Altered Art Studio 9010

Women's Spring Retreat

2012-01-02T12:52:00.005-05:00

RETREAT IN FULL

How about a "just before spring" retreat? We would begin at 3:00pm Friday March 16 and the retreat would end at noon on Sunday, March 18th. We will plan dinner time for once everyone let's me know when they can arrive. So taking Friday off isn't necessary.

The place I have scouted out is a cabin just outside Rushville, so it's about 30 to 40 minutes from Columbus. They offer the whole cabin for rent. This includes use of the kitchen, indoor pool, hot tub, rec room and their Netflix account. One TV is 3D. There is also a fire pit. http://cabinatthecrossroads.blogspot.com/p/amenities.html

We would learn together about healthy eating, exercise and do some mixed media art projects too. They have about a 2 miles of hiking trails that goes through the property. Plenty of time to just chill and get to know each other better. There are sleeping arrangements for 11. The cost is $195.00 for the weekend. This includes all food. Bring your own beverages if more than soda, coffee and tea are wanted.

We will cook together some and some will be prepared ahead. Mixed media art projects, such as collage and recycled materials to make a "Smash" type journal will be included in the cost. Of course we would have some kind of decadent dessert one night.

A deposit of $65.00 is needed by January 15th. Then another payment of $65.00 by Feb 12th. The last payment of $65.00 would be due by March 4th.

Please email Deb to arrange payments and to ask any questions.

A New Year's Thought

2011-12-28T10:16:00.001-05:00

Dear Extraordinary Person,

As the year draws to a close, beautiful friend, please remember that you get to decide what heads into the next year with you and what doesn't. It would be worth some of your precious minutes to sit down and really think about the baggage that you have been carrying around that you just don't need anymore....and then decide that it is not invited to come with you into the next year...and that it will no longer be a part of how you view yourself, your possibilities, your commitments, the way you spend your time, and what you have to give in the world.

We often are taught to collect, collect, collect, gather, gather, gather, hoard, hoard, hoard...that we never even consider the possibility of starting over with a clean emotional slate by letting EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF BRAIN BAGGAGE GO and starting over with fresh hope, fresh faith, an open mind and endless possibilities. Some things that would be wonderful to leave behind are shame, blame, specific expectations, outdated beliefs, outdated identities and a scarcity mentality. It would be wonderful to let go of grudges, fears and beliefs that make us feel stuck.

When we decide to spend our time on loving others, and feeling loved...there is no room or time for feeling angry or for being worried about unkind things others may think of us. When we decide to spend our time working towards the life that our heart is yearning for....there is no room or time to think about things from the past that have been holding us back.

So please decide, amazing person.......YOU GET TO DECIDE!!! Decide what you will focus on, what you will think about, where you will spend your time and how you will think about everything and everyone around you. This could be the best year of your life! Make it so.

You are filled with endless possibilities!

from Your Daily Truth by Brave Girl's Club

My Hiking Journal

2011-12-06T05:42:00.001-05:00

I have created an album on photobucket of my latest art journaling. It is about hiking and being outdoors this past year. I have more pages started and hope to finish them soon. I wish there was more time to do everything I love. But I am doing the best I can with the hours in each day to enjoy each and every one. Hope you are too.
Here is a link to my slideshow

The Happiness Project

2011-10-28T22:26:00.000-04:00

I have borrowed this book from the library and am just starting it, but it seems like it goes hand in hand with my life the last 12 months. I have been really working on my happiness day to day. It seems like the more I take care of myself and those closest to me, the happier we all are. I am not saying I am responsible for the happiness around me, but it is contagious. So if you want to learn more about this project click on the title to this post and check out her website. There is a cool toolbox for creating your own happiness project.
Lot's of things in the works right now for getting art back into my schedule. More on this soon. Thanks for stopping by . . . only 7 more followers and I'll draw from everyone and send out a nice little prezzy!

I have started a Meetup group

2011-10-12T17:17:00.000-04:00

I created a Meetup group for getting together with other women who are mixed media artists or who want to learn more about this type of art. Our first meetup is scheduled for Nov. 5th. I haven't found a meeting spot yet, but am working on it. I am going to provide workshops for those interested in learning and kits for those who do not want to invest in supplies. We have 4 members as of today. So if you live in Central Ohio and want to join us, we can be found by clicking on the title of this post.

90 Followers woo hoo!!

2011-08-05T20:50:00.001-04:00

I posted a while back that I would have a drawing of my followers once I reached 100. Only 10 more to go. I want to make something awesome . . . any suggestions??? Take a look through my older posts and if anything looks interesting let me know.

I took my first spinning class today. It was HARD!! But fun. A new goal for the month, to stand for a whole class by the end of the month. I did get my cardio in, just need a stronger core. I am so glad it is Friday!! Can't wait to relax for a few hours at the pool this weekend. I love summer! Hopefully we can pick another couple of buckets of blackberries this weekend too. Hate the stickers but love the berries in my smoothies.

I'll try to post Sunday some new art.

My Dad's ROD Journal

2011-08-03T09:45:00.003-04:00

I made a slideshow of some of the pages in the ROD journal I am making for my Dad. (Click on title of post to get to slideshow) I'm keeping it pretty simple. I do want to embellish a bit more. But it's a guy's journal so I don't want to go over board. I'm making it with the same purpose in mind as I made my mom's. For him to write about his life & memories. It will be a treasured keepsake.

Thanks for looking . . . now I'm off to the gym :-)

Update: This "not buying anything except gas" is HARD!! I forgot my flip flops at home so now I have to wear my gym shoes all day at work. Any other day I would have run to the dollar store and bought flip flops, ugh!! I did my first Pilates work out today. It wasn't real hard but I can already feel my body responding to the fact that I have given it a very different work out . . . so this is good . . . I think??

I have scheduled time off in September to hike the AT for a long weekend. I am so excited. My oldest son, Chris, is coming with me. I hope to get to the summit of Mount Rogers in VA. So all this extra training will help me I am sure and makes any discomfort so worth it, when I get to top. :-)

OK now it's time to work . . .

My New Art Studio

2011-08-02T09:59:00.000-04:00

Here's my new sunny art room . . . well part of it.

I LOVE IT!!

I'm working on a type of ROD journal for my Dad to journal about his life. I will take some pics soon.

I plan to post a picture and how I am doing on my journey of consuming less this month . . . in all ways!!

My August Self Challenge

2011-07-31T23:08:00.000-04:00

For the month of August I am challenging myself to not buy anything except gas. I have to pay my bills too. My DH pays for the groceries so this is something I can do, if I put my mind to it and have self control.

I am also going to move my fitness journey to the next level by using a personal trainer for the month. Provided by my DH for my birthday this month.

I am planning on organizing my new art studio and making some awesome new art too.

So I will be kept busy and do not think I will miss shopping in the least. And once I get down a few more sizes I can have lots of fun buying new clothes. I have been doing my best to take in what I have so I can continue to wear what I have.

I will be posting my new art and about how my self challenge is going all through the month . . . So come back and see me in August!!
The picture is a close of my art desk in my new sunny art room. More pics to come . . .

