Altered Book Lover

Deli papers and more

2010-01-07T05:49:00.005-06:00

Today I'm beginning with my blog pick of the day. It belongs to Marilyn Rock. Although I want you to visit her blog and see all her beautiful art (and I do mean BEAUTIFUL), I want to start this post by treating you to two videos that Marilyn made this week, showing how easy it is to make backgrounds using deli papers.

Now it would be easy for me to take a few shots of me working with deli paper, but why would I ever do that when Marilyn has a much better tutorial than I could ever give. So check her tutorials out here and here. Does that mean I have my new technique for January (grin)?

Back to reality, I only spent a small amount of time in the studio yesterday because I had several errands that had to be taken care of before the deadly cold from Canada swept down on us, offering what many weather people were calling "record breaking lows."

I made these papers, which was the first step in the process. I still have to add stamping (yep, I'm going to use some rubber stamps), and what I'm calling accent colors, using the two scrapers you see on the table. One is from Tsukineko, is three sided, and called a "squeegee." One side has square, flat notches. It came from a scrapbook store. The other tool is called Pour-N-Restore, is four sided, and came in a concrete oil stain remover kit. It has three different sized V notches. It came with the kit from the hardware store (ACE). These will be used before I stamp. Marilyn shows others she uses, so you should have a good idea of what is available.

I might mention a few things I learned in the process of making mine that Marilyn may not have tried. I am used to mixing two colors of paint on whatever surface/substrate I'm working on. It isn't easy to do on deli paper. When I tried to mix the colors, they didn't mix together, but spread as two separate colors. There was something in the deli paper that just wouldn't allow the two colors to mix. It seems the paint skipped over itself, if that makes sense. I used the same type of deli paper (no wax) as Marilyn used, although mine is clear. I also used only acrylics, except for the copper Lumiere.

The far right sheet (all pink) is an example of two colors: white and bright pink. Both are in bottles and are Anita brand. Instead of the paint mixing together, they mottled. After awhile, the paint on top began to mix together, so I did finally get some variation. Unfortunately, my lo-res photo doesn't really show what I encountered.

For this project, I used six colors that I chose at random, along with my copper Lumiere (purple, green, turquoise, yellow, pink, and white). I just kept mixing the color combinations, or the colors themselves, to get a few different looks. I made a total of 16 pages in all.

I have played with deli paper before, but only for making transfers using my Xylene blender pen. It has a wonderful quality that becomes almost transparent when using it for a transfer. Marilyn showed it is just as much fun painting on deli paper. Because it is so lightweight, it can be used in just about anything. I think of gossamer when I see it. In fact, Marilyn showed some she sewed.

I bought mine from a friend who bought a box of 1000 at Sam's Club, which is a members only discount warehouse (see Silent Sunday photos here that were taken at Sam's). I'm not sure if Sam's is nationwide, but I know it is owned by WalMart and was named for Sam Walton. It is big in the midwest. I'm sure you could also pick it up at any restaurant supply store.

On a lighter note, while out and about yesterday, I saw this sign that cracked me up.

Can you see why I'm laughing?

And finally, one more thing to add to my side bar (is it never ending?). I will begin listing the link to each day's blog and the date that I posted it. If you miss a day and want to see what you've missed, or want to return to that blog, it will be available. Hopefully, in the next few days, I'll revamp my sidebar, also. Of course, I must find time to make some art, too. Now don't forget to visit Marilyn's blog. Her art is fantastic, and her painting and teaching skills are amazing.

Keys (in my hand) and a revision

2010-01-06T04:17:00.006-06:00

Before I begin today, I want to clarify something I said about our state food bank. I may have misled some into thinking that there were not charities out there that distribute food. We have a local Salvation Army, The Lord's Diner, and Interfaith Ministries, among others that I'm probably not aware of, that collect food. They are known as FOOD PANTRIES, according to Polly Basore, communications director at the Kansas Food Bank (see her comments). You can go there and get food if you show a need, or at the Lord's Diner, you can get a free hot meal once a day.

After having read Polly's comments on my blog, I went to their web site: http://www.kansasfoodbank.org/ and learned the Kansas Food Bank is independently funded. I sincerely apologize for believing they were funded by the State and for leading others to believe that, too. My information was totally incorrect AND I didn't even have the right phone number for them. Thanks Polly for the correct information.

Now back to my regularly scheduled art.

This spread would have looked a lot better if I could have scanned the entire piece, but I hope you get the idea. Scrap keys were glued to a magazine image, then bits of scrap paper and some gifted ribbon (thank you Patty Davidson) were added for color. I also made two transparency transfers (these are like rub-ons) for the right and left edges. I tried to wire the keys to the pages, but the wire was too thick and the pages too thin, so all I did was make a mess. Luckily, I was able to cover the mess I made in the paper with one of the keys.

