March 2008
Surprise! I love to paint. Dave tells our friends to beware,
because I'll paint or collage anything that doesn't move.
He's right! There's nothing like a splash of color or a glaze
of light to brighten a corner or freshen an old piece of wood.
Now the Perfect people (as in Perfect Paper Adhesive, of course)
are bringing you...TA DA! Perfect Pigments and Perfect Glazes.
You will absolutely love love love working with these all
pure acrylics. There are no fillers to muddy color and the
pigments themselves show off their true transparency or opacity.
The glaze has a long open time, allowing for perfect transitioning
of colors. Altered artists will love that! The pigments work
on paper sure, but also glass, wood and textiles. Moreover,
they are non-toxic, containing no formaldehyde. That means
they don’t have to be heatset! Yes, I promise you’ll
love these paints, just like I do. They're beautiful. They're
the highest quality paint available. And, well...they're perfect!
January 2008
Historically speaking, the audacious Roman Emperor Claudius,
believed that married men were more emotionally attached
to their families, and would not make good soldiers, so
he banned marriage. Secretly though, Bishop Valentine met
with besotted couples, calmed their fears and married them
anyway. Passive-aggressive Claudius, while impressed with
Valentine’s chutzpah, told him in order to stay alive
he had to worship his Roman Gods. Valentine said, “No
way Jose”, and was subsequently executed on February
14, 270AD. Today we pay tribute to Valentine’s heroic
deeds by sending love-filled greetings to classmates, lovers,
husbands, wives, parents and neigbors, providing postal
workers the world over, with a job. They love it.
Honoring the day, my Dave, sweetie of 42 years and husband
of 39, buys flowers and picks out a romantic card from the
grocery store. He knows it makes me happy. My own tradition
however, is to make cards for several people I love. The
best being saved for Dave, where I carefully craft a card
enclosing the all-important bag of chocolate kisses. It
is during that ‘crafting’ that I take the time
to reflect on our commitment and love for each other, and
how it has grown deeper each year. Sappy for sure, but I’m
that kind of gal, and much to his credit, he appears happy
with my efforts.
USArtQuest has worked especially hard this year to provide
you with all the materials you’ll need to celebrate
your own tradition, making Valentine cards. Craft your cards
with us, and I’ll even throw you a few kisses! As
you enjoy their sweetness, you can reflect on USAQ, and
our commitment to you, our cherished customer. Yeah, it’s
sappy…but, like I said, ‘I’m that kind
of gal’. Happy Valentine’s Day!
December 2007
My trip to Florida was wonderful. Not only did I get to
leave the single digit temperatures and snow behind, but
I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine and 80+ degree weather.
I also had an opportunity to swim and view beautiful sunsets
along the water. We (Frankie, Mer and I) shopped to find
and created decorating accents for Frankie’s new winter
home, trying hard to spend all of her money without spending
too much of our own! Life simply does not get better then
that!
While there, I painted a small mural in Frankie’s
kitchen. We found charming metal birds at a local gallery
and loved the idea of several of them perched on an upper
shelf watching the activity below. Creating a backdrop for
them, (see below) I began by using our Pure Pigment Acrylic
Paints and finished up using Acrylic Glazes. It was fun,
fast and added such character to an already fab kitchen.
We also found time to make some greeting cards. We explored
new techniques using Gossamer Fibers and collage. These,
along with our corporate holiday cards, will be posted to
the website gallery section soon. This year, Julie and I
are excited to be using a technique I've developed for my
personal artwork, I call Paper Enameling. It’s easy
and oh so beautiful!
Many new kits and products have been added to the site!
The kits contain our best products, lots of embellishments,
and project cards. We’re experts at putting together
creative kits, so as per your many requests, we did it for
you! Our kits are perfect creative gifts, and sure to arrive
just in time for Christmas.
December 2007
Our tree looks gorgeous and about 90% of the gifts festively
wrapped. I still have a few things left to do, but overall
I’m a little ahead of the rush this year. (It feels
wonderful to say that.) That isn’t true of most years
though. Finding just the right gift to give each person
in my family isn’t easy. With my children still decorating
homes and having busy careers, and grandchildren of every
age, gifts have to be personal, yet practical. Of course,
my preference is always to lean toward something promoting
creativity…something that inspires.
