Halloween projects that I would LOVE to create!

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Today I wanted to share with you some super cute and funky projects made at my work iLoveToCreate! Now, while I craft at home on my own time, at work, I’m a graphic designer and social media coordinator. So, I don’t craft much on the job. We do; however, have a slew of cool craft designers and bloggers that make wonderful, fabulous projects that are all kinds of fun! The shoes, above, for example were by my co-worker and fab friend PattieWack. I just LOVE them. It really want to make my own pair for Halloween!! Check out the polka dot glitter shoe tutorial on the blog.


I just LOVE this Glow-in-the-Dark corset iLoveToCreate blogger Maya Murillo made from a t-shirt! Actually it is a t-shirt, but when the lights are off it looks like a glowing corset. Cool huh?


I have always been amazed by Alisa Burke’s artistry and these pretty pumpkins have always been one of my fave pumpkin projects! So sophisticated for someone who isn’t a big Halloween person (I’m not sure how that would actually be possible, but I’m thinking there might be people out there).


And there’s so many adorable projects on iLoveToCreate.com! I just love this Skeleton Love bag by Allee Marderosian and Mummy Mania Water Bottle Wraps Here’s some more fun Halloween projects to add to your list before it’s too late to make them!

What projects have you been making leading up to the big day?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Swell inspiration of the Day

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letscreatelive

OK, so I’m going to make a crafty request of you for my Swell inspiration of the day!! Please support me and the company I work for, iLoveToCreate! I’ve been on a hard-working team for the past few weeks that have put together a 2 hour LIVE webcast called Let’s Create LIVE! It’s today, Thursday, April 28th, from 9AM to 11AM (Pacific Standard Time).

Hop on over to the iLoveToCreate Ustream and sign up to participate in the chat. Did I mention prizes? Yes, we are giving away over $300 worth of fabulous stuff, but the thing is this…you must be in the chat room in order to win!

There’s going to be crafty celebrities, inspiration, projects, demos and laughs! My good friend Mr. Tacky Glue is even going to be there!

So go sign up on Ustream! It’s going to be a lot of fun!

And please do me one more favor. Go LIKE the iLoveToCreate Facebook fan page. If you like the content posted on my blog, I’m pretty sure you’re going to like the links and inspiration posted on that page!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Getting my artsy photography on at #CHAShow

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New Tulip® Sparkle paints

For the past 8 days, I’ve been away at the Craft and Hobby Association doing social media for iLoveToCreate! The week involved setting up, working the booth (taking photos, doing interviews, tweeting, etc.), and then tearing down the booth. I’m finally home and all the days feel like one big blur! I love going to CHA cause I get to meet so many cool people and all my online friends as well as get to see the excitement people have creating with iLoveToCreate products and other crafts! I swear, one of my favorite moments was watching a little boy jump up and down upon being handed a hobby kit by the booth next to us. The smile on his face and the excitement that he had in his heart is why I love this industry so much. In the end, that’s what it is supposed to be about!

Outside and inside our booth, I was drawn to the abounding artfulness in the booths and pretty products (like the new Tulip® Fashion Glitter paints and transfer sheet project above)! Many of which were photo worthing, so I thought I’d share them with you! These are some of the projects and colorful creations that made me drool!

yarnopalooza
Yarn wall at Lion Brand.

Tulip Body Art Glitter in our booth
New Tulip® Body Art Glitter in our booth!

pop o' color
Paper flowers on black and white wall at Savvy Stamps

cute as a cupcake
Cute glitter cupcake from Doodlebug Designs

Amazing display at Midwest Design Imports #CHAShow
Feather mannequin heads by Midwest Design Imports.

paper and felt dresses
Felt dresses by Suede for Craftwell.

Cool Xyron Art #CHAshow
Cool Xyron booth art!

bird on a wire
Bird on a Wire Lanterns by Hambly Studio

Amazing yarn sculpture
Amazing yarn sculpture at Lion Brand.

Now it’s time to get back to work and to sleep! Haha!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

The video where I get my arms stuck in a tube

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I’ve been away for a while I know! Hopefully this ridiculous video of me after work hours will make up for my absence! Seriously, I really couldn’t get my arms unstuck. I don’t know what I was thinking when I put my arms into this old printer paper roll tube in the first place. In the back of my mind, I really thought that it might do the Chinese finger trap thing, but I did it anyway. Instead of helping me, Sam decided it would be fun to film me for posterity (he eventually did help me pull my shirt sleeves out of the tube). Totally something I would do. I get myself into stupid situations like this all the time!

I will be back and at it blogging this week, I think I’m off to a pretty good start with this video!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

My new nameplate at work and other fun stuff

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my-new-nameplate-at-work

Hey guys! Just checking in. Wanted to share with you my funny new chalkboard nameplate that is above my desk at work! Haha. People walking down the hallway see me yelling my name all day! I figure I’m the one that talks the most so it is only appropriate that I have the talk bubble above my head! I did my name in florescent orange Tulip 3D Fashion Paint.

Also, I’m now a member of “Team Create”. It’s for bloggers who blog for iLoveToCreate and use iLoveToCreate products. Admittedly, I also created the little header above for all the team members to use. I think it turned out pretty cute.

In other random news, I made shrinky dinks at Silvia’s house the other night. Kathy went with me. We had a lot of fun! We also watched Glee and were entertained by Joshua.

Here’s two of my creations pre-shrunk…
rainbow shrink

in-one-ear-out-the-other

The earrings totally turned out 2 different sizes. I must have cut them differently. That’s the bummer thing. I spent like an hour just making this one pair!