Got my new art room(s) set up

2011-06-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

I have my new art rooms with all my stuff in them... yeah!! I am so happy! My DH and oldest son helped move desk and go get a desk from my mom & dad. So I have two desk now and lots of storage, but way too much stuff. So it is time to organize and trim down my supplies. I cannot create in chaos!!
So I have about another week of work of ahead of me, but it will be so worth it to be able to have a true guest room for family & friends to visit more often and to be able to CREATE more art!!
I will post pictures when I am done.
Have an awesome rest of the weekend!!

Why I am not posting as often

2011-06-19T14:15:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to have 83 followers. I am not sure you all are so happy with me lately. I am sorry for not posting more often. Life is very busy these days and I have not been creating much art.

I am doing very good on my journey of weight loss and exercise. I have lost 45 lbs and want to loose at least another 30. My energy level is awesome and I am having fun hiking this spring. I enjoyed a hike and camp out in Cuyahoga Valley National Park just up the road from us. My husband went with me. We hiked 9 miles Sat morning in about 3.5 hours. A little faster then I like, but I did it. There were awesome ledges to walk up to and beside. We camped overnight and had to suffer through a half hour thunderstorm. But campfire time was fun. Got a good 5 hours sleep before things got uncomfortable. My DH says this is not for him. He likes the hiking but wants a real bed at the end of the day. So I will have to find someone to backpack with later this summer.

Right now I am getting the house ready for my youngest son's visit with his wife. They will be home the first part of July. So I have to move my art/scrapbook room back downstairs. Having it in the guest room is not working at all. So besides working full time this is what I have been up to. Hopefully I will have fun creating some things with my DIL and I'll post about that soon.
Thanks for following and I'll try to post some creativity soon . . .

My Planes & Trains Adventure

2011-05-29T02:47:00.000-04:00

I recently went on an adventure with a friend. We went to Minot North Dakota by way of planes to Minneapolis MN, then train to Minot ND. The first leg of our journey went pretty smoothly. Only an 90 minutes late into Minot. She was going to surprise a friend from grade school and I went to surprise my son who serves in the Air Force up there. We both had wonderful reactions to our surprise visit.

We went our separate ways for 4 days and had a wonderful time with family & friends.

We met back at the train station at 9:30 pm and then began our real adventure.

You see I had wanted to take the bus from the airport to the train station, but we were told this was too dangerous by a kind gentleman at the airport info both. So we took a taxi.

Well our journey home was not to be that easy. We ended waiting until 3:15am for our train to arrive into Minot. We then slowly made our way to Minneapolis. The train was already 7 hours behind schedule for those that had started in Seattle WA. I knew we would never make our flight at 10:30 that morning, so we contacted Delta on our trusty cellphones to see what we could do. Everyone flying was having to re-book their flights. Some had to pay over $200.00 for this. Delta was very easy to work with. We just had to know what time we would be at the airport, which we didn't. So we said our prayers and waited until we arrived in Minneapolis. We met a gentleman that also would need a taxi to the airport, so we shared a cab with him. This turned out to be a little tricky. I went to the first taxi van in line and asked how much to get to the airport, he did not speak English well and I thought he said $35.00, which was 10.00 more than when we took it to the train station. I asked why and he said it might be $40.00. He had already started the meter and grabbed my bag and put it in the van. I went to the next car taxi and asked the big burly white man how much to get to the airport and he said $20.00 at the most. I went over to the van and grabbed my bag out of it and said no thank you. He got upset and I then said I did not feel like getting screwed that day. The poor gentleman sharing our cab just watched . . . I got his bags and threw them in the back and he got in the front seat and said what just happened? I said I saved us $20.00. He laughed. We were on our way to the airport . . .

We arrived just before 3pm and made our way to the Delta counter to tell them our sad story and hope for the best. It was just like you see in the movies, he tapped on his keyboard for a few moments then said I have 2 seats on the 3:55 flight, do you want them? How much? $50.00 each. Praise the Lord!!!

We then breezed through security and what pull sup as I am putting my shoes back on . . . an airport taxi thingy . . . you know the ones that fly you through the airport . . . He asked if we needed assistance and I looked at him and thought why not. Never had this luxury before. It was a good thing, because our gate was clear at the other end of the airport. We arrived in time to board and be seated right next to each other.

Home by 8pm. Slept like a baby. I love a good adventure!!

Art paper scrap collage

2011-05-04T19:50:00.000-04:00

I loved doing this page.

First I covered the background with black gesso.

Then I tore my paint paper scraps. (These are the papers I put behind the pages in a book when I paint them. I use them over and over again so they are very colorful.)

Then I used gel medium to adhere them to my book pages. I allowed everything to dry overnight.

I came back with black acrylic paint and painted the words. I used painted stamps for the word believe.
Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I have been trying to get our huge lawn mowed and also keeping up with my 60 minutes of hiking and exercise each day. Doesn't leave much time for anything else before I head into work for the afternoon.
I posted a slideshow of my North Carolina hiking vacation on the side bar of the blog.

Remain of the Day Slideshow posted

2011-04-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to creating a slideshow on photobucket of my ROD journal. I made this for my mom, so she can journal about her memories. I am making one for my dad too. But I am taking the idea and using double sided tape into a blank journal I have. It's somewhat bigger. I will post some of it when it is finished. The slideshow is only of about 1/3 of my mom's journal. I ended up making 3 signatures. It went real fast. I do love this format.
I used wallpaper from a sample book. Love it!! Lot's of scrapbook papers.

WooHoo!! I am up to 79 followers. When I get to 100, I'll be sending one of them an altered composition book. I haven't made it yet. I may even wait to interview the winner so I can make something with them in mind. You are all so wonderful to drop in now & then to leave comments.
Take Care.

My first ROD journal

2011-03-28T01:18:00.009-04:00

I finally made my first Remains of the Day journal / keepsake.

I made this for my mom. I will make a slide show in a few days to show the inside. It has pictures from her childhood and young married life. I left lots of room for her to write her memories. She helped me with the cover. She knows how to sew, I do not. But this kind of sewing I can do. She pressed the slipcover before I made it into the cover.

Anyways . . . it's late and I have to get to bed. So I'll do more later.

Collaborative Art Journal Auctions

2011-03-21T06:22:00.000-04:00

In January 2010 a small group of artists agreed to participate in a collaborative art journaling project. The idea was for each artist to create three art journal entries based upon a theme – one was about “Love”, the second was about “Friendship” and the third was left “Open”. Each artist was asked to include an introduction page and two art entries about the theme of the journal they chose to work in. Each journal contains 36 different art entries. All three journals traveled throughout the United States and Canada for about twelve months. Two have returned safely and the third is slowly limping home – it ran into a few unexpected road blocks along the way, but will be traveling again soon.

It was proposed that these journals be auctioned off and the proceeds from each sale donated to a charity. The Love Journal would benefit a children’s charity. The Friendship Journal would benefit a women’s charity. The Open Journal would benefit Bernie Berlin’s no-kill animal shelter - known as "A Place to Bark".
Here are the links -

Love Journal = http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330544745796&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Friendship Journal = http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250792003391&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

The picture is my introduction page from the Love Journal. There are sooo many great pages in both of these journals. Lots of ideas to get your muse going . . .

