Altered Book Collage by Barbara Matthiessen

I've been perusing this book recently while exercising at the gym (for some crazy reason, my best place to think about art) and it's really inspired me. I must have bought it a long time ago, probably at Joann's with a 50% off coupon, then put it on the shelf and forgot about it. But now that I'm getting ready to host an altered book round robin, I looked to it for some tips and I'm so glad I did!

Even though this book may look a bit dated (published 2005), it is chock full of instructions, project ideas, tips, and techniques. Barbara seems to cover everything---including faux finishes like rusting, niches, resist backgrounds, heat embossing, microscope slide embellishments, stitching on pages, even image transfers. The text is clearly written and there are plenty of step-by-step photographs.

Barbara is teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix this week and I wish I was there, taking one of her workshops. Maybe next year...

Lake Itasca

Cupid and I are off to Lake Itasca State Park this morning, hopefully. I say hopefully because my dear old dog had diarrhea last night and a very rumbly tummy this morning. She's had some probiotics and a Maalox and ate a little chicken and rice and seems to be feeling O.K. She's always had a very sensitive GI tract.

The University of Minnesota has a biological station at Itasca where Dana (hubby) has taught for the past two years. Alexander (son) has gone with him both times but this will be my first time there. I'm joining them for just a few days out of the two weeks they're gone. It's about a 4 hour drive northwest, which isn't bad at all unless you have a sick dog with you!

I'd better continue packing...

Journal cover

I finished this journal cover a few days ago. It's a collage of Graphic 45 paper, some botanical images, a bit of handmade (not by me though) paper with plant material in it, a little mesh fabric, and some dried flowers. I painted on some diluted inks too, which worked well with the texture of the handmade paper. In retrospect, I think I wish that I'd skipped the dried flowers except for that tiny brown one in the center. I will still enjoy writing and sketching in my new altered journal though.

Have a happy day!

Beeswax collage

Here's the 2nd project from the Mike Putman workshops I attended last summer. It started with a 12x12 piece of MDF to which we all added patterned papers, transparency and paper images, chipboard, and and anything else we desired to complement to the wonderful kits that Mike provided. Everything was adhered and layered with beeswax which we then rubberstamped and applied Pearl-Ex. When I finally brought it home due to fears of the beeswax melting in transport, I added some additional glass beads, Rub and Buff, and tried some gold foiling which I didn't quite get the hang of. I'll have to attempt it again, not on beeswax though.

It was first time working with beeswax and, though I haven't used it since, I do look forward to playing with it again. It smells really good! Mike was a great instructor and even let me stay late to get as much finished as I could. The workshops were held at a wonderful little store called Mystic Paper in Mesa, AZ. If you're ever in the area, you must try to stop by! It's in an old building that is reported to be haunted, and the store is decorated with antiques and lots of vintage items. Too much fun!

A creation from last summer

Last summer, I was fortunate enough to take two workshops with Mike Putman from Jack and Cat Curio. This is from the first--using metal tape, chipboard, mica, India ink, and more on a wooden plaque.

The class was a blast--fun and conversational, yet inspiring and technique-oriented. Lots of interesting people. Mike makes everyone feel welcome and brings out their creativity. If you ever get a chance to take one of his classes, don't miss that opportunity!

A tag

I finished this tag yesterday after working on it too long, as usual. However, I am getting better with my intent to "Do rather than think" in regards to art.  

For this tag, I used my new-ish Tim Holtz stamps plus a variety of paper and ephemera scraps that were on my work table.  

Now I really need to get working on a small gift for my boy's kindergarten teacher.  I have less than a week!  

Cuteness alert!

Cupid found a nest of baby bunnies about 10 days ago.  Mama bunny had decided to have them in the center of an old lilac bush in our backyard, despite the fact that a German Shepherd Dog lives here.  We knew we would do everything in our power to protect the babies from Cupid, and after reading all about about what to do if you find baby bunnies, we also decided to try to protect the babies from the neighborhood cats.  What made a lot of sense to me in the information gathering was that dogs and cats are not natural predators of rabbits and helped me decide that we should definitely try to protect the babies, although I would have done it anyway :) 

Online, we learned that it's darn difficult to keep cats out of places where they really want to go but we laid chicken wire on the ground, strung shiny moving things in the lilac bush, and sprayed a nasty-smelling dog and cat repellant along our fence.  Luckily, our strategy didn't also repel mama bunny. We also learned online that rabbit mothers only visit the nest around dawn and dusk, and then for only about 5 minutes.  Sure enough, when we watched closely, she'd show up when it was nearly dark and really hard to see her, circle the lilac bush to make sure it was safe, then stealthily jump into the bush.  Even with binoculars it was very difficult to see her in the bush while feeding her young.  

