Behind the scenes

The end of summer is turning into quite the exciting time...so much happening...so much on the horizon...

First and foremost - I am proud to have our home featured in the October/November issue of Cottages & Bungalows magazine...

Last October, Jickie Torres, editor and Bret Gum, photographer spent a long and crazy day here...photographing every nook and cranny...here's a few shots to show you what goes on behind the camera...
















A quick run to the local grocery store provided pumpkins for a seasonal touch...
I was so glad that it was a glorious sunny day...it made the house shine...

Lots going on in the background while getting the perfect shot...

Even Calvin had to get in on all the activity...

stealing Jickie's heart...

At the end of day, all were tired and exhausted...and it was hard to have to wait so long to see how it all turned out...

But I'm pleased as can be with it...and I invite you to pick up a copy at your local newsstand or grocery store...I share lots of ideas for incorporating vintage treasures into your home...I think you'll enjoy it...

The Woven Tale Press

Recently I learned of an online creative community that was new to me...The Woven Tale Press.

It is a community of artisans - writers, photographers, artists, brought together by a diverse editorial group who offer a "collection of eclectic culling of the creative web".  In addition to regular artist posts, they publish a monthly e-magazine "to highlight the blog post otherwise buried in a blogger's archives; the painting or photograph from an artist's site worthy of greater focus than its singular web page; the innovative, the funny, 
the offbeat."  

The March issue was just released...and I'm pleased to have two of my digital collages featured.

I am in excellent company in this issue...my artistic friend David Hayes of Clearer Reflections has a multi-page spread of his incredible photographic stills...

I hope that you will check it out...and discover a few gems for yourself...
to view the entire issue, click here 
and to visit The Woven Tale Press website, click here

pursuing a dream...and a winner

a fresh start...a clean slate...a new beginning...

however you want to phrase it, the turn of the calendar page to a new year always brings promises and dreams...

I'm sure that several of you have made plans for the new year...wrote down a few resolutions, picked a word for the year (my words for the year are "dig deep")...and just as sure, as the year progresses, plans change, priorities shift, this year turns into next year... or maybe even "some day..."

I have two friends who have stuck to their dream...and have made "some day" to be now...they are packing up and moving to Bogota, Colombia...for real...as in "sold all of their stuff, learned Spanish, said goodbye to friends and family and bought one way tickets!"

Jane Ann and Jim Engel are off on their lifetime adventure...to experience life in the Southern Hemisphere.  I applaud their gumption...I have moved a fair amount in my life but this is big...this is starting over in a new place, where you not only don't know anyone but there is no firm footing of a place to call home nor a familiar routine...but oh, the experiences they will have which will enrich their lives...fantastic!

You can join me as I follow along with their adventure...not only do they have a website - Colombia2You but a Facebook page and an Instagram account, user name janeann_engel

I've always had a dream of visiting South America...now we have someplace to stay...I've mentioned to the Southern Man that we could drive the new RV down there...follow the Pan American highway...yes, maybe some day...



And now a little drum roll...

angi eharis

is the winner of the drawing for the autographed copy of Make It Vintage magazine which features my workshop studio...

angi - you have no email address attached to your profile - so please contact me at amy_duncan@yahoo.com with your postal address so I can mail the magazine to you...

Thanks to all who left a comment...and to all of you who read my blog...I appreciate your support so much!

My fifteen minutes of fame...

and I'd better not waste them!

Within the last week, I've been fortunate enough to have my work appear in two national magazines...

First up...an article that I wrote, styled and photographed for the spring 2015 issue of American Farmhouse Style Magazine...














its a quick tutorial on how to make these whitewashed wooden boxes...
a simple setting for spring inspiration...

And then...I discovered that my workshop studio is one of the featured articles
in this magazine that just hit the newsstands...

The feature was shot back in October when the Cottages and Bungalows magazine crew was here...
this magazine is one of their sister publications and my studio story certainly fits right in with the vintage theme...

With the new year right around the corner...
and with me ready to celebrate 5 years of blogging...how about a giveaway?!  


A signed copy of the Make it Vintage magazine...just leave me a comment...
but please...make sure your email address is included in your profile...otherwise I have no way to get in contact with you...deadline for leaving comments is Saturday January 3 at midnight...

And Happy Creative New Year to all!

Layer it on

As the seasons change, I like my surroundings to reflect the current mood...so with summer waving goodbye and autumn knocking at the door, its time to put away the seashells and white slipcovers...change it up a little bit...maybe some fall leaves...old books...anything rusty...

Need some help in setting a tone?  I have just the thing...
the latest issue of American Farmhouse Style has hit the newsstands...and in it you will find "5 Steps to Creating a Seasonal Vignette", a simple guide written/photographed by me.  

Using what you already have, I give a simple outline for changing your seasonal decor...for whatever suits your style. 
I firmly believe that your home should reflect who you are and provide a place of comfort and solace...how better than to be surrounded with the things you love.

And of course there are other wonderful articles - from dining alfresco during the fall season to a gorgeous yellow kitchen that I just love...

Come on in autumn...make yourself comfortable...I definitely want to enjoy you before winter makes its appearance...

Fresh Paint this weekend!

If you've been following along, you most likely know that my big art show of the summer is this weekend - 
Fresh Paint Art Festival held at the Everett Marina

I'll be in Booth 21 along the Promenade of the Marina...lots of new work to show...
One cool aspect of this show is that artists need to demonstrate their craft in their booth
so people get a feel of the artist's perspective...

