{creating myself}

GIVEAWAY TIME! :)

As you know, I like to host a giveaway every few weeks. It's always open to everyone, everywhere. But I thought as a nice big THANK YOU to my blog followers, I would host a giveaway that was only open to YOU!

Win a $15 gift card to my store!



*RULES*
If you're a blog follower, leave a comment saying hi.
If you have my button on your blog sidebar, I'll give you FIVE extra entries.
Tweet, blog, or facebook for extra entries as well.

THANK YOU, FOLLOWERS AND SUPPORTERS! :)



For another chance to win a $15 store credit (and THIRTY other amazing handmade prizes!) check out Danielle's giveaway!

ONE DAY SALE : 30% off everything.

I've spent a lot of time listing and re-listing over 80 (yes EIGHTY!) items in the shop this week, and today I'm having a giant sale to celebrate.

Everything you order is 30% off, including new paintings!
So take a looksie, and please, share this news with your friends!



Isn't it time to get that early Christmas shopping started? :)

Happy Fall.

The next three days will be spent updating the shop with a paintbucket-load of new products.
Share the above image on your blog posts, facebooks, or twitters and I'll include a free gift with your purchase!

See you Friday!

DIY: home sweet apartment.

I fell in love with this doormat from Urban Outfitters, but I'm poor. So after wallowing in self-pity and searching high and low for something less expensive and equally cool, I decided to make my own.

Materials:
white or cream colored doormat (mine is from Target)
posterboard or heavy cardstock
spray paint

Directions:
Cut out the letters, keep them as straight and positioned as possible with your fingers, and spray paint over them. Lift up cardboard letters and Voila!







How do my neighbors always know it's me?




Now I have to figure out how to make this one. :)

informacion importante.

uno:

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Indie Craft Bazaar on Sunday. It was SO fun, I made SO many new friends... and on a sidenote, I almost sold out of everything. :)







These shows are magical.



dos:

Now that I have a break for a few weeks from shows (my next one is November 6th...) I'll be taking a VERY limited amount of custom orders. Browse through my blog or my Sold orders here to get an idea of my style, but remember that I'm not afraid to break out of the box! I love custom order challenges.





tres:



I'll be spending the next few days updating my Etsy shop. It's been pretty empty for a while, due to my overwhelming schedule, so it's time to fill it up again. I have a TON of new product to list! :)

xoxo, A

Today is the day...

I've been waiting for today for a long time! I am so excited to participate in my first Indie Craft Bazaar. If you're local, you don't want to miss it!! Amazing art, lots of Etsy veterans, free gifts, prizes, vintage clothes and goodies, & cupcakes and a full bar! It's going to be a good day.



I've been working so hard to bring new products, bring back some favorite products, and generally make this show my best yet. I hope to see you there :)

*mention you're a blog reader for a free gift*

the creative type is back in full swing!

Two pieces of exciting news... ONE ... The Creative Type is back in action and I've signed on for another season of challenges & play :) TWO... We are currenly running a design team call! So many wonderful scrapbookers and art journalers are blog readers... why not give it a whirl?! You wouldn't believe the talent residing on this team... Check it out here. I would love to see you all play along!!

This month's prompt was to lift a fellow DT member, and here's my layout and description...

I am in awe of EVERY member of our DT, but I chose to lift someone new-- Steph from living room floor. I think she's fantastic! You can see her original layout here. I started with white cardstock, layered some patterned paper along with my photo, then added small heart stickers. I misted the background with Ranger inks. Then (after the mist was *pretty* dry) I pulled off the heart stickers. I added the letter stickers to the bottom. For the "united", I handcut a title out of white cardstock. When I added it to my layout, it didn't seem to *pop* enough off the page (I wanted it to be a really bright white) so I painted over it carefully with a generous amount of gesso. Voila! Layout took me about 15 minutes... you can totally do this! :)

F-L-O-R-I-D-A! S-T-A-T-E!

