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!