Collage Layers technique

2011-03-16T13:31:00.008-04:00

I save everything . . . how about you?

I have lots of church bulletins, sewing patterns, scraps of pretty paper from scrapbooking, old song books from flea markets, my postage stamps, etc.
I have file folders of magazine pages. I try to organize them how I think I will use them. My categories are faces, people, places, texture & pattern, text (large & small separated), architecture. So then I can just pull a file and look for something to add to a collage.
I have used an old suitcase to store all my scrap paper pieces. Sometimes I just pull it out and make several collage pages all at one. Then I can go back and add paint and stamping.

I first added the yellow and gesso paint over the top of the collage.
I added the black paint to the outlines before doing the last steps.
On this collage I added some bubble wrap stamping, some brayer painting, and then stamps with black acrylic paint on form stamps. I also use a medicine bottle to make the rings. The bird stamp is with a pigment dye stamp pad.

The hardest part is waiting for it to dry so I can do another page. But usually I try to finish a page right before heading off to work at 2pm. This way it will be dry when I get home!
Now it's your turn!!

Lots of layers

2011-02-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

The technique was found in the Autumn 2010 Somerset apprentice magazine. I used it for my composition book cover posted back in Dec 2010.
Start with a sturdy material, chipboard or heavy weight paper.
Then layer your first color using acrylic paints and just move the pain around with your fingers. I used several colors of blue and white to get my effect. I may have used a brush too. Leave the paint thick in spots and then use a heat tool to dry the page. This makes the thick areas crackle and bubble. Then use brown distress ink and cover the whole surface. Then spritz with water and scrub the ink off certain areas.
Using a brayer I add white gesso to areas mostly around the edges.
Then I used dark brown Stazon ink to stamp script and a few quotes.
I added a piece of old music sheet. Then I stamped the nest and bird.
I added some stickles to the flowers around the nest. It takes overnight for everything to dry well. Then I brushed gel medium over the whole cover. I did the back cover with the same technique but did not add the stamped images. This was a lot of fun to do. I did two books at the same time so I could let them dry in at the same time. They each looked a little different. I will probably due a few more for presents.
I just started the "Remains of the Day" class with Mary Ann Moss. So I expect to be totally immersed in these for a bit. I am hoping to get my mom interested. She has always been a quilter and sewing was her passion, until she lost the feeling in her hands and has a hard time with the precision of quilting. I think these journals maybe just the ticket for her. On my way home tonight.

Just doodles and journaling

2011-02-22T22:44:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of Florence when she was very young.

I decided to leave her picture on this page. This time-period sort of fascinates me. To me, her look is timeless. Sometimes just working around something already in the book you are altering is a challenge. I decided to use some coffee sleeves on the page next to it and then journal about coffee on this page.

Collage of stamped images

2011-02-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

Using stazon ink and one flower and leaf stamp.

I stamped over the text on this page. The design to the left was used to journaling some of my favorite lyrics.

This page reminds me of summer . . . aahhh . . . can't wait for the warm days.

Subscribing to my Posts

2011-02-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

Sorry if you are subscribing to my posts and only see 2 month old posts listed. There appears to be a glitch with Yahoo & Blogger world. I actually went as far as to delete the post that appears. But it still shows up as my most recent post. I subscribe to others blogs and can see this same thing has happened to a few others but not to everyone. So I guess we will have to wait and see how long it takes to fix the issue. Until then, please know my intention is to update my blog weekly if not more often and I love to have vistitors and followers!!
And to show my appreciation, I am going to giveaway an altered compostion book to one of my followers when I get to 100. Can't wait to see who gets it!! I'll post pictures as soon as it is done.
Thank you so much for all the lovely comments and encouragement over the past year or so.
Today's picture is of ATC's created for other artist's 2011 Word of Intent. We are doing a swap in my BAJ yahoo group. The bottom is for the word "today" as is one of my favorite quotes and something I struggle with sometimes. To just realize we never get back today and to make it count!
Love to all!

BAJ Art Challenge ~ A + Red + Hearts

2011-02-01T20:59:00.000-05:00

I got to stay home, and I love a day off that is unplanned. Also can't go anywhere due to the ice we have over the snow on our road.

So I made a new recipe with butternut squash from yesterday's TODAY show. It turned out yummy.

Then went upstairs to take on Kim's weekly challenge, I punched out hearts from paper I use under my journals pages when I paint. I love to use these for abstract collage stuff. Then punched a few from scrapbook paper laying around. Used old credit cards to smear the paint around, then a brayer to add some "grunge". I used watercolor crayons and poster paint pens to add some details. Also a few stickers for some added "bling". Using the letter A had me stumped for a bit, then I decided to journal all my hearts in my life right now.

Using magazine pictures in your art

2011-01-29T20:46:00.000-05:00

Here I used the design of the page in the book and magazine pictures to create a page I love!
The heart is a sticker. I used watercolor crayons to shade and outline areas. I use an almost dry wet wipe to rub over the watercolor crayon. I cut text from a magazine and blocked out some text and left other to tell a story. I had this picture cut out from a magazine for awhile and just decided to use it on this page. I came back later to finish it. I do this quite often. Start a page with some collage work and then come back to journal on it.
Another thing I do once in a while in the evening at work (call center) waiting for the next phone call, is cut images and text from old magazines. I have always subscribed to lots of magazines and I have kept them all. So I have started to go through them and get what I want out and then recycle the rest. I have a few file folders I sort things into. Some of my categories are: text & quotes, texture, places, people, and buildings.
If you try this a technique or any of the others I have posted about and want to send me a picture I'd love to see them.
Have a great Sunday and week!

Strathmore Artist Papers Workshop 1: Recycled Journal Pages

2011-01-23T13:10:00.000-05:00

Here is my finished art journal page from the workshop. The instructor is Pam Carriker . She has done a great job taking us through the steps of recycling our art journal pages into something brand new. Here are some pictures of the stages to this technique. If you want me to describe in more detail let me know. I think a lot of you have taken the workshop, so you know.

1st Stage

Final Stage

2nd Stage

Embossing layer technique

2011-01-21T20:08:00.001-05:00

This page was accomplished using black gesso and then clear embossing of snowflakes stamped images. Then paint over all with acrylic paint. When it dries almost all the way you take a damp baby wipe and rub over the embossing and the paint comes off.
The was one of Tim Holtz's 12 days Christmas tags techniques. It may have been from a past year. I tried to find it on his blog but my internet wireless service is too slow today with all his pictures. I think I explained it pretty well though. It's easy.

I then used a white gel pen to outline the embossing.

Journaling within the design of paper or picture

2011-01-20T18:20:00.002-05:00

In this book I took out most text pages and left her wallpaper design pages. So then I used a lot of them to journal through her design, or used the design in my art. This is part of the fun of altering a book. Using what is in the book.

