Publications
I've been published both in print and electronically. Here's a listing of
where you may have seen my work. I am available for design work and articles.
Please email me for more information.
Print Publications
"Voluptuous"
Take Ten Catch Up Issue 2008
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"I See the Moon"
Somerset Gallery Summer 2007 |
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"In Flight"
Take Ten Spring 2007 |
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"Unbroken"
Stamper's Sampler Dec/Jan 2007 |
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Internet Publications
I was a designer for Scrapbooking.com Magazine (formerly RubberStampingIdeas.com
and PaperCraftingMagazine.com) from July 2004 through June 2007. Here are a
list of my articles.
This
Land is My Land Cigar Box Shrine
Hot dogs, apple pie and ....what else
evokes the spirit of the USA for you? I asked a group of my friends that
very question and came up with a lot of great answers...some surprising,
some unique, all very Americana. Taking those ideas, I decided to build a
shrine to the Land That I Love.
Expand
Your Art With Air-Dry Clay
A lot of stampers use their art as a release
and a little vacation from everyday life. Kneading and forming clay to use
with your stamped work is a great stress buster. These very easy projects
will get you started and you’ll be turning
out your own great pieces faster than you know it!
What’s
the Plan? - Family Calendar
It’s time to get back to school! You
know what that means, right? No more sleeping in and taking the days as they
come. It’s time to get back
into a schedule and a rhythm. For many families it’s hard to keep track
of everybody’s activities, with children running here and there for sports
events, den meetings and piano lessons. Why not bring the family together on
a project that will help coordinate everyone?
Freeze Frame
A new school year brings a slew of new photos of the kids in various sports
and school uniforms...here are a few interesting ways to display them, rather
than just throwing them into a drawer or a cheesy dime-store frame. Better
yet...dress up that cheesy dime-store frame with some of the ideas here!
Holidays Gift Tags
“The trick-or-treaters aren’t even here!” is probably similar
to something you’re shouting at your computer monitor right now. I know,
I know, but think about how joyful you’ll be on December 20th, when you’re
wrapping your gifts and you already have a huge store of lovely gift tags at
your disposal.
Purple and Green for Halloween
An unexpected color can change the way you view your holiday projects and
breathe a little life into an old theme. Are there stamps in your collection
that you’ve had for years and you’ve simply run out of ideas for
them? Add a little extra oomph to your cards and treat bags by dressing up
the traditional orange and black with a little purple and green.
Setting the Scene for Thanksgiving Dinner
Add a little extra touch to this year’s Thanksgiving dinner table by
decorating it with your hand-stamped art! Etiquette dictates that when there
are seven or more guests at the dinner table, place cards set the scene for
a more enjoyable meal. Place cards help guests avoid uncertainty as to where
to sit, as well as allowing the hostess to match up guests with common interests
. . . or to avoid potential social disasters.
Take Time to Give Thanks
A tradition in the Kazimir family every Thanksgiving is to share, over a delicious
dinner, things and people for which we’re thankful, especially in the
past year. As we’re eating dinner, we take turns sharing our stories.
Taking this tradition a step further, I decided to create a permanent record
of these sentiments for the hostess or matriarch of the family to treasure.
This article shows you how to make simple books in which your guests can record
their own grateful memories. Ask your guests, as they’re having cocktails
and appetizers, to pass around the books, or in some cases, the book pages,
and write down their own reflections.
Deck the Halls with Handmade Ornaments
Do your eyes start goggling from the moment the stores begin putting out holiday
decorations and crafts, even if it’s in the middle of summer? And even
though your craft room is loaded with supplies for months ahead of time, do
you find that your “Christmas Muse” only comes out to play in December
and you’re overwhelmed with project ideas for the holidays? The tree
ornaments in this article are all very easy to do, and, even better, they can
be completed rather quickly, allowing you to make sets for gifts or for decorating
your own tree. Let’s dive in!
Don’t
Overlook the Humble Postcard for your Holiday Greetings
It’s December First and you’re panicking. The stamper in you wants
to create cards from scratch. The archivist in you wants to send out that Christmas
letter about your family’s exploits in the past year. The economist in
you thinks it’s silly to spend money on store-bought cards when you already
have all of the card-making supplies on hand. But with the large mailing list
you’ve compiled over the years and the tight time frame, you lose hope
of meeting all of your goals.
