EccentricPastiche ~ Artist & Zinester in Progress

Back in the Deco Saddle!

2008-09-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Oh how I've missed doing decos! It seems like ages since I've finished my last, although I know it really hasn't been that long. They really are one of my very favorite round robin type artforms!

So, this deco spread that I created for Julie Anne was really quite simple... she made it simple for all of us! She simply wanted a rubbing... and she set the deco pages to serve as frames for the rubbings... so all we really had to do is to get a piece of rice paper (or Mulberry paper would have worked nicely too, I imagine) that was the right size, and find something of interest to create a rubbed image.

Therein lies the challenge. Not everything you think might make an interesting rubbed image does... I tried quite a few things before I finally found just the right thing... a teapot template. (Hey, I did say it was JUST the RIGHT thing... can you think of anything more "me" than tea?)

So here's a photo...

It was a lot of fun!

~Anne

Inchies!

2008-09-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

OK... if any of you also visit my flickr account, you already know this story, so bear with me.

I've been hesitant to try inchies, because well, to be quite honest, I didn't really want to get obsessed with yet another artform. I've been bitten by the ATC bug, as well as the 'zine bug, the charm-making bug, the altered book bug, the fatbook/chunkybook bug, the puzzle altering bug... you get the picture, right? Nearly every artform I attempt, I end up falling in love with... and well, I just didn't need to become obsessed with something else.

So, I thought, as long as I don't try inchies, I won't become obsessed.

Makes sense, right?

However, one of my best friends chose to host an inchies swap with my yahoo group, so I felt obligated to join in the fun. I mean, it is my group. Shouldn't I partake of the swaps they participate in, if for no other reason than to promote good will within the group itself?

Yeah, I'm full of them... excuses, that is.

So, I finally got out my paper cutter and started cutting out 1 inch squares. One thing that is really nice about inchies is that they are quite small, so you can use your left-over papers for them.

The requirements of the swap are 8 inchies per set, and I've decided to make 2 sets. Here's my first one...

and my second...

I fear that perhaps the second is too similar to the first, since I used similar images and the same embellishment. The backgrounds are quite obviously different, but, I don't know if that's enough to consider them two individually separate sets.

Anyways, I hope that the swap hostess likes them.

~Anne

I love Altered Books!

2008-09-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

For the couple of months that I've dedicated to my move, I've not had a lot of time to do any artwork... it was particularly frustrating for me because I had a couple of commitments to my art group to work on a couple of altered books as well as the decos I recently received in the mail, and I really hate making others wait on me.

It happens way too often too... sometimes, I just don't feel creative or artistic, and it's hard to sit down and work on something when it's just not there for you. Perhaps that's a cop out, although it's not a cognitive cop out, that is, it's not something that I'm aware that I'm copping out on... if that makes sense? I just quite honestly do not feel like my best work comes out of me when I'm forcing myself to do something that I'm not feeling.

But... that wasn't even the case this time, it wasn't that I wasn't feeling creative or artistic, it was that I didn't have the time, space, or energy to devote to artwork because of the move. And even though the move has been over and done with now for a couple of months, I've still a great deal of work to do before I can say that I'm all moved in... but most of the work that I've left to do involves my art studio/garage, and that is something that will take a while...

Anyways... I did manage to finally finish my layout for Laura's Ocean book...

There were some pretty amazing layouts in this book by other artists, I felt rather intimidated by them... but I am happy about how the layout came out... I hope Laura likes it as well.

Well, hopefully later this week, I'll have time to post my true colors journal photos! Until then, thanks for stopping by and catching up with me!

~Anne

New Stuff!

2008-09-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

I've been somewhat silent here on my blog lately, I guess that's nothing new... it seems like weeks and weeks can go by and I don't post... but, it really doesn't seem like it's that long for me.

Anyways, I've been busy with various art projects, the one that's been consuming most of my time has been a fatbook with my yahoo tea group. I've been wanting a rubicoil machine for a while, and I used this fatbook project as an excuse to finally break down and get myself one. Yippee!

So, my tea group and I put together a tea-time indulgence recipe book -- fatbook style! Here is my page that I made for the book...

and the back of the page........

I really like the way these turned out.

~Anne

Wow! It's been a while!

2008-07-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I say? I've been in the process of moving!

