Autograph Sessions...Making Art with Wendy Vecchi

I am very excited to share this next artist/author with you.

Wendy Vecchi  has become one of the most sought-after

mixed media stamp artists in the U.S.  Her style is so relevant

to the new products on the market today.

On a personal note, I had a slight brush with this

wonderful artist as she became a customer of my

stamp store, which at this moment, seems a lifetime ago.

She has since become a stamp designer and author,

a design team member for Tim Holtz Ideaology, Maya Road

and is a Certified Ranger Instructor.

Her newest book, 'Make Art 490 Style Book 2'

is selling like crazy and I am really glad she had time

to visit with us here at The Open Window.

  Wendy ... I know you don't live too far down the road from

The Open Window.  Tell us where and what do you love about it?

We live on 5 acres in the country, outside of Oglesby, Illinois. 

We call it 'Green Acres'.

Think about this, just like the TV show:

bleach blonde...likes diamonds...

goofy, very sweet husband...plenty of animals.

I love my home because I have my studio here.  Walking

through the door makes me oh so happy!

A benefit to living in the country...no window treatments

are needed, so I have minimal valances, some of which are made

from cloth napkins.  That let's in LOTS of lights which I LOVE

and need to survive the dreadful Illinois winters.

I would love if you would share some of your professional 

creative credits with us...

Oh boy, mom said it's not nice to brag, but since you asked...

I'm living a fairytale.  I'm honored to be on the design teams for

Maya Road and Tim Holtz Ideaology, two very cool,

top-notch companies.  I'm also very happy to be Ranger's

exclusive demo artist, which means I demo for them at CHA

using their products.  Part of that requires making plenty of

art for their CHA booth.  I have also done some technique

videos and free tutorials.  Just check out Ranger.com.

I am also thrilled to have my own line of signature stamps called

Studio 490  They are manufactured by my friends

Ted & Michelle Cutts, owners of Stamper's Anonymous.

I was recently a guest instructor for Tim for the

Artful Voyage in Mexico.  It was an amazing experience

and I was totally honored to be a part of it.

I've been published in quite a few magazines both in

the U.S. and in the UK.

Which came first for you, rubber stamping or mixed media?

I've always done something creative...needlepoint, cross stitch,

tole painting.  When I found rubber stamps, I KNEW that was

exactly what I was looking for.  It all clicked and just made

sense to me.  I will be playing with rubber for a very long time.

 

It's obvious you have a passion for paper.

What else are you passionate about?

I LOVE the hunt...antiques to fit our home.

I LOVE organizing, especially art supplies.  Finding just the

right storage container makes me giddy!

Shopping is a passion.  My hubby says that if it were an 

Olympic event, I'd be on the center podium, but I'm not sure

if that's really a compliment...

I LOVE fresh flowers, too.  I could have a bouquet in every

room of the house, every day of the year.

You now have 2 books.  Writing is a creative process in

itself.  How does it compare to 'making art'?

It was much harder than I thought it would be.  I wanted to

write the instructions so that whoever bought the book could

follow them and make art.  I was lucky to be able to write it

exactly as I talk and add a bit of humor here and there.

I agonized over 'will they understand what I mean by this',

but the reviews have made me very happy.

What art tools can you NOT live without?

For sure my stamps and Ranger inks.  One tool that I LOVE

is my Genesis paper trimmer.  It's pricey, but worth every penny.

OK...I'll admit I am totally addicted to grungepaper and

chipboard mini-books.  Hey, you have to have something

to use those inks on!

 

In the creative world, what have you NOT done yet, that you

would really like to do?

Hmmm...I'd like to design some signature product, something

new, exciting and different.  No ideas yet, but I'm always thinking.

Who inspires you, living or otherwise?

I get the most inspiration from my friend, Tim Holtz.

His products are always fresh and I adore his style.

I also love to look at art made by

Jenni Bowlin and Rebecca Sower.

They each have a very distinct and unique style that I

find very inspiring.

Now for a little fun...

If you could be any fictional character,

who or what would it be?

I think Samantha from the TV show 'Bewitched'.  I could just

pop myself anywhere and avoid the drive to the airport.  I could

get to stores quicker and have more time to make art!

