An Artistic Journey

Happy Chinese New Year

2012-02-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Hubby and I attended the annual Chinese New Year celebration. It is a wonderful event with demonstrations, food, displays, lectures and an awesome parade.

Since this is the year of the dragon, I was inspired to create my own "Chinese" dragon. Or maybe I should say....Ready for Chinese New Year dragon. lol

As you can see, I shied away from the typical fierce/scary dragon and went in a cute and fun direction.

He is carrying his own dinner in a tiny takeout container and lighting his way with a little Chinese lantern. The takeout container is from a rubber stamp by Jim Stephan I purchased many many years ago. It actually stamps an image twice this size so I scanned the image and reduced it, cut it out and folded. Thank goodness for my crop-a-dile. It made it much easier to get inside there and set the eyelets!

Mr. Dragon was kind enough to do a slow pirouette so that I could photograph him from every angle. :-) Notice his fierce claws and teeth? lol

Here you can see he has horns and (tiny) ears. And spikes? scales? whatever you call those bumps down the middle of his back lol

He is my tallest creation at 5 inches!

I love his shade of green! I was in one of the local yarn shops, Middleford Yarn Shoppe in Medford and saw this lovely green wool. I just couldn't resist. I am so glad I grabbed a bundle. Because of the color variations, it creates such interesting color textures on the dragon skin! I loved it so much, I went back and bought some more...just so I don't run out!

Meet Rocko

2012-02-03T11:51:00.002-08:00

Sometimes an idea gets stuck in my head and I have to sit down right then and get it out. This little guy was getting really persistant so I took a few hours and let him come to life.

I call him Rocko! And he just might be my new favorite. Every time I look at him I can't help smiling. :-)

He is the only one of my felted friends that has moved onto my work desk to keep me company. I think he just likes to be in the middle of things. lol
What is kind of maddening is how, when you photograph these little guys, they appear a million times fuzzier than they look in person....of course, blowing up a little guy from 2" up to maybe 10-12" might have something to do with it lol

Here is a close up of his face. Hubby says he looks stern. I think he just looks very intent. lol

He has a merino wool base with merino wool face, hands and chest. And alpaca for his fur. The alpaca is very soft so he feels very nice sitting in my hand while we watch tv. :-)

A Baby is Born

2012-01-29T16:09:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to describe how happy needle felting makes me. I have been an artist my whole life and will admit that '3D' mediums always left me feeling..well...lacking.

I had issues with proportion and the front might look fine but the back would look like a disaster!

To finally, after all these many years, to find a medium where I have no problems creating in a totally 3D format just makes me giggly lol

Here is my first new friend of 2012. He is a little "chubby' bunny. The core is made of merino wool then covered with gray alpaca (I love how soft the alpaca fleece feels!)

I gave him oversized eyes and nose to increase the cute factor. :-)

He stands about 3" tall to the tip of his ears.

And now for the baby. This took me 2 weeks to complete, not because he was difficult but because my neck issues have decided to flare up in a huge way so looking down for long periods of time sends me into horrible neck muscle spasms (trust me, it is not as fun as it sounds!)

I would like to introduce Seymore. He is a baby monster. He seems to have lost his mama (which I think is probably a good thing for me) but managed to keep a grip on his trusty teddy.

He also has a merino wool core and was then covered with a varigated baby blue. I am not sure what type of wool because I got this HUGE ball (at least 8-10 ounces) of it for free because an online vendor messed up my order and tossed in the blue as a thank you because I was patient and didn't complain. It is super soft! (some times it pays to be a patient customer) :-)

As you can see, he has a tight grip on teddy and is also sucking his thumb.

And, of course, a pic from 'behind'.

Seymore is about 3 1/2" tall.

He definitely strays from my normal bunnies and sheep but he came to me one day while I was day dreaming so I had to bring him to life. Now I have a gorilla floating in my head! We'll see if he appears any time soon lol

Happy New Year!

2012-01-09T18:14:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a joyous New Year.

Everything was quiet and peaceful here. It was so nice to just sit back and relax and enjoy the season. Unfortunately, that also meant not getting anything 'created' either.

And here we are, over a week into 2012 and still no art projects started. My muse seems to still be on Christmas vacation. I hope she returns soon because I am getting antsy!

But, to kill the time, I have visited a few of the local antique malls. :-)

On Saturday, I found one of my coolest finds ever!

Isn't this just the most awesome cookbook you have ever seen? (and yes, I am assuming you are as hooked on cookbooks as I am!) :-)

Ok, it looks a bit grundgy and dirty....but I could see there was something beautiful under that black gunk!

See, I told you! Look how bright and shiny it is now! And all it took was a bit of liquid handsoap, a soft toothbrush and some hot water. Yay!

I had never seen a book with an aluminum cover before and when I discovered it was a cookbook!!! it had to come home with me!

Here is the cover page, see the copyright? 1933 This thing is in really wonderful shape for it's age. It almost looks like no one used it (which is sad for a cookbook) But one former owner did add a few of her own recipes into the pages so someone at sometime prior to me did make a bit of use of it.

I found out on Wikipedia that this cookbook is the first one ever to tell the cook to use a fork to flatten her peanut butter cookies....now loving peanut butter cookies as I do and having baked more than my fair share of them....I thought this was cool!

Each recipe has it's own little page with instructions on the front and sometimes the back. Kind of neat!

And in case you want to order your own copy, this page is printed in the back of the book. :-)

I hope 2012 is a very artful year for you all! (and hopefully soon for me too lol)

Gone but not forgotten

2011-12-19T15:57:00.001-08:00

I know I haven't been here in quite some time. But I haven't forgotten my blog, just was so busy trying to get Christmas presents completed that I had to move something to the back burner. Unfortunately, it was the blog.

BUT that means, now that I am back, I have TONS of pics for you to see!!! :-)

It is a sock monkey Christmas! It is still amazes me how someone could look at a pair of men's work socks and think....hmm, monkey! LOL

If you want to make your own sock monkey, the original sock company is still making the socks and includes the pattern with every pair!

I am still needle felting for myself between gift projects.

I made this little guy for myself. He is only about 1.5" tall. No matter how many pics I took, the camera would only focus on his surroundings and not him (I didn't know penguins were so good at camouflage!) This pic is from my phone and although not great, it is the best one I have.

I made some ornaments as gifts this year. Who wouldn't love a leaping lamb on their tree? I know I would be thrilled with one (and maybe, if time allows, I might get to make one for me lol)

I made a chickadee ornament for our tree. I seem to have issues with proportions on birds! (remember the finch incident documented early this year) But at least this one is recognizable as a bird though maybe not a chickadee lol

And finally, what took most of my time, a needle felted nativity for my mom. (and no one from my family ever reads my blog so I don't have to worry about her finding out)

My mom never asks me to make her anything. I make her stuff all the time but she never requests anything from me. So, when she called this fall and said, "um, if you have the chance, and I don't expect it anytime soon....maybe by Easter but if you don't have time, you can take a couple years or 10...just whenever you find time.....I want a cow, 2 sheep, Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus". Well, I felt (no pun intended lol) that I better get on the ball and see what I could do!

Below is the finish project. I had hubby build the stable (he did a great job!)

You see Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, a cow, 2 sheep AND a donkey. Now, Mom did not request a donkey and I totally love how he turned out...he is way more adorable in person! I debated for a couple days whether Mom really needed a donkey lol But, he didn't want to stay behind when all his barnyard friends were going so he jumped into the box too. :-)

Here is a bit closer view of the Holy Family.

A close up of Mary and the cow.

Here is the donkey. He is the only member made from alpaca. He is incredibly soft.

Another view of Mary's face with baby Jesus. You can sort of see Jesus' features in this one. And no, the lamb is not licking his head lol

This set was really a challenge for me but I am very happy with how it turned out. I am thinking I need a set for me but since I tend to only do 1 of something (other than sheep lol) I have a feeling I won't get one for me. :-)

Since I doubt I will be back on here before the 25th (unless I complete some really awesome project in the next few days), I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Lots of Joy, Love and Art!

Cheryl

The fun just never stops!

2011-10-08T18:14:00.001-07:00

I am having so much needle felting! I just can't stop!!!

Hubby requested a jack o'lantern and a Frankenstein. I thought I had some pics of the jack o'lantern but I can't find them so I will have to show him at a later date.

Here is Frankenstein. I used pipe cleaners in his legs for stability and he can stand on his own. He is about 6 inches tall and has a very Elvis quality about him lol.
I then I got hooked on sheep. My college roommate, Helen, says they are so adorable that she demanded I sell her one. She says....poofiness creates a major cute factor lol

So, I made one for her....but the poor guy missed the photo shoot. He is carefully packed in his box and waiting to be shipped to his new home.

These guys are 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches tall.
I got the idea that I wanted to create a koi....bad idea! He is so bad that it really had me wondering if it was just a fluke that I had made anything worth looking at before.

I had to really force myself to sit and concentrate today....this was the result. :-)

He stands about 3 1/2 inches to the tip of his ears. I was so thrilled because every part of him turned out just like I wanted (a first in felting for me).

I think he is my favorite so far. :-)

I have no idea what is coming next, I do know that there is a Santa on the horizon...he has been showing glimpses to my brain so he may be making an appearance soon. lol

Little Bandit strikes again!

2011-10-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and just felt (heehee) the urge to create a raccoon. They are just so stinkin cute!

This little guy was caught in the act of stealing a goldfish! Shame on him!!!

It is actually paying homage to our poor goldfish....a few years ago, hubby got the idea that our backyard fountain needed some goldfish. So, he bought 2. Little tiny things, they happily played under the planted he so kindly bought for them. Such a peaceful existence for about 3 weeks...and then the neighborhood thief came to call! We have a huge raccoon that wanders into the yard on occasion...he is the biggest one I have ever seen! And our other neighbors, who have caught glimpses, agree! This guy is humongous! So, he ate one of our little fishies the first night and then had the other for dessert the next. Poor hubby was devastated! I am sure the fish were none too thrilled either!

Even to this day, every couple weeks or so, we see evidence that the thief has returned, he shoves things around in the fountain. I am sure he is looking for another snack.
My little friend stands about 2 inches tall and other than stealing this little felted fish, I think he is pretty harmless. :-)

I think I am addicted!

2011-09-29T20:42:00.001-07:00

I am totally hooked on needle felting!!! I find I can be creative while sitting in my recliner catching up on my favorite shows! :-)

And, I completely lose track of time.....for someone with stress issues and chronic back pain, this is amazing!

I tried my hand at using a pattern today. I want to make some birds so I tried out the goldfinch pattern in the book Wool Pets. If you want some cute ideas with good instructions and tons of photos, you should check out this book.

Maybe because I was trying to match up the dimensions and such so closely...or maybe I just can't follow directions....but my proportions are bit off. But she is still cute (and only 2 inches long).
I love teddy bears! I have been making them and collecting them for most of my life. So, I am not sure why a teddy wasn't the first thing I tried to make lol

This little guy has a tiny pot belly and seed bead eyes. AND he is made from alpaca. Boy it that stuff slick and slippery!!! Way more difficult to work with than the merino I have been using. But I love the color! He is much darker than in the photo, almost like a burnt umber with blond and gray strands. He only sits (no more standing guys until I figure out what to put in their legs for support). He is 2 inches tall.

I think he may have to come sit on my work desk and keep me company all day. :-)

I always keep my promises

2011-09-28T17:02:00.001-07:00

I made plaid soap! I struggled but managed to turn out some cute soaps that smell nice so it is all good. :-)

Here are my strips layered in my pan. The pan is red, my strips are yellow and orange...makes for a difficult picture. I used a 9" silicon pan.
I then added the last layer of white, let the whole thing cool, then cut out soaps with cookie cutters. I have pumpkins and crinkly circles. They smell wonderful! Pumpkin Pie!

And while waiting on soap to harden...which is not as exciting as you might think....I felted this little lady. I had purchased the green wool just because I knew it was perfect witch's skin color lol

She stands about 5 inches tall. And, because someone asked me, I know for a fact that she weighs a whopping .2 ounces!

Here is a close-up of her lovely complexion....and beautiful hooked nose. :-)

And of course, how can it be fall and I NOT make a scarecrow????

This little guy stands 5.5 inches tall! And has his little crow buddy on his arm. I am definitely in 'learn as you go' mode and just exploring and playing. Next time I think I will add some sort of support in his legs before felting them. For this guy, I think I am going to have to try to insert some sort of stabilizer if I want to make him stand up.

Here he is close-up with his best friend.

Always Learning Something New

2011-09-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to learn how to make soap for about 20 years but the thought of having to deal with lye and rendering down animal fat left me, well, a bit queasy.

But alas, just a few weeks ago, I heard about Melt and Pour soap making. Holy Cow! Why didn't someone tell me about this before????

I get to melt down and mold my own soaps with my choice of color and fragrance....right in my own kitchen! Using just my microwave!!!!! I am a very happy girl!

Below are the soaps I made in just my first few days.
The large round was molded in a 3" PVC pipe. The small rounds were done in a silicone muffin pan and the leaf was from an autumn silicone pan that has leaves and pumpkins (the leaves are scented with "AppleJack and Peel" Yum!)
Here are some more using the silicone muffin pan. I used mica colorant....isn't it the coolest thing? You can look into the depths of the color! And I scented them with "Orange Spice". They smell good enough to eat! lol

I just got my package of new colorants so this weekend I am hoping to make some plaid soap! Yes, PLAID! You will definitely see pics....even if I mess them up! lol

I bought all my supplies at BrambleBerry. They have a huge selection and really awesome tutorials on youtube. Just look for Soap Queen.

I think I must have artistic ADD....I can't seem to learn enough different things! Usually I leave some space between new projects but not this time lol We were over at the coast last weekend and stopped in a sweet little wool shop in Langlois (Oregon), Wild Rivers Wool Factory. They are currently totally hooked on felting (another art form I have been dying to try). I loaded up the car with all kinds of felting supplies (actually, just one shopping bag - and wool is very light so it weighed next to nothing lol)

I ordered a couple books from Amazon.....hurry up and get here please!!!!! But I couldn't just let those wonderful new supplies just sit so I began playing around.