We're still not quite finished with it all... there are still a good number of boxes that need to be unpacked. Most of them are filled with various bits and pieces of my art stash. I can't believe how much STUFF I've acquired over the past few years since getting back into art. Honestly, I have only been involved with art again for about 5 years (I've been an artist all my life, but, life's different ups and downs has made me more or less unable to give in to the artistic yearnings for a very long time)... and during that time, I've amassed enough stuff to nearly fill a 1 car garage.

Which is why the new house has a two car garage! haha!

Perhaps I will need to consider destashing in the next few months.

Anyway, over the past week, I've actually made some time to create in the midst of all the unpacking. I've been working to finish a swap commitment that I was unable to fulfill before the move (I tried to though!) I'm really glad to have these finished and mailed out now!

Artist's Trading Attire (ATA) -- Well, that's what I'm calling it anyway... ATD (artist's trading dresses) wouldn't work because they already use ATD for Artist's Trading Dolls... so I hope that ATA isn't used! These measure approximately 5 inches.

They were a lot of fun, if not a bit intimidating at first, because they forced me to step outside of my comfort zone just a little. I hope that the 3 ladies who will be receiving my dresses enjoy them.

~Anne

Owl inspiration...

2008-06-13T00:41:00.001-07:00

For most of the people who will read this entry, you probably are well aware of some of the "standard" discussion questions asked in yahoo groups to keep the conversation flowing. One such question seems to be: "How do you get inspired to create something?" We've all seen that question, right?

For me, my process usually begins with searching for ideas. I don't usually just go blindly into a project... although, I must say, that it is the times when I DO enter into a project "blindly" -- or without a specific vision -- that I end up being the most pleased with my results. The reason for this, I'm sure, is because I entered into the project without expectations, so I did not have to attempt to exceed them nor did I fail to meet those same expectations.

Anyway, one of my favorite places to go searching for ideas lately has been Etsy. The more time I spend there, the more time I love the place! And I can find inspiration throughout the site, in even the most unexpected places. One of my favorite ways to waste time is to browse through the Etsy Treasury. Here you will find collections of 12 items available for sale on Etsy. These treasuries can be made by anyone who is registered on Etsy... the real trick with the treasury is being at the right place at the right time. They have a "limit" of 333 treasuries -- although this doesn't mean that there are only 333 treasuries at any given time, there are usually much more than that. But as soon as the treasury count reaches 332... then you have less than a second to type in a title for your treasury. Once you have a title for the treasury successfully entered, you will have a blank canvas on which to create your very own treasury collection.

I've managed to get myself in the right place at the right time, and create a few treasuries over the past few weeks, and it's very addicting!

But, I digress...

On my last visit to Etsy... I came across this little owl... now, I'm not usually the one to succumb to super sweetly cute, and to be honest, I don't know if I'd call this owl super sweetly cute (although one could!) I think I'd call him whimsically adorable, perhaps. Yeah, I think I like that better. What inspired me to sit here and write about this owl, though, is the fact that I know I will be receiving an owl deco within a few weeks to work in, and owls has never been a subject matter that I've ever attempted before... so I guess I was looking for some inspiration and ideas to get me started. Some sort of battle plan before I get that deco and get started...

I like to have some sort of battle plan prepared before I get a deco or altered book (or any other round robin piece) because then, when I'm shopping, I know what I should look for... or I can decide if I have the materials in my stash necessary to work on the piece without shopping for additional goodies. I usually DO have the goodies I need... but that rarely stops me from shopping with the excuse that there is something I need. ha!

So... I don't know that this blog entry is going anywhere... other than allowing me to get a bit drowsy so that I can get to sleep -- a big day of house shopping tomorrow! -- but, thanks for letting me talk you in circles, anyway... I hope you enjoyed it!

~Anne

NATURE Fatbook on Etsy!

2008-06-11T19:19:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, last time, I posted all the photos of the tea fatbook I had, now I guess I'll post the Nature fatbook photos.

The Nature book was one of two fatbooks that my group, EccentricPastiche, created to donate to Robin Whittemore to assist her with her medical expenses. You can learn more about her plight here. Unfortunately, Robin passed away before we could donate the books and other things to help with her medical bills, so I decided to sell these items on Etsy and the proceeds will be donated to the Pickens County Bone Marrow Drive in care of the United Way in Pickens County of SC, in Robin's name, on behalf of the artists who contributed and of course, the lucky person who purchases the book!

NEWS FLASH: The tea fatbook that I published in my last blog entry has already SOLD! YAY!

