'Happy New Year 2024!' and 2023 Highlights 1

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes - Artist and Bricoleur

A look back to highlights of my 2023!

July 2023 - my Assemblage
Finnabair class at One Paper Place

July 2023 - Assemblage class
Instructor Finnabair

April 2023
Three MLH Sisters [L-R]
Marlene Lynette, Mary Louise, Marcia Lorraine

April 2023
My Four Siblings and SIL [L-R]
Marcia, S-I-L Angela, Milt, Mar, Mikey
[I'm the photographer using my CAMERA!]

 May 2023 - 
Memorial Day at friends BBQ
Playing Charades [L-R]
Host Jim, Hubby Dave, Hostess Mer

June 2023 - Sun at Dawn
through window screen at home aka
Longwood Lodge

AUGUST VACAY!

Aug 2023 - Vacation
Madison, WI
Dave at river restaurant for brunch

Aug 2023 - Vacation
Madison, WI
Me at river restaurant for brunch

Aug 2023 - Vacation
Madison, WI
Alfresco terrace [closed] at river restaurant for brunch

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY PARTY CRAFTERNOON!

Aug 2023 - 

One Paper Place, Frankfort, IL

LuLu and Kim

Christine
Hostest with the Mostest!

[L -R]
Becky, Kim, Chris, Marcy
I'm taking the photo with my digital CAMERA!

Kim crafting and
my station

Thanksgiving 2023

Nov 2023 - Thanksgiving
Nail Art by my nail tech - Left Thumb
Turkey [coloring book hack]

Nov 2023 - Nail Art
Flowering pumpkin vines
[Free hand painted by my nail tech, 
based on design I hacked from free clip art]

 

'Freebie Collage for Scrapbooking, Art Journals, ATCs - plus Retreat Info!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Greetings!

I found a sponsor for the meetup.com groups that I founded for scrapbooking and crafting.
Did not have to close down our 'Scrap-A-Holics of Chicagoland' groups, thanks to new sponsor 'HP Dance Fitness'!

FREEBIE

Freebie (vintage ephemera)
ok to use - with permission from LuLu Haynes 2014

RETREAT INFO

• 2014 Crafting and Scrapbooking Retreat - Nov 28 - 30, 2014, near Chicago, IL, USA
• 3-day weekend retreat, $50 through Nov 21, 2014. Lodging extra.
• Late Registration fee is $70 USD processing fee) after.
• Details at www.scrap-a-thon.com
• 2015 Retreat scheduled for Oct 30 - Nov 1, 2015.
• Early Bird registration for 2015 retreat coming soon!
• Mark your calendars now.

YOUR WASHI TAPE STASH?

What's your washi tape collection count/inventory to date? How do you organize/store your tape stash?

Thanks for visiting! Come back again soon!
LuLu
www.lulu-too-beaucoup.blogspot.com

'WOYWW - 26 Nov 2013 - Tech Difficulties and How's your Japanese?!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome,

Since September things have been a whirlwind! Celebrating my birthday, plus prepping for and attending 2 out of town weekend scrapbooking retreats.

For this week's WOYWW, I tried to show a photo of my current table in complete and total disarray - but camera card won't work in the computer.

So, instead, here are a couple of pix of my sushi birthday dinner.

My fave fish and creations are: Unagi, Saba (love, love, love saba), Sake, Caterpillar roll, Rainbow roll - and for desert I like a piece of Ikura!

In the top photo, that's a seaweed salad in the square dish with caterpillar and sake sushi rolls and a couple of unagi sashimi. (Note: 'sushi' is fish on rice, 'sashimi' is fish without rice).

Plus, I like to drink a chocolate strawberry martini when I go to our fave restaurant: Sushi Thaime in Oak Lawn IL.

What's really funny is that the first 3 times I tried sushi, I HATED IT! But the presentations were always so beautiful that I just kept going back - and now I'm a huge fan. I carry my own chopsticks (I found them in Paris) in my purse at all times, in a pretty sleeve that I made. Even my hubby, who is allergic to fish, likes to go to Japanese restaurants with me - and eats veggie sushi and other cooked meat or chicken dishes!