Today's blog of choice:
Did you notice that I have gone from "yesterday's blog" to "today's blog?" I got to thinking that it was a bit confusing for readers. So, in case you think I missed a day, don't worry. There will be one a day this year. And in case you are wondering, if I discovered the blog yesterday, it will be today's blog. It's a math thing!

Since I already spotlighted Patty's blog, I decided to feature it today. You can't help but get a laugh out of the blog name, "Just Letter Rip." Mail art is Patty's main focus, so if you want to learn about this art form, you should check out her blog. She also made some totally cool wreaths (scroll down a bit to see them) made from recycled materials and even sent me one!!

The Penny Experiment

2010-01-05T05:45:00.004-06:00

I first learned about the Penny Experiment Art Project from Cindy McMath's blog. A few days later, after contacting Jeffrey Strain, I had my number and was part of the original 100 people involved in this art project.

From the beginning, I wanted to create something that used mostly recycled materials, since this project seemed to scream that. Not to bore you with too many details, since I'm hoping you will go to Jeffery's Penny Experiment blog, the idea is to make art that will eventually be sold to raise money for food banks. I learned, while trying to find suitable fodder for my art, Kansas has only ONE food bank and it is located in Wichita. It gathers, collects, and distributes to the needy in every city, burg, town, and one-horse stop in the state.

As I mentioned before, I was looking for specific fodder. I thought labels from food cans, stickers from fruit, and wrappers from tea, etc. would be good. I wanted things a food bank might deliver to a community to be distributed to the needy. After calling and leaving calls for everyone in Wichita I knew, I got more and more frustrated as the days needed to complete this project grew shorter. In the end, I settled for a couple of magazines my neighbor gave me on Friday. I had already started the background, but it still took three more days to complete the project.

In the end, I used as many altered "houses" as would fit on the 5" X 8" piece. Please click to enlarge so you don't miss any of the details.

I had two sayings going through my mind the entire time I was mentally designing this piece. One was "It takes a village," which is a bit odd for me, because I associate that with Hillary Clinton, who I have never cared for (although I like her better as Sec. of State than I did as first enabler, oops, lady) and the other is the Chinese saying (and I'm not sure I even have it quoted properly) "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." If that doesn't take the prize for longest run-on sentence, then I guess you're still with me. At least you know where I came up with the sentiment for the piece.

Instead of food labels, I used magazine images (hey, they're recycled too!) and fruit stickers for the houses. Windows and door knobs are a bit of clear cut glass bling. I was going to draw in some green grass at the bottom, then got worried I might mess the piece up after it was finished. Even though I'm probably the worst doodler in the country, I did add some green grass after I scanned the piece. Kinda wish I'd gone with my original gut feel, because I don't think it added the grass feel I was hoping for.

The two postage stamps represent my number. Why 32? When I learned about the project, there were only a handful of numbers left. It was the lowest number, so I asked for it. Seriously, I have absolutely NO attachment to the number, but I had to use it in some way in my art. It is represented on the two postage stamps I used as doors. This is in the mail and I'll keep my fingers crossed it makes the January 10 deadline.

Today's blog has to be Penny Experiment. Go find out how YOU can help in your community, or just go to enjoy the art.

Getting messy Hands

2010-01-04T05:01:00.000-06:00

This two page spread was so much fun. My only problem was, I couldn't scan both sides at the same time.

The left side has a painted paper towel background. I suspect you can tell it was actually a paper towel I'd used to catch errant paint or ink drips. To highlight the magazine image, I used a favorite technique of one of my favorite artists: Christine Clemmensen. My friend Billie eats those Rochette (or however it's spelled) candies like crazy, so she saves the gold foil wrappers for me, along with the little liners they sit in. I simply cut one in fourths to use as "photo corners."

Not long after I issued a challenge on my blog and Yahoo group to make art from scraps, I received this ad, along with a coupon, in my mail. Although it was on heavy postcard weight paper, I backed it with card stock, because it stuck quite far above the book. Fun to see, but deadly if the book was dropped on its top. Of course I had to use a painted paper towel for the background.

Yesterday's new blog belongs to Christine Clemmensen, whose technique I mentioned above. Although Christine's blog is not new to me, it is still worth viewing and could very well be new to you. Christine is the co-author of Scraps, a book I have read from cover to cover and love dearly. There are many great techniques in it, as well as on Christine's blog.

