Happiness is ...

A Lovely Vacation...

2012-01-02T21:56:00.000-05:00

I've been on vacation for a week and have thoroughly enjoyed puttering and playing in my art room. I did manage to get the dining room and art room cleaned up for the family Christmas Eve dinner. It will probably not be this clean again until the next big family get together/sit down dinner which may not be until Thanksgiving so I'm going to show you what it will rarely look like.

This is my 'paint caddy' that I found at Home Goods. Of course that isn't all my paint but it at least holds my craft paints and sprays. It also travels in the car nicely for those times I play at friends' houses.

So, one thing I wanted to play with was using strips of old papers and couldn't refrain from using some corrugated cardboard, aka Starbucks coozey's. I haven't decided what I want to do next with these yet.

I had another idea to use old business cards in stacks of varying levels so I grabbed a canvas and started playing.

I then painted it with grey gesso,

and then a layer of tissue paper because I just love all the crinkles.

In the last steps I just played and played with layering in colors and voila my first piece of abstract art. I really want to learn some more layering techniques with color but I'm really pleased with the outcome. I have a bigger canvas that I'm going to do the same thing with but try out some other colors. Someday I'm going to manage the right lighting for a better picture. I'm thinking a trip to the hardware store for some mondo lights.

Another thing I promised myself I would finally try is carving my own stamp. I have some real carving materials but didn't want to take a chance on screwing it up so did my first one on some of that foam used for kids projects. It took a little time but I'm definitely going to have to play with it some more.

One of the other things I did on my vacation was an early birthday present from my brother. We never spend any time just the two of us so I asked for a date night. It was so much fun! We went to see Sherlock Holmes which was awesome and then went out to dinner and just had a great time chatting about life.

So my week was filled with Christmas and New Years Eve dinners with the family (by the way, I have an awesome family that actually enjoys spending time together and we always have fun), some early birthday celebrations and time to be creative. Oh, and lunch with the lovely Mary Freeman. Sigh, I have to go back to work tomorrow and I just don't want the fun to stop. If I could just get them to pay me to not work. ;-)

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish everyone a New Year filled with new adventures and may you accomplish at least one thing on your to do/goal/resolution list. Hugs!

Looking for a stamp

2011-12-30T12:42:00.001-05:00

I'm looking for a discontinued Rollograph stamp that has a lovely grid pattern. I contacted the company and searched the Internet and can't find it anywhere. I tried making one from some screen material but didn't get the effect I'm looking for. So, if anyone has this and they are willing to part with it I'm willing to pay you for it.

On another note I'm having a very lovely vacation playing with paint and paper. Pictures to hopefully follow soon.

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed New Year!

Hugs.
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Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T15:01:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone a beautiful Christmas filled with joy and laughter that continues throughout the year and may you know and experience God's love for you through the gift of His Son.

Catching up with some creative time...

2011-11-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

Finally catching up a bit. Last month I took a Visual Journaling class with Mary Freeman and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so helpful with trying to get back into the creative swing and fun to try some new techniques.

The first couple of classes I just played on paper but finally went to Hobby Lobby and to this great handmade paper journal. I'll be decorating the outside later.

This is my cover page with layers of color and a final layer using reverse stenciling. New technique where you use a stencil to wipe away the top layer while it is still a bit wet.

Another reverse stencil page. I tried it out an a sheet of paper and liked it so much had to do it again. I have found that besides stamps you also cannot have enough stencils. My brother and I's motto is "if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing."

This page started out as reverse stenciling and I didn't really like it so the top layer was gesso and then I started playing with the Adirondack Color Wash. Another thing you cannot have enough of, including Glimmer Mist. I also added a little paper bag mini page that I had created at Donna Downey's Inspired conference last year.

This one needs some journaling and was just playing with layers, stencils and a Starbucks cardboard coffee cozy (makes an awesome lines stamp).

This one needs journaling too but was playing with the color washes again and some rub-ons.

One thing I noticed with the previous page was the edges where there wasn't any gesso so I used a mask with it and then sprayed to get a stronger color in sections.

This one is a la a Robin Marie tutorial and needs some more tweaking. I don't know if I can stand not adding at least one more color to it in a cool tone.

This page was from one of the lessons where I wrote down my thoughts going in both directions and then obscuring enough of it so you can't read it. For me it was a whine session (without the benefit of wine) and covered it with some key words to remind myself to be thankful for the blessings in my life.

This one was another one with gesso over the stencil and then color wash sprays. I need to figure out how I want to use this technique in a full collage piece.

Here I tried to remember how Mary had painted one of hers and wasn't happy with how it was going so went in a different direction a bit. I really wish these pictures were better but I have terrible lighting at home. My mom got me one of those light boxes for Christmas one year but the lights don't seem strong enough. May just have to make my own and hit Home Depot for some mac daddy lights.

This page is the result of a pair of collages I started where I covered the pages first with old papers from books and newspapers. See the last couple of pictures for better details.

This canvas was from another lesson in the journaling class where we utilized pictures and/or words from magazines or photos. It is a conglomeration of a couple of art pieces that inspired me. One was with the sunburst pattern and the other utilized the rolls of paper. I started with words or phrases that spoke to me and found it was a bit garish so toned it down with gesso (can you tell I use it a lot?), added my paper rolls from magazine text pages and splattered black gesso on it and used an old credit card for additional black lines.

These two canvases are collages that started with old papers and book pages and then I used the color washes with stencils and as drips. Also used some black gesso for the lines. I really like these but I'm trying to decide if they need a focal point and what the heck that should be. I may get some bigger number stencils and do the same as I did on the journal pages but still undecided. Any thoughts? Do I need to tweak them some more before trying to sell them on Etsy?

Well, I think that will have to be enough catching up for now. ;-)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did with my wonderful family and extended family and managed to not make myself miserable with eating too much.

Thanks for stopping by.

Camping

2011-10-29T12:48:00.001-04:00

Camping in North Georgia with my beautiful sweet sister. It is a tad cold as we sit here bundled to our eyes enjoying the gorgeous fall colors.

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Will it ever be done...

2011-09-18T21:43:00.001-04:00

I am slowly trying to get back into the creative swing of things but first I have to put all my crap, uh, I mean supplies back into my cupboards. So mom and I have been making piles and sorting and even a little purging. The big push stated Labor Day weekend and unfortunately is still going. For some reason it feels like shifting sand, never truly going anywhere. I know that isn't true since some things are now put away but my dining room is still utter chaos.

Last month I did get to play some and I made an addition to a background I had created that needed a focal point. I added a nice rusty hinge that always looked like part of an angel to me and gave her wings using grunge board butterfly wings and covering with decorative napkins. I also added some tulle for added whimsy. This isn't a good picture but you'll get the idea.

I also had an awesome time Thursday night at a class by Mary Freeman called Visual Journalism. It was an intro to the six week class that starts this Thursday and I highly recommend it if you are anywhere the Alpharetta, Georgia area. The class is about being real and using the creative process to dig deeper into your heart with the added benefit of playing with different ideas for layering and experimenting. Let me know if you want info on where to sign up.

For the first class I didn't really do a journal page since they gave us a choice of paper or mat board and I went for the mat board. One of Mary's examples had grey which is a color I haven't used before and I felt like taking a chance so started with that as my base. Mary gave us little packets with various papers to play with and mine had a picture of a door and knew that had to be the focal point. I added a little green and pink and just had to have some drippage. I'm not sure if it's done because I did want some words so I'm letting it percolate.

Well, I suppose I should go to bed since 4:30 am is going to be here way too soon. Sigh.

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Just a note...

2011-08-07T23:00:00.001-04:00

So yesterday when I was driving home from a morning at the office, and yes it was a Saturday, I saw a jeep coming from the other direction and as I prepared to do the Jeep Wave the other driver did an exuberant full arm out the window wave. Just made my day. For those of you unfamiliar with this the idea is that when you see another Jeep Wrangler, mind you only Wranglers, you lift two fingers up from the top of the steering wheel as a salute. Some people don't know this so it's a little disappointing when they don't wave back but when someone does there is a great feeling of camaraderie with a perfect stranger. There is a danger though of feeling the need when you are in another type of vehicle, even as a passenger.

On another note, just a few more weeks and my yearlong project (rolling out 280 brand spanking new computers in conjunction with migrating millions of documents to a new system and thankfully with a team of people) at work will come to an end and there will be no more excuses to not exercise or to not get cracking on finishing the great wood floor installation. There will also be time again to play with paints more than at best once a month. Even today I got to spend some quality time catching up on some blog reading (love Flipboard). So what if the bathroom still needs to be mopped.

Since I can't post without some sort of picture, here is a snippet of a piece I created earlier in the year. Hugs.

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Fly by blogging

2011-07-23T00:05:00.001-04:00

Well, still working lots and lots. I did go to a picnic last weekend that was for alumni of my high school. My brother, sister and I all went and it was interesting. Got to visit with some teachers I really liked. It's amazing how some of seemed so much older at the time but now there isn't that many years between us. Odd how that happens as you get older. We had our own after party at my brother's house for some sibling time. I do so love my brother and sister and am so grateful we all actually like each other and have so much fun.

