cabinet of wonders

halloween is coming and it's one of my most inspirational seasons. i can never get enough of vintage rhymes, eclectic keepsakes and random spooOOOookiness.

so what better way to celebrate than to combine my scrapbook island team project box o' joy - containing authentique's "glowing" papers how's that for serendipity - with tim holtz's configurations. the result?
a cabinet of wonders.

each tiny box is a vignette, a story all its own. and each  one features a special technique or discovery inspired by the "spirit" of someone special. can you find them all? tortured block letters, wrappings and rappings, edgar allan poe, potions and quotations, and trappings of woe?

hold on to your coffins gypsies, and away we shall go...

rattling and groaning and scratching at the door...

{i love happy accidents. when i took the heat gun to the 13 to save some time, it bubbled and blistered instead. love this look and i'll to do it on purpose next time.}

haven't we met in the graveyard before?
{the quote on the door is George Bernard Shaw's and as soon as i read it, i knew i needed a project with a skeleton, and a closet. i love how random elements can come together.}

dead man's hand will slowly creep...
{ghastly vapors (made from a not so ghastly cotton ball) pour from the glass bottle. the leering witch is stamped on acrylic and lit by "candlelight". the hand from the grave is a "shaker" box with dirt, bones and gravestone sealed behind a piece of acrylic - cut from the sheet that comes with the configuration.}

skeletons scratching while you sleep... 
the mummy is created by layering cheese cloth over one of the idea-ology "creepy dolls". i was inspired to make something of both "creepy dolls" after doing tim's classes. they just have so much potential! can you spot the smaller doll in disguise? and just to go outside the box, i created a hanging graveyard along with a tavern-inspired black cat to hang at the door.}

you've made it to the end of the road, but you're not out of the woods yet.  
next week i'm starting a new  feature - "technique of the week" - and you get to help choose what the first 'nique will be. choose one of these spookiliscious objects from the cabinet of wonders , post your choice as a comment by 8/28, and the one with the most votes wins!


1) wrapped up mummy
2) witchy votive
3) tortured letter blocks
4) door #13

ok, it's authentique!

yes, it's true. the gypsy is authentic, and authentique!

a couple of weeks ago i held my breath, answered the questions, and submitted myself to authentique for their new design team. AND I MADE THE TEAM!

so not only am i exorcising the ghosts of playgrounds past, when i was never picked for the team, i am creating new and interesting projects with authentique's paper.

so stay tuned for plenty of bad puns, but great work, as i embark on my newest adventure - official paper company design team member.

and it wouldn't be very gypsy of me to not give a very special and heartfelt thanks to laurie at scrapbook island in san jose, ca. i've gone from dedicated customer to a member of her store design team. because of laurie's belief in me and support, i was able to get the courage to try something bigger. i will always remember that i started because of her. thanks laurie!

i have a creative hangover...

so i spent this weekend totally immersed in the world of tim holtz - and it was fab-u-lous. but now my head hurts. really there's only so much extra space in there anyway, and i spent all weekend filling that space with things like bees-waxing, tissue-taping, and how to creatively express myself all over the place.

the local store - scrapbook island - has been waiting for 5 years for tim to come. (i was stunned to learn that tim's store waiting list is SEVEN YEARS LONG - hopefully stores stay in business long enough for him to get to them). and it's like having a twilight premier - hundreds of screaming women waiting to see one guy with spiky hair and a cool "look".

this was my first experience with this kind of crowd and i learned some important things:

1. scrapbookies are crazy. they drive for hours to stand in line for hours to spend hours in the presence of a guy who shows everyone how to get dirty and feel good about it.

2. scrapbookies are just darn mean. if they think you are getting something they are not like a better seat, better place in line, the last pink ink pad, whatever. just watch your back around them 'cause they're a rough crowd.

look kids - my "new word of the week":

scrapbookie (n) - someone who is obsessed with scrapbooking and proud of it. think "treckie" with inky fingers and a penchant for anything to do with immortalizing their memories. willing to travel long distances and pay huge amounts of money to play with paper, scissors and glue.

some things i learned about myself this weekend:

1. i must resist the urge to grin like an idiot while lurking near tim - tim's a nice guy and all but this just creeps him out

2. i must resist the urge to elbow best friend out of the way to get an autograph, or the better seat, or the better embellishment - just distract her instead with a quick "ooh look over there, tim's doing something" then go for it while she's trying to figure out how to copy tim.

3. i must resist the urge to buy every tim product and hide it so the hubby won't find it right away - the hubby may not notice the stuff, but might just notice the negative balance in the bank account and want to know why i'm spending money on another man.

it's the day after my scrapbookie creatively enlivening weekend and i'm hungover. my head hurts, i can't remember what i did all weekend, and i'm out of cash. it's awesome