Missed Opportunities and Stamp Making

Yesterday didn't turn out at all like I was expecting it to. I waited too long to get ready to drive into town to volunteer at the used book store so didn't have a back up plan when I got there only to find the Book Cellar was closed due to construction. It appears that volunteers are not important enough to get a call so they don't drive 25 miles round trip for nothing. If I hadn't been rushed, I would have packed my camera and/or my iPad. In that case I could have spent some time doing a bit of arty stuff - taking reference photos for future sketches or getting caught up on internet stuff. Instead I stopped by the daughter's for a brief visit and then came home and completely dunned out the laundry room.


The laundry room at my house tends to be the "holding" place for all things without a good home. There was so much stuff in there, I just couldn't stand it any more. Actually I did clean it out once before (not quite as thoroughly as this time), but somehow the stuff to be given away or thrown away found its way back in there. This time it is going to stay this streamlined. It actually looks like a nice room now. I need to go through the stuff that is piled on the seat in the entrance and decide what is to be thrown and what needs to be packed up to go to Goodwill and then do it.


The St. Vincent de Paul fellas came out yesterday to pick up the couch and chair I had replaced in the living room. They also took my old vacuum cleaner with attachments and two old recliners that I'd forgotten we had in the basement. I so love clearing out.


I didn't spend much time in the art room yesterday, but did manage to make a stamp. I still feel rather inept at this, but I am enjoying the experience. It is rather Zen and surely with practice I will get better at it. Here are my practice stamps in my journal. These pages need some color and layers, but I do like my heron.

I'd like to find a good source of some kind of cling mount so I could use my acrylic block for stamping. It seems to make a better image. I've tried Hobby Lobby and Michael's with no luck. Do you have a good source for this kind of product?

I am planning to go to my conditioning class this morning. I must say, I am a bit sore from Monday's session and am looking forward to today's. Miss Z is arriving this afternoon for an overnight, so if I am to do some art, I'd better do it between conditioning class and her visit.

What are you planning for today? Does it include time for your art? If so, do share.....

xoxo

Just One More Day

to sign up for the handmade journal giveaway. For a chance to win, go to this post and leave a comment. Tomorrow morning I will use the random number generator to choose a winner or two.


I've spent most of the weekend Spring cleaning and intend to do more today. I am getting rid of many things that are taking up space that are not being used and making a trip to Goodwill. I am also trying to box up arty things so that I know where things are. Yesterday I bought some banker's boxes at Office Max and have so far filled one with dominoes, bamboo tiles, findings and other pendant/jewelry making supplies and moved it to the closet. That way when I again want to work play with that kind of art I will know where it is and while I am intent on making journals this stuff won't be taking up my precious space in my art room. I have to do something similar with all my stamping supplies to free up shelf space here in my work space.


I did take some time to sketch a bluebird on dark paper with colored pencils. I am quite happy with these little sketches so far and think I am going to have to come up with a way to display them together. Here is my latest:

I am going to get on with this Spring cleaning thing while I am still fired up about it. I hope to have time this afternoon to try out my latest idea for a repurposed book. I will share it with you tomorrow.

Take care,

xoxo

Housecleaning and Blind Contour Friday

My sister-in-law (who truly feels more like an actual sister) is coming tomorrow to go to the baby shower (my newest grandgirl is due in late February) and is staying overnight so the hubster and I are doing a good house cleaning. I don't have overnight company much, but it is a great incentive to finally do all the cleaning.

I am mostly done, just waiting to dust after everything settles from vacuuming. I took this opportunity to come into my work room and do a blind contour. I tried this time to do it without lifting my pen, but it looks like I did lift it to do the feet. I am going to try to get to the point where I don't lift my pen at all. The sketch next to it is somewhat of a blind sketch. I can't see the bear across the table with my glasses on and I can't see my sketchbook in front of me without my glasses. I did this without my glasses on and it was a bit difficult.

I hear the dryer blatting (I may have made up that word) and the kitchen floor is dry by now, so I need to get out and help the hubster put the table and chairs back and then I can finish the vacuuming.

