Good and Not So Good Squared

I think I will start with the good.

I am quite pleased with how the tissue box turned out. The only thing is that I chose a cheaper Spartan brand of tissue in order to get the square-ish box (all mine are rectangular) and the box is a little too tall to get the bottom of the holder back on and the tissues are of very poor quality. The next time I am at the store I will get a box of Kleenex and see if that doesn't make it better.




Now for the not so good.

The first not so good is that I weighed and measured this morning and I don't see any difference in the numbers from last month. Lots of variables in this process; firstly, the scale is a dinosaur that has a needle that swings back and forth wildly before stopping on a number. I am going to pick up a digital scale next time I am in town. Also, I am taking my measurements with a somewhat stretchy old measuring tape and I don't always know the exact spot on my thigh, bicep, hip that I measured last time. I can tell by how my clothes fit and by looking in the mirror that my figure is changing for the better, so this is not going to stop my workout regimen. I may, however, really limit those snacks (even the healthy ones).

The final not so good news is my girl. Yesterday's lesson was to add hair and brows. I am not very happy with mine. I wanted the hair to be a believable red (kinda a reddish brown). I am not sure that I achieved that. Then I put a second layer of lighter brownish red on and I think it looks pretty bad. I am going to let it sit for awhile and then decide if I should try something else. I am thinking maybe a light wash over the hair just to unify it more.




I really wanted to paint the brows as more single hairs, but my picture is too small for me to have that kind of control. Somehow in my adding hair and brows and using a damp brush to correct mistakes running to the face, I had a yellowish forehead, so I cleaned it up with a mixture of Titan Buff and Titanium White. I need to be careful when I do the final shadow and highlight layer to get her to look more dimensional. She is looking pretty flat right now.

I was supposed to have the girls today and then not again until next Tuesday, but I don't have them today, but do have them tomorrow and Thursday. Their Dad is having some surgery on an artery in his leg tomorrow so I am rearranging my schedule to accommodate that.

That's it for now. Bye!

End of March and CED2009

Can you believe another month is just about over? Where does the time go?

I have been working out really hard this month. This morning I worked a balance ball workout for 30 minutes and then walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes at an incline of 3 degrees at 3 mph. I am beginning to see a difference and feel different. Tomorrow is the next weigh and measure day. I hope the results are as promising as they seem today.

When my daughter moves into her home (she is expecting to close sometime in the next 2 weeks) I am planning to paint Elmo onto a canvas to hang in the baby's room. So I did a practice sketch in my art journal. I think he is very cute, although I must say I have listened to him way too much this year, so I am finding that his voice is beginning to grate.



Payton was quick to tell me that I made his body too long and that he needs legs. I apparently have some more practicing to do before I commit to canvas!

I also rediscovered a tissue box that I bought unfinished at Michael's several months ago and decided to play with it. So far I have gessoed, painted, glazed, stamped and collaged. I am planning to paste various letters from different sources to spell blow, wipe, and either sneeze or achoo on the three sides that are not collaged.




Meanwhile, I have an ATC swap done (the yellow pages) and will take that to the post office after I get a shower. And at the same time I will mail the Chinese Painting book that Katina won. Then I will come home and work on more ATC swaps that I have signed up for before watching the latest video in the Faces class.

I have the two girls tomorrow (Payton is on Spring Break) so I don't expect to get much done then, unless Payton and I can do some art while Morgan is napping. At any rate, I will post again when I have something to share.

Bye!

And the Winner Is.......

What a lovely Spring we had today. A perfect one for an outing with a friend. In the beginning, things didn't look so good - I drove to her house to pick her up and when we came out to my car and I turned the key, nothing happened; I mean, nothing. No noise at all. She got out of the car and called her husband on her cell and I stayed in the car and called the hubster on my cell. Between the two of them they figured out that I had a dead battery. After all it was the original battery and was about 7 years old. So we got my car out of the way and she drove.

We did lots of errands including a stop at Michael's, a bookstore, lunch at Appleby's, Toys 'R Us, the Dollar Store and Kroger. We had a lovely time and will certainly not forget who drove last when we next decide to have an outing. We generally take turns driving and the passenger buys lunch. It is a good arrangement.

I have been working on my domino pendants because I finally found some pendant bails on eBay and the farmers' market season is almost upon us. I am hoping to sell some of them so that I can afford to make more.