I found a book titled the Back Roads of America. It has lots of pictures of places I have been. It's an older book I got at the Withdrawn Book section of our city library for 25 cents.

I am going to altered it into my Hiking Journal. I'll post some pictures soon.

Technique for this "trash" collage

2011-01-12T16:40:00.001-05:00

This journal has a lot of ephemera I took from my everyday life "trash" and used the pieces to collage about my life.

This one has an old English rose name tag I found in the garden close to where the rose plant used to be. It has long since died. Fortunes from lunch at work. A favorite snack package. My favorite green tea with pomegranate and a caramel chocolate bar wrapper. I also added a quote I liked.

These kinds of collages are fun to do once a week while you collect things. I have lots of materials still saved to use in the future.

Give this one a try and see if you like it.

2011 Word of Intent ~ Aspire

2011-01-11T10:47:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

I chose ASPIRE as my word of intent this year.

ASPIRE ~ to have an earnest desire or ambition, as for something high and good. to long for; seek after. to reach or rise upward.

I am hoping to do a long distance hike this year. What that looks like I do not fully know yet. It may mean a weekend, 3 to 4 days, or a full week. I have been reading AT (Appalachian Trail) journals on trailjournals.com. They are very inspiring. The hiking is one thing I aspire to.

A few other things I aspire to are: in the process of all this hiking, to loose weight (25 lbs so far, woohoo!!) and get my cardio ability strengthen; to be a kinder, more patient person; to find ways to do good in my little corner of the world; to stretch myself in my art; to move from wanting to hold an art retreat . . . to doing it :-)!

So there is my word and all it means to me . . .

The art journal page is from a traveling journal I participated in with the theme LOVE

New Partnership Journal - 2011

2011-01-08T18:25:00.001-05:00

This is the cover of my partnership journal this year. I am partnering with Kim in PA. We worked on an art journal rr about a year ago. Her journal was kidnapped by of the participants. I had worked in it and it really pissed me off that she didn't get it back. I got mine back and loved her work so I contacted her about a month ago to see if she just wanted to go back and forth with a journal this year. Thankfully she was game. So mine is on it's way to her next week and we'll have fun creating this year in each other's journals and in our own too.

My 2010 Art Journal

2010-12-29T21:06:00.002-05:00

I am almost finished with my art journal for 2010. I could say it is done but there are some things I'd like to tweak on some of the pages. Some journaling I still want to add. But for the most part the art is done. I found this book when in Texas in February. The book is called Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives

She was an interior designer and designed her own wallpaper and fabric. The cover of the book is made of fabric she designed. Almost every other page in the book is an image of her designs. So many of my pages incorporated those designs into them.

I also have been doing a lot of blog hopping and found pages that inspired me. So some of my art is inspired by Teesha Moore, those that created in the traveling journals in my yahoo group Blissfully Art Journaling: Kim Owens, Elizabeth Golden are two I know have influenced my art in this journal. I have also watched a few UTube videos and taken the online course with Willowing & Friends.

I have been trying many new techniques. A lot of them are collage and layering. The title to this post is a link to a slideshow on photobucket of many of the pages. It takes time to scan, so I hope to get them all scanned soon. I will probably post the slideshow to the blog when it is finished.

I am doing a partnership journal this upcoming year with an artist I met online about a year ago. So that is one journal I will be committed to. I want to work in one I purchased last year. I joined the free online art journaling courses offered by http://www.strathmoreartiststudio.com so I will be completing that one. I have some family tree things I would like to put together. My DH is into ancestory.com and has found lots of history on his parents families. I would like to take the info and create a book for him. He has received lots of pictures from both sides of his family. I have been using some in my art. The old vintage pictures are so much fun to use and mean so much more when they are your own family.

I also “aspire” to be a better person to myself and others. I will write more about my word of intent in my next post.

Altered Composition Book

2010-12-12T13:45:00.002-05:00

UPDATE!!!
I sent this picture to Brave Girls to see if they would use it on one of their Daily Truth emails and . . . THEY DID yesterday!! I am sooo excited!
Can you tell?
http://www.bravegirlsclub.com/

I decided to altered the cover on a few of my composition books for Christmas presents. I may add some quotes through out the book too.

This one is going into the lottery at AFTCM yahoo group.

It is snowing so beautifully today. Christmas music is playing in the background. Smells of cooking in the kitchen. Love this time of year, when I can stay home enjoy the snow.

Have a peacful, safe day. Create some art!

2011 Christmas Cards

2010-12-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

Finished my Christmas cards for this year. Now I have to get them in the mail asap.
They were a lot of fun. Lot's of sparkle that doesn't really show up in the pictures.
I made another version but blogger won't let me upload it. Don't feel like fighting with the computer tonight, so I'll just leave it as is.
Have a good week everyone!

November Art Journal Page

2010-11-23T11:10:00.001-05:00

I have been trying all kinds of new techniques. Lots of pages started this month. Finished this one last week. Will post the rest probably next month. Hiking has become my second passion. But I think it will have to share equally in time with my art. I love it and have to get out everyday, which is hard now that it is deer season in Ohio. So I am off to hit some hills this morning, then have to say bye for a bit to my son who is going home to North Dakota. That is always hard for both of us.

Pictures of my first face painting & words of affirmation

2010-10-31T10:52:00.001-04:00

I have joined the free classes online & Willowing & Friends. Tam is a great teacher. I have wanted to try faces for a while now, so I jumped in and did one in my art journal altered book I am doing all this year. The paper was a challenge with all the layers she has us doing. So it's not quite what I wanted but not too bad. We were to write words of affirmation on the other page. Something that we need to say to ourself more often. So that is why I choose these words. I think as women we need to do this more. I am putting myself first now in the need for time to exercise. That is why I do not blog as much, or comment as much in my groups. If I spend that time sitting on the computer then I do not have the time to exercise. So here is my finished product if blogger cooperates and lets me upload them.

Digital Scrapbook of our Canadian Rockies Trip

2010-09-25T20:52:00.003-04:00

I finally finished my digital scrapbook. Here's what the pages look like digitally. I am having a high resolution print made of each page too.
You can try Studio J at http://www.debschaefer.myctmh.com/

Picture of the river float in Canada

2010-09-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

This was a gentle float down the bow river. The river is very low already, because it has gotten cold really early this year. The glaciers are not melting which is what feeds most of the rivers in this area.

I've been scammed!!

2010-09-19T12:40:00.000-04:00

Got home yesterday afternoon, to emails from everyone. Are you OK, I think you have been scammed . . .

Yes I have. My email address book is empty. But I have still have access to it. Changed the PW, so I don't know if I should stop using it or not.

I'm waiting for yahoo to get back to me. This has happened to many of my online friends and friends at work. It's ridiculous!! Is someone actually paying these people . . . they must get something to keep doing it. I can't imagine anyone really thinking this email was from me. It was pretty good as far as including I am in Canada. Except I am home and safe!! But the grammar and really would anyone email people if they needed help.

They used my signature too, so I am changing it too. I'm just really pissed!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to go work on my travel journal and just enjoy the rest of my day!

