Other interests

Okay, so not so much crafty, but I am also interested in things that pamper.

My friend, Anne, was my enabler when it came to Lush cosmetics.

So far, I have used a number of their products and have had some hits and misses.

When it comes to hair, I am a big fan of their solid shampoo bars. Karma Komba smells nice and seems to work well. I love that it saves plastic and hardly takes up any space. I currently have almost used up my bar and I got it at the beginning of June, so it has a good run. Next up to try, since it has already been purchased, is Squeeky Green.

For conditioners, I am still not sold. I like Retread the best so far. I am not totally sold that it is a triple moisturizer that it says it is, but I also think you need to use more than you think you should. While Jungle smelled great, I am an ease of use girl and melting down the solid chunks in my hand before use just doesn't make it practical to me. I also tried out Coolaulin. Now if you are a lover of coconut, which I am definitely not, then this might be for you if you need moisture. For me, I just can't get passed the smell.

Next up, deodorants. Lots of people say to try out the natural deodorant, so I did. I have to say, I prefer my Secret. First one to try was the Aromacreme, which as I was looking for a link for, isn't listed on the site now. Maybe all of the blistered and irritated pits had them remove it. Luckily, I happened to be looking on their forum site and caught on to what was happening before it got bad. Returned that and tried the Aromarant. This one is better and doesn't irritate the skin, but if you are going to be hot and smelly, doesn't cut it for the long run. One of the sales associates recommended that I carry a small chunk of it with me during the day to reapply, but if I had time for that, then I would also have time to completely freshen up. Nope, I am about the deodorant that I don't have to keep reapplying.

One thing that is a love is the Lemony Flutter. This stuff is awesome for taking care of the rough skin on your body. It makes quick work of the cracked skin on heals and also smoothes out your cuticles on your hands and makes your nails look good.

Another area that includes faves is the facial skin care. I love Dark Angels. It is this black cleanser that makes my skin super smooth and feeling fresh. It does leave a bit of a residue, so either you can clean it up with a toner (I use the Tea Tree Water), lots more water, or another gentle cleanser (here, I actually use Bare Essentials Rare Minerals, but that is for a later time). On other days, I use their Fresh Farmacy, which is great for helping fight my acne and redness. Yes, I still break out, but I think that for the most part, the pimples are smaller and disappear faster. This can dry out your skin, so I am sure to use a moisturizer, which I have to like Enzymion. The only item for the face that I haven't been impressed with, so far, is the Greased Lightening. It is supposed to help with pimples, but I don't really think it did much at all.

I guess that isn't true, the other round of items that just didn't seem to impress me were the masks. I tried the Cosmetic Warrior, Brazened Honey and Cupcake. All of these are fresh masks and need to be purchased in the store, which is why I think they aren't listed on the site. I love masks, so I am always on the lookout for a good one, so far, Lush doesn't seem to match with me.

On to bath stuff, I guess I don't totally understand bath bombs. I have tried to of them, Vanilla Mountain and Seanik, which I am now not seeing on the site. Both create a nice smell and make the water all fizzy, but I guess I just need to try them more. Seanik, though, had this seaweed in the ball that just made a mess of my tub, so I wouldn't try that again. One of the big suggestions here was to not use the whole ball at one. Break it up and use bits of it or a half or quarter.

Another bath use was the Bubble Bars. Now these intrigue me and need more use, since I was unaware of how much of the bar I really needed to use. To get the bubbles to last longer, you need to use at least a quarter of the bar and not just a corner of it. So far, I have tried Bathos and French Kiss, but not an entire bar of either.

I think that is it for now. If I have missed any, I will post about them later.

Anything special out there that you have tried and suggest?

working on art journaling

So, I have been trying to follow along with the archived Art Journaling 101 class here by Dina Wakely. The one thing that I didn't realize is about the paper in sketchbooks is how differently it reacts to wet media. Yes, I know it says dry media, but so? Oh... okay, I got it. Not that great.

Well, I ended up scrapping the backgrounds I had created. (Hehe, decided to leave that line, even though it sounds like a pun. I mean I dumped it.) Yes, I know... I am not supposed to do it. I am slowly breaking out of my measure it and line it all up.

So here are some the pages I have created.

I think this is my favorite of the bunch. I was experimenting with glimmer mists, masks and stencils here. I love the look. Then I added the additional effect of the water soluble pastels for added emphasis.

This was a collage sketch that didn't use the backgrounds that weren't working for me. (I will not give up. There has to be a way!) The guy is so creepy to me. I like it.

Okay. This one is okay, but I really understand something Dina said about grounding the image. The faces are just floating there without something locking them to the page. There needs to be something else. Also, I am learning that glimmer mists don't stick to Modge Podge. I need to get my messy gluing done on another page and then stick it here. I don't think I really need to seal these, since they really aren't being pushed around by much.

Okay, this one I am not totally sure about, but you can definitely see how the grounded woman actually looks like she belongs there, while the others are just floating aimlessly. I tried not to think about it too much when I was doing it, but I also should have had something more in the background. I need to work on layering more.