 

Any favorite snacks that you keep within reach in your studio?

Nope...my fingers are ALWAYS full of ink, so no eating

in the studio for me!

Coffee, tea...or something more potent?

Both and both, hot or cold...and I LOVE 

a good mojito, especially if it's made by my friend, Mario.

His are the best!  I love a good Cosmo, too.

What's one more thing that I haven't asked that

you would like to share?

I guess I want people to know that I was a surgical nurse for

30 years.  I have no art degree and you'll see no graphic design

on my resume either.  I believe with all my heart that if you

REALLY want to make art, YOU CAN!

I AM LIVING PROOF!

I've really enjoyed getting to know Wendy, haven't you?!

I hope you will visit Studio490art, Wendy's blog and I

would really appreciate it if you told her you read her

Autograph Session here at The Open Window.

 

Watch the March issue of Stamper's Sampler

as the guest artist is, Wendy Vecchi!

You can find Wendy's books and stamps

at Stamper's Anonymous and our friends in 

the UK can get yours from our other friend

Wendy, at The Stamp Attic.

IF YOU HAVE COME FOR A VISIT 

DIRECTLY FROM WENDY'S BLOG...

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT
TO SAY YOU WERE HERE.....

To read other autograph sessions,
just click for Diana Trout and Sue Roddis

Please leave a comment and let me know what you

think of Autograph Sessions.
I truly appreciate hearing from you!

Color Splash...What's Not to Love?

DESIGN TEAM CALL
FINAL 24 HOURS

Click here

 

I love black and white with just a 'splash' of color.

I always have...so this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge

is one of my favorites.

I'm really excited to share with you that 

The 'Color Splash' Challenge will be offered

as a regular challenge every six weeks or so 

over in The Cafe.

 

You're encouraged to interpret which side of teal you

will land on....teal green or teal blue.

So I thought I would share a couple other cards with

variations on the theme.

 

This would have been a perfect card to celebrate the recent

'Blue Moon' that we experienced at New Year's.

How fabulous are these stamps from Memory Box?!

The background stamp is from Artistic Stamper.

For me, 'color splash' is about the 'hint' of color, but I 

thought I would bring in one more card that uses the

featured color just a bit more.

Again, using the same stamps but achieving a little different result.

 

So there you have it....a little teal in both green and blue.

I would really encourage you to get on over to

The Play Date Cafe and play along with us this week.

Whether you make cards, scrapbook layouts, jewelry,

crochet, knit, paint, digital art....you name it

It's ALL welcome in The Cafe!

Splashin' Color - The Play Date Cafe Challenge

 

Just a quick note to remind you all of this week's

brand, new challenge over at 

The Play Date Cafe.

It's a 'Color Splash' challenge.

Head on over, get the details

and start creatin'!

Happy Birthday to Gingersnap Creations

This past month, the creative team for

The Artistic Stamper

(of which I am a part)

have been playing along with the design team for

Gingersnap Creations.

 

I have really enjoyed playing along all month and plan

to continue doing so.  Their challenges are fun and

allow you to be 'all sorts of creative'.

The final challenge for February was in honor of

Gingersnap's upcoming 1st birthday.

to make any type of birthday card.

I actually had someone in mind when I made

this one, but I can't say who it is because I know he reads

my blog (no, not my Paul).

This is a really simple card with a few layers.

It features the brand spankin' new

'Lace background' stamp from

The Artistic Stamper.

It doesn't show up nearly as well in the photo, but

I wanted to keep these colors pretty muted.

Again, if you haven't seen the tutorial on how to make

this NO-sew ribbon border, you can catch the tutorial

over at the Gingersnap blog.

The little details include:

Martha Stewart Eyelet Stationary & Satin ribbon

Prima paper flowers

Stickles in my favorite...platinum

and assorted brads and pearls

Tomorrow night at midnight kicks off another brand new 

challenge over at the Play Date Cafe.

We are using a rather unique 'color combo', so you

will not want to miss it!

Begging for Spring!

As I made a visit to my friend Julie Campbell's blog

I found one of the seven deadly sins setting in.