Home from Canadian Rockies trip

2010-09-12T15:24:00.001-04:00

We had a great time. Met great people from all over. Bill & Sherrie were a blast to hang out with. I added our album for you to view above. (the title is a link to photobucket) I took over 400 pictures so this is just a sampling.
The views were beautiful. The food delicious. Everyone was so friendly. We were like one big happy family by the end. Our tour guide, Andrew, and coach driver, Graham, were the best.

I have a travel journal started and have to add some mementos and pictures.

Back to Creating and it feels good . . .

2010-08-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

It feels good to get back into my art room and create again.

It's been a hard month. Our family lost a dear young man beginning of the month. My youngest son joined the AF with him and both my sons have been life long friends with him. Tragically he was killed while home on leave in a car accident.

So we have begun to move forward, but will miss him a lot.
I had a few projects I needed to get done and sent out. This one is in my partner's journal. It's a tribute to the end of summer.

Enjoy what is left of it . . .

2010-08-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of a regular vinyl binder I covered with scrapbook papers and mod podge. I painted the inside back cover before adding some mail art type collage material. I use the binder to showcase my ATC collection. I don't make these much anymore. I may join a swap or two this winter on the yahoo group I belong too. I have ATC's from all over the world. It was my introduction into mail art and swapping. I have participated in altered book & art journal round robins, partnership art journals, swapped art tags and much more. I think I get alot of inspiration when I am involved in swapping. Deadlines encourage my muse somehow.

ABC's of the Seashore Art Journal

2010-07-13T17:02:00.001-04:00

I got half of the book scanned today and made a photo album of it on photobucket.

So click here and it should take you there: ABC's of the Seashore

I made it out of a black & white composition book. I tore a lot of pages out to make room for the bulkyness (is that a word) of the collages I did for each letter. I left a few pages in between groups of letter pages to add some of my personal pictures and memorabilia. I have been working off and on for about a year on this project. It took off this spring and has kept my attention until I finished it a few days ago.

Thanks for looking!

Pics from my monthly art journal

2010-07-06T12:54:00.000-04:00

I am doing an art journal this year with everyday things from life. It is a lot of fun using images you aquire all day, every day. I collage and then journal around the collage or just let the images tell the story of my life at that moment in time.

I just finished this one. It was started in June. This happen a lot, I get the collage glued down then add finishing touches and journaling later. I want to write more on my nuts pictures but have to go get another sharpie black extra fine pen. This was a jelly pen and didn't work too well, so I stopped.

I am adding more pictures to my photobucket album above called MY ART so you can see some of the other pages in this journal.

Thanks for looking . . .

New art posted

2010-06-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

I just finished my pages for my partnership journal with Victoria and added them and a few other art journal pages from my everyday art journal.

I have been staying up late working on my art journals and scrapbooks for upcoming baby & a graduation party for my nephew. So I am keeping busy.

I changed the look of my blog a little

2010-06-22T22:46:00.000-04:00

Well work is a little slow tonight . . . so I 've been playing with the new blog templates. I think I like this one, but once I start playing you never know where I might end up.
I also was able to create my signature that I have been struggling with over the past year. That's right I have been blogging for over a year. I had no idea until I looked back to my first post that it had already been one year.

Hope you like the new look . . .

I plan to post some new artwork in the next few days.
til then . . .

if i was . . .

2010-06-17T20:36:00.002-04:00

if i was a month i'd be june

if i was a day of the week i'd be saturday

if i was a time of day i'd be ten in the morning

if i was a sea animal i'd be a dolphin

if i was a direction i'd be west

if i was a piece of furniture i'd be a chaise

if i was a liquid i'd be a margarita

if i was a gemstone i'd be an opal

if i was a tree i'd be a willow

if i was a tool i'd be a paint brush

if i was a flower i'd be an english rose

if i was a kind of weather i'd be a warm spring day

if i was a musical instrument i'd be a guitar

if i was a color i'd be aqua

if i was an emotion i'd be joy

if i was a fruit i'd be a pineapple

if i was a food i'd be a tuscan pasta dish

if i was a material i'd be denium

if i was a scent i'd be bergamot citrus

if i was a flavor i'd be chocolate

if i was a sound i'd be a praise song

if i was an element i'd be water

if i was a mammal i'd be a horse

if i was a phase of the moon i would be full

if i was a berry i'd be a bumbleberry

if i was a bird i'd be an eagle

if i was a book i'd be island of the blue dolphins

if i was a place i'd be a beach

I decided to do an art journal page using this self made poem . . . and added the picture today 6.30.10

Private Events or Celebrations Idea

2010-06-10T19:33:00.000-04:00

Celebrate lives, friendships and happenings with an Art Journaling & Mixed-Media party, tailored to meet your special occasion.

Here are some ideas we can explore during an event, sometimes more then one depending on the details.

*Get introduced to the wonders of Art Journaling
*Learn how to bind your journal of watercolor paper
*Learn the art of Altered Books
*Learn transfer techniques
*Find out what ATC (Artists Trading Cards) is all about.

*22 Page Layout from one CTMH $12.95 paper pack. (not included in the price of event)

2 and 1/2 hours – $25 per person

Please Email me @ debis7860@yahoo.com for more info and to save a date

My RT 40 yard sale find

2010-06-08T11:45:00.000-04:00

It's a 1935 2nd Edition Unabridged International Dictionary

It's huge and in pretty good condition. You would not believe the things I found left in it. Of course I have not looked through every page, but I found 3 uncashed checks to "The Noodle Company" for .98 cents each, from 1980. A small envelope with to the tooth fairy with a tooth in it. :(
Then just little notes from words looked up, I think.
I don't know if I should altered it or not. I will have to think on this for awhile. Inside the front cover is described the different versions that were printed and how much they cost. I have the 17.5 lb. version so it either cost $30.00 or $35.00 back in 1935. I think that was quite a bit of money back then. I paid $20.00 for it. I think I got a pretty good deal!

Enjoy Life ~ Deb

From my daily art journal

2010-05-26T14:26:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of my doodling on the borders of a page I did for my 28th wedding anniversary. I am using a book I found at a Half Price bookstore in TX for my daily type of art journaling. I usually keep a written journal of the things I do throughout a year and decided this year to make it an art journal and include collage material from daily life. I try to do a spread weekly. The book has a cool cloth cover of red & white design. The title is "Florence Broadhurst, Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives" by Helen O'Neill. She was a fashion designer, actress in the 20's, 30's & 40's. It has lots of her designs as full picture, quotes from herself and famous people of the time and also pictures of her. The wedding picture is of her. It is a pretty cool find.

Enjoy Life! ~ Deb

Seashore Art Journal

2010-05-25T11:06:00.000-04:00

I am doing an art journal with the alphabet of the seashore. I am going to add personal stories throughout and vacation pictures from over the years. This is one of my favorite pages so far.
I'll post a slideshow when it is finished.
Thanks foor looking . . .

Enjoy Life ~
Deb

MY MOTHER'S DAY FLOWERS!!

