Nan's Niche

Coming Out Of Hibernation With A Smile

2012-01-01T22:14:00.001-05:00

Happy New Years to everyone ! It's been a challenging year and feels like I've been away for so long. I'm finally feeling a smidgen of creativity working it's way to the surface of my mind this weekend. I was peeking around at different blogs yesterday and got very inspired. I read a quote on Sarah Ahearn's blog. It's by John O'Donohue and it really sums up my feelings for the past year as we make our way into the new.

We bless this year for all we learned,

                                                           For all we loved and lost

                                                  And for the quiet way it brought us

                                                  Nearer to our invisible destination......

                                                           ~ John O'Donohue ~

We enjoyed a quiet relaxing holiday week. I've been particularly relaxed this weekend. Movies and reading. Some organizing of art supplies. Phonecalls with old friends. Cooking some new and some very old recipes. I made my mom's stuffed pepper recipe tonight and it turned out so good. I have fond memories of her making this. She always put raisins in them ! So good! I hope everyone is having a relaxing and enjoyable weekend as well. Life has calmed down for me finally and I so look forward to renewed creativity in 2012 . Thinking about visiting all of your wonderful inspirational blogs once again makes me happy also. Happy new Year ! :-) Nan

Still Here.... Not Really Art Related However

2011-09-09T09:31:00.010-04:00

Every so often I go on a blog break. Sometimes it is because I just need a break from the computer. Sometimes it's because I am having health issues. Most recently it was a death in our family that just broke our hearts. My brother's beautiful wife, Beth, passed away in August. It was, to quote another person touched by her, an epiphany, for many of us. Personally I have spent some time reevaluating my life. How I spend time daily. My blog. My art. The people I choose to have around me. I think that's probably normal when awful things happen with seemingly no rhyme or reason.Through all this I have learned to really really appreciate the friends who are there when you need them. And my wonderful husband. Time is just too precious to waste a moment of it. 'Nuff said on that slightly sore subject!

I had just started taking Melody Ross's Soul Restoration class and it seems to parallel many of the feelings I'm having. I'm still working on that class. I highly recommend it. I put a picture of the cover below.

I also started a photography class this week with Candace Stringham called "Oh Shoot" and boy, do I love that. The world seems to take on a new face through the eyes of a camera lense.
Here's my first class assignment. A picture from the everyday. Something you walk by without paying attention too. Oh and how to blur the background!

I can't wait to learn more and more about my camera.

So my blog has been neglected a bit but I really do enjoy it and will pick back up slowly. I was reading Laura and Kelly's blog My Dear Trash. They have struggled a bit with taking their blog off course from it's original content and adding personal posts in the mix. And I can relate. I've always tried not to get too personal either. It can be hard to read about someone else's pain when you are expecting a piece of art or having a tough day yourself. Maybe time is limited and you don't want to read about non art related subjects. I can understand that. But what I've discovered is that most people can benefit from a kind or encouraging word. And I like my blogging friends and I always wonder what happened to someone when they have been posting or participating in a challenge or class and suddenly disappear so I am going to include some personal posts from now on as well as some photography....I'll just make sure my post titles reflect the content in case it's not the day you need to be reading about my latest interest or life interruptions. :) Nan

Summer Of Color - Purple Queen

2011-07-25T02:09:00.006-04:00

I really enjoyed doing the Summer Of Color challenge this week. I have been away from my studio and didn't think I would be able to do this week's color challenge. Which is purple, a color that ranks high in my favorites! Anyway today I was leaving some comments on last weeks challenge and when I went to Lisa's blog at Sugar Creek I was so inspired by her beautiful journal work that I thought I'd get out my dusty journal that I always carry and almost never play with. So I made my first journal page in a long time. I have been singing this song , all week as it is in my car CD player and because I love it. It seemed perfect for purple. I bought some wonderful sheer polka dot tape at JoAnns while traveling and love it. It's very wide unlike washi tape and very sticky! The spirals are clear packaging of something I bought somewhere and the background paints are old tubes of Lil Davis Metallic Shades in Mint and Sweet Pea. Anyway lots of fun ! Thanks Kristin and Lisa!

I'll be visiting everyone whenever I have internet...look forward to seeing everyones as always! :) Nan

EDIT...I added the stars I forgot. Before I glue down 5 gazillion stars tell me better with or with out stars ? Also the song is Going To California by Led Zepplin. It's one of their rare acoustic song and is so pretty!

Summer Of Color Red Shoes Rerun

2011-07-18T11:00:00.006-04:00

I'm going to be out of town for a few weeks so I'm preposting a rerun this week of one of my very favorite red altered art projects. I won't have much computer time but I promise to catch up with everyone as soon as possible! :) Nan

Summer Of Color .. Little Brown Nest

2011-07-11T02:25:00.010-04:00

Well, I do not know where this week went. Sometimes you blink and a week has passed! It's time for Summer Of Color at Kristins and I made a small piece this week. I usually do 6x6 or 8x8 but I really felt like working smaller this week. I was originally thinking inchie but this little nest is only 2x2.... I added a pop of color in the eggs.

I have a calm ( knock on wood) week ahead so I hope to get back in my studio and back to my blog. I've missed seeing what everyone has been doing this week. :) Nan

Summer Of Color...Lemon Fairy Cupcake

2011-07-03T23:50:00.007-04:00

Kristin's Summer Of Color challenge is all about yellow this week. Hummm...yellow....not usually my favorite color to work with. But after a few crumpled sketches I came up with this and had fun doing it. I might even like yellow, a little bit more now. Bring it on orange! ( my least favorite color of all!) I thought I'd share a bit of my creative process with you this week too. I think it's fun to see how people come up with their ideas sometimes. Can't wait to see what everyone does this week.

Wow...Missed my Internet ! Catching Up !!!

2011-07-01T12:51:00.008-04:00

I've had very sketchy internet service for the past few days. I think all the heavy rain we've had must have caused a kink in the system....anyway I'm glad it's working now! A couple of my blog posts are showing up a few days late. I have all my ICADS / index cards of the day but I'll just post a few at a time. And I won a RAK from Trisha at Art A Day Keeps The Crazies Away ! It is a beautiful green bracelet that she made for the Summer oF Color challenge. I love bracelets and green so I am happy. Go visit her blog...you'll enjoy it!

Thrift Store Thursday ICAD 29 and 30

2011-06-30T23:16:00.008-04:00

Today was busy but I did stop at the little thrift on my way to the big city. I found this cute box of thread and this beautiful tiny teacup. I think it will make a beautiful pin cushion, don't you? I think it's funny that I really don't sew very much at all but I keep finding these great old sewing treasures. But I do re purpose them into my creations so I'm always glad to find them.

I also wanted to post my Index Cards Of The day for 29 and 30. We had to go out of town and stopped on our way home for dinner at an amazing Thai restaurant. You know how every once in a while you have that perfect meal? We both had the best curry we've ever had so that inspired card 29. I also found out I have some tough new dietary restrictions to follow that will make me feel better but....it's a new way of life. ( probably why the one last curry was so incredible!) That inspired card 30.

Summer Of Color - Pretty In Pink

2011-06-27T00:08:00.007-04:00

Loved loved doing this fluffy frilly pretty pink piece for the Summer Of Color challenge. I used to listen to a band called the Psychedelic Furs and my favorite song was called Pretty In Pink. I got to use some of my thrift store finds like the crepe paper and cellophane twist. I also got to use Shimmerz Ruby Spritz which I love!!! I sprayed the crepe paper with it. Thank you for sending me this Stacey! Can't wait to see what you all do!

On a side note we watched Second Hand Lions for about the 5th time. If it's on we both seem unable to turn it off. A real tug at heart strings movie. They have a dog in this movie that I love. It's a french bulldog and I took a picture of the TV to show you. Sooo ugly it's cute. I keep telling Steve that that is what I want for my birthday. Really really want for my birthday! I added the little bulldog that can't get up video. It just makes me laugh every time I've seen it!
:) Nan

ICAD 24 and 25 Lovely Hat & Butterfly

2011-06-25T23:25:00.008-04:00

I been out and about the past 3 days....but the last two I spent with the ladies at our LLS playing with some of our stashy stuff. We do everything but scrapbook I think. Yesterday we experimented with watercolor crayons. I had a huge unused box of them from Stampin Up that had sitting unused for years. I really enjoyed playing with them and learning some new techniques from Gail, our fearless leader. That's how the butterfly happened.
When I got home this evening I watched an episode of my new guilty pleasure summer show called My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. It has the most amazing colorful wedding dresses imaginable. I love the opening credits. There is a red hat on a mint background which inspired card 25.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I'll be knee deep in pink stash tomorrow doing my piece for Summer Of Color. See you tomorrow with the newest Index Card Of The Day.

Thrift Store Thursday and ICAD 23

2011-06-23T22:25:00.012-04:00

Well, I had about 45 minutes to kill before my weekly appointment today and went in search of a different thrift store than my usual haunts. No luck...lots of broken bits and pieces which is the norm here in our neck of the woods. Why do people give away completely broken beyond repair plastic things??? Just throw it away! So with 15 minutes left I went off to my regular stop, the Hospice thrift, and found some more sewing goodies, a wonderful old typing book and the one huge roll of pink crepe I guess I missed last week. And just in time for my Summer Of Color pink challenge on Monday. My good friend Lynn will appreciate the jingle bells. We looked everywhere for some a few weeks ago and went crazy when we found three in a dusty little corner of a shop in Lake City. Today it rained jingle bells! I would like to figure out how to age them a bit. Vinegar maybe? And I did drop off three bags of UNBROKEN things and clean clothes. Out with the old and in with the "new" old !