A few weekends ago I did get in some creative time. This first one is just the beginning of the color layers but I love playing with textures. I had scored some European corrugated packing stuff at IKEA and have been itching to start using it along with some burlap and mesh.

This one was inspired by a video by Robin-Marie Smith. I love her art work with all the layering of colors. I used water color paper and freed it from it's bindings. ;-). I just went to town playing with stencils and Glimmer Mist

This is one that started it's life as the background for some ATC's I made for swap. I just had fun enhancing it and adding more layers with crackle paste and molding paste. I have to figure out how to give it a focal point but I think I'm liking it so far.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

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Shopping...

2011-06-26T13:52:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a lot of work, work, work for me but took some time out last weekend to go shopping at a local antique market. Mom and my friend Rebecca went with me. It was a little like old home week because we also met up with a couple of girls from our Inspired creative retreat last month. Brenda met us there and Andra was helping a friend with her booth. I've been one other time to the Lakewood 400 Antiques Market but this time there were more artists and met some very lovely ladies. I still would like to check out Scott's Antique Market sometime soon. I'm on the hunt for some old tin ceiling tiles don't cost a bunch and looking for a flea market that has hidden treasures that are cheap

I did find an awesome coffee bag, a piece of flocked wall paper from Andra's friend, some old hinges and some awesome vintage sewing patterns (25 cents each, score!). Oh, and these wooed block and metal things from an old textile factory for a buck a piece. I'm going to make some sort of background canvas and attach them. Haven't decided if I'm going to alter them or use as is. Love the look of them.

Oh, and one more score. At work one of the projectors died and one of the guys asked if I wanted it for the lenses. I said that was an awesome idea. Took it apart (lots and loys of screws) and found some very lovely pieces of glass I'm going to try my hand at soldering and will make some pendants. The larger pieces I will try to use in collaging.

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Catching up...

2011-05-22T21:23:00.002-04:00

So after a week of being back to the daily grind of work I'm finally sitting down for a recap of my time at Inspired Artist Workshop. It was such a lovely time playing with paint and other mediums and meeting some fantastic new friends.

Playing with hot glue (which caused a little cursing), jute and felt with Lolly Chessie.

Encaustic with Patricia Baldwin Seggebrush.

Painting on canvas and muslin with Alisa Burke.

Making jewelry using glass bubbles or resin with Becky Nunn.

Upcycling by fusing shopping bags with an iron and decorating them with Tracie Lampe.

Of all the classes I want to play more with encaustic and bought a starter kit and maybe make some more fused bags. Gotta do something with the big stack that my friend Rebecca collected for us. Guess what every one will be getting for Christmas. ;-)

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Inspired...

2011-05-12T07:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first not official day of Inspired Artist Workshop. This is my second and final year since Donna Downey has decided to go another route with her creativeness. I'm disappointed about it since this is the only thing like this that is within driving distance but I understand. This is a really big undertaking that she and her husband Bill do an excellent job with.

So yesterday my bestie, Rebecca and I took three workshops and enjoyed every one of them. Here are some pics.

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Some swaps

2011-04-25T21:29:00.001-04:00

Well, I went and signed up for a couple swaps and have been madly working in those the last few weeks.

One is a charm swap that started with Friendly Plastic but the size needed to be small (max 1 1/2") and I didn't like the results. I moved on to using metal washers from the hardware store and am much happier. I hammered the washers with a ball hammer, used alcohol inks, glossy accents, a bead and some silver wire. I am definitely going to make some more for some gifts and to sell.

I also signed up for an ATC swap and had to get that done over the weekend. Had so much fun covering a sheet of water color with old catalog pages and a layer of tissue paper to soften and then doing a bit of a wash with paint. Cut a portion of the sheet up to ATC sizes. I then cut out 28 birds from some paper napkins but before adhering them I used a pink watercolor crayon and made it drippy. After putting it all together and including a stamp I used some punchenella (sp) to add a touch of white dots here and there and finally stamped the word beauty. Beauty may be my word for the year. First comes transformation and then inner beauty which has it's own outer beauty. I think I'm supposed to learn something about that but being a little slow witted.

So 28 charms and 19 atc's later I'm done. I did enjoy finally having some time to play. Pictures below are pretty bad but will give you an idea of what they all look like.

And I can't express how excited I am to be going on vacation in two weeks to Donna Downey's Inspired. A week of being creative is so heavenly right now. Well, way past my bedtime so sweet dreams.

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Checkout this contest and classes

2011-04-17T14:48:00.001-04:00

There are some awesome online classes available at The Land of Lost Luggage and a great contest with the prize being lifetime classes. I have one class I've signed up for already and can't wait to try another. Chris Cozen and Julie Pritchard are very talented ladies with a passion for teaching.

http://julieprichard.squarespace.com/blog/2011/4/16/this-is-not-a-test-win-free-classes-for-life.html

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Just checking in again...

2011-04-06T07:50:00.001-04:00

Well, working crazy hours and not getting much play time. In May I'm going to Donna Downey's Inspired Artist Workshop and as a part of that I thought I didn't already have enough to do so signed up for a charm swap and ATC swap. so Sunday I started working on making a charm using friendly plastic. I watched hours of YouTube for ideas and technical details on Friday and Saturday night and after all that all I came up with was this sad little round thing with a little embellishment that ended up looking like eyes and a mouth. I couldn't even stand to take a picture of it. So my next round is going to involve washers from the hardware store. Hopefully I can manage something I'll be happy with since my deadlines are closing in fast. Whew! Now I'm stressed out. Must need a nice serene beach scene.

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Checking in

2011-03-27T15:01:00.001-04:00

Well, haven't had any creative time lately but I had a lovely mini vacation last weekend in sunny Florida. We went to celebrate Ellen's birthday, mother of Rebecca, one of my best friends. Our friend Lana offered her house for the weekend and we were prepared for crashing on air mattresses and then we were surprised when her boss offered their beach house. It was a very lovely and relaxing house with a small pier out on the bay side in Cape San Blas.

We had good food , good laughs, a lovely walk on the beach and an altogether lovely time.

Mom and the birthday girl Ellen

Our lovely hostess, Lana

A walk on the beach.

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Playing with paper and paint...

2011-02-27T20:25:00.001-05:00

Had a lovely day with the girlies yesterday. They scrapbooked and I worked on some collages I had started. The set below is my first diptych attempt. Technically I should hing them but I haven't decided if they would look better framed. I'm also contemplating selling them on Etsy. I started with layering some colors on the canvases and had fun with using some sequin waste and stencils for the background. I layered on some scrapbook paper (including a fabulous piece of embossed felt), old papers, words torn out of magazines, a bird and nest cut out of paper napkins, some not so old pieces of lace, Maya Road chipboard trees, a couple international stamps and some little metal frames. I got stuck at one point because I had a large area that was way too much pink. Not sure why I am in such a pink mode lately. I usually stay away from it but I am having fun with it. Need to play with some orange next maybe.

This is another collage I did a few months ago. I even used a piece of baby wipes saved from previous painting wipe ups. I need to flatten it but thinking about putting it on Etsy too.

Catching up...

2011-02-21T07:48:00.001-05:00

I've managed to have a nice weekend with a little creative time and a little to do list time. Saturday I spent some time with one of my best friends, Rebecca, hanging at Michael's for a crop. I started a diptych collage but only got as far as some preliminary layers of paint so no pictures yet. I seem to be in a girly phase with pinks. Rebecca did a couple of lovely layouts that I'm sure she'll be posting soon.

Yesterday I installed a new light over my craft table (old gold chandalier v new brushed nickle). The shades are more beige than the white in the picture. Did laundry and vacuumed. Still need to mop but it can wait a bit longer. Don't want to get too crazy with the to do list stuff.

I have another collage I created towards the end of the year that I will post about soon but here is a card I made for my sister's birthday that started last May. One of the workshops I took at Inspired last year was with Margie Romney-Aslett where we refolded a manila folder into an accordion type thing. We only got a little way done with it because she concentrated more on some techniques like the rosettes. As I was working on it in class I decided I would make it for my sister. Didn't have her future birthday in mind but by the time I actually finished it that's what happened. I made a couple of tag notes to go in it where I wrote her some personal messages. There was one bird in the original design but I decided to add some more and a couple of butterflies scattered in. My sister is one of those special people who is just a love bug and who has been going through a lot of personal painful stuff. For me the birds and the butterfly are a symbol of good changes to come for her where she morphs into a new her with wings to fly and become who she wants to be. Love you bunches and bunches Sher-bear.

We have a winner!

2011-02-17T07:34:00.000-05:00

Well, after a mad dash trying to visit all 871 blogs, I only made it through about 500 of them. Fortunately the list will remain and I can finish at a more leisurely pace. I had to tell myself last night at 11 pm that even if I could get to all of them it wouldn't alter my life in anyway so they would just have to wait for another day. It doesn't help when you try to go look at all the Etsy or Artfire shops and Flickr.