YOUR TURN
I know Japanese cuisine is not for everyone...Do you eat Japanese cuisine? If so, what is your fave restaurant? What city? Do you eat sushi? Sashimi? What is your favorite sushi creation?

MORE
4th Anniversary/Blogoversary Giveaway  is coming after Thanksgiving (Nov 28, 2013) - so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by - and please leave a comment.

Here are more WOYWW artists digs!


Peace,
LuLu

'Deep in the throes...' Thank you, Sting and George Lucas!

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and welcome!

I'm deep in the throes of re-organizing and purging in my 'winter' craft studio. Not much fun, but I'll sure be happy when I can focus on making art. While I'm busy with that task and up to my neck in errant art supplies, here's a spread I created in an altered book art journal - from last fall.

"...growing up is optional!'
Inkjet transfer/transparency, gel medium, Acrylic wash, gel pen,
colored pencil, vellum, rub on, custom embossed foil tape with acrylic paint

My 60th birthday is rapidly approaching and the sentiment on the left page reflects my feeling perfectly this year. (Sting and I are nearly twins - his 60th birthday is a few days after mine! I'm a big Sting fan - and going with another couple to his concert in November. Sting is releasing his 25th anniversay CD collection on my birthday. I'm also a huge Star Wars fan - and George Lucas is releasing his Blu-ray collection of the Star Wars saga on on my birthday. Isn't that so nice of those guys to give such great 60th birthday presents? :-)

The past few weeks I've been assembling a list of 60 items (places to go, things to buy) - one item for each year on planet Earth! I'm also adding ideas to the back half of an altered book art journal that I started in May of this year - to chronicle our 35th wedding anniversary celebration.

What do you do on your milestone birthdays? Do you plan to do anything special to celebrate your milestone birthdays? I'd love to hear what you've done for your milestone birthdays.

Thanks for stopping by. Please take some time to look around my blog - there are all sorts of neat things to see - and come back again soon.

Peace,
LuLu 

'100th Post GIVEAWAY - Fave Tutorial RESULTS and WINNER!"

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome!

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for...ok, at least SOME of you have been waiting for..the results and winner of my 100th Post Giveaway are now to be revealed!

FAVE TUTORIALS
Your top three favorite tutorials by LuLu are:

• Image Transfer using Contact Paper
• Drunken Scotch Technique
• Embossed Metal Flags

Checkout these favorite tutorials and - please send me a link to YOUR results!

and the WINNER of my 100th Post GIVEAWAY is...drumroll please...

peggy aplseeds

Winner must contact me via email before midnight May 8, 2011 CT with their email address and postal address to claim prizes. If winner does not contact me via email by midnight May 8, 2011 CT, they forfeit the prizes - and I will select and announce online another blogger to win the prizes.


Congratulations, peggy aplseeds!

Click here for the prize list

Thanks to all of you for visiting, for commenting, for following and for playing. You are all a great inspiration to me. Please come back again soon.

Peace,
LuLu

'Giveaway Prize List - Giveaway Update News!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome,



Click above to enlarge free goodies prize list!



100th POST GIVEAWAY NEWS!

• Eligibility update - global Folllowers are now eligible! Anyone, anywhere can play!
• Prize list is now a jpeg file - so you can print the free goodies prize list!
• Anyone can promote - you do not need to play to promote this Giveaway. Just link to this post on your blog sidebar!

 Click here for details and to ENTER LuLu's 100th Post GIVEAWAY!

Hope you will play - thanks for visiting and please come back again soon!

Peace,
LuLu

'Giveaway! Giveaway! LuLu's 100th Post Giveaway!' ENDED

by Mary Lou Haynes

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED / ENDED

Howdy and Welcome,

This is the day! Hold on to your hats!

To celebrate my 100th Post I'm offering a Giveaway for you - my Wonderful Followers!

GIVEAWAY CANDY! GIVEAWAY GOODIES! GIVEAWAY PRIZES!!! FREE STUFF!!! 

Click above to enlarge free goodies prize list!

Prize - prepped Art journal photos - click here!

If you are an artist who creates Altered Books, Assemblages or Art Journals, or if you've always wanted  to create Art Journals, Assemblages or Altered Books, this is the Giveaway for you!
Please spread the word - you do not need to play to post on your blog.