Since I'm all about using materials that usually get thrown away...and letting people know that it doesn't take expensive supplies or elaborate techniques to create, I'll be demonstrating collage made from junk...namely, junk mail, magazines and the daily newspaper...and encouraging others that you can do it too...everybody's creative...sometimes you just need a little nudge...

While on our recent Southern journey, I challenged myself to create, 
using only aforementioned junk as my inspiration...one such example...

I hope you stop by...see what I'm creating...soak in the atmosphere...leave inspired!

A great beginning

Its wonderful to start the new year on a promising note...hopefully bodes well to have a great beginning...

The latest specialty publication from Cottages and Bungalows, American Farmhouse Style has just hit the stands...

and I am pleased to announce that I have an article in this issue...

The magazine focuses on how you can incorporate the farmhouse look into your home in new and creative ways...
I was asked to write an article about my love for metal and how this most common of farmhouse materials can be used to add a special touch...

I've been inspired by a couple of the articles in this issue...hopefully you will be too! Look for it at magazine news stands...details on purchasing single copies can be found here...

From the heart, part 6

Today is the last Monday of the year...and the last of the easy projects from my Simple 6 series...inspired ideas for simple gifts to make by hand and give from the heart.

I know that Christmas is over (and hope that yours was everything you wanted it to be) but this idea is perfect for after Christmas...or as a New Year's activity...





I'm a believer in sending mail...through the postal service...
actual greetings that arrive at your doorstep...and brighten your day...

The holidays usually means gifts...and I believe in the reciprocal gesture of thank you...so why not send out thank you notes...made from something you have around the house...recycled stationery made from magazines...

I am a magazine whore, so I have no shortage of raw material for this project...the envelopes will be made from inspiring magazine pictures...so I perused my stack and had a bevy of images torn out of the mags in no time...










I had a simple paper template to determine whether or not the chosen image would work or not...a downloadable copy of the template I used is included at the end of this post...

Step 1 : As I began positioning the template to trace around the image, I discovered that I could only guess on placement...and then I had a eureka moment!

Step 2 : Why not cut out a portion of the inside rectangle so I could see how the image would look on the completed envelope...brilliant!

Step 3: After tracing around the template, I cut out the envelope...

Step 4: And begin folding...

Step 5: I found my brayer helpful in getting a crisp fold...a bone folder would work just as well...

Step 6: The completed envelope...a small amount of gluestick is used on the flipside to adhere the bottom flap to the side flaps...










I was on a roll...and made several sets of envelopes...finding a theme among the images I chose...the monthly design magazine, WSJ, had beautiful photos to use...

Don't have any magazines handy?  how about leftover wrapping paper...or your 2013 wall calendar...or paper bags...

After the envelopes were complete, I cut a single flat card for each envelope, using leftover card stock...a quick embellishment of washi tape added an extra flourish on the white cards...

When mailing these envelopes, you might want to use a white address label on the front...and you can use a sticker or a dab of gluestick to seal the envelope before mailing...

the striped cards are perfect for sending a sweet note through the mail...

an aside...my newest pen love...these fine tip Sharpies...in gray!  my fave!










So lets start the new year off right...lets have a little giveaway...leave me a comment and I'll put your name in a hat...and draw out 5 names...each to receive one of the recycled stationery sets I made...deadline is midnight Friday, January 3 to enter...make sure that if your profile doesn't link to your email that you include it as part of your comment...otherwise I have no way to get in touch with you if you win!

I hope you've enjoyed my Simple 6 series...a link to the other five projects are on my blog sidebar...and these projects aren't limited to the holidays...be inspired to create whenever you need a simple gift throughout the year...

right click on envelope template to save it to your computer and then print it out...I used cardstock for printing to make a sturdy template...

Going international

I wish that I was travelling someplace overseas...but alas, just my photos and project ideas...

My garden tote was recently highlighted in this New Zealand gardening magazine...

I was thrilled and honored when they contacted me...the wonders of the internet...where the sharing of ideas and projects is not confined by land boundaries or time zone changes...here's a snippet of the two pages on clever DIY garden ideas...

 

I was pleased to receive a complimentary copy of the issue - it was fantastic!..jam packed with lots of garden/outdoor design inspiration...I don't know if this magazine is available anywhere in the States, but they do have a wonderful website...http://www.nzgardener.co.nz/

And if you want to see the details on my recycled garden tote...you can find that tutorial here...

I've gotta crow...

I am thrilled...so don't mind me as I crow a little bit...

 

I have my first byline in a national publication...in the past I have had articles written about me or my work...and photographs taken by others to accompany said article...but this time, the byline is all mine - words and pictures...

 

It started back in September 2012 when WhisperWood Cottage was hosting a month long link-up on Organizing Solutions...with 6 winners choosen to be featured in Cottages and Bungalows magazine...

I entered my wire baskets made from hardware cloth...and was selected as one of the winners.  When I was contacted by the magazine editor, she mentioned that she wanted to do a little bit larger feature on my project...

On Tuesday, the April issue finally hit the stands...

and on pages 19-20, is my article...with my photographs and my words...here's a teaser...

A true confession here...I've been working on honing my photography skills over the last year...without a fancy camera...using my Canon point and shoot...so the affirmation that my photos were good enough to be published is a great boost for me...

I have to thank Amy at WhisperWood Cottage for her support...and Jicki Torres, editor at Cottages and Bungalows who decided to shine a little spotlight on me...

ok...crowing over...now to get back to work...