Creative Therapy

Whew! I am back! It has been a while. The outpouring of support for me while I took a break to help my mother (after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon and Liver cancer) was humbling. I didn't know there were that many of you that visited my blog! I have been very touched!

So, my mother is taking chemotherapy treatments and will continue for the rest of her life. The hope is to slow the cancer enough to give us more time. While I haven't really gotten "settled", I have realized that creating is my most important therapy! I started paper crafting in 2005 when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis as a physical therapy for my hands, etc. I was amazed at the mental relaxation that comes from creating too! Of course, I will fuss and fight with things that don't go my way too, but in general, the rest of the world slips away. That is if I keep the door locked.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago… I was getting a routine going with my mom and my family responsibilities, as well as my physical limitations. It's not that I "have the time", but I decided I needed to "make the time"! Once I made myself go and create for a while one day, I felt so much better!

Allowing yourself time to create, no matter the result, will release you from the other stresses in your life. Even if just for a short while. I do hope you all will continue visiting my site and watching my videos on YouTube! I have TONS to show you!

I will leave you with this piece of wall art, acrylic on canvas, with a very powerful quote. Click on the image for a larger version.

Thanks again! To place an order, email me at creativepzazz at gmail dot com!

Leslie

It's a beautiful day! I just got home from the Neurologist! There is still no change in my MS, but on Spetember 5th I will be celebrating my 5th anniversary without ANY relapses!! 5 years is a big deal in the cancer world! I have no idea if it is a big deal in the world of MS (I forgot to ask the doctor!). BUT I am celebrating like it is! Woo Hoo!!

For today's project, I have a video showing you the canvas that I made for one of my daughter's friends. It was well received by all the kids at the party. Plus, it was easy to make!

I will show a video soon about how I made the flowers. There are thousands of videos for making the satin lollipop flowers already on YouTube, but I make one a little bit differently! My girls go back to school Aug 6th, so I will have more posts and videos after that. I can't promise anything before that. They are demanding little divas, right now! LOL

Enjoy!



Thanks for stopping by today!
Leslie

Ballerina Tutu Canvases

Here are Ballerina Canvases in the two styles that I made for the store that commissioned them as products for their stock. The first has flowers at the straps, and the second has bows. I used the same style ribbon for the straps and the waistband as compared to the original sample I showed you several days ago (you can see it by clicking Wall Art in the categories). I developed a design for the hanger for the 5x7 canvases. What do you think?  I actually used children's plastic hangers for the 8x10 and the 11x14 canvases.

These canvases can have an initial painted on them or they can be used as a "frame" for a photo. The 5x7 frame is sized for a 4x4 photo.  The 8x10 canvas is sized for a 5x7 photo. The 11x14 canvas is sized for a 8x10 photo. Of course, with the larger canvases you could put several smaller size photos on them.

I can't tell you how cute these are in person!! I have had several questions about how I will be pricing these. The 5x7 will be $12, the 8x10 will be $15, the 11x14 will be $20. These are wholesale prices for the store owner. I would add a few dollars to each, if I was to sell them to an individual.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a blessed day!

Leslie

New Wall Art Designs!

I thought I would let you see some of the things that are keeping me so busy that I have not been posting a new project each day. These are some of the Wall Art pieces that were commissioned by a store in town. These are made from ceiling tiles and can be used as a bulletin board or just as a picture on the wall.
This first photo is a sample board for the store. The colors do not show well. They are lime green, hot pink, and the outlines are brown. My youngest daughter chose this one based on the sample sketches I made, hence the S.
 
This next photo is another board based on the sample above. I make them blank, then the customer will indicate the initial to be placed in the center, and I will paint it.

This next board is not finished yet. I just thought I would show you the progress. I still have to paint the square in the center and the centers of each of the flowers. The colors are hot pink, lime green, and orange. I really liked this new design. I just came up with it this morning. My youngest daughter had a fit! She has now decided that she wants this one for her room and not the sample board.  No, to this date, I have yet to paint wall art pieces for my daughters' rooms!! Why is it that we always do things for everyone else instead of our family? Well, one reason is that I get $PAID$ for these. LOL

Not a new design, but it is a board for the store. This board is hot pink with black zebra stripes. I am going to come up with about 2 more styles. They may be the same designs as above, but different colors. Maybe.