Opalite Pads
When I started to branch out in my stamping repertoire, I tended to shy away
from things I didn’t fully understand. Notably, one of these mysterious
techniques was using “interference” inks and powders. What did
that mean? Why did it look white on the pad and in the jar? None of it made
sense until I took the time to learn what exactly “interference” means
when it comes to my art—other than the unwelcome interruptions while
I’m in the stamping groove, that is!
Hope
Hope is the belief that no matter how tough things are right now, someday,
in some way, things will get better. Easier. Less stressful.
Stamp Out Your Winter Blues
Growing up in New Jersey, I’ve endured my fair share of gray, dreary
winters. Short of moving to an area that gets more sunshine year-round (which
is what I did!), we can beat the winter blues by stretching our stamping selves
and finding inspiration in different ways.
Vintage Valentines
As much as we all love hand-crafting and creating one-of-a-kind cards for
family and friends, sometimes it’s a lot more practical to use a computer
to make larger quantities of cards, either to give as gift sets, or to mail
out yourself. The plethora of clip art available, such as the CDs from Vintage
Workshop, can be used in many ways to create your valentines this year.
A Mardi Gras Party!
This year, the culmination of the Mardi Gras celebration, Fat Tuesday, lands
on February 8. Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the day before
Ash Wednesday, which in the Christian tradition is the beginning of Lent, a
period of fasting and penitence. New Orleans is known to for its outrageous
celebrations in observance of this holiday. Festivities include wearing beautiful
costumes, feasting, and bacchanalian revelries.
Easter Baskets
Easter baskets were a big tradition when I was growing up. As the oldest,
I of course had the biggest basket. Every year, magically, the Easter Bunny
found my basket and filled it with Peeps, jelly beans, and a chocolate bunny,
among other treats. Now I’m thousands of miles from my childhood basket,
but that’s not stopping me, no sir! The crafty geek in me has decided
to think up some brand new basket ideas.
Keep
Your World Clean by Stamping Green
The top comment I hear from new paper
crafters and rubber stampers is always some variation of “I can’t afford this hobby!” Paper,
stamps, inks, embellishments . . . it all adds up and there seems to be more
and more must-have items coming out every week! In honor of Earth Day, I
thought it would be fun to scout around the house for random items that could
be incorporated into my card-making to help soothe my wallet as well as recyclable
items that are otherwise headed for the trash.
Time Flies
Whether or not your country or state (or, in the case of Indiana, your section
of the state) observes Daylight Savings Time, it’s always a good time
to put together a custom clock for yourself or for a friend. A few ordinary
supplies can be assembled into a pretty impressive timepiece!
Stamping
with Ma Vinci’s Reliquary
When I first ventured into unmounted rubber stamps, I was introduced to the
world of Ma Vinci’s Reliquary. Primarily a great resource for alphabets,
Ma Vinci offers all sorts of unique letters, numbers, diagrams, and figures.
Alter It!
You’ve altered books, tins, CDs and other random thrift store items.
Take a close look around the house . . . what else do you have sitting around
waiting for your crafty touches?
Gifts for Dad
Not all dads play golf, wear ties and go fishing! In this article, we’ll
create a thoughtful and practical gift for dad: A keepsake box, two bolo ties
and a luggage tag. This box and the accompanying tokens are a good jumping
off point for customizing a great father’s day gift, no matter how traditional
or eclectic your dad might be. The bolo tie is a twist on the standard “dad
gift” and the luggage tag is a great idea for a dad who travels a lot.
Focusing on the collage papers from Design Originals, the entire set of gifts
here was inspired by a dad who loves games.
Perpetual Calendars
If you’re anything like me, you have the best of intentions about sending
out birthday and anniversary cards to friends and family, but the occasion
rolls around and you find yourself short on time to get your cards made and
out in the mail. A perpetual calendar book with pockets is perfect for keeping
track of those important days and for storing cards you make in advance.
Altered
Books 101 – Getting Going!
My childhood home was full of books, whether it was the Winnie the Pooh classics
my aunt would give me each birthday, or the books my mom would read to us when
we were young, or the shelves upon shelves of “grownup” books my
parents had in the living room. I’d scour the titles, touch the bindings,
run my hands over the pages. I’d come home from the public library every
week with a new stack of at least 10 books to read. At the end of every school
year, the nuns had us erase any errant marks in our textbooks so they’d
be ready for the next class and I went over mine with a fine-tooth comb, even
though I never made a mark in them. I simply love books.