My Index Card Of The Day was inspired I guess by the bags of buttons I got. Pen and Inktense watercolor pencils. I think they are going to last a long time. I have used them quite a bit and still haven't had to sharpen them. They are a bit on the pricey side so that is a very good thing! I added a few sparkly bits to them too. Hope your Thursday was good and you had some fun. Sometimes you have to try hard but it's worth it! :)Nan

WOYWW 107 My Messy Workspace

2011-06-22T01:11:00.007-04:00

Oh my, I was awake and around for WOYWW over at Julia's blog! Things are looking slightly disastrous in my studio this week but at least I have my faithful furry night time muse Yoshi here to supervise! I have been working on several projects and have a thrift store haul on the desk too. I got lovely vintage crepe paper to work with and have been in a green mood all week thanks to the Summer Of Color challenge I've also been working on the Index Card A Day challenge. Starting on a new pink Paris piece for the pink challenge next week. Everything else is just not put away. Off to visit other desks now! Thanks for visiting. :) Nan

ICAD Dottie Summer Dress

2011-06-21T22:57:00.003-04:00

Just playing with my InkTense pencils.... A little something for Index Card A Day...... hope everyone had a good day. :) Nan

ICAD Perhaps Collage Tonight?

2011-06-20T23:34:00.004-04:00

I am still just making an instant decision about my index cards. I sit down and do the first thing that comes to mind. Tonight it was collage with scraps left from the weeks work on my table. The birdhouse was inspired by a scrap piece shaped like a roof. I have been singing Blackird by the Beatles all day long so there you have it.... Imperfect Index Card # 20. I am enjoying this. The link is is on my sidebar too:) Nan

Index Card A Day 19 Me And Tea

2011-06-19T23:12:00.004-04:00

I'm just doing what ever comes to my mind when I pick up my index card for the Index Card A Day challenge...hopefully I won't over think it that way. Today I've been in slow mo, maybe my brain was thinking of a tea pick me up! Used my Derwent InkTense pencils. They are so pretty when you use them as watercolor pencils.

Summer Of Color...He Lives Behind The Green Door

2011-06-19T19:41:00.011-04:00

In A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) Christopher Robin lives

"behind a green door in another part of the Forest" (the 100 Acre Wood).

This week's color on The Summer Of Color challenge is green and the above verse was my inspiration for this green fairy door.

Boy did I have a mental block today!!! I woke up thinking about green things but just couldn't see the end creation. Finally just sat down with some green stash and started cutting up dictionary paper and finally got moving toward a finished project. I used some of my favorite supplies like Lily Pond glimmer mist, non smear pastels (the absolute best), tissue paper,and my new favorite spray paint for chipboard and paper. It's called Design Master from Michaels. I think it was intended for silk flowers but it is wonderful on chipboard. The chipboard really looks like it came from the factory in whatever color you use. The doorknob is an old old screw back earring. It is hard to see but it is iridescent & pearly. All the things a fairy doorknob should be. I used a butterfly barrette for my pop of citron. Had to look that color up! "Citron is lemon coloured ~yellow with a slight tint of green"
I also included a picture of some of the supplies I used on this project just in case you wanted to see. Hope everyone had a great weekend and I can't wait to see all your green creations! :) Nan

Index Card A Day Hangin Out

2011-06-18T22:33:00.006-04:00

I just saw a new daily quick art challenge that runs thru August called Index Card A Day at Daisy Yellow I know it's a good thing for me to be creative a little bit every day so I'm gonna give it a try. My attention span can be short if I feel I have to work in the same format every day but on ICAD you can do any medium on any day and NOT BE PERFECT......wow, what a concept. So here's to little sketches of life for the summer.

Today I was thinking about a little fused glass mushroom I bought when I was a teenager from a store called The Human Touch in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It hung from my rear view mirror for several years. My parents hated anything hanging in a car so the perfect tiny rebellion as a teen I guess. It got lost in a move and now I am all grown up. NOT! So I still have a little something pretty hanging on my mirror. :) Hope you all are having a great weekend. :) Nan

Thrift Store Thursday

2011-06-16T23:04:00.003-04:00

Well, the truth is I have become a crafting pack rat...big shocker to those who know me and have seen my stash! :) Anyway I am just going to accept this and share my great finds here in the hopes I find fellow thrift store devotees. I love to see what goodies everyone else finds as well! We live pretty far away from town so when I have an errand or weekly doctor visit I try to go to Michaels or a thrift shop. It seems to make the long drive feel less dreary, worth it, so to speak. Anyway this week I got a wonderful french dictionary, a beautiful 1936 Websters dictionary with the gold leaf trim and 4 other french books. Quite the find for this area. I paid $4.50 for all my books...big smile!
I also got a Moleskine journal for 50 cents. It has musical instruments embossed on the cover. Love it. Then..pause for effect...a whole bag of vintage crepe paper (one of my favs)! I so love using that stuff and a bit of aging makes it even better. I like to spray it with Glimmer Mist or Shimmerz. last but not least a bag full of great old sewing bits and pieces. Anyway I'm $17.96 poorer but can you tell I'm happy tonight? I'm sure some of this will turn up in my next project. maybe the green theme at Summer Of Color! :) Nan

The Summer Of Color- Sweet Friends In Blue

2011-06-13T02:07:00.010-04:00

I made this little blue piece for the Summer Of Color challenge. Sharon at Wildflowerhouse inspired my hue of blue :) with her beautiful delphinium painting. I had a bottle of Tattered Angels delphinium mist and used it on my dictionary page and the vintage crepe paper. Yum! I used an old vintage photo that I have had forever and I'm sorry but I don't have any idea where I got it. Lot's of favorite stash around here. But I have been saving it for a special project and when I found the little enamel bird I knew that this was the project. Thanks Kristin...looking forward to next week! :) Nan

The Summer Of Color

2011-06-10T16:34:00.005-04:00

I'm looking forward to participating in a new challenge called The Summer Of Color hosted by the very creative Kristin at Twinkle Twinkle. Every week she will give us a new color theme and we will interpret it in the artform of our choice. I plan on continuing with the series of 4" to 6" mini mixed media collages that I've started recently. I've really enjoyed thinking of ideas for these and I think doing a color challenge piece every week will be lots of fun. We will start posting our art on Mondays beginning next week. Go check it out! :) Nan

Agh...Blogger Is Making Me Crazy !

2011-05-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

Or maybe just a little crazier than usual. :) I am so appreciative of the kind comments left on my blog this week and I am reading them but have not been able to leave a comment anywhere this week except with Terry for some reason. On top of that some of the wonderful comments that you all were so kind to leave me just disappeared when I ok'ed them. Is it time to move to Typepad or somewhere else???? Would hate to leave my years of blog here behind but.... Maybe they will get this fixed for good soon. :( Nan

My First Sale On Etsy! Woo Hoo! And A Question

2011-05-28T00:51:00.006-04:00

Wow, very excited to have my first sale on Etsy. I sold my little bird from the previous post. Bye bye birdie...I'll miss you. :) Thank you Debbie in Tennessee for being my first Etsy customer! I have just started putting things in the shop one at a time and will have to get busy so it doesn't look bare! I have to say that I think Etsy is going to be much better for me than eBay. I like the "circles" of friends and how we can promote each others shops. My friend Lynn even put my art on her Facebook page. Thank you Lynn!!!! I definitely have to learn how to utilize Facebook better because it obviously will be a great tool.

Question for all you wonderful artistic blogging friends out there...Do you think it's distracting to sell both supplies and finshed art in the same Etsy shop? Does it feel distracting or tacky to you? Or convenient? Just something I've been pondering as I'm putting together many destash kits!

I hope you all are having a great Memorial Day weekend! I will be creating and yes, still sorting through stuff. Forever and ever and ever........ I think! Sigh! :) Nan

Oh..my shop name is The Curious Little Door ......it will have more stuff soon...promise!

Three Muses Blue

2011-05-25T22:06:00.004-04:00

When I saw the Three Muses were celebrating 2 years I had to make something blue just for that. I haven't done many challenges recently but Three Muses is one of my favorites and I appreciate all the inspiration they've given me! Thanks Bev, Ann and Marie!

A New Venture.......

2011-05-13T12:38:00.008-04:00

Yay! Waving! Blogger is back up and running! Nothing like a few days of being denied access to your blog to make you appreciate it! Blogger has been down for a few days. This just happened to be at the same time I've really been feeling the need to get back to my blog. I've been making things and setting up my etsy shop. I'm very very good :) at buying things on etsy but this will be new to be the one selling something there. It has a whole different feel than eBay and I think it's going to be fun.

I just made this little creation for my special friend Lynn. She is one of the most generous and caring people I've ever known plus we a lot have fun together. She recently gave me a whole day to take me to the big little city to get an an MRI because I am a big fat scaredy cat drama queen when it comes to being in that machine! We did mange however to go have a lot of fun in the big little city afterwards. She just opened her shop, Ladybug's Cottage and I wanted to make her something special to celebrate. She has a knack for finding great little items to use for mixed media.