Well, that is part of what I have been spending my time doing lately rather than making mini albums, scrapbook pages, cards, or gifts.
Edited to add the link!! Oops!! **Also, please check out http://latenitestampinwithsherill.blogspot.com/ where she is giving away a TON of SU! prizes!!! Sherrill Graff is such a talented designer and runs a yahoo group called Late Night Stampers, that is 99% Stampin' Up! It is such a great group with tons of ideas and tips! Check it out!
Thanks for stopping by today. Have a blessed day!
Leslie

Canvas Wall Art

Today's project has only one Stampin' Up! product used on it and no stamping,  but you are going to LOVE it anyway!! I want to show you what my next project is: I will be preparing several Wall Art panels to go in a store here in my hometown.  Southern Style, has unique gifts and products that you can have monogrammed. Well, now you will be able to purchase my Ceiling Tile Wall Art (you can see samples here), and I am adding a new product line for Dancing Ballerinas!

What do you think of this?

I took 2 pictures because you just can't see how poofy that tu-tu really is in the photo! These are "Tu-Tu Canvases" that you can have an initial painted on, add a Decor Elements vinyl letter, or attach a photo of your favorite ballerina to the front! They have straps at the top that hang from a small wire hanger that I made (couldn't get it to show for the photo). Aren't these so cute! 

I use 5x7, 8x10, and 11x14 canvases, but the area for the initial or photo ends up being a square area because of the tu-tu. I used a staple gun stapled the tulle as I scrunched it across the front. I did the hot pink first then the light pink.  I finished it off with black polka-dotted ribbon to hide the staples and create a waist band for the tu-tu. I used Pretty in Pink ink and rubbed it across the edges of the canvas. I then took a sponge and blended it in a bit, leaving the center a bit lighter.

What little girl wouldn't love to have this in their room?

I have seen people use canvases as their cover for a mini album. What a great mini album cover this would make! I may have to look into making one of these a mini-album!!

Thanks for stopping by! Oh, and Creative Pzazz products will be in Southern Style on April 10th!

Wall Art

Check out this wall art I painted for a friend. She has a shop and needed a sign. You will have to click on it to enlarge the picture, because you can't see all the bling as it is!

This was painted on a 2' x 2' ceiling tile using latex paint. Latex paint is much thicker than regular acrylic or craft paints, which is desired to seal the ceiling tile. You can buy small sizes of latex paint in 4-8oz sizes tinted to custom colors! The red used in the photo is a can of "Oops" paint, or paint that the paint store mixed wrong for a customer, so they sell it at a DEEP discount!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Diaper Cake and Wall Art!!

My niece recently had a baby girl, and for her baby shower, I made her a diaper cake! I used an entire case of 124 diapers. It makes a large, beautiful cake. I will give you the EASY instructions to make this cake. Trust me, if I can make this cake, so can you. This was my first attempt EVER!

The supplies you need are:

• Diapers: get 30-40 for one layer, 70 for 2 layers, and 124 for the 4 layer cake.
  
• Go to the dollar store and pick up some very inexpensive mini plastic toys (I think these are things for decoration or for baby showers). Plus get any other items you would like to use, such as small toys, mini baby powder (put in place of a diaper), socks (for mom and baby), Onesies, clothes, bath cloths, towel, blanket, creams, bath wash, pacifiers, etc.
  
• Get some type of a topper for the cake, i.e. stuffed animal, larger toy, etc.
  
• Pick up some long pearl headed pins
• A couple of artificial flower sprigs (two different sizes), which I also got at the dollar store.
  
• Rubber bands. You need a regular sized rubber band for each diaper, then you need some very large rubber bands (or 10-20 extra regular size), mine were 7-8" and were obtained from an office supply store. If you can't find the large rubber bands, use regular sized ones to connect the pods (explained later).
  
• Ribbon. Wide ribbon looks best and covers the most sins. Get 4 yards, but you will probably only use 3 for the large cake.
• Piece of poster board, or a cake stand. (My cake was too large for a cake stand, so I made a poster board circle that is not visible in this photo.)
  