Here is my very first attempt...not great, not horrific. At least you can tell it is a bunny. Or at least I hope you can! haha
He is not firm like I wanted but I'll keep him around. :-)

I read online the best way to learn how to shape the wool and practice with your firmness is to make balls. Ok. But who wants a bunch of little balls rolling around the room? (other than the cats!)

So I made a ball....then made it into a pumpkin. :-) The actual pumpkin is about an inch tall.

More ball practice....this time they morphed into a snowman. But I couldn't just have a couple balls stuck together. He needed personality so I gave him some chubby cheeks and a spiffy hat and scarf. His mouth isn't as 'smiley' as I wanted but for just my third project, I am very happy. (and those cheeks make me smile)

I thought I would share one of my coast trip pics. We went out to the lighthouse at sunset. This is my favorite lighthouse and it just glows in the setting sunlight.

Coquille River Lighthouse, Bandon, Oregon.

Cleaning up my Act

2011-07-22T19:03:00.001-07:00

If you are like me....and I know a lot of you are...you have more art and craft supplies than you can ever use in this lifetime (and the next one too lol)

So, I am taking the free online course 30 Day Craft Cleanse . We cannot buy any supplies for 30 days AND we organize what we already own! What a great idea!!!!

Along with just getting instructions to clean up our act, we are journaling about our adventure. :-)

Below are my first 2 pages. (ok so I am supposed to be on lesson 7 by now but... lol)

We have to make an 'evidence' page. Something to show we once owned a particular supply (and then we are to use this supply in our art...instead of hording it and never touching it for fear of wasting it or using it all up)
I am thinking I may need a lot more than 1 evidence page but here is my first one....Washi Tape. I bought these about a year ago because everyone kept telling me how great they were. They have literally sat on my art desk for a year and I see them everytime I sit down...but did I use them? Nope. Why? Um....who knows. But they sure are pretty!

So I was working on a sort of old fashioned police evidence file, I even added my finger prints to the page lol

Now an even tougher challenge, put your personal craft demon in the journal. I have to say, I really couldn't make her too ugly, we are much to close of friends! lol

She looks pretty normal at first glance but then you look closer...hmm green skin, vacant eyes...but you have to love all those supplies she has on hand! lol

I then listed possible reasons why I am so addicted to increasing my stash. I was telling my mom about it this evening. She says, when she used to sew, she horded fabric. The colors, the textures, the ideas she got just by looking at them. The same is for me and my supplies, they stimulate my brain....so, maybe this is hereditary! lol And maybe my brain is now so over stimulated that I can't get started! haha

We are also supposed to use supplies that we never used before. The yard stick paper is from Tim Holtz, I have had it in my stash since 2005 (the date is on the paper!) I never used it because I didn't want to waste it! But it is so cool! The ledger paper is from a paper pack I bought many years ago. It has 4 styles of paper in it. Again, never used a single sheet, just looked at them and put them back on the shelf.
I am still working on my Creative Doodles class, finishing up the last few days of projects. This was a doodle in which I incorporated leftover paper scraps.

By The Sea

2011-06-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

I love vintage beach images! Those risque bathing costumes! And the wonderful umbrellas!

I decided to combine my love of these images with my love of sea green and turquoise.

Below is the progression of my collage. I began by painting the page with turquoise, brown and white acrylic paints. I then tore up strips of papers in my chosen color family of sea green. I used Mod Podge to glue these down adding in vintage photos among the papers. All of these images came from the LunaGirl panorama CD (I was working on my beach themed ATCs from my last post at the same time lol)

After staring at it for a while, I decided I needed another color, maybe a bit of red. So I added the strip down the center....and while applying the glue to the back, saw this wonderful text filled side (I really should remember to check the backs of my papers more often lol) Not wanting to miss out of this fun side, I took another strip, flipped it over and added the text along the right border.
I wanted the layers to sort of meld into each other so I used a palatte knife and swiped white acrylics all over the page.

Next came rubber stamps! My Fred Mullett 'Menpachi' fish stamp using a rusty red ink. I really do need to go get some more Fred Mullett stamps! I just love this fish! And the seashell stamp with text comes from Stampington and Company (Postal Shell) stamped in brown.

Now for doodling! I used black Prismacolor, Sacura Micron and Sharpie pens (why all different brands? Because I have different size tips in each lol) And I used a white Marvy gel pen and Wite-Out pen.

Here are a couple close ups. I outlined this girl with the white pens.

Here I colored the center girl and her umbrella with Prismacolor pencils. I wrote my text by hand (obviously) which I hate to do because my handwriting is so horrible lol But, unless I want to paint or collage over it, there is stays lol

I am still not sure if this is done. I keep thinking it needs something. Maybe some pearlized old buttons... we shall see.

Gardening, Doodling and ATCs, Oh My!

2011-06-22T16:51:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one that finds it facinating the way peas with grap hold of something to balance themselves?

Below are some macro photos of my sugar snap peas.

A recent lesson in my Creative Doodles class had us finding our signature character doodle.

I am still doodling Mignonette (Minnie) Here she is using Prismacolor pencils on black paper.

I call this Urban Minnie. lol

And ATCs!

I am still in the monthly ATC swap at BadBabies. This month we have a challenge. Use the postcard below in your ATC(s). This card is a hotel at Cannon Beach, OR. I cut it down and made 2 cards.

I sanded the postcard to get rid of the slick finish and then rubbed Distress Ink all over. The 'bathing beauties' are from the LunaGirl panorama images CD.

Same treatment of the postcard. Here I stamped the girl with umbrella (Tin Can Mail) on white cardstock then cut her out and glued her to the card.

Gardens and Doodles

2011-06-13T20:24:00.001-07:00

I told you I would share my garden with you. Here is my AeroGarden. I started my tomatoes, basil, petunias and impatiens in it. I managed to get the tomatoes out into the garden about a month ago but then it got cold again and everything else had to wait.

As you can see, it became very jungle-like lol I have to say though, it was nice having petunias blooming in the diningroom. :-)
Here are some of the tomato plants (they have grown at least another 8 inches since I took this last weekend. And we have garlic that is about ready to pick! Yippee!

I planted these sugar snap peas way back in March per instructions from the co-op. They didn't even come up until May! But now are growing about 6 inches a day. I just hope we get peas before the weather gets too hot and kills them off.

And I managed to get a bit of doodling done over the weekend as well. Our class assignment was to find our signature doodle. Something that we enjoy and can sort of get lost in...something we can doodle at anytime and just enjoy.

I used to use Tucker a my subject in lots of art projects. His distinctive markings made him fun to draw. Now we have Minnie. Being a tuxedo cat, black and white, although quite striking to view, can be a bit boring to draw at times. So, I instead am being inspired by her personality. She is such a diva! And I have never seen a more happy go lucky being on the face of the earth. She is just always happy and loves everyone and everything.

So Minnie is now my doodle inspiration (with bits of Tucker thrown in)

Minnie's full name is Mignonette so that is what I am calling these doodles. Here she is enjoying the flowers.

And my little diva just loves getting new toys (or in this case, a new hat).

Wishing for less work and more art!

2011-06-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

I am still working on my Creative Doodles class....just not as often as I would like. I am averaging about 2 sessions a week. :-( But this is better than none....right? :-)

Here is a progressive photo of a collage and doodle piece. (I spared you the boredom of seeing each layer of paint and paper lol) We were supposed to be asymetrical...as if I am normally balanced! haha

The black swirls and 'leaves' were done in acrylic paint. Then I doodled all over with black pens and finally white gel pen.
Here we were supposed to draw with a eye dropper....now, I bought one to use for this class but darned if I can find it! So, for now I just used Chinese ink and a paint brush. Gotta find that dropper this weekend! I then added some watercolors and finally doodles with pens.

And in case you thought I had totally abandoned it, I did a page for my journal....using a papers and painted collage background. The woman is from the Stage Beauties image cd from Enchanted Mercantile. Lastly, I doodled the butterfly and added the text "On the wings of a Butterfly, My Dreams take flight".

It has been a very dreary, rainy spring here in the Pacific Northwest. So much so that our gardens are pretty much non-existant! My tomato plants are just teeny things! And my flowers are still in the seed pods inside the house and spilling out all over in hopes that it will warm up and dry out just enough that I can transplant them outside....and hope that summer actually arrives. I should take a picture of my poor flowers before I transplant them...my Aerogrow looks like a jungle! lol

Back on track

2011-05-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Not that I was ever really off track :-) We went on vacation. And although I did take materials and supplies along so that I could draw and doodle, I was so pooped at the end of each day that it just didn't happen lol

We did spend 1 day at the Jennifer Sears Glass Studio. I made this paperweight (which is about the size of a softball!) and Hubby blew a float.

If you are ever in Lincoln City, OR you should check it out! You can create your own piece of glass art...a great, personal souvenier. :-)
But, now I am back home and playing catch up with my class. We are now painting backgrounds so that we can doodle on them.

I have found that I really like watercolors because they run together and blend so nicely.

To save space (and not have to upload 50 pictures on one post---slight exaggeration--but not much lol) I have combined the background with the finished doodle. Here, the black lines on the background were made by dipping a pine branch in black ink.

I love swirls! But I hate the color yellow so I am not sure why I keep throwing it into all my backgrounds!

This one is acrylics, 2 colors, a turquoise and a blue-green. I then ground some chinese ink (but didn't grind long enough, my arm got tired lol) to squiggle over top and finally stamped some fish (Fred Mullett) using Colorbox chalk inks.

Here is the final piece. I doodled around the fish with a fine point sharpie and then doodled all over with a white gel pen (which I swore I would never buy again but found one for a good price while on vacation)

A close-up of some of the fishies.

More doodling!

2011-04-27T17:39:00.001-07:00

Days 6 and 7 of my Creative Doodling class are for getting caught up. I wasn't behind so I am using the time to just play.

First, using color on black, I went with our alphabet practice and did my initial (C).
Then, that not being enough, I did my whole name lol I decided to shade everything with a black pencil...along the lines of zentangle. I can't decide which side is up, I just keep flipping it around and around.

We are also supposed to be gathering images, photos, words...that inspire us. This is one of my inspiration photos. These are the tulips that are blooming right now in my back yard. I love their gorgeous red color and something about the shape of tulips is very inspiring to me.

And here is the doodle they inspired. :-) I just couldn't stop working on it...and may not be done even yet! lol I am thinking I might make some photocopies of this one so that I can play with color on it.

Day 4 & 5

2011-04-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

We played some more with doodling over colored pages which is a lot of fun! But then we added more color! WooHoooo!

I chose to work on the page I previously turned in the scared child and monster....just to make sure I really am not nuts lol

I doodled with various black pens. And once done, I added more color with pencils. This page was VERY bright so I used my pencils to actually tone down a lot of the areas....not that you can tell lol

Although bright colors are not usually my thing, I really like this! Hubby says I am still nuts. HaHa
And today we doodled the alphabet on black paper. So, here is my alphabet before I added color.

And now.....ta da! Color!!!!

I have to say, normally you stick a pen or brush in my hand and I am a happy camper but this is beyond fun! No one is expecting perfection (well except maybe me lol). Who expects doodles to actually look like anything?! I am hoping this freeness (is that a word) will carry over into my other art projects. :-)

Day 3 continued

2011-04-23T21:18:00.001-07:00

I am really having fun with this!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a vintage/rustic/antiqued style girl so doodling like this is sooooo outside my box that I can no longer see the box! lol

But I am having a blast!
I added a white Prismacolor pencil over the black background (because I don't own any white pens.....they always seem to dry up and frustrate me)

Day 3

2011-04-23T14:45:00.001-07:00

Day 3 of my Creative Doodles class!

I won't bore you with my random doodling exercises lol

I tackled yesterday's "What do you see?" challenge again. I just sat back, squinted my eyes and waited. Slowly a mermaid tail appeared so, not to be unkind, I gave her a body lol And then the bottom of a treasure chest so of course, I had to add the top. :-)

Then, just like seeing images in clouds, fish began appearing everywhere. And then columns, as if she lived in Atlantis!
We have 4 more pages of 'what do you see?' today. I have only completed 2 so far but figured, since I was diddling around on the computer, I would go ahead and share.

My first was pretty straight forward. The images were blatantly obvious...flowers. I tried to doodle them up a bit and then I came back in with my trusty black pencil to add a bit of depth.

This next one called out to me as soon as I saw it.....I saw a poor little girl, just awakened by a horrible monster! So, what would a psychiatrist read into this? Probably that I spend way too much time alone, I have a warped sense of humor (because I find this picture very funny) or I am nuts....or maybe all three! lol But I like it!

I'm taking a class!

2011-04-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

But before I get to that....here is the last of my 3 ATCs for April. I know the colors don't seem very spring-like but it depicts spring for me...at least this year! lol It is has been rainy and dreary since Feb 1! I think we have only seen the sun a total of 5 days since then!!!!!
And now, for the class. I am taking Traci Bautista's Creative Doodles class! It is an online, work at your own pace deal....which is what I need with my crazy work hours and back pain issues lol

Not only is this the first online class I have ever taken but I decided to move way outside my comfort zone and go big (well big for me). I am using an 8.5 x 11 journal. I normally work very small....I used to drive my teachers and professors up a wall! lol They wanted 36" or 48" canvases and I was working at around 8"-10". haha

So, here is Day 1. We have 'prompts' like 'draw circles' and we doodle. Being a real control freak, it is hard for me to just let go....my doodling has always been very controlled lol As you can see, nothing wild and crazy here! haha And I have to say, it drives me nuts that my squares are not perfectly square! lol

Day 2....More prompts. I tried to be freer, not sure I succeeded...how to do you force yourself to let go and not be your normal, tense, uptight self? lol Notice, no squares so no distress about that issue. Ha!

