Day 3

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!

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!

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!

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

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?

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!