Thursday, June 28, 2012
Kory Watches CRAFT WARS On TLC (and shares his reactions)
CRAFT WARS: Reactions:
On Christy Thomlinson's introduction: Did they tell her or force her to do that pose during her introduction? I hope it wasn't her choice. The gangstah pose during your competition reality show introduction went out of style during the first season of Project Runway. And how long ago was that? Please stop. Please don't do it again.
Judge: Stephen Brown- can he not stop 'reacting' so forcefully? For sure, though- quit it with the 'OMG I AM ENTHUSIASTICALLY INTERESTED, GURL' faces. It's so awkward that I cringe.
When the people entered to deliver all the sports equipment, what was up with the guy who jumped and threw the basketball into the Rubbermaid container, then ran out, giving a high-five to Miss Spelling? Did they make him do that? Was there an annoying TV director telling them to 'MAKE IT ENERGETIC! LIKE YOU'RE SO EXCITED TO CARRY THOSE CRATES OF SPORTS EQUIPMENT OUT THERE! AND HIGH FIVE MISS SPELLING! IT'LL MAKE IT LOOK LIKE WE'RE ALL FRIENDS AND HAVING A GREAT TIME!' Well it didn't, it just looked stupid.
WHO wrote these transitions and crap?!
I did like the football corners on the unfinished bag- that looked good!
Really, it matters
WHY did Miss Spelling's kids have to come out?! That was more forced than that Stephen Brown's reaction shots.
This show just made me sad. Really, these were the best challenges they could come up with for the FIRST show?! TLC, CALL ME!
Wow. This "School Bus" is looking more like a shanty house. I hope it looks better when it's done!
Well, it doesn't.
The 'Backpack Monsters' did make me laugh- and the 'School House' does look better.
So who's gonna win?
Really, I don't have kids. I don't like kids. They might've well have called this 'KIDS CRAFT Craft Wars.'
The next episode had better be better! Or.... I won't watch. There. Take that, TLC. I'll spend more time over at NatGeo with LOCKED UP ABROAD. So... watch it.
CHECK OUT the website for CRAFT WARS for a FITTY OFF (that's a whole 50% OFF!) coupon to MICHAELS! Valid until Saturday, June 30!!! Remember, one coupon per person per day! So print a bunch, find a bunch of friends and GO!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Lyric Theatre's BYE BYE BIRDIE and...A Birdhouse.
Last night, went to Lyric Theatre's first night of the first show of their summer season, BYE BYE BIRDIE. It was a a ton of fun, in the only way 1960's musical comedy can be- dammit, what a good time! And so much fun to see a professional production of a show that's been beaten to death in high schools across America. If you're in OKC, buy a ticket!
That's me, with my date for the evening, Jessica. She's not only the prettiest lady in town, she's also my favorite actor in town!
Another Jessica I know- the one I call 'Baby' Jessica, called me up to ask a favor. Yeahp- so that's my segue- one Jessica to the next-
Baby Jessica called me up, to ask a favor...
Along with her father, she was doing something for a charity. They were having some kind of benefit, a party and auction. They were supposed to decorate a plain wooden birdhouse. At the benefit, all of the birdhouses, that different people had decorated, would be auctioned off. They had no clue what to do- so she called to ask if she could bring it over- for me to decorate.
Of course I said, "Hell YEAH!"
Here's what I came up with:
As I dived into this project without any plan of attack, it took much longer than it should've... but it ended up working out in my favor, as there was a nice layer of paint on it before I came up with the plan of attack!
First, the entire birdhouse was painted with a coat of off-white fitty cent pain from Wal-Mart. After lots of staring at the thing, I smeared and rubbed some dark brown and light brown paint in random streaks. (More fitty cent paint from Wal-Mart.) At this point, it looked like a huge mess. More like a birdCRACKhouse. So I attacked it with some Vintage Photo Distress Stain. That didn't help in the attractive department, either. I thought, maybe it needs some color. That's where the bright blue came to be in the spaced between the 'boards,' and where the door was painted red. In honor of my Grandma's favorite perfume? I don't know.