I'm estatic that I had 196 people who wanted my collage and I have a bunch of lovely new followers. It's probably going to take me a month to be sure I have visited everyone who left a comment and/or followed but I'll get to you. I think I must have added at least 100 blogs to follow myself. Lordy! There were so many beautiful items created and lovely people to meet.

So to the really important information. I ran the random number generator and Lucky 7 won. Sarah is a dancer and choreographer, lives in the UK and she makes beautiful cards. Check her out.

One World One Heart 2011

2011-02-06T21:53:00.002-05:00

It's that time again for the yearly One World One Heart giveaway. This is so much fun and there are already over 800 entries. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to visit all of the blogs but I'm going to give it a whirl. It is so much fun to meet new people in blogland and discover new artists. This is the fifth year of the event and my third time to participate. I'm sad to say this is the final one that Lisa Swifka is doing although I imagine it is a lot of work to do this every year. The rules are posted here and the blog roll is here. On the morning of February 17th I will 'draw' a name and announce the winner here on my blog.

So for those of you who are new to my blog let me introduce myself. I live outside of Atlanta, Georgia, theoretically in suburbia although there are cows down the street. When I first moved into my house in 1998 I could hear roosters down the way and the stars in the sky were so vivid. Now we have shopping centers and a lot of what I call light pollution. Still a little bit in the country and the North Georgia mountains are within sight. I work 40 miles away in almost downtown Atlanta in a law firm as manager in the IT department.

I'm a bit of a workaholic so I don't have a lot of free time but I love being creative and exploring new techniques. I actually started out scrapbooking which morphed into card making which has morphed into mixed media collaging. I also want to play with making jewelry so that is next on the list. I also love photography but have been woefully neglecting it.

So for my give away is a recent collage I did on 12x12 watercolor paper. I used paper, fabric, antique wall paper, paint, postage stamps, a Donna Downey tree stamp and buttons. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment saying hello. I look forward to "meeting" you.

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T17:14:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas.

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Snow!!

2010-12-12T13:18:00.001-05:00

I'm having a lovely day making Christmas cards and watching it snow outside. It's probably just a dusting but pretty anyway.

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So slow...

2010-11-02T13:57:00.002-04:00

Well, even with Rebecca and Mom's help we only got the molding completed in one room but we did get all my cabinets moved back in. Forgot to take a picture of that. It does take longer when you are unpacking new tools and trying to figure out how to use them without harming yourself or your helpers. There were a couple pieces I had to do over three times to get it right. Did get one wall in the foyer done. It's a good thing I've given myself months to get all this done. Just have to get the molding done in time for Thanksgiving but I am hoping to get the stairs done for Christmas.

Caught Rebecca taking pictures of me taking pictures so this is a little blurry.

One of my new toys. Does a great job on the miter cuts.

The quarter round was the hardest with figuring out the right angle to cut for the corners. I have templates now to keep it straight. I tell you there's nothing like clean pristine baseboards. If only they would stay that way.

Can't help but show these. Little Pixie washed old man Scooter and went to sleep hugging him.

And here is Tigger hanging off the couch just so he can be close to Puppy.

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Floor saga update...

2010-10-26T18:51:00.001-04:00

Weekend before this past one I took a break for a sisters camping trip. My sister Sherri and I loaded up the Jeep and headed up to the North Georgia forest service roads after work. Didn't make it in time to work in day light so put the tent up with light from lanterns. It was just a bit cold that night too so slept with many layers. Our camp stove was being difficult so cooked all our meals over the flame with a nifty grill table gadget. All in all it was a beautiful weekend with a touch of color on the trees. Even did a little off roading on some rugged trails and visited a lovely waterfall.

This past weekend was a long one for me since I needed to use up some vacation time. Most of it was dedicated to painting some trim and installing the flooring. Made great headway with the help of my awesome friend Rebecca and my awesome Mom.

I was hoping to get the basemold installed and furniture put back in but lost a day over drama from escaped kitties. My little furry children are indoor kitties because of neighbor dogs, busy road, and sundry wild animals who will eat them. A door blew open and two of them escaped causing two nights of worry, a few tears here and there, and chasing down leads from caring neighbors. Finally got them back and we are all calmed down now.

I have to say I'm really happy with how the floor is turning out and I love the color. I'm hoping to get the stairs done by Thanksgiving and then the view from the front door will be taken care of. I have a feeling that with the holidays and getting Christmas cards made that the kitchen and family room won't happen until January and my bedroom in February. We shall see.

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Finally making headway

2010-10-11T13:07:00.003-04:00

The first Saturday of this month I finally got to hang with the girls and have some creative time. We called it a scrap shower since we combined Scrapbooking (and other creative endeavors) and a baby shower for one of the girls. My friend Rebecca made the cutest cupcakes with paper butterflies on top. Should have grabbed a picture but you can visit Rebecca's blog to see.

I worked on making some artwork for Mom. You know how moms can be. They think everything you do is great and mine wants to put everything on the walls. I made this and had words on it but didn't like the way they looked so peeled the pieces of paper back off. I really like the little rectangles of previous layer exposed that happened as a result. The tree stamp is a nice big one from Donna Downey and this is a 12x12 piece of watercolor paper. I had fun using a mixture of paper, fabric, wallpaper, postage stamps, buttons and paint.

On another note, I finally made some headway on the wood floor. Started out Satuday figuring outy first few rows and cuts and found out that the table saw I borrowed didn't have a neccessary piece to keep the boards straight for longer cross cuts so off to Lowes to get something else (after researching and ordering on the Internet of course). Ended up with this awesome one that can do rip cuts and cross cuts. It's called a hardwood floor saw and is somewhat convertible. I'll have to take a picture of it. Rebecca came over Sunday and was an immense help in keeping me on track with my cuts and with all the glueing we had to do. It's only a small start but I am on my way.

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Scintilating Saga

2010-09-26T19:25:00.002-04:00

Hope I spelled that right. Foyer is finally scraped as good as it's going to get. After talking to a couple of the guys at work they pointed out that just replacing the shoe mold might not be enough to cover the expansion gap needed so off came the base molding too.

While I was working I decided to watch some Dr. Oz. It got me thinking about what do I truly do for myself that falls under the good for me category. Good for my body or my soul type of good. Today it was Dr. Oz and contemplating how to get back on track with weight loss. Three years ago I had gastric bypass and lost 100 pounds over about 18 months and then maintained for another six. Then I received a promotion at work which involves longer hours lots of stress and less me time and I've gained back about a size and a half. So I'm thinking something needs to change. Not my job because I like it and I need to make a living.

I'd like to challenge myself to do one thing each day that is to my benefit be it health, creativity, or spiritual. Of course I'm already afraid of failure but I should give it a whirl any way.

What do you do for yourself? How often do you manage to focus on your own growth?

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Too exciting...

2010-09-20T07:10:00.001-04:00

or not. Spent the weekend scraping up wood glue in the foyer and I'm not even half done. I set out for Lowes after a stint of it Saturday morning because I remembered someone had at least a biodegradable adhesive remover. It wasn't Lowes and I just didn't feel like multiple hardware stores. So now I have to decide if I'm going to try some this week or not and just how clean does the concrete need to be. I'm also tempted to remove the base moulding because I like the look of that on top of the wood rather than just using shoe moulding over the gap between the wood and the base moulding. We shall see.

Here is the work so far although it doesn't look like much. Mom's helping with the clean up.

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Cry Uncle...

2010-09-12T18:42:00.001-04:00

Well, after spending hours/days trying to pry up the wood in my foyer my mom pipes up and says Joe (a contractor her boss uses) said he would do it for $100. I said seriously! Now you tell me? Below is a picture of the section I managed to do on my own. Took two days before I could move without major soreness. It took Joe's son all of four hours to do the rest.

So now it's on to scraping up the leftover glue and hopefully at least starting the installation.

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Ripping up wood...

2010-08-29T15:41:00.001-04:00

Well, the wood has been ordered and will arrive sometime this week. Hopefully I will have the foyer wood removed by the end of next weekend.

It's a little harder than I anticipated but starting to get a groove. It sure is hard to find the right tools for it. Flooring guy at Lowe's said either rent a floor ripper for a couple hundred a day or a mallet and wonder bar. Got the wonder bar but it's not as good as my big wrecking bar and brute force. Oh, and if you ever think about glueing down wood, DON'T. It's very mean to the poor fool who is going to have to remove it in the future.

I think I've found the perfect work plan though of you are a single girl doing it alone. Get plenty of rest and get up late. Fix a nice breakfast along with a nice big cup of caffeine. Watch HGTV while you gather strength and absorb any additional tips and techniques you can. Finally, start hacking away and take periodic HGTV breaks to ensure good technique. The only drawback at the moment is I'm not sure I will be able to move my right arm tomorrow. Better soak in Epsom salts tonight.

