a tutorial

This is a tutorial. It will teach you how to spend $125.00 to clean your refrigerator out. I've tried it! It really works!

Directions:

1. Look at refrigerator and jump back in horror. Decide you can no longer put off cleaning it out.

2. Pull-out plastic containers, filled with disgusting, unidentifiable food. Begin cleaning them out and putting them down garbage disposal.

3. Watch sink fill with gray, brackish, horrible smelling water. The sink is clogged.

4. Pour Drano down sink. Wait 30 minutes. Wonder why you even started this project.

5. Go to sink and discover Drano isn't working on the clog.

6. Plunge hand into disgusting water to see if there is something stuck in disposal.

7. As hand is submerged, realize that there is Drano in the water and you are probably burning your skin off.

8. Pull hand-out and rinse off repeatedly. Curse self for being so stupid. Check hand every 5 minutes for signs of chemical burns. Call husband after half hour, he will assure you that, if you aren't having symptoms yet, you probably escaped disaster.

9. Return to sink, still filled with stinking water. Conjure the spirit of your maternal grandfather (if he was a plumber, like mine). Get husband's book on home repair out, get under sink, and take pipes apart, looking for clog. (Remember to wear gloves this time-see #7.)

10. Yell at daughter, "No! Mommy can't change the channel to Dora right now!"

11. Discover clog, go into backyard and hose out clogged pipe. Disgusting goo will come out. Slightly resembles the food you dumped down disposal, only coated in Drano.

12. Go back into house and reassemble sink. Pat self on back. You don't need a man! You can conquer plumbing by yourself. Note to self: Remind husband of this fact when he gets home tonight. Maybe get some flowers out of it.

13. Spend a few hours getting back to your day. Go into garden to clip lavender. Be sure your dog follows you outside and don't pay attention to where he is.

14. Realize you haven't seen the dog in awhile. Turn around. See him licking up the gunk that came out of the pipe clog. You know, the 3 month old spaghetti coated in coated in Drano?

15. Scream at dog, "Are you an idiot?"

16. Read back of Drano label. Give dog milk. Wonder how much Drano he actually ingested because you had hosed off the area.

17. Decide you will never forgive yourself if something happens to dog because YOU poisoned him. Call vet. Rush dog to vet.

18. Meet with vet after exam to be told it doesn't look like the dog has any problems. Get antacid meds for him to take over next couple of days. The dog is going to be fine.

19. Pay $125.00 vet bill.

20. Decide you need to tell husband that it would be cheaper to hire a maid.

travel journal tips

My monthly creative newsletter just went out to my subscribers. Since August is a big month for traveling, the article is all about how I pack my travel journal supplies for my trip and has tips on preparing your journal ahead of time. If you aren't a subscriber, you can read the archived issue here.

The big news? Sakura has generously offered a prize package to my readers! It's a Koi® Water Color Field Sketch Box Kit! This is a fantastic prize. I use my kit whenever I travel and I also use it at home. In fact, I used it for the painting I'm working on above. If you want to win the Water Color kit, just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a name on August 5. Good luck and happy travels!

(Did I mention that Sakura is also sponsoring a prize drawing for the Multiple Streams of Income Online Course participants? That prize will only be available to the smarties who are enrolled in the course. To learn more about the online course, go to my website at www.katydid-designs.com)

camp katydiddy sewing class

Here's the final installment of the Camp katydiddy saga. My niece went home on Friday. I'm recovering. I am not meant to be a camp counselor. A grand time was had by all though and that's what's important.

In a moment of insanity, I decided to teach my niece how to sew. Actually, it was fun and I think she really enjoyed it. She and my daughter decided that they wanted to make felt aliens. Here's my niece's:



I think she did a really great job for an eight year old who never sewed before.

Here's my daughter's:



You must be thinking, "WOW! Her four year old must be a sewing savant!". To be honest, she only designed it. She picked out the colors and decided where the eyes and belly button should go. I did the sewing. I would like to teach her how to sew, but am an overprotective mom who doesn't want her to poke herself a million times with a needle. I've heard of plastic needles for wee ones to sew with. Anyone know anything about them? I really would love to get her started sewing, so any tips on how to do it safely would be so appreciated!

Just so you know, both the aliens are named "Sweetie Pie".

Glitter Tags

My tutorial for glitter tags is up over on the Art Glitter blog this weekend. Check it out. Be sure to leave a comment and let my pals at Art Glitter know that I sent you.