Funky Card Templates
Sick of boring rectangular cards? With one extra step, you can create easy
cards that make the recipient think you spent forever on them! Each project
in this article uses a different template, available to you for free, simply
by downloading the appropriate template.
Altered
Books 101 – Backgrounds
Last month we discussed the basics of choosing a good sturdy book and thoughts
about how to begin altering a book. The next step, if you so choose, is to
create a good background for your altered pages. This article will discuss
some of the myriad techniques for making backgrounds. The slogan “Just
Do It” came to mind during the writing of this article, so each technique
is very easy and can be accomplished in 10 to 20 minutes.
Paperfolding—Origami
and Beyond
Origami is the ancient art of paper folding. Although it’s an old tradition,
it’s now stylish to use origami pieces as a focal point or an embellishment
to bring life to handmade cards.
Creating Beads Out of Paper
Since I am always on the lookout for new ways to use the plethora of gorgeous
scrapbook papers on the market, I started researching paper beads. A number
of books on paper crafting and lots of websites gave me a million and one ideas
on how to get started. I don’t know about you, but I get very frustrated
with instructions that tell me something is very easy, but neglect to mention
that it’s something that takes practice. With that in mind, know that
making paper beads is incredibly simple, but takes a bit of patience as well
as a bit of practice. I’d say I got the hang of it after about a dozen
beads.
Altered
Books 101 – Themes and Using Text
After you’ve chosen the book (or books!) you want to alter and you’ve
prepped the book and practiced with backgrounds, it’s time to put some
thought into themes and topics for your pages.
Art Journal Your Way to Realizing Your Creative Dreams
I’ve been a big fan of SARK and her brightly colored self-help and inspirational
books since I accidentally stumbled across one about 12 years ago. Her honesty
about her shortcomings and her techniques for overcoming stumbling blocks have
made me feel as if I could do anything.
Altered
Books 101 – Doors and Windows
So far in this series, we’ve discussed how to get started with altering
a book, backgrounds and how to choose a theme. We’ve done quite a few
basic projects to get your juices flowing, and now it’s time to add some
interactivity to your books. While it is fun to add an extra surprise to your
page spreads, it is even more fun to watch someone else discover them. One
of the easiest ways to add some interaction to your pages is by cutting windows
and doors into your altered books.
Scrapper’s
Cards
It’s a great time to be a stamper and a paper crafter. There’s
nothing I love better than spending an hour or so scouring the scrapbook stores
for new papers and clever embellishments to use in my cards and paper projects.
I tried scrapping once, but it just never clicked for me. My esteemed editor/publisher,
therefore, challenged me to use only materials one would find in a scrapbooking
store to create some cards. So, I put aside my beloved stamps and put together
four cards.
Cards
of Thanksgiving & Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a great time of year to drop a note to someone special, near
or far, and let him or her know how much you appreciate him or her throughout
the year. Here are some easy cards, as well as a couple of more intricate designs
you can use to let friends and family know you’re thinking of them as
you sit down to your holiday feast.
Holiday Cards That Sparkle and Shine
You wouldn’t know it from the way I dress or decorate my home, but sparky
things on my cards and paper crafts make my eyes dance and my heart sing. Any
time I think something is missing from a project, a bit of glitter or a rhinestone
is usually the thing to complete my masterpiece. No time of year sparkles more
than the holiday season, so here are four cards that sparkle.
AB
101 – Pockets!
This month we’ll be looking at pockets for your altered book creations.
There are lots of ways to make pockets, whether you simply paste in an envelope,
or make a pocket right out of your book pages. We’ll look at some of
the simpler pockets in this article.
Suze Weinberg's UTEE Brightz Faux Agate Tag
I had the privilege of meeting Suze Weinberg at Memory Trends in October.
She showed off her new UTEE Brightz line and wowed me with her Faux Agate UTEE
Tag project. UTEE Brightz are the newest in the UTEE line and are available
in six gorgeous bright colors: Fuschia, Sunflower, Tiger Lily, Green Zinnia,
Blue Iris and Violet. Melt art is a way for you to make fabulous embellishments
for your projects, starting with these Faux Agate Tags.