2010-05-09T08:31:00.000-04:00

My son Kevin and his wife Amanda sent me the most beautiful flowers for Mother's Day! They smell sooooo good too!
My son Chris's present was a great one too . . . he told me is has quit smoking!!
What more could a Mom ask for . . .
2 great sons and one awesome daughter in law!!

This is an awesome video!!

2010-05-04T10:32:00.002-04:00

Patience from Glowing Heads on Vimeo.

2010-05-02T10:14:00.000-04:00

I know this isn't my art, but I had to show off our find from Friday.
We are eating them today!!

My Pics from Artiscape

2010-04-20T09:19:00.008-04:00

My treasures . . .
The bag in the back was a find at the Artist Marketplace on Sunday.
It's made by Kathy Stantz of www.sylviasdaughter.blogspot.com
The book is an altered book clutch.
The flat piece is the beginning of my encaustic creation.
I want to work on it some more.
Here's a close up of the clutch.

Back from ARTiScape

2010-04-19T17:48:00.003-04:00

I had a fantastic weekend in Columbus doing new art techniques.
I made an altered book clutch on Friday afternoon. It was an old Leo Tolstoy book, so it has really cool pictures in it. We used some of the text to cover the inside. I will take pictures and hopefully post them tomorrow.
on Saturday morning I made a leather bound journal. It had 5 signatures and I used brown supple leather for the cover. Pictures soon. It is a binding that I can use with fabric or heavy paper too.
On Saturday afternoon I had free time to look at all the neat offering at the marketplace. Spent more money than I probably should have.
We had a 5 course dinner on Sat that left a little to be desired. But met some great ladies and had wonderful conversation that made the meal easy to get through. Of course another martini didn't hurt either.
Sunday morning I was able to sleep in a little after getting my roommate off. She is from Indy. She and I only met this weekend in person, but I feel like she was a long lost friend.
Sunday afternoon, I took an encaustic (beeswax paint) class with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. It was an awesome class, where I learned a lot about this medium I have been wanting to try for over a year. So much so that I already have all the supplies, just needed some hands on guidance.

I had a great time and am already looking forward to next year and I know a few of the classes I want to take if they are offered again. Who knows maybe I will be able to teach something I know too. Stay tuned on that front . . .

Have a good week!
Deb
PS I'll do my best to post pictures tomorrow.

Quotable Women Rapid RR

2010-04-10T10:57:00.002-04:00

I am in a rapid round robin. We each have to send the book on 1 week after we receive it. It was fun to have to get to work on it and not think too much about it. I knew the book was on it's way, and I knew which women I wanted to do quotes from, so the rest came together pretty easily. I will mail it off to the next artist on Monday. We are auctioning the book at the end for charity. I'll post when I know more about that.

I have to get a few more pieces done this weekend so back to the studio.

Have a great weekend!
Deb

Another Art Journal page

2010-04-04T10:29:00.006-04:00

Here's a spread I did at the end of Feb. I bought the paper in TX when we went to visit friends.
I love doing this partnership journal with Vickie from Sacto. She got to go to the beach for spring break. That's probably the thing I miss most about living in CA. We have to drive 10 hours to get to the Virginia coastline. I do love Chincoteague, but not the drive through the mountains in Maryland & Virginia.

Happy Easter everyone ~

Deb

Artiscape Fatbook Swap

2010-03-28T12:58:00.002-04:00

I am taking part in a Fatbook Swap for Artiscape.

Here's my contribution:

Right Brain, Left Brain Test

2010-03-28T12:51:00.002-04:00

Here's a cool thing to look at about yourself. I found it very insightful and reassuring.

http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

My score: 60% Right 40% Left.
60% Fantasy-oriented (My most dominant characteristic)
Fantasy-oriented Processing
Fantasy-oriented processing is used by the right hemisphere as a method for processing information with creativity. It focuses much less on rules and regulations than the processing method of a left-brained person. Due to the fantasy-oriented processing mechanism of a right-brained person, they do not adjust well to change. Instead of adapting to the change in the environment, a right-brained person attempts to change it back to the way they liked it. But fantasy-oriented processing also provides the advantage of creativity to right-brained individuals, and since emotion is integral of the right side of the brain, anything a fantasy-oriented person becomes involved in emotionally will aid their ability to learn.
My Fantasy-oriented Analysis
You are highly able to process information you receive with creativity. Your focus does not get caught up in rules and regulations. However, you usually do not adjust well to change. Instead of adapting to it, you often try to keep things as they were. Creativity is your big advantage as well as your tendency to become emotionally involved in your work.

Have fun with it . . . Deb

Chunky ATC swap

2010-03-27T12:18:00.005-04:00

I made my first chunky ATC's last weekend for a swap with a yahoo group.

They are fun to make. Can't wait to see what others have done.

Today I am working on some art to swap at Artiscape in a few weeks. I am really looking forward to going to this art retreat in Columbus, Ohio. My dream would be to teach a class at an event like this. I working on getting published in one of the mixed media publications, that will get my name out there. I am hoping to take a class with Ingrid Dijkers in August up in Northern Ohio. The timing may not work for my work schedule.

A bunch of us meeting in Marne today. We try to get together once a month to share and have a good time.

Time to get back to work on creating some swap items . . .

Artiscape - Columbus OH

2010-02-17T20:15:00.004-05:00

I have decided to go . . .

I have wanted to do this for a few years. I have a roommate from IN and I am sooo looking forward to this.

I plan on taking workshops that will help me in my teaching endeavors; so I can provide new & different workshops this summer.

If anyone is interested in learning more about this art conference right here in Ohio, please check out this link: http://europeanpapers.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=EP&Category_Code=ART

The picture included with this post is from the cover of my Partnership Journal I am doing with Victoria in California. She's an awesome partner and I am thrilled to be doing this throughout the year with her.

Inclement Weather Day = Day Off Work!!!

2010-02-10T19:13:00.003-05:00

I was excited to be able to stay home today, until I woke up with a very sore throat. It appears I have a sinus cold and that usually involves my throat. I'm on Zicam to hopefully whip this thing before it whips me.

I was able to connect with a few more high school classmates through Facebook. I think it's so funny to see a name then to try and remember where you know them from. I haven't done a high school search until today, so that made me connect names that I have seen in the past.

I finished loading 2009 Art Journal pictures and created a new slideshow.

I also added some new pictures below in my generic art slideshow.

It will Thursday tomorrow so the weekend is close, yah! I plan on doing some fun creating then.

Posted New Pics of my finished Art Journal for 2009

2010-01-24T19:08:00.003-05:00

I took time today to scan the last pages of my Healthy Journal. It ended with other types of pages added as I was doing different things. I like that I have finished my first art journal. I am starting a new partnership journal with Victoria in Sacto CA. I have also started another monthly art journal, where my goal is finish a few pages each month. I have scrapbooks to complete too. So it will be another busy year. But I love staying busy this way.

We plan to travel too and I still work full-time, so I will be busy. But I am going to make time to work out and get myself back into good physical shape. I feel so much better. I want to loose weight but ultimately I want to feel good. I know exercise does this and I have to make time and commit to it.

