This Abbot Kinney Welding Shop is a Piece of Authentic Venice

We've been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, lately. For a couple of years, we need to travel between Venice and Seattle for my husband's job. We have fallen in love with Venice.

Venice is amazing. Venice is crazy. Venice has heart. Venice has crime. Venice has very high end homes, and Venice has homeless encampments. Lots of movies and TV shows are filmed in Venice. In fact, I can see The Today Show filming down by the graffiti wall as I type. When we first came here, I made my husband spend an afternoon with Linda Blair and me, watching Roller Boogie. The two star film was shot in Venice, and it's fun to locate the old Venice landmarks and to see how things have changed. You can see the exterior of our apartment in some of the scenes. You can still find roller skaters on the Venice Boardwalk, though roller skating has been eclipsed by skate boarding, with the addition of a new skate park.

To Make the Impossible Card....

Have you seen these "impossible" cards? I'm not sure whose brainchild they are, but they are super fun.

If you receive one, you will be left scratching your head, wondering how in the world it was made.

Cassette Tape Shelf to Gorgeous Tray!

When I brought an old cassette storage shelf home from the Goodwill Outlet, I think my husband thought I'd lost my mind. What in the world did we need that for?

Well, I love trays, and I was pretty sure this little shelf could be transformed into a unique and useful decor piece.

Striped Card From Scraps

If you're looking for a quick card making project, that also uses up your stash of scraps, this is the perfect project for you.

I was collecting a large stash of remnants from various projects, and wanted to use them up, so I decided to create my own "striped" card stock.

I started by cutting several of my scraps into narrow strips. These were then adhered to a piece of light weight card stock that I'd cut and folded into a card base. This is 60 lb card stock, which is usually just a bit too flimsy for card making.

I glued the pieces to the the front of the card base, keeping them flush with the folded side of the card, and allowing them to overlap the open side of the card. Then I flipped the card over and trimmed the pieces that were hanging over with scissors. Had I trimmed along the folded edge, I would have run the risk of accidentally cutting into the fold.

Next, I grabbed a piece of bias tape from my stash of fibers and fabric trims to use as a band across the front, and glued a premade Anna Griffin sentiment on top of that. You can use whatever ribbon or fiber you have on hand -- or use another strip of paper, if you don't have fibers.

I found some light weight paper that looked nice with the card to line an envelope, and Bam! Done.

This is a project you can easily do in twenty minutes to an hour, depending on the interruptions in your household.

I hope this project encourages you to grab the little moments to create something pretty.

You might also like this post on how to draw and paint when you don't know how and don't have time.

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Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda

Quick and Simple Birthday Card!

Sometimes it's nice to use premade materials when making a card. You get something that looks very professional, but is still unique and personal.

You can often find boxes of fifty card bases, with envelopes, for around five dollars, on sale or with a coupon. You just can't beat that price!

How to Draw Fanciful Mushrooms -- Easy!

Sometimes it's fun to sketch something fanciful. A couple of years ago, my granddaughter and I decided to draw each other pictures and mail them to each other.

These little mushrooms were originally drawn to send to her, but then my contractor came by with his little girl, and she loved the mushrooms, so I sent them home with her. Don't worry, my granddaughter got plenty of other pictures. 

Make Your Own Mixed Media Business Cards

I was shopping in a local Seattle thrift shop a few weeks ago and found a package of printable business cards. In my mind, the line between art supplies and office supplies is blurred, so I grabbed the business cards and brought them home.

I shared in this post on how to create your own mixed media master board, that I sometimes use master board to make business cards. I decided to treat the business card sheets as if they were master board substrates, and use them to create... wait for it... business cards!

Use Sharpies to Decorate Pretty Paper Beads

Do you love paper beads, but find yourself creatively "stuck" when it comes to making them?

You might consider using your sharpie markers to take your paper beads to the next level. Paper beads are great for jewelry for people with autoimmune conditions that make them sensitive to heavier jewelry.

Create Marker Storage From Recycling!

I was looking for an inexpensive way to store pens and markers the other day, but wasn't ready to invest in an expensive storage system.

I wanted something that could sit in a shelf on its side, since that's better for the markers, but that could sit upright at my work table.