Altered Books 101: Scrapbooking in Altered Books
I have a confession to make: I’m not a big fan of scrapbooking. Don’t
get me wrong... there’s nothing inherently bad about scrapbooking, it’s
just not ME. I don’t know what it is... a patience factor? A need to
keep all of my photos in chronological order and in one place? Who knows, really.
I did make a scrapbook to save all of my photos and memories from a 6-week
long study trip in England and I still have it: Two albums full of browning,
peeling Scotch tape, photos, scribbled memories, and random ephemera. This
was back in the 80s, before scrapbooking products were as mainstream and advanced
as they are these days. I still look back at those two England albums and think
about how much I love the concept of scrapbooking, not to mention all of the
supplies. I regularly stroll scrapbook stores for papers and embellishments
for my cards, altered books and other projects. I thought about how I love
making assorted memory booklets and cards as gifts and wondered why I couldn’t
combine my love for altered books with scrapbooking.
StamPress
When I first saw the StamPress on the back page of one of my stamping magazines,
I stopped dead in my tracks and had to be careful not to drool on the page.
That’s nothing compared to seeing it in action.
Using Envelopes
This month we’ll discuss the use of envelopes in your altered book creations.
A pretty envelope can be used simply as a design element in your page spreads,
as a functional element....or both! They can be glued, stapled, taped or sewn
onto your pages. They can also be used as a page all on their own! Let’s
get started…
Cricut Personal Cutting System
Provo Craft has introduced Cricut, a revolutionary cartridge-based cutting
system that does not require a computer to operate it. This compact, lightweight
(9 lbs.) and portable system allows you to take it with you and gives you
thousands of letters, phrases and shapes in sizes ranging from 1” to
5 1/2” cuts. Basically, you insert your paper and press a few buttons
to cut your shapes. It’s really that easy!
Using Scraps and Leftovers with Beth Cote
At Memory Trends in October, Beth Cote demonstrated using scraps and parts
left from other projects to create mini works of art. You can use these decorated
slide mounts in your pages, on your cards, as gift tags and other embellishments.
Step Out: Traditions Studio Travel Mug with Julianna Hudgins
The good folks at Traditions Studio take you beyond scrapbooking with their
interesting line of customizable household items. From tissue boxes and frames
to the great travel mug you see here, there are plenty of options for taking
your scrapbook pages out of the book and displaying them around the rest
of your home.
Paper
Shaping: Xyron’s Personal Cutting System™
Xyron’s Personal Cutting System™ debuted at the October 2005 Memory
Trends show in Las Vegas. This portable digital system works without dies.
Similar to educational electronic games,,you select your shapes by pressing
buttons on a book page and telling the system to cut it for you. It’s
so easy!
Tools: Design Runner from Xyron
Xyron has partnered with Lexmark to create a new handheld printing system.
The Design Runner debuted at Memory Trends in October of 2005.
Altered Books 101: Covers
To me, the most daunting part of altering a book is doing the cover. On the
inside of the book, pages can be torn out if they don’t come out the
way I wanted. But the cover? I get so antsy! What if I stamp something and
it gets smooshed or ruined? Can I keep collaging layers until I get it right?
Altered Books 101: Image Transfers
Let me start by stating a fact: I am a very impatient artist. I don’t
generally go in for techniques that require a lot of brain power, steps or
detail. I like results! So, when it comes to the myriad of techniques out there
for doing image transfers, I’ve generally worked with what looked easiest
and with materials I already own.
Altered Books 101: More Backgrounds
Last year, we discussed making
backgrounds as a first step toward book altering.
I thought it was time to show you some new-to-you-and-me techniques I’ve
been playing with lately. A big round of applause goes out to the local book
arts group I recently joined, Mile High Book Arts. This group of lovely ladies
keeps me inspired. Once a month, we get together and a member of the group
leads a project or teaches a technique that the others may not have tried
yet. It’s a great way for me to make sure I sit down and do nothing
but play once a month. A recent meeting focused on texture techniques and
some of those are explained here.
Altered
Books 101 – Altered Book Wedding Projects
I got married a few months ago, and in true Tracey fashion, was compelled
to make a lot of the decorations, favors and items to be used in the ceremony.
For our casual backyard wedding, it was entirely appropriate and the items
turned out to be the perfect touches, making the ceremony and the reception
uniquely ours.