Speaking of glitter, while I was at the quilt show yesterday, I visited the Art Glitter booth and was lucky enough to visit with the one and only Glitter Queen herself-Barbara Trombly. (She was covered in glitter, of course!). She taught me all about using Art Glitter on fabric. I think you may be seeing some glittery pillows and quilts in my future!

Giving More Credit:

Don't you love the Hambly Screen Printed Overlay I used for the glitter tag in the first photo? You can buy it here.

I also used my Sizzix Big Shot to create the tag shapes. Since I'm a bit "cutting challenged" (seriously, I could never get those scallops evenly cut by myself) I love using die cuts.

I'll be finishing up my Camp katydiddy posts over the next couple of days, so come and visit me again soon!

quilt show

I'll be at the Quilt Show in Long Beach this weekend. Will I see you there?

camp katydiddy cupcakes

I don't think I need to say much about these photos. Other than some of us showed restraint in our cupcake decorating and others did not. I personally am quite fond of the ones who did not. Which is your favorite?


My favorite cupcake made by my daughter:



My favorite cupcake made by my niece:



Mine (boring, huh?):



I'm thinking I need some lessons from my little campers.

welcome to camp katydiddy

My niece is staying with us all week. She and my daughter are best friends. Even though my niece is 8, she's a very good and patient cousin to my 4 year old. I wanted to give her a good, old-fashioned summer vacation here. One that she will remember when she's all grown-up. One that she will tell her children about. Of course, I want my daughter to have super fond memories of summer as well, but she lives with me and is constantly exposed to my crazy ideas of fun, so it's more difficult to impress her. (Seriously, she totally thinks that everyone's mom finds a way to make whatever one can dream up.) My niece, on the other hand, is easier to impress, so I took advantage of having fresh blood and pulled out all the stops.

We started the week off by "baking" treats for a doll tea party that we would have later in the afternoon. I pulled out a darling book, Tiny Treats, and let the girls each pick a project or three from it. Basically, the whole book is all about ways you can make teeny treats for your dolls with things like waffles from cookies or layer cakes from sandwich cookies. To get an idea of how small those "waffles" above are check out the little hands having a tea party in this photo.

All the treats were eaten with gusto and only a few crumbs were left in a matter of minutes.

Come back tomorrow to read about our cupcake baking extravaganza.

pillows & tea

I have more sewing projects to share. (I told you I was on a roll!)

Remember way back when I was getting into embroidery and I turned one of my sketches into an embroidery pattern? Well, I've had the piece rolling around here and decided it would make an excellent centerpiece for a pillow. The above photo is the finished product. It's now brightening up a corner of my studio.

But I only have so many rooms and so many beds and chairs and since I can't stop making pillows and coming up with sewing projects, I've updated my shop, katydiddy, with some new items. Please check them out. My favorite item, just listed, is my Tea Pillow. It features an original sketch, appliqued and embroidered onto a pillow. I'm going to cry when I pack this pack one up, but it's either start selling them or get a bigger house and well, I guess I better start selling them to get a bigger house. It's a vicious cycle isn't it?

The online course is up

This a photo of me. At my computer. It's where I'll be for most of September.

If you have been following me for awhile, you know that I taught a Multiple Streams of Income Workshop for artists and crafters in June. I had a quite a few people request that I offer an online version and I'm pleased to announce that I'm introducing it today. The class starts on September 7th. I'm teaching you everything I know about turning your arts & crafts into money. I have some super fantastic guest experts who are going to talk about their specialized areas of income as artists and crafters. To check-out everything you get in the course, and to sign-up visit my website at www.katydid-designs.com.

I'm really excited about teaching this class and I hope you'll sign-up. If you could help spread the word, that would be nice too!

Okay, I have to get back to work, but I promise to be back next week with fun posts and eye candy. Have a great weekend.

photo fridays

before
after

Where: Legoland, Carlsbad, California, July 2009
Photoshop Lessons: Gsussian Blur & the Eraser tool

cupcake toes

My daughter is always begging me to paint her toes, so last week, I decided to give her the works. A cupcake pedicure! She had so much fun! (Who wouldn't have fun be given a pedicure?)

I dragged out the foot bath that was purchased and used way back when I was pregnant with her and my feet had swollen to the size of grapefruits. As a special treat, I even broke-out my cake batter sugar scrub by Dylan's Candy Bar. It smells delicious!

As the final treat, I painted cupcakes on her toes. A challenge with a squirmy four year old. I couldn't even get a decent photo because of all the toe wiggling that was going on!

It was a bit of work, but it was worth the smile on her face. She shows everyone her cupcake "toesies" and proudly tells them, "My mommy did this for me!"

