And all of a sudden… it’s December AGAIN!

It's been a long year... And all of a sudden… it's December and time for my long awaited exhibition with 2 other artists from Gold Coast Watercolor Society group. 16 photos hand matted and framed on display at the Plunge Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  They usually have 2 openings a month, but because all the holidays are lumped together... we are having one big party reception. I did get in front of all the folks attending and say a few words about my body of work on display. Now off for a long winters nap!



ARTcycled Altered Book Pages for the Second Annual LeslieRahye's Earth Day Bloghop

Welcome to the studio of SMBdesign! Thanks so much for stopping by. We are so excited to be participating in LeslieRahye's Second Annual EARTH DAY Bloghop! We are all about being GREEN and making functional, repurposed items out everyday discards.

We are sharing another fantastic "THROW-AWAY" Collage. This is a collage created from bits and pieces of this and that - things that would normally end up in the bin.

The stamped quote in the house window is Technique Tuesday - "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." Quoted by William Morris. One of my favorites.

Can you pick out all of the recycled items??? I have an altered book I'm working on that is mostly recycled and repurposed items with base pages from recycled Priority Mail tyvek envelopes. The stripes at the top are scraps from magazine page and patterned paper trimmings to cover up exposed adhesive from opening enveople. I have a recycled envelope from overseas, section of printed paper towel, misc paper scraps and corrugated, and a recycling bin die-cut I found in a parking lot one day. All are combined to make this fun Earth Day collage. I hope this inspires you to GREENcraft. Thanks for stopping by!

Please scroll down to click on the squares below to continue to all the fantastic artists on the hop...and remember, please Think GREEN! Sb

Thank You and Winner of BLOG CANDY from Mary Vogel Lozinak Link Up

Thanks to all the visitors last weekend for the Viva Las Vegastamps! Mary Vogel Lozinak link up and the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop! If you left a comment here on the post for this card were entered to win a prize for a $10 coupon to the Viva Las Vegastamps! Online Store :)

There was seven chances to win $10 coupons from the design team members blogs... including this blog!!! DID YOU WIN??? Click the links to visit the other six blogs to see if you are a winner.

Crystal - http://rusticdaisy.blogspot.com

Sheri - http://shycraftygirl.blogspot.com

Leslie-Rahye - http://leslierahye.blogspot.com

Lyneen - http://dreamingofcastles.blogspot.com

Cheryl - http://www.cherlin-ink.blogspot.com

Sandra - http://lifeimitatesdoodles.blogspot.com 

The winner for commenting on my fine feathered friend is...
DRUMROLL PLEASE...Judy Rozema

ALSO...two more winners are to be announced for $25 shopping sprees to the VLVS! Online Store please CLICK HERE to see if you won!!!

Congratulations Judy!! Please send me an email at sbartist1107 at yahoo dot com so I can send you information on claiming your prize. Have a great weekend : ) Sb

OWH Sketch #31 is juggling for Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop 2012

WELCOME to the HOP of all BLOGHOP's! 

Welcome "Hoppers" to my page SMBdesign - which is a blog for my shop on Etsy. My name is Susan and I am so proud to participate for my fourth year now. My card design is following Operation Write Home's Sketch #31. I am using a festive Mary Vogel Lozinak Stamp from Viva Las Vegastamps! stamped on a paper stained with a rainbow ink pad misted with water. I accented the edges with antique pearl dewdrops, colored in image with Ranger Distress Markers and finished off with small green gems for some "BLING"! I will be entering this in the VLVS Mary Vogel Lozniak Link Up Bloghop which is going on this weekend as well which will feature creations using Mary's hand-drawn images pressed to rubber. CLICK HERE to visit that hop!

My youngest sister is in the Army National Guard [for 3+ years now], is now married. Her husband is also in the Army and just returned from Afghanistan last month. She and her husband are based in Hawaii - how romantic is that...serving in one of the most beautiful and tropical places on earth.

I am so proud and grateful to all the men and women serving our country, and to their families, too - my thoughts and prayers are with you. Happy Memorial Day everyone! Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend : ) Sb

      

P.S. I do have two other blogs participating in the hop and waiting for inlinkz update. Please visit www.sbartist.com and also www.SalonDArte.com to see my other cards on the hop!

Operation Write Home began in 2007 with just a few cards made by friends on a message board; what began as an outlet for a hobby has become a much larger mission to help heroes keep in touch with home - and the effort has been joined by thousands of cardmakers!

