Lace, glorious lace

Hellooooo dear Taif readers.
it is rhi to the oh here, coming at you with our latest art kick start, none other than my can't live without item... Lace!

Its so pretty. and feminine. and pretty. and versatile. and pretty. please show us what you create using it. a little bit of it, a lot of it, it is up to you!

This go round we are sponsored by the lovely etsy shop craftcake designs.

You can get your little mitts on this handmade eclectic art journal, so remember to link us up to what you create!
Now. I am thrilled and honored to introduce our guest designer, we had her dapper other half a couple of weeks ago, and now we have the one and only ms. jek-a-go-go herself. I have been a follower of her flickr for quite a few years now, and it never fails to bring sunshine and colour to my dull british days.

I will hand over to her to tell us how she came up with her delightful lace filled project.

Salutations! My name is Jessica but the blogging and flickr world knows me as jek. I currently have two blogs out there, one about life, crafting and living creatively and the other about making arts and crafts with your children. Both of which have scrumdilly in their titles. I'm a children's book specialist and a student of Human Development and I'm a little bit manic and a little bit Doris Day. When Kara asked me to be a guest designer for the Lace prompt, I jumped on it! I have a box full of beautiful vintage lace that belonged to my grandmother. It was itching to be played with. In this box is nestled a party of lace. Pale pink, blue, minty green, yellow...all sorts of colors and widths. I have been meaning to do something with it but always pushed it aside until now. What was I going to do?

I woke up one morning and stood in my tiny kitchen with a cup of tea wondering what I could do that would be pretty and inspiring. I would look from the open box of lace to the dull gray sky outside and sigh. Our lovely Los Angeles weather had finally turned somewhat wintery on us. The lack of blue and color was dismal and if you know me, you know i am a bit of a color fiend. As I took another sip of my green anji tea, I had an idea, or at least an idea of an idea. Why not take care of two things at once? I am nothing if not a manic multi-tasker. I would create a pretty science project using tea and lace. It would start out as a bit of prettiness on my kitchen shelf and hopefully, it would turn into something else. So I brewed three new cups of tea. A darjeeling, a chamomile and another green anji. I popped the tiny glasses of tea on my tiny kitchen shelf and dropped a snippet of lace into each one. As the tea brewed, so would the lace and in the end, I would have some tea-dyed prettiness to play with. I then spied a bit of left over coffee and dropped a bit of lace into that as well. For the next four days, the tea cups of lace acted as a mood lifter for gray skies. So pretty.

Finally, I took out the small pieces to dry and wondered, wondered, wondered what I could do with them. After many trials and errors, I was left with only itty bitty scraps and in desperation I had it! Documentation. Out came four metal ringed key tags, the mod podge, scissors, a sharpie. a scrap of wood and four tiny nails. So here you go, an itty bitty portrait of tea colored lace, labeled, hung and documented for future art endeavors. Enjoy!

Thank you Jek, you never fail to inspire :)

Our girl Ashley created this little bit of pretty, and apologises for the bad scan.

I am making one art journal a month, so for this months, i whipped together a little patchwork, squidgy book, with canvas pages inside. i used lace as the closure, and as a little handle so i can hang it when it is time for the march journal to be made and filled :)

Dani's whimsical creation makes my heart happy :)

The other girls will be adding their projects shortly, when they find their way out of the mounds of lace they are currently stuck under.

a penny in a fountain...

a star in the sky,
a word spoken in frustration,
or a thought written secretly.

Wishes.

This is a prompt that can be full of emotion, magic, or humor. Cara's here to share with us her wonderfully hopeful project.

Meet our guest designer:

my name is cara harjes.
i love lazy rivers, tiramisu, and hanging with my cute husband.
i dislike eating my veggies, putting away laundry, and people who are difficult to read.
i grew up in st. louis, mo but i have lived in denver, co for almost 10 years!
(if you are also from st. louis, i will ask you "where did you go to high school?")
(if you are not from st. louis, i don't care where you went to high school.)
(but we can still be friends.)
(and that concludes the parentheses portion of this bio!)

