Treasuries...Treasuries

I did a double take when I saw that I was featured in not one, but two beautiful treasuries. The first was put together by ThreadsInTime and devoted to some of my favorite things...flowers.

The second is just the cutest idea for a treasury ever...best friends. Isn't the baby with his monkey adorable? It was creatively curated by stonz. Thank you!

A New Supply Shop

After much contemplation I finally opened a new etsy shop for my destash supplies. Lets face it…I’m addicted to supplies, an ephemera junkie…lol. But I’m getting crowded out of my studio! Hopefully my treasures will go to a good home where they will be used and appreciated by someone else.

Pretty Little Pages Ephemera Destash Shop

~Alisa

All Mixed Up - A Treasury

I’ve been feeling a little uninspired lately…maybe it’s because summertime is slowing waning or because it is too hot to do much of anything outside. Whatever the case, sales are slow right now and my motivation is pretty much non-existent. Hopefully this will pass sooner rather than later!

I just happened to be browsing through the treasuries the afternoon when that little box magically appeared at the bottom of the screen. It beckoned to me… “Come…fill me out…create a treasury…you know you want to.” So I did just that and I must say that I feel better already. Here are some of my favorites from the realm of mixed media. Enjoy!

~Alisa

My Front Yard Garden

To me, nothing says summertime like the taste of a tomato freshly plucked from the garden…or a fried green one for that matter.

For the past several years, I’ve planted a summer vegetable garden. When we moved into our new house a couple years ago, one of the major selling points was the “mature trees” that were abundant in our yard. Well, with mature trees come lots and lots of shade - so much shade, that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to grow a garden. But, not to worry…we converted an old flower bed in the front yard into a haven for my precious vegetable plants. So, instead of a typical back yard garden, we have a unique front yard garden. The neighbors even refer to our house as the one with the garden in the front yard.

I can hardly wait to taste those tomatoes!

My gigantic basil plant with leaves as big as my hand! Pesto anyone?

Those tomatillos will make a delicious green salsa in a few weeks.

Peppers of all kinds…jalepenos, seranos, anaheims, bells…here are the jalepenos.

Some works in progress

Here are some of my recent works in progress. I’m horrible at remembering to take pictures of the whole process, so by the time I snapped these shots I had already done all of the steps listed below. I'll try to get better at taking actual WIP pictures in the future :)

First, I covered each small canvas in vintage books pages using acrylic matte medium to adhere and seal them. I just love the texture this adds to the piece.

Then, I used acrylic paint in various shades to paint the background. I like the paint to be just thick enough to see some of the text peeking through in certain areas, so I use a paper towel to wipe away some of the paint before it completely dries. I don’t know why, but I love shades of green, blue and purple and often struggle to even include other colors in my work. I am getting a little bit better and have done a few pieces with pink backgrounds…guess I’m just a “cool” sort of person :)

Next, I tore a page from a vintage ledger (blue piece) and an old book (green piece) into small pieces and glued the “clouds” in the sky. When they were dry, I added some charcoal to the edges of each cloud. The coolest thing about using gallery wrapped canvas is that you can carry over the collage onto all four sides…no framing necessary!

That’s as far as I got with the green piece. The next thing I did with the blue piece is tear another couple pages from old book to serve as the grassy area. I used pastels in shades of green to give the papers a green base, then added 3-4 shades of green and brown ink until it had the color and texture I was looking for.

I attached the “grass” using acrylic medium, then added charcoal to the edges of the “grass” to make it stand out a little more.

Coming Soon: the finished pieces.

~Alisa

A day at the lake

No vacation would be complete without a relaxing day at the lake. My family has a lake house on Lake Lemon near Brown County and it is always so much fun to spend time there. As a kid I remember learning to ski behind a big pontoon boat, going on evening cruises around the lake, and falling asleep to the steady rocking of the boat. Now my kids get to have the same wonderful experiences.