I have been making a series of these little pieces to put in my new shop. I have been working on the banner and the graphics and hope to actually have stuff in there this weekend. I'll post my "grand" opening soon. :) Nan

Ahhh...April

2011-04-25T09:01:00.018-04:00

I love April. I grew up in Florida and the heat can get crazy hot, especially the area I live in now which has no ocean breeze to cool us down. April is the one month that we get some cool sunny spring days and I love it. I feel a bit like I'm coming out of hibernation, physically and creatively.

We clean cleaned our front porch this weekend and I am posting a few pictures to look back on in the blazing summer months to remind me of cool mornings with the door open and hearing all the birds splashing around in our mini pond.

I have been on another complete studio overhaul once again. Not quite sure I ever quite finished the first go around to be honest. When I brought home the "perfect" cabinet it never fit quite right so we ended up pulling 75% of the contents of the studio out this month and moving the cabinet into it's permanent home. Anyone who does paper crafts or mixed media of any kind will understand immediately what that means! My husband looked the amazing variety of supplies I have and asked me this rational question. "What do other artists in do? Do they buy just what they need for a project, use it and then get what they need for the next project? It seemed so much easier when you were just a painter." This IS a logical question to most people but of course explaining that why we need a little bit of everything would involve also explaining why that jar of old keys is vital for a future project. Or how the dozen dictionaries in varying stages of perfect vintage aging are crucial to, well, inspiration itself. So anyway I am in the process of learning how to be creative when there is still "some" chaos around me. I do have some physical issues which keep my progress much slower than I would like in this reorganizing project so in order not to shut down creatively I really am working on making pretty things in a messy arena!!!

I almost forgot to show you a little corner where I made some progress. This is a ribbon rack we made from rain gutters, under the cleanest neatest shelf in my studio so far. Maybe tomorrow I will post something a bit more creative. :) Nan

Green Tea...Shaken Not Stirred

2011-02-09T23:28:00.005-05:00

Is it just me or is the world getting dumbed down??? I was recently gifted with a Starbucks gift card. Thanks Gail (waving !!!) and decided that even though I don't drink coffee they must have some incredible tea, right? I love tea and although I do seriously love sweet tea I am open minded to more exotic teas. :) Anyway I went into the church of coffee today and saw Shaken Tea on the menu. I'm thinking this must be some awesome creation and waited in great anticipation. I asked the guy "So, Starbucks guy, what is this amazing Shaken Tea?" And he says in all seriousness as only a supreme Starbucks barista can "It's concentrated tea, we add water and ice and then we SHAKE it..!" Ok you can figure the rest from there. I will only say that I waited til I got outside to start giggling and that mood carried on thru the rest of the day. And feeling giggly all day, that's a good thing. Oh and the tea was good.......

My painting class with Wyanne is still a WIP which I am enjoying. She asked us to relax and do something nice for ourselves before our next assignment and I decided to make a Valentine necklace. So here it is.

What I Did This Month :)

2011-02-03T22:04:00.005-05:00

I've been taking a painting class called Paint Free with Wyanne. It's a wonderful class and I'm learning to stop being such a perfectionist......I think...maybe! Anyway it's been such a great learning experience and I recommend it to anyone looking to grow creatively. Wyanne is a wonderful teacher and very patient :) Anyway here's a look at my 30 minute quick painting above and my collage piece below.

Believe it or not this painting above turned into this collage piece below! I've really enjoyed this process. I was surprised to find that I like this Kitty very much, even after my struggle to create him and he sits above my art table to make me smile.

Just For Fun Cupcake Inchie

2011-02-03T01:15:00.007-05:00

I just did this little inch art for my friends for our inchie swap group at Scrappy Papers and then I saw that Zoe and her friends have a new challenge blog called Just For Fun. The theme for the month is Wings...specifically Heartfelt Wings this week. So the last inchie I posted and this one definately fit the bill. This looks like a wonderful challenge with great themes.

I have missed doing challenges the past few months. This month I've been taking a painting class called Paint Free with Wyanne and I think I've been putting all my creative energy there. We had an abstract art assignment this week that made my heart race just a bit. So out of my comfort zone but definately firing up the create juices. Maybe I'll get brave and post some of those paintings soon!

Big smiles..Nan

Every Inchie Monday POWERFUL

2011-01-12T00:00:00.007-05:00

I am a bit late in getting this posted. January has been keeping me hopping ! Very interesting month....lots of falling in and popping out of rabbit holes if you know what I mean.

I'm enjoying doing the Every Inchie Monday challenge. The word this week was "powerful" and really got me thinking. That can mean so many things. I kept coming back to the thought of how powerful love is. Used a stamped image on a bit of glimmer misted dictionary page on top of a few song lyrics I typed randomly quite a while a go...hence the "love hurts" at the top.

Warm wishes! :) Nan

Inchie Monday

2011-01-03T09:13:00.010-05:00

While I was blog hopping yesterday I found a new blog called Every Inchie Monday. This weeks theme is Eclectic which suits me fine. Here's my entry for week one.

This is also the week we swap inchies at my LLS Scrappy Papers so I will be in an inchie frame of mind for a few days. Happy Monday! :) Nan

A Rainy Restful Day...Ahhhh

2011-01-02T14:39:00.005-05:00

It is a bit soggy here....no thunder or lightning, just a slow steady sleepy rain. I have been blog hopping today and catching up with everyone. I love how I start somewhere and suddenly here I am 290 blogs later reading just one more creative thing. Can only do this once in a while because I get overloaded with too much information and my brain just locks up. :)

I did spend a little time getting the rest of my little work corner cleaned up so I can start my Paint Free class with Wyanne next week. I can't wait. Love her work and have been looking forward to this since November. I wasn't able to start the class then because we were out of town and had no internet. But now I am so ready. Here's my clean corner! :) Nan

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T22:15:00.008-05:00

Happy New Year! What a relaxing day I had. The weather was beautiful today. I tagged along with Steve when he went bowling early this morning. Then watched the movie Eat, Love, Pray while he made an Apricot Egg Nog cake. Had to do a little creative juggling on my food plan to have a taste of that! I also cleaned the corner of my studio where my drawing table is. It feels so good to have a clean place to work. Amazing how much dust collects in everything! I found a little painting I did quite a while ago and I realized how much I miss painting.... thinking I'll do a bit more of that this year. It was a great way to start the year. I'm really looking forward to a good year and wish the same for everyone else too! :) Nan

The Dogs Of Godiva :)

2010-12-24T12:01:00.003-05:00

Watching TV this morning and suddenly there is this artistic eye catching commercial on. I usually skip thru them but this one made me go get my camera and try to get a still shot. It was for Godiva chocolate and every frame was of this stunning architecture but of course the one that made me get the camera was the dog shot. Love the emerald green windows too. Unusual doors and windows always stir up the creative pot for me so maybe there's a collage for Life Is A Verb coming on today yet !

I Miss You Sweet Girl......

2010-12-23T23:19:00.006-05:00

A little post for Miss Mina...I can't believe you've been gone 1 year today. I was just waking up this morning and in that moment before being fully awake I thought I heard you making that little noise you made when you really wanted me to get up but were trying to be patient. I am surprised to find myself missing you so much every day but then you were my little shadow. I have loved all the dogs in my life but you are the one I miss the most. I do love this picture. I remember trying to work on my computer and you standing right there, looking so earnest, as if to say "ready for my closeup".
I am so so grateful to have had 12 wonderful years with such an amazing dog .

ACK! I can't have a cold for Christmas!!!!!

2010-12-23T19:34:00.004-05:00

It doesn't say anything in the " Life Is A Verb" book about taking a break from the 37 day challenge if you have the worst head cold ever. ;0( Don't remember ever having a cold hit me so hard and fast!
I may take a brief hiatus from the studio until after Christmas or after this bug goes away, which ever comes first!
Anyway I took a break from being grumpy & snorty to make my day 11 collage. I am often inspired by packaging to not only buy things but create things. This was the package from Pepperidge Farm's Snowball cookies. Too pretty to just toss. And as pretty as the package was I didn't like them! Goes to show you that you really can't judge a book by it's cover... LOL!
Hope you all are having a good week and I wish all my blogging friends a very happy and healthy holiday. Be back soon I hope!

Life is a Verb...The Generosity Of Friends.....

2010-12-19T20:26:00.008-05:00

Today I realized how good it is to have friends...the kind who don't mind dropping you at the front of the store if your knee hurts.....the kind of friend who stops and get you tea because they couldn't get a tea and not bring you one.... the kind who inspire you with their creativity...the kind who give you that perfect discontinued piece of red and teal polka dot paper from their stash.....the kind who listen when you have an off day and don't think less of you for it....I feel so lucky to have some of these wonderful women in my life.