We also had to do this "what do you see" page. Obviously, I see a mess lol I made another print of the page so I will try this again tomorrow....and the day after... until I see something I like. :-)

You can check out Traci's classes here. And there is still time to join! Classes continue until July.

Spring has Sprung!

2011-04-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

I work from home which is great except when the sun is shining and I can see the trees blooming outside my window. Then it becomes very hard to concentrate! Last week I snapped several shots of our flowering plum and this week, some of those shots are doubling as cherry blossoms. :-) I need to get my 3 ATCs done for the monthly swap so first up is Cherry Blossom Time. The woman is from Stone House Stamps. They have the most gorgeous Asian stamps I have ever seen! Next we have April in Paris. The Eiffel Tower stamp is from Postmodern Design and is huge! As you can see, I only used a portion of the stamp. The can-can dancer is one I carved about 15 years ago for a RubberStampMadness submission (and it was published. Yay!)

For both of these ATCs, I colored the women with watercolor pencils.

Even though our temperatures have not been overly warm this past week AND we had some serious snow and hail, the goldfinches are coming into full color. They are just so cute and a beautiful bright flash of color on these cold and dreary days!

This was a slow moment at the feeder. I have actually looked out and not been able to see the mesh at times with so many birds crowded together enjoying the feast. And Minnie loves to watch her birds...she makes sure to let us all know when the feeders are active with her squeals of delight. lol

Isn't he a handsome fellow?! He is almost done molting into his bright yellow feathers!

More than just art!

2011-04-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a bit about my other hobbies for a change! I collect lots of different things but really love old kitchen gadgets and cast iron. This hand mixer fit into both of those catagories! It has such a cool look. I had never seen one made of iron before and just the look of it...well, I couldn't leave it behind! It has a very sculptural look....at least to me. I just love it!

I also love photography. I am snapping pics of just about everything...all the time! And I seem to live in macro mode! LOL The closer the better!

The other day, our work system was down so I grabbed my camera and ran out in the front yard....the ornamental cherry is blooming! And it was the first sunny day we have had in 6 weeks! Definitely a reason to capture this moment!

Just a little update

2011-04-02T13:04:00.001-07:00

I promised a while ago I would add some photos of recent projects...well, I then proceeded to catch a nasty cold which was quickly followed by a lovely sinus/inner ear infection. Yeah, it has been very fun at my house! haha But, at last, I finally feel better AND have some time to get on here! On this first journal page I wanted to play with masking tape. I covered the page with tape strips then painted the whole thing with acrylics. Then I got the idea of adding some Distress crackle paint (antique linen). Am I alone in not liking to wait for this stuff to dry? I blasted it with my heatgun (hoping my other acrylics didn't melt or my tape peel up!) And finally rubbed the whole thing with antiquing gel to bring out those cracks. I love this! It has such a cool 'leather' feel! I then had the daunting task of deciding what to do with it! I was sitting in the living room and then I saw my subject....my most recent purchase (at that time), an antique child's rocking chair. Have I ever mentioned I collect antique child chairs? No clue why but something about them calls to me. Unfortunately, we have a fairly small house so they are all sitting in the middle of the living room. I am up to 6 but always looking for more (to the chagrin of my poor hubby lol) So, using acrylics, I painted my latest rocker onto the 'leather'. I also got the idea that I need to learn Chinese ink painting so I am teaching myself. Here is my first attempt....bamboo. I won't bore you with my other early attempts LOL Just know that I do not do things in a normal order and jumped from bamboo to chickadees to flowers LOL I will say that I LOVE the feel of the ink and the rich black! I really need to find some time to get good at this!

Being a dragonfly lover, I added one to a journal page using Chinese ink.

And of course, my all time favorite subject, my baby Tucker. And yes, he had huge yellow/green eyes!

I think it is so cool how so many shades of black and gray can be obtained with just one ink!

Weird! blogger won't show my text in paragraphs! it shows that way in the html but not on the blog. I really wonder about this thing sometimes, it has some very strange issues! Hopefully the text will align correctly later on.

Miss Me?

2011-03-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here I am again, apologizing for being MIA. LOL

But, I have been arting....more or less.

I have not been successful in my 4 pages a week challenge BUT I am still working on my journal and that is a huge plus for me!

My camera has lots of photos on it....now to find the time to download them and adjust them and then share them....I think if I had just a few more days in my week....or maybe a couple extra days.

How about a vote....anyone object to a 10 day week? We still keep the 5 work days. Hmm, maybe, if I am playing with time....how about a 4 day work week and a 6 day weekend???? Show of hands...all in favor raise your right hand! :-)

I will try to get pics uploaded soon.

Happy arting and here's to hoping we see spring very soon!

Overcoming the Blahs

2011-01-24T19:22:00.001-08:00

I have found, if I don't make art of some kind, every day, I get the 'blahs'. So, you would think that would keep me on track wouldn't you? But sometimes life gets in the way of art.

I went for 4 days without any art time! And boy did it show. I felt lathargic all day, I dropped everything I touched... and I was very cranky! LOL

So, finally this evening I got a few minutes of quiet time to create a new journal page (no, this is not it below). I grabbed a piece of watercolor paper and gave it a whirl. Watercolors are something that I love but am not very good at. I took a class in high school and my teacher thought I had great potential but unfortunately we didn't have any watercolor classes available at college and I have just not gotten much practice since then (although I have lots of supplies lol)

But the good news is......I am still on track for my 4 pages a week for my journal! This is really amazing! We are heading into the 4th week of the year and I have 13 pages done! WoooooHoooooo!

So this page is one for last week. I was playing around with layering background papers.

The face stamp is from Tin Can Mail. The hands are from Stampers Anonymous.
I also worked on a zine last week. It was my first (and most likely my last). I know lots of people love them but it just wasn't for me. Trying to coordinate 8 panels for one theme just wasn't fun for me. But at least now I can say I made one. :-)

Happy Monday

2011-01-17T16:17:00.001-08:00

Does anyone really enjoy Mondays? I know I don't! I struggle to get up for work and then once I am there, it seems we always have system issues which turns the longest day of the week into an eternity! LOL

I got my 4 journal pages done again last week! I am very proud of myself!!! :-) So I am sharing a couple of them with you.

Sticking with my diet theme....now if I could just stick with the diet. hmm

Here is my lovely lady again. I just love her LOL

She is living my life...balancing above all those tempting goodies....trying her best not to fall (fail).
It has been pouring down rain here for a week. That puts a crimp in my creative thinking. Puts me in the mood to sleep though LOL

I needed 1 more page for my week and had absolutely no ideas! So, I began rummaging through my vintage photo drawer. And tucked into a little bag was this photo. I had shoved it into the drawer and never used it! These women just look so happy. It looks to me like they never let the weather get them down. From the smiles on their faces I have a feeling they were fun to hang out with! So I did! LOL

They look so proud of their fancy outfits. Those gorgeous fur coats and don't you just love the plumes on their hats?!

I don't know, I look at their faces and they just seem to know a secret....to happiness maybe. :-)

So far 2011 is going good!

2011-01-14T18:48:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how creative I have been this week LOL After the past few years of barely able to complete an ATC, to create 3 in one week (6 in 2 weeks!) is just amazing LOL

These 3 are for the monthly swap...at the end of February! Yeah I am way ahead!!!! WoooHoooo

So, here we have a very fancy kitty. She (and her gold embossed crown) come from the Stampin Up set Cool Cat. The diamonds and French postmark are from the Tim Holtz French Market set by Stampers Anonymous.

I painted the background with acrylics blending from mauve to pale yellow. It is a very simple card and yet with the gold ink and embossing, sort of fancy. :-) Minnie (my little diva kitty) approved.
Ok, this one is odd, I know LOL But last week we bought a new toaster. And I couldn't get this song out of my head. My ex's niece used to sing a song about loving toast when she was around 10 or so. Not sure this is the exact song but close enough!

And don't you love that toaster? It comes from the Cricut cartridge "From My Kitchen". My new toaster sort of looks like that...very retro. But mine is a cool metallic red! Very sassy!!! LOL

And this last one was inspired by my lack of ability to stick to a diet! LOL This woman has way more will-power than I do! I swear, I love chocolate chip cookies and no way would I ever be able to resist them let alone do my exercises on top of them!

BTW this lovely woman comes from VivaLasVegastamps. Isn't she great?

The only fun thing about taking out all the Christmas decorations is bringing back all my collectibles. We finally got my antique school desk back in from the garage this week. Kitty loved it. He hopped right up as if he was ready for school....which is hilarious because Kitty is really dumb! If you every read Tucker's blog you would have gotten to enjoy Tucker's view of Kittys intelligence (or lack there of LOL)

My Resolutions are still intact!

2011-01-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

I completed my 4 journal pages this week. WoooHoooo! I know, it may seem like much but believe me, this is big!. I usually have forgotten my journal by January 2. LOL

I began by slapping acrylic paints onto my 4x6 cards. (they are taped to my Olfa cutting board - and yes I can hear all you quilters gasping LOL)
And here they are! All done and signed on the backs. :-)

Hmm I see that I didn't stamp anything this week....very strange for me LOL
I have a mix of painting, photos, drawing, writing....I am liking this process so far (1 week in LOL)

BTW I drew and painted the dragon myself. I think he is cute. :-)

This was a very productive week for me! I also completed my ATCs for the monthly swap (and they aren't even due until the end of the month!)

Since people won't get them until early February, I tried to think ahead. I have Chinese New Year (it is going to be the year of the rabbit) and Valentine's Day. (the happy couple comes from VivaLasVegastamps) And how about the Village Blacksmith? That background writing is a ledger sheet our hostess sent me with last months ATCs. Such cool handwriting! I'm not sure exactly what it was....a list of names and dates....but now it is our blacksmith's customer list. :-)

Oh yeah, I am on fire this year! heehee

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I hope you have all arrived in 2011 safe and healthy.

We rang in the new year at home watching movies and just enjoying being together. We paused the movie for a few seconds to watch the ball drop and then back to the entertainment LOL

Throughout the day yesterday I pondered on whether I wanted to make resolutions. Every year I make one and every year I have forgotten it by mid January! And then the guilt sets in. Who needs to set themselves up for a guilt trip every year? Not me! No more!

This year I decided I will make them but then taylor them to my needs....no more generic resolutions for me!

So, sort of as an accountability thing....here are mine:

1. Create an art journal and make entries at least 4 times a week. (in the past I have tried art journals and felt pressured to make art in them every single day...with my schedule, that was just asking for failure!) My plan, create pages using blank 4x6 index cards and bind them all together later. Not so much space that it is overwhelming, not so small that you can't be creative. I will paint 4 card backgrounds each week and then throughout the week, collage/paint/embellish them. I just finished my 4 backgrounds a few minutes ago and they are now drying....great start to the year!

2. Lose weight. Someday I hope this is not a resolution but until then, here we go again. This year though, instead of trying some diet plan and then feeling guilt when I slip up, I plan on adjusting what I eat....to make the focus of my day fruits and veggies. Wish me luck!

I wish you all the best in all of your resolutions and hope that 2011 is a happy, successful and art filled year for us all!

Busy Busy Busy!

2010-12-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

With work and shopping and life, art has sort of been forgotten. Not completely mind you, but not as much as I would like.

I completed a journal swap with Pam last week. What should have taken me a month took almost 3! Whew!

I joined a monthly ATC swap in November. I have to send 3 ATCs to the hostess by the end of each month. Here are my November creations. We were having blizzard weather....totally unheard of here....so that is why my cards follow a snowy theme.

I started by cutting out a snowflake, you know, like when we were kids. Fold the paper into a triangle and cut out bits, unfold and there is your unique snowflake. I laid this onto my card and then spritzed the card with Glimmer Mists (sea glass and chalk white). I them removed the snowflake so part of the plain background shows. Next I painted on my branch and cardinal. The Glimmer Mists create such a lovely shimmer. I wish it showed up in photos.
Not to let my snowflake go to waste, I used it again to spritz my card and since by this point, being only printer paper and becoming a bit 'flaky', I glued down part of it the upper left of my card. Using acrylics, I splattered white paint all over. Finally, I pounced on a happy snowman and painted a scarf and arms.

For this card I used a glossy marbled cardstock. I spritzed on sea glass Glimmer Mist although you can't tell it is there at all in this picture. I then stamped the snowflakes and embossed in silver. Finally I stamped the woman (Non Sequitor) onto white card stock and painted her with Twinkling H2Os.

I love watching the snow fall. Something I no longer get to see very often. And it is so gorgeous when it has snowed and then gets very cold over night. The snow in the morning literally sparkles like diamonds!

Meet Herman!

2010-10-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

He took a bit longer than I was expecting. Not because of any real difficulties but rather because we couldn't agree on a body style! This is his third body! He is a bit strong willed! LOL

BTW in case you don't recognize it, this is the scupted head from a couple weeks back. :-)

Quite the dapper fellow isn't he? LOL
His body is made of muslin and after stuffing him, he got a very thorough soaking of walnut stain and then hung up to dry. (it has been very cold and rainy here so it took a few days to dry)
His belt and hat are made from black felt that was also splashed with a healthy dose of walnut stain.
And finally that spiffy vest. I didn't think to wash it before trying to stain it and had a horrible time. The sizing blocked the stain! I ended up wringing it out and grinding it again my potting table and then re-dying it twice to get any color at all! Lesson to me.....wash stuff first! LOL

Don't you love the color of his chair? It is such an awesome cherry red! I found it an antique store last summer and fell in love with it! I promised hubby I would make a doll to sit on it. I don't think this is what he was expecting. LOL

The chair is only about 19 inches tall so you can see Herman is not a big guy. :-)

A face only a mother could love. LOL

Love that cool crisp air!

2010-10-19T15:34:00.001-07:00

Oh how I wish I could spend all my days just making art and enjoying the world around me! Unfortunately, work gets in the way! LOL

Fall is my favorite season and I am sooooo in the mood to create. Now to just find the time!!!!!

