...dirty feet and a wide open mind.

getting things done.

My whole body and mind fought very hard about getting out of bed and doing anything at all today. It's going to be a slow and long process today...

The newest prompt for The Art is Found is up.
Feathers.
I made a little postcard with some watercolors, paper bits and the first part of an Emily Dickinson poem. (I am very passionate about Emily Dickinson, just so you know.)
Which I found out later was the same poem miss AW was using to start off the prompt.
I'm hoping that means great minds think alike.
And if you think back just a week and some days ago, my project for the TAIF prompt of lace, were some feather tags.
So, obviously I'm very good at not paying much attention to anything. Because I have an email that lists the upcoming prompts and for some reason my brain just wouldn't look down to the next one when I was making my tags?
And actually, I will do this again by the time the next prompt rolls around, but I can't say anything more than that, so just stay tuned.

I'm hoping I amuse someone around here, because I certainly have amused myself.

Here's to a productive Thursday. Or a lazy Thursday with the intention of maybe being productive.

bad day.

I don't really want to get into it though.

nothing I was planning on doing turned out.
like going to the paper pixie crop.
and I'm glad I hadn't payed for it yet since everything was up in the air. because I did not get to be there.

BUT here is the canvas I made with some the product Sara was selling today at the crop:

 

I'm really happy with it.... 4th of July is not really a holiday I decorate for, actually, we haven't done much to celebrate it in the past couple years (last year it was raining, the year before that Neil was working...). So this was a bit of a challenge for me, but I really liked the result. Too bad I didn't get to share it at the crop today.... eh. I'm not talking about it. No negativity!

Just wanted to share it somewhere!

feeling:

blessed.
very very blessed.

Like, seriously, all I can think about right now is the amazing people I have in my life - it's just amazing the good things you can find when you think things look really bleak. My heart is just really full.

So, last week my stepmom graduated from Baker University....

I'm so so so proud of her, she really did exactly what she set out to do and completed her goal.
With all these graduations I've feel really inspired to get focused again on school, it's a serious dream of mine to graduate someday with a degree - I've let things come in the way of me really truly enjoying college and pursuing my goals - but no more of that!

So back in April I signed up to to an art swap on SIStv. My partner is tallynt and I've been such a dweeb and am just now getting around to posting the collage I did for her a couple weeks ago ... I'm so behind and she's been just lovely about it too! Here is what I made for her:

I hope she likes it!! I saw some photos of tulips in her portfolio and tulips are my favorite flower (of all time ever ever ever!!!) so that's what I decided to use as my subject. Do you guys have any idea how long it's been since I've done a painting/collage??? YEARS. But it was insanely fun and I forgot how relaxing it can be for me. I should try to do it a little more often, even it's just smaller ones in my journal.

ok.... more news tomorrow... more creativeness tomorrow.

Paper Bows.

love those fun and quick projects.
for my technique tuesday project here.

I'm eating some hot oatmeal right now, and going over taxes - thank you thank you turbotax.
reorganized the art/work space today, and that felt good. every once in awhile the mess just gets to be too much. Good day, quiet day. Easy day. Lots to think about, but all good things.
:).

29 days in February.

did you know this year is a leap year? I did not until this morning after finally putting up a 2008 calendar!

So, the saturday before Christmas, Neil and I spent a couple hours making these and watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Were they Christmas decorations??
No way.

January can easily become a very dull month for me. It's the month right after Christmas, and nothing major really happens so it doesn't stand a chance!
I love seasonal decorations. I'm not even a big decorator - mostly I use photos and artwork to decorate and colorful walls. I like it simple. But I like things to reflect the seasons and the months and I love to keep things fresh.

So this turned into a very extra long explanation huh?

Since it was getting close to January and was already very much winter, we made paper snowflakes. With white cardstock and glitter glue. I've been doing this for a long time, on and off when I was a teen, and every year that Neil and I have been together. This year, after Christmas decor came down, I hung them in front of my fireplace right over our bed. Which also happens to be in the living room. But that's an explanation for another day, this is getting quite long for me!