New blog

2010-01-03T07:20:00.001-06:00

Not sure how to handle the new blog I will show each Sunday, since Sunday is supposed to be "silent." For this week, I am using a separate post. Please leave suggestions as to how I handle the blog I show each Sunday. I can use the help here, folks.

Yesterday's new blog is:
Lori Saul at Ravenpainting. Lori responds to many of the weekly blog challenges, and her entries are amazing. She mixes some gorgeous collages with Photoshop for some pretty spectacular results.

My (final) alma mater as seen through a car window

2010-01-03T04:59:00.008-06:00

Alcohol and acrylics don't mix (a background tutorial)

2010-01-02T04:50:00.003-06:00

I'm welcoming in the new year with a background technique I accidentally discovered one day when I spilled some alcohol on a book spread while cleaning a stamp. Since everyone should be recovering from their New Year's bash by now, I will show you a safe way to use alcohol. I call this technique "Alcohol and acrylics don't mix." I have no idea if this technique has been "invented" or demonstrated before, but I learned it the hard way, when I spilled my alcohol on some painted book pages. That's why I decided to write a tutorial on it. It is so cool and easy, you will love the stunning results you get.

Materials from left:
Craft sheet or other protection for your work surface
Your favorite substrate (I used cardstock and vintage sheet music)
91% rubbing alcohol (don't use 70%, it simply doesn't work)
Mister bottle
Acrylic paints, cheap, your choice of colors
Foam brush (although I ended up using a credit card)
Clear acrylic sealer (optional)

Spread your first color over the entire page. Allow to dry.

This is what my sheets looked like after this first stage. Note that the craft sheet did nothing to protect my sloppy painting. Expect the heavier pages to curl. It's just the nature of the beast. I give some tips later, if the curls bother you.

Before you go any further, put some alcohol (found in any pharmacy department of mega and grocery stores) in the mister and have it ready to go. Time is crucial in this next step, so don't dally, run off to answer the phone, feed your pooch, sit down to watch a soap, or decide to eat lunch.

Using a credit card (did I mention TIME is crucial here?) quickly spread your second color on top of the first. I didn't put enough paint on the page in places, so be sure you get good coverage. The credit card made spreading the paint a lot faster than the foam brush I originally started with, but removed a lot of the paint in the process.

Spritz 91% alcohol on the wet paint.

Watch the action! Within a minute or two, the alcohol has a definite effect on the still wet paint. The parts in the turquoise that look white in the photo are actually wet paint reflections. This is where the most action is taking place. If you can't see those bubbles in the above photo, click to enlarge and they will be obvious.

This is the page I demoed above, scanned so you could see the bubbles, then used in the Hamsa Hands spread.

If you feel the need, you can spray your finished backgrounds with acrylic sealer. I didn't seal mine, but that doesn't mean you can't seal yours.

Ruminations:
Use more paint than I used for the second color. I suspect I would have gotten better bubble action had I not used the credit card to spread the paint. It almost always tends to act like a squeegee.

Make sure your mister is actually working properly. Mine dribbled more than it misted, thus causing the larger bubbles. This is a nice effect, too. Misting would produce smaller bubbles, dribbling produced larger bubbles, and splashing on with my hand produced anywhere from medium to large sized bubbles. It all depends on the look you are going for, or be serendipitous and roll with the flow.

I used metallic paint for both colors, and metallics are very hard to scan.

To straighten your cardstock (the sheet music didn't curl), place it under a heavy book overnight, or iron it, or simply glue it to another substrate, such as a book page. Once you put something wet (even glue stick is wet) on the back side of the cardstock, it will straighten itself.

And finally:
Yesterday's new blog:
Brian K at A man who crafts. Brian makes fantastic and very colorful art journals. Please check out his blog. You won't be disappointed.

Welcome to 2010: my resolutions

2010-01-01T04:59:00.006-06:00

I'm welcoming the new year with a bit of vintage nostalgia, compliments of Dover images.

I have given a great deal of thought to my new year's resolutions. I intend to be accountable for them on December 31, 2010. I hope I do better than last year's resolutions. In fact, I intend to make only resolutions, (or as Marilyn Rock, Halle, and Donna would say: set goals) that I am fairly certain I can keep.

1. Finish my Hands AB and create a blog specifically for it.

2. Finish my altered recipe mini-AB and possibly create a blog for it. I say possibly because it all depends on how many pages end up in the book and if it deserves its own blog.

3. Make at least one assemblage or collage a week, with a show in mind.

4. Sell my first art piece.

5. Post to my blog every day, even though some posts may seem trivial. Use the blog as a document of my art, the materials I used, etc.