I'm on day 4 of my mini collages......I have struggled with the "Life Is A Verb" lesson of quantity vs. quality in my little creations. It's hard to just do a quick piece and let it go! So I'm a little behind...still learning :) I used a piece of a master sheet that I did at Gail's shop....hated to cut that but they are meant to be used. The polka dots are my pencil eraser dipped in a chalk ink. Then took a piece of light weight brown paper and spritzed it with Shimmerz Red-y or Not Vibez to make the ruffle at the bottom. the glitter stamp is from River City Rubber Works and the flower stamp is from Penny Black. Love that stamp! That's all...hope everyone had some fun this weekend! :) Nan

Life Is A Verb 5 ....Tangled Up In Blue

2010-12-16T20:51:00.005-05:00

Just noticing how beautiful my husband's blue eyes are :) Nuf said lest I embarrass him. LOL! That's it for number 5...just a simple little photo collage.

He Feels Sometimes...

2010-12-15T23:08:00.003-05:00

It's been a long day! I decided to go into the "big" city and do some Christmas shopping today and just got home. Phew...I was ready to return to the forest where I live. No crazy drivers, no bright lights, just a very calm quiet place with lots of trees and animals. I almost ran over a little cottontail coming up our drive. My headlights must have confused it and it took a while for it to head into the woods. So even though I had some great photos of lights and people to inspire me, rabbits were the thing I thought about when I sat down to my drawing table tonight. Always loved this part of the book Secret Garden. Hope you all are enjoying the holidays and finding the things you enjoy about this crazy time of year. :)

Talk Talk.....

2010-12-15T00:59:00.003-05:00

Well almost forgot to post Day 2 of my project. Trying to use scraps and also to use a tiny leftover bit from the previous days piece in the next days piece. Had this fabric scrap I confiscated :) from my friend Lucy's scrap pile and an old dictionary page sprayed with Tattered Angels in my still favorite color teal. The background paper with the tiny cute creatures is Olivia from BG. I used Tattered Angels "Santa Baby" red on the butterfly. ( my fingers are stained sooo red...)I was listening to an old song called Talk Talk from the 80's and it just seemed to fit my day in so many ways. Off to bed since I do the town thing tomorrow, red fingers and all. So glad to see you all in blogland!

Baby It's Cold Outside...

2010-12-13T23:18:00.006-05:00

This is a the first of 37 small mixed media pieces I'm doing for a series I'm calling "Notice". As I mentioned earlier I'm reading Life Is A Verb by Patti Digh. She has a series of 37 day challenges to help your creativity and one of them is to pick an art form and create one item for 37 days, no exception. The thought being that quantity not quality is a good thing at times to get you going if you get in that perfectionist mode. Don't know if I'm explaining it well but can't imagine anyone not enjoying this book. So I'm off and running. Here's to 37 days of imperfect but heartfelt art. :)

I used a bit of netting and a Tim Holtz snow stamp I bought from Gail. Everything else is from my scrap pile. I used his mini stapler and now have a new favorite toy. I will be keeping it out on my desk and reaching for it often. The back of each piece will have a place to write something about the day and a pocket for a daily photo.

The cold weather has definitely caught my attention. It's going to be in the teens here which is very cold in December for North Florida. Hope everyone is keeping warm!

Over The Edge....WOYWW

2010-12-13T22:46:00.006-05:00

I have been fighting to organize my studio for a long time...as you know. :) I finally figured out that one of my main problems was a huge table that I loved because it's solid wood but it's 5' x 5' and the middle is just an unreachable black hole and the shelves above useless so I decided to look for a smaller table in the clearance section of a local furniture store. I was shocked to see that most everything was in the $300. range. I was in sticker shock because I like to buy my stuff gently used with a bit of an aged patina to it and a thrift store price to match. Then there it was, in the back of the store, an old kitchen display cabinet with all the bells and whistles. Drawers and little shelves everywhere. The only problem was how would I get it home? Usually I can figure something out but this thing was heavy! I almost pushed Mr. Wonderful (not so wonderful at the moment, after all it WAS Friday after a long hard work week..) over the edge when I called and asked him to come pick this thing up. All he's seeing is one more THING into this crazy chaotic house and an hour round trip drive. I however knew this was the piece, the holy grail of organization and was willing to endure a very grumpy Friday night. However Saturday was a new day. The cabinet was installed. I made favorite meals as a big thank you. I am thrilled and Mr. Wonderful is back in residence. Phew!

UPDATE: I wanted to put in my WOYWW photo of my actual desk top too. This is after this evenings bout with Glimmer Mist and glue......I am a happy mess! Go visit Julia's site to see some of the best dressed desk messes..LOL!

What Inspires Me......

2010-12-08T22:06:00.004-05:00

Humm...so long since my last post. Even longer since my last project! Just getting my imagination back full swing in the past couple weeks. Someone asked me recently how I get my inspiration and ideas and when I tried to explain this elusive thought process I actually felt a pretty big surge of creativity. I get inspired by words a lot, music in particular. I was also reminded of how much I like Bob Dylan and his lyrics. I think I may have worn out my CD the past few weeks but I now have a notebook full of sketches and thoughts so I just have to go from there to something I can actually show you!

I have also been doing more inchies since playing with the group. I put a few of my older ones up and will put some of the new ones up when I get them downloaded. They are so addictive!

I guess the grumpy fairy inchie is an pretty accurate picture of me this week. :) I have been sidetracked by a sprained knee from hiking about the mountains in November (it was worth it) and other STUFF! I am tired of the "stuff" I've let get in the way of being creativE and I'm tired of resting!!!!!! I can always think of how lucky I am and usually do but today I am being crabby...I'll be over it tomorrow! Anyway I am reading a wonderful book called "Life Is A Verb" and the author suggests, among other things, picking one artform to do in quanity as opposed to quality for 37 days. I think it would be fun to do "4x4" mini mixed media squares. Off to go see what all my creative blog friends have been doing and hope to have something to contribute to the creative flow very soon! Til then.....

Wow....Time Flies!

2010-10-12T11:42:00.007-04:00

I've been away from my blog for almost a month now! Sometimes I think whenever I have anesthesia I struggle for a time afterwards with creativity. It just seems as though my my creative side is under water trying to swim towards the surface.

I am making a book from a Carol Wingert tutorial on ribbon binding. After playing on Cricut Day I felt a "need" to purchase a full size Cricut so I can do larger stencils and more. I made a large Effiel Tower stencil for the Paris ribbon book I'm working on so that makes it a worthy purchase, right? LOL!

I have been spending a lot of time with the ladies at my LSS Scrappy Papers. They have welcomed me with open arms and I have been able to create a few things. We are doing an inchie swap project that Glenda brought to the table and it is really helping me feel more creative. Inchies are very addictive! We will do one every month for a while and then put them together in a wall hanging.

Well...this is a long post but I've been AWOL for a long time and wanted to catch up. Hope to be back to blogging soon!

CC#14 The Man On The Stairs

2010-09-16T11:00:00.009-04:00

This is my tag for the Compendium Of Curiosities challenge at Linda's StudioL3 blog. I got inspired a little late this week but just had one of those ah ha moments, you know, when your creative side wakes up and says that's it...that's what I want to make. I used a TH Mask and made a mask from an old Nosferatu movie poster image. It seems as though Halloween is inspiring a lot of us creative types early this year, doesn't it? Bwahahaha! I used Fired Brick, Barn Door and Black Soot. The stamp is from the TH Halloween set. The rest of course is top secret and you must have the book! The little verbiage around the tag is from a creepy little poem I heard one time. I had to look it up to find out it origin. It's called "The Little Man Who Wasn't There" by Hughes Mearns. He wrote it for an English class at Harvard University about 1899. I was surprised it was so old. A little creepy, huh? But come on now....don't we all love a a bit of a fright now and then?

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away...

When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door... (slam!)

Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away

Hope you are all well and creatively happy! I'm off to see what everyone came up with :) Nan

No Art But GOOD News! !!! WOO HOO !!!!

2010-09-12T00:13:00.004-04:00

I usually do mostly art related posts on my blog with a sprinkling of my personal life tossed in occasionally but sometimes stuff is just too good not to share with all of the wonderful creative friends I have met thru my blog. And I have had such good news twice this week. Quick back story first....In 2007 I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to have my thyroid removed then radiation treatment. Cancer seemed to be stalking me as I had an ovarian cancer scare last summer and a surgery that really took the wind out of my sails for many months. Then about 10 days ago I had a colon biopsy. I had been dreading this and have been more stressed than I would like to admit about this biopsy as my father had a tough time with this particular cancer. So.... on to the great stuff. I saw the thyroid doc Wednesday and got my 3 year all clear from her!!!! WOO HOO! Then I got the results in the mail Saturday evening from the biopsy saying there was no cancer! Double WOO HOO!

On a much smaller note (pun intended) I have been trying my hardest to lose weight since May 1rst and got 33 lbs off....while waiting for the biopsy results I gained back 8 lbs. I stress eat! Steve did made me my favorite raspberry cake to make me feel better while waiting for the last biopsy so I think I'll blame the 8 lbs on him :) However I don't think I will have any problems getting back on plan and continuing my healthier lifestyle. I hope you all are having a happy and having some fun this weekend. Life is too short to waste a minute! :) Nan

Compendium Of Curiosities #13 Flowers

2010-09-08T09:03:00.003-04:00

These are my flowers for this weeks Compendium Of Curiosities challenge at Linda's StudioL3......I usually have a few goes at whatever challenge but get it right finally however this time I really had a time with these dang flowers. And the thing was I thought this would be so simple.....HAH! Anyway I ended up with a #13 flower in honor of Week 13.....can you believe it? And another flower that will be a charm for my tag book when we finish up and I put these all together. I stamped an older TH numbers stamp on a glimmer misted inside out envelope and the other is a Shimmerz misted old book page. I attached these with Claudine Hellmuth's Multi Medium. I think it is ok to tell you that much because he doesn't mention it as his adhesive and that was the tricky part for me. I made a the little #13 pin following Wendy Vecchi's little trick of a TH memo pin, a tiny punched word and some Glossy Accents. It's on her blog...a lot of fun and I will be doing that again. Go get his book if you haven't and play along. we still have many fun things to do!