As I was staring at my shelves of product. I grabbed the little bottle of Mr. Holtz's Antique Bronze Crackle Paint. I randomly slapped thick patches of the crackle paint around the house. Now, this isn't a tiny birdhouse that fits in the palm of your hand. It's pretty damn big. And I was sure I'd use the entire jar of crackle paint. Nope. Didn't even make a dent in it- looked like it was still more than 1/2 full. (Optimistic, aren't I?) Seriously! I'd been "takin' it easy" on the crackle paints, because I was afraid of running out too soon! Let this be a lesson- there's more than it looks, and it goes farther than you think!
And that's where I called it a night. I left the birdhouse to dry for the night.
When I returned to my project the following day, the crackle paint had - well, you know- it did what the name implies. IT CRACKLED! Beautifully. I rubbed some Walnut Stain Distress Ink into the cracks, just as his highness, Mr. Holtz, has taught us to do.
Here's where the embossing comes in- I just felt that I want to melt some embossing power on the thang. I used the 'Aged Copper' from Stampendous. I love that way this stuff looks. I dumped it around the edges of each window and blasted it with the heat gun.
To finish up, I smeared some Walnut Stain Distress STICKLES around the edges of the roof, door, and anywhere else that looked neglected. I superglued the gear and game spinners to the very front top of the roof. I superglued the Idea-ology 'Ornate Plate' over the hole- wait, what's that called? The 'Bird-Door?' I don't know. I also superglued a game piece above the door, as a house number.
It still didn't look 'finished,' to me. My basket of tapes caught my eye. I grabbed a few rolls of tissue tape and stuck two small pieces to the front of the house- there on the windowsill and a piece right above the window- which mostly became transparent when I smeared it with ink and glue. After attaching more strips of tissue tape to the 'ground' around the house, like some kind of walkway or 'yard,' I was DONE! I delivered the house to Baby Jessica's Dad the following morning! I've yet to hear what it sold for, in the auction at the benefit. Part of me doesn't want to know. I'm happy with my daydream that it went for thousands of dollars and the board of directors are speaking of me in hushed, reverent tones and announcing me as the one who singlehandedly supported their cause...
That's me, with my date for the evening, Jessica. She's not only the prettiest lady in town, she's also my favorite actor in town!
Another Jessica I know- the one I call 'Baby' Jessica, called me up to ask a favor. Yeahp- so that's my segue- one Jessica to the next-
Baby Jessica called me up, to ask a favor...
Along with her father, she was doing something for a charity. They were having some kind of benefit, a party and auction. They were supposed to decorate a plain wooden birdhouse. At the benefit, all of the birdhouses, that different people had decorated, would be auctioned off. They had no clue what to do- so she called to ask if she could bring it over- for me to decorate.
Of course I said, "Hell YEAH!"
Here's what I came up with:
As I dived into this project without any plan of attack, it took much longer than it should've... but it ended up working out in my favor, as there was a nice layer of paint on it before I came up with the plan of attack!
First, the entire birdhouse was painted with a coat of off-white fitty cent pain from Wal-Mart. After lots of staring at the thing, I smeared and rubbed some dark brown and light brown paint in random streaks. (More fitty cent paint from Wal-Mart.) At this point, it looked like a huge mess. More like a birdCRACKhouse. So I attacked it with some Vintage Photo Distress Stain. That didn't help in the attractive department, either. I thought, maybe it needs some color. That's where the bright blue came to be in the spaced between the 'boards,' and where the door was painted red. In honor of my Grandma's favorite perfume? I don't know.