6. Be more involved in the "Create Every Day" prompts.

7. Continue visiting the Xerox site (link on my sidebar under "Eye candy and Freebies") and sending postcard support to our troops. See this post for the specifics.

8. Contemplate (because I'm not sure if it's possible since I have much to research) teaching another on-line class, but this time get paid for it.

9. Use more fabric in my art, including that which I have dyed or painted.

10. Get/make a new blog banner that portrays my artistic sensibilities.

11. Play with a different technique (maybe even more than one) each month, then document it on my blog. Some techniques I hope to either learn or expand on are:

a. Gelatin monoprinting
b. Papermaking
c. Stamp making (and not the potato stamps like I've made in the past)
d. Become friendly with my Dremel
e. Nature printing
f. Use rubber stamps in my art
g. Mat my art using my mat cutter
h. Make my own frames using my miter saw
i. Make my first mosaic
j. Work with resin
k. Solder
l. Make useful art in Photoshop
m. Take better photos with this new camera

And finally:
12. Visit one new blog each day and leave a comment. Who knows? I might make a long term friend that way and I'm sure I'll become exposed to new and unique art!!

I'll post my resolutions again on December 31, so you can be the judge of how well I did.

Ring out the old, ring in the new

2009-12-31T23:59:00.003-06:00

Accountabilty: how well did I do?

2009-12-31T03:53:00.005-06:00

At the beginning of this year, I made some resolutions and spoke of the accountability that must accompany those resolutions if they are to succeed. You can see my resolutions in this post I made on January 1, 2009.

In reviewing, how well did I do?I'll let you, the reader, judge. Here are the resolutions and if I kept them or not:

Below are the resolutions in black and their outcome in green.

Make art every day and post to my art blog

I have to admit (and delighted that this was the first resolution on my blog) I was able to make and/or post something each day. Some days I worked on more than one piece, but always had something to show on my blog. Luckily, I have been able to post every day on this blog.

Complete my Seven Continent Swap (7-C) AB and post it on a blog as one complete unit when finished

Sadly, I have only created two or three spreads in this book. However, the really good thing is, I was able to get the pages and decorated spreads out of the book that was falling apart, including the tip-ins I had already glued in. Luckily, all pages, although not all together, were all intact. I also was able to use my friend Kathy's husband's drill press to "punch" the holes in the pages, after I decided that I would use a 3 ring binder for the completed pages. I had started punching the pages using my crop-a-dile hole punch, which took forever. Not sure if this is a realistic goal this year, either, but I'm sure going to try to get this book finished, now that the bugs of how to store the pages once they are finished are worked out.

Use only items I have already

Like most answers I write, there's usually a qualifier. The simple answer is the bulk of my art was made using what I already have/had. The only items I purchased this year are thread, material, and fusing, all of which were on sale. I've also purchased paint, but I figure that's something people actually have to replace once it's used. If I haven't gotten it on sale, on clearance, with a coupon, or free, I didn't buy it, including the items I bought for my new basement studio. The one splurge was whenever our We3 art group get together. I often found myself buying things I would never have considered and oftentimes never using them again. The one good thing is, I always buy these on sale or with a coupon.

Make paper every day it is nice outside

This resolution needs no qualifier. The answer is I didn't make ANY paper this year. None, nada, zip, ziltch. So this is one resolution where I failed miserably.

Begin and finish my Hands AB (and post to a blog as one complete unit when finished)

Little did I realize when I posted this resolution, or considered starting my Hands AB, that I would be offering a free beginning altered book class which would incorporate the theme Hands. If you follow my blog, you know I have been working on this book since February. I have never taken even a few days to make several spreads in a row, thus the reason the book is not yet finished. However, it won't be much longer before it's complete, since I am quickly running out of pages to alter in it.

Begin a Houses AB

Didn't happen!!! Even though I don't mind multitasking in my art, I can't seem to start another AB before one is finished. I can work on other types of projects and other people's ABs, but not two of my own ABs at once. Analyze that one, Freud!! That could be why I haven't been working in my Seven Continents AB, too.

Concentrate more on assemblages

Thanks to Seth Apter at The Altered Page, I was able to make a couple of assemblages this year. Not as many as I would like, but they were enough to allow me to know how much I prefer working with three dimensional art than flat art.

Recycle, reuse, repurpose even MORE in my art

If you look at the number of posts that use recycled materials, you will see that I have truly lived up to that resolution.

Learn no less than one new technique each month

The adage "Learn it, do it, teach it, has certainly been true this year. Not sure if I learned a new technique EACH month, but I've learned many, as can be seen in the sideboard listing called "Tutorials."

