In the mood... for cards!

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Originally uploaded by quilted cavalier

I love art. Art of all kinds. That is part of my problem - staying focused, that is. Oh well, I like to think it is just the sign of a creative mind! What's new with me is that I've been in the mood for making cards. Not a bad thing after all. In the theme of (trying to) stay focused, I made a list of cards I need to make up ahead of time like the usual holidays and I'll be working on them the next couple of weeks. My aunts love getting cards from me, but last year I had so little time to make up cards either on the fly or ahead of time that they got very few. Yes, they like it when I call them, but they like it even better when I call them AND I send them a card for holidays a little occasions. It makes their day. I guess I understand that. So this year I'm trying to do the right thing and besides, I really do enjoy making the cards. Lately I've been into Stampin' Up "stuff" their papers and colors are so beautiful. To my journaling and mixed media bloggers out there - never fear! I am still dabbling in those media as well. The cards have lured me away only temporarily. I've got art quilt and polymer clay projects on the back burner that need to come forward too.

Today I made this card for my friend Sheri's little boy, Eddie, who just turned one. She's a scrapper, and frankly, it's because of her that I got into rubber stamping and card making in the first place (thanks, Sheri!). One day, about three years ago now, she and I stopped in at lunchtime at a local rubber stamp shop on our lunch (we used to work together). That fueled the passion that is now rubber stamping. Before that I had just been into art quilting and polymer clay, as if that wasn't enough! She's also the one who got me hooked on Stampin' Up when she invited me to a Stampin' Up party last year.

Least I forget, I finally ordered and received Susan Lenart Kazmer's book "Making Connections, A Handbook of Cold Joins for Jeweler's and Mixed-Media Artists" and I am so wowed by this book! All of my life I have collected little bits of things and cast off objects and in this book it's like she opens up a whole new world of what to do with all of this STUFF! OMG!!! I am so excited about it. I have signed up for her Resin class at the Bead and Button Show in June here in Milwaukee, but now I'm thinking I might take her three day workshop in which she gets into the techniques covered in her book. I am a bit afraid that it will be over my head, but in actuality, I already have quite of few of the class supplies and the class is open to students of all levels... I just might go for it! Jump right in with both feet and venture into the world of metal. How cool is that?

Take care and peace to you all!

new to wii

I continue to be busy with work. But this weekend we got a wii - this is my first video game equipment, believe it (or not). So many of my friends and co-workers have one, along with a Wii Fit. I got one of those too. I got my first taste of it this this morning - it is not kind! It weighs you and tells you that you are over weight straight out! I didn't have time to do the exercises this morning (of course not!), so I will have to do that later today. I also got Animal Crossing. It just looks like fun. I started playing with it the other day. Got my first home, now I have to pay for it (it's just like life - do I really need a game for that?!) You can interact online via wifi. How cool is that? I have to try it...

In my enthusiasm for journaling and weight loss, I have turned to journaling with pics of yoga poses and swim suits for inspiration. These two pics are journal pages in their early stages. I have so enjoyed this online journaling class and it has incorporated well into my life. I can cut up journaling bits to use (for my own personal use) and use my gel medium at a later time. Painting is my favorite activity and I never have enough time to do it. I need to get back to making fabric paper! I miss that. Hope all is going well with you - it is very spring like here today. VERY unusual for early February. Yikes. Almost 60. That's more like May weather for Wisconsin.

having fun

i am having a blast finally getting to get my hands dirty in some paint this weekend with the workshop with Pam Carriker's "Visual Journalism 101" online workshop with Creative Workshops. I've only gotten a few pages done (for the first week's assignment anyway), tomorrow starts the next assignment (I CANNOT WAIT TO FIND OUT WHAT'S NEXT IN THE PROCESS). 

i always get the workshop frenzy this time of year, and this year is no exception. i'm sure there will be others that come up, but this week i signed up for the Susan Lenart Kazmer resin workshop at the bead & button show in june, and the Judy Coates Perez whole cloth painted quilt workshop at the chicago international quilt show in april. i got the new stampin' up catalog yesterday. omg - they have some really cool new stamps... yikes! someone had better glue shut my wallet! no, serious, i am budgeting for my habit... it keeps me going AND out of trouble otherwise. 

i have been trying to make some time (not sure where to eek it out, but i'm trying) for cooking. today i'm making a pot roast. smells so yummy in the oven. marc & i are not meat people and this pot roast will last us for 3 - 4 days. i'll be making alsatian onion pie this week as well. i saw a new cooking show last weekend with chef Hubert Keller where he made all kinds of alsatian pies (from his homeland of france) and i just had to go to the store and get the ingredients. of course, i CANNOT find his recipe on the internet as apparently this was a new episode of his show, so i'm searching for a similar recipe. maybe i'll e-mail him? who knows, maybe i'll get a response. he really should update his website, don't you think? 