Giveaway deadline is midnight May 1, 2011 CT.



WANNA PLAY?!?!
Here' what you need to do:
-Become a Follower.
plus

-Surf my blog to find 2 of my tutorials that you would like to try (or select two of my tutorials that you have already tried) - and make a note of their two titles. You'll need the two titles below...
plus

-Add a post to your blog referring to this post (or add the picture in your blog sidebar  - you have permission to copy this picture) with a link back to this Giveaway post.
plus
-Add a comment to this post and include: the titles of my two tutorials that you'd like to try (or the titles of my tutorials that you have already tried), a short blurb explaining why you want to try or have tried the tutorials (blurb optional), AND include a link back to your blog entry (or a link back to your sidebar post).

END DATE: midnight May 1, 2011 CT.

NUMBER OF ENTRIES
Enter as often as you like, but for each entry you must submit a separate comment under this blog post that lists 2 different tutorial titles.


ELIGIBILITY

- Residents of the continental USA are eligible. Residents of Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico and residents of other countries are not eligble for this giveaway. Sorry!
- Everyone worldwide is eligible! No residency restrictions!
- You must have a blog, have an email account and be a Follower of this blog.


WINNER SELECTION and NOTIFICATION

Winner will be selected by me based on your comments to this post. Winner will be announced on this blog before midnight May 5, 2011 CT. Winner must contact me via email before midnight May 8, 2011 CT with their email address and postal address to claim prizes. If winner does not contact me via email by midnight May 8, 2011 CT, they forfeit the prizes - and I will select and announce online another blogger to win the prizes.


Good luck!

Thanks to all of you for following my work!
You have made playing in the blogosphere rewarding and inspiring for me. Thanks for visiting - and if you decide to participate thanks for playing - and please come back again real soon!

Peace,
LuLu

'WOYWW 95 - 03/30/11 - Image Transfer Prep!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and welcome,

For WOYWW this week, there are only two projects in my sights - both of them are organizing tasks. You know how I love to organize!

This is a drawer made from a re-used printer paper box lid. It contains some inkjet printed transparencies, notes for image transfer techniques and a new roll of packing tape. (This new packing tape I found at Michaels - it tears easily with your fingers! So easy to use.)

I'll organize the drawer contents by separating the transparencies from the techniques. The new tape (and the old tape on the left side of the photo) will go in my designated 'tapes' drawer - which is soon to be overflowing. But I'll deal with that another day!

Usually, I cut out the images in a batch, while doing a session of 'fussy cutting' - a term borrowed from the quilting world. During another session, I tear the tape, apply it to the images and trim down the edges. In another session, I burnish the tape onto the image, soak/rub off the paper and layout the tape to dry. When dry, I put the tape transfers in another drawer labeled 'Ready - Inkjet transfers.'  Inkjet transfers and toner transfers are kept in separate drawers because I want to be aware of how they behave in my art. I like to do most of my prep work in batches, so that when I'm ready to create, I can just grab what I want - everything is ready to go.


Around the drawer perimeter, you'll spy a water spritzer and a few bottles of paint glazes. These are remnants of some 'wetwork' I did yesterday. I was toning some blank pages in altererd journals, and glopping down another layer of glaze on some previously painted and gessoed pages in an altered book.

I'd love to see your comments about this post. Do you apply image transfers in your artwork? What are your favorite supplies amd media for image transfers?

Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon. My giveaway for Followers is rapidly approaching!

Peace,
LuLu

P. S. For more workstations visit WOYWW "What's On Your Workstation Wednesday" players here.

'WOYWW - 02/23/11 - Tidy, Tidy and Todo!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and welcome,

This week I can luxuriate in my tidy, tidy  'current project' rack - and focus on some mini-projects.

And I owe it all to WOYWW which helps me take an objective look at my workstation. Now I see what you see - and sometimes it's just not pretty. But this week it is!