I started this fellow over a week ago. I want to make a primative Halloween doll. I haven't sculpted anything since I was in high school.....yeah, THAT long ago!!!!!! It was so sad, I have no 'tools' so I was using my exacto knife for all kinds of things LOL

So, he is a little rough, but I am hoping that makes him look more primative in the end.

I used paperclay. Not sure how I like it. Very weird to work with...very fiberous. Not really surprising I guess considering it is made of paper. Duh. LOL

I tried sanding him a bit and that just seemed to make him fuzzy. Hoping some paint calms that back down. Don't you just love experimenting?! LOL
Now I think he looks very happy but my husband thinks he looks 'scary'. Planning on some serious rosy cheeks and nose action.....I think that will cut out the scary factor. That or hubby will just have to go hide when this guy is around LOL

Check out this profile! Love that nose LOL

Better get painting. I really want to paint him orange. Hubby is against that too....so I better do it while he is still out of the house! heehee Debating on whether to use the weathered crackle or porcelain crackle finish. Weathered crackle would show another paint color in the cracks. Porcelain crackle is a soft topcoat finish that would show up when you rub an antiquing color over the surface.

Oh the decisions!!!!!!

And I just couldn't pass up sharing a pic from the weekend. We made another trip out to the pumpkin patch. (the 3rd or 4th one this season....I've lost count) I love pumpkins!!!!! Have I said that before? :-)

Rainy Day Fun

2010-09-19T11:07:00.001-07:00

It has been raining (with actual storms Friday night) since Friday afternoon. This is a very uncommon thing around here. Not wanting to venture out and get wet, I instead played inside.

I have had an idea mulling through my brain for the past week or so. I wanted to 'age' one of my lighthouse photos. I have always been facinated by lighthouses and the men and women who committed their lives to maintaining them. What a lonely existance! And what a huge responsibility!

This is the Cape Blanco lighthouse. It is just north of Port Orford, Oregon and sits on the farthest west point on the continental US. Because of very high winds which can easily blow you right off the point, this lighthouse is closed most days. And if it isn't the wind it is the dense fog! It took 3 trips there before we were finally allowed out to view the lighthouse. And even on the 'calm' days, the wind about knocks you down!

Imagine living in such fierce, constant wind that it rocks a concrete block building! And you are living in a clapboard house!!!

So I took my crystal clear, gorgeous blue sky photo and using Photoshop Elements 5, I 'aged' it. I used so many antiquing overlays that I lost count! LOL

I found this lighthouse keeper online. He was listed as 'unknown keeper'. Poor guy, he served his country, keeping his light lit so that ships would be safe and no one remembers his name. So, now he has a home at Cape Blance. I hope he likes it there. I must say, the view is gorgeous! And the lighthouse it beautiful.

If you like lighthouses, check out all of our lighthouse photos at www.tunnel13.com. Oregon has 9 lighthouses and we have been to 7 of them.

I Love Fall!

2010-09-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

I can't help myself! I love fall!!!! And my favorite thing is pumpkins!!!

I buy as many as hubby will allow...some years I only get a few, other years I think he loses count and I end up with tons!!!! :-)

I put them on the hearth, the mantle, the dining table, my kitchen counters. A few end up outside on the front step, as bookends by the garage door and lining the front walk.

Their warm orange color just fills me with joy!

Another gorgeous day!

2010-09-11T20:05:00.001-07:00

I spent my morning working...not a fun thing to do on a Saturday but when the boss says work overtime you really don't have much choice. :-(

But my reward was to go out afterward to a nearby town for their city-wide yard sale! I didn't find much but it sure was fun to browse! Oh to be rich and come home with all the goodies that caught my eye. And, unfortunately, I forgot to take a camera along...too bad, I saw some cool textures that would have been great for digital art! Oh well, better luck next time.

So, seeing how I am in this digital/fall/Halloween mood, I had another vision brewing in my head!

A friend had sent me a photo of an old woman holding these huge mushrooms many years ago and I have had it tucked away just waiting to use her. Well today she came out of the drawer! And into her own little castle LOL

I turned that poor old woman into the local witch. I removed one of her mushrooms...I swear the thing was bigger than a pie and in the old b&w pic that is what I thought it was the first time I saw it! Very strange LOL I replaced it with her spell book. :-)

So, now she brews up her spells in her tower room overlooking the ocean. Not too shabby. Well maybe a little shabby. It looks like she could use a decent housekeeper....but you know how hard it is to find good help. LOL

Enjoy.
BTW the cat is hubby's cat "Kitty". (imaginative name huh? LOL)

In the Mood for Halloween!

2010-09-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Over night we went from 100 degree days to 60s and 70s. I love it!!!!! Fall is my favorite season. I love the turning of the leaves, the cool nights, the clear skies. And I love decorating!

I am ready to fill my house with pumpkins!!!!!!!

But it also puts me in a 'learning' mood. Maybe a throw back to my school days? No matter the reason, I grabbed several of my Somerset Digital Studio mags and drooled over the images and tutorials and decided, with my new computer up and running, I needed to get back into digital art for a while.

I have been playing around with layers, overlays, creating brushes and just trying out all the buttons I never used before. There have been lots of mistakes! But you gotta love that back feature! WooHooo!

I don't know why (because I am deathly afraid of spiders) but I had a vision of a woman trapped in a web. So, here she is. And I had a blast creating her!

And anyone who knows me knows this is sooooo not my style LOL But I really like it!

Wood Thread Spools!

2010-07-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer!

Let me start with, I love going to yard sales. You just never know what treasures you will find...or what junk you think you just can't live without! LOL And when that junk turns into something really cool--well that makes it all the more fun!

What am I rambling about???? Wood thread spools!!!!!

As best I can figure, they stopped putting thread on wood spools in the mid 70s. Then came the plastic and (oh the horror) styrofoam spools.

Last weekend I came across a shopping bag full of wood spools. Most still had their labels intact...which is great if you want to try and date them. It turns out most of them are from the 40s and 50s. Cool huh?!

I looked at that bag and then walked away. Geez, what on earth would I do with approximately 70-80 spools? But, as we turned to head back to the car, I just couldn't leave them. I grabbed that bag and handed over my dollar and waltzed to my car with the this thought running through my head....Good lord, where am I going to store these? And how the heck am I going to use them?

I sent my questions to Pam....she always has great answers! She bombarded me with tons of info on carving spools! Thanks Pam!!!!!

So, that is how I spent my week....carving spools! LOL Ok, I have never carved anything in my life. And patience is not one of my virtues. If a project takes me more than a couple hours then I don't want to do it! LOL So, I am not like all those others you will find online that hand carve every little detail and fine tune every line so that it is a great work of art you want to hang it on your wall and treasure forever. I am a "hand me my Dremel and lets see what happens" kinda girl.

Thankfully I like the rustic, primitive look. Hopefully you do too. :-)

Here is my very first carving. This spool is 1 1/2" tall and about a 1 1/8" wide carving area. Now, understand, when I did this one I had no 'carving' bits for my Dremel. I was totally winging it. LOL So, he is a bit rougher than the others. (I headed out to the hardware store the next day and bought several of the appropriate bits). Amazing how much difference the proper tools make LOL

Here is Santa #2. As you can see, a bit on the smoother side. LOL This spool (and all the others here) is only 1 1/8" tall and a 7/8" wide carving area.

Here he is, now complete with jute hanger, rusty jingle bell and a button.

Added this pic so you can see the size difference between my first and second Santa.

I paint them with acrylic paints then seal them with an acrylic paint-on sealer. I let that cure and then antique them with antiquing gel and once dry, another coat of the acrylic sealer.

I love how the antiquing medium brings out all my carving lines (even my flubs LOL) but also the grain in the wood.

Sticking with the Christmas/Winter theme, here is a snowman in a stocking cap....because I thought the ribs in his hat would look cool. :-)

And then I got the idea of a striped cat...but I used the carved lines to form the stripes. His body wraps around the spool...that little yellow tip on the left side is the tip of his tail. I think he is pretty cute.

And my last complete one is this Jack O Lantern. I wanted to use the grooves to create the lines on the pumpkin. I also experimented with carving out his eyes and some stars on the back. This pic shows him before and after antiquing. I am thinking of maybe next time doing a pumpkin (not jack o lantern) with the vine and a leaf attached.

Currently I have 6 spools sitting here drawn up waiting to be carved....a Santa, an angel, a witch, a Halloween cat, a bird and a wreath of holly. I have found that I can only do 1 or 2 in a carving session because the Dremel makes my hands all tingly/vibraty for a couple hours afterwards if I do any more than that LOL

Ok, off to make breakfast and out to the garage for some carving! Happy Summer everyone!

Just playing around

2010-06-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Helen told me I needed to do a 3D zentangle. I thought about it and didn't really want to 'buy' something to alter...what if I messed it up? LOL

Then I thought....bowling pin! Doesn't everyone have a set of old, used bowling pins in their garage??? I picked them up at the local alley a few years back. Cost me around $5 I think. Figured I would find a use for them...eventually. :-)

So, here is a video of my tangled pin. It would have been sooooo much easier if I owned a lazy susan. But I don't. Instead I stumbled around out in the yard LOL If the video sort of makes you dizzy just imagine how I felt?! LOL

I also wanted to try out my new flip video camera. This video doesn't do the camera or the pin justice...but you will get the idea LOL

And now the dilemma....what to do with it? My house is overflowing with stuff!

Should I hang on to it? Or try to sell it on etsy? Let me know!

Getting Caught Up

2010-05-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

So, since it is a 3 day weekend and I woke up at my normal, before the crack of dawn time, I thought I would get caught up here. :-)

Like I have said before, I am totally hooked on Zentangles! It is soooooo much fun and such a great relaxation exercise that I create them whenever I can.

Here are a few done a couple weeks ago.

I got into another one of those moods where I wanted to draw something, this time a giraffe...still no clue why these moods hit me LOL

Helen, aka Cathy, (long story....don't ask, just know it started waaaaaayyyyyy back in college LOL) wanted me to draw her an outline of a geisha so she could tangle her clothes. I did that and then since I had the original (I emailed her the outline) I went ahead and tangled her myself.

I used to do a lot of stuff with dominos and rummikub tiles. It dawned on me that I could be tangling on those as well! Here are a couple tiles that I had dyed with left over Easter egg dye a few years ago. Now to decide exactly what I want to do with them!

And finally, I found a plain white tote bag at a yard sale, still in it's original, sealed package from Michael's. It just called to be tangled!!!! So, being the big spender that I am, I handed over the 25 cents and came home and created this. I am still trying to decide what I want on the back.

Hey Look!

2010-05-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY updated my blog banner! LOL

Bet you are all so glad that it is no longer the winter scene that you don't even care that it isn't centered! haha

Spent this evening getting caught up on blogs

2010-05-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

And look what I found...

http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2010/04/too-cute.html

My little girl is 'famous'! Isn't she a cutie pie?!

Gonna post some tangles this weekend.....hopefully. I have been so busy with work and such that I didn't touch a pen for over a week! (gasp)

I have big plans for this weekend......gardening, tangling and reading!

Hey PaleRider!

2010-05-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

Just a note for an old and dear friend!!!!

Long time no see! Been thinking about ya and wondering how you are doing.

Next time you drop in, email us....would love to hear from you!!!!!!!!!

I still have my hotmail account from the dark ages LOL

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

I hope all you Mom's had a wonderful day. The weather was really nice for the first part of the day...sunny and warm. Then the rains hit and I came inside to play. :-)

I have been in the mood to draw a turtle. Don't ask me why cause I have no clue! LOL

So, I drew a sea turtle (along with some stylized seaweed) and then 'tangled' it.

Here is it before shading. I debated back and forth as to whether I wanted to shade in color or black/gray.
I opted for color and am not sure whether I made the right choice or not. The scanner did not do justice to the colors. Although the colors are light and not very intense, they are darker than the scanner showed...even after playing in photoshop, I couldn't increase the intensity without it becoming too vibrant. And there was some blue streaks in the background that the scanner did not pick up at all!

I will eventually take a photo of it but until then...

Tangling

2010-05-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have found, much to my surprise, that creating Zentangles relieves my back pain (my mind is no longer thinking about the pain, thus I relax and it disappears)

I had to create 5 zentangle ATCs for a swap. I ended up with about 30! Here are a few of them. They are standard 2.5x3.5

Then I thought....what about square for a change. These are 4"x4"

And of course, since I cut the above squares from 4x6 cardstock, I had to use up the leftovers so these are 2x2

2010-05-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't gotten around to downloading any photos lately although I have tons and TONS of zentangles done! And I did finally take some pics of my glass garden statues actually in the flower beds...but until then, please enjoy the following video of my little girl enjoying her favorite pastime.

Garden decor and Zentangles

2010-04-25T12:31:00.001-07:00

I have been doing an odd mix of things lately. Mostly working LOL But I have squeezed in a few projects as well.

Pam has gotten me into trouble again (she is very good at getting me hooked on new projects!) She sent me some photos of 'totems' and now my yard is full of them.

This is recycling at is best! With the beginning of yard sale season, people are just begging you to take their old glass off their hands....and I am very happy to oblige!

Below you will see my first 2 statues....I have currently finished 5 with supplies for at least another 6 or 7 sitting in the garage.

This first one currently lives in the garage until I find a place for it or someone steps up and says....hey, I want that! :-)

This one is my favorite so far, I love the bluish-green color of the goblet and the small glass on top echos that color in a lighter shade. It goes very well with the color of our house. It is currently residing in my creeping phlox bed. I definitely need to get out there and take a picture.

I am in a Zentangle ATC swap. Being that it is for the badbabyart group. I did not follow the rules....bad babies always break the rules! LOL Pam sent me the idea of using rubber stamps in my tangles and seeing how I have thousands of them, it seemed like a perfect fit. The hard part was finding a way to make the stamp seem like it belonged...not just stuck there for the purpose of using a stamp. I think I succeeded on some and not on others. LOL

Zentangles

2010-03-21T16:51:00.001-07:00

I haven't been on here in quite a while. I have been going through some intense training at work and that pretty much killed my muse!

