"Hey, if I had somewhere to go, I certainly wouldn't be in Cleve-Land." -Howard the Duck

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Published!!!

I knew it was in the works, but last week my Artist Comp copy of Somerset Memories Spring 2010 arrived in the mail.  Back in November 2008, I submitted a project in response to their call for art with the theme "With One Image".  It was a group project by the Hannah Grey Design Team.  We used a beautifully gnarled lonely tree image taken in Tanzania by one of the team members, Karine Ardault.  It was part of a collage sheet she had done & it was sold on the Hannah Grey Curiosities & Drygoods website run by artist Shoshanah Jennings

To participate, the members who were interested created a postcard using that one tree image.  All the postcards were mailed to me & I created an altered cigar box to hold them.  I tied them up with brown silk ribbon, as if they were a bundle of old love letters & submitted our project. 

The article turned out wonderfully & I'm quite happy with it.  The photos below are ones I took before I mailed the project in...if you're in the stores & see the issue, take a look at pages 24-26 & you'll see great photos of some of the postcards as well as my cigar box. Or you could buy the issue if you're so inclined...it's beautifully done with lots of great eye candy & 8 free sheets of scrapbook paper designed specifically for the magazine.






The "Tree" postcard on the top of the bundle was created by my dear friend & talented artist, Tracy Tatro.  She doesn't have a blog, but her art has been published in manay of the Stampington & other pubs as well as a book or two.  I'll have to work on her for that blog thing!!! 

Friday, March 19, 2010

Spring ATCs & Tags


I've been busy with some spring themed art...some for a Red Lead swap & some just because I'm waiting not-so-patiently for Spring to arrive & STAY!

First, the swap ATCs...The theme is Spring Story & we needed to use certain spring/Easter themed collage sheets & stamp images from Red Lead Paperworks








Awfully cute, huh?  Cute is not my favorite style, but these images ARE cute...and I think it works.

Now for the Spring tags...





I made a couple more, but must have sent them off to the Red Lead girls without taking pictures.  Oh well...that happens.

And finally, they're selling some wire hangers over at Red Lead.  They come in a package with 2 sizes of the hanger.  Usually wire hangers would bring out the Joan Crawford side of me..."no wire hangers!!!"  But the larger of the 2 hangers along with some mini clothespins turned out to be a great hanger for displaying an ATC.


That's all for today...and, BTW...we do not have ANY wire hangers in our closets...told you I have a Joan Crawford side!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

My Cooking Blog

Just a quick post to let y'all know I've actually updated my cooking blog...Kitten Cooks.  It will be interesting to see if I keep both blogs updated...I'll be back here with some new ATCs tomorrow.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The first crocus of 2010!

Well, Spring shouldn't be TOO far away...yesterday we enjoyed temps flirting with 70 degrees here in Parma, OH...and today most of the snow has melted (YEA!!!) and the first crocus have popped their sunny faces out to welcome the warmer air.  It's cooler today...low 60s, and the clouds are moving in...we could have thunderstorms over the next day or two.  But it's always a highlight of my sorry life here when the crocus start to pop out. 

Years ago, probably back in the 1960s, my Dad tilled the lawn to reseed it & start over on the grass.  A beautiful magnolia tree which had been in the middle of the lawn died over a particularly harsh winter, and the crocus used to surroud the tree.  Well, when the soil was tilled, the crocus bulbs were scattered throughout the yard.  Now, each March, the first sign of spring is the crocus that scatter across the front lawn. 
The bits of green in the foreground are crocus that have not yet bloomed as there has not been enough sun there...the house faces north & most of the sun this time of year is from the south, so it will be awhile before they bloom.   This is what the lawns look like after the cold harsh winter...all gray & brown & lifeless...but hopefully that will change soon, too. The narcissus in the back yard are just starting to poke through the ground, as are the first signs of life for the day lilies that will bloom come summer. 

Now let's hope it doesn't snow again...at least not until next January or so...
or NEVER again would make me even happier!!!


Sunday, March 7, 2010

More art from Game Pieces

I really do not like board games...except for maybe Scrabble from time to time & Trivial Pursuit was a hoot when it first came out.  Now they're just BORED games & I will find an excuse to get out of any gathering where they will be played.  Anyway...I do look for games if they have intresting pieces that have art potential.  Thrift stores & garage sales are fabulous sources for these on the cheap.  SkyBluePink has quite an assortment of game pieces, too.