As I was staring at my shelves of product. I grabbed the little bottle of Mr. Holtz's Antique Bronze Crackle Paint. I randomly slapped thick patches of the crackle paint around the house. Now, this isn't a tiny birdhouse that fits in the palm of your hand. It's pretty damn big. And I was sure I'd use the entire jar of crackle paint. Nope. Didn't even make a dent in it- looked like it was still more than 1/2 full. (Optimistic, aren't I?) Seriously! I'd been "takin' it easy" on the crackle paints, because I was afraid of running out too soon! Let this be a lesson- there's more than it looks, and it goes farther than you think!
And that's where I called it a night. I left the birdhouse to dry for the night.
When I returned to my project the following day, the crackle paint had - well, you know- it did what the name implies. IT CRACKLED! Beautifully. I rubbed some Walnut Stain Distress Ink into the cracks, just as his highness, Mr. Holtz, has taught us to do.
Here's where the embossing comes in- I just felt that I want to melt some embossing power on the thang. I used the 'Aged Copper' from Stampendous. I love that way this stuff looks. I dumped it around the edges of each window and blasted it with the heat gun.
To finish up, I smeared some Walnut Stain Distress STICKLES around the edges of the roof, door, and anywhere else that looked neglected. I superglued the gear and game spinners to the very front top of the roof. I superglued the Idea-ology 'Ornate Plate' over the hole- wait, what's that called? The 'Bird-Door?' I don't know. I also superglued a game piece above the door, as a house number.
It still didn't look 'finished,' to me. My basket of tapes caught my eye. I grabbed a few rolls of tissue tape and stuck two small pieces to the front of the house- there on the windowsill and a piece right above the window- which mostly became transparent when I smeared it with ink and glue. After attaching more strips of tissue tape to the 'ground' around the house, like some kind of walkway or 'yard,' I was DONE! I delivered the house to Baby Jessica's Dad the following morning! I've yet to hear what it sold for, in the auction at the benefit. Part of me doesn't want to know. I'm happy with my daydream that it went for thousands of dollars and the board of directors are speaking of me in hushed, reverent tones and announcing me as the one who singlehandedly supported their cause...
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
SHOPPING HIGHLIGHTS and living in a burning hell
Wow. Time flies. One minute it's beautifully cold and you're wearing a classy sweater to work - the next thing you know, it's a hundred degrees and you're miserably wondering what you did to end up in hell. Was it the liquor? The sleeping around? The haircut you had in the 6th grade? Why have I been forsaken?! Oh, I'm still alive. This isn't hell. It's Oklahoma City. Or is it?
So what's up? Besides burning in hell? Well, I've done a bit of shopping and I'm here to share a few SHOPPING HIGHLIGHTS with you!
Here's some highlights of recent shopping trips:
Went to MICHAELS yesterday, for a lunch-hour shopping break. Holly B. not only drove me, but shared a diet pill. So we shopped in terrific manic style AND didn't eat. As I was maniacally tearing through the dollar stamp bins, Holly turned a corner and spotted the above display, hidden behind a tall shelf of horrific budget patterned scrapbooking paper. Seriously- hidden. If it were a snake it would NOT have bit me. Luckily, Holly has the eyes of an eagle on methamphetamines. Budget stamps from 7Gypsies / Graphic45 / Cosmo Cricket / Hampton Art!!! Most of the display was empty, however- which lead me to imagine that they either hadn't fully stocked this display yet OR other people had already discovered it and bought all of the best stamps. As this was at the Michaels that's notorious for not stocking things that the other locations stocked a month ago, I'm leaning towards a stocking issue.
Speaking of this Michaels location's stocking issues- they have finally restocked (most of) the Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies (and embossing folders)! They've been missing for nearly a year. Well, except for a single, lonely Tim Holtz 'Baroque' die which seemed to migrate randomly around the store of its own volition. Yes. After all of Mr. Holtz's fan-freakin-tabulous dies but this 'Baroque' die had sold, I would spot it in different places all over the store. One day it was in the SMASH Book display, then it was suddenly hanging from a Distress Ink hook. Another time, I saw it on top of a pile of fabric bolts in the clearance aisle. Yesterday, there it was again- in the mixed media jewelry display. While I considered giving the Baroque die a home of its very own, I saw (and gratefully snatched) the On The Edge 'File Tabs' die. I'd been wanting this one for FOREVER! Sorry, Baroque. I'll get you one day. I promise. I'll make an honest die of you.