Organize my craft room and make a diagram of where everything is located, then post to my personal blog

I got rid of my personal blog, so it is no longer there. However, my basement craft room became the subject of many posts on this blog and I now have a functional, efficient, and well organized basement studio where I can work and entertain art friends.

Clean up the water damage in my basement, with the hope of getting my art room back down there, and post the progress to my personal blog

I guess the craft room I was referring to above is the one on the main floor of my house. The nice thing was, I was practically forced to rearrange and organize both rooms at the same time. So both can now be called completed resolutions. Thankfully, the insurance company helped clean up the water damage in my basement, so I had a bit of help on that front.

Devote no more than one hour a day to the computer

I knew when I wrote that resolution that it would last possibly a week. When I had my old computer and still running Win 98, it would take 5 or more hours just to post the AB lesson of the week. I also had to prepare the lesson and create art examples, keep up my blog, scan or photograph everything, so that was a really, really, really unrealistic goal. Now I have more time with a better graphics card, but I still spend a lot of time on the computer, often going to my favorite blogs and leaving messages.

Sell my first art piece

Sadly, that is also something I also haven't done. Nor have I had a show, but I do have a place lined up where I may get some exposure after I have no less than 20 pieces completed.

How did I do? Better in some areas, not so well in others. However, I hope that tomorrow's post, where I become accountable for 2010 resolutions will show how much thought has gone into each resolution and how I truly intend to be accountable to each and every one on December 31, 2010.

A bit of Good Luck for the new year (Hands AB)

2009-12-30T04:33:00.006-06:00

Can you believe this year is nearly over? It's really hard to fathom. It has gone by so quickly. Even more unbelievable is, I am still working on this Hands AB. I put all other projects aside yesterday and created this spread specifically for today, so you will feel luck and good fortune before the new year hits.

The Hamsa Hand is supposed to ward off envy, bad luck, and the "evil eye." That is why an eye (a good eye) is sometimes drawn into the hand. This is the stylized Hamsa Hand. It has two symmetrical thumbs. I made the background using a technique I will post next year (grin) and the hand from polymer clay. I free handed the Hamsa Hand design on copy paper, cut out the pattern, then used it to cut out the clay. I used dental tools to cut around the clay, since I'm really quite craft knife challenged. I was going to put some decorations in the hand, but once I got the outline finished, I was a bit afraid to make a mistake, since I didn't really have time to start over.

As for the background, this is a single piece of cardstock I scored in the middle and glued to the pages. I then cut the pages to the size of the cardstock and that is why you see other pages peeking out of the book.

I hope this image (and spread) brings you luck in the new year.

Revised pages in my Hands AB

2009-12-29T05:16:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I started this spread. You can see it here if you missed it before.

You cannot believe how happy I was when I was going through my scraps a few days ago and found this paper. I thought I had used it all previously on this three page spread. I was practically jumping for joy and finally finished the six pages that this spread encompasses.

I used an Ott light to light these revisions, so it may be a bit hard to see. I removed some of the German text, because it was so brittle, it tore at the book seams when I closed the pages. To coordinate all the pages, I added some of the bubble paper and a painted red circle.

Here is the finished spread. I used more painted German text, bubble paper, and painted circles to lend cohesion to the piece. I lapped part of the image and bubble paper onto the back side.

Since I now had more of the bubble paper, I added it to the extension page. I also added some painted red circles to the extension and far right side, too.

Here is the extension page closed.

In case it was hard to see before, here it is when I scanned it. If you look closely, you will see all kinds of people like police, firefighters, teachers, etc, who are willing to lend a helping hand. When I saw the image, I knew it was right for the spread. I added the words "In the beginning" for a bit of cohesion to the story. I am calling this six page spread complete.

X-rays (hands)

2009-12-28T06:24:00.001-06:00

I started this spread last week and learned a LOT.

1. Never use a "wet" glue like Twist & Glue under an X-ray (used in spread) or a transparency.
2. If you haven't completely covered the page or X-ray, the glue or lack of it, will show through.
3. When using buttons to lift something, be sure they are all the same thickness.
4. If the fact that the "screw head" brads are mixed in the photos bothers you, it would not be a problem. Wait until you have lived with the layout for awhile before you decide to make the embellishments permanent.
5. When you want to make the page permanent, cover your mechanics on the back of both pages by gluing a facing and opposing page to each side.
5. Decide in advance if you want a title for your pages so you can plan for them during the design process.

