Monday, January 7, 2013

Three Years Gone

Tina Wright
Sept. 29, 1965 - January 3, 2010
Hard to believe that its been three years since this lovely lady has been gone.

Oh how I miss her laugh, her salty tongue, her humor, her whinny tone when things did not go the way she wanted, her creativity and her love of art.  She was a force to be reckoned with and I will be forever grateful for the day that she commented on my blog and came into my life.

Tee was not just brave, dang, the girl was just fearless when it came to art.  There was nothing that she did not want to explore, be it paint, paper or both.  Hence the name of her blog.  She attacked it all with gusto and enthusiasm.  I miss that.

On most days, I'm not sure about the direction of Paper Cowgirl anymore.  I'm sure I'm not doing what she would have done.  I'm not sure that I really want to carry on with it.  But I am sure of this, she would want us to stay curious, to stay creative, to be passionate about what we love to do.

And if you have not found what you love, search for that tiny spark in your soul and fan it.  Let your creative passion begin to burn.  Be curious and find your spark.  Tee would have wanted that.

I want that for you as well, for there is nothing so satisfying as creating.  Be it words, food, crafts, art, music, or a story...just nurture your creativity.  Find a class, watch an on-line tutorial, step out of your comfort zone.  Don't just pin....do.

In little ways and in large.  Its not always about creating, sometimes its just in the way that you look at things.  And though the phrase is overused, yes it is thinking outside of the box.  Look at your world with new eyes.  Be curious.  Tee always was.

Tee, I know, somewhere in heaven, you are creating like mad.  Oh my friend, how I miss ya and  love ya.

You left us too soon.


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween Crown


Crown I created for my friend Ruthe's Birthday

As you know, I am a huge fan for taking classes.  Be it online, at your local scrap shop or at a fantastic retreat (like Paper Cowgirl perhaps), you just can't beat a class for expanding your knowledge on a particular craft or tool.  

She's a Halloween baby and the Halloween Queen!

I myself had "crown fear".  I had made one in the past, but because it did not turn out perfectly, I got frustrated and never did another.  And then I took Binky's class at Something Wicked and I LOVED it!  

Binky taught us to make the back as pretty as the front.

And I got over my crown fear.  Now, this one turned out a little "wonky" and I had to re-glue that edge down.  And I ended up putting some ribbon through the back to tie it tighter together.  But other than smudging the Stickles on the front, I was happy with the way it turned out.

A crown for my Witchie friend....

But even better, my little "witchie" friend loved it.  And understood that it was representing Halloween night.  

...depicting Halloween night in all its autumn glory! with a vintage feel.

And I'm thinking I'm going to be creating allot more crowns.  

I love taking a class!  

Gotta love taking a class!  


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Students Results May Vary

I love the fringie ruffle around her neck and the cat in the cage.

Napkin transfer in background and cat used as her mask!  

A noose adds texture and scary!  


Pearlized background is so pretty, elegant swirls and bats!

The cross makes the background totally different, now its a graveyard.





One class, several different resulting projects.  I love it.  Here is the original project:

I adore the various results above, I'm sorry to say that I cannot remember who did what, but I love them all and they are each and everyone, beautiful! I love creating.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

What is an Art Retreat?



...craft and art supplies...

...and generous teachers...

...meeting new friends...


...being silly...

...great teachers...

...hanging with old friends....



...being creative...


...sweet treats...


...wearing your crown, be it invisible or not...


...creativity...

...plugging into a creative outlet that lasts for days after...

..talking about creativity...

...creating something beautiful...

...finding kindred spirits...

...connecting with each other...

...being silly, catch-phrases, boo-boo's...


...great food...


...swaps...

...being amazed at others creative abilities...


...beauty...sharing art with friends...

...creative cuteness overload...

,,,playing...


...learning from other students...

...encouraging the young and learning from them too...


...being messy...

...creating something beautiful...

...being silly, laughing, sharing, being connected through creativity, finding kindred spirits...

...an Art or Creative inspired Retreat is all this and more. This was Something Wicked 2012. Come play with us sometime.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Something Wicked Decor

Various garden things from my backyard, old books and even a dead plant make up the "haunted conservatory candy bar" 
I used glow sticks to add a creepy glow 
Hind sight, should have gotten two back drops.  
Various fun candy and of course, LOTS of chocolate!

Decor for Something Wicked was something I wanted to keep simple.  So it was "Dollar Tree meets stuff from my House" decor. In hind-sight, wished I had added a second back drop, and table clothes, but oh well.  Sorry these are fuzzy, my camera was being a pill. 

A dead fern, old books, moss, spiders from
Dollar Tree
Old book page in DT frame
At the end of Day 2, we had to "free" the Candy Corn

Beautiful waxed bags for Trick or Treating Cowgirls 
Lots of DT crows, a broken branch, moss and a vintage window decor piece
The Haunted Conservatory Candy Bar
Display of all the classes and Wicked Banner
The Haunted Library Drink and Food station


The "library"was more old books, a dead plant, various bits of vintage paper goods mixed in with Dollar Tree items.   We used this area for food, drinks, giveaways and class project display.

Since I don't decorate my home for Halloween, it was fun to do a small bit for the corners of our room at The Crafty Scrapper.  

More pics tomorrow!