WOYWW Tim Time & Butterflies

2010-09-08T00:45:00.004-04:00

Well here's a true look at my desk when it's being used. Working on my technique for the Compendium Of Curiosities and I'm stuck....which is why there are at least 3 different goes at this technique...help! The other photo is one of my organizing efforts...when I made my butterfly dress for Mixed Media Monday I realized I had so much butterfly stuff that it should have a drawer of it's own. :) Anyway go check out Julia's blog to see what WOYWW is all about. Warning...it's very addictive!

MMM & Dress Up September & Lots To Do

2010-09-05T18:39:00.005-04:00

First of all I am so happy to be back in my studio today after a chaotic week off ...missed lots of fun challenges! This is my entry for Mixed Media Monday which was warm colors and my dress for Alice and Camilla's Dress Up September AND for Lots To Do butterfly challenge. I have never combined 3 challenges before but it just all went together so well and I've wanted to do the Lots To Do challenge with Zoe for a long time so here my piece. I was going to do a pale yellow dress for Dress Up this month but when I saw the warm colors challenge at MMM my thoughts turned to fall and orange butterflies seemed like a good idea! We are not having fall here at all but when football started it was always fall in our house growing up. My petite ultra feminine mother LOVED football and even though she had been transplanted to Florida from Ohio she never missed a good game. So fall it is!

I wanted to use Margaret's original dress shape this month...can't remember where I found it now....and then I went to town with a couple of MS butterfly punches I had in my butterfly drawer...yep I have a butterfly drawer. Then I used a piece of Splatter Net that has been in my stash forever for the top. So with sticky fingers and a couple hundred butterflies later I have my dress. Thanks for looking and I look forward as always to seeing what everyone does!

:) Nan

CC#12 Three Wishes

2010-08-31T00:32:00.005-04:00

I haven't been able to do much art this week but had to keep up with my Compendium of Curiosities Challenge at Linda's Studio L3. I love doing the chipped enamel technique. I had to rush a bit but still enjoyed it. I'll be away from my computer this week but promise to visit and comment on all your lovely things as soon as possible. :) Nan

Quick story about Yoshi if you are a cat person....my husband denies this story to this day but I was there. We were going to have sushi and stopped at Earth Pets for dog food and there was this single tiny kitten with a stub for a tail in a cage and of course I had to hold it and whisper to it that it would have a good home soon. I knew that we had 2 dogs and 2 cats and Steve had said no more so I walked away and we went to dinner. We were sitting over tea and he said out of the blue "OK..tell me why we should go back for that cat" ....I was so surprised that I had nothing to say for once. We went back and got Yoshi who has been the devil cat in our home ever since. We lost our sweet old man kitty this year and she is our 3rd and last kitten in residence. We named her after our favorite sushi roll called the Yoshi roll. And that's the truth! This angel image is actually the opposite of her. She ADORES Steve but is my secret studio cat at night after Steve goes to bed. She will not let him see her being nice to me! I keep a stash of buttons on strings to keep her occupied but occasionally she is right in my face like this photo or petting my tummy from under the work desk...what's that about? I know I have a tummy...back off! LOL!

WOYWW 64 Crazy Chaos

2010-08-25T02:38:00.011-04:00

Well seeing as I came in dead last the previous week I thought I'd better try harder this go around ! I am a real night owl and the WOYWW blog goes up about 5 or 6 am our time which means I am just getting to some ZZZZ's.....so we'll see. This is my regular table and this week I was working on my first Tim Holtz tag for Compendium Of Curiosities challenge...which got scrapped! I found my travel iron that I bought on clearance and unearthed while organizing and my new Tattered Angel Glams got here and they are fun! I was brave enough to show you to the left which is where my shelves hold my Golden paints and my Tiki mug collection with all my brushes. Then...slowly turn to the right where all "he double hockey sticks" breaks loose. The epicenter of the chaos! I'm half mess...half organized today anyway. Anyway if you want to see what all the fun is about go visit Julia at The Stamping Ground .Can't wait to go snooping for real this week! Thanks !

Three Muses Zetti When Life Permits

2010-08-24T21:04:00.005-04:00

Well this is my contribution for the Three Muses Zetti challenge this week. I did not do a new piece for this challenge.....time was not on my side the past couple days! My motto so fits in here..When Life Permits I Have A Little Fun! But I do like this style and this was a piece I did when I was playing at Nancy B.'s CrowAbout CollagePlay. I used to see Bev's work there and Ann's too I think. Anyway thanks for looking and as always look forward to seeing what you all have created!

Compendium Of Curiosities #11 On An Island

2010-08-23T21:11:00.003-04:00

Wow....we are on week 11 at Linda's Compendium Of Curiosities! This week we are working from page 36......great lesson on batik. I can tell you I used Broken China, Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters inks but the rest is in the book :) The stamp is an older one from Wordsworth. I had to do this one twice because I stamped the verse upside down over the original batiked words...agh! But it's always a learning (pay attention, space cadet) experience doing these challenges!

MMM Cheep Talk

2010-08-22T19:34:00.006-04:00

This is my piece for Mixed Media Monday. The theme is "Seeing Red" which is great because I've been stashing cherry red stuff in a box for weeks waiting for inspiration to hit. It finally did at 3 in the morning last night...thanks MUse! This is a little 4"x4" mini canvas and an old Basic Grey chipboard book page. I ran the chipboard thru my SU Sizzix embossing plate and then painted it and my bird with a tester bottle of Glidden Candy Apple from our hardware store. They have some great 2 oz bottles of neat colors. I used some embossed metal duct tape around the edges which you can't see very well and I used the new Tattered Angels Glam in Be Positive red on my bird. Think that's it. Was a fun project. Hope you all had fun and can't wait to see what you've created!

WOYWW Playtime

2010-08-19T21:52:00.004-04:00

I'm late, I'm late for for Julia's WOYWW. I am blaming it entirely on my crummy internet service this week. On and off...on and off...Agh! Anyway...here's the mess I've been cleaning and remaking all week. I did get work done on other parts of the room......you can see the labels I made in an effort to make this place a bit prettier as well as organized. I've got a sketch for the Three Muses challenge and the stamp out. My new pencil dish that I found at the thrift......so pretty! And I regressed to teal once again this week but I am determined to do the cherry red project this week as it is Seeing Red on the next Mixed Media Monday challenge. So thought I'd show you my teal drawer this week...it has a label now...LOL!!! I was so happy to meet so many new artists as well as friends here last week. I really really tried to get to all the blogs but just ran out of time after about 50 something! I think there should be an award or prize for the person who makes it to all of them. :) I really wanted to see them all so I may try to space it out better over the week! Can't wait to see your space!

Compendium Of Curiosities 10 More

2010-08-19T21:14:00.010-04:00

This is my tag for Linda's Compendium Of Curiosities challenge which is all about the bling. I know I'm pretty late, I've had sketchy internet service all week. I am typing fast while it seems to be working! This was the Distress Stickles challenge on page 46. I love shiny and played a lot with this but it is hard to see in the photo. You'll just have to trust me that it is good and blinged!

This was a photo of a rose heart that Mr. Wonderful gave me quite a while ago. I used a photo of it and the only other thing I can tell you are the colors I used. Bundled Sage and Vintage Photo inks, Rock Candy, Antique Linen and Peeled Paint Stickles and the stamp set is called Slight Alterations. It was the first time I used it but I really like it and will use it a Lot I think!

Oh oh ! I received my beautiful butterfly box from Linda. Here it is on my inspiration row shelf in my studio. It is holding all my special butterfly stamps ! Thanks Linda so much!

Three Muses Take The Wheel

2010-08-17T20:20:00.002-04:00

This is for Three Muses....the challenge was wheels. I instantly thought of one of my favorite stamps from Acey Deucey that I never get a chance to use. I thought of her forging ahead at the ships wheel. I used a little 4"x4" canvas painted with some OLD MM paint that I was sure was a goner but it worked. Then I used my favorite Golden color Nickel Azo Gold. Love that color!!!! The wheels are an old Judikins cube stamp. That's it I think. Can't wait to see what you did and thanks for looking!

MMM Embellish It

2010-08-15T20:29:00.003-04:00

This is a Prima flower box that I did to submit for package recycling. I used my favorite vintage image from my altered plate. Tried to take a good photo althought the acetate can be tricky. Still cleaning my studio....making great progress . Back to my regular studio time soon!

WOYWW Time To Organize!

2010-08-11T02:26:00.008-04:00

This is my first post here. This neat blog by Julia seems to have taken on a life of it's own recently. I see it everywhere and it is fascinating to see everyone's space. Forgive me Julia for being one of the many new faces adding to your list and probably making you crazy!