OWH receives handmade cards donated by crafters across America (and beyond!). Cardmakers range in age, location, and level of skill; cards are provided by individuals and groups, schools and scouts, companies and churches. All have one primary thing in common: a desire to serve those who defend our nation!

Cards are mailed to one of our volunteer shippers in quanities both small and large. The shippers process, sort, repair, and document each donation, and then pack and ship boxes of over 300 cards each to our contacts. Our heroes request cards (families may also request on their behalf; we serve all branches in all deployed locations. Click Here for info on how you can participate.

Thanks for dropping by... to get back to the beginning... CLICK HERE to get back to Operation Write Home at the top of the HOP!

Coming this May 26th - the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop!!!

It's that time of year again for the

HOP of all BLOGHOP's!

The Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop. 

There's still time to get in on the fun. If you would like to be one of the participating blogs and feature one of your own creations CLICK HERE for all the info to get involved! See you there!!!

Thanks to EVERYONE for Supporting Charity Wings and the WINNERS!!!!

The National Scrapbooking Day Raffle benefiting the Charity Wings organization has ended. The giveaway of a BRAND NEW CRICUT EXPRESSION 2 has been picked and Anyone, ANYWHERE in the world could have won!!!

The winner of the midnight drawing for the Amazing Mold Putty

and Delight Air Dry Clay...

The winner was Robyn Coulliard!!!

AND the WINNER of the Cricut Expression 2...

DRUMROLL PLEASE!!! 

Lightning HAS STRUCK TWICE!!!

The winner - Robyn Coulliard!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I so appreciate the gang at the Odd Show, their demonstrators and all the fans who helped in supporting this Charity Wings Fundraiser!!! KUDOS and HUGE Thanks - big hugs to all involved!!!  : ) Sb

NSD Extravaganza | Getting there and the schedule...

All The Odd Shows Live are streamed using this LINQTO room

http://www.linqto.com/rooms/papermood

And last...but not least...for the grand finale!

The Cricut Giveaway!!!

You can still purchase raffle tickets for the Charity Wings Fundraiser ALL DAY until 7:45pm EST. The grand prize Cricut Expression 2 giveaway will be drawn at 8pm EST!!! See you there : ) Sb 

CLICK HERE TO GET TICKETS

ODD Show National Scrapbook Day Extravaganza! This Saturday May 5th!!!

   

   

  

May is National Scrapbooking month. AND Saturday, May 5th, is National Scrapbooking Day. Please join me at The Odd Show Special - National Scrapbook Day Extravaganza for LIVE streaming demos and giveaways. The fun starts at 10:00 AM Eastern until 8:00 PM...and maybe even till the wee hours!

At 8:00 PM, there will be a LIVE drawing for a new Cricut Expressions 2 - shipped to any address in the world! Only $5 USD gets you THREE chances to win in the drawing! $20 (4 tix) get you 17 chances!

  Someone is going to WIN a Cricut Expression 2!

 All raffle ticket proceeds will go to CharityWings.org 

Scrapbook along with us or make cards, ATCs - whatever mixed media or paper craft you enjoy doing. Learn new tips and techniques and win prizes. Come and go throughout the day on your own schedule.

To join us on Saturday, click the link below - Enter Room - Add a Screename:

http://www.linqto.com/rooms/papermood 

The are NO requirements to register in order use this LIVE stream website.

If you would like to preview what the room is like prior to Saturday, pop into The Odd Show's LIVE stream, Monday through Friday at Noon, Eastern time. Or watch a previously recorded show listed on the website.

For more details on The Odd Show National Scrapbook Day Extravaganza and to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a new Cricut Expressions 2, click below:

CharityWings.org - Purchase Raffle Tickets 

The Odd Show - Facebook 

The Odd Show - Blog

I will be demoing at 11:00 AM and 5:30 PM Eastern Time. I hope to see you there - this will be my online DEBUT!

A side note: ALL tickets purchased now until Friday, May 4th at 11:59pm ... will be put in a separate drawing for a Package of Amazing Mold Putty and Delight Air Dry Clay!!!



P.S. Special thanks to Molly Smith for providing this post : )

Turn Everyday Recycling into Beautiful Art for Leslie Rahye's Earth Day Bloghop

Welcome to the studio of SMBdesign! Thanks so much for stopping by. We are so excited to be participating in this special "Earth Day" Bloghop. We are all about being GREEN and making functional, repurposed items out everyday discards.

The project we are sharing is what is called a "THROW-AWAY" Collage. This is a collage created from bits and pieces of this and that - things that would normally end up in the bin.