The steps to make the diaper cake are:

1. Place your piece of poster board on the table. Do not cut it into a circle until you are finished with the cake. This step is critical. The poster board helps to stabilize the cake as you are moving it, preventing diapers from falling out of the center.
   
2. Take each diaper and open it to the long form. (It is difficult to describe what I did. Basically, I did not open it all the way, as you would to put a baby in; I just flipped it open.) Now roll the diaper up (starting on the decorated end) all the way and secure it with a rubber band. Repeat for each diaper.
   
3. Using the larger rubber bands, gather 8-12 diapers and stand them up inside the rubber band. Continue adding diapers to the rubber band, by stretching the rubber band to create an opening, until you have achieved the size of the layer you would like. For the first layer, I used two large rubber bands. I put less than half of the diapers in the first rubber band, then added a second rubber band around them that I put the rest of the diapers in. This created more stability and less chance for losing the "middle" diapers. I put 45-55 diapers in the bottom layer, 35-40 in the next layer, 20-28 in the next layer, and then 8-12 in the top layer. I am sorry I do not have the exact count. I counted them as I went, but I went back and added more to each layer to make them fuller. You may have to do this also to make the layers actually sit in a bit from the layer beneath it. If you don't have the large rubber bands, use regular rubber bands to collect 8-10 diapers into a "pod". Use a rubber band to connect two or three diapers from each "pod" to create your layer.
   
4. I wrapped a piece of ribbon around each layer and tucked under the top piece to create a hem, then pinned it into place. (Using the larger headed pins helps the mom know where each pin is, avoiding any possibility of a pin accidentally dropping and not being seen possibly endangering the baby.)
5. I tied a bow and pinned it into place through the inside of the loops.
6. Add the little toys, bath wash, cream, or other goodies to sit around the cake at various places. Don't forget to decorate the back of the cake.
   
7. Put the topper in place and add a tag.
8. Then I filled in the holes with the flowers. Pull the flower petals off the stems and pull out the "center" of the flowers. Now gather two large petals and one coordinating smaller petal together and pin into place using one of the pearl pins. Don't forget to decorate the back of the cake. Click the photo to see enlargements of each detail.

Some people put a few shirts or rolled up clothes, juice, stuffed animals, or any other small items I suggested above into the center of the bottom layer. If you can roll it up or it is not taller than a diaper, you can just put it right into the layer anywhere! You will use less diapers this way or have a HUGE cake! Rolled up Onesies make a great layer all of their own. Also, if you can't find pearl headed pins, you can order the Pretties Kit from Stampin' Up! (just ask me!) and make your own. The kit includes half back pearls, which you can glue to your own regular flat headed pins. This project took 2-3 hours, only because of the rolling of the diapers. The decorating took about 30 minutes.

Finally, here are a couple more Wall Art pieces I made. I hand sketch each piece of wall art prior to painting it. Believe me, I go through a lot of erasers.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Christmas Gifts!

Happy Birthday Valerie!!

Today I thought I would share with you some gifts I made for Christmas. I wish I had the time to share these with you as I was making them instead of all together, but with all the orders that Creative Pzazz, LLC had there just wasn't time. I will save the ones that were stamped or used Stampin' Up! supplies and do them in separate posts, so I can show several photos of each. I have always done many different types of crafts, and these are some of the ones ordered this year. I am hoping I can convince my cousin to teach me how to sew, so I can make a purse or two also!

First, you will see the 75 bracelets I made for an order my uncle placed with me. He takes 3 or 4 mission trips a year to travel to Venezuela to help build an orphanage. This trip, he went to give the people who take care of the children in the orphanage a vacation- their first in decades. My uncle promised me a photo of one of the girls with their bracelet on. I will post it upon their return. You can see the whole pile of bracelets in the first photo, then in the second photo you will see the bracelet pulled open. There are a series of macrame knots that create a tube of sorts that the strings of the bracelets can pull through. Pull the strands all the way open to put the bracelet on, then in the third photo, you will see the bracelet in a tightened position. The bracelets were created this way so they would fit all sizes of children from age 4 or 5 up to adult. The 4th photo is of the finished bracelet.
