I love to do MMM, Three Muses and Linda's CC Tim Holtz challenge so my desk is always crazy! I've departed from teal for a bit and am obsessed with Cherry red...I just dyed some tags with KoolAid as you can see in the second photo. Taking photos of my space made me realize I need to take a break and get some organizing done! I was asking in an earlier post if anyone else has a hard time being in creative and organizing mode at the same time and the consensus seems to be that they are two separate areas of the brain and it IS hard to do both. So here is one small glimpse with a before and after post soon to follow as I work on getting some semblance of order in my workspace. :)

Three Muses The Blue Door

2010-08-10T18:50:00.003-04:00

Here's my door..love doing doors. My blog topper is part of a door I did a while back so now I can see dresses AND doors in the future! Thanks for looking..can't wait to see what everyone does!

CC#9 And Now For Something Completely Different.....

2010-08-09T21:06:00.005-04:00

I am embarrassed to admit how many things I have by Tim Holtz that I had either never opened yet or really didn't know how to use. Blushing.....BUT Linda's Compendium Challenge has helped me learn more about my art stash then I have in probably years so thank you Linda! This is a bit different for me. I didn't use stamps or strictly TH for this lesson. In my studio chaos I found a little tiny die cut ball jar die I had and just needed to use it. So I blew it up on my scanner....the rest is in the lessons in TH's book...really you must get it if you haven't yet. It has been fun to really do these lessons and sometimes redo them...LOL! The crackle has a bit of a learning curve!

MMM Memories

2010-08-08T21:17:00.005-04:00

This week at Mixed Media Monday the challenge was memories. That is a wide open field for sure! But I had found some pictures of my brother and me in front of the playhouse my father built me for my, 10th birthday, I think. I LOVED that little house. My mother had put a crystal tea set inside for me to find. Life was good! They had recently taken the trip of their lifetimes to Austria and these were the outfits they brought us as gifts. I laugh everytime I look at my brothers face. Doesn't he look like he's about to say "Bond, James Bond" LOL! Anyway I'm still on a dress kick...they are too fun! This little dress is my take on my Austrian outfit. It is also my early November dress for Alice and Camillas since my birthday is in November.

I stamped the leaves with clear embossing ink and powder then went over it with TH's Barndoor distress ink. Love that red! Thanks for looking if you are still with me......I know do go on sometimes !

Creative Spirit Monthly Challenge & Dezinaworld

2010-08-08T13:33:00.009-04:00

Sweet Cindy is having a new monthly challenge called Creative Spirit . As she puts it "Whatever celebrates the creative spirit in each one of us! Please post something on your blog, whether it is artwork, photography, a recipe--whatever it is that exemplifies your creative spirit!"

For me the main thing that makes me feel the most creative would be finding old things and doing something artsy with them. (I think the latest term is upcycling) A close second would be color. I'm always inspired by color when I'm out and about. Shouting at Mr. S to pull over to take a picture NOW or pulling over myself and circling back to take a picture of that perfect color on a sign or house...whatever it may be. So that will be what I show you...mostly old stuff fluffled up a bit.

This time it is a plate I made for my old altered art group...now defunct...sigh...it was a rare flower in our rural community and I miss it horribly but thankfully I have all of you wonderful creative ladies in blogland to play with! Can't wait to see what you all put up for show!

I am also entering this in Dezinaworld's Spot Prize challenge for fairies because it is my favorite fairy piece i have done and I am having to combine a few challenges to be able to play. I have limited studio time until after the first week in September.

CC #8 The Secret Garden

2010-08-06T01:14:00.003-04:00

"I feel good...nah nah nah nah nah na...you know the way that I should....so good... Whoo!" Ok, that's just a little James Brown for ya cause I feel all better and ready to rock the studio again. I have the best kinesiologist/chiropractor in the world...seriously. He's kept me walking and moving for years and I dedicate this weeks post to Doctor B. ! Not only do we laugh way too hard sometimes but he lets me take pictures of his amazing tie collection for inspiration. :)

Anyway...I had so much fun making this piece from Linda's Compendium Of Curiosities challenge today. I usually do it on Monday but Thursday it is. You should read TH's book..page 39 and have some fun. It involves ink and grunge. What's not to love? And I did a bit of organizing. I made labels for each ink I used and a chart of how they look on grunge too. I'm just too proud of myself tonight for getting a bit of organizing in with the fun stuff......LOL!

MMM Past Loves and August Dress Up

2010-08-01T21:43:00.012-04:00

It's time for Mixed Media Monday and August Dress Up at Alice and Camillas. I combined these two challenges this week because I enjoy both of them so much and didn't want to miss them. I am on a dress kick right now though so there may be a few more until I get caught up. For the MMM theme of revisiting an past love I thought about how much I loved to dress up , even in my twenties. Then I thought about an old stamping technique I used to love. I stamped into hot UTEE powder and then used Perfect Pearls powder. I forgot how much fun this is and will be doing it again. Update: I just couldn't leave that leftover couple feet of ribbon sitting there so I started messing around around adding ribbon...tweaking and playing. Hence two pictures now :)

I usually don't combine challenges just because I enjoy doing each one if I can but I am on limited studio time this week because I hurt my back last Tuesday while (overdoing) redoing my studio. Off to the chiropractor on Wednesday! My studio is a never ending challenge! I need to do a before and after of it this time because it's taken on a life of it's own. It's hard for me to be in my creative mode and in an organizing mode at the same time. My brain kinda goes on overload and nothing gets done right. Does anyone else find this to be true?

Compendium Of Curiosities 7 The House Call

2010-07-26T21:29:00.005-04:00

Another week gone by and another lesson at StudioL3 for the Compendium Of Curiosities challenge......hurray...love this one. Thanks Linda! This was a lesson in making fragments look old. You can get a copy of Tim's book and play along. It has been so much fun. I used many inks and several little watch parts on this piece. You may be able to see them if you look closely. I got a bag of them on Etsy and it did say the biggest ones were 3/16" ! I realize I am ancient now because I can't see anything tiny anymore....getting old is not for sissies as my dad used to say!

MMM The Summer Dance Dress Up

2010-07-24T00:34:00.006-04:00

I found this great site called Alice and Camilla.....there is an ongoing monthly Dress Up challenge and the dresses are all so wonderful. I am starting late in July but plan to try and do one a week for a while to catch up. This was FUN! I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do but when I saw the pack of..yes, you guessed it, TEAL napkins, that was it. I really did consider peach and purple but teal is just always my favorite. Maybe I'll do peach next week.....

Update....Steve walked in my studio, saw the dress and said "You sure do use that color a lot..it must be your favorite" Well yeah! I do use green and teal very often. I also love glitter and shiny too so I think this qualifies for my Mixed Media Monday favorite things piece as well. Thanks Cindy for the idea to use this as my entry there as well. Her's is so lovely.

Anyway go take a peek at both sites. They are both wonderful !

Three Muses Postal Art Letters

2010-07-20T18:05:00.005-04:00

The Three Muses had a postal challenge this week and I decided to use one of my favorite stamps from PSX. The image is a Flickr photo from a library in Miami. I used chalks to color,

TH fired brick, spiced marmalade, mustard inks and another stamp from A Stamp In The Hand.
Now let's see if I can do a hyperlink tonight. My photo gremlin invited his hyperlink cousin to visit this week and I could not get any of my links to work! Period. It is possible that I may have forgotten how to do all these things in the year I was away but I prefer to blame the gremlins. :) Thanks for looking...

Compendium Of Curiosities 6 Play Collage

2010-07-20T12:51:00.004-04:00

This week at Linda's Compendium Of Curiosities we worked on collage tags. I used a a chipboard frame as my covered piece. I am hoarding my TH numbers...I know, I know...to quote one of my favorite rubber stamps "You can't have everything..Where would you put it?"

This was great fun and when I use my favorite colors teal and green I also do not know when to stop. I can imagine this little cartoon animation of myself with blue and green ink, flowers and stamps all flying around my head as I go into a frenzy of creative joy! Also in this frenzy of creative joy I managed to make it a tag that must be read from 3 angles. My little interactive gift to you...LOL! Can't wait to go see what everyone did!

PlayThings MMM

2010-07-18T17:35:00.006-04:00

This is my piece for Mixed Media Monday. The theme is Play Things. I used an image I had from Flickr but I don't know the source anymore. The cartoon figures are from old tin whistles

The background is a Tim Holtz paper and an old harlequin SU stamp.

On The Go.....

2010-07-13T21:41:00.004-04:00

This was my first magic carpet...I felt like I could go anywhere! Unstoppable! This is my entry for Three Muses. This is a page out of my journal. I am a too little foggy headed from my cold to be as creative as I would like today but thought this page was just right!

Compendium Of Curiosities 5 Distress Embossing

2010-07-13T01:33:00.005-04:00

This is my tag from the lesson of the week at StudioL3 Compendium Of Curiosities challenge. I used Antique Linen embossing powder, Shabby Shutters, Bundled Sage and Faded Jeans. I couldn't resist embossing the number with some Broken China. I did 2 of these first because I can't seem to get much of the powder to release. Anyone else find that happening?

I had intended just to do technique tags and make a booklet at the end of the challenge but I love some of the beautiful work I'm seeing and may have to branch out ! Thanks for looking...can't wait to see everyone's projects!

