It's a Small World!

Last night I spent some time on a project for a dear friend. We've been working on her parent's personal histories. It's been a work-in-progress...for a very long time. We are now pulling out the stops and pushing hard in hopes of having a book ready for Christmas. Recently my friend brought over 3 very large family albums with priceless memorabilia that needed preserving. As I was going through one of the books, I came across a picture that had a familiar looking name. The photograph snapped more than 60 years ago and lovingly kept all these years by close friends was my own husband's Uncle K and Aunt Ina.

Not only am I helping to tell my friend's story, but in the process, I found a small family story of my own!

Family History Subway Art

I've been dreaming about this project for months. Back in May, I bought a large piece of canvas (24x48") and painstakingly hand-painted 4 generations of family names onto the canvas. NEVER AGAIN!

In my typical hurried fashion to get the project done, I slathered on what I thought was a clear antiquing gel. Turns out that opaque crackle paste doesn't turn transparent over time.

Lesson LEARNED!

At first, I thought the sign was ruined. But the good news is that this little faux pas simply forced me to find an easier way to do this project!

My computer is my favorite art tool. I decided to create a poster-sized print and with the aid of my second favorite art medium, Mod Podge, get this project done.

First I created two different layouts for my 24x48" canvas. I really preferred the vertical design as it's more in keeping with Subway Art, but I have the perfect spot to hang the horizontal version so I went with design #2.

Here's a nifty cost-saving trick. Print your poster using only black ink. It'll save you you a TON of money!!

Once the poster is trimmed and checked, you're ready to glue!

Here's another helpful hint... Get a BIG bottle of Mod Podge glue. I used most of a 16oz bottle. Also, go for the matte variety. I think a glossy sheen would have made the end result look too modern.

I wish that I could say that the gluing step was easy, but alas, it was a major pain in the bum...and since I have 'mod-podged' 1000's of projects over the years I'd like to think I'm not a mod podge newbie. You'll wrestle with curling paper and bubbled paper. Don't give up! I spent the better part of a day trying to tame my bubbled beast, but I think the end result was worth the effort (and my kids definitely didn't mind frozen orange chicken for dinner!)

Once the glue is dry and bubbles popped (yes, I ended up popping a few bubbles), you want to beat up your lovely masterpiece. This step might be hard for the perfectionist. I happen to love that my slap-in-on, tear-it-up approach only makes the end result that much more authentic looking.

I distressed...


And sanded...

And painted touch ups.

Once everything was to my liking, I added layer after layer of Mod Podge glue, letting each layer dry and giving it another good sanding before slathering on another layer of glue.



Anyone who has taken a craft class from me knows that my mantra is 'Less is More' when using Mod Podge. This is one of the few times you want to ignore that advice!

Loving my new piece of family artwork!

Yahoo! Memory Puzzle Kits are Back!

We are now ready for Christmas! We only say that because our puzzle kit order arrived and we can now help you get your gifts ready for the holidays!

You didn't think we meant that WE were READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS? Oh yeah, we can't even find 15 minutes to blog about our lives right now. (One of us...only trying to save face here by not mentioning names, actually mailed last year's holiday cards in April.) OK, I can't drag Suni down into my world. She is MUCH more on the ball than I am. Knowing her, she's already scheduled a photographer for this year's family picture. I think we'll just be using last year's picture again!

Life might be out of control, but I do have some fabulous memories that will be enjoyed for years and years! Here are some of the puzzles that I've made over the years. I wish that we had kept count of all the puzzles that we've made or helped to make. It is easily in the thousands by now.

As you can see, every one is a masterpiece!

Baby Ben is 1!

It's hard to believe that this little one

is now this little one!

What a year we've had. We're still recovering from Swiss Days and celebrating the birthday boy! We'll be back with more stories soon!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

4 Days to Swiss Days!

Remember these?

Grandma's Teacups

We managed to gather a variety of Grandma's teacups this summer to make more birdfeeders. And a lucky few will be able to purchase these treasures at Swiss Days this weekend! Quantities are limited and not one is the same - just like Grandma. We hope to see you Friday!

7 Days and Counting to Swiss Days, 2011

If you were at Swiss Days two years ago, you might remember our Wire Tree kit. We hadn't planned on selling them, but we thought it would be fun to provide one as a give-away. The response was overwhelming. This fabulous little tree actually got us a stint on KSL's Studio Five. About 6 months ago, we received an order from a customer in Tokyo. Typically, we don't take international orders because the shipping is so outrageous, but this new friend 1/2 way around the world REALLY wanted the kit for a company team-building project. When I took the package to FedEX, I asked for the different shipping options. They came back with two prices, one that was 940 something and another in the 600 range. I was confused. Was that in yen? I asked for the conversion rate. Oh no, that was in US dollars!! CRAZY. Technology is an amazing thing. I texted the customer right then and there in the middle of the FedEx store. I could NOT feel good about charging someone 6+ times the price of the kit just to ship it to them. Thousands of miles (and several time zones) between us and I get a response within 2 minutes to go ahead and ship the kit at the $650 rate. I kid you not!

I share the story because it is one that has gone into the Stories by Me Hall of Fame. I also share the story because we were able to get our hands on another 20 trees. Even better news is that we have a second version that is quite a bit less...both in price and amount of work! Be sure to check it out if you're at Swiss Days!

Losing Count and Sleep!

I'm already slipping on my resolve to share all of our new projects for Swiss Days, but here's our latest calendar design. There's a funny story that accompanies it. Suni was making up a few sets for the non-do-it-yourselfer. About an hour into the project I got a phone call. "Did you mean to leave off the #12?" What? In my haste to get the file to the printers, I somehow deleted an entire day from our perpetual calendar. Now, anyone who knows me, knows that if given the chance, I'd ADD days to my month, not take one away! Grateful, it was an easy fix. Our printer is used to my 'fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants' and has already provide the errant #12.