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.