So worth it.

If you are looking for other ideas on how to pass the summer with your children, check-out The Crafty Crow blog. I LOVE this blog. It's jam packed with great, crafty ideas. I use it as my primary happy kid resource. (Even if you don't have children, you might want to check it out-I've pulled a lot of inspiration for my "grown-up" art on this site too!)

Etsy Tips!

(Photo courtesy of Laura Baillie, Copyright 2009)

My newsletter went out this morning. If you are subscriber, you should have it in your email inbox. My blog buddy, Laura Baillie, was nice enough to share the results of her Etsy Experiment. It's chock full of great information. I know that I tried her tips for one day and had a lot of action in my Etsy shop as a result. You can read the article here.

My husband is off work this week. We decided that we would have a "staycation" for our family vacation. (Which, not to complain too much, isn't really a vacation for me. It just means I have my daughter and my husband underfoot this week!) Anyway, we are off to Legoland for the day.

P.S. I LOVE the necklace in the photo on this post. It's a Laura Baillie creation and is for sale in her shop. Just in case someone wants to buy me a present...

you like me, you really like me

Isn't that what Sally Fields said at the Academy Awards one year?

I'm so filled with gratitude, I can barely express it. I had a truly wonderful week. On Thursday, I came home from a playdate with my daughter to an Inbox filled with Etsy orders and blog comments. I wondered why I was suddenly getting so much attention and after a little investigating, I discovered that Danielle from Etsy pulled one of the articles I wrote for The Storque in 2008 and put it in her Etsy Success newsletter! The exposure was incredible for me and I can't thank her enough and Etsy enough for being so supportive of their sellers!

As the day wore on, I received many comments and emails from people thanking me for the tips I wrote. Some purchased my ebooks and took the time to tell me how grateful they were to me for sharing my knowledge. I am touched that these sweet people would take time out of their busy lives to tell someone they don't even know, that they appreciate them. Since many of you are working on your own too, I'm sure you understand how nice it is to get positive feedback. When I used to work out in an office, I would get reviews and comments that kept me going, but when you work from home you often wonder if anyone out there even notices you exist. I want to especially thank these kind people for their very kind words:

Jewels On Whim

SimaG Jewelry (Vote for her in the Martha Stewart Wedding Contest!)

Fashion Is My Muse

Tiges & Weince

Dreams by Machine

(I really do feel like I'm writing an Academy Award speech here and am terrified I left someone out. If I did I can't apologize enough. I'm so grateful to everyone that I'm a little overwhelmed.)

But the fun didn't stop there! On Friday, one of my favorite bloggers, Zakka Life, let me know she featured my blog on her Facebook Fan Friday feature.

Needless to say, I'm completely overwhelmed by this outpouring of attention and I feel very loved. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

photo friday

Fenced In

I really want to get better at Photoshop. So in order to stay motivated, I'm thinking I'll just post a photo every Friday. It will force me to pick a photo and then work on it in Photoshop. I probably won't post much text on photo Fridays.

I got a book on digital photography editing from the library and am going to loosely follow along the lessons. So today, I present my first lesson. I experimented with layers and color and b&w. The right upper corner needs some work, but I'll deal with that later.

pillow talk

I've been making pillows like crazy around here. (It's part of the whole "embellishment is better" kick I'm on right now.) I mean, I'm making a lot of pillows. Like one a day! So, here's a little known fact about me. Way back, about 8 or 9 years ago, I thought about starting a little crafty business. I was going to call it katydid designs (sound familiar?) and I was going to make and sell pillows. The only problem? I didn't really know how to sew. And between not being confident in my sewing skills and still having some major issues about whether or not it was "okay" to be crafty, and thinking I had no talent, I dropped the idea. A few years later, I recovered my crafty self, but decided to ease into my creative journey by doing paper crafting. But it all comes full circle, doesn't it? First collage, then painting and sketching and then I took that quilt class and the next thing I know I'm back where I originally started-making pillows! What a meandering path I took to get back here. Next time I should probably drop breadcrumbs. But I know I had to take the journey to get here. In fact, I know my work is better for it. Take my "Portrait Pillow" (the one in the middle of the above photo). That's an original watercolor that I scanned into my computer and printed on fabric. If I hadn't explored all these other mediums, like painting and sketching, I wouldn't have that pillow. I'm not saying that katydid designs is only going to be about pillows now, but I do think sewing is definately added to the mix. Talk about meandering-what was I originally posting about? Oh yeah, my embellishment craze. This time the couch was my latest victim, but can you really argue with the results after seeing the before and after photos?