Altered Books 101: Using Found Objects
Recently, on our way back from lunch break during a day-long class, my altered
book friends amused me by picking up all sorts of bits of rusted metal and
other “junk” while we walked. I was amused mostly because I’ve
been picking up cool-looking “stuff” all my life and I’m
glad I’m not the only one who does that. I knew my friends were going
to use these bits in their art, just as I use all of that “stuff” in
my own art.
Altered Books 101: Danglies
This month’s technique is not only fun to do, but it’s fun to say:
Danglies! Anything that hangs or dangles off the page is a danglie and it’s
a fun way to add dimensional objects to a book without having to place them
in between pages.
Altered Books 101: Journaling
This month, let’s talk about journaling. You journal in your scrapbooks,
your diary, your daily planner...why not in your altered books? In this article
I’ll show some examples of using an altered book as a basis for a memory
book. For me, I’m finding that I’m reminiscing a lot and I thought
it would be nice to record these random and fleeting memories of my youth.
In this book, I’m focusing on school days in particular.
Altered
Books 101 – Using a Color Theme
Depending upon the artist working on them, some altered books have a recurring
theme throughout. Other books can be completely all over the place. Most of
my own books fall into the latter category, so I decided to do a book as a
tribute to my favorite season: Autumn. Not surprisingly, my favorite color
palette includes the fall colors, so this made my task very enjoyable! It’s
fun to sit at my table surrounded by a bunch of colors and find different ways
to use them.
Altered Books 101: Thanksgiving Altered Catalog Cookbook
I realized one night recently, as I made the Kung Pao Chicken recipe from
the Friends Cookbook yet again, that all of my favorite cookbooks are altered
books. Notes about what to do next time, substitutions, food splatters...they
all tell a story in my favorite cookbooks! My mind kept going until I thought
about my tried and true Thanksgiving dinner menu, cobbled together from recipes
I’ve found here and there, along with the family favorites, and how fun
it would be to alter a book into my Thanksgiving Day bible.
Altered
Books 101 – Holiday Keepsake Book
This month’s project utilizes a large, thick book. In it, I cut a large
niche and used a box lid to make a drawer that would fit in the niche. Here’s
a step-by-step on how to do it.
Altered Art 101: Altered Composition Book Daily Journal
I have always loved composition books best of all the school and office supplies.
Imagine my joy when I saw how popular they are with artists and papercrafters!
Back in high school, when I was a lonely, brooding teen, I found that I could
carry around a composition book along with the rest of my schoolbooks and
nobody would know that the thing I was writing in was actually my journal.
Since then, I have always used composition books for journaling. They’re
so comforting and there’s something more permanent about them with
their sewn spines, unlike those fly-by-night spiral notebooks!
Altered Art 101: Altered Heart-shaped Candy Box Lid
“I can do something with this” and “I can use this someday” and “I
can make something out of this” are phrases that exit my mouth almost daily.
This month I pulled out some of my long-hoarded Valentine’s Day candy heart
boxes for some experimentation.
Altered
Art 101 – Altered Tissue Box ATCs
I’ve been searching for ages for a good idea for those pretty tissue
boxes once the tissues are all gone. Well, some clever soul has come up with
a brilliant idea: Cut them up to make bases for your Artist Trading Cards!!
Altered Art 101: Altered Dollar Store Frame
This project is adapted from a workshop I took in the last year at The
Artists’ Nook in Fort Collins, CO. The instructor, owner Christine Webb, showed us how to
take an ordinary inexpensive frame from the dollar store and alter it to our
own tastes. These frames can be the basis of an art piece (we altered copies
of cabinet cards and inserted them into the frames) or the frames can make
a really nice customized gift for a friend or loved one.
Altered
101 – Altered Bud Vase
This month’s project is fun! I’ve saved up a few of those small
airplane-sized wine bottles because I always thought they’d make cute
bud vases. I could see them all lined up on the windowsill, sun streaming in,
little wildflowers or even silk flowers peeking out of the top…
Mail Art! Altered Pop Bottle
Like many gals, I have a few guilty pleasures. I watch Dirty Dancing on tv
every time it’s on, I love Barry Manilow, and I follow my soap operas
every day while I’m working from my home office. But one of my guilty
pleasures really does make me feel guilty because it feels wasteful. I love
drinking my frosty carbonated beverages out of the bottle, and while I put
all of the bottles into my recycling bin, I can’t help but feel guilty
about all of that plastic. I know someday I’ll kick my “habit” but
in the meantime, I can use those bottles for another purpose: ART! |