Watching HGTV at the moment learning how to demo tile. Never mind that I don't have any (yet).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Taking a walk...

2010-08-07T17:14:00.000-04:00

Our second girlie vacation day began with a half mile walk to see a waterfall and a few flights of stairs. Going back up the stairs was the real workout. Then back to the house for lunch and general napping. It was a lovely afternoon. Nice quiet time to catch up on some blog reading that I have been sorely missing.

Girl's weekend

2010-08-06T15:32:00.001-04:00

I'm currently sitting on a deck listening to the rain and looking at the mountain views. The girlies and I are enjoying a weekend getaway that may or may not include some creative time. Two of us did take a little walk up the hill and managed to get back just before the rain. Ah, so peaceful.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The floor saga...

2010-07-29T06:58:00.000-04:00

Well, there is an awful lot of prep work for stripping concrete to get it ready for stain and looks like next step would be a big floor sander to get the dang glue line out of the middle. I thought about paint but that would take a lot of work applying varied colors so it didn't look so flat. So, now I'm looking at bamboo flooring. After searching high and low for really good prices I've settled on iFloor. They seem to have good customer service although the drawback is not being able to see any bigger samples. I have a few more samples coming in the mail but I've narrowed it down to these three colors. The first two are very close but the first one has a touch more red to it. My dilemma now is do I go with the more brown tone (middle) that I like the best or do I go with redder one that almost matches the wood of my furniture. Seems like that would be a bit much. What do you think? The third one's sample is on the way but seems like it might work better for not being so close to the color of the furniture and give me me brown tones. We shall see. It will arrive any day now. I'm going to go ahead and try to do the entire first floor and hopefully the stairs and upstairs hallway. Bedrooms will have to wait. So more fun to look forward to of ripping up carpeting and the existing wood in the foyer. Yay!

Scrapbook class...

2010-07-24T09:23:00.001-04:00

I keep forgetting to mention that my awesome friend Rebecca is going to be teaching some scrapbooking classes at a couple local Michael's.

Starting July 27th, she's going to be teaching the core classes of "Scrapbook Design & You" at two local Michael's stores. Here's a little blurb from her blog about the classes:

SDU is a four week curriculum designed to teach the basics of scrapbooking including tools, photo organization, color theory, line, shape, writing techniques, and page enhancements.

Go check out her post about the classes and, if you're local... SIGN UP! You won't regret it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We have a winner!

2010-07-23T11:24:00.002-04:00

My lovely assistant, Dwayne, pulled NatashaMay's name from the pile. Check out her lovely artwork on her blog. NatashaMay, I'll mail it as soon as I have your address.

Honorable mentions go to the other lovely ladies who replied:

Rebecca
Rachel
Kimberly

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Giveaway...

2010-07-16T07:36:00.001-04:00

I've gone and purchased a magazine twice (not the first time this has happened) and didn't make it back to the store in time to return it. Guess I'll just have to give it away. It's the spring issue of Somerset Memories. Just leave a comment that you'd like it and Friday, July 23rd I'll draw a name and mail it out.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The floor saga

2010-07-11T18:50:00.001-04:00

I must be the slowest renovator ever! That being said it does take a while when you have this huge table that has to be rolled back and forth and you have to wait for one side of the room to dry so you can roll it out of the way. I have the floors looking pretty good now except for this annoying glue squiggle going down the middle.

Yesterday I pulled out my little sander and determined I didn't have the right grit for the Jon so this morning hit it again. Working better but so slow. I may have to resort to renting a floor sander. Something to research this week. Anyone have experience sanding concrete?

Here are some pics of the progress.

This is called girlie sanding. My arm was getting sore and found I could more easily use the weight of my leg. And yes, I do my best work in my pajamas. ;-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bare bones

2010-06-08T13:38:00.001-04:00

Well, I thougt I'd have some pictures already from the classes I took at Donna Downey's Inspired getaway but I've been working on packing up my craft room, clearing out all the furniture and ripping out the carpeting. Let me tell you I was a wee bit sore from all that bit in a good way.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how to prep the concrete for stain. There's a bit of paint to get off around the perimeter. Tried some paint remover but looks like I'm going to have to get more aggressive. Word of advice though, wear gloves. Gave the palms of my hands a nice little chemical peel just from washing the brush out. My brother in law advised a good scrubbing as the next stage to see what else comes up. My ultimate goal is to get a variegated or marble look with an Eco friendly stain for easy cleanup. Worse case I'll hate it and will resort to laying a bamboo floor.

Any advice and lessons learned are welcome!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Confessions...

2010-05-05T12:47:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted and I have to admit I've lost my creative mojo. And I hate to post without having something to show even if it's just a photo I took (my camera is sitting somewhere in the house collecting dust at the moment). With my new position at work I've been putting in long days and by the weekend I've been useless. Unfortunately I'm a not so secret workaholic and trying to get back on the road to recovery. My paints are calling out to me and I still have ideas swirling in my head. It's the actual sitting down and getting to it that is the problem.

I think I am starting to get the itch again but I'm also in the process of packing up all my supplies so I can rip out the carpeting. My house is 12 years old now and sadly in need of a flooring makeover. I don't have the money right now but just can't take it any longer so testing the option of utilizing the concrete floor at least on the first level. I actually like the look which is more contemporary so trying to figure out if I need to use stain or paint and what color to go with. I have found a couple places that carry eco friendly materials so going that route as soon as I get the color thing figured out. It also has the advantage of being easy to clean up if I spill paint. My grand plan is to put down bamboo flooring one day throughout the house. Well, I digress.

I do want to say thank you to those who keep checking in on me to be sure I'm still alive. Your persistence is a great encouragement to me.

Next week one of my best friends, Rebecca, and I are going to Inspired Artist Workshops so hopefully I will post things from the fun classes we take. I have to say I'm really excited to get away and spend several days devoted to fun and creativity.

Again, thanks for not giving up on me. ;-)

OWOH Winner...

2010-02-15T10:12:00.004-05:00

We have a winner! Gina Luna is lucky number 47.

One World One Heart

2010-02-07T20:58:00.005-05:00

I almost missed it this year. It is time for the One World One Heart giveaway. It's a wonderful event that encourages you to visit new blogs and make new friends. This year I am giving away an unframed 8x8 mixed media piece I call 'Eye Of The Beholder'. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog and how I can contact you. You have until midnight on February 14th to post and on the morning of February 15th I will select a random winner using one of those randomizer sites. Don't forget to click on the picture above to see a list of other blogs with giveaways. Happy hunting.

Baby steps...

2010-02-07T17:38:00.001-05:00

It has been too long since my last post. I think I mentioned that last September I became a manager in my department and the focus of my work has changed a lot and it is requiring a lot of extra time. My day consists of leaving the house at 5:30 am and getting home about 8:00 pm with a whole lot of trying to stay on top of projects, people and processes. Unfortunately lunch time consists of sitting at my desk and playing some mindless Facebook games while munching on a sandwich. I do need to learn to work a little more effectively and to get out of the office earlier so I can add exercising to my daily schedule.

So besides work I have not managed to be very creative. My last endeavor was Christmas cards but I sure did have fun making them. I didn't do a very good with the pictures below but you can see a good bit of the layering. I started with sheets of heavy watercolor paper that I covered with crinkled tissue paper. I then painted them with black gesso and went to town with layers of metallic paints and used various sizes of circle items and also splattered some. I really had a lot of fun with the process. I cut down the sheets to the size I needed and did a little more layering with metallic ribbon. It is a little challenging photographing shiny metallic surfaces. Probably should have pulled out the tripod.

So today is about baby steps. I had a really long list of things to do and I've only completed a few items but what I've checked off is posting on my blog, cleaning my crap off the breakfast table and exercising. Just before Christmas I bought a Wii and the balance board with the intent of using it to exercise regularly. I figured it would be better than any other equipment because if I fail in the exercise plan it will still get used for entertainment for family and friends. A couple weekends ago I did manage to do three whole yoga poses before bailing but today I started a 30 day challenge and did a 30 minute startup and even played a round of tennis. So now my goal is to keep that up and to get back into the creative flow.

We shall see how I do but I'm going to continue with the baby steps theme for the moment. My next step for the evening is to visit some of my favorite blogs that I have been neglecting.

Hope everyone is having a blessed and happy new year!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T23:00:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a blessed and wonderful Christmas.

Yesterday was a wonderful time of family, friends and fun. Of course there was also massive amounts of food, ribeye roast, baked potatoes, asparagus, bacon wrapped oysters, cookies, chocolate cake and probably something else I'm forgetting.

Today was my traditional pajama day full of watching movies. Watched Julie Julia and if I weren't in such a bum mood I would have had to start cooking up a storm. It was definitely inspiring. Well back to my couch potatoedness.