Keeping up the crafty (and posting same night too)

Yup, I am actually posting something the same night I finished it, which is really cool for me. It is an ultimate goal, but I am not going to should on myself.

Awhile ago, I bought all the makings (well, save for the marbles) to create a box to hold some of the perfumes I have from BPAL. I think that was months ago.

I finally finished it. Sure, it is neat, but I think the kind of cool touch is all the marbles on top giving it a lot of texture. Of course, it is now a bit top heavy, so I will just have to be aware of that when I open it.

So here is the basic grey line that I used. I love the butterflies in the darker colors.

But here is the texture fun. I was actually surprised that I had enough sizes to fit it right.

Haven't been around in awhile

I really want to make blogging a habit. I do. So, why can't I put the pictures from my camera onto my computer and post them for the sharing pleasure?

Well, I am submitting some pictures of some altered items. One is a book I created using the Bind-It-All for the first time. After that there are two altered tins. These are a bit older, but it is something to share.

Since going to the Bead and Button show last week, I have been back into beading. I got some neat things that I will have to take pictures of and post.

Oh, also, I learned of Wildfire, which is Beadalon's response to Fireline. Can I just say that I like it better? First off, you can find it at Michael's. Secondly, I think it really is smoother than Fireline, although I did have some issues with the occasional twisting becoming a knot. That was more my fault for not catching it sooner and undoing it before pulling.

I am going to try and be more diligent here. Wish me luck - again.

Gesso meets alcohol inks... the experiment

Okay, so there was the question - can alcohol inks be used on gesso to cover up what is already on the tin. The answer - sort of.

I started with the tin and covered it with Gesso. I think the next time I do this, I won't put the Gesso on the bottom of the tin and possible avoid the sides. It just got kind of messy.

Next, I started to add my alcohol inks. Since this was an experiment anyhow, I was trying the drop technique using compressed air to move the drops around. It wasn't what I hoped for, so I continued to dab and blend.

Once all blended, it doesn't have the shine that alcohol inks can have. It looked and felt kind of drab.

I added a rub on and some stickers to decorate and then thought that Modge Podge glossy might be able to spruce this up and give it some shine.

It did this, but it also allowed me to see that my letters weren't straight (I don't know why I didn't use the ruler that I purchased just for the purpose of making sure things are centered).

So, I added some flowers. Nope, not what I expected. Not what I hoped for... but, at least now I know... as long as you cover it with Modge Podge, it sort of works. I also know that poorly placed flowers with Glue dots will pull off the letters and rub on if I tried to remove the cheesy looking flowers.

I will just keep telling myself that this was just an experiment.

two small layouts

The first I decided to decoupage in a picture from one of my girlie mags. It makes me think about all the things we depend on even bras.

The second was just a creation about thinking... why do our thoughts always need to have direction? I know mine often don't.

when creativity sucks, take a class

So, my creativity was on one of those lulls that just has you frustrated as you sit down at your craft desk and stare. I set this place up, I have the new apartment, so now where the hell is my creativity.

I took the watercolor class at Archiver's, which sparked the Valentine's day cards that I had made when Caitlin was over, but this time I went over to Craft Fancy to take a class by Martha Bonneau, where we made this awesome altered book.

I need to learn to create outside the lines, so this was an awesome experiment. I am going to try to continue to create in this book without measuring (much) before setting it up.






I was also proud of myself for being able to make a card in about 30 minutes during my lunch break on Friday. My friend has been home recovering for too long, so who can stay unhappy when presented with rainbows and ice cream?

I used an idea from CPS 104.

I am starting to get the grasp of using a sketch once in awhile to spark something.











I also have gotten going on an order for some cards and a journal. The cards are going to take some thought, but when I came across this cute kitty paper at Archiver's, I was sparked.

Plus, I came across these adorable American Craft Thickers, which seemed to keep the idea of the fun going.












Finally, for my last piece, I was back in the altering mood. My friend Anne recently got me interested in Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, which has these awesome perfumes. You can get larger bottles or little samples, which they call imps. Anne gave an initial dose in an Altoid tin, but when I found a similiar tin at Archivers (by Art Bin, I think), I had to nab it to alter, so I came up with this. Oddly enough, I did not plan to use quite so much Stickles, but due to a clog and then a burst of glitter, I couldn't let it go to waste. I think it worked, though. I love how the alcohol inks worked. I just hope that I don't end up scratching any of it off.




In the meantime, when not crafting. I just finished Patricia Brigg's Bone Crossed and have just started on Stephenie Meyer's Host. I have really been loving the reading and crafting thing lately.

Well, off to watch Chuck and Heroes. Gotta love Mondays!

Finally got back to making things

So Caitlin paid a visit last night, and I officially had a crafting night. Rock on! I am feeling inspired again.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made up of V-day cards for people - planned and randomly given.



It is fun. I picked up this stamp at Craft Fancy and it seemed like something I would like for the day - not overly lovey but just a touch. I watercolored the little guys in different colors so that none of the group was the exact same.

Next (well, actually first), I also made up a card order. They are similar thank you cards, but while the design is the same, the colors are different. Made two of each variation for the set.



Definitely something to be said about collections of paper - color matching is easier.



Hope they are liked by their recipients.