You guessed it...

ENVY!

 

I had already started working on this card last

night, but after seeing the lovely photos of

an early spring in California, I decided to get this

finished so I could get a decent photo

because the sunshine just isn't cooperating right now.

This is from the new 'Songbird' Collection from DCWV.

I did a little sewing and added buttons and

Diamond Stickles and the verse is a rub-on

(which is my BOO for the day...

I've had those FoReVeR!)

My favorite embellishment though, is the ribbon

detail that I tried my hand at thanks to the 

tutorial over at the Gingersnaps Creations blog.

Erika shows step-by-step this ultra-easy way to

make the gathered trim WITHOUT sewing.

I used fabulous textured satin ribbon from

Martha Stewart.

 

So did you visit yesterday?

I had a great time putting together the

'Autograph Sessions' interview with 

Diana Trout, author of 'Journal Spilling'.

If you missed it, just click here.

I also want to congratulate Jennie and Hels

over at The Artistic Stamper on their 400th follower.

Jennie is giving away another batch of blog candy 

to celebrate, so I hope you will stop by & say hello!

That's it for today....but before I go,

here is what I want to know.....

What technique or product for paper crafting

have you NOT tried yet, but really want to?

I've been thinking about some tutorials for you

and would love to know what trips YOUR trigger!

Leave a comment and let's see what we come up with!

Autograph Sessions...Journal Spilling with Diana Trout

 

You may remember back in November, I kicked off this

new feature with internationally-known UK paper artist

Sue Roddis.

The feedback from that session was fabulous and now

I am pleased to tell you that I have a line-up of

tremendous authors and artists to share with you.

Just a quick recap on how this idea came about...

My dear friend Sarah Anderson

(The Art of Moodling) sent me an autographed copy

of Sue's book 'Handmade Decorative Books'

(click here for that Autograph Session)

and I thought it would be a great thing if we could do

something similar online, so that we could have a chance

to meet authors and other creative contributors to publications.

Coincidentally enough, Sarah has been featuring the author

of the next session on her blog over the past few weeks, so

I thought now is a terrific time to share her with you, too!

So here is my time with Diana Trout author of...

Diana...where in the US do you live & what do you love about it?

I live in Glenside, PA just outside of Philadelphia.  Glenside is great!

We call it 'Mayberry'.  I could never live far from a big city, though,

and I take full advantage of the arts and communities.

I love the hills and forests of Pennsylvania which have been a

major influence in my art-making.

I would love if you would 'toot your own horn' and share

a few of your professional credits with us...

I've been making art professionally for more than 30 years (yikes!).

I attended University of the Arts and Pennsylvania Academy of

Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

I've been published in several zines such as 'DogEared Magazine',

Teesha Moore's 'Play, Art & Life' and 'The Studio'.

I've had articles in 'Cloth, Paper Scissors' and 'Bound & Lettered'

and have published two zines, 'Something I Forgo't and 'Springfed'.

I've shown my work in numerous art shows in PA, NY & NJ

and at regional craft shows.

I am currently showing with a diverse and dynamic group of 

Philadelphia-based women artists called Mamacita.

I teach from my studio, in art centers and libraries.

I recently began teaching nationally at Art & Soul.

You have recently published 'Journal Spilling'. 

As one who journals, how is this type of writing different?

I love writing 'how-to's' and my years of teaching was great

practice for writing 'Journal Spilling'.  It's quite fun for me to write

this way because I start with the left-brain 'how-to' and then

my right-brain takes over for some magic.

Some areas of the book were written in a

'stream-of-consciousness' or 'spill-writing',

as I do in my own journal.

I enjoyed working with the North Light team.

I'm pretty disciplined and I love deadlines, so I break

projects down into do-able bits.

Most of all, 'Journal Spilling' was a realized dream I have

had for many years; bringing an accessible art-making

process to a whole bunch of people.

 

It's obvious you have a passion for art.

What else are you passionate about?

The top of my list is family, friends, students and my cat.

Paper and fabric in any form, reading, music, nature, color,

pattern, sewing and soup making.  Creative problem-solving

makes me very happy and I love to work with students

and help them find solutions.