Sunrise

2009-11-09T07:04:00.001-05:00

Not a lot to tell right now. I've spent the last two weekends sorting,
filing and shredding. Something I've been putting off for at least a
year so you can imagine the piles. It's sort of like trying to clean
all the sand out of the nooks and crannies after a day at the beach
but not nearly as fun. Now I have to organize all the stuff I've been
accumulating to use for texture in mixed media. My friends just shake
their heads at me every time I say "Don't throw that away. I can use
it somehow."

This morning was a beautiful sunrise. Not sure how well this will
translate from the iPhone but it was prettier than this. Had to hold
the phone through the blinds in my office.

Updates...

2009-10-25T16:36:00.012-04:00

Finally uploaded pictures from my camera for recent projects. I framed the two pieces I created for my office and here are some closeups of the textures. I had fun using tissue, string, modeling paste, cheese cloth, metal, and some pieces of painted paper towels.

Last Saturday had the girls over for scrapbooking and played with some burlap type ribbon and making grunge board look like rusty metal. I used the keyhole grunge board and coated it with modeling past to cover the diamond pattern that it had and to help with the look of layers of paint. Painted it with some orange and black paints and added some coarse pumice and then used a combo of blues and black to paint on the blue. I had my doubts that I could pull it off but am pleased with the results. Used one of my lady stamps for the eye peaking through. I believe I will post this on Etsy and I'm calling it The Beholder.

I also finally started looking at the videos for an online class I signed up for called Spill It!. I haven't started anything yet but I'm so excited that I finally know how to make drips. Sad to say I've been trying all wrong and now know at least one better way. Carmen in the instructor and I just love her colors and textures. Check out her art on Flickr.

Happy weekend...

2009-10-18T18:27:00.001-04:00

The girls came over yesterday to scrapbook while I painted and burned pictures to cd for Misti from her son's, Jonathan, birthday. Haven't replaced my wireless router yet so had to go old school. Managed to take some pictures of some pieces I've completed recently but can't upload them yet. Here are some pics using my iPhone. They don't quite do justice but give an idea.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Stealing time

2009-10-16T22:43:00.001-04:00

Well, work is definitely time consuming with new responsibilities but I am enjoying the challenges. Just need to clone myself. I have managed to do a few mixed media pieces. Here's the beginnings of two that I recently finished. Hopefully tomorrow there will be good enough light to take pictures of them.

I also signed up for an online class that looks like it will be a lot of fun. I'll have to post the link since this post is coming from my iPhone. My wireless router died so have to get a new one sometime this weekend so I can have my Internet back.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Working...

2009-10-09T13:00:00.000-04:00

I work with a bunch of guys. Meet my boss. Nough said.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Little one

2009-09-21T17:01:00.001-04:00

Saw my youngest neice yesterday. I guess that also includes my
brother and sister in law. :-). Playing with Toy Camera on my iPhone
again. May actually manage to blog more with this thing.

Playing with my iPhone

2009-09-19T15:21:00.001-04:00

Read an entry by Michael DeMeng about the Toy Phone app and just had
to try it out and am loving it. I'm emailing this so will have to come
back and add the link you'll love his photos.

New kitty...

2009-09-14T09:04:00.001-04:00

Well, things have been very busy at work with a promotion and new
responsibilities. That's my excuse for not being a better blogger. I
have been very leisurly working on two pieces I hope I like enough to
hang in my new office. Yes, I got to graduate from Vineland to an
actual office. It still feels odd.

On another note this little kitty wandered into our yard hungry and
scared and Momma brought her in. The boys, Scooter and Tigger, aren't
sure what to make of her yet. I decided to call her Pixie but not sure
I'm sold on that so open to any suggestions.

A little catch up...

2009-08-25T13:12:00.005-04:00

I'm afraid things at home and work have been very hectic but wanted to at least pop in and say hello, I'm alive and still kicking. Last month I participated in the World Wide Photo Walk which was fun and enlightening. Here are a few pics from an area in Atlanta called Atlantic Station. Have not even had time to tweak them but here they are anyway.

A hard week...

2009-08-09T21:17:00.005-04:00

Well, I thought it was probably time for me to check in here. It's been a hard week and I'm still not sure I will ever go into the details in my blog but my oldest nephew, Tom, died this week at just 20 years old. In some ways it was a surprise but in others it wasn't. He's been living in a deep dark place for the last couple of years that he was not able to come out of nor allow for the help he needed. It is sad but the struggle is over for him and now it is the living who have to come to terms with all the what if's and let them go. I have to say that I have a very wonderful circle of friends and family who give their support and love.

In a quirky way that speaks to me I found out that a little painting I did with the theme of Embrace Life is being featured in an Etsy collection.

A big thank you and hug to all who have been and will be praying for my sister's family during this dificult time for them.

A Creative Day...

2009-07-26T18:55:00.003-04:00

Of course any good day starts with a lovely cup of coffee. A number of months back I started making my coffee with a coffee press. It is very yummy especially when you make it espresso strength. I've had a little experiment going of trying to get the foam on top each time but haven't quite figured out the deciding factor yet. I even had a little swirl with the cream but disturbed it too much when trying to find a spot with enough light to take a photo.

I've mentioned some of the art classes on dvd and one I watched recently was by Ann Baldwin called Text & Texture in Mixed Media Collage. It was really more about basic texturing instructions but very informative. I also bought her book Creative Paint Workshop which has some great examples and some projects you can follow. I utilized a photo of a tree I had taken a while back at Piedmont Park and incorporated it as my focal point. I didn't take pictures of the process and wish I had. At several points I was not happy with it but once I did a final wash with white gesso and added the birds on a wire stamp from the Tim Holtz collection I was much happier. It's going into my Etsy shop so hopefully someone else will like it.

More transformations...

2009-07-12T21:32:00.004-04:00

So to continue transforming from something I don't like into something I do like, I took the above play canvas and tweeked it some more with Golden interference paint and cut it up for ATC's. I added some embossed metal, stamped metal hearts and funky yarn. All this to participate in an ATC trade with ELK who's art you really need to check out.

I still had some bits of the canvas left and really liked the ATC's so decided to make some cards too. Picture came out a little dark so I'll have to reshoot it. These cards will be going to my Etsy site.

A lovely new friend, Mary, sent me some punchanella after I asked if she knew any place in town that carries it. She sent not just one but two different kinds. I can't wait to play with it although at the moment it is so pretty and shiney. I actually can see using some as an element somewhere. We shall see.

Also want to wish Misti Happy Birthday again. Check out her wonderful photography of her son who is just too cute.

I didn't post a picture of the results but over the weekend I tried to make a faux rusty metal sheet using paper and paint and failed. I started with a picture from Cloth, Paper Scissors and found that I can't just look at it and figure out how to do it. If anyone knows of a youtube video that shows how to do something like that please send me the link. I'm searching but haven't found one yet although there sure are a lot of fun tutorials out there. Got majorly side tracked with some by Gary Reef. He is an Australian artist and a hoot.

So excited...

2009-07-06T17:40:00.005-04:00

I'm so excited! Last week I sold my very first piece of artwork on Etsy to a lovely lady who lives not too far from me. I have to say I was tempted to hand deliver it but didn't want to appear too crazy or stalker like. ;-)

Some other things I've been doing is revisiting some pages in my art journal that I'm just not happy with. This first one just felt too bare and simplistic but I had to walk away for a while.

I bought some lovely metalic Lumiere paints and played with them on and used some Golden Air Brush paint. It probably still doesn't have enough depth but I'm much happier with the feel of it now. I at least enjoy seeing it when I flip the pages.

This is another one that felt very flat and boring so I ripped off the buttons and metal flower and went to town playing with layering paint.

I've also created some ATC's for a swap but darn it all my computer is no longer recognizing my camera and I can't dump my photos. Now all I have to do is figure out why. Hopefully I won't have to roll back to a previous state. I have a love hate relationship with computers, love them when they behave and hate them when they start acting up. Oh well.

I hope everyone had a lovely 4th of July weekend with friends and family.

Scrapista Update...

2009-07-03T17:07:00.003-04:00

Update, update!! I'm a little late in posting this but class information has been posted for Scrapista. Visit the site for more info but here is a sneak peak.

Playing with my macro lens....

2009-06-07T00:11:00.003-04:00

Today was spent preparing for the Scrapista retreat class but also took some time out for picture taking with my macro lens. It is so interesting to me how it does that line across for the sweet spot of focus when doing the up close ones. I'm going to have to play with it a lot more to get familiar with what the effect will be based on how far away I am.

Exciting News...

2009-05-31T19:22:00.005-04:00

I have exciting news! I'm actually going to be teaching a class for a scrapbooking retreat in September for Scrapista. I'm still working on what I'm going to teach but it's going to involve utilizing paper scraps, paint and a canvas. I think it will be a lot of fun and hope my fellow scrapbookers will too. I'll post more about it later. Last weekend I spent some time working out what the project will be but have to iron out some kinks. Waiting for paint to dry is one issue.