Meanwhile, I have used the online random number generator to select the winner of the Chinese Painting book giveaway and this is what I got:




Congratulations Katina! I need your snail mail addy so I can send it to you.

That's all for now. Bye!

Another Rainy Spring Day

I went for a short walk around the yard with the hubster this morning in a fine mist. By the time we had only walked around about 1/2 of it, the mist had turned to rain. It sounded like Spring, it looked like Spring and it smelled like Spring. Ergo, it is Spring.

Yesterday morning I decided to mix up my workout a bit, so instead of doing Cathe's workout, I got out a ball workout and did that one. It was a great workout and I am a little bit sore today. I used 5 lb weights for the lighter weights and 10 lb weights for the heavier weights. The woman who leads the workout has a British accent and at one point while working on the glutes, makes a comment about how this exercise is so great for the "back yard". I love that expression for referencing the bum, don't you? I followed up the ball workout with a 30 minute walk on the treadmill. I am really getting anxious to see this month's results when I do the weigh and measure next week. I am reminding myself that muscle weighs more than fat, so the number may not have changed much, but I am expecting the measurements to have changed considerably! We'll see. At any rate, I am addicted to working out every other day now and that is not going to change regardless of this month's results.

I worked on my Face in progress yesterday and am pleased with the eyes and mouth so far.


The next lesson we will be using Neocolor II crayons to add another layer of color to the face and to shadow and highlight the lips. At least, that is what I think we are going to do.

I also spent a bit of time in my art journal last evening. It had been quite a long time since I felt I had time to play in it. I dropped some Rosy Posy craft paint on each page and used a scraper to move it around. When it dried I applied a bit of Sunflower craft paint and did a similar thing. I really like those two colors together - kind of Springy, maybe even Eastery (I know, it is a made up word, but you get the idea, don't you?). Later in the evening while trying to decide whether to paste cuttings from magazines or doodle (I am still anxious about trying to doodle, but am determined to just try it - some day), I decided to do a big face and then color the eyes, lips and hair using Neocolor II crayons. I purchased a cute set of alphabet stamps called Fun Type from Michael's yesterday (that's a whole 'nother story), and decided to give them a try. They are cylinders of wood with a letter at both ends. For all of the letters up to the "d" in haired, I just looked at the letter on the other end and if it was upright, I got the upright letter when I stamped using the other end. However, as you can see, even though I was looking at the "c" on the other end of the stamp in the correct orientation, I got an upside down "d" which looks like the letter "p". My 6 year old grandgirl thought it was a hoot!




I do like the look of the stamps, though!

A reminder, if you haven't left a comment on the giveaway post from several days ago, you still have time. I will be drawing the winner on Friday. Good luck!

Bye!

A New Blog to Check Out

A friend of mine and very talented artist has started a new blog.

Her first post (yesterday) includes a lovely watercolor of the Rocky Mountains. You should definitely check her blog out here. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you decide to subscribe. I can't wait to see what piece of art is on her next post!

Meanwhile, I am continuing to attempt to make small sketches and believe I have improved to the degree that most people can tell what my sketches represent. What I have to do is make the next leap and try to shade these sketches to see if I can take them from flat line drawings to more lifelike images with dimension. I gotta tell you this is scary for me - I really don't have a good feel for this. I am going to just bite my lip and make myself try this.




I hope later today to get the chance to do the eyes and lips on my face in progress. If I get it done, I will post it later. For now I have to go eat a banana, put on my workout clothes and do my Cathe workout. I am thinking of doing a different one just to mix it up. I just haven't decided yet whether to do the Ab Max or the workout on the ball. I like them both. Anyway, I will tell you what I decided and how it went later.

If you haven't already, look back a few posts and leave a comment so that you can get in on the drawing for a lovely book.


Bye!

Yellow Pages ATCs and A Lovely Day

I spent the morning with a dear friend playing on her computer, looking at her art and just generally having a good time. We had lunch at a local and very good restaurant before I headed home to take care of a sick little girl while her Mom went to pick up her kindergarten sister for ballet class.

It is now after dinner and I am sequestered in my art room playing. I got online and downloaded the latest video lesson from my Faces class and hope to get uninterrupted time tomorrow to paint the eyes and lips on my work in progress. I also spent some time finishing my yellow pages ATCs. I am quite happy with how they turned out and think using a phone book, especially yellow pages with ads on them is a great way to sort of have predetermined what picture you are going to draw as your focal point.