Some friends got me started back into crochet over my training period and I have done some really cute amigurumi toys but at this time none are from my own patterns so I didn't think it right to publish photos here.

Then just a few days ago, some friends said they wanted to do a Zentangle swap. Having no idea what on earth they were talking about, I googled Zentangle.

I checked out lots of images and got a feel for what it was....basically, artistic doodling. :-)

Most places say to divide your page into a grid and then fill each section with patterns. I didn't read any of the 'rules' because in my opinion art should never be confined by rules.

I created a few by using a basic grid but they were so boring I didn't bother to even scan them.

I began by using a sharpie marker (because that was all I had on hand) but the fumes were making me nauseous. I have since switched to Prismacolor fine line markers. Sizes 01 - 08. But in the mean time I did a couple using a black colored pencil. I couldn't get a crisp line but I loved the shading effects I could achieve.

These first 2 were done with Crayola black colored pencils.

I then made the conscious effort to add a specific image into my doodles. In this case, a flower.

More ideas started coming to me....at odd times. Like at the grocery or while driving down the road. It has been rough trying to remember them for when I get home to play. :-)

This frog came to me as I was heading to bed. Thankfully I remembered and could create it after work the next day.

Minnie inspired this one but I want to redo it and make the face more appealing....when I find the time LOL

My friend recently crocheted the most adorable ladybug and ladybugs have been stuck in my mind ever since. I thought it would look great on a doodled leaf...and I think I was right. :-)

I collect dragonflies so of course I needed a dragonfly 'tangle!

Not sure of this one yet. It came to me while we were driving to Walmart. I wanted to create a chain.

I have found these to be extremely fun and addicting. I can complete one in a relatively short time. They also help clear my head (which is a bit cramped right now with the training I have been going through). And there is no pressure....I mean, how can you mess up a doodle?

Playing around with the Cricut

2010-01-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months I have aquired several new cartridges but haven't had time to play with them. :-(

I pulled out my Pagoda cartridge today! This one has so many awesome Asian images!!!!!

I used the cherry blossom branch (cut twice) to enhance the ATC below. The woman is from Stonehouse Stamps. The kanji says "spring".
This woman comes from Missing Link Stamp Co. I had originally planned on this being an ATC as well but I liked the bridge cut a bit bigger and then I needed a bigger card. It measures 2 3/4 x 5 1/4. The maple branch and bridge are from the Pagoda cartridge.

All the coloring (other than skin tones) are done with Twinkling H2Os. I even highlighted the maples leaves with a coat of these shimmery paints. And my 'river' is just squiggles of paint.

So many other shapes to cut.....so very little time!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:40:00.001-08:00

Let me start with - Way to go Ohio State! They beat Oregon to become the 2010 Rose Bowl Champs!!!!!

My husband is very upset (we live in Oregon LOL)

I spent most of the game playing in my art room with the game playing in the background but I made sure to cheer at the appropriate times. :-)

I woke up with the idea of 'time' and 'clocks' on my mind.

The clock face is stamped on transparency film (because I wanted to see if it would hold up under the solder). Both the clock and the text are from Technique Tuesday.

The gear is from Tim Holtz. I had a heck of a time soldering it onto the frame (and have the burnt finger to prove it!)

Soldering

2009-12-28T18:34:00.001-08:00

Many years ago I taught myself how to solder stained glass. I had all the supplies....soldering iron, foil tape, flux, glass cutter... Then I got divorced and for some reason way beyond me, I lost all those items in the settlement. Hmm

Anyway, over the past couple years I have been wanting to get back into it but just never got around to restocking my supplies. A couple months before Christmas, I saw a 'kit' from Simply Swank that had all you need to get started.

On Saturday, I took my birthday money and bought the kit (as well as lots of extras!)

Below is my first creation......I said it had been a very long time ago!!!!! My soldering is a bit rough but I had a blast! The girl is a stamp from Oxford Impressions. She is colored with pencils.

Hubby bought me a new camera for Christmas. Minnie no longer runs everytime I pull it out. Silly girl would fly out of the room everytime I grabbed my camera. I am wondering if the fact that the new one is black and not silver has anything to do with it.

So, this is a charm of Minnie. It is 1" x 3/4". My soldering was MUCH better until I had to adhere the jump ring. Then the top got all messed up....I was having some major issues LOL It took me 4 tries to even get it on there and yes, I know....it is not in the middle. I may eventually remove it and try again. But not today!

Thanks Mom for the birthday money!!!!!!

See, no running! Last week, she would never have stayed still, she would be flying down the hall and my only shot would be of her tail turning the corner into the bedroom. LOL

BTW her tail is NEVER still, the tip swishes ALL the time...thus I caught it in mid air LOL

Now that the gifts have been opened...

2009-12-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

Long time no see...

Now that all the gifts have been given (and opened) I can post photos of my latest projects. I haven't done much lately. Between work and getting ready for Christmas, I didn't get a whole lot of art done!

I was in a stocking swap with Pam. The rules? Alter a Christmas stocking using nothing but supplies from our stash.

I bought a white velour stocking from the dollar store (my only purchase for this project)

I pieced together all kinds of Christmas fabrics (and didn't even come close to using all the patterns I have on hand) I was going for sort of a 'crazy quilt' look.

I then painted a Santa on a page of German text from an old book (I had received these pages years and years ago in a swap). I embellished with lots of buttons and cut out the mini Christmas cards from some card stock bought earlier in the year.

This snowman is made from a gourd that I dried years ago. I still have a box of dried gourds in my shed. I pull them out whenever I need to make a Christmas ornament. This little guy was tucked into Pam's stocking.

Finally, my hubby thinks sock monkeys are very cute and let me know that he never had one as a kid. I found the original socks online along with the original pattern. Hubby got a great kick out of finding this happy fellow tucked under the tree.

I didn't make this but Minnie wanted to share her present too. My little girl is now living 5 feet above the rest of the world LOL She is enjoying her bird's eye view of.......the birds! :-)

Halloween Postcards

2009-10-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

I hosted a Halloween postcard swap this month with the BadBabies. I had a blast creating my cards and from the work I received from all the other players, I think they did too!

So, I am going to walk you through my card.

This is the purchased postcard I began with. It sort of started out a bit creepy. LOL I wanted to turn this run down old house into a honeymoon cottage for my couple. I sanded the entire card to increase that dilapidated look. Notice there is writing that I need to cover up at some point.

I painted a moon with acrylics and stamped the witch. (inkadinkado) The spider on the roof was stamped first in red but he didn't show up as well as I wanted so I overstamped him in black. (BoBunny) Can you see the ghost coming out of the upper right window? He is stamped on peach colored vellum. He is from one of my very first stamp sets. Poor thing is at least 25 years old. (inkadinkado)

Did you see the houseguest peeking out of the front door? I just love him. He is part of a trio of dancers. I masked the door and stamped him in (PSX)

I found my lovers on one of my photo cds. I was originally looking for a bride but when I saw this couple (and she was already tinted orange!), they seemed perfect.

They did need a little cosmetic work though. I used Photoshop Elements 5 for their enhancements. I gave him his lovely snow white complexion. She was much tougher. It seems she has very 'clear' skin LOL Using several layers, I added in her skeletal features....skull, hand and leg bone. Unfortunately, it is easier to see these features on the computer than the printed version but it is obvious that something is amiss. LOL

Mary was here last night helping bind the books and after staring at my card for a few moments finally said....what the heck is wrong with her face, she looks kinda creepy! LOL

And now for the finale. I stamped a wrought iron fence across the bottom (BoBunny) then added the pumpkins on top (Stampin Up and PSX) They are on regular printer paper and colored with pencils.

All the edges were 'distressed' with Tim Holtz Distress Inks (walnut stain and spiced marmalade)

They look happy in their new home, don't they?

Here is the cover of the book. I used a photo of a fence post wrapped in barbed wire that I took last summer (thinking it would make a great background someday).

The web in the lower corner is from a brush set I found online. I listed my favorite brush sites on my last post. :-)

I absolutely hate spiders, they totally creep me out, so I have no idea why on earth I wanted webs and a spider on this book! The spider is one of those cheapy plastic rings you see everywhere (except when you NEED them). I just cut off the 'ring'.

I am mailing out the books on Monday. I sure hope everyone likes them. I know I do!

Apron is done and delivered!

2009-10-06T20:15:00.001-07:00

I finished Pam's apron and she received it on Monday so I can share the final product.

Pam is a bookmaker! She makes tons of them!!!! I am in awe of her! :-)

So, I made her a bookmaking apron.

I went with a play on words...

Below is "Japanese Stab". Pretty easy if you know book making basics...or even less if you are like me LOL

And this next one was tougher. Pam says she woke up in the middle of the night with the answer LOL Do you know your bookmaking techniques? Can you guess what it is?

How about "Coptic"? Yeah, it is a stretch LOL

And finally the finished apron. I haven't painted on fabric for years so it was really fun to pull out all the old brushes again. :-)

Playing with Digital

2009-09-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

I started with a photo hubby took years ago in Dunsmuir. The flowers against the brick wall.

I added the woman from one of my photo cds.

The text and swirls are both brushes I downloaded online. No longer sure where they came from but my favorite places are

deviantart.com
getbrushes.com
damnedinblack.net

search for photoshop brushes and you will find dozens of sites!

And finally, I used a "scratches" overlay to give an even roughness to the finished project. Again, a free download. I am horrible. I download free sets of overlays and such, keep the one or two that I want and discard the rest. I lose track of where they came from. Here are a couple places I have frequented in the past.

digitalscrapbookplace.com
digiscrapdepot.com

I had fun playing around with layers, opacity and brushes. It was a fun way to relax and lose an hour or two. :-)

A is for Angels

2009-09-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

I was reading the latest Somerset Holidays and Celebrations and saw this wonderful idea - the ABC's of Christmas. The example in the magazine was done 3x5 and stored in a box almost like a recipe box. I decided I liked the concept of a book instead with the tabs at the bottom like little footnotes.

I am using 4x6 manilla index dividers and like I said, putting the tabs on the bottom. I will eventually bind all the pages (plus covers) using my Bind-It-All.

So, I have 2 done. Not too bad since I just started yesterday.

A is for Angels

The angel girl came from the Vintage Postcards CD from American Image Gallery. The pair of angels are from the Victorian Images Volume Two, SummertownSun. And the "A" came from Memories of a Lifetime - Alphabets and Ornaments book and CD. Whew! that is a lot of image CDs!

I created the Peace on Earth banner using Photoshop Elements 5 and shaded by hand with pencils.

The swirly stamp in the upper left corner is from BoBunny.

I played with the girl a bit in Photoshop Elements and cut out her background. I hand tinted her wings with Twinkling H2os.

Everything is glued down on the divider that I had 'antiqued' with Distress Inks.

B is for Bells:

Not as much 'stuff' here. The B is again from the Alphabets and Ornaments CD. The bells from the Victorian Images. The bells are actually 3D. I printed the middle and right bells again on cardstock and cut them out, rounded them slightly and adhered them with 2 layers of foam tape. They are higher than the gold button clappers.

I used my crop-a-dile to add the eyelet and real bell to the bottom corner.

I am planning on adding lines from corresponding Christmas carols to the back of each page.

I'm all over the place!

2009-09-09T16:51:00.001-07:00

I started painting Pam's apron. I have the top done. Next will come the pockets and finally the bottom. I am using a bookmaking theme since I know she makes tons of them and enjoys the processes.

Meanwhile, in my spare time, I am working on a bowl made from an old vinyl record. I melted it a couple months ago (when it was 110 outside!) I first put it in my husband's car sitting out in the driveway...just to see how bad it would melt....yeah, I was bored. I sat it on a large bowl and it sunk right down in! It wasn't even enough though so I fired up the grill and melted it some more. You have never had fun until you are standing in 100+ temps cooking a record on a grill! LOL

I am now in the decorating process. I am covering it with torn book pages.

Below is the bowl completely covered before I trimmed the edges. Next, I will be antiquing it....haven't done that yet. :-)

Today, the bad baby group decided to create a fatbook for one of our members that is battling a serious illness. She likes French images and postage (as well as lots of other things). I dug out my Oxford Impression Paris set for the woman and Eiffel Tower. The postmarks are from Hero Arts 'Tour De Luxe" set. I thought....what is more "French" then the Moulin Rouge? I hope it lifts her spirits and brings her healing along faster!

Done Wrecking!

2009-09-04T19:13:00.001-07:00

I recently finished my wrecked journal swap. I mailed Jo Anne's journal back to her last week.

This one was rougher than the first. I found myself in a serious funk. Tucker's 17th birthday was August 10 and no matter what I did, I just couldn't stop missing him.

But, I am slowly pulling myself up and out of it. I still miss him and probably always will. He was "my baby".

So, one of the final pages I completed in Jo Anne's journal is below. He always was and always will be one of my favorite subjects. :-)

I know I took pictures of other pages I did in her book but heaven only knows what folder I downloaded them into! LOL I will probably stumble across them in a year or 2!

I am now into a new project...an apron swap. I am painting it up specifically for the owner and her likes. I will post pics soon.

I promise to not stay gone so long! :-)

One Done! On to the Next!

2009-07-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

I finished Pam's journal last night.....Finally! I am sure she is getting very impatient with me LOL She sent mine and it arrived yesterday so I made myself sit down and finish those last 2 pages before I opened my package.

Below is one of the pages I actually did over a month ago but could never get a decent photo. I really like it. Then again, I love red! The instructions were to 'tear' images out of a magazine. Well, I didn't tear, I cut because I had that woman in my stash and I really wanted to use her. I don't think Pam will mind that I sort of cheated LOL
Here is the last page that I worked on. I found the photo at an antique shop last week. The instructions called for metallic tape but I don't have any and couldn't find any around here so I used masking tape and then 'antiqued' it.
Minnie actually completed the final page. It called for my cat's paw prints and I have been trying to figure out how to do that in a safe manner. It finally came to me....jelly. I dipped her tiny paw into some jelly then onto the page. Well, she wasn't too happy so she struggled and accidentally dipped her other front paw in the jelly and walked on my desk! LOL I took a damp cloth and wiped off her paws (got the majority of it off). She ran away and immediately began cleaning off the tiny bit still stuck to her fur......she was really enjoying her bath! LOL

The End Is In Sight!