Speaking of last weekend, it was so lovely. I spent a lot of time taking craft tissue and making art papers with them to use in future collages. I mentioned before that I bought a dvd art class by Carrie Burns Brown. She has lots of great ideas on papers to create so I've tried a few and am having a lot of fun with it. The pictures below are some samples but I've lots more to try. Of course then I need to actually do something with them. So many ideas swirling around in my head. I just hope I can manage to create some of them.

While waiting for paints to dry I watched YouTube videos by mixed media artists and found Gary Reef. He has some wonderful videos on some techniques to try. Also check out his web site and a social group, Art from the Heart.

Overall it was a wonderful three day weekend of relaxation and creativity. I'm so ready for another weekend like that. Today was supposed to be a creative day but alas, I became a couch potato and posting on my blog is as far as I've gotten. Must have needed it. Time to go back to uselessnes now. Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.

Tagged - Happy Things...

2009-05-17T14:51:00.003-04:00

I've been tagged by Haley to do a list of 6 things that make me happy. Of course that is a tall order to narrow it down but here goes.

My kitties, Scooter and Tigger, expecially when they purr.

Spending time hanging with my family and friends.

Laughter.

Listening to the sound of rain on the leaves.

Paint brush in hand and playing with creating something.

Knowing that I am loved by my God, my family and my friends.

I'm supposed to pick 6 others but I'm going to let you choose who you are. Make a comment that you are joining in and I will add a link to your blog in this post.

Special Announcement...

2009-05-14T13:00:00.009-04:00

My very good friend Rebecca is embarking on a new adventure of hosting scrapbook retreats. Her maiden voyage is September 26th and it is going to be a ton of fun so check out her site for Scrapista and come join us.

Here is the scoop:

Our events are all about you! We want to make this the most comfortable, relaxing scrapbooking weekend ever.

Each guest will have their own table. No sharing! And we won’t take up valuable real estate with table decorations. Your reserved table space – a full six feet long – has plenty of room, and our table setup means that no one has to sit in the middle. Everyone has an end seat!

When you arrive in the morning, you’ll receive a special gift, as well as tickets for door prizes.

Once you’ve settled in, check out our class table. All classes are taught by experienced scrapbookers and maybe even a famous one! We offer classes at all skill levels and you’ll find that they are reasonably priced.

Scrapista knows that the majority of scrapbookers really just want to be able to concentrate on their projects. So, we won’t interrupt you every hour with games and competitions.

You won’t have to spend valuable time searching for food, either. Saturday’s lunch and dinner, and brunch on Sunday is included. This means that once you check-in the morning of the event, you don’t have to leave until the event ends!

After long hours of scrapbooking, make an appointment with our massage therapist on site to loosen up tight muscles so you feel refreshed and invigorated.

Just imagine what you will have accomplished at the end of this event. Projects and gifts are ready to wrap, layouts and albums are complete and hopefully, you’ve made new friends. All in a friendly, creative atmosphere designed with you in mind.

Playing with paint...

2009-05-05T12:53:00.010-04:00

This a continuation of my previous post so to speak. While the girls were napping I was painting away the whole weekend and actually have some things to show for it. A few months ago I ordered some dvds from Creative Catalyst Productions and am loving them. The first one I watched was on mixed media collage by Jacqueline Sullivan. I had so much fun playing with it and learned a valuable lesson on how to utilize cheese cloth better (instead of in my previous lumps). I still haven't decided if this is a finished piece or if I want to utilize it in collaging. I have a feeling I'll just have to make another one to play with. I've even thought about using it for a journal cover.

I've seen a number of posts about using paper towels to use up left over paints and this is one is in the Traci Bautista style and is almost done. I'm thinking about stamping on top and using it for collaging. We shall see. I have her Collage Unleashed book and love it and bought the dvd which I haven't viewed yet.

The next two are me just playing with water color paper and paints.

This is one where I tried to recreate a piece in one of my many books and failed miserably. There is so much to learn! I'll still use this somehow or else continue working on it.

More playing but also trying out the clear tar gel and airbrush paints on water color paper.

The other dvd I watched over the weekend was Water Media Collage by Carrie Burns Brown. I only had a partial piece of patterned tissue left so only played with painting it black and then stamping on it for collaging. I have to say the papers she made and the subsequent collage was very exciting. I can hardly wait to play with it more.

This is another along one playing with color and stamping in molding paste. I'm not done with it yet.

This one I started with painting the canvas green and then last weekend added some oriental paper and corrugated cardboard and then applied a layer of crackle medium. Can't see the green paint anymore though. I'm tempted to leave it but it is meant to just be the start of something more. We shall see. May have to replicate this too to decide which part of the progression I like best.

Thanks for looking!

I miss vacation...

2009-05-03T19:29:00.001-04:00

A long weekend plus a large soft couch equals nap time. The girls didn't know it but I snuck in a shot while they were ensconced on the couch taking a nice long nap. Rebecca's boss was kind enough to let her take a small group to his vacation house in North Carolina so off Rebecca, Misti, Lisa and I headed and we had a wonderful time. As you can see there was no pressure to do anything in particular although we did call it a scrapbooking weekend.

This is Misti,

and you can't tell it but this is Rebecca.

I was smart enough to not take any naps. None of us had the energy though to document anything else about our time there. I finally took some shots of the things I worked on and will have pictures for my next post.

Blogging is going to be a bit spotty for me for a while because I have a project at work that is requiring a lot of extra time. I keep hoping to get caught up on my blog reading too but that isn't going well either so if I make a comment long after you've posted something please forgive.

It's about time...

2009-04-12T20:52:00.002-04:00

Well, I've finally started my own Etsy shop. Only took me all day to get the pictures together and set it up for just three items but it's a start. I've put a link in my sidebar with some pictures.

Last weekend had a wonderful time in Savannah with Mom and Sis. Since I spent the entire day (with a little time playing Mafia Wars on facebook) getting Etsy up and going I haven't uploaded the pictures yet but above are a couple shots from one of the parks. We had fun watching a sunset and a sunrise and shopping and exploring.

I am so looking forward to next weekend in the North Carolina mountains with friends. I'm going to take paints and books and play with some techniques. Unless I can snap an air card from work we will be without internet and I may die from it. We shall see. You'd think after being on computers all day everyday at work I'd welcome the lack of it but no, not me. I'm well and truly addicted.

Well, I hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter weekend. ttfn.

Cool Video...

2009-03-23T12:16:00.002-04:00

I just watched the coolest music video a blog called A New York City Life.

Check it out:

I am...

2009-03-22T17:41:00.003-04:00

artwork 009, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

This weeks Inspire Me Thursday's challange this week is to try to sum up yourself in one word. I'm not sure you really can just use one word but the closest I could come to is the word Changing. I hope to always be changing and growing. I guess growing is another word that I would apply to what my life is about. I hope that I am always growing but I know for sure that I'm changing.

This piece started with trying out some techniques for backgrounds I saw in Taking Flight using bits of paper with paint brayered on and then I applied some techniques from an online class by Pam Carriker for journaling. I'm trying my hand at the jornalistic style of collage and doodling. I think I like the results.

Thanks for looking.

Swirls

2009-03-18T18:51:00.002-04:00

Artwork 005, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

This week's IMT challenge was swirls and I'm a little late posting for it. Just under the wire here.

Playing with modeling paste and a swirls template. Haven't decided what else I want to do with this but had fun playing with textrues and layers.

I posted the full picture here.

Bamboo

2009-03-17T13:14:00.001-04:00

Atlanta Zoo 082 touched up, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

Finally trying to get back to posting for Inspire Me Thursday. I'm late on this one for the March 6th topic of Bamboo. Took this picture at the Atlanta Zoo of some bamboo with grafiti on it. Thought it added some nice visual texture.

Playing with paint...

2009-03-15T20:50:00.005-04:00

I've had a lovely weekend playing with paint. This first one is my first finished page of a journal I am working on from taking Pam Carriker's online class, Visual Journalism. I found the Henry David Thoreau quote online and felt it was a good one for the first page. I don't really like this page but I'm moving on and hoping the others come out better. I am really having fun with my new Uniball Signo white pen. It really is opaque. I've tried paint pens but they seem to be really sporadic with the amount of fluid that comes out and I end up making a big mess.

This one was inspired by a color combination I saw in Altered Surfaces by Chris Cozen. I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with it yet but I need to put my own stamp on it.

This one is inspired by Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts. I used a little trowel to spread out the paint and ended up with too much. I wanted more of the papers I used to show through so I've started another one but haven't taken pictures yet. I finally pulled out the brayer to paint with and I have to say I love playing with it. I tried her trick of laying bubble wrap in modeling paste but mine is more gloppy. Maybe the bubble wrap is a little flat so to speak. You just can't fine quality bubble wrap these days. ;-) Haven't decided what to do with this one either but I think it will make a nice background for something.

Well, time for me to head off to bed. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Oh, and on a side note I have really joined the Facebook world. I think it may be a sickness. I was watching it all weekend while I painted to see who I could add as a friend and what comments were being made. Lordy, all I need is another addiction.

