Blogging my creative, sporty and travel adventures, stay in the know on the latest news/features of the Original Sport Cuffs (SCW), Rocker Cuffs and Lisa Kettell Designs Line.
For inquiries contact me at lisakettell@yahoo.com
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Altered Art Circus, Previews, Guest Artists! Hello All, As of tommorrow, the official release of the book is out, Feb.1, 2009, but for many, it has already been available, for you to buy and enjoy! The best part of this whole experience is being able to share it with the you and the wonderful and talented guest artists who are involved with it, each of them are truly talented, their works bring magic to my day, everyday.
Here are some previews of the projects in the book:
Here are the wonderful guest artists in the book, who have made this book so much more special! Love them all!
What's better then a project consisting of Dresden trim, antique silver glitter, tinsel and vintage boullion, uhm....nothing, well maybe a 5 scoop hot fudge and toffee sundae with extra whipped cream and cherries, that could really top this, LOL!
Okay, I have been re-visiting my inner vintage and for the past year I have been experimenting with old projects from Dennison books, old crepe paper books, crafts and design books, vintage christmas catalogs and more, looking for ways to simplify the projects I saw, and giving them a twist, some pastel colors, mixed with gold or over the top distressed. As a result I have re-discovered the art of our past and learned to make over 28 vintage items from crepe paper dolls made 5 different ways, tiny styrophom angels, cone dolls, Victorian Ornaments, Paper Mache goodies, Charlotte Dolls, Carnival Dolls and more. The following project was created from a turn of the century ornament I have, it acted as the muse for this project made from Dresden Trim, tinsel, boullion, images and a small oval Christmas Ornament, along with some supplies. Here are the instructions, which will be followed by a quick demo!
Dresden Trim Ornament Materials -Small oval shaped Christmas Ornament (about 2 to 3 inches long) -Two thick Chenille Stems in Metallic Gold -One strand of boullion -A strip of thin Dresden trim -Dresden trim small medallion shape, or tiny gold charm -Vintage image of choice -Small piece of scrap book paper -Antique Silver Glitter (Martha Stewart) -Hot glue, glue gun, regular glue stick -Scissors
Directions 1. Wrap a piece of chenille stem around the center of the Christmas ornament, only once, with hot glue, cut the left over stem to 4 inches, repeat on the left and right side ends of the bulb. (Refer to project sample and demo). 2. Twist the three ends to form a triangle shape. 3. Choose a vintage image that is sized to fit the center of the ornament, between the bulb base and the chenille stem top. Layer your image onto sturdy card stock, with glue stick, then cut out and hot glue to center of the bulb. 4. Hot glue the thin dresden trim down, alond the front center of the bulb. 5. Wrap the ornament 4 times, with un-raveled boullion, hot glue end in place. 6. Glue on some silver glitter 7. Finish embellishing with Dresden medallions, extra trim or other vintage oddities.
Tips/Hints: 1. Use ditressed tinsel, refer to project below this post. 2. Use red or pink chenille stems for Valentines Day or Easter. 3. If you don't have boullion, use tin DMC metallic gold thread, unravel a bit. 4. Try using a round Christmas Bulb or painted styrophom ball instead of the oval ornament. 5. Use images of family members in place of Victorian Clip art or collage images. 6. Use Small paper craft punches, cover them in silver or gold vintage glass glitter or Martha's Antique silver glitter, in place of the Dresden trim medallion.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Distressing Tinsel, Chenille Stems/Pipe Cleaners!
Do any of you like the look of aged Tinsel, those vintage raggedy distressed strands of glimmer and age, if you said yes, then you are in the right place. For years I have searched Antique Markets, Flea Markets, Garage Sales, Vintage Fairs and Online to get my hands of old Tinsel. When I have found it, the price is beyond reason, sometime sfetching $150 for a few feet at best. There are reproductions which look very old and save on your budget, but after awhile when you are using alot of it, the price can add up! That's when I said, if we can age paper, fabric, and other materials why not new chenille stems formally known as Pipe Cleaners, which come in a variety sizes, colors, and shapes, from Metallic to fluffy pastels, the colors are endless and always available, however if its a vintage look you are seeking, these bright shiny stems ususally cheapen the look since they are well new. I'm here to change that.
Now I know there are several vintage artists out there, all who have their own methods and techniques, after all, having options in art in what I love. For this project you will need the following:
Materials: -Chenille stems, in any shape, color, size or thin Metallic Christmas Garland -Liquid starch -Expresso, dark brown or deep taupe acrylic craft paint -Old cookie sheet or metal pan -Paper plate -Water cup and large paint brush -Scissors
Directions 1. Pour enough liquid starch onto a paper plate, covering the whole center of it. 2. Squeeze out 4 drops of acrylic paint into the liquid starch, stir, until you get a muddy and cloudy looking paint mix. 3. Now drop your chenille stem into the mixture, and with apint brush brush on the mix until coat, shake off excess and place on cookie sheet or metal pan to dry, about 10 to 15 minutes, repeat the steps above at least 4 times for the best grunge look. 4. Now when satisfied with the aging process, distress your tinsel to achieve that choppy sparce look, with a craft scissor, just randomly cut into the chenille stem, cutting out and trimming the stem. 5. Your done, start making some new vintage art.