Here’s Kathy frantically finishing one of her shrinky dink earring sets with commentary by Joshua.

Hope you’ve had a great week!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Fashion Graffiti on the Fly

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This weekend, my friend Silvia (a.k.a. StudioMama) and I did a quick and easy video showing you how easy it is to use the new Tulip Fashion Graffiti products! We had a blast doing it! We just played with the product and had fun…I think part of the cool thing about this product is that it really allows you to just play and not think so much. I tend to overanalyze and think too much sometimes about what I am designing. This lets you loosen up and be free with your art and break out of that mold.

I was inspired by some various pillows I had found online (some retailing up to $70 a pop)!!

Here’s a pic of the finished product! It’s sloppy and messy…what makes graffiti so great!

Graffiti Pillow by Silvia

Here’s a whole slew of projects that we also have using the Graffiti product. We’ve compiled them in this Flickr set. Click on each project and at the bottom is the tutorial link to the project instructions on iLoveToCreate.

Look for Tulip® Fashion Graffiti™ endcap at your local Michaels! It’s also available via iLoveToCreate.com!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

New cool feature at iLoveToCreate.com!

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new feature at ilovetocreate.com

In addition to my Swell Life blog, I also am the main contributor to the social media sites of iLoveToCreate.com! What does this mean? Well, while I am a graphic designer for iLovetoCreate, I’m also hard at work finding cool things to showcase on the iLoveToCreate various social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and the iLoveToCreate blog. I’m always in search of projects that people out in the “real world” are doing and how they are using our products! I also help promote the many cool features and projects on iLoveToCreate.com! So I guess you could say that I wear a few different hats!

One of the new things going on with our site is the new “Project of the Day” calendar that our web team has compiled showcasing the many wonderful designs that our Craft Decorating Department (made up of my multi-talented friends Pattie Wack, Cheryl Ball, Allee Marderosian, Suzie Shinseki and crafty superstar Kathy Cano-Murillo)! This is going to be a great resource for anyone stumped for a project idea or wanting to discover a new technique! There’s a little something for everyone throughout the year! I think this will be a fun one you’ll want to bookmark and go back to if you are always on the lookout for a clever and seasonal project ideas!!

Anyway, I just wanted to share! I’m always on the lookout for project ideas and even if I don’t do that exact project, I’m often inspired by something I see and I want to modify it slightly and make it my own. I think that it is important to do that to keep things fresh and find your own creative style and what you like!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

5 totally random and cool things

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165/365

– Had dinner with my Etsy team, Crafty Chica, and Pattie Wack last night. We talked for hours about any and everything and by everything I mean everything crafty. Lots of great ideas and insight was shared. Truly awesome and I know everyone had a great, great time 🙂 At one point, we got shooshed by another patron at Red Robin. Come on! It’s Red Robin! Anyway, I think I was responsible for part of that. Sometimes I talk WAY TO LOUD. A lot of times my friends have to tell me to quiet down. I don’t realize how loud I’m talking!

– Really love this post by Elsie Flannigan and her 70’s doe-eyed children artwork. This girl is on the trends. Love it (esp. the buttons in the hair illustration)

– Wanna see where I work? Well, Cathy of California features the very colorful facade of the building I work in on her blog. Check it out here and here and here. A must see!

– OK, so I can’t say the last two designers on Project Runway have had awesome outfits, but I feel they keep kicking off designers who have strong conceptual designs. I feel this is necessary on this show to keep it fresh and different. Is that just me. Come on Heidi…sometimes those people can come up with some really COOL bizarro stuff that’s also beautiful if you give them the chance.

– I just did a list of finished projects (not yet photographed) for my 24 craft projects in 24 hours. I have 6 finished! I really could add 2 or 3 more into that mix that I’m not quite sure about and may feature them if I run out of time, but I’m chugging along. I think I’m doing well so far. I’m enjoying making the projects. It’s hard to come up with all the ideas (well, ok, not THAT hard), but I’m trying to come up with a variety that covers all the Halloween bases from jewelry to costumes to home decor to party planning. I have a lot of ideas I’m planning on sharing! I can’t believe I’m going to keep them secret for close to a month. It’s so unlike me not to share (though, I will say, I can keep secrets if I’m asked to, I really can, I just get exciting sharing my projects). Oh, if you have anything you would like to see, please do share. I will try to incorporate any suggestions you have into my planning!

Well, off to bed. It’s late and I don’t feel so great! Well, no not really. I feel fine. Just tired and need to get some rest!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Last minute post before Maker Faire!

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Sorry for such a quick/last minute post, but I had to get ready my clothes for Maker Faire as well as my other stuff! If you are going to be there, please stop by the www.ilovetocreate.com booth and say hi to me as well as Crafty Chica and her daughter Maya. I’d love to meet up with you!

Oh and I will be working…doing some behind the scenes live blogging to the I love to create blog as well as live twittering. Follow the live twitter feed here!

In other exciting news, my co-worker Alyson, will be live blogging as well from the MTV movie awards gifting boutique on her blog at her Fashion Girl blog and her live twitter feeds will update on her blog as well, so be sure to check that out. I’m crossing my fingers for her that she gets to tie dye with Twilight hottie, Robert Pattinson! Or atleast get some cool tie-dying celeb pics! You know Heidi and Spencer would so ham it up for a tie dye photo!

Then again, maybe I may meet Bill Murray. That would be too weird, but quite possible.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa