My friend Alisha is a makeup superstar! This was her costume for a celebration held where she lives. You can see more pictures on her Facebook page Alisha Smiljanic Haines Martin.

Halloween Bureau

I had some fun the other night by dragging this old bureau into my kitchen and decorating  it for my grandchildren. All items with the exception of the gourds came from Dollar Tree. I pulled out all of the draws and stacked them in the corner for now, they kept getting in the way.

When the "grave stones" have their flowers on them, you won't be able to see the holes. Enjoy!

OLD GLUE BOTTLE

Today I wanted to share with the you one of my uses for an old Scotch glue bottle. It is super easy to make and works like a charm! I cleaned out the empty glue bottle and then cut the tip off of the old red cap. I cut it pretty close to the bottom of the tip. I then took a new Copic super brush nip and pushed it into the cap. Push it really far in until it is very tight and you can't move it anymore.  I used the eraser end of a pencil to push it in.

I filled the bottle with alcohol instead of blending solution. I already have markers with blending solution so I wanted this one to just have alcohol, but blending solution would work just as well. When you use it you just tip the bottle up and wet the nub.  Don't squeeze the bottle when you use it, or it will leak.  If you don't squeeze the bottle, you will be fine. You can see in the picture that mine is worn and dirty from much use. Still works great! I hope that you find this tip as helpful as I have.

Paint with all your colors!

Muriel

Copic Markers

I have seen many ways to store Copic Markers on the web and today I wanted to share mine. It is not any better than the others, it is just another alternative. I am an alternative kind of person. I like choices and I like to do things my own way (lol).

 My way of storing my Copics (yes, I am lucky enough to have them all) is cigar boxes that were given to me. It turns out that cigar boxes are the perfect depth for Sketch Markers. Who knew? I cut one side off, turned them on their sides, glued them together and then wrapped duct tape around the entire structure to keep everything stable and help with strength. The sides that were cut off became the dividers for each section. Because they were part of the original box, they fit perfectly.  I did not glue them in just in case I needed to move them in the future. They are placed in the order that Copic uses for their color chart. From the beginning I was going to decorate it up all nice and pretty, but the moment it was done, it became "in use". Usually on the clips you see in the picture, I have the tools that I use most often hanging off them. From my seat at my work table I am easily able to reach into the highest section and take out the marker that I need. I have been using it for about three years and haven't found anything that I like better yet. Right now it is hot glued to the corner of my desk so that it does not accidently get knocked off. But, it does have a door that attaches to the side and clips down. I don't have it attached right now because I don't need it. I only made it so that the whole unit could be easily closed and transported completely as a single unit. I have since decided that I don't want to take them out of the house, so I removed the door. I wanted to share this with you today because it has worked out SOOO well for me and could be just what someone else is looking for. I might decorate it someday, but the chances are slim, that mood has come and gone.

Use all the colors you find yourself with.  Thank for stopping and taking a look!

Muriel

As you can see this blog has been extremely slow getting started. Truth is, it kinda scares the hell out of me to do it. With that said, I decided that today is going to be the day that I finally put something up to show you. That is the reason that I wanted to start this blog in the first place. I like to make things. Sometimes I like to create new things from old things. Mostly I just putter around with things and see what comes up. Sometimes they work out, and you know, sometimes they don't.

One of my passions is paper and the things that you can do with it. I love doodling by any name. I am especially fond of Zentangles and Zeninspirations, but all doodles work for me. I try to do a few minutes of doodling every day even if I have to do it at bedtime in bed. Recently I came up with a new tangle of my own. At least I believe it to be my own. I am very sure that someone will quickly tell me if someone has already done it! I apologize if that is the case.

Oh my, this is really a bad picture. Not to mention that I was so nervous that I could hardly even do the stroke myself!

Here I have used it in a tangle.  Please cut me a little slack, I am a brand new tangler and a brand new blogger. Let's face it, I HAVE to get better, and will..., at both!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog. You have NO IDEA how much I appreciate it, and how much I would enjoy your comments.

My first time... again!

OMG, I have wanted to start a blog for such a long time and have finally done it! I thought that I had so much to say and all of sudden, I got nothing.  I'm too nervous.  I am going to get myself together and then I will be back.