We've left the nest alone, as difficult as that has been, only checking occasionally that the bedding material of soft fur and dried grasses was patted down and covering the small dug-out hole with the babies inside. But Saturday, as I took a peek at the bedding, I noticed a large number of small ants swarming around the nest area.  I got really sad, because a big group of ants often indicates something dead nearby.  I asked hubby to do the dirty work of checking more closely but surprisingly, the two babies are fine and way too adorable!  Mother Nature would not be happy but I had to see these little cuties up close, so hubby pulled one of them out of the hole for Alexander and me. Their eyes are now open and their back legs are already strong.  Since they only stay in the nest for 16-20 days, I expect they're going to be hopping out any day now.  What a fun learning experience this has been!

It's not too early to get excited about Mother's Day, is it?

Look what I found on the internet!  It could be the most perfect Mother's Day ever!  I enrolled in a beginning needle felting class in which we'll make woolly sheep, and I probably volunteer for a couple of hours too.  Like I need another crafty hobby...

Here's the URL if anyone's interested: http//www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org/index.shtml

I'm 25% Irish

I tried pretty hard to find a vintage St. Patrick's Day image that included sheep---yes, my love affair with sheep continues--which means I spent too much time sitting on my butt, searching.  I bet I could have found one eventually, but that would have entailed spending way too much time. You wouldn't think it would that difficult since Ireland is all about the sheep, right? However, I found these two sweet lasses, one hugging her Irish Setter.  

This is my first attempt at uploading copyright-free images for others to use and I hope I did it right.  

The Davis/McWilliam family will be enjoying corned beef and cabbage tomorrow with a hastily-procured Wikipedia version of the history of the day for Alexander.  

There are so many great Irish blessings, but here's one that I especially liked today:

May you never forget what is worth remembering or remember what is best forgotten.  

Belated Valentine

I finally finished my husband's Valentine's Day card!  Actually, it was done a couple of days ago but I added the little heart-scroll thingy to it today. Maybe if I start working on our anniversary (5/23) card now, I have a chance of getting it finished on time!  

Blah today

Here's a strange little piece of art I just finished. I don't know what it means...I was playing with laminate and wallpaper samples and some patina'd copper strips, and this is what happened!  

I am so blah today--partly because I'm tired because my boy threw up a couple of times during the night and is home sick today, and partly because once again it's cold and gray outside.  We'd gotten a couple of days when the snow and ice were melting and the sun was shining and it gave me hope that just maybe spring would actually arrive here in MN...eventually. Then the harsh realities of winter reappear. Typical March. Up and down.  For now, I will tell myself to enjoy the bright red of that cardinal sitting in the bare brown tree in our backyard...and then do it.

A rushed post

I should not be blogging right now!  I desperately need to finish packing for my trip to AZ but it was important to me to get this collage posted.  I've been working on it forever and I still might mess with it a little more.  It was a bit too wide for the scanner so the edges are cropped off a bit.  

I'm making a not-so-New Year's resolution, and that is--in regards to my making art--to use my brain less and hands more.  To think about a project less and work on it more.  To just make something and not worry that it might not be perfect. To not look at 37 magazines for inspiration because 99% of the time, I end up going with my original idea anyway. There it is.  Wish me luck.

I'm a proud mama

My son, Alexander, had his first exhibit at his school's art fair on Tuesday.  He used crayons, markers, and watercolors to decorate clip art butterflies. We attached them to a branch painted with gold acrylic paint and supported by a mound of air-dry clay. Alexander had the most fun embellishing the clay with beads, sequins, and small paper clips. We gave the clay a few spritzes of homemade glimmer mist (Pearl-Ex + turquoise re-inker in water). Although the entries weren't judged, Alexander thought it was really cool to receive a certificate of participation. The butterflies will now be sent to the Holocaust Museum Houston for their Butterfly Project.

Snow dog

Here's my old Cupid-dog, getting snowed on recently.  Most senior dogs like a cozy, warm place to curl up, don't they??  Not Cupid.  She loves to lay outside on the deck on all but the coldest days.  Crazy bitch :)

Blog guilt

Blog guilt. I'm suffering from it. Occurs when you've neglected your blog for too long. Yep, I took the Blogging without Obligation pledge when I first started my blog, but some of the guilt remains. I try to use it to my advantage and turn it into a boot to the butt to get busy.  

Here's a little button fairy whose components had been sitting on my art table for way too long. The guilt-motivated kick to the pants helped me decide to finally finish her up. It is dang hard to get a good picture of one's artwork sometimes, though. I'm going to try making a lightbox which may help me get some of my beads posted on Etsy too. 

'Til next time, whenever that may be.....

Happy Birthday Cupid!