when kara asked me to play with the prompt "wishes" i was more than a little unsure of what i would end up making. "wishes" felt really dreamy and light and easy-going . . . things that don't really describe me. so it was a good challenge. one day i was driving home from the office i share with my husband. it is across the street from a treatment center for adults deal with substance abuse. i saw a very confused, disoriented looking lady wearing a sequined gown in the middle of the day crossing the street. i felt her pain all the way through the steel doors of my car. but i was also listening to a really hopeful song. something inside of me began to stir. i started thinking about what is going on in our world and what i would like to see change. the concept for this video was born immediately from that short exchange. i was also really inspired by the Wizard of Oz. to me, it embodies the whimsy and magic that all good wishes are made of! you will find several yellow brick road references here.

you can find my stories, pictures, and recipes here, and my most recent brain child is my *BRAND NEW* blog, The Marriage Mix. it is a place for folks to find encouragement and hope in the midst of marriage - which, as it turns out, is not as easy at it seems in romantic comedies!!! (perhaps if i woke up looking like meg ryan or reese witherspoon things might be different.) (probably not.) (there i go again with those parentheses . . . )

thanks so much to the girls from The Art is Found - you are lovely and i am so happy to have the honor of playing with you this month!!!!



Cardboard Wishes from Cara Harjes on Vimeo.


The other Kara made a lovely layout with the new Hambly butterfly paper:



Fabulous Debee did a digital layout:



Here's Dani's layout:



And I (Mandi!) altered a dollar bill. ha

Ashley dedicated her *wish* to *wish*ing that Six Feet Under was still on the air...

The other girls are posting later tonight and this week, so check back!

As usual, we *wish* you would play along with us. :) A random participant will be chosen to win a *free* spot in Kara's up and coming online class! It's bound to be as fabulous as she is.

Happy, happy 2009!

I'm still so surprised that "my" little site, that I started thinking up this time last year, has evolved into this space. Many, many inspiring, gracious Guest Designers, awesome sponsors, and the addition of the "TAIF Girls", has really crafted this blog into something that I certainly couldn't have done on my own. And that's mainly thanks to the readers and participators! So. Thank you. :D

As I've been talking to the rest of the TAIF ladies, it's been decided that we really want to start having The Art is Found "grow up", in a sense. We're moving in new, more art driven expanses in the new year. Unusual, insanely talented Guest Designers, crazier prompts.

And don't get your curls in an uproar, all the prompts are easily interpreted into scrapbooking still, but we want to see you all step out of your box and just try something new.

We LOVE seeing prompts intrepreted in unique ways and we also love seeing the beautiful, scrapbooky artness too. (yes, those are technical terms.). Anyways. I'm way excited to announce our first prompt and Guest Designer of 2009! The prompt is:

Mobiles

Y'know, the cute little hangy things you hang over cribs? Well. Dude. I want you to make a mobile. It could be artsy and bizarre. I don't care if you decided to string butterflies over your window. Or you could make something with the word "mobile", like journalling on a layout or whatever.

Our Guest Designer, this time 'round, is the awesome Jeff Stephens! Jeff is the awesomely talented husband of Jek, one of my favorite flickrers. Here's what Jeff has to say about his mobile--


Mobile, Alabama never been there. Never got a degree in art, but after earning one in Economics I made art instead of pie charts. The fine art gallery scene didn’t seem to want me so after a bit I figured sticking to one medium for the sake of being easily identified was silly. I started out as a printmaker, but when the technical rigor of etching and engraving didn’t thrill anymore I moved into paper cut silhouettes, mechanical gizmos, cartoons, and stuffed toys. The paper silhouettes led to mobiles of black shadows. They recreate the kick I got as a kid watching this 60s far-out iridescent fish mobile that hung in front of a window in my parent’s house. Backlit by the window, silhouettes of lazy fish would ease past the window and the house was under water. The mobile photographed here hangs in our bedroom window now, and I watch chairs cross sky in morning light. I’ve had time to make a few mobiles, but there’s a mess of drawings waiting to be cut from thin veneer plywood. Most of the objects get a coat of jet black. In dim light they make a nice illusion of depth. The moon in this mobile is gold leafed and gives a bright, reflective flash as it turns. Mobiles give simple objects a lively kinetic punch. Hell, maybe I’ll make one out of pie charts.

His project--

I love the winged chair, so great. Thanks for Guesting, Jeff!

Now onto what the rest of us made!

Gentle Mandiii-

Magical Rhi-Rhi-



Debee




Uhhh. Kara- Haha.

Dani-


As always, feel free to interpret the prompt however you see fit. A painting, a series of polaroid pictures, art journal, blog post.... Don't forget to share!

The winner of the SFAC Kit is Kinzie Lynn!!! Email me your address at karahaupt[@]gmail.com.