I wonder what is for breakfast??

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I will try to have some wonderful new things to show you on Monday.

xoxo

Missing Monday

I feel as if I've been away forever. A week has gone by and I don't have much to show for it. The week of Christmas started out well enough. The hubster and I picked up my daughter's girls around noon on Sunday and took them with us to the annual family Christmas party which was held in Ann Arbor this year. My son was able to come and bring his little girl also. It was a lovely day. Little Miss 3 fell in love with the 14 year old dog and carried him around everywhere, diaper and all.

I got to hold the newest grandchild in the family for quite a long time. She is beautiful! The little Miss 7s were put in charge of the white elephant gift exchange and did a great job. The food was delicious. 

We kept the girls overnight as planned as their Mom had to work until 3 pm on Monday. I had a bit of last minute shopping to do and decided to take the girls out to lunch before taking them home. When I was about half way into town, my cell rang and it was my daughter. I told her our plans and that if she would call when she got home I would bring them to her. That was when she told me she had been sent home from work and was sick. She just wanted to go to bed. I told her we would have lunch and do our shopping and then we would stop by to see how she was doing.

The girls and I had lunch and then did a bit of Christmas shopping for the hubster and then we went to Michael's where I told them we could browse to our hearts' content and that they each could pick out a small art item. We had a blast!

When we got to my daughter's house she was under two blankets on the couch. I asked her if she would like to come to my house and I would take of her, but she said she didn't feel as if she could get up at all. So I took the girls home. Later that afternoon my son took her some chicken soup and checked on her. She felt awful.

On Tuesday morning she called me around 8 am to ask me to take her to the doctor. She had an appointment at 9:30. I went to her house quite early in case she needed help. She was in the bathtub and asked for help washing her hair and getting out of the tub and dressed. She was really sick.

We waited way too long in the doctor's waiting room before finally being called in. She was running a fever of 103º and had strep throat. No wonder she felt so bad. I ran by the pharmacy to fill her prescription and then took her home to my house and put her to bed. I made some of her favorite soup and tried to get her to eat. She pretty much slept on and off in my bed until Wednesday morning. The hubster and I took care of the girls with him sleeping on the couch in the living room and I sleeping with the girls on a daybed and trundle bed pushed together in the guest room. 

Despite all that we had a pretty good Christmas celebration on Tuesday, my son's birthday, as planned. We sure missed DD, though. The girls Dad picked them up late on Wednesday night. On Thursday, after making sure DD was okay and getting her packed up and back home, the hubster and I drove to the UP to spend a couple of days with my Mom.

I must say we had a lovely time there. But I came home with a cold and stomach woes. I slept in until 10:30 yesterday morning and didn't get up until after 8 this morning.

So here I am finally writing to my blog and all I have to say so far is pretty much negative with just a sprinkling of positive.

Now I will share with you some more positive things. I received these 3 ATCs from a swap I participated in earlier in December. It was called Water, Water Everywhere.

from B Baird in Canada

from P Mackenzie in Australia

from P McVay in Washington

I really enjoy getting art in the mail and besides joining the Sketchbook Challenge, I think I will make it a point to join more swaps through ATCs for All in the coming year.

I did a little bit of sketching last evening while I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself because I didn't feel well. They aren't much, but I really need to push myself to draw more often and I need to develop the habit of carrying a sketchbook with me when I am out and about so I can practice a wider variety of subjects.

This post is getting really long, but I do want to share my son's little Miss 7s art from last evening. She is quite creative and loves all things art.

The two extra lips on her cheeks are evidence that she was kissed by two boys according to the artist.

Don't you just love the colors in this one?

My cupboards are bare and I don't feel like going anywhere, but am hoping to get around later this morning so that I can make a pot of soup later today. I also need to clean out the refrigerator and do some housework - the bathrooms in particular. Maybe the Christmas things could be put away as well. It is so much easier to clean house without the tree in the way.