THANK YOU for all of your kind comments, for passing along the link to my blog and shop, and for your requests for prints & paintings. You support means an unbelievable amount to me. Do I say that enough?

I've been spending most of my time getting ready for the Indie Craft Bazaar this weekend, but I wanted to pop in and share some more paintings I've completed. I've been doing some college logo work, and I plan on taking custom orders, so if you'd like your college logo on a painting for your office, a graduation gift, etc. shoot me an email :) Not sure what I'm referring to?...


(hey jen, haha!)
GO SEMINOLES!
8x10 acrylic painting



11x14 acrylic and watercolor painting



8x10 acrylic painting



This makes a pretty holiday decoration for your home or temple... I also used the design to print holiday card packs :) They come with 4 cards and envelopes for $6.
11x14 acrylic, watercolor, and glitter painting

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shoot me an email if you're interested in placing an order or check my shop... I update regularly! :)
back to work for me! (work or play?)
xoxo, amy

drumroll!!!

I'd like to share some new paintings I've made recently that I'm really excited about...

I haven't posted them in le shoppe yet, but if you see a design that you would like for your pretty home (original or print), you can email me and I will let you know if it's available :)  Right now I'm very focused on finishing new projects and sharing (with you!) what I've been working on. I also have a huge show this weekend that I'm preparing for, the Indie Craft Bazaar. If you are local, you should come! It is SO FUN. You can read more info here.

Without further ado...


It's Always Been You...
inspired by my favorite fairytale, Ross&Rachel, of course :)
11x14 acrylic painting

Love is Patient
One of my favorite quotes ever, from the Corinthians bible verse...
11x14 acrylic and watercolor painting on stretched canvas



Today is Magic
I would really love to make a doily banner for my home, but so far I only have this one painted instead.
11x14 acrylic painting



Keep Calm and Sew a Bow
custom for my friend Hollie, who makes the cutest bows & accessories for her shop.
8x10 acrylic and glitter painting



I Could Really Use a Wish Right Now
inspired by this song.. who couldn't use a wish? :)
11x14 acrylic, watercolor, and glitter painting



I have a few more themed paintings (holiday & sports), but I'll post those tomorrow. Thanks for letting me share. :)

thoughts & more thoughts.

I'm not sure how to word this correctly, but I'm going to give it a whirl. Lately, I've been working a lot lately, on art-related projects and paintings and custom orders and such.


I've been dreaming about scrapbooking, art journaling, just-for-fun projects. I have this idea in my head of a minialbum, filled with transparencies and photos and memorabilia and canvas art paper and watercolors. I want to make magic.

For now, I do have some recent layouts that I've made! Enjoy :)



THe background is an Urban Outfitters bag :)






This is the back of the layout, which I plan on using as my next canvas. :)









The green piece is fabric that i pleated and covered in K&Co flowers and sequins. The slide is also K&Co. The Brian Andreas quote was printed from google.


XOXO

who scrapbooks around these parts?

I do, I do!
Do you?



I painted the flowers with gesso to tone them down a little bit.








I love small details like the pearls, the hidden "a" letter, and the woodgrain fabrip along the side. The gesso behind my self-portrait makes it pop. :]








I scattered some sequins across the page (one of my favorite design elements!) and then crocheted a tiny oval frame to highlight some of them. The bottom photo with the quote was found while stalking weheartit, and I printed it to use on my page because it fits my life. so. well.

xo.

Upcoming Shows...

It's been almost a week since I've last blogged, and I don't think I've vacated this space for that long a time since The Spring Break Hangover 2009.

I've missed you.

The main reason for my absence, I suppose, is that I had a show this weekend. Which brings me to my future apology of absences, as holiday time is quickly approaching. And all my fellow crafters know... that means work.

Holiday time means craft shows. And I'm booked almost every weekend. As of right now, here is where you can find me as a vendor: (stalker alert!)