2009-07-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

I am down to the last 4 pages (out of the 100 in the journal)

I have been working like a mad woman today trying to wrap this up (since I have another one sitting and waiting!)

Below was the page of "my choice of what to do". I chose to add a transparency to the page. Plus a couple postage stamps featuring blue colored birds. I also found this quote from Victor Hugo, "Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings".

This is my "color outside the lines". I really had no idea of what that meant as there were no lines drawn on the page. So, after much deliberation, I pulled out one of my vintage photo cds and began browsing. I found the photo of the woman looking out the window. I turned it into a sketch and made the window the "lines".

How to "Wreck" a Journal

2009-06-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

Since I created a journal to swap with Pam and one for the bad baby swap and then another one for the bad baby swap because the first one got lost in the mail, I had to come up with a lot of ideas on how I wanted my journal wrecked.

The swap with Pam is more artistic things, the one for bad babies is more destructive.

I thought I would share my ideas in case anyone else is looking for ways to "wreck" a journal. Be warned, this list contains over 140 ideas. Some are very specific others are vague, leaving interpretation up to the wrecker. Each direction pertains to the page it is written on.

Splatter the cover with paint
Doodle all over this page
Step in mud then this page
Leave open on this page outside overnight
Burn part of this page
Poke holes in page
Drive over page
Color then take this page in the shower with you
Rub in the grass
Spill your drink on this page
Color vertical lines
Tear out-crumple-dry brush-reattach
Draw a hotdog –slather with mustard
Let your pet play with this page
Color then put under the sprinkler
Jump up and down on this page
Stick this page in a fan
Cut into strips
Throw rocks at it
Use as a napkin
Cover with circles
Dribble glue all over
Fold this page into an origami shape
Freeform - tear out squares
Repeatedly write one word over and over
Cover with hand prints
Cover with foot prints
Drag the book down the driveway
Cover with food labels
Cover with junk mail
Sew stitches all over
Let potato chips sit on this page over night
Create a loud sound via color
Glue leaves/petals
Kiss this page
Rub garlic all over
Do a rubbing of something
Tear out and sit on this page all day
Wad up and soak in a cup of tea, let dry then reattach
Let a child color
Scorch with an iron
Splatter with candle wax
Use as a coaster
Tear into pieces then tape back together
Paint page all one color
Scribble viciously
Cover with toothbrush splatters
Pound with a hammer
Cover with masking tape
Candle smoke
Chalk it up
Folds and staples
All the colors in the box
Drill through the back cover
Draw a picture of your house, eyes closed
Cut out a photo of a pretty model – ugly her up
Document all the food you ate today
Fill entire page with lots of colors
What do you see on the drive to work
Smear ink or paint all over the page
Happy thoughts
Fold page, tuck in pocket, wash pants then reattach
Glue newspaper page – circle all the words starting with T
Do what ever you want here
Let a spouse or friend alter this page
Stamp your favorite rubber stamp
Glue pic of self, alter it
Do something unpredictable on this page
Spray with your favorite scent
Sand this page
Use this page to wipe up a spill
Today’s to do list
Write you name over and over
Drip paint
Take a picture of you wrecking this book and add here
Draw a self portrait of how you feel today
Make a leaf or veggie print
Shaving cream technique
Write out the plot of the last movie you saw
Cover with stamps from the mail
Finger paint with anything you want
Draw with your non-dominant hand
Decorate with stickers
Trace items from your purse or pocket
Trace your hand then decorate it
Color outside the lines (have a shape drawn on page)
Take a walk, glue found objects to page
Write the lyrics to your favorite song
Add phone book page – circle names you like
Add phone book page – collage it
Make a collage using only junk mail
Write you motto here
Dress this person (have a stick figure drawn on page)
This page has an boo-boo – fix it (have hole torn in page)
Fibers
Cut into strips – basket weave
Turn this letter into a animal (have large letter written on page)
Press flowers here
Cut out page – make a mini book
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
Date – time – day of week – weather
Your grocery list
Close the book – write on the edges
Oh No! a ketchup stain!
Paint or draw with something other than a brush/pen/pencil
Beat the journal with a chain
Cover with egg shells
Add red things to this page
Cut out a jack o lantern face
What was you favorite page?
Draw the view from your window
Create your own ink blot
Use oil pastels – draw flowers
Create a collage portrait using only scraps
Make a red ATC
Create ‘stained glass’
Paint randomly with eyes closed
Picasso
Seurat
Warhol
Create using food labels
Buttons
Draw what you did today
Create a picture of your dinner –medium up to you
Collage “love”
A favorite childhood memory
It’s not easy being green
My art wish list
Pollack
Favorite holiday
3D
doodle while on the phone
letters and postcards
favorite season
create a row house
attach a newspaper page, color on top of it
homage to cats
incorporate letters
what did you dream last night?
Collage in blues from magazine pics
Scrapbook your day
My favorite flower in the yard
Fill in these squares (draw or stamp squares on the page)
Create with candy wrappers
Pen and ink a tree
Use torn scraps – no cutting - collage

Wreck that Journal!

2009-06-12T20:15:00.001-07:00

Maybe I should say "ART" that journal!

I have been hard at work on Pam's journal and I really need to get it done soon as I now have the other journal from the bad baby swap here too!

Below I have added a few of the many works I have finished in Pam's journal. In case I never mentioned this before....there are 100 pages in the journal. (I have about 15 left)

The instructions were:

Color this page then spritz with bleach.

I painted this sunny fellow (and didn't think to take his picture before I wrecked him) using Twinkling H2Os because they are a water color and thought they would have a nice effect with the bleach.

Here is a close up. You can see the speckles where the color is now gone. It is not a huge bleached look but I really like how it turned out.

Here I had to use a page from the phone book in a collage. This page listed all the local schools.

The instructions just said "Hugs and Kisses". Well, I really had to struggle but I managed to eat enough Hershey Kisses to make a spiffy skirt for this lady. Yeah, I suffered! LOL (this is just a close up of part of the page)

Ok, on this one I didn't really follow the directions. It said to "radically alter this page". I cut it out of the book and flipped it over so the writing was on the back then collaged the front and taped it back in. Not very radical but I had fun.

I have to admit that I am having so much fun working on this journal and really like most of what I have done...to the point that it is going to be very hard to part with it. But then again I can't wait to see what Pam has done for me! :-D

My Ballerina Pig

2009-05-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

So, here she is. I think she is adorable but the people at work didn't like it at all. They opted for plain colored/air brushed pigs.

Oh well, no accounting for taste I guess. I knew going into this that it was not an 'art' contest so no surprise that I didn't even come in in the top 5.

She is wearing a tutu, ballet slippers and her upper dress is covered with paintings of ballerinas.

How can you pass up a face like this?

Journal Wrecking is FUN!

2009-05-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some serious wrecking over the past week! My friend Pam, from Maine, and I created our own journals for wrecking using standard composition books which means 100 pages worth of instructions---100 pages to 'wreck'! We decided to stick with more "artistic" themes and fewer "destruction" ideas.

First: Concentric Circles! This one took me forever LOL My hand was so tired from coloring round and round. I pulled out several different brands of pencils to get all these wonderful colors!
Anybody remember the Psychedelic posters of the 60s? Well, I vaguely remembered so I had to do a search online LOLNow, I have more going on this week than just wrecking pages! I entered a contest at work. I have to decorate this piggie bank. You can't really tell from the picture but it is clear, blue plastic and stands around 5 inches tall.

I will post the process and finished product after the contest ends (the end of May) Wouldn't want to give away my secrets. :-)

And finally. Minnie has made herself right at home! Today she decided that hubby was more comfortable than the sofa. He even moved her butt back up onto the sofa and she slid it back down onto his shoulder LOL

Wrecking My Journal

2009-05-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend wrecking and creating journals. I finished up the journal for the badbaby swap and it is now ready for mailing whenever our swap partners are assigned AND I am now going to do a one on one swap with another BadBaby friend - Pam - and I wrote up a journal for her (but we are doing more art and less wrecking which should still be loads of fun!)

As for my "wrecking", I have flipped through the book several times and some of the things are going to be hard for me to do....for various reasons LOL

I decided to get one of hard ones out of the way fast. Now, after I did it I was thinking gee, 'dirty' could have been as simple as using ink or paint, something I do every day but that isn't what came to mind once I decided to 'just do it'! It had been raining off and on last Friday and during a break, I ran out to the garden, pressed my hand into the mud and slapped it onto the page...then really smooshed it on there for good measure. When I looked at my hand, it was still caked with mud so I slammed it back down onto the facing page as well....It felt GOOD!!!! LOL My mom would have killed me if I had done this to a book as a kid! LOL
After washing my hands (cause mud in the journal is fine but all over my white recliner is NOT) I sat down and did this page of circles. I had bubbles on the brain. LOL

Yesterday I scratched my page...still raining which may have contributed to the subject matter...not really sure as I really didn't put much forethought into it, just picked up my exacto knife and started scratching.

Today I tackled poking holes in the page with a pencil. I worked from the back so as to not be distracted from the "holes" printed on the page. Took me forever as I was being a neat freak about it LOL

And finally, right before I began this blog, I opened up the back door and threw my journal (quite hard) against the nearest tree. Following the directions: Make a Sudden, Destructive, Unpredictable Movement with the Journal. It bent up the back cover and did some serious scuffing on one of the pages inside...nothing horrendous though so I may do some more unpredictable stuff in the future. :-)

That about covers my weekend...no "real" art was created LOL

Wreck This Journal

2009-04-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

The badbaby art group is going to do a "wreck this journal' swap. I have never done one of these and with all the stress in my life, I thought it would be great fun!

We will 'wreck' someone elses journal and then send it back but I thought I would like to have one to keep as well so I bought a copy of Keri Smith's book that started this craze.

This way I can play and get to keep it and remind myself of how I felt at the time and savor the memories LOL
Here is my journal, pristine and just home from the store! I haven't even cracked the spine yet (which is one of the instructions LOL)

For our swap journals, we need to buy a composition journal with at least 100 pages. I found one in a really obnoxious green that anyone would LOVE to wreck! HaHa We then put our own instructions on each page. I had no problems coming up with the first 40 or so. It took some deep thought for the next 40 and now I am struggling for the last 20. No problem though, I have until...um....late May? early June? I better go and find out!

I will keep you posted when I do some interesting wrecking on either this journal or the swap one. :-)

My other news is that although I miss my baby Tucker and will never ever forget him, I got a new cat this week.

She is completely different in both looks and personality!

Her name is Mignonette (min-yawn-et), Minnie for short. It means 'delicate'. She is very dainty! She is also very outgoing and loves EVERYONE! She picked me out at the Animal Shelter and they estimate that she is a year old.

She and Kitty (hubby's cat) are still working out the boundaries but seem to be getting closer every day.

Isn't she a cutie?

She now sports a silver, shimmery collar because she is such a princess!

A new True Colors journal

2009-04-26T09:29:00.001-07:00

This weekend I finally got around to working on Teresa's journal. I have had it for about a month now and just kept putting it off. The problem was, her color scheme was WAY outside my comfort zone. She chose colors I rarely use and NEVER use them together! (well I do use Red a lot but never with Bright Green and Orange!)

You have no idea how much I worried over this one! I flipped through the book looking at all the other artwork and don't get me wrong, it is wonderful....but it was just not my style.

Oh what to do?!

My brain just kept coming back to the strolling couple. (no clue who makes this stamp) I finally decided they needed to be strolling in a strange landscape. I really began longing for the UFO I carved years ago but the ex took that in the divorce....don't get me started on that issue! I painted their clothing with Twinkling H2os so they would shimmer.

So, the search began....not an unpleasant thing when you own over 3000 stamps.

I pulled out my new bare trees from Inkadinkado and turned them into brightly painted bushes. I stamped them on orange cardstock and then drew in the path with colored pencils.

The hills are a Fred B Mullett stamp (Menpachi to be exact). What, doesn't everyone use a fish to create hills?

I cut a stencil and used water-based oil pastel crayons to add some faint clouds.

The moon is from Tin Can Mail, she is colored with pencils as well.

The couple dancing on the clouds is from Emerald City Stamps. Their clothes are also painted with the Twinkling H2os.

I sat back and looked at the world I had created and have to say I really like it LOL But, I felt it needed something more. Alas, the chicken decided she needed to make an appearance...I just love her expression. (she hails from Art Gone Wild). I drew her sign and then stamped in the words 'wish you were here'.

Believe me when I say, this piece is much brighter in person LOL

Oh and don't you love that funky sky? I have had that sheet of paper for over 10 years. No idea what possessed me to buy it in the first place but it sure fit in great with this piece!

So, Teresa's book was set up so that you removed a page and arted up the front and the back...instead of the typical open book spread where both pages create one piece of artwork.

This was both a challenge and a relief. I didn't have to have one huge landscape, I could go in 2 completely different directions.

As I was browsing for stamps for page 1, I began pulling ideas for page 2...just in case something came to mind.

I grabbed the woman and the hands both of which I had just picked up on my last visit to the coast.

As I stared at the woman...hey, if you are going to be that size and stand like that you deserve to be stared at! I really wanted to put her in a mason jar...don't ask me why. But, the only jar I could find wasn't big enough. I have a bigger one but can't find it! I really need to reorganize my stamps (again!) But I did remember where my snowglobe was and she was a perfect fit!

So, I had the beginnings of an idea but how to proceed. I began the search for background paper and the first stack I picked up was the Once Upon A Time mat stack...what the heck...I found the mermaid paper and loved how her posture echoed that of my exercising? woman and the sparklies were all bright shimmery green!

I stamped my woman (VivaLasVegastamps) and painted her outfit with Twinkling H2os (of course! LOL). Next came the snowglobe (Rubber Stamps Inc). I stamped the globe on transparency film and the base on cardstock.