This eco-friendly artwork is made from repurposed scrapbook paper, painted corrugated, daytimer organizer pages and magazine clippings. These everyday items get a new lease on life artistically, to take on an enlightening purpose.

This GREEN collage has been created from a bunch of scraps ARTFULLY REPURPOSED into a lovely piece of abstract art and is available HERE.

Please scroll down to the squares below and click on them to visit all of the Go-Green Artists on the bloghop. Hope you have a wonderful Earth Day - THINK GREEN!

*************

On May 5th I will be having my online "LIVE" debut on the Odd Show National Scrapbook Day Live Extravaganza. There is a Cricut Expression 2 being given away at the event - this is a fundraising raffle for the Charity Wings organization. Prize will be shipped internationally. Click HERE to get your tickets before they are gone! Just $5 gets you three chances to win and all proceeds go to charity...a WIN - WIN for you and for Charity Wings!

Some exciting news...

I haven't been blogging so much lately since I have been spending most of my free time working the summer craft shows with SalonDArte, making ornaments, tweaking my display and preparing the for upcoming big holiday craft shows. But I have also been feeding my creative muse by having some play time and trying out some new things...several months back I became part of the Unscripted Sketches Design Team...and...drumroll please...

I have super awesome news!!!

I am proud to announce that I have been selected to be part of an awesome group of artists & crafters! It is beyond words to explain how happy I am to be part of this group of talented stamp artisans. WOW! This is an awesome adventure that I am setting off on and I invite everyone to come along for the ride.

ANNOUNCING the New Viva Las Vegastamps! Design Team

Viva Las Vegastamps is excited to introduce you to our new Design Team for the next 6 months... This team will be post projects on the Viva Las Vegastamps blog on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Please stop by to check it out and leave comments. Please stop by to check it out and leave comments. Check out their online store, too - there are stamps for everything and every occasion.

I will still be doing graphic design and printing by day - this is a FUN thing for me that is truly an adventure. I am not a traditional "Stamper" by any means and I am excited to be chosen to play over at VLVS.   SMb : )

SalonDArte vending at Beat Cup Craft Fair on July 31st

Sorry I haven't been blogging too much lately. I been working really hard, making things and preparing to get SalonDarte shop into the local Indie craft show scene [and don't forget the day job]. I've have been doing one craft show, Dada Bazaar, the past three months and it been great - especially to get my feet wet, and I'm doing some design work for the event. It's so great to see my postcard art blown up to poster size hanging up at the venue.

Save the date...I'll be at the Beat Cup Craft Fair in Delray Beach, Florida, on July 31st with SalonDArte - handmade ornaments, lanterns and other artsy goodness. I have a lot of work to do to get my display in order this weekend. I have some very artistic art in which to hang the ornaments...and a couple surprises, too. Looking forward to it, love music and artists painting in plein aire...maybe I'll do that once the weather cools down a bit. See you there : )

Looking forward to it. There will be art, live music and even artists painting in plein aire...maybe I'll do that once the weather cools down a bit. See you there : )

Greencrafted Display Boxes and OWH Bloghop Winner

My sister shop SalonDArte has branched out to the local Indie Craft shows. I am active in artfully repurposing things and my table display for the craft show is my latest conquest. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to use to display my paper ornaments...and eureka - the tequila gave me a bright idea!!! My husband loves Milagros tequila and it comes in this fancy paperboard box, that is hard to throw away, so I've been saving them for a "special project" that my girlfriend and I can make.

Well, we were thinking lamps, but a new calling arose. LIGHTED ORNAMENT DISPLAY!!! I gently pried off the lid which already has holes in the top and bottom to nestle the bottle safely and added a battery powered LED puck light and VIOLA!!! I just had to add some fishing line to hang from and a square of pretty paper to the bottom to cover up the hole. I didn't even paint over all of the foil stamping on the outside - it sort of adds to the charm - and all the guys dragged into impromptu date night shopping think they are so cool!


This is my SalonDArte booth at the Dada Bazaar on Thursday night at Dada Restaurant in Delray Beach, Florida. This is a monthly event with 15-20 vendors and live music at this restuarant that resides in a historical house. I have to admit I feel quite at home at this venue with it's laid back atmosphere, porches to lounge on and it's cool, artsy vibe.

I'm so happy it's the weekend again so I can catch up on my ZZZ's, going to the "Trash to Treasure" warehouse and take some time revisiting some of my new crafty friends I met online last weekend. If you have some free time, check out last weekend's Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop for great cards, and how to's.

Now to announce my blog candy giveaway from 69 comments left on the last post....

selected by Random.org ... a DRUMROLL please...

