Fabric Gift Box

I bought a beautiful little pendant from MarieCarter and wanted a lovely way to present it to my daughter for her birthday. I dove into my Origami books and found this rather unique box design. I loved it so much, I had to take a few pictures.

ArtByCat - Mini Album Challenge

There are some people that you can tell, just by the way they express themselves, they are fun and enjoy being alive. Cat is one of those people. She doesn't take herself, or those around her, too seriously and she just enjoys new experiences. She reminds me a bit of my Mom...even loves Teal. Gotta love a gal who loves Teal.

ArtByCat is a wonderful shop full of unexpected color that somehow seems perfectly in place. I have always been a huge fan of the Pop Art and that is exactly how I would describe her work!

Q&A with Art By Cat
A Little About You:
What is your favorite morning beverage?
Dr Pepper! Hooked! Addicted! Totally!
Do you prefer cats or dogs?
I have always had a dog, but Chance (my lab) died about 10 years ago, hard to replace him, He went everywhere with me, to work, shopping, fishing, even had his own loveseat in the living room and his own swimming pool, knew more tricks than any dog I ever saw. Lawdie I still miss him. I do love cats too altho their self sufficientness (spelling??) drives me crazy LOL.
What is next to your computer right now?
lol I am a clean freak, my house is disgustingly clean BUT my computer area is always trashed! But it has all the things I need near it since this is how I do my art. I have rice krispie treats hehehehee a cup with scissors, fingernail file and a couple pencils and pens and a drawing notebook for when a artistic idea pops into my head. Software piles everywhere, paper for
printers, remote to tv, cell phone, chap stick (addicted), cigarettes, drink and priority is a bag of pistachios!
Do you like your handwriting?
Nope I hate my handwriting, very sloppy.
Would you bungee jump?
ohh yeah, have many times, but not sure I would now that I am older.
If you could meet one historical figure, who would it be and what would
ask him/her?
This is gonna sound silly, but I have always read romance novels, but my sister always read the scary books, you know the kind, Steven King, Dean Koontz etc, Well my sister made me read a autobiography of Dean Koontz and he talked about how he went down to the Gautelupe Islands or somewhere and the huge sea turtles talked to him, yep he swears they talked to him, I
always wanted to ask him, what crack pipe he was smoking! LOL Weird how some things stick in your mind huh? LOL Otherwise maybe John Kennedy.

A Little About Your Mini Scrapbook:
What prompted you to join the Mini Scrapbook Challenge?
I joined because I have never scrapbooked before and wanted to try it!
When you first saw the album, what did you think you would do with it?
I had lots of ideas but my eyes did not want to cooperate LOL I think scrapbooking is a artform in itself.
What did you end up doing with it?
I was in the process of making some prints for a local gal for her coffee shop so figured I would incorporate that into the mini book as when I saw the colors of my book the first thing I thought was that the color was like coffee.
Is there a theme to your album? Why/why not?
Yes, its all about coffee, and the slang words people call coffee, like java, cuppa joe etc
Now that you have worked with one, would you want to do another one?
Ohhh yeah, but I cringe at the thought of where will I store all the new supplies! LOL
What would you do differently next time?
I think I would spend days if not weeks thinking about the topic and all the different possibilities, Putting it together in my mind first over and over and learn that it is ok to have different textures and papers and ribbons and layers and all kinds of things in it, I would have to steer away from digital thinking.

A Little About Your Art/Craft:
When did you first start crafting? Why?
giggles, I was 14 and my mother wanted me to start doing ceramics, I soooooooo did NOT want to. But she said if I did one thing and still didnt like it, she would never ask me again to do them.. So in all my teenage wisdom I thought I would pick something to do that she wouldn't like ( I was a stubborn child ) ( still am stubborn LOL ). So I looked all around the shop and finally picked the one thing I just knew she would say no to.. A boobie cup! You know the one I am talking about, the one with the hole in the nipple to drink through. Mom choked and coughed and
choked some more and said "Sure go for it!" After that I was hooked on ceramics and arts and crafts of some form or other and even owned my own ceramic shop in the 70's and 80's. BTW Uncle Harry bought that boobie cup from me and still has it!
What is your favorite material/technique?
Now a days since my eyesight got so bad, I mainly work with digital art, cause I cant see to paint details but using the computer it is the right distance for me to still be able to see. I love vectors cause you make one size yet they can be opened in a small size or as large as a wall mural and
never lose resolution. (Vector graphics is the creation of digital images through a sequence of
commands or mathematical statements that place lines and shapes in a given two-dimensional or three-dimensional space.)
What are your favorite colors to work with?
Teal, fushia, purple, the brighter the better! The docs said I would be legally blind by the time I turned 50, so thats when I started working with really bright colors. I am over 50 now and the eye disease has NOT progressed as bad as they thought it would! wooohooooo
Are you good with written instructions, or do you need pictures?
Don't read much anymores LOL give me pictures. Do people really read the instructions included in packages? Are we supposed to?
If you could learn one new technique, what would it be? Why?
perhaps knitting, or stained glass or maybe woodworking or metal sculptures anything I havent tried yet! I love learning new things!
If you could give one piece of advice to a young person first starting out, what would it be?
practice, practice, practice, practice... oh and no matter what anyone says about your "art" do what makes you happy and that happiness will shine through and it will always be good! and Don't let others steer you away from something that appeals to you. Find your niche but dont be afraid to venture into new things IF you want! Do it for you, not cause someone thinks you should.