The sand is one of my first stamps and is over 20 years old...some stamps never go out of style! In all these years I have never needed to know who made that stamp so I never peeled off the price sticker (I paid $5.50 btw) until now because of course, the company name was under the sticker....it was from a company called Raindrops on Roses. Hmm, never heard of them LOL Anyway, the sand was stamped 3 times and layered around the woman's foot.

The hands come from Stamper's Anonymous. They come very close together on the stamp, I cut them apart after stamping and moved them farther apart to support the snowglobe.

I played with the idea of adding text but decided against it.

I know this second piece doesn't have any red or orange but my muse has been silent for such a long time that I figured if this was what she wanted to do then who was I to argue?! Besides, it made me smile and I think that is what was important for this piece. :-)

My Float Came Home

2009-04-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

My float arrived in the mail today! I was so excited I was giggling all the way back across the street, clutching the box tightly to my chest!

When you go to make your float they ask you what color you want....any color. No one told me I could only pick one color so I said, "blue and green". Daniel says, "ok, but we have 2 colors of blue....turquoise and cobalt". I told him I wanted both! He said that was no problem. Now all the people ahead of me picked just one color....guess I just like to be different. LOL If you watch the video you will see him laying out the piles of color.

What I found out a few minutes later was that when you pick a color they dump out a pile of colored chips. It is a mix of colors so in the green box was a really dark, clear emerald, a milky grass green, a light yellow-green and at least 1 or 2 more shades. so, by choosing 3 colors I was in reality choosing about 12-15 colors. Who knew?! LOL

Below is a view of the studio's mark stamped into the plug.

Blowing my own Glass Float!

2009-04-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a mini anniversary vacation over to the Oregon Coast.

While over there, I made hubby drive me up to Lincoln City to try my hand at glass blowing. (something I have never done before)

The Jennifer Sears Glass Studio offers you the opportunity to blow a float or paper weight with the help of one on one instruction.

My instructor, Daniel, was very patient and kept telling me repeatedly what a great job I was doing. I don't know if this was true or not but it sure made me feel like I was not a total doofus! LOL

I highly recommend, if you are ever in the vicinity of Lincoln City, to check it out. I had a blast!

Below is the video of my experience from start to finish. I will warn you, it is almost 15 minutes long AND because I had to reduce the file size so much to be able to show it online, the sound it a bit weird.....but if you have the patience and make it to the end, you will get to see my finished float. :-)

I don't currently have my float....as it turns out, when the float is finished, it is still something like 1200 degrees so they put them in a kiln and lower the temperature slowly so they don't crack or shatter. You could pick it up the following day or have it shipped. As we were going to be driving all the way down the coast, I opted to have it shipped. I should have it by either Saturday or next Monday. I will post a photo when it arrives.

True Colors swap - again

2009-03-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I had one of the books from the True Colors swap that I am in (before Christmas I think)

I just finished working on Nancy's "Neutrals with subtle pinks, blues and greens"

I browsed through my paper stash and found this "postcard" paper in my Photo Stack pack. I thought it fit the 'neutral' theme well and I love using writing as background.

I then began thinking about what would go with all those correspondences. What if someone was having a long-distance relationship?

So, I then began the search through my clip art cds for the perfect woman. I think she portrays a feeling of longing and hope.

The text is from Mahatma Ghandi: Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”

The butterflies were created in Photoshop Elements. They are from a set of butterfly brushes you can download for free here

I first created them in color then did a final layer in black to define the lines. I printed them onto transparency film and attached them to the pages by just their body using Crystal Lacquer.

Queen For A Day!

2009-03-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

The latest Bad Baby swap? A mini book. The theme? Queen For A Day. Oh Boy! Wouldn't I LOVE to be a queen for a day!!!!!!!

First, to make the book, go Here

I used a page from my Far East mat stack. It was a bit thick but with a lot of heavy use of the bone folder, I think it will be ok. I cut the 12x12 page down to 9x12. I wanted a bit more space to art up then a 8 1/2x11 page gave me.

This is my cover. All the women in my book are from StoneHouseStamps. This woman is colored completely with colored pencils.

Pages 1 and 2. The dresses on both of these women were colored with watercolor pencils. On everything else I used regular colored pencils.

Pages 3 and 4. Everything but their skin is watercolored.

Pages 5 and 6, again, everything but her skin is watercolored. The bamboo and dragonfly are both from VivaLasVegaStamps.

I thought this was such a fun project. I was able to complete the entire thing in just a few hours. Now I have to send it off and will received someone else's ideas of what it means to be Queen for the Day.

April Showers

2009-03-14T22:02:00.001-07:00

I am still trying to get caught up on my sleep after 'springing forward' last weekend and can hardly keep my eyes open but I just had the urge to stamp....so I did!

A few weeks back (a couple days after Tucker died) I bought a stamp of a silhouette of a line of bare trees. It just had a cold, empty feeling to it....kind of like how I was feeling....and I thought it would be great for a winter scene (which I am sure it will). But this evening, I looked at it and it demanded to be a row of Cherry Blossoms. (I'll bet it is going to be great in the fall too!)

I stamped my trees (Inkadinkado) in black in on a scrap of one of my Far East background papers. I then stippled on rose acrylics followed by pink and finally a tiny bit of white. I like how the texture of the paper shows on the trunks, I think it makes them have a softer feel, not so stark.

I used more of that Chinese newspaper, torn into pieces, for my ground. I brushed the edges with various shades of green water color pencil.

I stamped the girl (StoneHouseStamps) onto plain white cardstock (actually I use unruled index cards for these types of things--no visible texture, nice and white and a good weight).

I colored her using regular and water color pencils.

She was attached to the card using foam tape so she would stand out.

Retirement Card

2009-03-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

A friend at work is retiring in a couple weeks (lucky girl!) so I made her a card.

This is the digital collage I put on the front of the card.

The "postage" frame is part of the Photoshop Elements 5.0 goodies. :-)

I found the champagne bottle in a Dover clipart book, scanned it, then did a light 'wash' over it to give it a tint.

The banner at the top is part of the Scrapbooking items already in Elements, I just added the text and although it is hard to see here, did a little shading where the ribbon bends to give it depth. Plus I added a drop shadow.

Happy Retirement Marsha!!!!!

Addie the Math Fairy

2009-03-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

I took time the last couple nights to just play!

So here is Addie the Math Fairy....sure could have used her when I was in school!!!!!!

The background is a page from a child's math book (from an ephemera cd). To get the "creases" in the paper, I overlaid a layer of a man's handkerchief (from another ephemera cd) that had fold lines in it then decreased the opacity.

The girl and the bird were also from cds. I made separate layers for the girls dress and bow so I could color them.

Her wings are "brushes" that I added to a separate layer and then tinted.

The numbers came from my Scrapbook Factory Deluxe program.

As you can see, I was grabbing stuff from all over!

I had a blast messing around and trying out new things!

Dark to Light

2009-03-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

I kicked my husband out of the house this morning so that I could have peace, quiet and alone time at my art desk.

I had a few ideas floating in my head and a couple new stamps on my desk.

I have been feeling pretty low lately and after talking to my friend Diane, I want to try to really focus on positive things when the negativity starts swirling around in my brain.

This piece came out of that. It works from dark to light across the board.

I stamped the asian beauty (StoneHouseStamps) with permanent ink and colored her with pencils. She is an odd stamp in that her image is just cut off straight on both sides so I had to "hide" that if I wanted to use her in the middle of the piece. I found, in my stash, the gorgeous scrap of Japanese paper - grays, tans, gold, silver.

I had to pull out a tool that I have not used in years and years....my stamp positioner! Do they even make those any more? I had purchased the "Japanese Maple" stamp (Penny Black) last week and was dying to try it out. I wanted the shadows from the branch to fall across the woman's face.

As you can see, I am still pulling out that ancient Chinese newspaper. I swear, I could use pieces of it every day and it would still be around 10 years from now LOL

The red background paper is from the Far East Mat Stack....lots of lovely papers in that assortment!

I added the swirly dragonfly (Magenta) and chop (Asian Woods) to the upper right corner. I lastly stamped the postage stamp from Technique Tuesday and colored with with watercolor pencils. Then I cut it out....all those little dents! and glued it to the lower right corner.

Now, to bring it all together -- I painted the leaves with Twinkling H2Os. (love those things!!!!) leaving the leaf shadows just plain ink. Using Walnut Stain Distress Ink, I darkened the left side of the piece. and finally, using Frost White Pigment Ink, I rubbed the entire right side.

It was so nice to be able to just sit and create. Now to find a place to display it (or anything else!) Someday I will post a photo of my art room. I have a friend that says it makes her claustrophobic as there is not a single inch of open space on the walls (or my desk top LOL)

Ode to Annette

2009-03-02T19:03:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, while I was sick for a week with the flu, I spent a lot of time watching classic movies on tv.

One of those movies was Million Dollar Mermaid. It is the story of Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman. It is a gorgous Esther Williams movie!

The story of Annette Kellerman was a facinating one. A huge turning point for her career was when she was arrested, during a publicity stunt, for indecent exposure on a beach. She was wearing a one piece swimming suit.

If you get the chance, rent the movie....the scenes in the Hippodrome are fabulous!

This piece is another scrap of paneling from our bathroom remodel. I used porcelain crackle on it. When it was dry I rubbed it with a rough cloth and took off the crackles. I then used antiquing gel to give it a brown stain, darker at the bottom and getting lighter toward the top.

The quote is from a newspaper story of the trial as is the photo of Annette standing on the beach.

The stamp is from Tin Can Mail and looks as if it too could be Miss Kellerman. I colored it with Twinkling H2Os. I love the rich colors and shimmer of mica.

Inchies!

2009-02-15T10:01:00.001-08:00

I could never understand the facination with Inchies. I just couldn't see why anyone would want to work on something so small.

Then, for no reason I can comprehend, I wanted to make some. Don't ask me why! I also knew I did NOT want to hand cut all those squares so I bought an Inch punch before Christmas.

I toyed with the idea for a while and then put it on the back burner as I cared for my baby. But I finally jumped in....and hosted a swap!

I figured the best way to insure that I actually made some Inchies was to host a swap....then I HAD to finish them! :-)

The theme is flowers.

I worked on them all this week. It took mind off of Tucker....sort of. He would have loved this swap as he LOVED to help with all my projects and the smaller the pieces the more fun he had playing with them. This was a project right up his alley! :-)

It was nice to be able to create and remember Tucker in a good way.

One very odd thing. The majority of colors I used were Purple, Yellow and Pink....colors I am not wild about and as far as Yellow....Hate! Very Strange LOL

2009-02-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

It has been over a week since I have posted anything.

My last post was on Feb. 4. On Friday, February 6, my beloved little Tucker lost his battle with kidney disease. It was the hardest thing I have had to endure, letting him go.

He was such a huge part of my life. I talked to him constantly (and he listened and replied). I keep expecting to see him peeking around the corner at me or sitting in his bed when I turn around.

Last night I was eating ice cream and did what I always do, I called for him to join me.

It is so hard trying to adjust to him being gone. Hopefully the pain and loneliness will subside.

2009-02-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

Things have been really stressful around here. My poor little baby, Tucker, is sick and that takes all my thoughts and energy worrying about him.

I finally realized I needed to at least try to create....something.

I found some wood scraps in the garage, paneling left over from our bathroom remodel of 2 years ago. I had hubby cut it into usable pieces and I sat myself down at my desk.

The first one is a house shape. It is about 3 1/2 inches tall (plus wire hanger). I painted it off white and coated it with Porcelain Crackle. When the crackle had dried, I rubbed on some Walnut Distress ink and then wiped off the excess. When you get really close you can see the cracks. Unfortunately, my macro isn't working right so I couldn't get that close. I guess I need to dig out my bigger camera and charge up those batteries!

The woman came from the Stage Beauties CD from enchantedmercantile.com The music (Oxford Impression) was stamped in black permanent ink and rubbed off a bit before it was completely dry. The typewriter key font is from Nostalgiques.

I added the wire and buttons both as a hanger and as a fun addition.

This one is about 4 1/2 inches tall (plus wire hanger). The Chinese writing is from an old newspaper. I used Mod Podge to glue it down and then washed red acrylics over the whole thing. When that had dried, I rubbed Walnut Distress ink all over rubbing some off in places. The bamboo is stamped with chalk ink. The "stamp" and cancellation were also stamped with chalk inks. The women are from another CD from Enchanted Mercantile, Vintage Ephemera Vol.1.

This one took me a lot longer as I kept changing my mind about what I wanted but the farther along I got the more I liked it. There is even a little sparkle, I tried out my Glimmer Mists before I added the women. It is very subtle and hardly noticeable until you tilt it just the right way LOL

Learning Cake Decorating

2009-01-27T18:17:00.001-08:00

I have wanted to learn cake decorating for a long time. Who wouldn't want to be able to make all those gorgeous (and edible) flowers?!

My mom, knowing this about me, gave me all kinds of goodies to get me started on my way. Thanks Mom!!!!

So, this past weekend, I finally got up the nerve to start. I was going to just practice on a plain vinyl cutting board but hubby said, "No, if you are making things with icing, then they are edible and we are going to eat them". Hmm

Thus, I had to back up and make cupcakes first LOL

I thought I would start out simple...I chose to try the shell border. I did pretty good with this. I mean, how big of a border can you have on a cupcake? LOL

After several bordered cupcakes, I decided I was ready to move on. Keeping the same tip...did I mention I am lazy and don't like to get my hands messy?...I tried my hand at rosettes.

Next came leaves. Who has flowers without leaves? Well, possibly me LOL I finally got the hang of getting the leaf shape BUT all my leaves have 2 tips...not the traditional tree-type single tip. Guess I need to practice more.....or tell eveyone that I pruned before they arrived!

Mary, who knows how to decorate cakes, is probably going to read this blog and die laughing! LOL

Mickey Birthday Card

2009-01-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

This week my nephew turned 16 and being right on top of things like I usually am, I just finished making his card. Oh well, better late than never. LOL

Santa brought me the Mickey and Friends cartridge for my Cricut and I thought it would be fun to make a Mickey birthday card.