I think not. Of course, that darling little girl on the couch adds a little something too. And did she ever send me on journey when she arrived! But that's a story for another day.

keep moving

Keep moving-that's what I'm telling my husband, daughter and dog. It's the only way they can be sure that I won't embellish them. I'm on a tear. If it doesn't move, it's being painted, glittered or stitched. I don't know why I'm suddenly "updating" my surroundings, but I am.

The lovely galvanized bucket you see in the photo today was my latest victim. It started out galvanized, then it was painted a lovely blue (you can see it in it's blue era in this post) and now I've gone and painted a bird on it. I'm serious. I'm sick. If you come to visit, wear a raincoat and keep moving.

6:06 PM:Our Patio

On the menu? Leftover BBQ chicken and homemade pesto on angel hair pasta. The pesto was made using our home grown basil. Seriously good eats. Made in less time than it takes to cook a frozen pizza or get take-out. Do you know how much I love summer nights like these?

what i'm doing instead of blogging

I've pretty much been away from computer. I'm trying to enjoy my summer and have fun with my little one. One of the things I've been doing is working on my embroidery skills. I have been very inspired by Amy Powers (I'm admitting here the cute little girl with the button head was COMPLETELY Amy's idea! I also loved her grid idea since I'm kind of a stay between the lines girl myself. I'm not selling this, so I hope she doesn't mind that her inspiration is all over this piece!) Pam Garrison's stitching sampler also played a part in my inspiration.

In addition to stitching away, I've also decided to read all the children's classics I missed reading in my childhood. I don't know how these got by me, but they did, and I'm enjoying spending the summer reading something light and easy. Although, so far both Mary Poppins and Peter Pan have turned out to be a tad darker than Disney portrayed. Who knew Mary drank and Tink swore? Seriously, both have given me nightmares. In Mary Poppins, I was frightened by the midnight visit to the zoo where there was a strange ritual to celebrate Mary's birthday and all the people were in the cages and the animals were out. There was a snake involved. And Peter Pan! Well, it's pretty frightening and he does quite a bit of killing. Let's just say I'm glad I decided to do a run through these before I started reading them to my four year old. She'll definitely need to grow up a bit before approaching these. On a softer note, I have just finished A Little Princess and was charmed. I'd love to here what your favorite childhood classic was. You can go here if you want to see my summer reading list. Yes! I know Alice in Wonderland isn't on the list! I have already read that one.

If you want a snack while you are reading, I highly recommend Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer. It's by Jane Brocket (remember my post about her other book here?) and it has recipes that she bases on the food that is eaten in an extensive list of children's classics.

So that's my excuse for being a sporadic blogger these days. Now, I'm off to have an iced tea and read a bit more...

hope you have a sparkling 4th of July!

I have a new tutorial up on the Art Glitter blog. You can learn how to create some sparkling flowers (like the ones shown here) for your 4th of July of picnics this weekend. Be sure to check it out!

As a bonus, I thought I would share a tutorial for some festive candles as well.

Sparkler Candles
By Laura Bray

Supplies:

White Candle
Painters Tape
Art Glitter: Designer Dries Clear Adhesive
Art Glitter: Gala Glitz in Blue
Glass Marbles in red
Large vase

Directions:

Decide on the number and the width of the stripes you want to put on your candle. Using painters tape, mark off the areas on the candle that you would like to have glittered.

Apply a light coat of glue to the marked-off areas and sprinkle glitter liberally. Lightly tap the candle to remove excess glitter. Allow glue to dry.

Once glue is dry, fill a large vase with glass marbles and tuck the candle into the vase.

The glitter on the candle will sparkle during the day in the sunlight and at night by candlelight.

Additional ideas:

Mask off shapes, like stars and apply glitter.

Do this technique on taper candles, wrap with ribbon and give them as a hostess gift.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th!

little foam shapes

I know I just had a little rant about children's party favors, but here's another thing I could live without my daughter dragging home-foam shapes. They don't seem to stick to anything very well and I end up finding them everywhere. They usually come in some enormous tub too. AND I don't really see the point. What exactly is one supposed to do with these things?

Well, we had a bunch laying around and my daughter needed something to occupy her time and was begging to open a new tub o' foam shapes, so I found an old Crystal Light (TM) container, ripped the label off and told her to go at it. And I am quite impressed. And maybe I don't hate those darn foam shapes quite as much anymore.

I know you can also use them as stamps, but what else? I'd love to hear suggestions for these things. I have about two tons hidden in a closet.