I am hoping to approach the New Year in better health and with my family happy and healthy. I will try to have some art to share with you as it approaches.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday week and that you are planning for an artful 2011.

xoxo

Art Rage and Photoshop

Well, my house is clean; I don't know how long it will last, but it looks great right this minute. We spent about 1 1/2 hours full steam ahead and got it done. It really doesn't take all that long when we both work at it; and it is almost enjoyable.

I did find some time to play with Art Rage and have produced a blue bird that I think you can tell is a bird. I'm not sure you would call this a good first attempt, but I am thrilled with it. The first time I tried Art Rage (before I watched the little videos that told how to select color, change the brush size, etc.) it was a disaster. The only thing I forgot with this bird was to make separate layers so that the paint would "glop" all together, and there were some spots where I didn't want the colors to interact with each other. I can't wait to try again. Here he is:

After spending a lot of time working with Art Rage and trying to becoming familiar with it, I had to go back to my old friend Photoshop and play somewhat mindlessly. I hope you like my backgrounds and if you do you may use them. I'd like to see what you do with them, though.

Look closely and you will see little outlines of birds in between.

The large custom shape offset and then a second custom shape put in the middle.

You know how I love birds.

 

The large green leaf offset and then the flower colored and placed in the middle.

 

The leaf with twirl filter set at 999,  offset and then another leaf added to the center.

The leaf in blue, twirl filter set at 999, then offset; then added a different custom swirl to center.

Are you getting tired of these backgrounds over and over? Let me know and I will move on. Right now I am really enamored with making these repeating patterns - the possibilities are endless! I was having so much fun making these it was a chore to make myself take a shower and drive out to meet the Statistics student I am tutoring.

I do have a couple of photos from the wedding in late September. I used Photoshop on a couple of them mostly to reduce the busyness in the background and would like to share them with you. Give me some input, please!

Threshold adjustment, tinted.

Okay, I'm off to play with Art Rage, maybe do some wax painting, make time to walk the treadmill, maybe try a new recipe for dinner... What are you planning to do today?

Bye!

Hello from the Far North

I am sitting in the Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace eating a piece of cherry pie and drinking a cup of coffee and taking advantage of their WiFi. This is a very familiar place even though it has changed tremendously over the last 30 or so years. When I was a youngster (late teens - early 20s) I worked in the bar with a wonderful older woman, Hazel Killibrew. Most people thought she was a total bitch, but she treated me wonderfully. I worked way too hard here and much too long hours (my shift was from 3 pm until close 7 days a week).

This is also the place where I met the hubster in 1976 when I was home for a visit, so it is special for more than one reason.

I have heard from the winner of the giveaway and will be getting her prize in the mail soon. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures since I've been here. My Mom has shingles and is miserable. She is 84 and doesn't get around very well anyway and now she is in much pain besides.

I spent yesterday in the kitchen. I made a large pot of zucchini soup and froze 6 servings and then when that was done, I made a pot of pea soup and froze 4 servings of that. When I get back to her house after taking care of online business, I am making a large pot of black bean and sausage soup and will freeze most of that. I was also planning to make some Navy bean soup, but I don't think there is room in the freezer for any more. I am not even sure how I am going to get today's soup in the freezer.

Just before coming here today, I went through three large boxes of pictures of my Mom's and sorted them and threw out all the duplicates and the pictures without people in them. I have 8 sisters and 5 brothers so needless to say, there are a ton of pictures from the early forties through today. I also went through my Mom's kitchen cupboards and threw out all the really old food (some of them had expiration dates of '05). Her cupboard is now better organized and she can see what she has without digging through it.

Later today I will make some corn bread and we will enjoy some of the pea soup I made yesterday and didn't freeze. We will watch a Tiger game today and I will get to see some of day 2 of the US Open.

I am missing my art room, not to mention the hubster and am planning to be home on Thursday. The first of the free Photoshop webinars is Thursday at 2 pm EST.

I'll try to post tomorrow, but won't have any traditional art to share. For now I am concentrating on the art of cooking and taking care of loved ones......