Silent Sunday 2: Bleubeard's friends wish you a happy new year

2009-12-27T18:00:00.000-06:00

Silent Sunday: looking back at 2009

2009-12-27T06:02:00.000-06:00

Hands and snow

2009-12-26T09:07:00.003-06:00

I usually post my blog entries before this, but I wanted to wait till the sun came out to show the snow we got. Pretty disappointing, considering what I've seen on many blogs these past few days, but I'm tickled that it was a white Christmas, at least. Don't let the lovely photo (well, not that lovely with my neighbor's vehicle nearly in my drive) deceive you, though. It is bitterly cold and the wind is still blowing at somewhere between 20 and 30 miles an hour. In fact, as I was taking the photo, I saw the evergreen tree in front (peeking out from the front of my house) flapping in the wind. I figure today will be a great day to get into the studio and get some real arting accomplished.

I've had this spread finished for awhile and was surprised when I looked back on some posts and didn't see it. So here it is. The backgrounds are some I used for my scraps ATCs. It is nail polish dripped over a pan of water, then printer paper laid on top to accept the nail polish. At one time I considered using these images (which cover corrugated cardboard) on the front and back of my book, but decided they would make a better spread than a cover.

I hope everyone has recuperated from yesterday and are staying warm (unless you live in the southern hemisphere, of course).

Christmas eve celebration

2009-12-25T21:15:00.003-06:00

OK, it's a day late, but I finally got around to getting these off my camera. These are the photos I took on Christmas eve at Dana's.

I think I mentioned how much she loves Nativity scenes, and she has tons of them. This is in her entry.

This is in another room.

I forgot to take a photo of what Dana calls her kitchen table. Yep, I decorated it.

It didn't take long to fill it with all kinds of appetizers. You would have thought an army was coming.

Dana made her own marshmallows and she was in the process of cutting the rest of them when I got there.

Here she rolls them in powdered sugar and begins cutting.

I had a hard time getting the right lighting in her kitchen, but I think you can make out the process.

There were snacks and goodies

everywhere you looked.

As Dana's MIL

and daughter ate their snacks,

Dana's husband and dog took a well deserved nap.

I worked on setting the table,

then Dana took a few minutes out to pose with their dog, whose red eye I couldn't get corrected.

Dana made her dress, including the cross stitch.

She also made her darling earrings.

Dana's husband woke as we were taking the photos.

Next came the ritual of the tree topper. It was made years and years ago by Dana and this year it was her daughter's turn to put it on the tree. It's too bad you can't see her cute face.

Here is Dana's daughter climbing up to reach the top of the tree.

Now the topper is in place. What a wonderful ceremony on Christmas eve.

Late in the day, Dana removed the homemade cake with homemade marshmallows from the fridge and set it on a cake plate to warm.

Dana's husband watches as she places it in a warm spot in her kitchen,

then takes time to give her a hug.

I really messed up with the dinner photos. I somehow thought I was naming them, then deleted them, only to learn I had named the same photo something different each of six times. So, Dana's daughter is the only one whose photo actually survived the dinner.

After dinner we relaxed and Dana and I exchanged gifts. Her beautiful cat Whisper watched. What a fun day and night.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T04:35:00.003-06:00

Each year I make tip-ins for my altered book friends. This year was no different, except I have not sent most of them to their intended recipient. I have tried like crazy to get my lost address book computer file back, but to no avail. So I am sharing my 2009 tip-ins today in hopes that someone who would have gotten one, sees them. Merry Christmas to all.

The fronts were all decorated a bit differently. but each had the same feel. The background was made using color mist, the trees were designed, then copied on high gloss photo paper. The trunks were all German text that I painted brown. Each of the circles was different, as were the stars. I used a date stamp to outline the trees.

The backs are all the same. I first sewed "garland" on green cardstock, then decorated the trees using dimensional paint and a star shaped brad.

Again, Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T22:22:00.000-06:00

"I heard him explain as he drove out of sight,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

~from The Christmas Story

We finally got snow!!

2009-12-24T13:00:00.001-06:00

Dana (or her husband) is on her way to get me, but I just had to share what the view from my office window looked like today. I was surprised I was able to get any kind of shot, since the windows are tinted to keep the hot summer (west) sun out of the room, which has a total of 8 windows.
This was the view around 9:00 am.

The snow began to fall in big flakes around 10 am.

The snow tapered off around 10:30. Was this it, I asked myself.

By 11:30, the big flakes had been replaced with tiny swirling bits of flying snow. In fact, it looks like there is less snow here, than in the previous photo, only because of the wind. The big difference is in the gutters that you can see on the side of the photo.