Ella is three and loves to go tubing and swimming. Here she is being pulled behind the boat. Even when she was getting splashed in the face, she didn’t want her turn to end!

Eva couldn’t handle all the excitement and quickly fell asleep in my arms. I just love how her baby life jacket smashes her cheeks!

~Alisa

Vacation time

I think I need another vacation to recover from my "vacation". No...we didn't go lounge on a white sandy beach in the Florida Keys, and we didn't retreat to a lakeside cabin, watching the morning sunrise over the trees.

We went trimmed trees, did some much needed yard work, cleaned the house, had some friends over and went to the Children's Museum. Oh and the girls had a bike wash.
Eva always has to do everything that her big sissy does and a bike wash was no exception, especially when there is a hose and water involved.

I also had an chance to finish a little 6x6 canvas. Hubby suggested the name...he's great at coming up with names for my pieces. This one is called Simon Says...Sit Down.
I just love these little canvases! They are so much fun to work on...I just love the chunky sides!

~Alisa

Collage treasury

Kathy of VintageSnapsandScrap put together a wonderful treasury dedicated to collage...my favorite medium! Thanks Kathy!

Sunday Morning Flea Market Finds

One of the best things about summertime is the HUGE outdoor flea market that takes place every Sunday morning. I just love rummaging through boxes of old junk! I seen (and taken home) some absolute treasures! There is one vendor who has boxes and boxes and boxes of random stuff…you constantly hear him yell “everything’s a dollar – except books and magazines are two for a dollar.” He has EVERYTHING from spoons and forks to picture frames, old books, photos, old broken clocks, bed knobs…you name it and he has it! It is a paper ephemera collectors dream! The first time we went last year, hubby ended up carrying a huge stack of books back to the car for me. I’ve since ran out of space to store those fabulous old books, so I’m a little bit pickier with what I buy. Still, the thrill of coming across a “treasure” is the most fun part. Here are my finds for today.

An old book by James Whitcomb Riley (an Indianapolis native) printed in 1899

Some sort of German calendar from 1889 that is literally falling apart, but still fabulous

Two books completely full of little red stamps from the 1930s with some extra stamps tucked inside

I can hardly wait to use these little lovelies in some of my collages…and to go back to the flea market next week!

~Alisa

A new treasury

I'm in a treasury!!! Thanks, sweetlucy, for puting together a fabulous treasury and including my "Great Grandma" piece! This is my first attempt at a screenshot...I'm so excited!

~Alisa

A new direction...a new name????

I need some advise.

Pretty Little Pendant is the name of my etsy shop, my flickr account and my blog, but lately I’ve been wandering if I should change this name…ok I’ve been wandering about a name change for quite awhile. I’ve always done collage and mixed media, but when I picked the name, my main focus was on soldered pendants.

Now, I’m enjoying creating mixed media works on canvas, paper, ACEOS, you name it…and pendants have really taken a back seat. So, I’m faced with a dilemma. The thing is…I sell way more pendants than I do original mixed media pieces and all of my pendants incorporate my mixed media pieces, but is “Pretty Little Pendant” misleading?

Also, I haven’t a clue about what my new name would be if I did decide to change it.

Here are some of my soldered pendants.

Any thoughts on a new name?

~Alisa

Another new ACEO and a BREAK!!!

Notice I didn't say "break down"...although it may have nearly come to that. I've had so little "me" time lately, that I desperately needed a break. I have to lovely daughters, which I adore, and a wonderful hubby, but my 18 month old is going through a mommy phase lately. If I am home, she is permanently attached to my leg, arm, or whatever is within reach. She refuses to go to sleep both during the daytime and at night unless I am laying right next to her. Sometimes she still refuses to sleep. Most nights I fall asleep before she does, which eliminates spending time at night working on my art, hanging out with hubby or just relaxing.

Today, my better half could see how stressed I was getting and took the girls to the mall to play. So, I was able to unwind a little and finish a new ACEO...and do some laundry...clean up the kitchen...

