Creative Chaos

Is it Halloween Already?!?

My brain can not make sense of two parallel realities: the calendar..... which says it's only September 29th...... And, the fact that I'm ahead of schedule on all my Halloween crafting.  Carlos asked me how much longer until Halloween.  I told him it was last weekend.  It's crazy.  I have never been so ahead of the curve in my life.   

 

I'm winding down all ghostly creations to focus on upcoming events.....such as the opening of Lollishops and I'm going to do a couple Art & Craft Fairs in November and December.  It's funny, because when I was doing wholesale a few years back, I said I would never do craft fairs again.  So much work.  But now I'm looking forward to whipping some things up for the fairs. 

I'm going to put a few more Gift Tag kits up on my Etsy site if you are interested in making your own Halloween Tags.  The couple that I had up there sold, so I will throw together some more.

 

And, only two more days until we bring down the Halloween stuff from the attic so the rearranging of the front lawn can begin.  Carlos said that we should bring down the Christmas boxes too, so we don't have to waste time going back up there again.  I told him..... I don't think so.  He's so excited to get decorating.  I guess I am too considering I feel as though I already celebrated.....

 

Had fun at Paper Tales once again! Took Amy's Collage Class.......

 

I'm still not finished (as usual) but like the direction in which it's going.  Amy and I are getting together for coffe this week, so maybe I can get some helpful hints from her! 

I also stocked up on some more Halloween stuff from Paper Tales.......

 

And I'm getting ready for Christmas.......

 

Notice the ric rac trim....LOVE it!! 

Ok....heading out for sushi with Dana from Vickery Vous and Andres. Talk to you soon!  Karin

Pink Saturday Tutorial..........

Because Pencils Should Look Pretty Too!

 

Here is a super easy and fun project sure to make all your pencils and paint brushes happy.  Not to mention help the environment by recycling!  You can’t ask for much more than that! 

First, gather up some clean empty cans.  These are a standard size fruit/vegetable can. You can put a layer of gesso on but it’s not required.

Next gather up all those little scrap pieces of vintage wallpaper and scrapbook paper. You know…. The scraps you can’t bear to throw away, yet keep piling up because you’re not sure what to do with them?  Yep….those.  Now they have an important purpose….To brighten up a pencil’s day, and more importantly Save the World!

 

At this point you can either just tear the paper. Or, as in this case, I just cut them into squares and rectangles and glued down onto the can.  Don’t worry about a pattern or being perfect.  The beauty of this project is simplicity and randomness.  Just have fun with it!

 

Keep gluing all your pieces until you have covered the can completely........

 At this point, it’s time to paint……

I painted the inside of the can with gesso as well as the edges.   I then painted the edges of the wallpaper with a white paint to give it a “grout” effect……

Once you’re satisfied with the level of paint, let it dry while gathering some tulle and flowers.  Of course, you can use ribbon or whatever else you have on hand. At the last minute, I decided to put a silver pipe cleaner around the rim……

Glue the tulle in place along with some flowers on top and you have a pencil holder fit for display! 

 

 

Happy Pink Saturday!

 

Pssst.....Looking for a fun giveaway full of vintage goodies?  Well, just click HERE!  

Tired.......

But, first I have to share with you my new original piece of art work from Amy Hanson.   Don't you just love it!!!  She and I have become fast friends ever since I took her class over at Paper Tales.  She came over one day and showed me this piece she was working on with her two girls as a teapot and teacup.  I instantly fell in love with it and wanted one done of the boys.  We decided to make it a coffee pot instead of a teacup and she worked her magic!  I adore it!! Look how Carlos has little glasses on....and, Andres still has his long hair!   Thanks so much Amy!!!! I absolutely love it!    And, if anyone is interested in her work, just let me know....she does does commissions as well as other work available.  You can click her name above and it will show more of her fun work.  
 

Well, we had the "Great Blackout of 2008" over here last night.  Not to be confused, of course, with the "Great Blackout of 2007" ........It was about 7:30 last night and all was quiet on the chaos front.  Andres was playing in his room with his trains.  Carlos and I were at the kitchen table reading. Cosme was heading home from work. All of a sudden...bam...total darkness.  Ack!  At first I thought it was a tripped circuit as it's very common over here in our old house.  But it was dark....too dark....

