In my Heart,I know the Way

Oh boy...I am so excited about this news...

I'm thrilled...overjoyed,...even giddy to announce that I am now on the 2015 Retro Cafe Design Team! 

This is a very big deal for me because I have been a fan of this store for years but one of my favorite things about this store,besides the obvious,they offer a yummy selection of wood products,is the option to choose different material for one design.For example,this heart flower design can be ordered in masonite,chipboard,black mat board or even stencil board.

How cool is that! 

It really opens up the world of design and I am thrilled to a part of it.

For my very first RC project tutorial I wanted to use the Sailboat Kit...I had it all planned out...I was going to add my text to the sails and I knew I wanted the boat part to look like a speckled egg...yes,I had plans...

But when I had a cabinet malfunction in my Art room some weeks ago,some of my pieces were damaged...whaaaaaa....

but thankfully I had another kit and decided to give it another go.This time around I had no plan,and just went with the flow of it.

So after assembling the boat,I covered it in paper and book text...

I then added a thin coat of gesso...

and added text tissue paper to the inside of the boat....

and as I continued to add paint layers an old, rustic,weather worn boat began to appear...

I next cut my phrase and added it to rim of the boat...but by this point I started realizing I didnt want to use the entire sailboat...I decided to turn this piece into a free standing unit...

I next used RC Articulated Mermaid Santos Cage but I didn't use all the pieces. I covered some of the pieces in Iced Enamels and glitter...

creating a mock compass...

and I assembled the mermaid, added a lovely face paper cut and then added tissue paper to the back of a acrylic heart...

Before attaching the body and tail,I added fabric scraps to the inside of the boat,as well as gluing some Masonite stars to the inside.I then added some gold Viva decor pen drops. 

Once the mermaid was glued on,I added additional fabric scraps(my version of water) to the outside.

 On her chest it reads,"In my heart, I know the way".

I love the way this one came out...so much so that I took a picture of her and added it to my Society6 page and ordered myself a phone cover...heehee... 

 Retro Cafe Art

products used in this tutorial.

sailboat

mermaid santos

doll paper face cuts

acrylic hearts

iced enamels

tim holtz letters

stars

paper pen

"Long ago God drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. You were never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

Here's to making every minute count,

Winner winner Chicken Dinner

This is what happens when I cant figure out how to copy my random generator...I take a picture of the screen, with my phone, and then send it to myself...heehee..

Thank you so much to those of you that left a comment for my last giveaway! 

This is going to be a wonderful year!! 

I had 19 comments and the lucky duck is 

# 19

Susan from Threads of Inspiration

I will be contacting you today!

Thank you again friends, for stopping by my little corner of the web.

Update: Susan your email is not working,please contact me with your address at catkerr92@gmail.com

"Long ago God drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. You were never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

Here's to making every minute count,

A New Year,a new Quote,a new everything.

Every year I pick a quote/word for the year and every year(at least for the last five)the quote has come naturally and without struggle...this year,not so much.I even became stressed over it...how could I not have a word...or a quote...oh no,this cannot be. And as it were to be so,on New Years Eve I realized I didn't need a word at all...I only needed to trust,trust in the journey...

So as soon as I understood I only needed to trust...I found my quote for the year...funny how things work out...

and I made myself a little reminder cuff,to keep me on track...

and I decided to try something new...Inspired by this wonderful post by Elizabeth Gibert...I created a Happiness Jar and I'll fill it with happiness notes throughout the year...

and I created a vision board at a wonderful class at Art More Place...

and as some of you may know I recently finished my creative studio...

well a couple of weeks ago I had a cabinet malfunction in the studio(long story)and new upper cabinets had to be installed(ugh)but everything is back to normal and ready for me to get busy...

and I did...I made some more leather cuffs for the shop...plus one extra teal "Wild" one for a Giveaway!! If your interested,just leave me a comment below and tell me..what's new for you this upcoming year! I'll pick a winner next Friday.

(to see the rest of the cuffs just go here)

Here's to 2015...and a wonderful way to start the year!

"Long ago God drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. You were never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

Here's to making every minute count,

Why does it go by so fast?

December is a crazy month around here...we have school performances and parades...

and as soon as the kids were off on Winter Break Hannah had a special performance at Epcot, so we made a day of it...

and of course the Holiday is filled with out little traditions...like watching Christmas favorites,under the blanket,with hot cocoa...

and making all sorts of yummy cookies...

and Christmas morning...only seems to last a couple of minutes...

but that's ok because now that the kids are old enough to help with breakfast,Christmas breakfast is a whole lot sweeter...

and then we visit family...and open more gifts...

and treasure every second...

especially spending time with the folks...

and when all the busyness has started to calm down...a good family game is exactly what the doctor ordered.

"Long ago God drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. You were never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

Here's to making every minute count,