When I have time, I'll prepare lots of ACEO backgrounds, then I'll gradually use them up. Here are some backgrounds that are waiting to be used.


My new card, "Great Grandma" reminds me of my own great grandma. Though she died when I was in high school, I'll always remember how she loved to host Sunday afternoon family gatherings. There was never a shortage of food in her over-crowded little house.
Have a great week!
~Alisa

Vintage Image Freebies

I was just browsing through my collection of vintage images this morning and thought I would share a few here on my blog. Feel free to use these images in your art, but please do not reproduce them in the form of collage sheets or CDs for resale.

In honor of the 4th of July I dug one of the most patriotic vintage images in my collection. I know I’m a couple days late, but technically it is still “Fourth of July weekend.” What could be more patriotic than a skinny old man and a heavy old woman on a boat with a flag?

This is an image I recently acquired at a flea market…it’s in pretty rough shape, but it is strangely appealing. I call it “Baby with a pin in her head.”

Oh, I just love this one. Their faces are stern, but he is holding onto her arm so tightly that they must still be deeply in love after all these years.

“The Cross-eyed Sister” is also one of my favorite acquisitions from an e-bay lot.

You just never know what you’ll get when you buy large e-bay lots. I think I am so drawn to those lots because they are so fun to look through when you get them – it’s kind of like a treasure hunt. I could browse through vintage images for hours, making up short stories to go along with each image. I like snapshots the best – just people experiencing life at a particular moment in time.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

~Alisa

The scoop on ACEOs/ATCs

So what exactly are ACEOs and ATCs? ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards. The only requirement for making them is that they must measure 2.5” x 3.5”. Other than that the possibilities are endless. ACEOs and ATCs are virtually the same thing, except it is ok to sell ACEOs. ATCs are meant to be traded. They are a great way to collect original art, as most are fairly inexpensive so anyone can afford to purchase them.

I just love making these little cards! They are wonderfully versatile. I’ve matted and framed several cards. I’ve used them to decorate my studio space. I’ve mounted them and made them into greeting cards. They are just so much fun! I especially like them because I can get them done in relatively short amount of time…unlike doing a larger canvas, which could take weeks! I’ve also started participating in more swaps and trades lately, so I’m starting to amass a fabulous collection of cards.


So here’s my latest ACEO. I’m still working on a title for it…maybe “The Picket Fence”? If you have any thoughts please weight in!

I awoke on this glorious 4th of July morning to a torrential downpour, which we’ve been having rather frequently in Indiana, and paypal issues! Apparently my account has been restricted, so I can’t pay for purchases or request them….grrr! I’ve heard from others who have had similar situations with paypal. Some were resolved rather quickly while others took weeks. Hopefully my account issues will be resolved quickly *crosses fingers*! In the mean time, I don’t know if I’ll list anything new in my etsy shop. I’d hate to have someone make a purchase and then not be able to pay because of my issues with paypal!

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!

~Alisa

The Stories He Told

I finally got a new trading card done!!! It seems like lately my free time has been really lacking. I think I'm going through artistic withdraws! I did manage to finish this little trading card last night, so maybe I'm breaking through my slump.


I really want to start using more men in my art...if you browse through my shop, you'll probably find one or two pieces that include men (of course cute little boys don't count). Like many female artists, I relate more to women (go figure), girls and mothers, but I am trying to expand my horizons.


This pieces was inspired more by my husband than anyone else. He tells the most fascinating stories, a talent that I certainly don't possess. Our little ones just love to sit and listen to tales he spins.

Here is a card I did a couple weeks ago...another man...lol! I'm trying at least. I picked up an old cabinet card a few weeks ago at a flea market and the image of this man just struck me. I painted the background with acrylic paint, added pages torn from an old book, transferred the entire cabinet card onto the atc, then added the image directly on top of the transfer. I debated about adding text to this piece, but I like to let the viewer draw their own conclusions. I've named this card "The Dapper Young Man".