I had a package when I returned home with the 10 whimsical cats from an earlier swap I was in with the group ATCsForAll. They are really nice and when I get a chance to look more closely at them, I will perhaps post some of them for your viewing pleasure.

Meanwhile, I need to get to work on a few other swaps I have signed up for, namely:

(30) 5 x 5s with a quote theme that are due on May 30
(3) ATC sized featuring hand drawn art supplies due April 15
(3) ATC sized featuring a drawing of something that represents a four letter word (clean!!)
due May 4
(3) ATC sized with drawn/painted barns due April 30

Also, don't forget to go to the earlier post to leave a comment so that you are eligible for the lovely book that is being given away.

Bye!

First Full Day of Spring and A Giveaway

Today is the first full day of Spring. It is overcast and 41 degrees; it was snowing a bit earlier. This reminds me that "the first day of Spring and the first Spring day are not necessarily the same thing".

I do have some crocuses up in the front yard and have seen lots of robins and red-winged blackbirds, so Spring is certainly here. Now if we could just have temps between 60 and 70 degrees for about 3 months, I would be in heaven. Unfortunately, in this part of Michigan, Spring's lovely temps give way much too soon to summer-like hot temps. I am hoping this year to have a long lovely Spring season.

I am working on an ATC swap called Yellow Pages. So far I have glued down parts of pages of yellow pages and am planning to put a light glaze over them and then hand draw something pertinent to that page.



Now for the giveaway. I have a wonderful soft-cover book called Chinese Painting Techniques for Exquisite Watercolors by Lian Quan Zhen. It is quite lovely and is about 140 pages of examples and hot-tos. To win this lovely book, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will be drawing the winner using the random number generator on Friday, March 27.



As for now.....the little one is a bit under the weather today and is clingy and needy. I will be spending some time cuddling and watching Elmo and other Sesame Street shows until her mother and older sister return some time later this afternoon. At that time, I will change into my workout clothes and do a 58 minute Cathe workout, Muscle Max, and then walk uphill on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Then for the rest of the day, who knows........

A Day Off and CED2009

I have the afternoon off and decided this was a good time to mix up my paints for the face I am working on. My medium skin tone is much lighter than Paulette's in the video, but then I am of Irish descent and my skin is very fair. I am not sure I am satisfied with the shadows and highlights, but then the colors looked so different on my palette than they do on the face.



I began my day with a banana and then did an hour with Cathe and my 5# weights, followed by 30 minutes of walking uphill on the treadmill. I am feeling really good with this regimen. I don't weigh and measure for another 12 days and am feeling that if I can keep up this every other day 90 minute workout, I am sure to see results. Now I have to continue to watch portion size and not get in the mind set that since I work out I can eat more. It kind of defeats the purpose.

I am going to spend another hour or so working on swaps I am working on and then try to get outdoors. It is not going to be nearly as warm as it has been the past couple of days, but it is sunny and in the high 40s. If I stay out of the wind, it might be just right with a hoodie on.

See ya later......

St Patrick's Day

Each day on St. Patrick's Day, I again resolve to visit Ireland some time soon. I hope to go there within the next 10 years. I want to go to Bagenalstown in County Carlow, which is where my Dad's father's family emigrated from. His grandparents were Edward Fenlon and Mary Murphy. When I was teaching, there was free access to genealogy websites through the library and I thought that it would be a simple thing to find these two. Alas, in that town in the 1880s there were a bazillion Fenlons and Murphys. So far I can trace no further back. I have been much more fortunate on my Dad's mother's side and can trace her father's family back to the late 1500s. At one time, I was totally absorbed in the puzzle of my forbears, and have my family on Geni. If you are not aware of the Geni website, you should check it out. It is a free family tree site online in which you can input your tree and invite living members to join and add their information. One of the members of my Dad's mother's side of the family has the first name Eliphalet. When I first saw this, I thought he would be easy to find - I mean how many Eliphalets could there be. Honestly, in the late 1700s there were a large number of men with this first name. Go figure!!

I am diligently working on my third assignment for the Faces class. I am not totally happy with the eyes yet, but each time I put on another layer and reinforce them, they are getting better.



Today I will mix up my skin tones and begin the underlayer with shadows and highlights. I am a little nervous about this, but plan to take my time and do my best. I have two older canvases with faces on them, both of which really need some shading. Hopefully, I will be able to improve them with my new knowledge.