My special girl turned 12 years old Christmas Day.  She's pictured above amidst the present-opening chaos.  Later, she and I went for our annual birthday/Christmas walk but her elbow was bothering her so we turned it into a nice long drive through snow-covered farmland instead.  

Christmas 1996 is especially memorable because DH (who wasn't yet my husband) and I spent it whelping puppies.  About half of the pups arrived during the wee hours of the night at home but the rest were delivered at the emergency vet clinic throughout Christmas Day.  The nine babies got the names of Santa's reindeer.  Rudolph was nicknamed Rudy and went to live in Alabama.  Blitzen was renamed Bear and, because his owners lived in Tucson, I was able to watch him grow up into a big, handsome, long-coated dog.  And Vixen lived up to her name--she was a spitfire who went to live with a park ranger who took her to work everyday.  

I feel blessed to have Cupid still in my life, and I am thankful that she is healthy and strong....the best Christmas present of all.  

Time to play Tag

 I got tagged by Jill <elinorscloset.blogspot.com> a long time ago.  I've spent way too much time fretting about it; now it's time to get the job done.  

Rules are as follows... when you get tagged you must...
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Mention the rules.
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
4) Tag two other unsuspecting online art friends...

The first thing I had to do was look up the definition of quirky.  I think I know what quirky means but just in case...

Here's what I found:

def.: Deviating from the customary: bizarre, cranky, curious, eccentric, erratic, freakish, idiosyncratic, odd, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, queer, singular, strange, unnatural, unusual, weird. Slang kooky, screwball.
Wow...that's quite a spread. "Quaint" brings to my mind something totally different than "freakish". I'm stopping myself--which is difficult-- from looking up "quaint" right now, just in case I don't completely understand its meaning too, which brings me to my first quirky detail--
1) I'm anal and perfectionistic when it comes to writing. It takes me a long time to even write a simple email (just ask DH)
2) I have a bald spot about 1" in diameter on the right side of my head which has always been there.

3) I name and handfeed our backyard squirrels.   

4) I raised sheep for a couple of years and dream of doing it again.

5) I can cross each of my eyes individually.

6) I've recently become a pro football fan, thanks to Peyton Manning ;)

For the next victims, I pick:

Nelly <nellybeepaperprojects.blogspot.com>

Natalie <studiomeccadigital.com>

Have fun, gals!

Snowy Saturday

Well, I'm fairly sure we're going to have a white Christmas here in the Twin Cities area. It's coming down again this morning, plus there were already about 5 inches on the ground. Christmas always sneaks up on me too quickly but this year, the time between Thanksgiving and now has just flown by, hasn't it?

I've been working on a couple of different projects (it takes me forever to actually finish anything) including this combo Christmas/"thanks for the holiday party" card.  It's simple but I didn't have a lot of time to ruminate over it which, for me, is a good thing.  

Now that I'm back in blogging mode (we'll see how long that lasts...), get ready for some long-overdue tagging to occur in the next day or two!

An ATC

I am happy to have finally finished this ATC. Its components had been lost following the move back from AZ then it just kinda fell off my radar screen-- you know how that can happen? But now it can head towards Barb's house....yay!  

I collaged a music-themed background then did some of Claudine Hellmuth's peeling paper technique and a blue acrylic paint wash.  To the image I added two of my least favorite things to work with: microbeads embedded in glue, and a feather.  I got the darn microbeads on clearance and they seemed dried out, but maybe that's how they were supposed to be? Anyway, they're a PITA to apply to paper unless you want a big glob of them, even after I'd thinned them down with water.  And feathers never seem to lay right for me, plus the adhesive can make them look matted down and unnatural unless you get it only on the spine.  But the final product came out O.K., I think.

I hope you like it, Barb.

Happy Halloween, again!

I went swimming this morning. Not at Lake Josephine, pictured here (brrrr), but at the gym our family recently joined. Those are geese on the lake, by the way.  They don't show up very well in the little blog photo :(

I LOVE swimming but have been discouraged lately because there's been more of a wait for lanes or downright rude people to deal with at the pool.  "Minnesota nice" doesn't apply at the gym, apparently.  Or on the roads, or in the supermarket, or..... (you can fill in the blank.)  "Minnesota passive-aggressive" seems to be more accurate.  Anyway, just when I was getting into a good rhythm of grumbling, complaining, and pissing and moaning- mostly under my breath- I met a cheery, naked lady in the locker room who shared a secret with me.  During weekday "open swim" times, it's much less crowded, she said. But what about the kids, I wondered, there to enjoy the waterpark?  And it dawned on me....finally......they're in school. DUH!                                   

So today, I am thankful for naked lady's willingness to share that info with me.                     

Also, I am thankful for the opportunity to watch "Ghost Hunters Live" tonight. I'm excited!