Christina Olson's House and Andrew Wyeth

I'm still here, but haven't been able to do any paper crafting for a while, and haven't had time to visit any blogs. We are still working on getting my mother moved.

Over the holiday weekend, we took some time off and went to Rockland, Maine. While there, we visited friends we hadn't seen for a long time, and went to one of my favorite places, The Olson House. (For those who have never heard of it, it was made famous by many of Andrew Wyeth's paintings, especially the one titled "Christina's World").

It's funny, I have been to this house lots of times over the years, and every time I have been there, something has gone wrong with my camera. The same thing happened this time, but luckily, I finally have a cell phone with a halfway decent camera in it. It isn't as good as my real camera, but I did get a lot of nice pictures anyway.



This is looking down at the shed and the kitchen and pantry area from the third floor.



This is one of the rooms. There is a print of Christina's world on the wall.



I had never been down to the family cemetery before because it is on private property. (Even though most tourists go there anyway). Now my niece is with a member of the Olson family, and she took us down to see it. Christina was going home from this cemetery when Wyeth decided to do the painting. My niece lives on the Olson property, and says almost every day during the summer she sees tourists down in the field posing as Christina while getting their picture taken.
When Wyeth did the painting, he turned the house slightly in the painting so you could see the front better. He also painted the barn further to the left than it really is, and didn't paint in the tree line.



For years, Christina lived in the house alone with her brother Alvaro. This is their grave.



Andrew Wyeth is also buried here.

I hope those of you who love Andrew Wyeth's paintings of this house, but live too far away to visit, enjoyed seeing these pictures.

Green Altered Cigar Box

I've finally got another jewelry box finished, except for the protective coatings. This one looks a lot like the first one I did, because the lady who ordered them wants them all similar. I don't like the corners on this one as much as I did the first one, but I don't have any more of those corners.

I've started the third one, but it's not as much fun to make the same box over and over again. I like variety! :-)



Sorry this view is blurry, but I've got so much going on that I hurried with the photos.



This is how it looks open. I added pale gold Core'dinations Pearl CS for all the bottoms, and the top of the box, but decided to paint the dividers. It looks neater than covering them with CS.



This is the box with the top layer of dividers removed.

I'm a little Behind....

A lot is going on now, with still moving my mother, (we have to go back to Massachusetts again next weekend), college graduations, and having to finish those jewelry boxes, so I haven't had anything to show you.

I'm also way behind on my visiting, but I'm still here.

I'll be glad when I can get back on schedule. Hopefully in a few weeks we will get the shop open, then I will be able to get some more new card making things. I need some of those gorgeous new dies!

I hope everything is going well with all of you!

Hugs, Kathi

Roses and Butterflies Twisted Easel Card

I have been working on those commissioned altered cigar boxes, so I don't have a new card to share. Instead I'm uploading one of my very early cards. I think it was only the second twisted easel card I ever made.

As I was looking through my old card photos for something to post I ran across this one, and even though it's different from the cards I make now, it actually was quite pretty in real life. I put it into my shop at the time, and someone bought it the first day. I think if I was making this card now, I would probably add more embellishments, but in those days, I didn't have much to work with.

I have no ides where the rose graphic came from, it might have been from Dover Publications. I do know that it is matted with gold mirror card and mounted onto some Anna Griffin paper in my stash.

Finished Mini Album to go with Cigar Box

I finished the mini album which goes with the cigar box I posted a few days ago. The cigar box will have to wait though, I had to start the other two jewelry boxes because they were commissioned.

The front of the album is done with a copper colored pearlized CS from Core'dinations. The lighthouse is from JustRite, and is stamped using VersaMark onto a pale gold Core'dinations Pearl CS, and embossed in gold. All die cuts were done with Spellbinders. The tags at the top and bottom are for labeling with whatever the recipient wants.