Sherry Hickey said...

Hi! I have been sick so moving kinda slow but your blog was one I made a note to come back to! Love love your robot card. So many fun sprockety details! And not just for little boys--my friend's 4 year old daughter asked me to get her a robot for her b'day! I had to get her something else, but she would love this card!! Great job. May 30, 2011 6:04 PM

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am packing up an assortment of crafty goodies to ship out on Monday! Can't wait to hear from you Sherry...thanks so much for visiting during the OWH bloghop.

: ) SMb

Geared up for Operation Write Home's Memorial Day Bloghop 2011

Welcome to this stop on Operation Write Home's Memorial Day Bloghop 2011 . This is my third year participating...thanks for joining us in celebrating!!! Our family is so proud and grateful for all of our men and women serving in the armed forces. My youngest sister and her hubby are in the Army National Guard and her husband was deployed to Afghanistan in April. So we are keeping ourselves busy making cards and sending care packages.


I am all GEEKED and GEARED up with my Lil' Robot Card. This card is chock full of metal bits...Can you pick out all the pieces. My favorite gem is the "MISS YOU" brad adorning the chest plate of this little guy complete with his mini fuse lunchbox. I describe more in length about this creation later in the post...

**BLOG CANDY** I will be having a RAK giveaway of goodies from comments left between now and June 1st. Good luck!!!

Keep on hopping! The next stop is
with Lisa at Stamping with a Mission

Have a happy & safe Memorial Day Weekend! If you have ended up here in the middle of the hop, click Operation Write Home Memorial Day Bloghop to get back to the top of the hop!!!

{{ artful hugs }} : ) Sb

ABOUT THE ROBOT CARD...

I have recently become a member of the Design TEAM for Sketch it Saturday over at Unscripted Sketches. For sketch #107 I planned to use this guy from My Minds Eye "Lil' Robots" collection to make this card because this week had a piggyback challenge to use metals - Yippee!!! Gears and screws and washers...oh MY!

I have a serious collection of brads, grommets, screws and found metal objects from my daily travels. Can you pick out all the metal pieces I have in this???

Starting with the robot & border, these were die cuts from MME paper collection. The diamond plate background is a silver paper embossed with a cuttlebug embossing folder, then I rubbed it with green inks to tint it & enhance the diamond plate.

Get a count on all the metal bits yet??? There are a lot! And a googlie eye and a little mini fuse I found in the Publix parking lot on Thursday { so I had to use it }. Found metal objects, the large ring around the googly eye, and the washer over a T!m Holtz gear. I used a metal button, a copper colored eyelet, a bronze brad and I repurposed a drycleaning tag with two staples in it. The flat and phillips head screws are actually brads...can't remember from who {maybe Karen Foster}...and did you see the red brad BLINKIE at the top of the robot? To top off this little guy, I have some Karen Foster smiley face brads that have little phrases with them and I used the "miss you" on the chest plate of the robot. This has been rubbed with green ink to make it stand out better.

THINK GREEN and keep a lookout for items to artfully UPCYCLE!!!

SalonDArte will be in special Father's Day Out of the Box Samplers!!!

Sneek Peek of handmade cards we helped our sister shop SalonDArte create for June special Father's Day sampler boxes from Out of the Box Sampler. Will you be one of the lucky recipients...only 30 special DAD's samplers available.

SMBdesign Mother's Day Goodies are in Out-of-the-Box Samplers for May

Another brochure printed & ready for delivery...

Custom Printed Logo Shopping Bag

NEW Custom printed items Coming this week to the SMBdesign shop at Etsy!

I have my new ECO friendly LED digital press and am in the process of rolling out a line of products catering to the needs of the HANDMADE community...

"By Handmade FOR HANDMADE"

First out of the box ( or should I say bag ) are custom printed hand constructed shopping totes with three options available: with full color logo ONLY printed front and back; Full color logo + Image printed front and back; OR full background patterns overall. Imagine your shop having it's own patterned designer tote like Gucci or DB ( dooney & bourke ). Ooh-La-La!

No minimum quantities. Order just what you need as you need them. Each bag printed and hand-constructed with 3/8" eyelets for customized lacing with handles of your choice - dimensions: 4 1/2"w x 3"d x 5"h. Handle options will be sold separately. As handmade artisans, I envision each shop owner would want the option to to style/dress their own bag as desired.

All inquiries, please email [ sbartist1107 at yahoo dot com ].

SMBdesign shop offers all printed materials, is custom order and international shipping friendly and thinking GREEN : ) sb