A gift in the mail!!

The first gift arrived for the Holiday Art Challenge

… all the way from Altanta, Georgia!! Thankyou Becky from Glue & Glitter

REMINDER: Im collecting items for a family in need to decorate their christmas tree. They dont have to be handmade. I went through my own collection of decorations, with the assistance of my forever picky little girl, selecting snowmen decorations she can bear to part with. (the woman has requested snowmen if you can–its her sons favorite)

quick … get out the camera!!

The wonderful world of facebook has brought my attention to this… and all is see is an EXCITING crafting opportunity.

On Wednesday, November 5th 2008, we are asking you to try your best to capture an image of your location every hour from 9:00 am until 9:00 pm. Use your cell phone camera, your ipod, your digital camera or just draw a picture. At the end of the day, upload your 12 photos to this group and label each one with the time that it was taken.

By doing this we are hoping to tell a story about how each of us can experience the exact same day in many different ways. Once we have the photos, we will study the interactions, connections, similarities and differences. We hope that in the end we will be able to find interesting relationships between all of us and tell the story of November 5th from many different perspectives.

Please invite your friends – the more people taking photos, the more successful this project will be.

I cant wait to see their finished project… especially in the form of a book. what fun!!

…and her heart grew three sizes that day…

I found a listing on Kijiji.ca from a family looking for christmas decorations.

hi we just move in to our own place with are son who is 2 in a half and we do not have know christmas stuff at all to  put up for our son. we need a christmas tree and stuff to put on it so please help us out thank you.

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of course i tossed all mine into a bag for goodwill last year, but then i wondered about all the crafty people i know. I was searching for a way to help others in need, whether its something serious or something small. This family isnt an actual charity, but shouldnt it just be about people helping people.

What if i said by december 1st i would like to deliver a box of decorations, and a tree to this family?

.

What if i asked YOU to donate one dollar (to buy a tree) and one decoration –either handmade or from your own collection??

.

what if i said i would also post your donations for all to see?

.

….. please post a comment to let me know your interested, and i will send you the details.

UPDATE: she is hoping for both tree and wall decorations around a snowman theme. Her son is 3yrs old and just loves them.

make something from your doodles

During my early morning email reading i came across a collection of wonderful illustrators and, while jelous of their simplicity and beauty, i wanted to share a few of their goods.

Yasmine over at print a day offers free weekly downloads, all of them creatively cute and totally useful like notecards, tags and these calendar pages…

Carnivorous Plants Calendar – by print a day

[photo credit: printaday]

but thats not all …

i found print a day via PhatSheep. She has taken her adorable fairytale illustrations and created her own bolts of fabric using spoonflower, a new site that will transfer your drawings onto washable cotton fabric.

Fairytale Birds, Tree Buds and Summer Flowers – from PhatSheep

shop for other creations by PhatSheep on her UK website.

of course i had to keep searching to see what other illustrators are creating with their designs

Stephanie Fizer has abandoned the corporate job to focus on her own crafty business (read her thoughts on that here) and i think shes doing fabulously. She has many different pieces to choose from like notecards, stickers, calendar and wall prints, all with the same cute and simple feel. While she sells through etsy and ebay she also has work in numberous shops,

Animal Alphabet Prints - from Stephanie Fizer

I also love the simplicity in these painted tiles from Madison Craft Studio. They look like ity-bity canvas.

Pendants – from Madison Craft Studio

With a mix of gesso, anything can be painted upon. And there are fabulous archival pens that dont bleed, fade or wash off. Try Pigma Micron, Identi-Pens or even Sharpie

You could also try turning your illustrations into a stamp

‘Mascara’ stamp- from sugarskull7

So dont hesitate to doodle. great things will soon come of your sketchy bits. and of course someone did  a study of what our doodles mean…

Abstract shapes signify freethinkers unlimited by boundaries. Boxes within boxes could mean feeling trapped or overwhelmed, while linked boxes point to linked ideas and a desire to construct.

Flowers, the study said, are the work of creative or self-absorbed people. Spirals drawn outward show the desire to move on; toward the inside, a desire to focus.

[from Seattle Times]

OKAY!!  i have decided to put out a wee challenge every so often, for everyone to try… adults and kids.

Todays challenge:

…draw something in your own way…

• email a picture of what you saw…
• and what you doodled from it
• include any contact info if you want me to link back to you

Send To: imadeit[dot]shop[at]gmail[dot]com

My Doodle:

i used this picture from A Stitch In Dye

and doodled it…

(oie now flickr is giving me issues uploading my own pic…. grr will be up soon i hope)