Now, for something not related to craft, but still something that caught my eye:
A 'bunny rabbit mask.' Spotted at the new and terrific antique shop near downtown, VERDIGRIS. This thing is horrifying. And I want it.
And now, for something even more horrifying than an antique bunny mask:
This ad, spotted in the back of the newest issue of one of the scrap-mags, which excitedly advertises a new line of LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE albums. Really? I was pretty sure the LIVE LAUGH LOVE thing was, if not dead already, definitely near death. Is it being resurrected? I was pretty sure this fad was completely extinct when I spotted LIVE LAUGH LOVE signs in heaping piles in the home decor sections at Gordman's and Ross Dress For Less and other classy shopping destinations. But no. Just when I think I won't be assaulted by this CRAP any longer- surprise!
Trust me, people. It's not inspiring. It's insipid. And worse than that, it's overdone.
Okay
So what's up? Besides burning in hell? Well, I've done a bit of shopping and I'm here to share a few SHOPPING HIGHLIGHTS with you!
Here's some highlights of recent shopping trips:
Found these nifty stamps (from The Paper Company) at Jo-Ann. All stamps were on sale, 40% off. As these were rather inexpensive anyways- really- such a low price I wouldn't have cared paying full price- the discount made them an even better deal! I think they rang up at 4.19 each package. And aren't they cool?! I love the vintage label look of these stamps! I could do without the 'Friends Forever' stamp, as I stopped acting like a 13 year old girl when I turned 30, but who knows- it might come in handy one day. 
Went to MICHAELS yesterday, for a lunch-hour shopping break. Holly B. not only drove me, but shared a diet pill. So we shopped in terrific manic style AND didn't eat. As I was maniacally tearing through the dollar stamp bins, Holly turned a corner and spotted the above display, hidden behind a tall shelf of horrific budget patterned scrapbooking paper. Seriously- hidden. If it were a snake it would NOT have bit me. Luckily, Holly has the eyes of an eagle on methamphetamines. Budget stamps from 7Gypsies / Graphic45 / Cosmo Cricket / Hampton Art!!! Most of the display was empty, however- which lead me to imagine that they either hadn't fully stocked this display yet OR other people had already discovered it and bought all of the best stamps. As this was at the Michaels that's notorious for not stocking things that the other locations stocked a month ago, I'm leaning towards a stocking issue.
Speaking of this Michaels location's stocking issues- they have finally restocked (most of) the Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies (and embossing folders)! They've been missing for nearly a year. Well, except for a single, lonely Tim Holtz 'Baroque' die which seemed to migrate randomly around the store of its own volition. Yes. After all of Mr. Holtz's fan-freakin-tabulous dies but this 'Baroque' die had sold, I would spot it in different places all over the store. One day it was in the SMASH Book display, then it was suddenly hanging from a Distress Ink hook. Another time, I saw it on top of a pile of fabric bolts in the clearance aisle. Yesterday, there it was again- in the mixed media jewelry display. While I considered giving the Baroque die a home of its very own, I saw (and gratefully snatched) the On The Edge 'File Tabs' die. I'd been wanting this one for FOREVER! Sorry, Baroque. I'll get you one day. I promise. I'll make an honest die of you.
Now, for something not related to craft, but still something that caught my eye:
And now, for something even more horrifying than an antique bunny mask:
This ad, spotted in the back of the newest issue of one of the scrap-mags, which excitedly advertises a new line of LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE albums. Really? I was pretty sure the LIVE LAUGH LOVE thing was, if not dead already, definitely near death. Is it being resurrected? I was pretty sure this fad was completely extinct when I spotted LIVE LAUGH LOVE signs in heaping piles in the home decor sections at Gordman's and Ross Dress For Less and other classy shopping destinations. But no. Just when I think I won't be assaulted by this CRAP any longer- surprise!