Hints/Tips: -The liquid starch also works as a stiffener to dull and stiffen the tinsel, for that old brittle feel. -For extra aging take a cheese cloth or a bingy cloth and dip into a can of shoe polish. Then wipe directly onto the already aged chenille stem, until you achieve that extra grunge. -With hot water mix coffee, and tea packets until dark, place in an oven safe glass pan, pour in, about 1/4 deep, lay your vast batch of un-aged chenille stems into the glass pan, bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, all over ranges differ, so please keep an eye on the pan, so you don't have a burn batch. -You could also use antiquing mediums as well!
For a demo of this, click on the link below. The video is a bit grainy, since I had to use my regular camera to film, until we get our Flip camera, then I will re-shoot for you, but for now, this shows you and can be used as a guide with the above instructions and tips!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Hi All, Starting Monday I will have uploaded several videos on how to:
1. Age Tinsel/ Chenille Stems, etc. -Have you ever wanted to buy vintage tinsel, but its too expensive, or found reproductions that are still expensive or sell out, I have a solution for that, with a few simple steps you will have that aged tinsel, this method will work on any color tinsel or pipe cleaner/chenille stems you have, and any thickness.
2. Age your glitter projects, silver glitter, etc. -Learn how to make bright silver glitter or beautiful Martha Antique glitter look 50 years old.
3. Make your own glitter and mica flakes, 3 different ways from stuff in your house.
4. Age Crepe Paper, Paint it, stamp it, the works in this video.
5. Make a Vintage German ornament from scratch in less then 30 minutes.
All these videos will be available on my blog and flickr site this week, starting monday!
Magic and Joy! Lisa!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Lisa's Homemade Apple Pie I love to bake as much as I love to make art, its been a long passion of mine, since I was a child, I was always in the kitchen with the different Grandma's cooking and baking. In high school I loved to cook for my friends and help out at bake sales too. As I entered college, I started cooking more, experimenting with gourmet recipes and eventually creating my own.
I scouted flea markets to find jumbo baking ware, finally I found a humongous Cheesecake spring form pan and apple pie pan, which make over the top cakes and pies. This following recipe is my very own apple pie recipe which I have streamlined over the years, adding and taking away from it. I normally make this from summer to late fall.
This year, friends, Glenny and I headed for a local apple and pumpkin farm to hand pick our apples which grow in a large variety of stylesm colors and tastes. For the following recipe I mixed, red rome, red delicious, George Washington, sweet delights and yellow delight apples, many were picked from this tree below. (Don't they look like cranberries or enchanted berries, instead of apples?) Here is a photo of all the apples I used in this pie Step 1 Step 2
Step 3
Lisa's Apple Pie Enough for 2 apple pies Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Ingredients: 15 apples cut in halves and peeled 1 Cup Brown Sugar (Dark Brown) 2 Tablespoons Flour 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt 6 Tablespoons Un-salted Butter 1 Egg for brushing on crust 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla 1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
-Frozen Pie crust, pie crust mix box or pre-made crust
Directions: 1. Place cut apples into a large mixing bowl, set aside. 2. In medium sized bowl, mix all the ingredients above except for the, egg and butter. 3. Now pour the mixed ingredients from the medium bowl into the large bowl filled with the apples, mix. 4. Now pre-pare the pie crust according to package directions, place base crust into the pie pan, fill with mixed apples, dot with the butter (See step 2 above for example). 5. Cover the pie with another layer of pie crust, tuck around the pie crust edges, pinch sides together. Beat the egg with a fork or whisk, then using pastry brush, brush onto the top of the pie. (See Step 3 above for example) 6. Cut a few slits inside the pie top with butter knife, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 50 minutes. Un-cover the foil and bake for additional 10 minutes. Let cool for 2 hours ontop of your own or wire rack.
Tips: -To prevent the pie crust edges from burning, cut a long strip of foil, and place tightly around the pie brim, then cover with the top foil. -Use your own pie crust recipe for the pie. I use both, but in a crunch I buy a box mix, or Pillsbury roll out pie crust available in Frozen Department of Food Store, for faster results. It is just as good.
If you want my pie crust recipe, I will post it in the next week or two.
Have a apple filled day! Lisa!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Little Things Magazine, I'm inside!
I am so happy to announce that I am included in the latest edition of Little Things Magazine, printed out of Hong Kong, this magazine has become my new favorite magazine, its incredible and has everything I like in every issue, this one has Circus Tones to it, and we all know how much I love the Circus.
There is just so much to see in this magazine, now I am going to be an avid reader of it, just amazing, trust me, you will agree.
Thanks to Kim, editor of the magazine, I just received my copy in the mail yesterday, it completely made my day!
From time to time, I'd like to take a moment and blog about some incredable artists and friends I have met within this wonderful art community, their work, inspiration and loyalty, desire to help others, and just how special they make others and myself feel.