It is supposed to be in the 60s today and partly sunny. I am hoping to spend some time out of doors, perhaps finishing my novel. I need to do a bit of a workout. I am a little sore from Cathe's muscle max from the day before yesterday. I think I will go through it again today, but just use my body and not my weights. That way I will still get some stretching and reinforcement, but not hurt my already sore muscles. I will also do my uphill walk on the treadmill. I can't wait to weigh in and measure again at the end of the month. I sure hope I see more progress.

I've got a lot to do today, so better get started........

Can it be Spring?

We spent most of yesterday out on the deck with the baby. Gotta get that Vitamin D! I am hoping to spend some time out there again today. The difference today is that I have the day off, so I can come and go as I please. I don't really have any plans for the day, except to enjoy it. And I am definitely planning to have my afternoon coffee out on the screened porch - perhaps while listening to Adele.

I have done a little bit of art this morning and am hoping to get more done later today. I am planning to get the backgrounds of the ATCs that are due in mid-April done today and then begin finishing them. I would like to get them in the mail some time next week.

Can you tell I have spring fever!!!!????



I can feel every muscle I own today - and at my age, that means that tomorrow will be much worse. For some reason as I have aged, the greatest amount of soreness is no longer the next day but two days after a serious workout. Yesterday morning I worked out to Cathe's DVD from her Hardcore Series called Muscle Max. I wasn't able to do all the reps, but I really pushed myself and can't wait to do more tomorrow (if I am not too sore). After the 45 minutes spent with her, I walked at a 4 degree incline at 3.2 mph on the treadmill for half an hour. What a great way to start the day! If you are unfamiliar with Cathe Friedrich and you are into fitness, you gotta check her out. I own several of her DVDs and haven't found one yet that I didn't like. At 43 years old, she is in great shape and explains things wonderfully!




I am planning to get a hill climbing walk in some time later today and I am anxiously awaiting the new Faces lesson from Paulette.

That's it for now.....

Beware

Beware the Ides of March!!

Background for my Faces class

After watching the second video for my Faces class, I made a background on which to draw a face as my focal point. I am a bit anxious about drawing on it, but feel sure Paulette will explain it in terms that I can deal with.

I almost made my background with teal and purple (my absolute favorite color combo), but instead was thinking Spring and decided green and mauve was the way to go. At first I thought it was a bit too busy, but have decided that I like it and I think my face will be covering much of it anyway.



I think that sometime today I will get the backgrounds prepped on the ATCs for swaps that I am participating in that have deadlines in mid-April. One is to be 3 hand-drawn art supplies and the other is to be yellow pages themed.

I will post them as I get them started.

I am not feeling very well today. My head is full, my throat is sore and I am feeling overall wimpy. I think I just need to stay focused on something other than how I feel - or maybe after I do a little bit of art, I will take a nap.

See you later....

Another Lovely Mail Package

I can't believe it! I had another personal item of mail today. There is nothing like it - so much nicer than ads or bills.

This one was the four cards that I traded in an arttechniques swap entitled "All Things Books". Here is what I received:


These cards are from (from the left and reading horizontally) Sherre Hulbert, Susan Sager Brown, Rozsi Moser, and Lisa Cousineau. Thank you so much ladies. They are exceptionally lovely.

I am planning to spend some time today working on Lesson 2 of my Faces class in which I am to prepare a textured background on which to draw/transfer a face as a focal point.

The hubster is still sick, so I have been making him tea, scrambling him eggs, and just trying to be quiet so that he can rest/sleep.

I'll post my background when it is finished.

'Til then.....

I'm Back - Surprises in the Mail

I had a lovely time at my sister's house. We played cribbage, Scrabble and Yahtzee to our hearts' content. She also passed on a bag of novels she had read for me to read and pass on to others. It rained most of the time I was there, so when we went outside it was for the purpose of going shopping.

I returned home to find the house dark in the middle of the day - blinds drawn and silent. The hubster was sick and apparently had been sick the entire time I was gone. He is feverish and achy. I immediately offered anything he might need/want, but he didn't want anything, so I picked up, swept and spot mopped the kitchen and put on a pot of homemade beef noodle soup.