- Boca Town Center Mall
September 25 - 9am-9pm
September 26 - 12pm-6pm

- Coral Square Mall
October 2 - 9am-9pm
October 3 - 12pm-6pm

- Indie Craft Bazaar, Ft. Lauderdale
October 17
info here.

- Boynton Beach Mall
November 6 - 9am-9pm
November 7 - 12pm-6pm

I'm constantly adding events, so check back!
If you're local, I would love to meet you!



And now...
Amy's Five Great Reasons To Attend a PLC Show!
...or any craft show!!!


Five: I offer huge deals & discounts to my shoppers. This weekend I knocked 40% off all original art. Mention my blog for a free gift!




Four: I often have a ton of products you can't find on my blog or shop like these awesome agendas, bracelets, postcards, and holiday card packs!










Three: Meet some of the great people in cast of characters in my life! Here's my friend Melissa and one of my dad! Thanks for helping :)







Two: New art! I always spend hours/days/weeks creating new paintings and designs for a show (I'll share them on Etsy soon :)




ONE.... Come say hi!! I LOVE new friends, especially blog readers! Mention that you're a reader for a free gift :)



love, amy.

where was my warning?

Damn.

Sewing granny squares together is annoying. Especially since I'm winging it and have no clue what I'm doing.

I'm using a lot of the squares from Operation Granny Square (so if you see your square here, shout out hi!) throughout which I raised $30 for the American Red Cross! So cool.

The plan s to make a table runner for my coffee table in the living room. So far, so good.







Do you have any tips or tricks on how to sew these things together?!

art journaling makes my heart happy.

Now that Fall is quickly approaching here, I suppose it's a good time to share the last few pages from my Summer art journal. This Summer of Love class was so incredible... I highly recommend it :)

All page elements can be purchased here in this kit.










loooved this prompt. What or who was the spine of your summer?






What or who is in the shadows of your summer?




also seen here.













xo, A

Guess what I've been doing?

scrapbooking!!!!!

Yeeeeah. That's right. The past two two nights, I've taken to my studio and made a few layouts. It's been relaxing. Fun. Creative. Heartwarming. Inspired. And it's hard to put into words, but whenever I scrapbook, it feels like going home again.


I'll photograph my layouts tonight and share them here, but for now, allow me to share some of my favorite scrapbooking inspiration with you.
These are all from my inspiration folder on my desktop... I think it's cool when I can see a layout of someone's and know exactly who made it, immediately. That's the case with all of these lovely people. :)



Kara. Kara is a dear friend, and her layouts covet a good 75% of my inspiration folder. I'm pretty sure I've bookmarked every thing she's ever made. Plus she is a freakin' frackin' sweetheart.


Jeremy seems like such a sweet guy, and has such a great eye for design. I always love what he does for The Dares.


Christina is the queen of minibooks. I love her funky style and bright mix of colors/elements.



Vee. Sprays, mists, sewing machines, great photos... need I say more?



I know I've blogged about my friend Julie before, but her scrapbooks and art journals and quilts are the most creative things in the world.




Kristi has been one of my favorite scrapbookers since the beginning of scrapbook time. You can still see some of her amazing work here.




Last but not least, the amazingly talented Mandi. Does this girl have an eye for vintage design of what?



puh puh PLEaSE link me to some of your favorite layouts or scrapbookers/art journalers!!

xoxo

Crafty Potluck, installment one.

My friend Hollie and I threw our first monthly Crafty Potluck this past weekend, and it was a huge success! Even more successful than I expected. We had eight girls in total, which seemed like a perfect amount. Each girl brought her favorite crafts to work on and a dish to share (fruit salad, chicken wings, pasta, and of course, cupcakes!) We used my home, which I was happy to share. It was so wonderful having so many crafty friends in one place.
And we already have our next party planned for October 23rd!
You are all invited! ;)

Here are some photos of our amazing day...
















 

You can see lots more of our photos here.


Here are some tips for throwing your own crafty party, as written by Hollie...