Hope everyone is getting on with their goals and enjoying life in 2010.

2010 Word of Intent - JOURNEY

2010-01-02T11:26:00.003-05:00

My word for 2010 is JOURNEY.

JOURNEY - a gradual passing from one state to another regarded as more advanced.

This is my plan for my physical, spiritual and artful self.

I want to take my body to place it will not fail me. Because I want to travel and explore this world and I do not want to be limited by my abilities to move up a mountain or down a path.

I want to feel at peace with the world and I can only do this through a stronger relationship with my God & Savior, Jesus Christ.

I want to figure out how to use my abilities as an artist and teacher to support myself. I do not want to continue working for someone else. It is time to be my own boss and to live up to my potential.

So there it is for the world to see. I spent a year art journaling about living healthy and my dreams, now it is time to ACT.

AB RR Life in Numbers

2009-12-24T11:39:00.004-05:00

I have created a photo album at PhotoBucket of my book that returned to me almost a year after it left.
I think it turned out great and wanted to share it with everyone that participated and my friends & follows.

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Deb

Early Christmas Present

2009-12-19T04:32:00.003-05:00

LAPTOP!!
It's my first laptop . . . I'm so excited!
It's a HP G71, if that means anything to you. It's kinda big ... but I like the screen size for some of the photo and art stuff I intend to do on it.
So did I say I'm EXCITED!!. I'll post some art soon. I have to install my new printer/scanner to it. Just so you know... I intend to bring both with me to any workshops or retreats I do. :-)
It's going to snow most of the weekend, so I'll have lots of time to play with my new toy.

New Art Journal Page

2009-12-07T17:21:00.004-05:00

I have been watching technique videos by Teesha Moore and others.

They have inspired me to work in my Healthy Art Journal. I want to finish this journal for 2009. I have not been that successful in getting healthy, but I am planning on beginning with my husband in January down that path, so we can have some fun adventures in the next few years.

This is my finished page.

Maps to Alter

2009-10-25T17:42:00.007-04:00

I belong to an alteredbook yahoo group and we are doing a book page swap, where we have books that we are willing to tear up and swap for others.

I have this large atlas book that has really neat maps in it, that are hand drawn and would be cool to alter into your own personal map. They are mostly in foreign language so it only makes since to alter them and not worry as to what they are a map of really.

I think I will do one this week and post it later.

Another Weekend Gone . . .

2009-10-18T21:02:00.004-04:00

I did get a lot accomplished. Yesterday was raining and cloudy and sooo cold for October. I stayed in and organized some more stuff. We moved a large cedar chest upstairs to my art room. I filled it with magazines, all kinds, Gardening, Travel, Decorating, Fitness, Women's. I have lots of them to go through and cut out what I want. I like to save them for some reason. I have some that go back to the 80's.

I found a card kit that I only made about half the cards, so I finished the rest, but I made them into to Christmas cards. I have sooo many cards. I may package up a few for presents.

I have been reading about doing collages with encaustic paints and beeswax. I bought a small kit last year about this time and so it is time to use it. I have a small box that I want to try out a project I saw in a book called Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists by Ann Baldwin.

The book has a lot of techniques in it.

Today I we went out for breakfast, I had Stuffed French Toast with blueberry topping. It was sooo good! I bought some fleece sheets at Kohl's on sale, so I will be warmer at night. Then when we got home, we made chili and headed out to mow. I mowed the lawn and Greg mowed the pasture and hills. It was sunny, but the wind was freezing. I got about half the yard done it an hour and decided to get my camera and take some pictures of the changing trees.

Summer (our dog) came with me up the hill, we saw a doe. Greg said he saw quite a few bucks, one with a monster rack.

Getting ready to watch the Amazing Race, after about 1 1/2 hour delay due to football :-(

Everyone have a good week, hopefully warmer ;-)

Home from Vacation

2009-09-19T20:54:00.004-04:00

It's sooo good to be home.

We had a wonderful time . . .

First went through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, MN and into North Dakota.

This was an interesting drive. Iowa is flat and huge farms. Up into northern Iowa & MN they have lots of windmills. I am fascinated by them. I want one of my own. I don't know why we are not using the wind and the sun to provide our energy. When are we going to wake up, America!!

North Dakota has fields and fields of sunflowers. Judy B would love it.

We had a fun visit with Kevin and Amanda. Their home is lovely. The base is nice and the weather was very warm except for a couple days.

We came home the northern route, thru MN, WI and UP MI. We stopped in Ashland WI, went to Bayfield for a sail boat ride. It was a beautiful day!

Then we went to Mackinaw City and out to Mackinaw Island. We visited Fort Mackinaw and went for a horse carriage ride. We want to come back and stay at one of the Inns along the shore. The picture is from Arch Rock on Mackinaw Island. I loved our two stops on the way home.

Then we headed home so home.

I added a vacation photo album below.

I LOVE Weekends, they just go to fast!

2009-08-09T17:37:00.006-04:00

I went to a card workshop yesterday with my friends & co-workers. It was fun to get together and make some stuff. Lunch was soooo good Judy B.

Decided to check out some of my favorite blogs and found this video to inspire all who think Art is too hard.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KabUINP_D8

Still working on my parent's 50th Anniversary book. Can't post pictures yet.

LONG WEEEEEK!

2009-08-01T19:14:00.003-04:00

This probably the most I have worked in a week in a long time. 2 - 12 hour days and Saturday too!

I finished my color postcard trades from March this week and got them sent today. I totally forgot about doing them. So as always "better late than never".

I got a Big Kick from Sizzix last weekend and I embossed the paper, which was a piece of paper I had under other paper I was spritzing with Moon Glow mist. Then I doodled around the embossing. The colors for March were blue / green, my favorites. So I was glad to get them done and had a lot of fun doing them. Hope the ladies I trade with like them. Off to the backyard for a fire and roasted marshmallows!!

49th Birthday Weekend!!

2009-07-18T21:58:00.003-04:00

It's been a good birthday. Worked on the 17th, so we went to Columbus today and explored the Polaris side of town. Lot's of neat shops. We got here about 9:30am so not much was open except Barnes & Nobles. It was a huge one. About 10:15 we wandered over to The Great Indoors. We got some bathroom makeover ideas. Neat store. Greg plans on doing on 1st floor bathroom over into a spa type of shower. So it was neat to see ideas. We also went to World Market. Found a nice Reisling wine to take home. Next stop was Joann's. Had my coupons, some for Greg too. So I got a new stamp and paper was 6/96 cents. So I got some neat new ones.

Then we looked at Sizzix Big Kick stuff. I have been wanting to try some embossing, so Greg said I should get one with my 50% off. They were sold out, so I got some embossing templates, since I know someone in our group has one. We then went to Red Lobster for lunch. Delicious!! No room for dessert. We then found Kirkland's, which I fell in love with in NC. I got a little lamp and some picture frames. Started home and stopped at one antique store. Got a few treasures. I scanned one of a box of old cards I got. The back of each card is a clear piece of vellum like material. Really neat. I called the Zanesville Joann's when I got home and they had a Big Kick , so I went and got it. I can't wait to use it. I need to get a special pad for embossing and I'll be set.