This is what I'll be going to Dana's in. I took this photo about 12:45 pm. The snow is really swirling around out there now, giving the appearance of fog. You can tell that visibility has dropped from the visibility of the windows by the driveway.

I hope you are safe, warm, dry, and having a wonderful Christmas eve.

Getting ready for Christmas

2009-12-24T04:41:00.007-06:00

I spent the day yesterday with Dana. With her MIL's return of cancer diagnosis the day before Thanksgiving, and Dana's constant attention to her, her chemo, blood work, etc., Dana had not felt very festive and didn't have any of her Christmas decorations out.

It seems Dana collects nativity scenes the way I collect Christmas trees. So at my insistence, she got out her Christmas decorations and, after preparing the dining room and kitchen for today, I corralled all the errant sheep and camels, and put this scene together.
Lots of extra animals and wise men showed up also to celebrate the birth in the manger.

As I was working on the Nativity scene on the fireplace hearth, Dana showed me these darling wood blocks her children made. I had been looking for something to put on the buffet after we decided to serve appetizers on what she calls her kitchen table instead of the buffet as we originally planned. I got so excited, I quickly grabbed the bag that she was preparing to pack away again and created this scene using garland, lights, and this darling nativity scene.

Is this Nativity set just TOO cute? I fell in love with it.

I suspect the view from these windows will be a bit whiter today when I return for an early evening Christmas eve celebration, but when I made this setting, this was the view from Dana's kitchen. Again, it was cold and overcast, but no snow or precipitation.

I hope these decorated blocks bring as much of a smile to your face as they did to mine. Merry Christmas eve to all.

Another page in Hands and a handy tutorial

2009-12-23T06:14:00.000-06:00

I was pretty happy with this spread, even if I did make a mistake by adding the Zig pen dots around the image. Not liking the outcome, I printed out the sentiment and continued with a silver ink background for the computer generated words. For the page background, I used red, orange, and white checked tissue that I thought looked rather like the 50s or 60s, where I suspect these gals still live.

When I scanned it though, I thought how plain this spread looked, so decided to do something about it.

I have tons of white buttons, none of which are the same design. So I decided to alter these to match my red and orange paper. All you need are the following materials:

UHU tac or other tacky non-permanent substance
Craft sheet
Sharpie permanent markers, colors of your choice (or any permanent pen of your choice)
Old buttons, any color, any style

Instructions:

1. Warm a bit of UHU tac in your hand. When warm, roll in a ball and lay on the craft sheet.
2. Place desired button over UHU tac and press until the button stays in place.
3. Using your favorite permanent ink pen, color each button, being sure to color the rim.

Alternative: Using a gel pen, draw squiggles, dots, or other designs in the button once you have laid down the base color.

Now I'm really happy with this piece. I think the buttons are the perfect addition to this mid-century modern spread.

A (nother) day in my life

2009-12-22T04:48:00.004-06:00

This may seem like a boring post to some today, because I'm really trying to learn how to use this camera. Why is it, the other one that takes really small photos of questionable color quality, was so easy to use, and most of the time everything was focused within the focal point (center of the camera lens where the focal distance converges). This camera has a very discrete focal point, that point where everything is in sharp focus and the foreground and background are not. In 35 mm SLR cameras, popular focal points include 28 mm, 50 mm, and 200 mm. Since I can't find any specs on this camera, I just have to take a bunch of photos to find the best focal point, where things I want to focus on are actually in focus. So, learning to take decent photos with this camera is not only important, but imperative, if I want to keep my blog readers happy and coming back.

I was reading Marilyn Rock's post yesterday where she touched on this very issue. Her words rang so true when she said it was a learning process.

Marilyn alluded to the fact that her finger was over the lens. She may have been joking, but both Saturday while shopping, and today, I kept getting my finger over the tiny lens of this even tinier camera. Too bad, because my glasses were in focus.

Both Halle and Patty Szymkowicz suggested I see if the button that takes the picture could be held half way down to see if that was the shot I wanted, but after playing with the camera for awhile, I knew there was no "half way" with this baby. It was all or nothing! At the very least, I had learned this much about my camera.
While my 79 year old neighbor who doesn't act a day over 50 was buying gas, I took about a dozen photos of my glasses. Because the photos were so big (digital size), and I'm running out of blog space, I cut out the extraneous parts of the photos. This shot was taken with my arms close to my chest (I was sitting in Donna's car), while the next photo

was taken with my arms extended about half way. Both are decent, but I think the previous photo produced the sharper image.

After we left the gas station, we went to a local pharmacy. I decided to stay outside (after all, it was about 52 degrees at that point) and take photos of this tree. If I couldn't get a good shot, I could always go across the street for a good shot!!!