So with Carlos' panic level rising, I feel my way over to the pantry to retreive the flashlight.  Dead.  Once again, the "don't play with the flashlight. The battery is going to go dead and what will we do in an emergency." mantra was ignored.  Uggg....At that moment I hear a small voice in the hall...."anybody, anybody...I wite here. I wite here mommy. It very too dark."   Oh my gosh....for the love of Annie and Clarabel....Andres was all alone down the hall.  We meet up with him as he's describing in great,yet unintelligible, detail of what just went down. We retreive the little LED lights in the boys' room and venture outside to discuss it with all the neighbors.  Cosme comes home...... hands out flashlights to everyone and all is right in the world again.  The lights went back on around 9:30 so no big deal. 

But....why are you so tired? You ask.  Well let me tell you......

 

I awoke at 5:45 and decided to get a jump on the day.  Got my pot of coffee going....turned on the computer and sat down to make sure everything was ok with it since it shut down unexpectedly.  I had to reboot it twice. No problem...... Just sitting there, sipping my coffee, thinking what I should get done before the boys wake up.  Once the computer comes up, I happen to glance at the little clock in the bottom right corner....the little clock that said 3:25.  huh?  3:25? AM?  Holy smokes...my computer really did get messed up!  The clock was completely wrong!  It was 6:45 not 3:25.....wait a minute....I go get my cell phone.....aaaaaarrrrrgggggg.....it was 3:27 am.  Where I thought Cosme reset the bedroom clock, it turns out that it just reset itself from the blinking 12:00 point........I crashed at about 10:00 am this morning....and then again at 1:00..... and again.....right now.....

 

Good night!  I talk to you tomorrow!   

 

Bigfoot Exists!

Well, according to Carlos anyway......

Sunday we set out to do a some Bigfoot hunting (otherwise known as a hike to the rest of us).  Armed with a backpack filled with three water bottles, a Cliff Bar, and a video recorder, Carlos was one film shot away from posting his find on YouTube.  I was a bit skeptical that Bigfoot would be found wandering around San Dieguito City Park......however, stranger things have happened and I was game.

Because nothing says "I'm ready to find Bigfoot" more than a helicopter hat......

 

Reaching a lookout post to survey the situation.....

 

Carlos swears he sees him........here....

   

and here....... 

and here......

 

Andres decides enough is enough and decides to go it alone.......

He takes off over bridges......

 

on top of creaky logs.......

 

down steep embankments....

 

and, endless dusty trails......

 

Wait a minute...I think I see him....standing by his colorful Bigfoot abode.....

 

Nope....upon further inspection we discover it's just a bouncy house....

Well.....since we're here..... we might as well play on the swings......

 

Searching for Bigfoot is exhausting.............

 

Contemplating their next move.......

 

I think its going to be a trip home......

 

Unless they see this.....

 

Hmmmmm.....maybe Bigfoot got in at the right time in the San Diego housing market...........

Somewhat finished projects.........

Before I get to the never ending list, I wanted to share some fun stuff I got at Paper Tales the other week.....

 

I had been eying this stamp the last few times I was in there and finally just got it.  The ribbons surrounding it are so luscious...they are waiting for that perfect project.  Hopefully, that perfect project comes before Halloween or they will have to be saved until next year......

Ok...bought these because I LOVED the Addams Family....have no idea what I'm going to do with them....any suggestions?

 

Working on some crowns......this one is almost there......

 

Started this thing weeks ago.....set it aside .....got buried under a bunch of stuff....just found it yesterday.

 

Have a great idea for this box.....no idea on how I'm going to execute it......need to go back to the drawing board......

 

So with all this extra time on my hands, as you can see, I've been starting more projects. And, unfortunately,as you can see, it just means more unfinished things laying around waiting to be done.   But I'm happy to report that there is one project that is pretty much completed.  It needs a few more embellishments, etc.....but overall I'm happy to be sending it on its way to my mom.  Like I said before, I did this for my mom as a gift a few years back. But the original was pretty much destroyed by Andres who loved to looking through it.  So, here is the new and improved version.......

 

(I love the look on his face in that picture!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super duper fun easy project to do.  I wanted it to get done to give back to my mom before Andres headed off to middle school.....so.... simple, simple, SIMPLE was the design theme.

Talk to you soon!!  Karin

Now you see it..........

 

Now you don't.......