(what's really fun is when a vent is blowing the snowflakes start to dance!)

and why take them down in February, it's still winter, so I think I'll just hang some hearts up with them and set out my red candles.

Get rid of them when I'm done with them?? how wasteful!!! I'll just wrap them up carefully and save them for next year - make some more every year and I'll start to have a quite a few - which cuts down on the cutting each year as well.

And that right there, is a pretty typical weekend activity for Neil and I. love it.

hope canvas

So over at the paper pixie forums, the very awesome Martha issues a challenge every Saturday. This weeks challenge was to use the word "hope".

Which, is my most very favorite word of all. So I was excited to do this! I used one of my favorite poems, Hope by Emily Dickinson.

(more close up photos here)

So this started out as a 12x12 layout. And I hated it that way! So I made a wall hanging with it. Ick. So then I tacked all of it on a canvas, and right now I'm loving it, so that's how it's staying!

Just wanted to say...

that I have met some really amazing people around this good old internet in the past few months. And I want you all to know that you've all inspired me so much and seriously, from the bottom of my heart - THANK YOU. This year has been very interesting as far as that whole learning and growing part of life are concerned... and meeting the amazing people that I have, well, it's just been quite the bonus!

So - I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, ALL OF IT. Whatever you celebrate, however you celebrate - enjoy it. I hope it's beautiful!!

Got some ornaments I made this week to share:

Another project using the Nutmeg kit from paper pixie (sara likes to call me a paper pixie pimp! HA!). That would be Neil and his sis and then my brother and I (yes, I know I'm making a lovely face, I was totally crashing my brother's photo!).

I am so addicted to tearing and "ruffling" up paper right now.

Ok - So, I'll be away for a few days, ya know, with Christmas stuff to do and all that.. sorta last minute stuff, but that's not a bad thing!

Everyone have amazing holidays and I can't wait to read all the recaps around blog land!

Paper Pixie Technique Tuesday

Over on the Paper Pixie forum, every tuesday is Technique Tuesday. The design team takes turns posting a different technique/project idea.

This week was mine, and after some inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, The Crafty Chica (post that inspired me is here), I decided to do a tutorial on Canvas Shadowboxes.

You can see the entire tutorial here at the forum.  (as far as right now, you do have to join in order to view that area of the boards.)










(click photos to see them larger)

These were insanely easy and fun to do. Just some nice little winter scenes, in some of my favorite holiday colors (love that basic grey paper too!!). Lots of crackle paints, trims, and backgrounds for texture. In the tutorial, I talk a lot about the products I used and why, and just my personal preference (like how I prefer the crackle paint thick enough in some spots to peel off - in fact I scratched some of it off myself. I wanted some of the wood to show through!). Possibilities are endless!

My mom has already claimed these too!! I'll be wrapping them up to send with her Christmas presents!

phew!

why does posting photos of anything seem to take up my entire day??

When I bought the Nov./Dec. issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, I found a really great article by Charlotte Lyons (http://housewrenstudio.typepad.com/charlotte/) about "what's left" collages - using the bits and pieces left on your desk to make some artwork!

Actually, I found a post on her blog with a little bit about it: http://housewrenstudio.typepad.com/charlotte/2007/05/whats_left.html

The Cloth Paper Scissors article has directions and more photos as well.

Anyways, I loved the idea, and I thought it would be really great for some Christmas art - my walls always seem neglected this time of year.

(my walls are actually greener than that - the paint color is called mother earth)

(neil got off work early today so he was able to hold these for me - he said ignore his dirty work hands)

 
I wanted to have something with a photo to put with the other two collages, the frame around the photo is open at the top, so the photo can be changed out each year to something more current.

so obviously the bits and pieces I used weren't just laying around on my desk. I used the Nutmeg kit (and a few bits from the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies kit) from Paper Pixie Kits. I just cut out and took what I need from the kits. Those kits couldn't have been any more perfect for a project like this. Fun stuff.

This project was... insanely relaxing and no stress. Got me thinking outside the box too which was really nice.