I fell in love with the way the bark was peeling on the trunk.

This photo made me think of flyers and ads tacked loosely and haphazardly to a pole, that began waving in a sudden gust of wind.

Next we drove by the park and saw how desolate it was now that winter had come to stay.

However, my photos show only brown grass, leafless trees, and a partly cloudy sky. Please show me these photos in a couple of days when we get our snow!

Even the picnic table looked worse for wear.

After we went shopping, Donna asked me to stop by and see her Christmas decorations. Like me, she had pared down this year, but I think she was just a bit lonely on this glorious winter day that felt more like autumn than mere days before Christmas. Since I was fairly pleased with the outcome of the outdoor shots, I was eager to try some indoor ones.

Donna loves her organ, often playing it in the afternoon. But now it was all decked out with blue and silver balls, scattered among tiny lights that twinkled in the late afternoon sun.

Although I didn't hold the camera any differently than before, all of a sudden all my photos were blurry and out of focus. This was the best one I got from six or seven while standing in this very position.

When I turned to take a picture of Donna's Kalanchoe, I was definitely pleased with the outcome. Although the plant was a bit sparse, I felt the photo was decent.

That was not the case for the stocking mantel. Although the stockings were in focus, the balls and lights below were not. I don't know if it was the reflection of the lights on the balls, or my camera skills (or lack thereof) that caused the blur.

I do know that the lights on this tree made my camera go crazy. The lights are out of focus, but the tree limbs and branches appear in focus. However, part of the pot the tree sits in is also out of focus. HMMM!!! I wish you could have seen that tree, though. There is no photo that can do it justice. For a table top tree, it is simply gorgeous even without ornaments, and the tiny fiber optic lights changed amazing colors quite often. I simply fell in love with it.

To add to the festivities, Donna was stringing yarn onto something to make a baby blanket. Since I haven't crocheted in a long time, I'm not sure what she was doing, but I know her blankets and doilies are so popular, she has sold many of them on e-bay. The rug underneath the yarn was also made by Donna with leftover scraps. I talked her out of some of the bands that were wrapped around the yarn, too. You know if it's paper, I am attracted to it!!

Neither Donna nor I baked these cookies. I picked two up at the bank when I went to my ATM. They give these out every year one week in advance of Christmas. These are THE best sugar cookies in the world (after the ones my Grandmother used to make). They melt in your mouth and do not taste like a commercial cookie. I have no idea who makes them, but the bank gives them out each year.

In order to eat our cookies, Donna thought we should have some coffee. Now how could I refuse strong coffee with lots of half and half. The doilies on her table were also made by Donna, and I grinned when she served the coffee in festive holiday mugs and lit the candles on the table.

I took eight shots from this angle before I got a good photo. I ended up using the flash to get everything to show. I also had to take this shot to capture and document Donna's back yard with its patches of green still showing. I suspect by tomorrow at this time, that same patch of yard will be under snow, although I certainly wouldn't even speculate how much.

Since much of the country is either under a blanket of snow, or has a forecast of rain or snow, I hope each of you stays warm, dry, and safe. And of course, keep arting.

ATCs from scraps

2009-12-21T05:35:00.000-06:00

OK, I admit it. I'm an instigator. In a good way, that is. I don't ask my internet art friends to do something wrong, just something that reduces our carbon footprints. In that vein, I challenged the members of ABC, the Yahoo group where I hang out, to make art this week made from scraps. I was hoping either members had all their gifts made and had some free time on their hands, or they needed at least one more hand made gift. What better way to show you can than using your scraps? At least I think it's the way things should be. So here are my contributions.

A play on words to go with the image, I call this one "Original 18," which presupposes there are 17 other originals. Background is scrapbook paper from a Christmas card project, the body is the same as I used last week, but accidentally printed it over another image, and the bird and words are from Antiques magazine.

More paper I'm sure you've seen recently was the background. The image and wording again from Antiques magazine.

The background is scrapbook paper at top (I have used in my Hands AB) and a security envelope at the bottom. I used a bit of dye ink on a cotton swab to get the "shadow" I envisioned the image (again from Antiques magazine) was casting.

And finally, I messed up on this ATC background, made from old address labels, on the last row, and was about ready to trash it, when my 10 year old neighbor said she really loved it and wanted it, so I finished the last row and added the "cute" focal image, which she picked out.

For all these ATCs, only the glue was new. I feel like I have met the challenge AND made two Christmas gifts in the process!!

Silent Sunday 2: O' Tannenbaum

2009-12-20T20:09:00.007-06:00

(Click on any photo to enlarge)