work is crazy busy. frenzied. good for me and those i work with, but stressful nonetheless. i started light therapy just over a week ago. you know - the light boxes you read about? anyway, i think it is helping me. i am not a morning person, never have been. i come from a long line of not morning people! i joke about this with my aunts, who are all so glad to no longer have to work so they can stay up late and sleep late! but, i also find that the light seems to have a calming effect on me. i do not feel so frazzled, short-tempered. that is most helpful dealing with so much stress at work. one crisis after another that i have to deal with. marc has been using it too, but he says he feels no different. i told him you have be a "believer"! LOL! i'm sure it effects everyone differently and some people not at all. he is a morning person, and maybe that's why. he wakes up early and goes to be early naturally. not me. 

take care - have a great day!

note: i e-mailed the Hubert Keller secrets of a chef show website and within about 15 minutes (i am not kidding about this!) i got the recipes e-mailed to me! WOW! talk about service. YUM. i will let you know how it turns out at home. 

great day

today was a very nice holiday indeed. dinner with family at the restaurant was only one hour and as it was nearby our house, we were home quickly. i was utterly stuffed! i am not a big meat eater - actually i'm mainly vegetarian, but thanksgiving just isn't thanksgiving without the obligatory piece of turkey with sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce. i had my fill, that's for sure - with no room left for pie. i'll have to make myself some pumpkin pie one of these days to make up for that. we got home early enough that i was able to put away the halloween decor and bring out some of the christmas decorations. i've got to be in the holiday mood as it makes me feel better. the holidays have never been full of fond memories for me. quite the contrary. they've always been the most miserable time of the year for me - that is - until i met marc. he has made me feel special and allowed me to bring in my own family traditions into the holidays. this was something my ex never did. actually, marc and i try to mix it up with his traditions and my own. plus, i bring things into the mix that weren't part of either of our traditions to make a whole new tradition that is just ours. i love christmas ornaments, but they have to speak to me. every year i get one or two new ones. 

regardless, today has been a great day. i've been working in my studio for several hours. making progress on a couple of projects i'm working on and laying the ground for others. and i've been able to listen to my ipod for the past few hours as well. music always helps me focus on what ever i'm working on at the time. home or work. the faster the music the more my mind can focus on the task at hand and it makes me happy. i downloaded another song for my ipod today - gorillaz "clint eastwood". that song always has me singing along with it and since i don't hear it much any more on the radio i thought i may as well have it on the trusty ipod. i do feel rather selfish having two ipods, but it comes in handy - one for listening to music and the other for just about everything else. the next one will have to have a bigger hard drive (note to those of you thinking about getting your first ipod - get the 16 gig). 

autumn winds of change

i know this is amazing, but the raspberries we planted this spring are producing raspberries now! they are absolutely yummy. as you can see, there are still some ripening. i'm not so sure they will reach that stage as cold winds are blowing today, with a hard frost coming within days. we are happy for what we get from the garden. 

i did get a lot accomplished today. besides working outdoors yesterday, getting chores completed before it gets too cold - i was able to work on my artwork just a bit. i am working on my dia de bloglandia creation... and a project based upon beryl taylor's article in quilting arts gifts. here is a pic of the muslin that i had sprayed with walnut ink and then put spackle on it. this is the in process photo. it is just a little bit messy - not nearly as messy as one might think. i need a larger putty knife to spread it. i'm sure marc has one i could borrow. :) 

resin

well this is actually fun! today i made my first resin  jewelry pieces. so far, i think they've turned out rather nice. of course, they are still curing and i understand it will take three full days to completely cure. how wonderful! i do apologize for the poor quality of the pics, but, especially in the second shot, i didn't want to disturb the pieces just to get the photo. my luck I'd bump them too hard and ruin them! you can get the idea anyway. i utilized sterling silver bezels from Susan Lenart Kazmer that i purchased while i was at the ridge valley art studio back in june. if you've never seen Susan's work, you must check it out. she has a book out and it appears you can only get this off of her website. i will probably put that on my list of things i want for christmas this year. (gosh, am i thinking about christmas already?) i used ice resin which i purchased from her website. i found it quite easy to work with - easier than i had thought it would be. i also used glitter and watch parts that marc was kind enough to pass onto me. it really helps when your partner finds what you do amusing! the top photo shows my audition of watch pieces before i put the glitter and resin into the bezel. now i just have to be patient and let the pieces cure. gosh, that's not easy for me! i have all sorts of ideas of how to use them. i found some helpful videos on youtube which helped me in the process.  must...find...more...bezels!!!

jac head

i've been talking about the projects i'm working on... well i finally got around to providing you a photo of one of the things i've been working on - here is a "jac head". this is one of my prototypes. i'm in the process of perfecting them, but they are so fun to make. i currently use paperclay, but am going to also try paper mache. i am also working on cat heads. i've also been working on cards, especially since it's marc's birthday next week. marc has a truck that looks a lot like this stampin' up stamp of a truck. he just loves it. anyway, i am having fun with it - especially now that my studio is upstairs and seemingly more acceptable at various times. i can go in the studio and play around for a few minutes here and there when i can as opposed to having to find blocks of time to dedicate to a studio retreat in the basement. plus, i can see out the window!

i had my solatube installed late yesterday. i'm not used to light streaming into my bathroom yet. even today, on a cloudy/rainy day. it is nice that i don't have to turn on the light everytime i go in there now.