First and foremost, friends ask me how and where I meet such awesome crafters. The answer is very simple: Craft shows! When I attend or vend them, I go with the goal of meeting and networking with artists and crafters that really stand out to me. It's the perfect opportunity! All the local geniuses at one event!

So when you hear of a craft show, or other crafty event coming up, plan to go! Put on your brave face, smile and meet every single vendor there. Take biz cards, and when you get home, add them all as Facebook friends and follow their biz pages and blogs. Keep in touch, and stay connected. The more ppl you friend, the more awesomeness you'll be in on. As indie creators, it's important to view other creators as family. So connect, be real and enjoy the fun that comes from it!...

You can read the rest of her awesome advice here.

If you're local and you'd like to join in on our crafty fun, email me via the link above. If you have questions or comments about throwing your own crafty potluck, leave a comment here! :)

xo.

something I think you might like.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my craft show photos. I always love seeing the way artists display their work at shows, especially the table set-ups.
So this is the way I set up my extravagant delight.

I adore questions and suggestions...









Some advice I have on setting up your front:

• group similar items together
• be visually inspiring
• have a small price list handy. people don't like asking for prices and may walk away from your table if they aren't sure.
  
• reflect your brand. creating a brand is equally important for your online store and your real-life store front or craft show front. When people see my table, they recognize me as bright colors, graphic lines, pretty designs, emphatic black handwriting, and always a smiling face.
  
  I hope you enjoyed these tips! Please feel free to share some of your own.

love, amy.

Good thing I like mint green.

'ello, friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I got caught up on some orders, hung out with friends, got rained out at a backyard show (photos to follow), went out dancing... it was a good time.

I spent a lot of time painting... here's a custom UP! painting for Jenny. She requested that two of the balloons be purple and yellow (for the LA Lakers) and to paint her and her boyfriend Johnny's names on the insides.





I also finished a 3 piece custom set for Jazmine. This was so fun and cool. :)







Such a cute idea, right?

And then I painted something else.

My carpet.

And by "painted", I mean spilled.
And by "something else", I mean a gallon of paint.





Of course I stopped to take photos. In the midst of several four-letter words.

Ah, well.

Painting Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

I've been pretty busy with paintings lately (YAY!)

I've had a few custom requests to re-create the UP! -inspired painting that I posted about...





I love when people request personalizations. Lindsay wanted the house colored in pink & yellow, and Jamie wanted her sons' names hidden in the midst of the balloons. So sweet, right?

And then, just for fun, I was super inspired by Miss Haley and Rachel and created the following painting for a friend going through a tough time...











If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, leave a comment here. I'll pull a winner on Friday. I'm so enjoying reading all of your book suggestions!

Today has been kind of a rough one for me, so I'm going to try for dinner with a friend and some studio time. That also makes my heart grow fonder.  ♥

GIVEAWAY! :)

Hello, new followers! and Welcome!

One thing you'll find on my blog is that I like to offer giveaways every couple of weeks or so.

It's about that time...



Comment with your favorite book, or a book you're currently reading, for a chance to win the print of your choice from Peace, Love & Cupcakes.

I've been doing a lot of summer reading (more on that later) and I love to hear your suggestions. If you'd like to read some of my recommendations, you can find them here.

Follow my blog, and tweet or facebook about this giveaway for extra entries. Leave separate comments for each.

I'll be back later with some paintings I've been working on lately :)

Art Journaling Week!

I know I've caught your attention! :)

Julie FeiFan Balzer of Prima is having week full of inspirational art journaling techniques and inspirations, and she so kindly invited me to be a part of it!  Julie is an incredible artist, and her blog is jam packed with tutorials, ideas, and a ton of inspiration. Please check out my post and let us know what you think!

I blogged about three different texturing techniques, one from my Summer album and two from the following never-before-seen pages:

A Little Bit of Life...

