Fairy Tales, take a look at this Wikipedia entry.This swap is sponsored by Alpha Stamps and has required Alpha Stamp products. It is a 4:4 swap with one extra as a gift for the hostess. :)

I started out with 5"x5" collage board and adhered the castle transfers I made earlier in the week. Then I cut out the Cinderella images I wanted to use and other embellishments. For the golden edges, I melted clear UTEE and added some Antique Gold Pearl-X, then applied it using a floppy watercolor brush. I'm a bit disappointed with these...overall, they look fine but I spent weeks on these from start to finish and they don't look it. OH well, such is life! :))

Gel Medium Fabric Transfer...OH FLIP!

Picture this...I'm sitting here alone tonight with my Cinderella collage images in one hand and my castle images in the other...yes I'm participating in Lenna Andrews' Brothers Grim Collage Swap sponsored by the generous Leslie Elledge at Alpha Stamps.

Okay...so I'm sitting here with my castle images and some plain fabric thinking now how am I going to incorporate these two and before I knew it I slathered some gel medium on the printed image, slapped the piece of fabric on it and brayered it together. After about a minute, I pulled the paper off and there was this freakin' cool transfer. I shouted "Oh Flip!" and Ginger looked at me like "what now you dork?"

This transfer is so simple, I can't believe that I haven't done it before. Now I am so excited to work on the next phase tomorrow night which will include the Cinderella collage sheet images I chose from AlphaStamps and who knows what will ensue from there. Can you figure out which AS images are going with these backgrounds? If you haven't tried this technique before...get going sister! You won't regret it! Not to brag, but aren't they stunning? :)) Good ole' beginners luck...gotta love it! Hugs, Carol

Row Houses for Paper Whimsy Swap

I told you a few posts ago that I absolutely had a blast creating homes for my little Whimsy friends. The talented Kathy Wasilewski is hosting this swap and it is 7:7. I have a couple of personal 1:1 swaps pre-arranged so here are the uber-cool houses I made. I have seen many of the other houses created and they are all top-notch! Whooppee! Do you like them?