Once the meaty bone and cut up veggies were in the pot, I went out to get the mail - oh how wonderful - two parcels. One had been ripped open during mailing and the postal service had placed plastic around it with a note of apology. Luckily no damage was done to the two books


a special and gorgeous bookmark





and lovely papers




sent by Amy Nelson of An Li Na Designs. I was the winner of a giveaway on her blog. If you are not familiar with her blog, you must go over and see it. She is in the process of making a Draconis for a quilt she is making. She also sometimes has tutorials and of course giveaways.

In the other package was a beautiful ring-bound journal with a cute bear and a 3-D bee with a great message on the cover and really nice paper inside.


It is the perfect size to carry with me to sketch while I am out and about.

It was wrapped in a brightly colored, stunning tissue paper. Can't wait to use some of that in my current artwork.



I won these in a giveaway at Peggy Gatto's blog. If you don't know Peggy, you should stop by her blog. She does all kinds of art and takes lovely photographs.

So even though I am feeling sorry that my husband is feeling so miserable, I am at the same time brightened by these lovely gifts. I have also been contacted by the winner of the Keith Smith book given away here on my blog and will try to get it in the post tomorrow.

I am thinking that perhaps the first day of Spring (not necessarily the first spring day) will be another good day to have a giveaway. Stay tuned!

Quick Note

Just a quick little note to take care of some organizational things.

JulieZ - I have no contact information for you and need it to send you the book you won. If I do not hear from you by Tuesday, March 10, I will choose another random number and pass the book to that person.

Jodi, Sarah and Christy - I have sent emails to the three commenters of my "Pay It Forward" blog post and some time in the next few months will be making each of you something special and handmade in the mail. I was already a subscriber to one of your blogs and have added the other two. I didn't expect there to be anything in this for me other than the wonderful feeling of giving freely of myself. What a nice side benefit to find two more blogs that I will love exploring.

I am leaving in a few hours to spend several days with one of my sisters who lives a couple of hours from me. I will have access to her computer, but won't be making art. I will be playing scrabble, cribbage and yahtzee; drinking coffee; walking in the snowless yard; shopping; you know, bonding! I am in serious need of a few quiet days (she is an empty nester with a darling hubster) of game-o-rama. My situation right now doesn't lend itself to game playing other than 6 year old games, which are fun, but I need more and I love my sister and always really enjoy time spent with her!

It is pouring rain right now. I hope it lets up when I am ready to leave for my sister's house as I hate driving in the rain especially on the expressway!

I will try to stay in touch while I am away and will have to check into Google Reader to keep up with all of you!

Giveaway Winner

It is Friday morning and chaotic. I woke up with a huge sinus headache and the kindergartner had morning schedule today and her Mom had to be to work at 8 AM. This means that I have the baby all morning and then when I finally get her down for a nap around lunch time, the 6 year old will be home from school. Going to be a full day, but there are a couple of things to relate.

I received my lovely tea towel from Heather at Skinny Laminx in South Africa yesterday. I am posting the picture that was on her site when she announced her giveaway. If you've never seen her lovely things, I suggest you go there now and then check out her Etsy offerings.



Before writing this brief post, I went to the random number generator and asked for an integer between 1 and 52 inclusive and the number it delivered to me was 19. My comments don't show up numbered - maybe there is a setting where I can change that, but for now I had to count to # 19 (I counted and rechecked and the winner is.......(drum roll).....juliez.




Julie I don't have any contact info for you, so please email me with your information so that I can get the book in the mail to you.

Thank you everyone for participating! I have another of Keith's books that I will giveaway some time soon.

Gotta go! The baby is at the door knocking and calling, "Nana! Nana!"

Spring is in the Air

I thought I was going to have yesterday off, but had the girls all day until around dinner time. I went and peeked in the windows of the house that DD signed a purchase agreement on and it is a really well-kept, cute house that needs very little done to it before she can move in. The tentative closing date is March 28 and we are all excited.

It really didn't get very warm yesterday, but the sun was shining and in the afternoon we took the baby out on the deck with her little motorized cart and drank our coffee in the sun. It was maybe 38 degrees or so, but it felt so good to be outside even if we did have winter coats on. I think it is supposed to be in the mid-40s today so am pretty sure I will be drinking my afternoon coffee outside again today.

I did get a little art done yesterday, but no practice on my faces. I will try to get to that while the baby sleeps today. Yesterday during her nap, I worked out for about 40 minutes in front of the TV to a weight training DVD and then walked uphill on the treadmill for 30 minutes. What I really wanted to do was take a nap, but am so glad I worked out instead because later in the day grandgirl #2 and her mother delivered Girl Scout cookies and they were quickly devoured right after dinner. Hopefully I at least came out even!

