Rainy Day Fun

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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...

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

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!