I'd like to start with the top ten listed above, each of them have truly made my days that much more magical, from their work, which I admire greatly, their wonderful comments which bring me smiles all the time, their sweetness and caring of fellow artists and more, is just incredible.
All the artists above and I have met in what I believe is the serendipity encounter, accidental chance, either through email, flickr, blogland, ebay or etsy, art groups, these have all played a role in our friendships, which I cherish greatly. When ever I need a smile, I visit either their blog, flickr site or store and end up leaving with more then a smile, but artful magic. Each of them have a style that is all their own and is truly amazing.
There are so many artists in this world whose works are wonderful and I believe they should all be seen, that is the reason why The Faerie Zine was created on the basis of artist promotion, and artful magic. I believe everyone should shine and feel the happiness that art can bring to our days.
When you get a moment click on the above links and visit their wonderful works, check my blog often for more artists spotlights, collage images and zine info.
Have a magical weekend! Lisa!
Friday, January 09, 2009
Piddlestixs: Teatime, Tiara's and Vintage Whimsy! Vol.2, Winter 2009, Now Available Hello all, Finally, vol.2 of Piddlestixs is now available for order in high quality book print form and cd form, for all price ranges and likes.
As each zine is released we grow more and more as a zine/magazine with additional projects, artists and stories, graphics, collage sheets and our following of loyal customers and artists who share our enthusiasm. Many have been with me from the beginning when the zine was in black and white, then black and white with 10 color pages, the mis prints, back order and foggy quality due to excessive printing, yet each of you remained true to the zine, submitting works and purchasing your copies, which has meant alot to me, the zine helpers and as a result has allowed us to become the zine we are today, still growing to new highs, and eventually a magazine with even more pages and artists.
The goal of The Faerie Zine and now Piddlestixs is to showcase artists of every level, because I believe everyone should be seen, we all have a voice and a talent all our own, not everyone is going to accept what you do, that doesn't matter, what matters is you accept what you do, believe in yourself and take criticism from others as a compliment, and strive harder to be the best you can be, with liking what you do and creating for yourself, then you can create for others.
Even with all the submissions I get I will publish them, at some point or add an extra page, these zines are for you!
Many have asked why another zine, that is so I can bring artists of every style together, some are vintage chic artists, tea lovers and Marie Antoinette Followers, others Fairy Addicts, Bright and Bold colors, Painters, Spiritual and History buffs, some love it all, mixed with some artistic magic, these zines will bring everyone together under the same roof, my roof, my world open to you!
Thank you for everything! As for this zine vol.2 here's what to expect: This new vol. is jammed packed with stuff, loads of guest artists and amazing collage sheets from two of your fave artists friends: Deborah Savage and Jo Oulette!
This edition includes: -A Midsummer Tea Party -A Lambertville Birthday Party -The History of Glitter -MaryAnn McKeatings: Itty Bitty Books and Club! -Amanda Howards: Fairies and Art! -The Enchantment of Kellie Reynolds aka Paper Cat Designs! -Romantic Period Jewels from Aurora-Tique, including small project! -LuLu Belles World of Dazzling Chic Jewels! -Sandy Camarda's Doll-Land/Party! -Silver Bella, My Artful Adventure, A must See Event! -Charlotte's, Charlotte's and More Charlotte Dolls! -Sweet and Scrumptious Vintage Recipes from Old Books -Vintage Projects from the 1920's (Dolls, Doilies, and more) -Vintage Apron Project! -and much more!
Now available in print form or cd form at my esty, ebay and webstores.
XO! Lisa!
P.S. Keep the submissions coming, new deadline for Piddlestixs 3 and The Faerie Zine 8 is feb.15, 2009
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Hello All, I have been absent from blogging since a few days before Christmas, due to a busy time with the ending of the holidays, Christmas, New Years and Parties of the Season. As a result I have been a bit under the weather much better now, and swamped with orders, which is extra busy at this time.
I have just finished Piddlestixs Vol.2, rolled out The much awaited re-vamp of Faerie Zine vol.1 (premier edition) and Faerie Zine vol.6 a few weeks back, the collage cds also have been updated and re-vamped with hundreds of new images and new collage cds: The Fashion Plate CD and The Soiree Collage CD, all the others were updated with more of the images you have wanted and will enjoy for framing, collaging and personal fun.
Please get those Piddlestixs Vol.3 and Vol.4, Faerie Zine Vol. 7 and Vol. 8 submissions in by Feb.15 (some exceptions will be accepted on delay). Currently looking for: -Projects and ideas ( send in a hi-res.jpeg image or two, with the complete project details: directions and materials) -Images for the artist gallery/layouts. -Recipes -Paper Dolls, Collage Sheets, Digital Collage Templates, etc. -Tea Time Parties you have hosted or thinking about, Tea Collections, tea Time treats, Recipes, Clothing Patterns, etc. -Stories, Articles, Poems. -If you interviewed someone on your blog and want to publish it, let me know, I will accept that. -Vintage Book and Movie Reviews -Circus Stuff, Fictional Stories, etc. and more!
Click on each picture for the extra large view and download, you will enetr my flickr site and see all sizes above the images, click on that for the different download sizes!