Have a blessed week!

xoxo.
kara.

"The woods are lovely dark and deep...

...But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."
- Robert Frost

Hey kids, it's Dani checking in for this latest prompt! This one is.... absolute perfection. Honestly, every time I get around to working on the upcoming prompts I think its the best one yet. Then the next one rolls around and I'm saying it again. But honestly, this one is tremendously inspiring! So you probably want to know what it is right?
Well, this latest prompt is "woods". The woods. the great outdoors. large looming trees. dark and quiet. peaceful and wild. Or just plain wood. woodgrain. tree rings and other wood related patterns.... you see where I'm going here.

Let this prompt take you wherever you want, that's the beauty of it! You may start out with one "woods" related thought and end up creating something so far from where you began. And that's ok, just let the prompt inspire! I mean, the blog is called "The Art is Found" so go find it!

We have an amazing guest for this prompt, the adorable kim smith!

"The Art Is Found- that is the perfect name for what I do. Kara is fantastic, and of course found this out before me, so I am honoured to be able to participate! I'm Kim, and I live in England. My whole life inspires me- I feel this giant swell in my heart when I see things in my life that translate into my journals or photography or art work. Taking things from my life and surroundings and making that into something visual, maybe even just bringing some attention to it, is my favourite thing to do!


So, for the prompt- 'Woods', my mind automatically jumped to the trees that I drive through everyday to school. I'm lucky to live in quite a rural area and I pass these big open fields and lately they are misty and white in the mornings and dark and eerie at night. I love them- and they were my main inspiration for the few little projects I did.


This page is about my 'happy place' the place I go to, to calm down or rest or just take a moment- I imagine myself in a wooded area, a forest, and having the time to just listen to the sound of silence with a dear companion. The title reads 'so silent, and strong. But beautiful.' Because I long to be like the strong silhouettes of winter trees against a clear sky.



And this little painting was a spur-of-the-moment 'I need to get this down' kind of thing. Telling myself to stop stressing and stop worrying. It is my motto for this December.

Thank you all you artisfound girls! And I can't wait to see what you all make! Kxo!"

Mandi has two delicious projects made with woodgrain contact paper:

little trees for a closet door...

Dani (hehe, me) decided to do something different than her usual and made a crochet neckwarmer with a woodsy theme:


(used some yummy martha stewart woodgrain ribbon!)

The other girls will be sharing their projects later, so keep checking back!

This prompt is sponsored by Scrap for a Cure, check out this perfect mini kit, so much fun stuff:

So now that I've tempted you with this yummy prize, go hug a tree and get creating!
Don't forget to link us up to your projects!

*********

the winner of the the sequins prompt is....
heather!
email kara at karahaupt [at] gmail.com with your addy and info! congrats!

Happy Monday!

Do you "SEEquin" what I "SEEquin"?

Hello hello! Kimmie here! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are a little late this week with the challenge...forgive us...tis the season right?:)

But we are not disappointing.

Topic:

SEQUINS (how awesome is this for Christmas?)

Designer:

The Rad Elsie Flannigan

E L S I E C A K E

hello! i am elsie flannigan. i live and work in Springfield, Missouri. i spend most of my time painting and making outrageous little crafts. i enjoy reindeer, MGMT, dinosaur toys, hot chocolate, big bows in my hair, charlie kaufman films and pretty much any accessory that begins with the word "faux".

i have an etsy store called elsiecake and i am opening an art boutique in February called Red Velvet Art .

You can find me at my blog and at the Red Velvet Girls blog .

It's an honor to be a part of this!!

Lovelove!

Her inspiration:

Her delicious project:

I was inspired by all of the pretty holiday sequin dresses and hair pieces! I made this little mermaid painting and i added some extra cuteness with green and aqua sequins! I hope you enjoy it!

XO. elsiecake

AWEsome Ashers:

Killer Kara:
Koolness Kim:

Mirror Love(I thought this was a great project for my children...and a good way to get
my ornaments to match everything! )

Mysterious Mandi:Deep Dani:
Delicious Debee:
Really Real Rhi shall be here soon with her project.

This week's prompt is brought to you by the letter D as in The Dozens Kit Club...
Look how lovely...
The winner of the Christmas Kit from the "texture" prompt is "merryheart2"...Congrats missy! Email Kara your address.

Hey! and don't forget to link your projects in the comments so we can check them all out! I know you guys are gonna rock the sequins!