More Decoupage Tips and Tricks

Just glue something!

We found a very cool site that offers loads of decoupage ideas and free decoupage instructions  …check it out!

Preparing Furniture for Decoupage

Choosing and Selecting Decoupage Images

Applying Decoupage Glue

Aging Paper or Prints

Using GoldLeaf

Sealing Decoupage Pieces

This site also has some great decoupage furniture ideas!

New World of Marketing

When you don't have time...we do!

As a creative company, we didn’t give much thought to the marketing education we would receive, when we decided to open 225 Water Street Creative Arts in the front of our building. Not only has it helped us to reevaluate our own marketing strategies, it’s really helped us to advise our corporate clients, so that they can continue on and prosper in a sea of confusion. The keyword at this turn in the road is TRUST!

If you can find a creative business partner that you can collaborate with that offers a simple marketing strategy that you can afford, you can expect to start seeing results in three months. The KISS theory is alive and well in the new world of marketing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise…it’s all about rich content, not spreading yourself to thin and consistency.

Happy Holidays!

Mara Lee

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. – many people take credit for this quote so I’ll just leave it blank.

CCG Productions and virtualaide.net

Free Photo Gift Ideas

Create a Life Collage

Grab some of those family photos, photo paper, your very own printer, a cool frame and you’re on your way to very cool and inexpensive photo gift ideas!

Find all of the links here…

World Aids Day

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.

Dear Dogs and Cats

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. ~George Eliot

Pet owner or not, this was forwarded to me after the T-day holidays…what a hoot!

The  following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door……

Dear Dogs and  Cats:

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and they contain your food. The other dishes are  mine and they contain my food.  Placing a paw print on the food in the middle of my plate does not make  it become your food and dish, nor do I  find that paw print aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairs were not designed by NASCAR and they are not a  racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the  object and tripping me doesn’t help any because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed!  I am very sorry about this.  Do not think I will  continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your  comfort, however.  Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep.  It is not  necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other,  stretched out to the fullest extent  possible.  I also know that sticking tails  straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but a sarcastic attempt to annoy me.

For the last  time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom!  If, by some  miracle, I beat you into the  bathroom and manage to get the door shut, it  is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an  attempt to open the door.  I must exit through the same door I entered.  Also, I  have been using the bathroom for years and neither  canine/feline attendance nor  close animal companionship is  required!

The proper order for kissing is as follows:  Kiss me first and then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt.  I cannot stress this strongly enough!

Finally, in  fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following  message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1)  They live here. You don’t!

(2) If you don’t want their hair  on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That’s why they call it  ‘fur’-niture.

(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

(4) To you, they are animals, to me,  they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk  on all fours and don’t speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because  they:
(1)  eat less,
(2)  don’t ask for money,
(3)  are easier to train,
(4)  normally  come when called,
(5)   never ask to drive the car,
(6)  don’t smoke or drink,
(7)  don’t want  to wear your clothes,
(8)  don’t have to buy the latest  fashions,
(9)  don’t need a gazillion dollars for college,  and
(10) if  they get pregnant, you can sell their children!

Deciding.

When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice. ~William James

As the year comes to a close, I find myself thinking back to the decisions that I’ve made, that have gotten me to this place.

It’s a very happy place! I can honestly say that I am completely content and enjoying my moments. Good or bad. I don’t mind what happens…because something else always happens after that;)

When I first decided to make serious changes in my life, almost 7 years ago…I often consulted a set of Rune Stones that I had purchased. Runes are an oracle from which one seeks advice.

As with many of you, I tried psychics, tarot cards and the like to help make me feel better about myself and guide me down the right path…but the stones were, and still are, the best place for me to turn…when I have a decision that needs to be made. It’s almost like someone is standing next to you whispering in your ear. It’s worth a try…you’ll be amazed! Best of all, anyone can do it.

Don’t be so serious…it’s not witchcraft! There’s an interesting site with all kinds of information regarding Runes, Alphabet of Mystery. It’s an interesting read and is certainly worth a couple of minutes of your time.

No cheating! Let me know how it goes.

Until next time.

Mara

Recycled Art Contest FAQ…

All You Need to Do Is Submit An Image To Enter!

All you need to do to enter is submit our entry form…email me for a copy and submit an image of the item you’re entering...we do not need the actual creations sent to us!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

All the best!

Self Doubt

Life is simple, it's just not easy.

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath…amen!

Three Wise Women Holiday Cards

Three Wise Women Would Have

 

It’s our top seller!

Salvaging Memories

Life smashes things to bits and we put it back together to make something beautiful with the pieces.

Peggy, a visitor at 225 Water Street, stopped into the shop with a broken piece of southwestern art that her mother had given her as a gift. A chandelier had fallen on it and broke the cherished work of art into pieces. Peggy salvaged the children and remaining pieces and brought them in to see what she might do. We collaborated…here’s what we came up with.

As a side note…I suggested that she have a piece of concrete backer board cut into a circle to fit the table base she found.

Memories are made of these.