 

Sniff...sniff.... I miss his long, rock star hair.  Now he looks like he's one of the throngs emptying his desk at Lehman Bros.  Sniff sniff......And, yes, if you're wondering, the Henry was completely and unequivocally a bribe.  I make no apologies.  Because, this is what I have to work with....

The calm before the storm watching a Cars video in the waiting area.....

 

Oh boy......getting a little more worried.....and it has nothing to do with Lightening McQueen getting lost on the highway.....

 

And with the call of his name..........

And, I quote, "I no wanna get haircut. It hurts too very much. I wanna go home to little pink house. I no want Henry."

 

15 minutes later at Panera for dinner.......

 

Everyone's happy with his new Henry, Bioncle, chocolate milk and new haircuts.   I don't have a picture of it........ but I'm on the other side of the table wondering why Panera doesn't serve margaritas........

Since we're on the subject of kids.....Remember this.....

 

Dinosaur Island that I so painstakingly put together and then made them promise not to take apart unless in an event of an earthquake or typhoon.....remember?

Well, here it is as of last night..........

 

It was fun while it lasted.....

I'll be back tomorrow with this.....I am almost done with it.  I just need to finish a couple more details.....

 

 

Talk to you soon!  Karin

Did you ever have a project........

that, no matter what, you would not give up.  Even though it was bringing you to the brink of insanity and back, you kept trudging ahead.  You knew that it could be completed....you just need all the right material.  And, although you were an hour into it, you compulsively needed to see it all the way to the end.....

Plus, there was this little voice whispering in your ear......please, mommy.....fix it. I wanna play with da dinosaur... 

Arrgg.....This is what I had to work with....

 

Andres discovered the long put away Imaginex building toys that were Carlos' a few years back.  They were being stored in the playroom closet until Andre's was old enough to play with them.  Well, that day was last night.....at 6:30 pm.  With nothing more than a few scattered and torn well-worn pages in which to work, I set forth to build the Island of all Islands..."Dinosaur Island." I don't know if any of you with boys are familiar with Imaginex toys......but you bascially need an engineering degree to put these things together. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this building set and Carlos had many hours of enjoyment with them in his pre-Lego years.  But.....there's alot of pieces. And, it doesn't help that the set was mixed in with the the construction, firehouse and police station sets.  So, armed with my degree in psychology and journalism and the basic ability to count to 100, I did my best to construct it.

And.... Voila......just in time for everyone to go to bed, I got it done......

 

So proud of myself.   Can't wait to play with it today! 

I wanted to show you the cutest little necklace I got from Donna of at Party Wishes.  I had sent her a Witch Tag to put on a cauldron for a party she was throwing.  She sent this back to me......

 

Plus the picture of the witches she used for the invite.....

 

Sorry for the glare.  I just couldn't get a good shot. 

I've also been hunting for some good vintage book with which I'm totally obsessed.  The thrift store had the whole volume set of these. But Igot this one because it has the nursery rhymes and children's storys in it.

 

 

And, then I got the motherload of all Little Golden Books.....woo hoo.....

 

Love it!

 

I have been working on a bunch of stuff. But, weirdly enough, I really don't have anything to show because everything is in a half-done mode.  I started this project which is a redo of something that I did earlier for my mom from Andres.....

 

The cute little cardboard book is from Tricia over at Vintage Bliss.  The original one I did for my mom was a couple years back in the early stages of my "scrapbook paper" collection.  I have been wanting to do it over in a cuter, sturdier style.  Andres loved looking at the original one and therefore, it's falling apart.  I just have to add the pictures and the poem and I will be all done....

 

 

Well that's about it for now!  Today is the big day for Andre's haircut.....he hates getting it cut.... so it is an ordeal for not only for him, but me as well.  I will have exciting before and after pictures to show.   Kind of like "Shear Genuis"  the kids version.....Talk to you soon!  Karin

Pink Saturday leads to "Wreck this Canvas" Saturday........

 

Yesterday, I decided that I would do a collage for Pink Saturday.  I figured it would be an easy peasy, done and over with kinda project that I could actually post on Friday night and look like I'm so together that I'm ahead of the curve. Plus, it was a good excuse to sit down and work on something new.  Well, it didn't turn out that way at all. It turned into something entirely different .....As a matter of fact, it took a life of its own.  But in an unexpectedly good way......