I only photographed a few of the pages, but they are alternating pages made with DP from K&Co, white CS, which I distressed with Antique Linen and Tea Dye, and made journaling lines with a gold Gellyroll pen, and white CS distressed with Antique Linen and lightly stamped with gold ink. There are four different stamps used for the various pages, Portland Head Light from PSX, a fish shack and boat from PSX, a clipper ship from Stampendous, and Bass Harbor Head from an unknown company.

The stamped pages can be used either for journaling, photos, or memorabilia, and the DP pages can either be left as is, or photos or memorabilia added.

This album is quite small, 4x7, to fit into the cigar box, so the recipient may want to use it more for a journal than an album.

Went to AC Moore Again and got some Marker Storage

First, it's been a busy few days, so I'm really sorry I haven't been to visit. Hopefully I will get around to see you guys in the next couple of days.

Anyway, the lady at the cigar shop who has been saving boxes for me finally got two more of the Robusto boxes. She wants me to make two more jewelry boxes for her like the first one I made, so I think I will be very busy trying to get those done. I did manage to get the cover finished on the album for the cigar box I posted the other day, and made a few pages for it, but her jewelry boxes will have to come first.

I make the dividers out of basswood, which I used to get at a local craft store, but unfortunately, the new owner is not good about ordering things, so we had to go all the way to AC Moore for basswood.

While there, I got this marker storage tray from ArtBin. (It's the square thing with the Spectrum Noirs in it). Some of you will probably remember that I talked about ArtBin's wonderful customer service a month or two ago. Their customer service was even better than I told on my blog. I don't want to say what they did for me, because there are so many people who might take advantage, but I will say that they are an unbelievably good company!

The storage tray has clip things to hold it in place about half way up the inside of the Double Deep Super Satchel, the Super Satchel Semi, or the Marker Storage Satchel. To use the markers, you can place the satchels vertically without them falling out of the holes, so you can easily see and reach your markers.

My Copics are still in the 36 marker case, which exactly fit into one of the divided cases of the Super Satchel Double Deep. I don't have a large selection of markers yet, so I keep my one Copic Refill, and the Copic Syringe things in another compartment, and 6" origami paper and paper stacks in another compartment.

The double deep is exactly the right height for Copics and Spectrum Noirs, so they won't fall out when carrying it. It is too short for things like distress markers, but I would rather have the exact fit for the markers I have the most of than have it deeper and have the markers fall out of the slots.

AC Moore also had Spectrum Noir pens on sale for $7.88, so I bought a pink set and a blue set. I like my Copics better, but I have to send away for them, and they are more expensive. At this price for the Spectrum Noirs, I couldn't pass them up!

They also finally had the refills for my ATG, so I got two of those!

Then there was the Managers Special on a portable file folder thing with 300 sheets of 12x12 Nicole CS. I hesitated on that one, because I'm really fussy about my paper, but a lot of it wasn't bad. I really wanted the zippered file folder thing though, because I've been trying to figure out a place to keep my Christmas papers. I figure I'll keep only Christmas papers in that, and it will free up space for the paper I use the rest of the year, as well as keep the Christmas paper protected.

I also really wanted something easy to carry when we go out to New York at Christmas time. I usually go wild buying paper that isn't sold at JoAnns and AC Moore when I get out there, but it's always a struggle to get it home without messing it up. I will be able to take the paper out of it when we go to visit, then put all my new paper into that to get it home safely.

It was a fun trip!

Altered Cigar Box and Mini Album

For a few days I have been working on this altered cigar box and mini album. The top photos show the outside of the box. The stamps are from JustRite and Our Daily Bread Designs, and were done on a pale gold Core'dinations Pearls CS. They were stamped with VersaMark, and embossed with gold EP.

The stamps, which were cut with Spellbinders Labels Eight, were all framed with gold mirror card cut and embossed with Decorative Labels Eight, and shaded with Distress Tea Dye. Anchors were punched with a MS Punch.

I haven't done the inside yet, but it will have a compartments for a pen and other memorabilia. On top of the lower compartments will be a tray, which will hold the album.