Here are a couple of pages I worked on when I had a few minutes yesterday. They aren't necessarily done yet, but they are started.






I am getting excited about drawing a random number to see who wins the 100th blog post giveaway tomorrow. If you haven't entered yet, visit the post here and leave a comment. I will be drawing the winner sometime tomorrow.

That's it for now; see you tomorrow!

Faces Class and CED 2009

I downloaded my first lesson video for the Faces class yesterday and couldn't wait to start practicing. I have done one page each of eyes, noses and mouths; but I know I will do many practice pages of each until I get something I consistently recognize and like. I then tried putting it all together in a girl's face. I don't think it is too bad for a first attempt, but hope to get better and better with practice.



Yesterday morning I spent with an arty friend playing on her computer - and let me tell you, if laughter is the best medicine, then we are good for each other. She is always great fun to spend time with.

I tried out my daughter's TomTom GPS and it performed pretty well. It did, however, try to get me to turn into a person's yard that apparently once was part of the road that now takes a 90 degree turn and changes names.

Once I got rid of my sinus headache this morning, it has become a pretty good day. My daughter has accepted the counter offer for the house she wants and so we were a little busy today, but she is sure this is the house for her and her two little girls so all is well.

When I put the baby down for her nap, I spent 40 minutes on the treadmill walking hills and burned a whopping 314 calories. It feels so good to work that hard.

If you haven't yet left a comment on the giveaway post, do go there and leave one. I will be drawing the winner on Friday, March 6.

Go play and have fun!

Pay It Forward Giveaway

I found this great idea on Brenda's blog and what do you know, I was the first comment. That means that I am going to get something handmade by her. Woo Hoo! I'd really like for you to participate, too.

According to the rules, you have 365 days to send out your homemade gifts. Rest assured, that if you win, I will not wait 365 days to send you your gift.

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. If you are one of the first three to make a comment, you are a winner! And you then agree to post this challenge on your own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.

I am not sure what I will make for my first three commenters, but probably a small mixed media piece.

C'mon and play!

Books I've Read in February 2009

I am participating in 50 Books a Year and to that end I am keeping track of what I read each month.

In the month of February I read the following:

Dark Summer by Iris Johansen
Disappearing Act by Jodi Picoult
Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg
The Two-Minute Rule by Robert Crais

So far that makes 10 books in the first two months. If I keep on at this pace, I will have read 60 by the end of the year.

I am glad I joined as it keeps me reading and not just on the computer.

March Resolution - Blog Everyday

I know I have somewhat MIA, but February was a very busy, complicated month. Thankfully, it is the shortest one. March has arrived very cold and snowy. I am hoping this qualifies as "a lion" so that she will go out like a lamb.

I have been exercising religiously and am happy to report that in the month of February I lost 3 pounds and 3 inches. This makes a total so far this year of 7 pounds and 10 inches. I am thrilled and so sticking with it. As a matter of fact this morning I walked for 40 minutes between 5 and 10 degrees of incline and between 3 and 3.5 miles per hour for a burn of a whopping 307 calories. I think I could become addicted.



My goal for March as far as cyberland goes is to blog every day. I need to get back into doing art every day. Hopefully every one of us is over the February blues and head colds. I have done a little bit of drawing and would like to share it.







Tomorrow begins my Faces class with Paulette Insall and I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I have purchased the supplies on the list that I didn't already own and absolutely can't wait for the first video lesson. I have tomorrow off, but am going to a friend's house in the morning to help her with her computer. As Paulette is on the West Coast the lessons are promised by noon, which is 3 pm my time. I will post my first attempt when I have it.

'til then, enjoy the moment!

100th Post Giveaway

In honor of my 100th post, I am giving away a really nice book - hardly used at all. I bought it new when I was really into bookbinding, but have since began making books using folding or the BindItAll, so this book has just been sitting on the shelf watching and no doubt feeling left out.

Keith is THE big name in bookbinding and this book is one of his best, IMHO. There are lots of easy to follow illustrations of his methods and more than 300 pages including the reference section.



I'd like to give this book a good home. To win this book, just leave a comment telling me what you will do/make if you win. Be sure to leave some way for me to contact you.

Good luck! I will be selecting a winner using a random number generator on March 6th.