Trust me, people. It's not inspiring. It's insipid. And worse than that, it's overdone.
Okay
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
making cards
I had a great time last night, at the 'Man Card Class' at My Heart's Fancy. First of all- I love this store. So many cool things.
I've been interested in many of their classes- but due to my busy busy schedule- I haven't been able to go to any! I kind of 'happened into' this class. How? Well, I saw the card samples on the shop's blog and commented about how I should go to the class. So they signed me up! This turned out to be the way to make me show up! I got an email telling me I was going - so I went! (It also helped that I had the night free!)
I learned an important lesson not related to papercrafting. What is it? It's that I should never expect to drive North on the Hefner Parkway at rush hour. It was a living hell. I managed to amuse myself for about twenty of my forty minutes stuck in traffic by talking on the phone.
But I'm sure you'd much rather see the cards than hear my phone conversation recaps- so here they are!
If you're in OKC, you should take a class! They're fun! Buy lots of stuff! Go home with your fingers covered in ink! For reals, I looked like I'd fought a battle with an ink pen.
-kory
I've been interested in many of their classes- but due to my busy busy schedule- I haven't been able to go to any! I kind of 'happened into' this class. How? Well, I saw the card samples on the shop's blog and commented about how I should go to the class. So they signed me up! This turned out to be the way to make me show up! I got an email telling me I was going - so I went! (It also helped that I had the night free!)
I learned an important lesson not related to papercrafting. What is it? It's that I should never expect to drive North on the Hefner Parkway at rush hour. It was a living hell. I managed to amuse myself for about twenty of my forty minutes stuck in traffic by talking on the phone.
But I'm sure you'd much rather see the cards than hear my phone conversation recaps- so here they are!
If you're in OKC, you should take a class! They're fun! Buy lots of stuff! Go home with your fingers covered in ink! For reals, I looked like I'd fought a battle with an ink pen.
-kory
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday: A card!
Happy Sunday, everyone!
You know what Sunday is- MATINEE DAY.
As I went out with the sound designer for much needed drinks after last night's show, I didn't just spring out of bed this morning, ready to do the show. I did somehow manage to drag myself downtown in time- and guess what? Somebody up above must have decided to do me a favor and give me a break- we had the smoothest running performance EVER. It was such a nice break from all the issues and problems that have been attacking us every night! Finally, the drama was onstage, where it belongs!
I'm here, today, to share a card that I made with one of my favorite stamps from Stampotique/Daniel Torrente. I love his stamps!!! They're so fun!
Isn't that cutest little creepy guy?
I used some kraft cardstock, the ever-trusty Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Hobby Lobby's knockoff Tim Holtz style gears. Hobby Lobby's gears are VERY thin and cheap feeling- I'm kind of conflicted, they look kinda cool, but they feel so cheap. But they are very thin and lightweight, so they work well on cards.
I grabbed a few random bits out of my scrap-pile. A piece of Kraft Funday border, a strip of cardstock I'd embossed using the new Stencil embossing folder from Mr. Holtz, a bit of stamped chevron graphic- everything just jumped out of at me and ended up on the card.
Wanna see it? Here it go!
I love that little guy! And these stamps are addictive. I want them ALL.
I colored him with a few Distress Markers. Do you have any yet? They are fantastic!
Alright. I'm out- it's Sunday evening in a few minutes and I need to rest and relax and clear what's left of my foggy mind! Have the best Monday possible, tomorrow!
-kory
You know what Sunday is- MATINEE DAY.
As I went out with the sound designer for much needed drinks after last night's show, I didn't just spring out of bed this morning, ready to do the show. I did somehow manage to drag myself downtown in time- and guess what? Somebody up above must have decided to do me a favor and give me a break- we had the smoothest running performance EVER. It was such a nice break from all the issues and problems that have been attacking us every night! Finally, the drama was onstage, where it belongs!