The two Wall Art are made on 2' x 2' ceiling tiles. These work great for bulletin boards, but most people just use them for decoration.

The final photo is of some Polymer Clay bracelet and earring sets I made. Polymer Clay, if you didn't know, is basically a modeling clay that you can bake to make it hard. These are tiny. The necklace pieces are around 1" with seed beads on the strand, and the earrings are around 1/2" each. These were a big hit with the ladies that my mom works with at the library.

Thanks for stopping by today.

More Wall Art and War Eagle!

In Alabama there is not much that comes before football. Not family, not work, maybe church, but you will hear the men in church discussing the weekend games in the vestibule, especially Auburn and Alabama football. And if Auburn and Alabama play each other... well, friends may not speak for weeks after. My family is by birth and by honor BIG Auburn fans. So, making an Auburn sign for a customer was a no-brainer.

But I did have to oblige a paying customer and paint an Alabama sign too. It hurt really badly. I had to go to confession and sing 4 War Eagles just to atone for my sins! LOL Seriously, I have to charge extra for an Alabama sign. It is only fair to my team. LOL Actually, each houndstooth is drawn and painted by hand, so these signs are very time-consuming, which is why they cost more.

Finally, the double-sided Alabama sign had brown Zebra stripes with Orange accent. It proves that both sides do not have to match. Hang a double-sided sign in the window or hang it so one side shows, then later turn it so the back shows.

Thanks for stopping by today. Oh, and if you don't live in Alabama and you don't care about football, if anybody asks, say you are an Auburn fan! War Eagle!!

Wall Art

I have been so busy making signs for people that I haven't had time to organize my craft space or to make any other projects! There are several things that are on my to do list for crafting. You can expect to see these over the month of October: Halloween/Fall Festival Lollipop craft, Christmas Tags for a Christmas Card & Tag Class (just wait until you hear about this!), a mini album for birthdays or holidays, Snowman invitations to a Christmas party, photos of a Home Decor Elements vinyl wall decal installation, and hopefully some organization tips!

But first, I have more Wall Art to show you. While I do make 8 x 10" and 9 x 12" canvas panels too, my current best seller is the ceiling tiles! Check out these latest samples:




























All ceiling tile signs are made to order according to your specifications. We create exactly what you want, within my ability that is!
Thanks for stopping by today.

Wall Art: Bulletin Boards

Since I made the first of these wall art or bulletin boards for a teacher friend, the orders have not stopped! I am staying so busy that I have no time for my Stampin' Up! side of my business. That is not a bad thing. I am still making cards, etc. during drying time, but as for preparing and scheduling workshops, well that has been put on hold. I had hoped I would be holding workshops this month. It doesn't look like that is going to happen this month. Oh well, I will continue to post the things I do make and give tutorials for them. Maybe someday there will actually be another visitor here other than me, myself, and I and Amy. LOL!
Actually, I am proud to say there have been 4 other people to say they "stopped by". No comments yet.
So, if you do stop by, please leave a comment. Thanks so much!

Wall Art: Name/ Initial Signs, Painted decor, and Bulletin Boards

And now for another installment of Projects by Leslie. I make initial and name signs for gifts for my girls' friends and word has gotten around that I do. This year we have a new elementary school opening in our city to replace an old school with mold problems. Several of the teachers requested that I make them name signs to hang on their doorknobs of the classroom. Then I was asked if I could decorate a small bulletin board for my daughter's teacher. I suggested a ceiling tile, which works great and is about $3 at the hardware store (See letter G photo). I have several more orders for these bulletin boards and more orders coming. You will see the bulletin board project here too. Finally, you will see a wall art piece I did for my cousin's daughter: Princess. I have a problem with not stopping... just going a bit further. I understand less is more, but I question just how much less, so I keep adding until I have passed more! Next time, less green dots. The ELSA piece was a sheet of DSP with embossed flowers on it, which I added Cricut Storybook cartidge letters...so simple.














I hope you enjoyed this last installment. I will post more photos soon. I have so many new stamp sets from Stampin' Up! to try out, a mini-album I want to make, a 12x12 scrapbook page frame to decorate, and more. So projects will be ongoing.
Thanks for stopping by!