A Birthday Celebration...

2009-03-15T18:46:00.004-04:00

Wednesday Mom, my sister and I had a lovely time celebrating my nieces birthday with lunch, a trip to the zoo and then dinner. Above is a pic of our lunch time and below is the card I made.

It's been years since I've gone to the zoo. The animals are so amazing although I feel sorry for them being cooped up even in the naturalized environments. Here are some of my favorites. The rest are on Flickr.

A little project...

2009-03-08T21:28:00.003-04:00

This is the little project I've been working on this week. Last month I went to a stamp show and purchased a few (okay maybe a lot) of stamps. One batch I got was a little more on the whimsical side and I wasn't sure what I'd do with them. So I just pulled it out and started playing with it. Then I had this decorated piece of paper and thought now what am I going to do with it. Hmm, wonder how it would look on corrugated card board? Hmm, needs some color on that, oh and what would it look like with crackle paint. So here you have the finished (in that I said walk away) product. There was also a run in with washers from the hardware store and alcohol ink. I had envisioned one of those pieces with lots of things attached but I couldn't envision anything else. The saying over the girls is:

He who has learning without Imagination has feet but no wings.

I'm quite partial to imaginiation. I think I will sell this on Etsy but I have to pull together some other items to go with it. Don't want it to be lonely.

On another note it was a lovely weekend. I should have spent more time outside but paint was calling me.

This week is my nieces 22nd birthday so we are going to the zoo to celebrate. It's been so long since I've been and I can't wait to take some photographs of the animals. I'll post some of those hopefully by the end of the week.

Oh, and the consensus on the rain photos is everyone liked the second one better which has a little clearer view of the circus in the background.

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Rainy day stuff...

2009-03-06T13:19:00.007-05:00

Here are two pictures of the same scene but with different aperture settings while focusing on the raindrops on the window. I work on the 18th floor and have a birds eye view of Cirque de Soleil and the trailers and tents. I can't decide which one I like best. Feel free to cast your vote.

This week I've actually been puttering at my table very slowly working on a small mixed media collagey kind of piece. Not sure if I will like it when I'm done. I'm trying to think outside the box and utilize some of the many techniques that I admire. Hopefully it will be done this weekend and I will post it.

What to do with chocolate wrappers

2009-03-05T13:21:00.001-05:00

042, originally uploaded by laenglehardt.

Well, last Friday I took my camera to work and played with a pile of Dove wrappers. This one is straight out of the camera. There is just something about them. They have some cool sayings, they came from chocolate, they sparkle, they came from chocolate...

You get the idea. I've got more of them and will post them after playing with them some. Also took some of the window with the Cirque de Solei tents in the background playing with the aperture settings. They didn't finish uploading last night so they will come later.

One World One Heart winners

2009-03-01T19:16:00.005-05:00

Well, I had announced the winner of my giveaway on the original entry but mistakenly put it at the end. After a couple of questions about who had won I realized my mistake. So here is the official announcement that Karen Mowrey of Blue Bee Designs was the winner of my very first mixed media painting.

I won a package of old papers from Debbie Overton which I can't wait to use.

The other item I won is this beautiful piece from Nancy Donaldson of All Pulped Out.

Just a little hello...

2009-02-24T12:10:00.001-05:00

I am doing very badly at blogging and have lots of goodies I've purchased or won that I need to post about but it will have to wait a bit longer. I do want to tell you about a blog I found in my wanderings from OWOH called Image and Spirit. I'm non-denominational by nature but all that matters is our love of God. This site is sponsored by the Episcopal Church and supports artists. There's some very lovely art and inspiring words you need to check out. Happy reading.

http://imageandspirit.blogspot.com/

One World-One Heart

2009-02-03T21:46:00.008-05:00

Alright, closing comments and will declare the winner a little later.

I've been wanting to do my very first give away and found out about this one that is done yearly called One World-One Heart. It is a fun way to get to know other bloggers. I've been trying to figure out what would be an appropriate giveaway for this and have decided to give away my very first mixed media painting for my first giveaway. It is a 12x12 canvas done mainly in acrylics with some paper buried in there and some cardboard. Just leave me a comment with your blog address and the drawing will be held on February 12th and the winner announced then. I'll also leave a comment on your blog letting you know you are the winner. Please visit the One World-One Heart site to see all the other participants and their cool givaways.

This is going to be fun. Of course now all I have to do is visit 800 other blogs that have joined in.

***********

Hello all, Lisa at OWOH recommends setting a closing time for taking entries so 7:30 am my time on the 12th will be closing time. I'd say midnight on the 11th but I will be asleep seeing as how I have this pesky day job that starts very early. I'll announce the winner by the evening of the 12th and will most likely use that nifty Random Number Generator.

Also want to thank you to all you who are visiting. I so did not expect this many entries and am humbled by it. I also want to give credit to Paulette Insall who's online backgrounds class I took and learned a lot about layering techniques which is how this giveaway painting came to be.

Thanks again for all your lovely comments.

_____________________________________________________

We have a winner! I used Random and meant to grab a screen shot but managed to close the screen without thinking. The winner is Karen Mowrey who I am notifying as we speak.

This was so much fun. I can hardly wait until next year. Now all I have to do is decide what to make for my giveaway. I think I'll do multiples next year like so many did this year.

Some flower fun...

2009-01-29T13:05:00.002-05:00

Found out about being able to create your own flower from my blogger friend Karen. Give it a whirl, it's fun.

Tag You're It...

2009-01-26T12:36:00.005-05:00

My blog friend Charlie tagged me. I have to tell 6 different facts about myself that most people do not know, then tag 6 other bloggers.

Here are the rules.

1. Link to the person who tagged you (as I did with Candace).

2. Mention the rules.

3. Tell 6 things about yourself.

4. Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.

5. Go to each person's blog and leave them a comment to let them know they've been tagged.

Here are my 6 facts:

I have to clear out the microwave display so it is back to the time and not flashing leftover seconds.

I go through phases where I don't make my bed in the morning. (okay, maybe it's not a phase).

I have an aunt who is six months younger than me.

I was born in Germany.

I love dark chocolate (ok, everyone should know that by now).

I hate vanilla scented stuff.

So now I have to pick on six other people. Please visit them and see what they say.

Rebecca

Misti

Stephanie - someone who needs a new post

Sandy - someone else who needs a new post

Jennifer - and yet another

Karen

Something special...

2009-01-21T18:58:00.004-05:00

A friend had a link for this on her blog and I dubiously went and read the article. It brought tears to my eyes with the beauty of the story. To me it says that forgiveness and hope are powerful tools.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

On another note, I finally viewed Obama's inaugural speech. You will rarely hear me mention politics because I'm a bit jaded. I tend to think politicians are people who like the lime light and like to play games with what the rest of us feel are very important things. I am also put off with so many people portraying one man as the hope of the world. To me his name is Jesus and no one else can come close. Humans are frail and cannot carry the world. But I do hope that Obama means all that he says and is able to make some very much needed changes. From his speech I gathered that he feels it is a joint effort to be made by everyone which is the only way real change can be made. I hope that he will be a sincere and good president and surround himself with wise council and that we all keep him and our country in our prayers.

Hello, my name is Laurel...

2009-01-14T22:13:00.003-05:00

(circa 1980ish)

and I'm a not so recovering addict of:

paper

ribbon

stamps

any publication from Stampington

cookbooks

odd bits and pieces

art supplies

books

magazines

reading blogs

Flickr

paper (I know I already said that but it bears repeating along with cookbooks and stamps)

I think I'm beyond intervention.

I just had to get that off my chest. Thank you.

Announcing...

2009-01-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

Well, my brother and sister in law have been expecting their first child to be born around February 3rd but she decided to come early. Lydia Grace Englehardt was born this morning, Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 8:52 a.m. She is 5 lbs., 11 oz. and is 19” long. They were hoping for a natural birth but Wendy (new momma) had high blood pressure and preclemsia so after trying the usual drugs had to have a cesarian. Both parents have survived the excitement although they are exhausted and Lydia is doing excellently.

For me this has been a weekend full of activity that isn't quite over. My birthday is tomorrow so last night I had a bunch of girl friends over for a pajama party to celebrate. Of course the evening was punctuated with ongoing reports of the delivery process and we didn't go to bed until 4 this morning. Everyone was up realtively early and after coffee and food everyone packed up to head home and my sister and I headed off to the hospital for a nice long visit. We arrived shortly after Lydia was back in her mother's arms from all the tests and watching since she was a premie. We had a lovely visit and will be back again tomorrow.

The only sad point to the weekend is I have to go back to work on Monday after two weeks off. Just trying not to think about that. Well, it's almost 8 pm and I think it is time to go to bed to catch up from last nights festivities. I hope everyone is having a lovely new year so far.

Peaceful...

2008-12-31T23:13:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone has a peaceful and wonderful new year filled with new adventures.

Practicing...