I'm here, today, to share a card that I made with one of my favorite stamps from Stampotique/Daniel Torrente. I love his stamps!!! They're so fun!
Isn't that cutest little creepy guy?
I used some kraft cardstock, the ever-trusty Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Hobby Lobby's knockoff Tim Holtz style gears. Hobby Lobby's gears are VERY thin and cheap feeling- I'm kind of conflicted, they look kinda cool, but they feel so cheap. But they are very thin and lightweight, so they work well on cards.
I grabbed a few random bits out of my scrap-pile. A piece of Kraft Funday border, a strip of cardstock I'd embossed using the new Stencil embossing folder from Mr. Holtz, a bit of stamped chevron graphic- everything just jumped out of at me and ended up on the card.
Wanna see it? Here it go!
I love that little guy! And these stamps are addictive. I want them ALL.
I colored him with a few Distress Markers. Do you have any yet? They are fantastic!
Alright. I'm out- it's Sunday evening in a few minutes and I need to rest and relax and clear what's left of my foggy mind! Have the best Monday possible, tomorrow!
-kory
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Where's Kory BEEN?!
I know! It's been ages. Nearly a decade, it feels. I hope you don't feel that I abandoned you! Don't worry- all of you right there, in what tiny shred of a heart I have left!
For those of you who don't know, or for the rest of you who've drained a box of wine or three since I last posted, I'm a stage manager. And I've been stage managing one of the toughest plays I've ever worked on... The past week of technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, a preview and an opening night have left me nearly dead. I'm surprised to be alive and breathing!
For most of the past four weeks, this has been my view:
My Vanilla Coke. Pencils. My 'good' pen. Little Post-Its. Post-It tabs. Candy. And: my script, which slowly became filled with light cues, sound cues, projection cues, AND A SNOWSTORM.
To make a long story short and protect my reputation: the show opened last night, and I'm still alive.
(( An hour long break occurred right here, as I drove my truck to a furniture store to pick up furniture for a DIFFERENT show in town, and drove it to its theatre. Work doesn't stop for long, for me, it seems. ))
So what am I here, this afternoon, to share? What I made for opening night gifts!
Making a gift of some kind is one of my favorite parts of the job- and it isn't even one of the required parts of the job. It calms my nerves to arrive early on the first night. I walk slowly, unlock the theatre, turn on all the lights, sweep the stage floor (nearly a ritual in itself!) Then, the most calming part of my pre-opening ritual: I place my gifts in the dressing rooms at the nearly cliché makeup tables surrounded by lights. It's so exciting! I love the idea of the actors showing up and finding their gift in their dressing room. And I don't just make a gift for the actors- I leave one at everyone's 'position.'
SO WHAT DID I MAKE?
I made necklaces!
I bought lengths of chain at Micheals- it was on sale for 2.50 per package! I already had the rest of the stuff at home- necklace clasps, jump rings- and the most important part, Tim Holtz's Philosophy Tags. I love these things! They are beautiful.
As I didn't have ANY free time, I used my lunch hour to assemble the necklaces. Late one night after rehearsal, I made the 'packaging.'
For the packaging, I used an office-supply 'Custom Stamp Kit' to make my own stamp- with the title of the play, the year, and that famous theatrical pre-show greeting: "Break A Leg!" I stamped this on two tags. The first, a kraft tag (from Ranger) which I embossed with a Sizzix/Tim Holtz Sewing & Stitching embossing folder. I stamped one of Mr. Holtz's trucks on it, wrapped the necklace around it- and put it in a regular brown paper bag. I folded over the top and punched two holes with my Crop-A-Dile. I took the other stamped tag, just a plain manila shipping tag (bought in bulk at Staples- very cheap!), wrote a note on it and tied it to the paper bag with some Dollar Tree twine.
