Sorrow is hard for anyone and expressing what you want to say and how you feel when someone close loses a beloved one... well the transition is alarming and words don't come easily. However with art anything is possible and between my grandson and I we have once again managed to put another gift together to ease the pain of loss.

I enlisted, my grandson, Jacob to draw another tree of life [expression of his choice] and I added my own quote... It brought calm and piece to the survivors of this special family and for the new angel in heaven...he can look down and see that his parents have a visual expression of peace and tranquility when they recall his memory. Rest in peace young man!

Jacob doing what he does best! He rocks art!

 Today will give you strength for 

all your tomorrow's...

Lisa Izumi

No. 4 arrives in time for me
to send out my next card!

I was delighted to receive my 4th card in the swap from Janie in TX! Really cute choice in words and images...Thanks Janie!

Sent my Asian-y card this morning! I used newsprint from the Rafu Shimpo, the Japanese newspaper purchased in the Little Tokyo community of Los Angeles as the background, then cut out an image of a Geisha from a favorite fabric I've had for sometime. A bit of Mod Podge to give her a stiffening and shine and then added some fun stamps! To finish it off a portion of an art-deco sun glows from above while Hope and Believe are written in Chinese characters and off she went.

The flash came a little too close and made her face looks a

 bit faded...I assure she is glowing!

 Tonight, I'll craft with my grandson! Oh and speaking of my grandson, Jacob...look at his latest sketch...pretty snazzy! Enjoy!

Jacob Ngo, my 1st grandchild, is just 13 1/2 years old and soooooooo talented!
Don't you agree??

My third card arrives and it talks to me all the way from Washington State!

Julie must have know what my favorite color palette was because she designed a card that speaks to me. From her design, style, and rainbow of colors she chose - they are all exactly what I am drawn to. It came in a cellophane envelope so all who handled it along the way could see it.

Thank you so much for sending me this beautiful card! 

Front

Back -- I covered her email address for privacy!

I think I'll dance tonight...

These wings can fly

Along with the organic and colorful and super shiny, I had this urge to continue making 3D type cards so I ended up with this...

I figure the recipient might get a kick out of it and possibly sit it out on a desk or in a cabinet between a few great craft books. No matter where it ends up...it made me smile and I hope it brings a smile or two when the recipient opens the box... That's my wish!

Good night!

 

International Postcard Swap is in full force
@ this Izumi household!

I just can't believe how much fun I've been having creating these cards... They were supposed to be postcards, but the ones I've made are so special to me...they've become cards. See for yourself!

This one just adorns my desk

I luv Chinese parasols and have a few here and there at home...one happens to be a lampshade for a small spotlight in my bedroom. So what happens when the grand kids come to visit? Those cute little parasols break and get replaced with other cool colors like my very favorite one in PURPLE. 

But do you know what I did with the fabric??? I made a couple of cards for this cool project I'm involved in. The parasol that was falling apart was yellow with white flowers painted on it. I took the frame apart and brushed my favorite sticky-stuff Mod Podge ® on a cut piece of fabric and placed it on a blank yellow postcard and the other piece landed on a red postcard.

This is my floor lamp shade...it adds ambiance to my bedroom!

 And this is how the cards started to take shape!

<---This is the yellow fabric on red cardstock.








And the one below is on yellow cardstock: See what a huge difference the color of the cardstock made! I luv the results. After a quick trim and some Mod Podge ®... I was ready to really get creative.

 It didn't take me long to figure out what I was going to do... Last weekend when I went dancing a stranger surprised me with a pretty rose. Since I always see more than one use for everything I lay my eyes on...I quickly hung it up to dry. By the time I was really ready to work with these 2 cards, I figured that rose would come in handy. I experimented with the rose and my favorite shine...Mod Podge ® !! 


Guess what happens when you lather Mod Podge ® on dried rose petals??? They get moisturized!!!! Hahahahahaha! Ok, all joking put aside...the petals really did become, not only, super shiny - but they also became pliable! And now I know that if I wanted to retain the shape, I could have invested in an expensive product called Petal Porcelaine. However, my experiment paid off and I got what I needed to make a lovely card or two.

