Finished at last!

I'm finally free of the podiatrist office after 4 months of having to take it easy on my feet.  Yay!  Also finished my knee injections this week so I've been able to concentrate more on finishing the projects I started a couple of weeks ago. 

The first is to be a book for a dear friend who hasn't been very well.   I met a wonderful group of women when I first discovered the internet and was looking to learn more about rubber stamping.   Several of us formed a smaller group that we call the "Stamping Sisters" in 1999.  We shared ideas, tips and would do various projects that we'd send to each other or do round robin style.  It was a lot of fun but over time life happened and we were able to do less and less together.  We all still stay in touch even if we can't create things together the way we did.  Debbie, the one I'm making the book for hasn't been able to share in as much because of her health and limited access to the internet.  This book will have a compilation of art from different members as well as some of our online postings so that she can catch up on new things as well as remember some of our old times. 

The front and back cover of Deb's book has layers built up using embossing paste, stencils, paints and sprays.  I used the "Art" and "Harlequin" stencils from Crafters Workshop in the background of the front and back as well as various die cuts.  The writing is a little hard to see in the picture.

This is the completed book box that I showed the drawer from in my last blog post.  The front is covered using Tim Holtz embossing pads, some die cuts and embellishments.  The faux pages are done using Tim's Journeyman tissue tape. This is going to a great friend who's a hot rod enthusiast.  Beyond their looks, cars are not my "thing".  I don't get into all that intricate detailing of how they work and what goes on inside.  I tried to include engine parts but couldn't get them to stay glued in place properly so I'm hoping I did this well enough to fit the theme.  

The spine with the car handle has been painted and finished off as well.

It feels good to have accomplished a completed project as well as remembered to blog it within it's actual time frame.   Miracles DO happen. 

Happy New Year!!!

Can it really be 2014 already?  Boy the time sure has flown.  I have spent the past 3 months recuperating from my foot surgery and being told to stay off my feet as much as possible.  Easier said then done. Yesterday I started injection therapy on my knees. Talk about fun time...NOT!

I hope this will be a healthier and more productive year. Which happens to be a couple of my goals for the year.

Click your gold heels together and make things happen!

Since I had to take it easy I spent New Years Eve working on some ATC's.  

Time Flies!

These are a couple of my first drafts.  I haven't put the rest together yet.  Not sure if I will keep them this way or change them up.  I'm terrible at making things look the same anyway.  I don't think I've ever made any two things look exactly alike even when I've tried.  It frustrates me when I'm trying to do projects that have to be the same because they're going out to people for a challenge or something.  But I guess that's what makes me different.

I've also been working on another book box for a great friend and a compilation book for another dear friend that hasn't been well.  I'm hoping to get a lot more projects done this year as well as blogging more. Wish me luck!

The car is a drawer pull for the box I'm making.

Added some texture to this cover.  Will add lots more soon.

These are in their very raw stages so they don't look too great right now.  Hopefully they'll be much more impressive in the days to come.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy ending to 2013 and that the new year will be magical for all!

Laid Up

"Do not walk unless necessary and no more than 2 minute intervals" and "Keep your leg elevated and do nothing".

This has been my existence for the past couple of weeks after having foot surgery.  I thought I would spend it catching up on all the books I have piling up to read but nope... pain meds tend to make me loopy so concentrating hasn't been my strong point of late.  Actually that doesn't sound too much off from my regular days come to think of it.

Last week I had to go in for x-rays and change the bandages on my foot.  Normally I Would probably enjoy the thought of Christmas being near and having a candy cane looking piece of metal stuck in my foot but I cannot wait until I get that blasted pin out.  I now have the greatest of sympathy for anyone that has any major work done on their feet.  My procedure was relatively simple and I think I dealt with my back surgeries better than this.  The hook part is sticking out of the top of my foot and creates all sorts of unnecessary pain.

In complete honesty I did think I'd be able to hobble around and do more than this.  I suppose if I had been better organized with my craft room I could have but trying to find anything I'm looking for in 2 minutes ain't happenin'.   Thanks to a lovely friend I've been receiving get well cards and postcards every few days to cheer and motivate me along with positive emails.  I'm very grateful for that as I think I would have been in a much more depressed state right now.

I received some Halloween dies and managed to get some die cutting done along with writing up plans for future creations.  Halloween is so close and I just L.O.V.E. the goodies that come out this time of year.  I've been drooling over some of the stuff I've been seeing at various sites!

Isn't this a cool set of stamps by Paper Artsy?

I adore this stamp by Viva Las Vegas Stamps! Isn't it the cutest?

I'm really hoping to get more done this year.  I seem to get so behind every year but this has been one of my more productive ones.  I guess we shall see.  With my hands getting worse I am at the use it or lose it stage and better get to using.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Yearly update

At this point I guess my blog is more like a yearly update than a daily, weekly or monthly.  I keep thinking I should post about different things as they happen but my mind wanders and I always end up opposite where I planned to be.  This is why it takes me forever to do things.  I can go online to write an email and end up somewhere totally off the beaten path.