Gift giving is fun, it’s the selecting that’s
just plain hard. Bath soaps are nice, but often just get
hidden in a drawer. Besides, everyone has their favorite
kind anyway. Candles are overdone, and make me sneeze. Clothes
are mostly boring (unless you’re a princess receiving
pretty dresses and crowns.). However, Emily loves scrapbooking.
Ashley likes to draw. Lizzy loves assemblage of any sort.
And Cris, well she’s jumping into art with both feet
of late. Steve likes photography, and Matt and Dave are
both art appreciators. Jacqueline, the teacher, always needs
art supplies for school and home…having 4 children
of her own. (Two being crowned princesses.) Grandson Tyler
is amazing, having a strong art sensability. Young Matt…well,
he’s an exception for now. He likes playing soccer.
But, we’re working on him too.
I’m not kidding when I say, the Papercrafter’s
Christmas is the gift of choice for so many of my family
and friends, because it offers such a huge variety of creatively
inspired items. With so many gifts to give, I’m watching
my budget. I loved that not only is the price right, but
it presents an impression that it costs so much more then
it did. (BTW, the original price on QVC was $70. So it actually
did cost more!) The Print and Paint kit…now that’s
ideal for young Matt and now that I think of it, Dave and
Big Matt too! Imagine how proud they’d be to frame
their own artwork!
November 2007
The art department at USArtQuest is small. It’s mostly
just the talented Julie Davenport and I making cards and
projects on demand. One morning I arrived late, and Julie
had already begun making these charming winter holiday and
Christmas cards. They’re adorable! I love her color
choices, which are unique but still Christmassy. It made
me stop and think how interesting it would be to make projects
that break color ‘rules’. What if instead of
red and green, we used olive green and bronze instead of
gold? What if black and red were used with a touch of silver?
Like many of you, I get in a rut. I’m guilty of reaching
for the traditional, but I won’t be the next time.
Thanks Julie, I needed that colorful awakening.
While Julie and I do most of the art around here, we also
depend on such artists as Frankie Fioretti (surface designer
extraordinaire) and people like YOU! We recently received
an email displaying a wonderful altered art project and
mica tile ornaments by artist Linda Findley. She graciously
allowed us to upload them to the projects page. Make sure
you check those out. They’re totally fab and Linda
is the best!
I’m having the pleasure of going to Florida for a
few days. For the first time ever, I get to ‘play
with the girls’. While relaxation is key, I’m
sure there will be plenty of arting going on. (Imagine 4
days with Frankie Fioretti, Mer Ryan and Shoshana Teitleman!)
I’m such a lucky gal, and will be excited to do a
‘show and tell’ when I return.
In the meantime, send us your projects. We’ll showcase
them along with Linda’s, giving you all the credit
for your hard work.
October 2007
There is simply nothing so appealing as receiving
a handmade gift or holiday card. It's among 'My Favorite
Things', as the song goes. At times, I've asked family and
friends if they would prefer something else from me in return,
such as clothes, books or a favorite CD. They are quick
to say no. In fact, they want nothing from me, other than
something handmade.
Although it's never too late to begin, I personally start
in August deciding what type of cards I will make for Christmas.
I really enjoy selecting the materials that best suit the
technique. I'd be able to show you a few here...but OH NO...I
sent my 20 or so, samples to the publisher for the book
I'm writing, The Greeting Card Encyclopedia.
Like the Scrapbook Encyclopedia, (2005 Chapelle/Sterling),
The Greeting Card Encyclopedia will have a historically
accurate Timeline, nearly 1200 various cards, a complete
glossary of terms and techniques and about a zillion other
resources and reference areas. The artcards submitted by
various artists are amazing. Most fun, was deciding on the
'Cardmaking Notables', writing their biography and choosing
their cards. Expect to see this book hit the shelves in
Spring 2008, from Lark/Sterling Publishers. It has been
a labor of love, and you'll love it too...I promise.
For gifts last year, I made collage art, several decoupaged
boxes, trays and purses and even some personalized stitched
pieces...which also were collaged. Did you know that you
can use PPA on fabric as well as paper? This year I am embellishing
framed mirrors, using antique buttons, found objects and
paper. Everywhere I go, I look for unique mirrors with wide
frames, or wide frames that will hold a mirror. One of the
frames made is below. I used the beautiful woodstains from
Home Studio International, as well as lots of PPA, Duo,
Gilding, and even etched a few Mica Tiles.
Let me know what you're making too. We'd love to show ideas
on our techniques pages. I look forward to hearing from
you soon!
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