1 Minute Pillow Makeover

I hope this inspires you to add some pizzaz to a room with a pop of color on a pillow!

Behind the Scenes in the Studio Today

Every day we do wild and wonderful dye art, and I wanted to share some of the beauty with you today.

Our experiments become more and more lavish, and Designer Lauri Eaton was hanging up some wet pieces that just blew me away. 

Don't you just LOVE all the gorgeous colors and patterns??

Aleene's 90th Birthday Bash

Aleene, the Tacky Queen of Crafts!

It Is hard to believe that Aleene Jackson turned 90 years old this week! Scott and I were lucky enough to attend her party, and then of course we had to take her a gift! Our chief creative officer, Valerie Marderosian gave us the idea to create a canvas art, with Aleene's portrait and a crown made of tacky glue bottles. Very appropriate, don't you think?

Larry Duncan, owner of iLoveToCreate and owner of the Aleene brand, presented the colorful art to Aleene Jackson. I think she really loved it, and was laughing at how cute her crown was with the tacky glue bottles that she is so famous for.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swell Designer, got busy with me in the design studio at iloveToCreate and made the collage art with Aleene's picture and paper crown.

How To make Photo Transfers:

Alexa made a graphic image with Aleene's picture,  adding tacky glue bottles and the Aleene's logo in the background and then she colorized it.

The next step was to mirror image the portrait on the computer and then print it on our copier. She glued it facedown onto the canvas with Collagepauge medium. 

After it was completely dry, we sponged it with water and rubbed the paper completely off the canvas, leaving only the ink on the canvas. 

The last couple of steps were to paint the sides of the canvas with gold paint, then spray sealer over the entire piece. 

Alexa created some cute graphics with Aleene and her tacky glue helmet for the birthday card. Then we took it to sales and marketing to have everyone sign. Aleene laughed when she opened the card and saw herself wearing a glue helmet and all the Tacky Glue fun.

Scott and I were able to sit and chat with her for a while. We talked about our memories of being on the Aleene's Creative Living television show. We truly enjoyed our time with Aleene!

Happy birthday Aleene!

Banners Of Hope - Promoting the Healing Art of Crafting

Pattie Wilkinson

A display of “Banners of Hope” Project banners was created by CHA designers and displayed at the CHA 2014 Show.  The banners were donated to the “Charity Wings” www.charitywings.org outreach program for their charity promotional event, held January 15-16, 2014, to be broadcasted on the web.  The banners will also be used by the Charity Wings traveling exhibit to promote the healing art of crafting. 

I loved making my Banner of Hope.

First I used masking tape to make chevron stripes and then painted it with Tulip Soft Paint in Sunflower.  After it dried I peeled away the tape and wrote "Never lose hope" with Tulip Puffy Paint. It took 2 or 3 hours to dry after that, and then I cut out felt flowers and glued to the banner with Fast Grab Tacky Glue.  Of course, it simply HAD to have at least one pompoms, so I made a quick yarn pompom with the Pattiewack Pompom Tool and glued it onto the big felt flower.  To finish the cuteness I tied some yarn bows and glued them in the centers of 3 of the felt flowers.  

I am happy that Charity Wings will be hanging it somewhere that will bring a little glimmer of hope to someone.  But I have to say that I really enjoyed the fact that I was part of a fabulous group of Designers through the Fabric Arts Council.  If you were on of the designers, I just want to say thanks for including me!  

Here are just a few of the dozens of banners created by designers and 

people who want to share hope:

Candice Windham

Jen Goode

Stevii Graves

Lorine Mason

Liz Del Real Hicks

Anita McFarland Houston

#CHAshow Behind The Scenes @iLoveToCreate !!

All of our iLoveToCreate team had a great time at the 2014 Craft and Hobby Tradeshow!  Our booth this year was loaded with artful inspiration and we had a blast sharing the work of our talented team with attendees.  A lot was going on in our booth...from me decoupaging a mannequin with recycled magazines, to enthusiastic tie dye action from our favorite reality TV star Rupert Boneham.  Let me take you on a mini tour of all the activity!

We are on the COVER of Fresno Life Magazine this month!!

Fresno Life Magazine

Wowza!  Scott and I had no idea when Valerie Marderosian asked if she could interview us, that we'd end up on the COVER of the local magazine.  Valerie has become a Contributing Writer for Fresno Life Magazine, and she is also the Chief Creative Office at iLoveToCreate here in Fresno where Scott is the Corporate Videographer and I'm the Lead Designer/Spokesperson.  

We had so much fun being interviewed by Valerie as she asked questions about how we met, what was the big attraction, and how we keep it together as a couple, since we live and work together.  Because this issue is the "Love" issue, she was really interested in our relationship.  It was fun to tell our story!

We've only been in Fresno four and a half years, but we've set our roots here by buying a house and becoming part of the community.  We love the wineries and the closeness to mountains, the beach, and to the big cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Any of these major destinations can be enjoyed over a weekend.  Plus, we've made lifelong friendships with co-workers.  Our families are in Washington, Oregon, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, so they enjoy having a California destination.

Thank you Valerie, for a fabulous experience, and a really fun article about me and Scott!

If you want, you can pick up a copy at Michael Blunt's Salon & Bistro, Kristina's Natural Ranch Market, Fresno Ag, and The Diamond Learning Center, or subscribe online on the Fresno Life Magazine Facebook page.

How To Make Ice Candles with Pattiewack!

DIY Video - Ice Candles

If you're stuck in the snow and looking for something fun to make, or you just love candles, here's a fun idea to start out the New Year.  It's that old-fashioned ice candle craft that you probably saw your mom or gramma make when you were a kid.  It's just so cool to think that ice and wax can be put into a milk or ice cream carton to make pretty ice candles, right?

Here's what you'll need:

• Recycled wax-lined Cartons (ice cream, juice, milk, soup)
• Taper candles
• Ice Cubes
• Wax (candle wax, crayons, recycled pillar candles, paraffin)
• Foil-lined Cookie Sheet
• Double-Boiler (I like to use an electric wok and a 2 lb. Coffee Can)
• Oven Mitts
• Scissors

 I hope you have a fabulous New Years Day!  They say that whatever you do on the first day of a new year is what you'll be doing throughout the year, so I say....do something creative, and

Have Fun With It!