 'Workstation in Winter craft studio - North view'

Legend below

TODO

1) Craft iron and embossed wax paper: for a resist project to make backgrounds for art journal pages

2) Mallet, container of chipboard and new metal dies: for noisy project to hammer dies into damp chipboard and quiet project to rubber stamp chipboard with ink

3) Glittery chipboard stickers: for wet project to distress chipboard stickers with tinted gessos, acrylic paints and inks

4) Vinyl pouch (one of my old Lancome makeup bags) and list of supplies from CPS mag: for assembling my watercolor sketch 'go! travel bag'

5) Tidy, Tidy 'current project' rack - yay! This scrapbook rack was bought as a casualty of another scrapbook store closing. It's designed to display scrapbook layouts and open scrapbooks. I bought all three at the going out of business sale. Also, I take these racks to my annual family reuinion to display the heritage scrapbooks I made using my grandmother's antique photos. Very popular scrapbooks! (Granny was the original family historian and scrapbooker. I'm 'saving' her acidic scrapbooks - she left about 30 books. I'm removing the pix into acid-free books and using acid-free supplies. Every 1st Saturday of the month, my 78 yr old father and I go scrapbooking at his 94 yr old aunt Alma's house. She identifies the people and locations, Daddy organizes the piles and I'm the scribe and superviser. We have a great time - it's like an archeological dig!)

What do you think of my Tidy, Tidy 'current project' rack? How many days, weeks or months do you think I can keep it Tidy, Tidy???

Take a look at more WOYWW studios here...

Thanks for stopping by. Please comment and Followers are always encouraged.

Peace,
LuLu

'LIT List It Tuesday - Feb 22 Top Fave Foods!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome,

For List It Tuesday I'm sharing my Favourite Foods!

'Top 11 Foods in 2011'

Ingredients: Glaze pen on my painted pallet/grid paper,

tweaked in Photoshop and MS DIE using gradients,

layers, saturation and transparencies

Check these other lists here!

What's your fave food? Have you discovered sushi yet?
Please leave a comment about this post or any of my posts.

Please become a Follower and come back soon! Thanks for visiting.
Peace,
LuLu

'LIT - Ode to Travelling Light!'

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome,

Yes, I'm a tad late for List It Tuesday - was scrapbooking at our annual holiday potluck crop...Meanwhile, this is a photo with the list of about 100 items of 'stuff' I'm carrying around in my purse...

'6.5 lbs of stuff being lugged around in my bag!'

'Ode to Travelling Light'

by LuLu

I must learn

to travel light -

yeah, right!

Actually I AM working on paring down most of this detritis. For example, do I really need to carry around stuff like my iPod charger when I go shopping or to PT?!

What's in your bag today? I would love to see your comments to this post - or to any of my other posts.

Here are more lists for LIT.

Thanks for visiting - and please come back again soon.

Peace,

LuLu

WOYWW 11/24 - LuLu's Garage Sale Finds!

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and Welcome,

For What's On Your Workstation Wednesday (WOYWW) blog hop this week: I'm sharinging pix of goodies I bought at a 'garage sale' at the scrapbooking retreat I just returned from this past weekend.

 Stamping storage case, alphabet wood mounted rubber stamps,

'Somerset Studio' mag

published by Stampington (I love their mags!)

Stamping storage case with Stampin' Up supplies -

rolling stamper handle, roller stamps and inks.

Can't wait to play with these -

 I've wanted this tool for ages.

Garage Sale finds at The Scrap Cabana retreat -

just $6 - woo - hoo!

Go here to see more workstations in this fun blog hop.

Reminder: Deadline for my 1st Blogoversary Giveaway is midnight Nov 27, 2010!

Thanks for stopping by - and please come back again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

LuLu

Virtual Fall Studio Tour!

by Mary Lou 'LuLu' Haynes

Howdy and welcome,

Here are shots of the inside art studio that I will be using now (Autumn 2010) through Spring 2011. Then I'll move everything BACK to the Summer studio on the front porch - that's about 6 months from now...

Northwest view

My workstation - the size of a desk blotter!

 You can just make out my 'Apprentice' organizer in the left foreground.

I love this shot of the northern exposure with diffused sunlight -

 so you get to see it twice, too!

Thanks for stopping by - and don't forget to checkout my give-a-way post below!

Peace,
LuLu
Celebrating my 1st year Blogoversary with a give-a-way!
http://lulu-too-beaucoup.blogspot.com/2010/10/giveaway-giveaway-lulus-1st.htm