What age group do you find most 'teachable' when it

comes to journaling?

Oh wow, I've taught all ages...teens through seniors and

everyone is super receptive.  When teaching a new group,

I spend a few moments getting a sense of my audience's

interests and experience, that way I can tailor my teaching.

Keeping an open dialogue and circling the room like an 

eagle on the lookout, I try to engage everyone on their

own level.  Very exciting!

What are tools can you NOT live without?

I love my watercolors, Caran d'Arche water-soluble crayons

and Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils.  When I travel light,

I take just the crayons, a water brush, spray bottle and

a black pen.

In the creative world, what have you NOT done yet

that you would really like to do?

Encaustics.  I took a workshop once and am really drawn

to the look of encaustics.  The veils of colors and patterns

and the ability to use collage within layers of wax is

very appealing.

 

 Who inspires you, living or otherwise?

Carol McDonald.  She is a Vermont artist who I

found on a recent trip there.  I am entranced by her

textile prints.  Of late, I'm in love with

Cy Twombly (again).

Now it's time for a little fun...

If you could be any fictional character,

who or what would it be?

Dr. Ellie Arroway in the movie Contact pops to mind.

Jodie Foster plays this scientist and dreamer.  In my mind,

that's a killer combination.  I have a huge respect for

scientists and mathematicians and sometimes I pretend

I am a scientist.  I guess on reflection, she speaks to me because

she has a solid faith in something and then takes a leap of faith

to prove it.  It's sort of like knowing the answer to an

equation and then working backwards.  I really admire

folks who can think that way.

Coffee, tea...or something more potent?

Irish Breakfast tea in vast quantities in the morning.

Herbal teas the rest of the day.  I love my Yogi Tea.

Something more potent?

Sure!  I'll have a Belgian white beer, do you have draft?

In your creative space, TV or music?

What show or artist?

Music.  I love my iPod.  Some of my favs are:

Josh Joplin, Simon Shaheen, Joni Mitchell,

Nellie McKay, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald.

I love just about anything but rock.

 

I've really enjoyed getting to know Diana, haven't you?!

I hope you will visit 'Hub Bub', Diana's blog and I

would really appreciate it if you told her you read her

Autograph Session here at The Open Window.

I know her book is available at Barnes & Noble stores

and at bn.com

Please leave a comment and let me know what you

think of Autograph Sessions....you will definitely want

to stay tuned for who's coming up next!

DESIGN TEAM CALL...final week!

We are so excited to extend an invitation to YOU!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge is 3 months old and it is time 

to add new talent to our Design Team.

Do you enjoy playing with color?

Do you enjoy a challenge?

 Do you enjoy being an inspiration to others?

We are looking for a variety of styles.

Cards, layouts, altered art, shabby chic or vintage

retro, grunge, clean and simple...you name it!

The term would be for 6 months

 

Along with creating a weekly project inspired by colors

from your fellow design team,

once a month or so, you would also be responsible for 

choosing color inspiration

We are looking for fun, creative people with a blog

and the capability of taking crisp, clear photos

If you would like to apply, 
please provide the following:

3 creations that show 'who' you are as a designer

A list of your current/past design team experience

(No DT experience necessary)

Your name, address, phone #, email & blog address

Send the photo files and above information to

julieranae@hotmail.com

place DT submission on the subject line

WORLDWIDE OPEN CALL

DEADLINE FOR DT SUBMISSIONS

February 28, 2010

The Play Date Cafe is headed in a very, exciting direction!

We have had a number of potential sponsors contact us

along with some other surprises.

We hope you will consider joining our Senior Designers

Sarah Anderson, Julie Campbell and me

as we head into the Spring and Summer.

Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

What's Brewing? Coffee and a Little More...

 

The Play Date Cafe Challenge was posted extremely late

and I promised the players over there if they stopped

by my blog, I would explain why.

I will do that at the end of this post...

I LoVe this photo by Maria Medeiros over at CozyComfyCouch.

I thought it was terrific inspiration and am very excited to see

what everyone does with this color combo.

Me?  I took it a bit 'literally' 

and went very CAS (clean and simple)!