Blue Secrets

2010-07-12T00:24:00.008-04:00

This is my piece for Mixed Media Monday. I know it seems a little morbid...maybe its because I got a cold this weekend and I'm slightly grumpy! This is for my secrets journal I've been working on. I've got "secrets" stuck in my creative loop I think! Actually it's a song I heard called "Secrets"...it's by a band called Pierce. Whatever happened to solid names like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin...oh never mind :) I guess it's all perspective, right? I'm putting a link to the video here just in case you want to hear it. Steve is entirely over me wandering around the house this weekend singing this song. Especially since I have this cold. I'm sure I sound like a cat caught in a tree. LOL!

Three Muses Rusty Secrets

2010-07-06T23:55:00.004-04:00

Well it's been awhile since I played on Three Muses but I always loved doing this challenge and I'm happy I finished my piece tonight and could share it.

Compendium Of Curiosities 4 Shabby Fly Tag

2010-07-06T14:27:00.003-04:00

Here is my tag for StudioL3 COC this week. I used a Lettuce and Willow daubers and stamps from Artful Flight and Urban Tapestry. Once again a slight..cough cough...learning curve but love the technique! Then on to more of Nan's adventures in photography. I have a gremlin who shakes, tilts, and fogs up my camera and has the ability to make the sun go away the instant I set up a photo. I decided to let you see my first photo so you can see why I believe in gremlins. LOL.... Thanks for looking!

The Mad Hatter's Other Hat

2010-07-05T00:25:00.006-04:00

Gingersnap Creations is having a Once In A Blue Moon challenge this week. I'm guessing this is because there is an extra Wednesday in the month and they do something different and fun. This was a CASE...copy and steal everything... challenge. We picked our favorite design from one of the GS designers and copied it. This was a really a fun challenge for me. I loved Lynn Steven's Mad Hatter card the moment I saw it and instantly knew it was what I wanted to do. I took her idea and decided to make it very bright but with the high contrast I loved in her piece which you can see here. This is the Mad Hatter's Other Hat which he keeps in the closet for those very special occasions.

I also used this for Mixed Media Monday because their challenge is Something Borrowed and I not only borrowed this theme from Lynn but I borrowed the skyline stamp from Isabelle and the idea to use it on MMM from Willie. Thanks! :) I have missed doing MMM a lot and will be doing many more of the weekly themes there!

Sorry for the crookedy photo but it's night as usual and I'll put a better one up tomorrow if we have a sunny day and then this sentence will magically disappear. :) Thanks for looking!

Deep Purple

2010-06-29T00:46:00.006-04:00

Another week, another great Compendium Of Curiosities challenge at Studio L3 . This was a lesson in using alcohol inks to create a mono print. I THOUGHT I knew how to use alcohol inks but I really did learn a lesson this week! I used Wild Plum, Meadow and Bottle Green with a touch of gold. Took me three tries to get this right but it really was fun! Thanks Linda!

Compendium Of Curiosities 2 Fragments

2010-06-27T12:52:00.007-04:00

It's time to play at Studio L3's Compendium Of Curiosities challenge...well actually I'm a few days behind probably but I was happy to get this finished. The challenge was to do a lesson from Tim Holtz's book on fragments. Lot's of fun...I've never used them before but will be using them more often now. Lot's of fun...go check it out! Linda Ledbetter is the queen of this blog and has another fun looking project she does called Drunken Stampers. They are doing a Twilight theme this week.... I may have to play....hmmmmm

Gingersnaps Mad Hatter Blog Hop

2010-06-25T23:02:00.004-04:00

I'm late, I'm late, I'm very very late to the Mad hatter blog hop on Gingersnaps! I decided to try one more time with this stubborn piece of art! Maybe a better photo tommorrow....sigh! Oh well better late than never, right?

Sweet Life....Gingersnaps Blue Challenge

2010-06-24T23:41:00.005-04:00

I love the Gingersnaps blog......they have the best challenges. I've been lurking there for quite a while. Once I finally decided it was more important to play than to have a perfectly organized studio I have had so much fun. I love using my stamps again. And my inks and whatever else I can round up in this explosion of art supplies I have going!

I was visiting my so very creative friend Lucy today and we were digging through her bits and pieces and she was kind enough to donate (uh, let me swipe, LOL) a lot of the neat stuff I used. It's good to have a friend who saves her little scraps and doesn't think you are crazy for doing so either! I used TH Distress Ink in Faded Jeans distress ink and Glimmer Mists in Seaglass, Suede and Old Brass. So lot's of sparkle which makes me very happy too except I have a hard time getting photos of sparkles and transparencies especially at night and I'm much too impatient to wait til tomorrow. :)

He Went To Paris

2010-06-19T01:47:00.003-04:00

I've been following Lynn Steven's Trash And Treasures site for a very long time and always find some lovely artwork or a cool link to something neat. I love Gingersnaps site that she designs for and this week found a great blog, Studio L3 , where they are doing a project a week based on the lessons in Tim Holtz's A Compendium Of Curiosities. This week was water stamping. It took me two days just to round up all my TH goodies and then another couple to get comfortable with my stamping techniques again. This is one of my fav TH stamps and the words are from a Jimmy Buffett song that I love.

Home Is Where I Want To Be

2010-06-09T13:42:00.003-04:00

I just did this page for my weight loss journey journal. I followed the Color Room palette. It was pink, blue and burgandy this week which I love.
I have been feeling more and more like staying home recently. It is getting very hot here and it's soooo much easier to stay with this restricted food plan I've chosen if I stick close to the hacienda! This page reminds me a bit of Alice growing huge in the White Rabbits house and then shrinking....that's me, shrinking, slowly, but shrinking!

They are doing a regulated burn in the state park behind our house tomorrow so I may take the furry ones and go out just to get away from the smoke! AGH!

Relax

2010-05-31T22:25:00.002-04:00

This is my piece for the Color Room this week. I've always loved lilac and green so this was an especially enjoyable palette to play with. I took this picture of my old man kitty PJ or Mr. Handsome as I call him most of the time. He is retired now and when I saw him on the porch curled around the herb plants it reminded me how good it is to relax sometimes. Still on my weight loss journey but I really wanted to do his picture this week. Back to the journal next week and hopefully some mixed media. Time, where art thou? :)

Obstacles

2010-05-25T23:38:00.003-04:00

Well I usually love a vintage shabby look. A pretty look. And sometimes I love a bright sunny look but this was not a pretty sunny week. I'ts still a struggle to regulate my medicine after having my thyroid removed and sometimes it really effects my best efforts at weight loss. Not to mention my energy and creativity! In retrospect I wish I would have tried harder to lose weight before all my surgery but that's the old hindsight's 20/20, right? So I really had to work hard to overcome some serious obstacles on the weight loss plan that I chose and this reflects that.

Also couldn't quite decide how to handle the color scheme on this week's palette at the Color Room. I was sitting in a waiting room and decided to find all my elements in a magazine if I could so this is more of a collage I guess. But it was fun and all's well that ends well, eh? Now I'm going to work on my sunny "reward" piece because I'm feel better and think I may have this under control for a bit. Thanks for the kind comments and encouraging emails as I keep moving forward on this path and I wish you all the best on each of your endeavors as well.... :) See you soon!

How...

2010-05-16T09:42:00.004-04:00

This is my second page for my weight loss scrapbook. I really am enjoying recording this journey. I have lost 11 pounds which is amazing but I want it to be faster! Ah, impatience. This being one of the finer traits I possess. One that has contributed to my weight gain, I'm sure. Anyway I did this for the Color Room using their beautiful color palette as inspiration. Blues, greens and all the lovely shades in between are my favorites so this was a lot of fun for me.

Glimpse

2010-05-09T18:56:00.005-04:00

I'm starting a new weight loss program for the first time in years and I'm going to journal and scrap the journey. This is my glimpse of my slimmer self in the future...the younger looking me is just a bit of wishful thinking :) I did this for the Color Room challenge this week.
I have been thinking about starting a separate blog just about scrapping and journaling weight loss. I haven't really seen one that focuses on both. Hmmm? Any thoughts?

Breathe

2010-04-30T13:01:00.003-04:00

I so happy to be feeling more like myself and hallelujah, feeling more creative. I've really been enjoying the inspiration from the weekly color palettes at the The Color Room. There are AMAZING scrapbook artists on this site. Beautiful layouts. I haven't done much scrapbooking but I love all the papers and goodies available and they don't seem to mind if I throw in one of my pieces with no photos. :) Had fun time making this with bits and pieces from my scrap pile. I saved this dress form from a project I deconstructed a while back and it fit the color scheme just right. Go visit just to see all the pretty work if you get a chance.

Beautiful Day !

2010-04-14T02:09:00.005-04:00

I really love April in Florida.....It's cool and sunny. things are blooming and green. Babies are being born... I've been away so many years in April and I always seems to miss the dogwoods blossoming and the miniature horses having their teeny tiny new babies and all the things that are so good here.
Today was a wonderful day. I had a great visit with Lucy who shared some wonderful techniques with me. I had someone renew my faith in people today and remind me that sometimes you just have to turn it over and have a little faith.(thanks Fredia!) I joined a new site called the Color Room. I was drawn by the name alone as well as the wonderful talent there. Color has always been a major inspiration to me. I finished a mixed media piece last night. I didn't love it but I am inspired and hopeful that I will find it easier as I stress less about my creativity returning (thanks LOML !) and when I get back to creating more regularly (thanks Lucy!)because a rusty artist is...well, rusty ! LOL!