A lovely Mod Podge ® rose created by yours truly! :)

 For my 1st design utilizing this rose and this new technique, I made up my own rose using only 4 petals stuffed glued together. To retain its shape, I added a small cotton ball to keep it open in case it collapsed overnight.

And since I am addicted to ART and I think ART ROCKS!!! I used a few petals from another flower that was waiting to become potpourri.  I then added 3D Crystal Lacquer to the painted flowered spots as well as a contrasting color for some abstract stripes, plus a decorative faux-crystal center and this is what I came up with. Two distinct designs from the same re-purposed parasol fabric. 

These two cards are headed out safely to their destination in small boxes. Do you think the recipients will be surprised? I hope so... An earlier card that was headed to NY also had a homemade envelope that I made from a magazine page with a beautiful hazy mountain-scape. My photography didn't do it justice...it really was a great mountain scene.


Did I tell you.... ART ROCKS! If you don't work with art daily...or at least a couple of times a week...you just don't know what you're missing. 

To finish off this post, I'll share another card I designed - a bit of a sassy card... think! And I added the complete finishing touch with PURPLE false eyelashes! LOL! Can you tell, I am having a ball??? Well, I am. 

She's demure, sensual, and sassy...! The lovely lady is a published copy from a gallery brochure of an original by Pola Lopez,
an artist in residence at Studio Avenue 50 that I love to visit from time to time.

I'll be posting the combat paper I made last night at CAFAM... Combat? The pulp was made from military uniforms, especially from the Vietnam and Afghanistan Wars. It was truly and inspirational night and an honor to bring home something made to remember all those brave men and women who fought and still fight for our country...and it was sooooo much fun!

But tonight...I'll be crafting! 

Silver, porcelain, china, teapots, creamers, cups, saucers: Treasures!

Happy Thursday everyone!
As promised, I am sharing the end project where I used the shiny teapot treasure from the Salvation Army. This teapot now holds daily wishes and prayers and sits in a very special place: Another super find at a local thrift store: The old brown Samsonite suitcase. As in all my projects, I find one piece and then all the rest of the pieces start falling into place. I originally purchased the suitcase – just because!  I’m sure many of you have done this from time to time. However, once it came home my daughter used it to store baby clothes that she was saving. Eventually, she cleaned it out and packed them in a box. 

I knew that this suitcase would have more pizazz than, just, its intended purpose and I wouldn’t use it to travel with, so I decided to make it my new Vanity and Make-up counter… After a good polishing I propped it up on a wrought iron plant stand that was standing idle [Oh my, I had already killed the plant and hadn’t replaced it. LOL!] So, it needed new purpose in life.

Check out the pictures, the suitcase is a decent size and filling it would take some time…and over a few weeks...it took shape. As you can see, the suitcase has three great holders which now cater to hanging earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and a watch or two…even though… I no longer wear a watch, that’s what my trusty cell phone is for! :O

Which item catches your eye?
Mine...the center teapot and my Chinese hand mirror!

In the center, I have porcelain china cups, heavy glass, small zebra-striped decorated dishes and silver containers that hold a few necessary items. Everything is good enough to be eye-candy and is always at my finger-tips when needed…  And my young grandson, Kai, who is only a year and a half, loves to peek over and see what catches his eye too!

To add a whimsical flair…I added a tiny strand of clear Christmas tree lights!  It’s just dreamy!  In my now-younger years, I appreciate recycled/re-purposed/recreated/redesigned a lot more than the modern~!

Cost of suitcase: $9.00
Cost of containers: Under $23
Effect: Priceless

Tonight, I'm taking a class in paper-making...Can't wait: See you later! 

Trippin' through the Salvation Army

I have to admit that lunch time at work is quite boring! I am not too keen on taking an entire hour to eat lunch, so most of the time I stay in and work! But recently, I got a tip about a certain store in the neighborhood that always had great treasures so I took a trip over there! When I walked in I was surprised to see a line of people, waiting to pay for their purchases, that led out into the street: They were having a SALE! Everything was 50% off and I had a blast. 