This has been a pretty up and down year.  I think a lot of people could say that about most years lately.  So much is going on in the world and the news seems to have less and less good things in it.

Part of my reasoning for finally posting is I needed a place to link one of my newest creations.  This past month I took a class called Book of Secrets by Andy Skinner.  I just LOVE his work and so happy to be able to take one of his online courses.  My dream would be to actually take a class face to face. Hopefully now that he is with DecoArt he will be making some appearances in the U.S. and somewhere nearby.

This is a little run down on my book.  The book is a wooden box with hidden drawer. It starts off looking pretty odd when you first place your bits and pieces but after all the painting and additions it really is a remarkable difference.

Side view.  Tim Holtz paper tape used to simulate pages.

Front of Book.  

Back of the book is painted and uses stamps by Andy Skinner and
Viva Las Vegas Stamps.  The book spine is a hidden drawer.

There is an amazing artist called France Papillon who shared a tutorial of how she made a faux metal box from a discarded medicine box she had.  The link to instructions is HERE if you're interested in making your own.  She is also a Stampotique designer, a company who's stamps I just love.  They have some very unusual and unique designs as well as traditional.

Recycled medicine box into a faux metal box.

My friend Cindyann sent me a Dylussions journal along with a instruction booklet by Dyan Reavely which she had signed for my birthday.  Cindyann asked if I would join her in doing the various techniques Dyan had taught her in class and she would help me via e-mail (Since she lives several states away).  Techniques similar to the instructions in the booklet she sent me so I had a lot to go by.  With a bit of nudging this seems to have been just the push I needed to get started on creating again.  I haven't done as much as I'd like but I have done way more playing than I have in years.  For this I'm really grateful.

Dyan signing my book.

Dylusions sprays and images

Page in my journal using some of Dyan's techniques mixed in with some
  Kate Crane techniques. They are similar in style and often work together
 in UK workshops at Dyan's store Art From The Heart.
I've followed Kate's work for quite some years now so some of the things
Dyan has been teaching were familiar to me.
Through these ladies I have discovered other  awesome artists
 such as France Papillon and Kaz Hall.
I really love them all!

Background page using Dyan's spray inks, dish soap bubbles and stencils.

Playing around with some new stamps and crime scene tape.

Several months ago I joined a group called Smeared and Smudged.  Stampotique carries some unusual images and they have a facebook group that conducts challenges using their images.   By visiting some of the members blogs to see their other works I saw that many of them had the same quirky taste I have.  A lot of these people also seemed to belong to a group that held weekly and monthly challenges like the 31 Days of Halloween that is going on now.  That group turned out to be Smeared and Smudged.  They also have a blog called Smudgy Antics that sponsors new challenges every other Monday with a different theme.
Every month there is a image challenge and August was the fairey below.  I sat her on the Tim Holtz heart with wings stamp then added teeth and eyes to make it look more gruesome.

Playing with the Image challenge for Smeared and Smudged.   

I have found a lot of interesting inspiration over the past months and hope to find a lot more in the months to come.     I will be taking Andy Skinner's Timeworn class that starts Sept 6th. but unfortunately I may have to start late because I'm having foot surgery on the 4th and won't be able to do much for a few days.  I'm hoping that there won't be much pain so I can be up and about sooner.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope everyone is having a good summer despite the heat and weird weather.

Well that year went by fast

I can't believe it's already Halloween.  It seems like we just finished the last holidays.  It's been sort of a roller coaster year for me but I really had no idea it had been this long since my last post.  

In February my good friend, Patti, had a brain aneurysm which was totally unexpected.  She lives all the way across the country by herself so we're all thankful her son had been visiting that week so he was able to get her to the hospital.  She just thought she was having bad headaches and wouldn't have gone otherwise.  She made quite the comeback after surgery and was eager to get back to work.   

There have also been several breakups/divorces among family and friends this year.  It's really a sad thing to happen, especially when the break up is a bad one.  I hate being in the middle of those and this time it was with my brother in law and his wife.  It was brutal and I think my brother in law feels we should have ditched his now ex too.  I can't be mean and unfriendly with someone who's done nothing to me but I guess some people think otherwise.

Several deaths occupied my 2012 as I'm sure it did many people.  One was of a good friend from my high school years.  He was gone within months of his diagnosis.  I've known the family since I was 5 years old and his sister has been one of my best friends for many of those years.  It was heartbreaking to feel the anguish and pain she experienced trying to cope day to day.   My husband has not been well for quite a long time now and I feel he's giving up on trying to get better so every person's loss drives home that this could be me next and it scares me to death.  I envy people that are strong and can go on despite tragedy and loss.  I am not a strong person anymore.

On the upside, today is Halloween!  One of my favourite times of year even though this post is not exactly cheerful.  I hadn't realized until recently that I gradually stopped celebrating Halloween around the time my father died.  It must be some type of psychological thing since today was also his birthday.  I still love the day even though I don't decorate and party like I use to.  I'm just too warped to stop liking it I guess.