2008-12-31T00:27:00.001-05:00

So I joined a group called Shutter Sisters to help improve my photography and through that found Grey Street Girl. I find her photography inspiring and she was kind enough to reply to an email I sent her. She spends time every day at it even with a full time job. I'm not sure I can give it that much time especially since I have my fingers in so many things but it's a good goal to work towards. Today I put an aging apple out for the birds and said to myself like I do many times "You should take a picture of that." Well, today I did. These are a couple of the shots that I kind of like. Still needs work in the composition, focus and exposure.

I survived...

2008-12-28T00:28:00.005-05:00

Well, the week of Christmas was very busy. Cooking, cleaning, painting (pictures not walls), shopping, and other ings. I had hoped to spend some time blogging and catching up on my blog reading but alas it was not to be. There were fifteen of us for dinner Christmas Eve which is when we do the family get together. That way everyone has their own Christmas mornings together. Mom and I cooked most of the day making a Northern traditional meal with the beef roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, yorkshire pudding and green beans. This year I added Chocolate Truffle Creme Brulee which I got from a little creme brulee cook book. It has a little rum in it and is to die for (if you love dark chocolate like me). My brother in law even liked it and he usually doesn't eat dessert.

Everyone is feeling at least a little financial crunch this year so we drew names and I got my niece. She saw one of the paintings I did from Paulette Insall's Organic Backgrounds class and wanted one. I only had the week of Christmas to work on it and fortunately was able to finish it in a day and a half. Below are the pictures of the progression. I did brighter colors for this one and made it 16x20. I wish I had done two of them because I really like the vibrancy of it. I'm very partial to trees but at some point here I'm going to have to figure out how to do some other type of focal point or maybe no focal point at all.

It also just so happens that my niece drew my name. I have an Amazon wish list with at least twenty art type books that I want so she gave me a gift card to Barnes & Noble. I headed over there yesterday and picked up one that I don't think was on my list but I absolutely love it. It's Collage Journeys by Jane Davies. It goes through various techniques and has about seventeen projects to do. I can hardly wait to start playing.

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of love and laughter.

December Views 7

2008-12-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

December Views 6

2008-12-15T21:09:00.001-05:00

Lordy, I'm behind as usual. I did get almost all of the Christmas cards in the mail today so that is checked off my list. Now on to making goodies for the crew at work and making Christmas presents for family. I'll post the cards in a couple days after they've had time to get to their destinations.

Above are pictures of puppy from last year. He was such a good sport about wearing this elf hat Mom put on him. It was just too funny.

December Views 5

2008-12-11T12:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I finally finished putting the Christmas cards together last night. There is green glitter everywhere. Still have to address all of them but Mom may help with that. I promis a picture soon.

Can you tell I'm wishing for some snow? Here is a night picture of a light dusting we had a couple years ago. I like it because of the light reflecting off the flakes.

December Views 4...

2008-12-09T12:49:00.002-05:00

London architecture.

December Views 3

2008-12-08T07:09:00.000-05:00

I am so behind on blogging and I didn't take any pictures over the weekend. Pout. I am still working on the Christmas cards but getting close to done. Mainly at the stage of putting all the pieces together. As soon as I have a finished one I'll post it.

This is a picture of a cool couch at the High Museum here in Atlanta. I love the circles and the play of shadows.

December Views 2...

2008-12-03T21:05:00.001-05:00

This is what 65 hand glittered snowflakes look like. These are going on the Christmas cards for this year. Hmm, I should come up with an ornament to make from these too. More later.

December Views

2008-12-03T20:23:00.004-05:00

I'm entering a new challenge called December Views. The challenge is to post photos daily from our lives. The two pictures above are not from my everyday life but from a vacation Mom and I took to Great Britain. This is the Great Orm in the north part of Wales. We had so much fun exploring it and feeling like we were on the top of the world. This is also the site of a small quarry and visitors use the rocks for pictures or messages near it.

Happy Thanksgiving...

2008-11-28T16:53:00.001-05:00

Did you know that even sitting on a soft couch can make your bottom sore if you stay there long enough? I wanted to start working on Christmas cards today, and yes they should already be done, but it has become a pajama-do-nothing day. I am trying to at least catch up on my blog reading. I decided I should at least stir myself enough to do a post and to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

This week was all about getting the house presentable and cooking pumpkin bread, made from fresh ginger ginger butter, pumpkin soup, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry chutney, pumpkin pie, whew! (I secretly want to do a whole pumpkin festival theme) I had a wonderful day yesterday with friends and family. I hope everyone had at least as much fun yesterday if not more with their family and friends.

Hugs and kisses!

Lost momentum...

2008-11-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't make it with daily entries. Kind of lost momentum there. Doesn't look good for the rest of the month with all the preparations for Thanksgiving but I'll keep trying. Here is a picture of fern growing in a stone wall from my trip to England.

Another post...

2008-11-18T19:56:00.000-05:00

Well, last night I completely forgot to blog so you get two today. The previous post was another petting zoo animal. This is a collage of some texture type pictures I took at Stone Mountain. I really love old things. They have so much character.

What?

2008-11-18T19:26:00.001-05:00

Doesn't everyone sit in the feed bin?

A cup of coffee...

2008-11-16T12:31:00.000-05:00

The IMT challenge this week is to do something that relates to coffee. I love coffee. I even grind my own beans and yes those are real beans in the corners. Fortunately, I haven't gone as far as to roast my own beans. There are personal roasters you can get if you feel the need. I woke up yesterday with visions in my head for this challenge and this did not come out anything like that. I started with the idea of collaged tissue paper and collaged text for the coffee cup. Once that was done it just seemed flat even though it had texture. Decided to grab some cheese cloth and modge podged that on. Have to say it was a little odd looking. Kind of like used gauze. Yuck! So I gessoed it, stamped on the swirl and then to use up the rest of the brown added swirls to the border. Still looked a little plain. Mom suggested the coffee beans and there we have it. Still not happy with it but I've played with some new techniques.

Another Purchase...

2008-11-15T18:29:00.003-05:00

Well, Karen at Blue Bee Designs made another mixed media piece that I couldn't live without. I'm so excited that it arrived today. I just love it. Karen also wraps things so pretty. I can't wait to figure out something to do with the musical fabric strip and she included a sheet of music. Too much fun.

Mom got free tickets to see the opera Cinderella so we did that tonight. It was fun to watch although I have to say the I'm not the biggest fan of the operatic singing style. I know there are some that I've enjoyed the style of more like Rigolleto and Die Fledermaus. Well, anyway we did enjoy it. It was interesting to people watch too. People were dressed all the way from jeans to black tie and evening dresses. I was really surprised by all the fur coats. I thought that was no longer pc and this is the south. Hardly gets cold enough.

Otherwise, today I did actually work on one of my projects and even took a little time to work on the Ispire Me Thursday challenge. It isn't done yet. I had this grand idea but I didn't fine it pleasing once done so now I'm fiddling with it. Do or die I'm posting it tomorrow and hoping for the best.

Well, off to bed. Sweet dreams.

Here piggy, piggy...

2008-11-14T23:16:00.001-05:00

Well, this was Friday's post but looks like I just saved it and forgot to publish it.

More Stone Mountain animal pics. Usually I see pigs hanging out in a mud pit but these two are kept nice and tidy. I'm not a pig person but these two are kind of endearing. In an odd sort of way..

The blessed weekend is here. Deep sigh of relief. Changes are afoot at work. Our IS Director has moved on to greener pastures and I will miss her. She started out as the trainer at the firm and gradually moved her way up. In the process we became good friends. Fortunately, she is still nearby. Just won't get to check in on her as often. As my friends and family will attest, I'm very bad at phone calls and emailing. I always think of it when it's too early in the morning or I'm not at the computer. Hopefully they still know I love them.

Well, even though it's Friday night I suppose I should mosey off to bed so I don't wallow in bed too long tomorrow morning. Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

Fabulous Quilts...

2008-11-13T12:20:00.004-05:00

Dana at Old Red Barn Co is giving away some quilts. Go to her site for your chance to win. The one above is the one I want. I just absolutely love the colors in it.

Day 11...

2008-11-12T20:53:00.000-05:00

So tonight all I've accomplished is cleaning out some old emails. I almost forgot to post too. Back in September I attended the annual company picnic at Stone Mountain Park. In the park are some transplanted historical buildings and a petting zoo. For the next few posts you will be looking at some farm animals until I manage to create something. This guy just made me laugh. He was busy chewing on some hay and had the funniest expression.

The last of summer's blooms...

2008-11-11T20:43:00.000-05:00

One last garden picture. The final fading of the Hydrangeas.

A pleasant surprise...

2008-11-10T20:53:00.004-05:00

I saw this little picture on Karen's Etsy site and just couldn't resist these cheerful little guys. They just make me smile. Sorry for the bad picture. I didn't manage to get one during the day with good lighting.

Well, in addition to that she sent me a little packet of fun things to use for collaging and whatever. I'm so excited by all the neat things she sent. I can't wait to use them.