This photo shows the front of the album. It was done using a copper metallic CS from Coredinations, which was the closest matching paper color I had. The cover isn't finished yet, but it was done using the same technique as the box, and uses a JustRite stamp.

I'll post more pictures when I have more done on it.

Flowers and Filigrees

I'm not sure I really like this card. I started out with a really complicated idea for a mini album, and worked on it for hours. It never came out right, so I decided to make a card instead. Since it was late when I started the card, I tried to rush. I also didn't have any ideas in my head for the card. I just grabbed one of my digital stamps and colored it with Copics, and went from there.

After coloring the design, I fussy cut it and went around the outside with a gold Gellyroll pen.

The panels behind it are Spellbinders Decorative Labels One, and Decorative Labels Eight, shaded with Brilliance Sky Blue, and outlined with the Gellyroll gold. The design is mounted dimensionally.

These were mounted onto some linen textured blue CS from my stash, and matted with gold.

The card was finished with some Liquid Pearls and some little roses and rose buds from my stash.

WOYWW #204

Gosh, I can't believe it's Wednesday again already! This is the fun day when we all get to snoop around each others craft spaces. If you want to take part, go visit our fearless leader Julia at The Stamping Ground!

For those who tried to find me last week, my number changed three times. First, I was 105 in the morning, then 110 in the afternoon, then 108 the next day. Sorry for the confusion! edit: it happened again this week. Yesterday I was #129. Today, I'm #128.

My desk seems to have many of the same things on it every week. I have to clean it off every session, but it seems to have so many of the same things because apparently these are the things I use the most.

This time I have three little desk cups instead of two. I got five of them at a dollar store last year, so rather than using my coffee cups to hold pens and other things, I use these. My brushes are still in one, but I divided my blending things into one cup, and anything I use frequently to draw with in another.

You can also see my latest trimmer. I got it for half price, and it is the one I like the best of all the ones I have. I still have to use my old ones sometimes though, because this one doesn't have metric measurements. This is the first Fiskers trimmer that hasn't had them. Sometimes I wish paper crafting would switch completely to metric so we all could be using the same dimensions and tools. I have used the metric system quite a few times for cards, and it seems to be a lot easier than fractions of an inch. Yeah, I'm in the US and used to our system, but I still find metrics easier for measuring. I've always found measurements like 7/16, 3/32, 3/8, etc a real pain. It's so much easier to get used to .3, .4, .5, etc.

My Yes! paste and cup of water with the paintbrush I use to spread it are always on my desk, and so are my antique box of frequently used things and my drawers of most used stamp pads. My little jar of Ranger nibs is also still there, along with another jar containing some makeup applicators I found at Walmart. They are cheap, and have a pointed end and a rounded flat end. The brand name is Swisspers. They come in a little plastic bag with 80 applicators, and work quite well.

On top of the drawers is a hanging file folder over stuffed with blue CS. You can also see a card I was working on, as well as one of the dies I used on it, a metal ruler, a pencil, my box of daubers, a gold Gellroll pen, my coffee cup, and a blade holder thingy.

Don't envy me too much on the daubers, they are getting worn out, and the last time I got any I bought two of the three packs. Unfortunately, our JoAnns and AC Moore must only have old ones, because they crumbled rather than blended. I bought the first pack at AC Moore, and when I went to JoAnns, I decided to buy another pack, so I thought I would have enough to last a while, but both packs were crumbly. I don't know what the girls in Bangor, Maine are using, but so many of the supplies there are really old. I've pretty much given up on Krylon pens. They are $8.69 each, and are dried out when you buy them. Some of the PenTouch pens are just as bad, which is why I've been using my gold Gellyrolls lately.

The blade holder is there because I worked for hours trying to make a mini album with complicated pages. It was something with flip and fold pages I had in my head that I never got quite right. Anyway, you must know how it is when you keep trimming something and then you inadvertently trim off the sides with the folds!!! After that, I decided to make a card instead!

I'll try to get around to as many of your desks as I can, it's still really hectic here!