Blog Silence

2010-01-02T12:07:00.015-05:00

No.....I haven't run off to Paris or fallen down a well. But I've experienced several very painful personal losses since November as well as a surgery earlier this year that is taking far too long(IMHO) to recover from. I've been trying to push through these times by painting and journaling. But I'm just not the type of artist who paints or journals their pain or darkness. I love pretty flowery girly happy art for the most part. So I have come to the conclusion I need to take a break from my blog for a bit while I work through this period of my life. I'm sure my imagination and creativity will come swooping back in when I have worked through these times. I will spend some time with family and work on other projects which sorely need attention.

I have been encouraged and inspired by the wonderful friends and fellow artists who have visited my blog as well as my amazing friends in real life. Often the encouraging comments or emails you write have inspired me so much and I can't thank you enough for that. Who knew I would find such talented and good friends here? So I'll say good bye for a while and will stop by your blogs when I get a chance because you all inspire me so much. Happy creating and I know I'll be creating and back here again when the time is right.

Forever In My Heart...Little Girl

Little Orange Crocs !

2009-12-08T23:42:00.004-05:00

Still going through my piles. I love mixed media but there is almost nothing ever that I want to get rid of because I will use it someday...ahem....seriously..no REALLY! Anyway in my mini sort today I found these tiny baby crocs that I probably planned to send to my neice a couple of years ago when they would have fit her but they are so darn cute they are going up on my "sparkle" shelf. My happy stuff shelf. I'll share a picture of that soon. :)

Lazy Days & Journals

2009-12-06T23:56:00.005-05:00

Well it's almost midnight and I have been so lazy today that I forgot about my happiness post. Is it wrong just to be happy to have a lazy day? I hope not because I'm happy I did!

I painted 14 pages in my journal last night so I can start adding collage and writing. What a messy fun thing that was! Here's a sample from my daily journal prompt with Kelly Kilmer. The prompt was about your feet! Ugh but fun to do! :)

I also signed up to take a class called Remains Of The Day with Mary Ann Moss from Dispatch From LA. It is a journal made of all sorts of bits and pieces with sewing and well...just too much goodness to believe. Can't wait til class starts on the 15th!

A Moment To Remember A Friend..LYLAS Deb

2009-11-29T02:22:00.009-05:00

I had forgotten how life can change in a instant....I lost my growing up, unconditional love, best friend this week. She died very suddenly with no warning from a brain aneurysm. We were preparing to celebrate our shared birthdays this weekend as we are a week apart and try to see each other every year. I have had a lot of other things going on this year but to lose such a dear friend so suddenly puts most everything in perspective and in a different light. There's not a moment to be lost in this life. Let the people you love know it right now, everyday....

I miss you Deb.....so many firsts we shared. You were one of the bright shiny people and the world is worse off for having lost you. I am worse off for having lost you. I am done with tears now and I am moving on to celebrate your life this weekend as we were planning on doing. This is a photo I love of us when we were 14 and off to the Charles Chips Christmas party your parents had every year. We were so fancy and felt so glamorous. I remember it like it was yesterday. Dana, Tom, Carla, Harriet, David, Karl ....let's all just keep on loving her the way she loved us. Unconditionally

I'll be back in a while after I regroup and can think creatively. I wish you all very peaceful loving holidays with those you love most.

I am PINK today.......

2009-11-19T12:30:00.007-05:00

Two posts in one day.....it must be a blue moon tonight! I thought I'd share my inspiration for a journal page from scratch and then I will show you the results in my next post. Yesterday was my checkup day with two docs and I just hate waiting rooms so I always take a sketch book and a magazine. I had quite a few of those ah ha inspiration moments looking through Elle and Real Simple. Unfortunately these were NOT the magazines I had arrived with. I hate it when people tear up magazines in the waiting room...you know half way through an article and RIPPPP....you're left hanging so I went to the window and quietly explained "I had to have these magazines or my inspiration would be lost and I would gladly bring two magazines to replace these next visit"......by now the girl is "Good..sure..just back away from the sliding partition lady" So now I am off to work with these gorgeous images. I am pink inspired ! I keep singing that color song from the Dell laptop commercials..."I am green today...." but inserting pink! Here are the lyrics for anyone who has managed to stay with me this long :)

Colors By Kira Willey
'I am green today, I chirp with joy like a cricket song,

I am grey today, gloomy and damp like a morning fog,

I am orange today, loud and messy like finger paint on the wall

I am red today, hopping mad like a playground ball

I am black today, strong and tall a great big bear

I am purple today, bright and happy like a butterfly in the air

I'm a rainbow today, all the colors of the world

I'm a rainbow today, all the colors of the world are in me

I am yellow today, I shine my light out like the sun

I am White today, soft and quiet like new snow

I am Blue today, calm as glass and cool like the sea

I'm a rainbow today, all the colors of the world are in me.'

Lines blur.....

2009-11-17T09:58:00.011-05:00

I realized I've missed my blog. A lot. It seems as if I've been struggling forever to get back to a semblance of normalcy after my surgery this summer. I've had to make choices about how I've spent my time. Blogging just didn't make the top 10 when I couldn't seem to create the smallest thing or cook or properly take care of my household. I have had a lot of time to think of course and that can be a good thing or a bad thing as I'm sure you know. I've come to realize that I love being able to have a communion of sorts with other artists as we create and if we share some personal info along the way I am good with that. The reason I mention this in particular is that the way I've been pulling myself up out of my artistic dry spell has been to read other artist's blogs and finally to take a journal class with Kelly Kilmer. Now this is not my first journal class. I took a wonderful class with Pam Carriker and one with Dina Wakely but I was more interested in technique. I considered my journal pages more personal than my other artistic endeavors and wasn't sure how I felt about the overly personal posts I'd seen other artists blogs. Did I want to read about other peoples thoughts or have them see mine. Big question...did I want to mix art with my personal life? Now it's not like I have a huge audience but still....However as I spend more and more time playing in this art I find I am drawn to this very aspect of the whole thing. It's wonderful to see how art and emotions come together. So my blog may be taking a slightly more personal direction as I share a little bit of life with you through my journal art. I still want to do my favorite mixed media challenges when I get up to speed. I've met some very wonderful and creative people doing those. But I also love to look for old things to create with as well as things to decorate myself and my home with. I'm going to share those things too. So here's to living the lives we love and never taking a single moment for granted.

TGIF A Day At The Beach

2009-08-13T23:20:00.006-04:00

I was so pleased when Sandy at TGIF asked me to be the guest designer for this week's challenge. Can't wait to see what everyone does! :)
Almost forgot..my image is from Suzee Q's wonderful Flickr site! Thanks!

We Now Interrupt This Blog To Bring You Some Word Salad

2009-07-15T22:58:00.005-04:00

Well I just found out last week that I will be having surgery very soon to fix a long standing problem. The first words out of my mouth to the doctor were "We can't do it then..I have a class with Tim Holtz!!!!!" Of course the doctor and my Steve both just stared at me but I know you guys will get it! That what I love about my fellow artists in blogworld! That brought up my other thought.... I won't be able to do the my favorite challenges or sit to do art for several weeks. AGH!!!!! Anyway that brings me to my Word Salad for the Three Muses ..... I just love this new challenge blog and don't want to miss one single one! So even if I am confined to sketching and the like I will try to play....I will still be watching and commenting on everyones work as much as possible. I am going through withdrawal already!

Crazy Amigo Red Bingo Shadow Box

2009-07-14T02:46:00.004-04:00

This is a little recycling piece for the Crazy Amigos bingo challenge. Little goodies from the thrift store and a dress form image from Shabby Cottage Studios. Great fun!

Mide Wide Open Contentment

2009-07-08T12:52:00.005-04:00

My entry for Mind Wide Open. Lot's of fun this time. Love how Gail created the image we all used. These are my favorite color too. I need to learn how to take a good photo on a rainy day or at night. We have had record amounts of rain this summer. I often finish a piece at night with moments to spare.....Gail must have the patience of saint since this is the second time I have turned in something at 11:50 something! I just looked at all the entries and they are so beautiful.

Go look if you get a moment, you won't be sorry. So inspirirng!

Three Muses Cat House Artist

2009-07-08T00:12:00.005-04:00

This is my entry for Three Muses theme of surreal... Hope everyone is having a good week! Off to look at everyones surreal stuff!

MMM Beaded Beauty

2009-07-06T00:01:00.003-04:00

This is my piece for MIxed Media Monday. The theme was using beads. I did use beads but good grief....have you ever had one of those days when the universe was saying DO NOT CREATE TODAY! I have dropped more beads....shredded more thread....poked myself with the needle...you name it! But I have had this project in mind for a long time and really did enjoy doing it. It is a large piece for me, 12"x16" and that was new for me too. Anyway I am rambling. Can't wait to see what everyone did!

Almost forgot...the image is from SuzeeQue. Thanks!

Let Freedom Ring ATC Arch

2009-07-05T04:05:00.003-04:00

This is my ATC size arch for Gothic Arches.....up late tonight playing in the studio....love a relaxing holiday weekend. Hope everyone else is having some fun too!