Coffee Monkey - Mini Challenge

After a lovely few weeks' experience of DSL inconsistency, I am happy to finally send out the much anticipated update to the mini album challenge...and what an album it is! CoffeeMonkey is an amazing visual artist. When I first saw her album all I could think was...I want to see more! With a mind as active as hers, more is exactly what you get. While I am drawn to her collage work, she also has original paintings, lovelies to decorate yourself and home, supplies to inspire your heart and imagination, and an ecclectic mix that appeals to my own monkey mind. Don't forget to take a stroll through the musings of a Coffee Monkey.

Q&A with Coffee Monkey

A Little About You:
What is your favorite morning beverage?

Why coffee, of course! ; )
Do you prefer cats or dogs?

Dogs for sure, but I do love just about any kind of animal (cats, dolphins, monkeys?? hehe)
What is next to your computer right now?

A big big mess...I swear, I just can't keep this studio clean for one second!
Do you like your handwriting?

Most of the time, but not the one that shows up when I am in a hurry! Because I can usually never read it again.
Would you bungee jump?

Not sure, actually. I've been pondering that question for a while. I think I might if I had to to win some kind of reality TV show like Amazing Race or The Mole or something, but otherwise, I don't really think so. I am definitely too much of a scaredy cat when it comes to that stuff. Winning a show like that might be a big enough motivator though, I think.
If you could meet one historical figure, who would it be and what would ask him/her?

Just one? I couldn't name just one. Nor could I come up with just one question! Edgar Allan Poe, Nelson Mandela, Salvador Dali, Princess Di, Joan of Arc. I'd like to know what inspired/inspires them, what gave/gives them strength?

A Little About Your Mini Scrapbook:
What prompted you to join the Mini Scrapbook Challenge?

I love challenging myself to help me "find" and refine my style. And finding out what different artists come up with was an added bonus! I had to be part of it!
When you first saw the album, what did you think you would do with it?

I knew I would want to include it in one of my playing card paper dolls, but wasn't sure how.
What did you end up doing with it?

Created a little "Angel's Pretty Little Encyclopedia of Birds" that my angel could carry with her and use to research all the birds she comes across in her worldly travels.
Is there a theme to your album? Why/why not?

Yes, because a recent customer of mine who wanted a custom order had requested an angel with the theme of birds. I ended up making three so she could choose one. The rest are up for sale in my shop. I had so much fun with the theme that I couldn't help continuing it!
Now that you have worked with one, would you want to do another one?

Absolutely!
What would you do differently next time?

Make 20 of them! I am so inspired by this challenge! I keep several different etsy shops so time is limited for me at the moment (I have a sort of artist's ADD - can't keep to one project/medium/shop at a time) but I keep eyeing your shop periodically wanting to buy a few of them and pining for the time I will be able to use them.

A Little About Your Art/Craft:

When did you first start crafting? Why?

I was probably 2 or 3 yrs old. I used to sit with my grandfather up in his attic where he used to work on his own art. I had a little table next to his with colored pencils, coloring books and scissors. I just loved coloring & cutting out the pictures and making garlands. We would just sit quietly doing our own thing and periodically checking in with each other on our progress. Those were the good old times. (Grandpa up in heaven: Thanks for all those good times & I love you!)
What is your favorite material/technique?

I have many and they vary from one day to the next, but the common thread in my art is definitely paper/fiber (no pun intended)
What are your favorite colors to work with?

Blue, red, black (if you consider it a color).
Are you good with written instructions, or do you need pictures?

Pictures are always best. I am very visual.
If you could learn one new technique, what would it be? Why?

You name it, I want to learn how to do it. Right now, I would love to learn to spin fiber and weave.
If you could give one piece of advice to a young person first starting out, what would it be?

Don't give up. Know that this journey is one of learning. Mistakes will be made. It's what you do with what you've learned that counts. Don't despair. Keep your eyes open. Observe the what, the how, the why, the when and the where and use it in your art. That's a lot of different pieces of advice, sorry. ; )