Shopping Trip: Index-Card-A-Day 2012

My Index-Card-A-Day 2012 for June 11th, chronicles my shopping trip to the craft store with my beloved mom. 

I really just needed ONE white gel pen after mine went missing. So that was the plan when we went into the craft store. I employed the no cart or basket "if I can't carry it in my arms to the checkout then I don't need it" tactic. Otherwise I spend way too much on all the lovely goodies there. I was also hoping to find some embellishments for my travel journal - but not too many. 

I thought my index card for that day should be made with just the supplies I bought that day. I got some Tim Holtz tissue tape, alpha-cards and vial labels, Smash tape, K&Co borders (the tickets), and two white gel pens. The only things on here not purchased that day are the black paper, alpha stamps for the date, ink, and the adhesives used. 

The only white gel pen that's ever worked for me is the Sakura Gelly Roll. I know others swear by the Inkssentials and/or the Uni-ball Signo. Those just frustrate me by not laying down ink and have to be reworked more than I care for.  

The "M" card stands for my mom and the store name Michael's. I tried using most of the lime green part of the tape to tell the story that Mom wore a bright lime green shirt and - as always - matching bright lime green flip flops. That woman owns a pair of matching flip flops for every color shirt she owns, which is on the loooong list of things I love about my mom. 

Also, she actually said "I don't want to hear you lament the loss of your favorite white pen all week. Let's go get one."

She totally GETS me. <3

- Vickie

She Gets Me

The other day my mom and I were chatting about art and my recent passion for all things art journal. She and I spend a lot of time together in the studio. Out of everyone I know, she knows my creative process the best. She gets to see it. And she totally "gets me" like no other human being on this planet does.

So she shows up last week with her sketchbook in tow. I got excited immediately that she did some artwork and wanted to show me. I’ve been trying to gently encourage her work because she has talent. After all, I get my creativity from her. She starts talking about how excited she gets for me that I have passion in my life in the form of art. And she got all teary eyed. Then she showed me what she made…

It’s a tribute to me. My mom made an art journal page about me! Isn’t that the coolest thing ever?! And she wrote such lovely things about me on it. It makes me cry every time I look at it. It has taken me a full week to be able to write this post without bawling my eyes out!

Yes, that’s me with the crazy, curly hair and sunglasses. (My chronic light sensitivity warrants the wearing of sunglasses all the time or I get migraines from the light.)

I know this image is probably too small for you to read what she wrote so I’ll tell you:

“You dare to dream
You believe in your art
You dare to try (‘It’s only paper’)
You bravely venture forward
You push your limits
You hunger for art knowledge
You dig deep for answers
Your beautiful soul shines
Your hope is strong
Your mind is beautiful
Your strength is amazing
I admire you”

She took the time to include a bunch of things I love like dominoes, art journals, pens, stamps, cloth, scissors, paper, tags, cards, paint, ribbon, and a domino pendant. She even drew my art journal and wrote “I GET YOU” on one page!

She said she had a vision of this page and wasn’t sure she would be able to get it out of her head and onto paper. But she was thrilled to say that it came out exactly like she wanted it to. I’m so proud of her! She and I don't really hold our feelings back from each other. We’re kind of a touchy feely family that way. We don’t hold the kisses and “I love you”s back at all. Life is too short.

I’m still kind of speechless to describe what this means to me, as I’m sure you can understand. This will be something for me to look at in my dark moments when I’m in pain and feel I cannot go on. It gives me hope. It makes me feel so very loved. If this is what my mom sees when she looks at me then I might not be so bad after all.

Thank you, Mom! I love you more than I can express! xoxo

And We’re Off!

This is an old photo of my twin sister and me in our playroom taken when we lived in Plano, Texas. She is the one with the adorable smile in front. I have the goofy face in back. We spent countless hours making things and playing school or office in there. Our mom always made sure we had enough paper, markers, glue, pencils, and projects to work on. She is awesome that way. She still buys me art supplies! And my sister and I still do craft projects together some 30 odd years layer.

She tells me she still has the black tape dispenser in her house. And the Smurf on the top shelf holding a cake. She also has the shelf but it is painted red now. I have not found anything in the picture that I still have except for the giraffe note holder my grandfather made.

I’m also not sure when this picture was taken. It’s sometime between 1982 and maybe 1986. I’m not good at telling how old I am in old pictures. It’s sometimes miraculous if anyone in my family can even figure out which twin is which in most baby photos! Some we will never know who is who. I often wonder if maybe we got switched at some point and I am really named “Valerie”.

Felted Bead Necklaces

Remember the felt beads Mom and I made? We created many pretty things with them!


Mom designed and made the Green and Black necklace.

Mom did most of the designing. I did some too, but I must say that I think her stuff is better. One of hers has little glass seed beads sewn onto the blue felt beads, and it’s so attractive and elegant.




We made this one together.

The necklace with the purple beads was the hardest to make. Figuring out how to get the filigree parts in between the beads to stay put was a challenge. They are sewed onto the felt beads with purple thread. The rest is strung on tiger tail. Mom did the sewing and I did the holding so they wouldn’t get away from her. It was a two-person job.

One of the necklaces I made is my favorite. The tiger tail is woven in and out of the beads in a fancy way. It has a delicate look about it that I find lovely. The other beads are glass. I wanted to do something different, something decidedly non-felt-bead looking.

This one is sold!

Please see my Flickr page for more pictures. There are a lot more things to see!

Some of these will be posted to my Etsy shop soon. Mom and I are still discussing pricing and shipping costs. I’ll let you know when we roll them out. If you are interested in them now I can set something up just for you.

Craft Show & Tell

My mother and I went to do some craft show reconnaissance on Saturday at two small shows held at a local high school and at a local recreation center. We wanted to see how people had displays set up, how big booths were, and what they were selling. Our plan was to look and not buy, but I'm sure you can guess how long that lasted.

Most people had small tables and tablecloths. Jewelry was displayed on stands or racks. Some of it was just laid out on the tables. I was not very impressed with the displays, but it was nice to see that I don't necessarily have to get all fancy with them to sell my items. Many tables were filled to the spilling point with things. That looks good to me because this person appears dedicated to their craft and makes a variety of items. Nothing looks sadder than a sparse display.

Also for sale were many items of the ever perennial kitschy country décor. I thought (or at least hoped) that stuff had gone out of fashion!

What struck me most were the low, low prices. I'm not sure how some of these folks are able to turn a profit at their selling prices. I got a beautiful ceramic vase for just $10, a table runner in silky ivory for $2, and hand knitted mittens for $4.50 among other things. I purchased several gifts for Christmas and still got out of both shows without spending more than $30.

I have been greatly pleased to see knitting come back into fashion. A lot of sellers had knitted scarves, hats, doll clothes, mittens, and felted bowls and bags. My grandmother owned and operated a knit and yarn shop in her day so knitting and crocheting is part of my family heritage.

I spoke with the people who set up the shows in order to get on the mailing list for next year. My mom even offered to help me lug tables around and sit with me at the show. I’m really looking forward to doing this. It will be my first foray into the craft show world.