One game I never played but I knew immediately it had art potential was Rummikub.  The tiles are a great size for magnets & even pins. 
The picture above shows the original tile. The next shows a tile colored with Ranger's Alcohol Inks. The last one is a finished magnet with a fun image & a word I thought related to the image.  The final tile is coated with a layer of Inkssentials Glossy Accents to protect it & add a nice finish.

Dice are another great art supply.  I made this ofrenda with supplies from Hannah Grey Curiosities & Dry Goods, as well as some of my own items.  An ofrenda is a Mexican altar commemorating & honoring the life & favorite things of a dearly departed loved one, typically to welcome the loved one for Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. 

Dice can also be used as legs for a box or other item.  You can just barely see them on the bottom of this altered cigar box.  I no longer have the box, so that's the best photo I have.
And, of course, there are Scrabble Tiles.  These are probably my favorite game pieces.  I love to use them to make charms for bracelets.  I use a hand drill with the smallest bit I have to drill the holes for the jump rings.  The bracelet below uses Scrabble tiles to spell out "Ancestors" on one side & then I've added a minchie, which is a little 1/2" by 1/2" image, to the back of the tile.  These minchies are from Red Lead Paperworks.  The finished charms are coated with Glossy Accents again to protect & seal the image.
So the next time you have a game with missing pieces that you think is headed to the trash, think again...it's a great source of art supplies.  Think green & recycle those game pieces into little works of art...or send them to me! 

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Pretty Little Thing

Well, just a quick post this morning...the cough I've been fighting since October is back with a vengance.  I'll try my best to post more later or tomorrow.

This pretty little vase of flowers is actually a miniature...so sweet, don't you think?  My friend Kathy sent me these pretty little pink paper roses and I've had the little perfume sample bottle for some time...just sitting here waiting for the right project.  You can buy your own little perfume sample bottles from Queen Xina at SkyBluePink.  The one shown here is the small bottle. 

Once I received the paper roses, I pulled out the little bottle, added some DG3 Gel to it & arranged the roses the way I wanted them.  At first...and for a few days, I thought my experiment had failed miserably as the gel was not drying.  The mouth of this little bottle is quite small, so I thought maybe not enough air was getting in there.  So, showing a patience that I don't usually possess, I waited...and waited.  After about a week or so, the gel had hardened, securing the roses in "water". 

Those who know me best know that patience is NOT one of my virtues & I'm generally allergic to sweet, but I like this little goodie & hope you do, too.

Have a great weekend...I'll try to get back here before it's over.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Saturday Thongs

OH NO...not THAT kind of thong...that's way too scary a thought!!!
I spent part of Saturday making Book Thongs. I received a lovely book thong from my friend Bev over at Country Frog Creations.  The link will take you right to the pics of what I won in her blog drawing celebrating her birthday!  Lots of fun goodies...thanks, Bev!  Be sure to go to her home page to see what she's been up to.  I visit her blog often.

Bev got me inspired to make some book thongs of my own & here's a pic of the first ones:
These are such fun to make and they give you the opportunity to use some very special beads or charms that you may be hoarding.  Not that artists hoard things...nope!  Not us!  heheheheheeee! 

There are many instructions for these little beauties on websites.  This one has some very clear instructions & examples to get you started.  Of course, me being me...I kind of made things up as I went along.  For example, I can't use nail polish so I used Ranger's Glossy Accents & it worked beautifully.  You only need the smallest little dot of the product to secure the knots.

I'm also not big on measuring things...which is why I love to cook, but hate to bake...so I just cut a length of waxed linen cord to a length that seemed to be long enough to me & started adding beads & charms. 

These are great to give as gifts, however Bev had a great thought to have a one-for-one swap of book thongs.  Is anyone interested?  We'd assign partners & you would mail directly to your partner.  Just send me an email, being sure to include your email address so I have a way to get in touch with you.  You can find my email link in my profile. Details will be determined after we see how much interest there is.

Well, now I'm headed back into my studio to do some more of these...but I do have another topic to talk about over the weekend, so be sure to visit again.