I made Mickey at the 4" setting. I then used the George cartridge for the numbers at 2.5". The diamond background is a stamp from Cards n Stamps stamped with Dark Peony Colorbox Chalk ink. I had a blast making this card. It was fun to add each piece and see Mickey come to life!

Here is a close-up of Mickey. Isn't he cute?

This is the inside. The car is called ToonCar from the Mickey cartridge, cut at 3" setting. I had originally planned on a red car but I had this metallic black cardstock on my shelf and thought it would make a very cool car. I was right. :-) So, we have a sleek black car with maroon seats....not bad, huh?! The sign post is also from Mickey. There are so many fun elements on that cartridge, more than just the characters!

Check out this car close up! It really does have a sheen to it!

Monday, I mail off the card, he should get it by Thursday and being a 16 year old boy, it will be in the trash by Friday LOL Oh well! Such is life. :-)

Altered Ancestors

2009-01-05T17:51:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine is hosting an altered cabinet card swap in the BadBaby yahoo group.

The theme is "My Silly and Serious Ancestors, Real or Not"

This is NOT one of my ancestors but it IS one of my husband's. It is his great grandfather Frederick Furry, he was a baby when his parents made the trip across the country in a covered wagon.

Maybe it was those early memories of being rocked to sleep in a Prairie Schooner that created those pirate dreams LOL

So, here is my creation for the swap, I hope Grandpa Fred approves. :-)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T09:51:00.001-08:00

So, here we are in 2009! I am truly hoping and praying it is better than 2008!!!!!!!

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't been posting for a while. It was 2 weeks into November before I even remembered to change my header and get rid of that Thanksgiving turkey! LOL Guess I better get on the ball and get that tree taken down! :-)

I haven't been doing much art-wise. I spent most of December baking and shopping (as it should be LOL) I did however get one project done. I completed True Colors journal #3. The theme was Cool Blues and White (with one accent color if you want).

Since it was December AND we actually had snow on the ground for a couple days, I did a winter scene. I love this background paper! I found it in a clearance bin last summer and now I wish I had bought more as I used both pieces for this project. This book is larger than most, it is 12x12! Nice to get to work on a larger format for a change but I still like the small books better. :-)

First I painted the snow on the ground using acrylic paints, I did both pages at the same time so the snow would line up right. Next I paint the tree onto the background paper. I used a large fabric painting brush and pounced the tree onto the paper. After the tree was dry, I added snowflake eyelets all around with a large pewter snowflake for a tree topper. Then I glued the page into the book.

Next, I worked on the right hand page. I wanted to be able to add some sort of writing to that page. I wrote a little poem (poetry is NOT my strong suite!) and then dry-brushed on some large snowballs to hold the words. I used a fine line sharpie for all the writing.. Again, once all the paint was dry, I added more snowflake eyelets. Then I glued down that page into the book.

Finally I did some journaling across the bottom of the pages.....all done!

You can see the eyelets better in this close up of the left page.

Here you can read my attempt at poetry LOL

More True Colors

2008-10-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

I worked on my second True Colors journal today.

This one made me step WAY outside my comfort zone, using colors I rarely, if ever even think about. The theme? Lime Green, Teal/Aqua and Chocolate Brown. This was very tough!

I sat with the book lying in my lap for hours. I kept staring at the colors and trying to mentally compose. I was a complete blank.

Then, it was very late, I was very tired, and a commercial came on TV. Or at least I think it was a commercial but maybe it was a dream since I haven't seen it since AND I have no idea what they were selling. But it was dancing, lime green pears....Ok, maybe is WAS a dream LOL

I found an awesome green paper with some teal dry-brushing in spots. It was a muted version of the lime green but with the "antiquing" that is also part of the design it sort of incorporated all the colors. This became my background for the left page.

I have really been in a painting mood and with paint I can create any color I need. I painted the pear using acrylics.

Now for the right page. I have had the background paper for quite some time. It reminds me of an old book cover. It also has muted teals and went very well with the lime. The lower portion is actually the back of some really odd colored Christmas paper LOL It is sort of like peeling paint but in just a small portion, made the perfect floor. Plus, the under color of "paint" was a light green.

Using clip art cds, I created the doll with the pear costume. And also found her fellow party-goers.

For all the uncertainty that I went through, I have to say that I really like the final outcome. I hope Anne does as well.

Project in the Works

2008-10-03T19:46:00.001-07:00

My friend Pam saw a very neat project online. It was a handmade book and matching tote. They had little painted girls on the fronts.

I have no book making experience but Pam has made tons!

My forte is painting! So, she is making the books and I painted the little girls.

The ones with plain backgrounds were my first attempts.
I couldn't make little animals without including Tucker! Isn't he the cutest little cat ever? Of course, that is definitely not me LOL I am not even close to blond!

Swapping ATCs

2008-10-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

I had a friend ask me to do a one on one Halloween ATC swap. Since I love Halloween and ATCs I readily agreed!

I found the women on some of my clip art cds. This first one didn't really look scary but just had an odd demeanor about her...and talk about flat chested! LOL

The numbers are from Close to My Heart. The spider is from Stampin Up.

Now this second one I really LOVE! Maybe I am just strange...my husband did not "get it" at all LOL

I seriously thought of keeping it for myself but it is now in the envelope, sealed and ready to go...tomorrow. Still time to grab it back out LOL

I stamped clouds on the black background because is seemed sooo blah with nothing there. The upper cloud is actually upside down (it is a rain cloud with rain coming down) from ImaginAir (am I the only one that misses that company?!) The other clouds are from Beeswax.

I found that full moon on the internet several years ago and filed it away...it is really a HUGE image! And with Photoshop it is so easy to change the color to suit any mood.

I tucked the Coppertone bottle in her hand and hubby thought I was completely insane. LOL

Hmm, I may be ripping that envelope open yet!

Last Night was a GREAT Night!

2008-09-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

I finished work at 1:45 and by 2:15 I was deeply engrossed in art! I worked nonstop for hours. I totally lost track of time. It was sooooo great!!!! I didn't look up at the clock until my back started hurting and then realized I had been hard at work for 4 hours!

I had received the final altered book from that round robin. The theme seems to be oceans/beaches. Being an ocean lover this just called to me.

It actually arrived during my lunch break so I spent much of the rest of my work day mentally picking out stamps to use.

I began by painting the left page with acrylics. I then painted a piece of paper the same way to use on the right side. I wanted to preserve the photo of the woman holding the shell which is part of the book. I tore out the hole for this image to show, I wanted it to be a bit rough.

I then began stamping onto the painted pages. The moon and sun are stamped directly into the book. The moon is from Inkadinkado and the sun from Custer's Last Stamp. I used Prismacolor pencils so I could get nice, rich coverage over the paint.

I stamped the mermaid (JudiKins) on paper, colored her skin with pencils and then used Twinkling H2Os for everything else. I love the shimmer.

When I put her on the page she needed something....friends? So, I stamped the fish from Fred Mullet.

It is a real star fish in the bottom corner and some pearlized beads in the upper right.

After dinner, it was back to the art desk! I am participating in a Puffy Heart swap this month. We have to make 3 hearts. These were fun! I pulled from my scraps tucked into the cracks of my shelves! And I hit the button stash....I love buttons! I think my favorite is the one with the pink buttons. I had purchased that flower applique many years ago for a different project and then ended up not using it. I pull it out frequently but until now it just kept ending up back in the box. It looks so feminine.

Color Combos and True Colors

2008-09-20T20:09:00.001-07:00

The Color Combo swap in the BadBaby group ended this month. A year of color combinations. I sent in 4 pages every month and kept one of my own for myself making a total of 60 pages! Plus the front cover I created for a whopping 61 pages!!!!

Below are a couple pictures of the finished book. The first is the book showing the front cover. This is as "closed" as it gets!

Here is a view from the top. Doesn't it have a lovely rainbow effect?

I used a Zutter Bind It All to hold it together.

I just began a True Colors journal round robin in the Eccentric Pastiche group. I received the first book today. The color theme is "blue". I didn't want to just do a totally blue page so after much thought I decided on bluebirds.

I had a sheet of heavy scrapbook paper with music on it. I painted the birds directly onto the paper using acrylics. I did each one individually and when I was done I put them side by side and found out the branches met exactly forming one complete branch....couldn't have matched them up that well if I had tried!

Below are close up photos of each bird.

Fabric Postcards!

2008-09-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I gave in and joined the swap! What can I say, I am weak! LOL

The theme is "Flowers". I was going to paint some flowers on muslin and as I was browsing through my photos looking for ideas I thought....Why don't I just print some of my flower photos onto fabric? So, I did!

Isn't this pink rose beautiful? It grows in my front yard. I ran out after a light rain and captured the petals still covered with droplets.

As I have stated before, I love fall. So how could I not do a fall card? These sunflowers grow at the local pumpkin patch (Pheasant Fields Farm). I take lots of sunflower pictures every year. They are the only yellow flowers I like.

This tulip came up out of nowhere this past spring. We figure the bulbs must have been dormant for years and when we dug up the entire back yard and moved all the dirt around they got rejuvenated! Such a beautiful surprise!

On the first card I used cotton batting but on the other 2 I used a plain 4x6 index card as the stablizer. I think I like the feel of the card better but like the "quilt" quality the batting creates. I wonder which the post office will prefer.

Halloween is coming!

2008-09-12T16:52:00.001-07:00

I have tons of Halloween stamps! This weekend I plan on getting ALL of them out and playing!!!!

As I was digging through my Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving stamp box today, I came across these oldies but goodies.

The large skeleton is one I carved over 20 years ago. I challenged myself to fit a full skeleton onto a 2x3 inch carving block with as little waste as possible. (thus the odd pose). I stamped him with white pigment ink but it came out looking light and chalky so I drew over the lines with a silver gel pen then highlighted him with a white pencil.

The dancing skellies in the background have been living with me for a long time too. The block says 1988 PSX! They are stamped in Brilliance Cosmic Copper. Aren't they cute?

The stamped leaves are from Fiskars.

And finally, some leaf eyelets.

ATC #3

2008-09-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my third Halloween ATC that was still drying last night when I posted the others.

I used another photo from one of my clip art cds. The web was drawn on by hand with a fine line sharpie.

The jack o lantern is part of a Stampin Up stamp. The woman is standing "in" the pumpkin but once I added her skirt (which is made of feathers BTW) it looks like he got a fright when he looked up her dress LOL

The woman is holding the spider by his web. The spider is also from Stampin Up.

It is almost FALL!!

2008-09-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

I love Fall. The leaves, the brisk air and PUMPKINS!!!!!!
And I love the color orange (but only at this time of year LOL)

I would have pumpkins sitting around my house all year round if hubby would let me! Something about the shape. I have lots of artificial ones...ceramic, wood, plastic...you name it! And come fall, I wander happily through every pumpkin patch in the valley on my quest for the perfect pumpkin. I usually end up with at least 6 or 7 real pumpkins. A couple get carved into intricate works of art for Halloween but the rest get to live out their days being enjoyed in their natural state.

So, as we make our way to the first day of Autumn, I am in the mood to create!

I was flipping through the Holidays Somerset Studio and the Halloween bug bit.

I made 3 Halloween ATCs. Two are here, the third needed some extra goodies and is now drying.

On this first one, I stamped Martha Stewart's Halloween fence. I then stamped the ghost from Fiskars Halloween set. The tombstone is from Stampin Up and the pumpkin on the fence from Fiskars. These were both stamped on paper, cut out and glued down.

Boo! is from an ancient Inkadinkado set that is over 20 years old. It is attached with a bat eyelet.

Miss Spooky was fun. I printed her from a clip art cd. I used Distress crackle paint for the first time. It is the beige background color. It was much easier than doing traditional crackle but the cracks are a lot smaller than I expected. I'm not sure which I prefer...traditional or this new paint. I rubbed walnut distress ink over the cracks and that made them stand out a bit better.

The bats and "spooky" are both from Fiskars (I bought the set last year after Halloween and never got a chance to use it). The moon is from When the Rubber Hits the Road.

Fabric Postcards?

2008-09-08T20:41:00.001-07:00

Fabric postcards seem to be the "in" thing right now. You can find them posted with tutorials on the web and lots of groups are now participating in swaps.

I thought I would give one a try.

This would have been much easier if my back wasn't hurting and I could have lifted my sewing machine up onto my desk. Instead mine is a combo of hand stitching and glue. But, since I really don't plan on mailing mine it didn't have to be that sturdy.

I stamped my image (Embossing Arts) on muslin using permanent ink and then colored her with pencils.

I then hand stitched the lace on her dress following some of the lines on the stamp.

I stitched this panel onto a blue background fabric and then glued the white lace around the edge.

I used a piece of chip board for my stablizer.

I finished it off with another piece of muslin on the back and a "stamp" created on muslin using my printer.

I am happy with the results and have a feeling that once I get that machine up on my desk I may be making more.

What to do with a Visor?!

2008-09-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

I went to my company's picnic a couple months ago and among the goodies they gave us was this plain white visor.

Now, I rarely wear a hat and NEVER wear a visor. My hubby took one look at it and said, "you're gonna alter it aren't you?" He knows me soooo well LOL

I really wasn't sure what would work on a visor. I decided to try stamping with permanent ink. I was surprised at how well the ink adhered to the fabric surface. I then heat set the ink with my embossing gun just to make sure it didn't smear when I colored the images.

Next came the dilemma of what to use for color. I was going to use paint but sometimes, if the fabric is too porous, the paint will bleed. Plus, with a chipboard insert in the visor I wasn't sure exactly what would happen if it got too wet. I finally decided to try colored pencils. Hey, it was a free visor....I am not out any expense!

The pencils worked great! I was able to blend and shade almost as easy as if I had been using paper. I like the soft, watercolor effect they created.

I am still trying to decide if I want to add more to the brim but for now I am done.