Came home and made a fire in the back yard and sat by it while the sun went down, drinking a glass of my wine. Relaxing and peaceful end to a perfect day!

Working on 50th Anniversary Book

2009-07-11T20:03:00.003-04:00

We got back from a small vacation yesterday. I started working again on my parent's 50th anniversary book. It's going to take some time to complete. I hope I can scan the pages for each of my sisters. I am scanning all the pictures before I use them in the book, so I have them for other uses later.
I will try and scan some of the work, but it is 12x12 pages and my scanner isn't that big, so I may have to go to a scrapbook store like Archiver's to scan them.
Hope everyone is still enjoying summer. It seems to be going fast. I don't want it to, but I also want September to get here, so I can go see my son and his new wife up in North Dakota. I miss them both a lot.

July 3 - NO WORK!! YEA!!!

2009-07-03T20:16:00.004-04:00

I love a day off. Slept in until 9am. Caught up on some of my taped shows for a few hours.
Decided to go up and clean stuff up in my art room. Our oldest son, Chris, came home for a few days. He stayed in my art room, so I had to take my stuff off the bed and lay it on the floor.
Once things were straightened up, I had a few swapped ATC's to put away and realized my binder is getting too small. My mom had given me a few binders she had laying around, so I decided to cover one with some of my favorite papers. Used Mod Podge to get it all to stay put. I bought a Scrabble Junior game awhile back and decided to use the tiles in it to make the title on the front of the binder. The binder is too big for the scanner, so the picture came out blurry. I'll take some pictures in a few days to post. It has lots of room for my ATC's now.
I have to start working on my parents 50th anniversary present. I am going to make them a remembrance book, scrapbook type of thing. I have been meaning to do this for sometime, so it's time to get it done.
Hope everyone enjoys their 4th of July!!

AB Yahoo group birthday book

2009-07-01T20:45:00.003-04:00

I have finished my page for the Altered Book Yahoo group birthday book. Over 100 people are submitting pages to Corinne, one of the co-moderators of the group. She is going to out of the very goodness of her heart, copy each page sent and bind them into a book for each of us, who are participating. It's quite an undertaking in my book! I can't wait to see it.

It was a challenge to work on a page only 4 x 6 inches big. I had decided as soon as I signed up for the swap to use a page out of one my favorite books, A Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindburg. So I picked the page, and started the background effect and then measured. My page was way too big to get the words I wanted to include. So I decided to scan the page with the background effect done and shrink it down to 4 x 6. Mission accomplished, I set to adding all the doodles and stamped images. I'm pretty happy with it. The background doesn't sparkle like the original, but I guess it wouldn't have sparkled in the copies either. Corinne is going to keep all the originals and possibly submit the original book for publication. That would be sooo cool. That was not the original intent of the project. But a nice possible side effect . . .

2009-06-14T19:34:00.003-04:00

I worked all day getting caught up on an Art Journal RR I am in. We lost one of our participants, due to an injury, so I just got the book I should have gotten a month ago. But it's been fun working on it. I am working in Kim's journal and she made her own with heavy watercolor paper. So it is very nice to work with. I wish I would have made mine now. But I didn't. Hopefully everyone can work in it ok.

This is today's page. I decided I would use a postcard from my vintage collection in each person's book. This postcard had on the back: To Allen, From Grace, August 14, 1912. I worked on the backgrounds for the rest of the 10 days, so I can just journal and add a little bit during the week.

Thank You All

2009-06-11T20:44:00.005-04:00

Thanks for all the wonderful comments. I didn't know so many of you had commented.
I am having a blast doing this and it really has helped to keep me focused on getting into my art room and getting things done!!
I am headed up now to get 3 ATC's created for Stephanie at http://www.joyuslion.com/
We are trading 3 for 3 butterfly cards. I love her digital art. I'm not that great at the digital stuff yet. But then again I work on a computer all day, so it's good to get away from it when doing my art.
I think we are in for some big storms tonight. Time to turn off the computer and head upstairs.
I'll post my cards before I send them.

What I finished this Saturday . . .

2009-06-06T16:16:00.006-04:00

I had to remove the finished project from it's picture frame. No easy task. Then it didn't really fit the scanner, but I finally got a good scan. It's pictured larger below. This is the other project I am offer on June 27th. Again size is your decision. The stamped image is just about 1 1/4 " square. So depending on your name, you have flexibility with the size. I also found picture frames at Family Dollar, some are even marked down 1/2 price.

I am also posting my decoupage project I finished this weekend using Basic Gray paper from Hobby lobby 1/2 price this week!! I have loved this saying since seeing it down in NC at Kirkland's. And I love these colors, so it made for a fun project. The paper bubbled a little, so I'll have to work on that. I have a map of Monhegan Island, ME and the coast that I want to get done. But we don't have water right now. Spring is acting up. Greg is laid up with his back, so I am hoping a friend will be over sometime this weekend to help me figure this problem out.

Beautiful Day outside, they don't get much better. On my way out to try and enjoy it a little!

Heritage Tag Picture

2009-06-02T20:47:00.004-04:00

I finished this project tonight.

I used CTMH paper pack called "Notebook" for background and tags. Also for some of the embellishments. Mine is 10.5 x 12. I removed the glass, since the project has dimension to it.

There is another picture of frame below posts.

I will be offering this as a workshop at the Marne Crop on June 27th. We will begin at 1pm. The cost is $5.00 and the purchase of a level 2 paper pack, of your choice, by June 12th. Then find a picture frame. (I found mine at a garage sale)Remember paper is 12x12, you can go bigger if you want to piece paper together. Which can be done. Just depends how much you want to do. I will provide tag punch and some additional embellishments, such as, buttons, eyelets, ribbon, etc. Each person should bring there own tool kit which should include: adhesive, scissors, eyelet setter and protective pad to set eyelets.

I will also have a simplier project on hand that I will post a picture of next week. It would again call for a paper pack, frame & $5.00. Not so much embellishment though. I would supply the stamp set and ink.

Let me know if you have any questions by email or phone. debis7860@yahoo.com or 828-3921.

Back to Work

2009-06-02T05:04:00.003-04:00

I was exhausted after my first day back. I was amazed how much I had forgotten how to do in just 3 months. But it's all coming back. It's just the sitting for 8 hours a day. Blah!
It stormed bad here last night, and I was up off & on all night. I think I'll climb back in bed and try to get another hour. It's going to be a long day . . .
I have to get my new project done, so I can scan it and send my CTMH newsletter out.
Tonight after work!

I Have Finally Created My Blog

2009-05-27T18:07:00.002-04:00

I was stumped for a name. I want to use the name I will call my art studio, should I start one on the farm. So I decided to use our house numbers and call the studio simply what it will be.

I have had a time getting this to look half way how I want it. It's started and as I learn more about editing and creating on the computer I will change it.

But until then, it's here and I am going to do my best to post at least once a week. I want to post a project or a piece of art I created that week.

So that's the plan, we'll see how it goes.

Thanks for stopping by!