Does anyone else love country music?  Yes'm, a city girl such as myself loves me some good ole' Kenny, TSwift, & A.J. :)

New York was fantastic as usual... got to see some family & friends, which is always wonderful.  I've been back a few days now, and dragged Mom along with me!  She's taking her vacation here until next Sunday. We plan on lots of beach time, cooking, and crafting!
I love life :)





I thought I would share a little bit more of my Summer of Love album... just about all elements used can be found in my I ♥ Thrifting kits.


The frame around the page (left) and the photo of my friend and I (right) was self-created with my sewing machine.


I grouped a bunch of elements from the Vintage kit on the page (right) and sewed a journaling frame for the opposite page (left).






The black circles is actually a Prima patterned paper- I used a small circle punch and misted them with red glimmer mist. I used my sewing machine to adhere them- love that!


I cut two journaling boxes out of the blue patterned paper with an exacto knife and wrote behind it...


Long live the days of Polaroid :)


I cut the "Movies" title out of the sticky-backed woodgrain paper in the kit.



Just one more thing... any shop orders placed over the past couple weeks were shipped last Friday, so they should have probably arrived at their new homes.  Custom orders will go out in the next couple days. Thank you so much!
love, Amy

more&more&more

Photos of my fancy book, that is :)













Reallyyy enjoying the freedom of summer. Been doing a lot of painting, baking, and quilting. Last night was my best friend Megan's rehearsal dinner... it was grand. So grand, I feel like I should put an "e" at the end of that.

It was grande.









Tomorrow is going to be full of wedded bliss & grandeur fanciness. :)

Fanciness.

Obsession Alert: I am newly obsessed with the word "Fancy."

Fanciness.

Fanciful.

Fancy Schmancy.

***

I don't want to get too annoying. So let me just show you some of my new fancy journal pages...

This class by Kara was absolutely amazing. She is so talented, and probably my favorite scrapbooker in the world. Every so often, she offers classes so we could learn to be cool like her. The class is over, but you can purchase the PDF version here.

For these last couple photos, the prompt was to create a treasure pocket using a starbucks cup. Kara sewed hers together (front piece and back piece of the cup) but my machine wasn't strong enough for this. Maybe it was my needle? Anyway, I used a hot glue gun to glue around the edges of only the front piece and glued it onto my paper.

Almost everything I used for this book was from my I ♥ Thrifting kits.

I'll share more tomorrow... Right now I have to go get fancy for my best friend's fancy rehearsal dinner. <3

24 Hour Tuesday

You guys are so wiley.. how did you know it was Kara and Mandi?!





The projects I have seen so far are fall-off-your-chair gorgeous. They should all be up later tonight!

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24 HOUR TUESDAY
***
Today's special is in celebration of the new kits- use code BLOG8310 in the notes to seller and receive $2 off each kit that you purchase today only! Discount will be reflected in your Pay Pal balance same-day.

I ♥ Thrifting... KIT REVEAL!

I've been working for the past few months (okay, like 12 months) on these minialbum/scrapbooking/art journaling kits and I'm in such a great, crafty mood lately that I think it's about that time to share them. I'll share the photos, then the details, and I'll be posting samples all well of what myself and two other incredible designers have done with them :)



I ♥ Thrifting : Vintage







Included:
12- 5x7 pattterned and specialty papers
1- 5x7 self adhesive woodgrain paper
1- 5x7 plastic mesh sheet
1- large doily
1- small doily
2- vintage flowers
1- label
2- jump rings
vintage dress patterns
1- 2x8 self adhesive mesh happy tape
crocheted lace ribbon
1 packet of thrifted/vintage goodies

Click here to purchase I ♥ Thrifting : Vintage for only $18.50



I ♥ Thrifting : Retro






Included:
6- 5x7 patterned and specialty papers
1- 5x7 patterned fabric (shown in heart pattern)
1- label
1- ft of ribbon
4- carnival tickets
1- sticker sheet (shown in pandas & monsters)
buttons

Click here to purchase I ♥ Thrifting : Retro for only $8.50



These kits are a compilation of all of my favorite thrifted and vintage-style scrapbook supplies. I've been collecting goods for months. I hope you love them as much as I do!