Here's the pictures!
There's the bag!
And here's the gift inside:
Isn't that nice looking? I was impressed with myself. For not much money at all, I had a gift for every person involved with the production. It took only about an hour to produce eight of these. Yes, only eight, it's a fairly small (but technically difficult) show.
Here's a close-up, cuz I like lookin at it!
Well, it's suddenly 4:30. I've got less than two hours before I need to run downtown for tonight's show. I'm so so relieved that the week of technical rehearsal is OVER. There's a reason show people call the week of technical rehearsals "Hell Week." After tomorrow's matinee, I'll have a few nights off and some major relaxing and crafting! And on top of that, I'll be back soon (!) with some exciting news and a new card!
See ya then!
-kory
For those of you who don't know, or for the rest of you who've drained a box of wine or three since I last posted, I'm a stage manager. And I've been stage managing one of the toughest plays I've ever worked on... The past week of technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, a preview and an opening night have left me nearly dead. I'm surprised to be alive and breathing!
For most of the past four weeks, this has been my view:
My Vanilla Coke. Pencils. My 'good' pen. Little Post-Its. Post-It tabs. Candy. And: my script, which slowly became filled with light cues, sound cues, projection cues, AND A SNOWSTORM.
To make a long story short and protect my reputation: the show opened last night, and I'm still alive.
(( An hour long break occurred right here, as I drove my truck to a furniture store to pick up furniture for a DIFFERENT show in town, and drove it to its theatre. Work doesn't stop for long, for me, it seems. ))
So what am I here, this afternoon, to share? What I made for opening night gifts!
Making a gift of some kind is one of my favorite parts of the job- and it isn't even one of the required parts of the job. It calms my nerves to arrive early on the first night. I walk slowly, unlock the theatre, turn on all the lights, sweep the stage floor (nearly a ritual in itself!) Then, the most calming part of my pre-opening ritual: I place my gifts in the dressing rooms at the nearly cliché makeup tables surrounded by lights. It's so exciting! I love the idea of the actors showing up and finding their gift in their dressing room. And I don't just make a gift for the actors- I leave one at everyone's 'position.'
SO WHAT DID I MAKE?
I made necklaces!
I bought lengths of chain at Micheals- it was on sale for 2.50 per package! I already had the rest of the stuff at home- necklace clasps, jump rings- and the most important part, Tim Holtz's Philosophy Tags. I love these things! They are beautiful.
As I didn't have ANY free time, I used my lunch hour to assemble the necklaces. Late one night after rehearsal, I made the 'packaging.'
For the packaging, I used an office-supply 'Custom Stamp Kit' to make my own stamp- with the title of the play, the year, and that famous theatrical pre-show greeting: "Break A Leg!" I stamped this on two tags. The first, a kraft tag (from Ranger) which I embossed with a Sizzix/Tim Holtz Sewing & Stitching embossing folder. I stamped one of Mr. Holtz's trucks on it, wrapped the necklace around it- and put it in a regular brown paper bag. I folded over the top and punched two holes with my Crop-A-Dile. I took the other stamped tag, just a plain manila shipping tag (bought in bulk at Staples- very cheap!), wrote a note on it and tied it to the paper bag with some Dollar Tree twine.
Here's the pictures!
There's the bag!
And here's the gift inside:
Isn't that nice looking? I was impressed with myself. For not much money at all, I had a gift for every person involved with the production. It took only about an hour to produce eight of these. Yes, only eight, it's a fairly small (but technically difficult) show.
Here's a close-up, cuz I like lookin at it!
Well, it's suddenly 4:30. I've got less than two hours before I need to run downtown for tonight's show. I'm so so relieved that the week of technical rehearsal is OVER. There's a reason show people call the week of technical rehearsals "Hell Week." After tomorrow's matinee, I'll have a few nights off and some major relaxing and crafting! And on top of that, I'll be back soon (!) with some exciting news and a new card!
See ya then!
-kory
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