I had an idea in my head and so I set out to look for unusual china, porcelain, crystal, or silver containers. Although, they had nice pieces...the best thing I found was a tea pot...

this tea pot!!

Before: Gently Tarnished

After: Super shiny and absolutely beautiful

After a quick text message to a few friends and family asking for home-cleaning tips to polish my new treasure, I was delighted to put some elbow grease into it and get the job done. To polish this piece I was told ketchup or soap suds or toothpaste would work along with a soft polishing cloth. I tried a small spot underneath with warm soap suds and it stained immediately...this was not Sterling Silver, rather Silver-plated or the suds would have worked. Then I dabbed a dot of ketchup and rubbed hard... although it started to polish...it stunk. My end-project wouldn't be pretty if it smelled like ketchup, so I went to the bathroom and got out old faithful: Crest toothpaste and a soft microfiber cloth and started cleaning and polishing. Result: A picture is really worth a 1000 words and it says it all! 

Treasure Find Value: $20.00   On sale at 50% off: $10.00  Emotional attachment: Priceless

Stay tuned...I'll be posting other recent finds and my recycled/re-purposed end project for this and other treasures tomorrow after work. Tonight...I'm dancing!

Good night! 

Hello!! Hello!! Remember me? I barely remember me..can't blame you if you've forgotten me!! But I AM back...actually I never left. I've been crafting, re-purposing, creating, and having a ball...but a yucky thing called an 8-5 job gets in the way of blogging. I promise to do better though!

Let's see where do I start... I guess I can work my way backwards. I joined an International Postcard Swap recently and I've been creating postcards to send out. In total we are to create 10 and send to 10 artistic-talented individuals, whose names and addresses are collected and distributed by the host of the swap. The artist participating in this particular swap must utilize 2 art mediums of their choice. So, I'll post 2 I receive and 2 that I've made...by the end of June I should receive 10. There are 8 more to go. I am now so excited to see what, Mike, my mailman, delivers. --Instead of bills in my mailbox, for this month...I'll get art instead! Woot! Woot!

 Thanks to Shannon Ganshorn who hosts this International Postcard Swap!! Sign up for the next swap and get your art-fix delivered to your mailbox too!




This past Saturday, I received my very first postcard from Kimberly Sharples in Colorado. Kim used Acrylic paint and flower stickers. It's so colorful and cheery and it brought a huge smile to my face. Thank you, Kim!

When I got home from work Monday evening, I had another surprise. This time my postcard came from Dion Hitchings from New Jersey: It's a multicolor pen drawing entitled "Brown Night." Very nice - I am not positive, but Dion seemed to use pen over crayon. Thank you, Dion!

While many who participate in this swap make 10 identical postcards...I've decided to make 10 different cards. Wait for it, wait for it... ok the waiting is over!  

 Well as you can see...I love bright colors! These colors make me happy and there is a strange magnetism that draws me to them on a daily basis. So I am hoping that the recipient of this postcard also loves bright colors. 


I used strips of fabric, brushed Mod Podge® on top for a cool shine, worked a little embroidery split stitching and created this pensive sun and then dabbed more Mod Podge® on it as well as the word transfer I used to create my message. To add a little flare, I punched a few holes at the bottom and added a few strips of frayed fabric that give it that carefree and organic look. I did this so the lucky recipient could hang it on a door, in a breezeway, or just frame it on the wall. I'd like to think someone would like it enough to decorate a tiny corner of their home, studio, or office. 

What do you think?

                  
                        I love ------------------------>

 

With my 2nd postcard design, I ended up taking more of a greeting card approach. I found this very cool picture in an art gallery brochure, framed her with a narrow border cut from a Starbucks recycled cup sleeve.[These sleeves are so much fun to use and there are numerous things you can use them for.] With a small bit of sky and clouds from a magazine, I then added cotton over the clouds for depth and some warm and fuzzy words for the recipient. Almost forgot, the lady got some sparkly shine with a couple of coats of...wait for it... you got it! Mod Podge®!!!!

Thanks to Mark Montano, the instigator, my adopted little brother, and my dear friend, who posted info about Shannon's International Postcard Swap.

This is turning out to be so much funnnnnnnnnnn!