Purchase both kits at a discounted rate of $25! Refund will be reflected same-day in your PayPal account.

The exciting news doesn't end there. I have two very, very talented designers working with these kits as we speak! I can't give away their names just yet, but I'll give you a clue... they are serious Queens of Thrifting.

More clues:




Any guesses? ;)

We started a flickr photo group for our projects... please join our group and share what you make!

Custom Work

I'm so grateful to have received so many custom requests for paintings recently. I love creating special and personalized works, knowing that they are hanging in someone's home and bringing lots of smiles & love.

I'm happy to announce that I'll be accepting more custom requests!
The busier I get, the more I love this line of work.

Consider having a custom painting made for yourself, or as a gift for an upcoming birthday, anniversary, holiday. So much more personalized and unique than a gift card or another cashmere sweater!



Click here to see a gallery of some current and custom work I've done in the past.

E-mail me with the details of your commission, including designs, colors, quotes, names, or other customizations. Attach a photo if you're ordered a portrait.  Popular sizes include 11x14, 16x20, and 18x24. Pricing is very affordable (I believe everyone should have the opportunity to collect original art.)
Contact me at amylapi@gmail.com for more information.

I look forward to working with you!

love, amy

Tiny Changes.

I've been making a lot of small changes (one or two each day) around my home lately. I finally hung my scalloped chalkboard in my studio, and added my list of summer goals. It's a great reminder of all the fun projects I'm working on, but more importantly, it's super cute. :)




+scalloped chalkboard

I've been collecting good ideas for my goals list lately... if you have any links such as this + one sharing yours or someone else's fun goals and life aspirations, please share!


And if you enjoy keeping to-do lists and crossing things off of them, check out this site. It's so cool! You can even drag a task from one day to the next (for procrastinators only, not me of course.)



Look forward to a lot of fun things this week... I'll be sharing my Summer of Love altered book and also revealing some kits I've been putting together over the past few months!





24 HOUR TUESDAYS are back!!
Receive a 20% discount on anything in the shop today by entering code "24TUES" in the notes to seller.

xoxo, amy

GO!

Combine some paint, freshly printed photos, and a little bit of inspiration, and you get two new scrapbook layouts! YAY!

GO me!



I'm not sure why the red colors all photographed light brown, but here is a close-up to show true color...



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To make the journaling bubbles, I painted splotches of white paint over patterned paper, outlined a cloud shape in black paint, and cut out around it.  I painted the title with a #1 round brush.

xo, amy

The. Best. Package. Ever.

eta: this post was originally drafted on may 20th, 2010.
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I've been sad.

And lonely.

And homesick.


But on this day, I felt loved.

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A participant in a "craft swap" makes a certain amount (in this case, 30) similar crafts and mails them to the craft swap organizer (in this case, Janel.)  Here is what I made.


 
Polaroid Magnets

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The Organizer puts one of each craft in a box and ships it out to all participants, so each participant ends up with 30 different handmade crafts.

I've swapped crafts before, but I've never been so amazed and inspired by the ladies than I was this time. 
Each product was beautiful, creative, and some were even personalized. It was SO cool to see my name on some of the crafts.  I received a lot of polariods, pinks, owls, and granny squares. WOW... do you guys know me or what?!











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This package made me happy, and inspired, but it was so much more than that. This package of priceless, handmade goodies brought a feeling money that can't buy.

I can't begin to thank you enough...

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If you have time and enjoy finding new etsy shops and creative people, check out the list below:

pixies and bears
cut and paste
one artsy mama
potluck designs
no wooden spoons
michabella
paper camera scissor
krummcake
sew graciously blessed
inspired mess
smiley eyes
tjbirdonwire
hoot-n-annie
the foxy robot
that is charming
run with scissors
time after tea
whoopsie daisy
strumpets crumpets
unkamama
lunie bin
awkward unicycle
pretty simple art
arianna's universe