 

I have the limited edition Fiskar's 'coffee mug' punch and 

thought this was the perfect time to use it.

I stamped the linen-finish punched-pieces with the fabulous

'Simple Swirls' Flourish stamp from Artistic Stamper.

These stamps are so versatile and I love having them as

my 'go-to' background images.

The sentiment is from The Paper Company.

The 'Eyelet Lace Border' punch and ribbon 

are from Martha Stewart.

A quick reminder that the DESIGN TEAM CALL

is still going on over at The Play Date Cafe.

For all the details, click here

Now to share the past 24 hours of frustration...

Recognize this?  If you have been a follower of my blog

for the past 6 months or so, you know we recently went through

the construction process of a brand new road.

If you are newer to The Open Window, I would encourage you

to catch up with the story HERE before you continue.

The reason for the close-up photo above is to give you an idea of

the proximity from our patio to what's next.

 

We awoke yesterday morning to lots of noise and many voices.

As I looked out the patio doors, this was the scene behind

all the condo units.  It seems when they built the now famous

'Road to Nowhere', the original easement was not in the appropriate

place, so all....yes, ALL the underground utility lines had to be moved.

About 3pm on Wednesday, I arrived home to no electricity and the

conversation went something like this:

"can you tell me how long we will be without power?"

"we're working on it"

"so you have no idea if this was planned or accidental"

"we're working on it...we've called ComEd"

 OH-oh...oops!

No lights, no phone, no heat...chilly.

At 8:30pm, 2 men, who I would assume were 

frozen to the core, gave me the good news that we

were getting close...mission accomplished shortly after that.

I rushed to my computer only to find that my DSL was

not functioning.  I picked up our phone and....dead.

It was like an army of people outside today...workers everywhere.

Obviously our phone and DSL service were restored...

approximately 3pm this afternoon.

And now...

HERE'S what it looks like outside my patio door

as I type this...

When they spotted for all these cables, they said not to worry because

it's all done very 'electronically' so the digging will be minimal.

This is just behind our condo...it looks like this behind every building.

Here's the part that I just have to laugh at....

It was only OUR unit...

our lowly little abode that was disconnected.
Gee...I hope they're coming back.

Don't they KNOW I have a blog to take care of?

The Roaring Twenties with Gingersnap Creations

 

TWO POSTS TODAY...so make sure you keep scrolling...

It's that time of the week...the Gingersnap Challenge!

I really had fun with this color challenge, which was to

feature any three colors.

The entire month challenges is being sponsored by

The Artistic Stamper.

I am proud to be on their creative team and have

really enjoyed using the new

'Roaring Twenties' & 'Roses are Red' stamps.

For the die cut flowers, I also used the

'Houndstooth Background' image.

 

Make sure you stop by this fabulous challenge blog 

and see what their design team have cooked up.

They are one talented bunch of folks!

Falling in Love All Over...

 

On Valentine's Day, Paul treated me to a little shopping at one

of the nearby SB stores.  The nearest one to our home

is nearly 30 miles away, but I am always happy to have a look!

I'm sure glad we took the trip.  I managed to spend very little money,

believe it or not.  My goal when I visit there is mainly to get the latest

and greatest DP's.  But as their CHA orders weren't quite in,

I had a look at their stamps.

 

Many of you know, I am pretty old school when it comes to my

stamps.  Yes, I have a very healthy collection of clear stamps, but...

.....there is nothing like the feel of a wood-mount in my hand.....

.....my heart pounding.....

.....wondering 'will I get it lined up or not?

I found a line of stamps that was pretty much new to me.
Maybe to you  too?

 

Memory Box...love that simple name.

Along with the stamps, I also purchased every package they

had on hand of the 8x8 collections.  The subtle prints are lovely.

For these cards, I used these extras:

Martha Stewart Eyelet Stationery

Ribbon from American Crafts & Celebrate It

Stickles in platinum

assorted pearl embellishments

I hope to catch up purchasing the rest of the

Memory Box collection of stamps and DP's soon because...

...I am totally in love.

How appropriate to fall in love on Valentine's Day.....