 

I started out by grabbing one of my 6 x 6 canvases....which, I should have known right then and there, was risky in the first place.  It was a big jump up there in size for me.  4 x 4's are much safer......not as much room for error and destruction. But a 6 x 6...oh boy lot's of space to waste. However, I calmly told myself that I needed to start taking risks and working bigger was one of them.  So, I took a deep breath and jumped right into it.

I tore a piece of vintage paper from my newly acquired poetry book and started slapping down pink paint getting right to work....... I hated it.  So, I slapped down some more paint......hated it even more.....decided that it was the shade of pink......so I tried to brighten it up.....didn't realize my level of hate for a project could reach so high and decided to walk away from it and get a cup of coffee.  Caffeine always gives things a new perspective.

Came back and realized no amount of java could help.  The colors were dull....there was no depth, I wasted a perfectly good page of vintage paper by painting over it, and, it was never going to be ready to post by that night in order secure my reputation as artist extrodinaire. Uggg, damn you Pink Saturday .....  

It was at that point I realized that since I couldn't ruin it any more than it already was, I could just go to town with it.  I figured worse case scenario, I would just gesso over it and give it to the boys to use.  They wouldn't care if it was a huge 6 x 6 canvas and be afraid to ruin it.  They would create art.  So as my fear of wasting a canvas dissipated, my courage to throw paint on the ruined collage grew.

I grabbed colors I never intended on using.....permanently glued a heart on it without even considering the ramifications......and, most importantly, had fun.  It's not done by any means. But, I am happy with the direction in which it's going.  

Now, believe me, I'm under no false impression that the San Diego Art Museum will be calling me any time soon to schedule my exhibit of the "little girl sitting on a chair."  But, I do know that I took another step in taking risks......unintentionally, but another step nonetheless. 

And for that I have to say........

 

Thank You Pink Saturday!!!

My day so far.......

Drop Carlos off at school....check

Go to playground with Andres while chatting it up with my friend Britt.....check

Have allergy attack....check

Ugg.....burning, itchy eyes do not make for a producive morning.  It's 1:00 pm and I'm finally writing this post while downing another cup of coffee and listening to "arena rock" on my digital cable hoping to caffinate the little allergens out of my body........we'll see.....

 

So here is "Week 3" of my "Here to There" Journal.  I wanted to do a little shout out to Tiffany of Shabby Scraps for the picture on the right page.  So far, so good.   I have been using it, writing in it and, most importantly, keeping my goals.  Not all....but most. 

 

Of course, I am embellishing way to much and constantly stopping myself from adding just one more thing.....

 

I'm trying to constantly remember it's about the goals....getting things checked off.  One of the things I have checked of was putting Halloween tags and cards in my Etsy shop. I went to Paper Tales yesterday to stock up on some more paper and finished some more little tags and cards.  

 

Ok...back to work for a bit before I pick up Carlos......See you tomorrow for Pink Saturday!

Omg...... Triumph's "Lay it on the Line" is playing right now on my "arena rock" station!  Right this minute, I am no longer a mom of two, wife of one, owner of a minivan who is sitting in her office typing a blog post...... I'm a permed hair, Jordache jean wearing, lip gloss toting 17 year-old walking to her next class while trying to look cool and failing miserably.....aaahhh the memories that are held in a single song......

HalloweenaPalozza is continuing over here.......

at the Chaos household.  It really is one of the favorite holidays for us.  Carlos is literally counting down the days until we can put up all the decorations.  I love to go all out on the outside with decorations, lights and our tombstone collection.  And, then for the days proceeding the big night, Carlos will rearrange everything until he gets the perfect skeleton to goblin balance and ratio.  It's fun.

 

I also wanted to mention a fundraiser that's going on in blogland.  I don't know if anyone heard of the incredibly tragic plane accident involving a fellow blogger. Stephanie of CJaneRun is burned on 80% of her body........her husband Christian has also been terribly burned. They have 4 small children.  You can read more here on her blog where her sister is writing daily updates.  Kim over at Today's Creative Blog is hosting a Fundraising Auction. I have donated a bracelet and earring set for the cause.

 

There are many other items being auctioned off as well.  You can click the link on my sidebar to get all the info....

 

Also, I will be here on Friday to continue my "Here to There" Journal.  After my first week of freedom, I finally hunkered down and got my act together.  I am happy to report that the transferred 1st week to-do list is getting done.  I will have week 3 finished to show you.......See you then!  Karin