I have done a few creative things this year.  These are some of what I've done in the past few months.  

I used some Viva Las Vegas Stamps on this ATC

This was for a origami crane challenge in a art abandonment group.
I left them along with a pocket calendar at our local Oncology center.

This was for a Poe challenge.  I used rivet embossing on a piece
of copper metal sheet.  I cut pairs of eyes out and placed them
behind pieces of film ribbon then attached them to the card.

I used the Tim Holtz bird and cage die for this one.
I cut the cage and used the upper portion as a vase type
vessel and put grassy shreds inside it to puff it out a bit. 

This is my first attempt at using digital graphics.
The bat girl is from Tiddly Inks.  I coloured and cut her out
then added it to this digitally coloured background then
added the words and moon embellishment.

I made this Halloween tag as a make and take
from the Collective Journey scrapbook store in
Redlands, CA

I thank those of you who are nice enough to visit me and hope you have a happy and safe holiday.  My prayers are with those of you back east facing the disasters of  hurricane Sandy.

Practice Practice Practice

I've started learning to work with my lettering to be able to use them better within artwork.  I hate my printing and get so discouraged when I have to incorporate anything handwritten so I've started to do something about it.  I am working with Rhomany at Willowing,com to learn some of her whimsical word styles.   To start with we are making a basic font with our natural handwriting and then embellishing it to something we like better.  The assignment was much harder than I expected.  I am also finding that I am quite dysfunctional at making anything look the same twice even when it comes to my writing.  I don't think I have ever made anything identical in my life.  There is always something different from one piece to the next be it obvious or not.

Our first project required writing with 2 pencils at once then blocking and tweaking the letters a bit to fancy them up and then colour them in.  Once I realized that writing my name with 2 pencils was just as agonizing as writing with 1 I changed my word and managed to do a little better.

Week 1

Another thing we are to learn is blending colours.  Naturally I couldn't find the coloured pencils I needed so I made do with what I could find.  I guess it's not too bad for a beginner but you can see why I dislike my writing from the sample.  Hopefully I get better with time.  Practice and Patience are two of my weak points so this should do me good if I live through it.

I haven't mentioned Jake in awhile.  He is such a character and has brought so many smiles to us.  He is constantly finding new places to hide or nap.  He has little get away retreats all over the house.  His most recent has been a tent on the couch.  I had draped a blanket I'd received at Christmas on the couch and when I went to move it I heard a light squeak underneath.  Since then I left the blanket where it was and poofed it up more like a tent.  Jake will either lay on top of it or he jumps up on the armrest then slips under the blanket and snuggles up inside.

Jake peeking out from under his tent blanket.

Sometimes I'll lift part of the blanket up to peek inside and he'll grab the edge and pull it back down.  I never thought I could be a cat person but I guess you can never say never because you just don't know what will come into your life and change your whole perspective on things.

Today is National Margarita Day so I hope everyone is enjoying it, drinks or not.

I'm Baaack! I think....

There is only a couple of weeks until Valentine's Day.  How did that happen?  I swear every year seems to go faster and I get less accomplished.   I spent so much time in medical offices throughout December and January just to find out I'm normally abnormal.   Luckily it's over with for the most part and I can get back to my life of procrastination.  

I hope everyone is kicking off the New Year healthy and happy.  I have a few friends and family members that are going through major health and/or personal struggles and I pray that they will be resolved along with anyone else out there who is going through a difficult time.  The New Year is suppose to be a time of fresh starts but it's been a hard road for many with the economy being the way it has been.  I hope that this year will show us improvements that will make our lives better as time progresses. 

I  manage to do a little creating over the past few months.  Most recently I have been crocheting these little hearts pictured below.  I think they are so darling.  I tied 3 together with a bow using pieces of yarn then adding tiny roses at the edges.

Crochet hearts swag sewn together and embellished with small roses.

Most of my creations have been variations of ATC's.  I wanted to see how the look of corrugated cardboard as a base for my ATC's would be so I did a few like these below.

My cousin Kathy sent me some small stones and beach glass from her back yard (The Pacific Ocean) and I put some together on a very small canvas with easel.  I used rub off letters on the sea glass to spell out the word LOVE.   

A little shrine to my parents using a picture of  when they first got together.

This is a canvas I painted then added the skull and words to.

Another thing I've discovered over the past few months is Pinterest.  It's a site where you can keep all your "finds" into a filing system.  I've discovered a number of new yummy recipes on it.  One was a delicious Loaded Baked Potato Soup.  The actual recipe can be found at Mama Loves Food! 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I just love Pinterest and all the fun things you can find there (Recipes, Tips, Music, Funnies, Quotes, and so on).  The Pinterest fun doesn't just stop there.  There is also a "Pin It" button you can download to your browser so that whenever you go to a site and see something you want to save for further use it will add it to your filing system along with the link embedded into the picture so that you can find your way back to the original site.  It's great!  

Thank you for visiting.  Peace to all!