Let's start with a picture of the front cover of the Nature fatbook:

Here is the front and back outer covers of the book scanned side by side while the book was open and flat on it's covers!

And here is the inside front cover, with the listing of contributing artists:

This is the page from Anne Grappo...

This is the page from Ann Cooper...

This page was contributed by Cindy Ericsson...

This page was contributed by Crystal Calhoun...

This page was contributed by Ellen Quigley...

This page was contributed by Fran Lainhart...

This page was contributed by Janice Lopez...

This page was contributed by Jeri Aaron...

The next two pages were contributed by me...

This page was contributed by Nancy Tasker...

This page was contributed by Susan Tidwell...

And finally, a page from Teresa Stebbins...

There are a couple of other pages that I couldn't scan... but, you get the idea, right? This book is phenomenal! I love it! I know that whomever buys it won't be disappointed!

To purchase the book, click here.

I hope you enjoyed this pictorial of the book!

~Anne

Fatbooks now on Etsy!

2008-06-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, I finally got the two fatbooks we made for Robin (put 4Robin in Etsy's search engine for easy access to all that has been donated to this cause) listed on etsy! I still have an original artwork "true colors" journal to list 4Robin... but that may have to wait a while until we get moved! I'm not sure yet just when the move will take place, many things are up in the air as we wait to see whether we are approved for this house or for that one... you know how it goes!

Anyways, Here are some pictures!

Tea Fatbook Cover ~ Cover was created by Carol DuBois, who also bound the book:

Inside Cover and Front and Back outside of the cover, shown side to side (Open and scanned on it's "spine")...

Here are some of the pages for the fatbook... I don't know how many blogger will allow me to include... so it may be that I'll have to submit another blog entry tomorrow with the rest of the pictures... anyways, enjoy!

Pages from Ann Cooper...

Page from Anne Grappo:

Page from Carol DuBois:

Page by Cindy Ericsson:

Page from Crystal Calhoun:

Page by Ellen Quigley:

Page by Fran Lainhart (who also assisted with the binding of the book):

Page by Janice Lopez:

Page by Jean Bennett:

Page by Jeri Aaron:

Page by Liane Ciglar:

Two Pages by me (Anne Downen):

Page from Nancy Tasker:

Page from Susan Tidwell:

Page by Teresa Stebbins:

Well, what do you know? I managed to get all the photos uploaded! woo hoo! Let's see now if I'm able to publish the post! I hope so!

SO... isn't the book AMAZING? Don't you love it? Want it? To buy it, click here! This is for a great cause... and it's a one of a kind, remarkable collection of art! There's only one of these in the whole world... so you better hurry before someone else grabs it!!!

~Anne

NOW AVAILABLE on Etsy!

2008-06-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

About a year and a half ago, I assembled some mail artists together (via the US Postal Service!) to create a few pieces of art to donate to Robin Whittemore to help with her medical expenses as she battled Myelodysplastic Syndrome. You can learn more about Robin Whittemore's courageous fight here. Unfortunately, most of these various works of art were not completed before Robin passed away, but, we still want to donate these pieces to a charity organization that worked with Robin to help her in her fight.

The first of these works of art that I have listed in my etsy store is this fabulous Travel Destinations Puzzle. This is an altered art puzzle -- it started life as a blank puzzle like this. I divided the 12 pieces into sections of 2 pieces each -- creating 6 blank canvases ready for the artists to alter.

*The frame was altered by Teresa Stebbins. She created an awesome, well-traveled suitcase look for the frame, and it's complete with a handle that can be used to hang the puzzle on the wall.

*The upper left corner section of the puzzle celebrates the destination "Asia/China" and was altered by Crystal Calhoun.

*The upper middle section of the puzzle celebrates the destination "Paris/France" and was altered by me, Anne Downen.

*The upper right corner section of the puzzle celebrates the destination "Italy" and was altered by Carol DuBois.

*The lower left corner section of the puzzle celebrates the destination "London" and was altered by Nancy Tasker.

*The lower middle section of the puzzle celebrates the destination "Hawaii" and was altered by Janice Lopez.

*The lower right corner section of the puzzle celebrates the destination "Ireland" and was altered by Tamara Comerford.

There are many various materials used to alter this puzzle, including (but not limited to) cancelled postage stamps, ephemera, paper, ink, paint, charms, ribbons, and beads. The proceeds of this sale will be donated to a charity that was actively involved with helping Robin, The Pickens County Bone Marrow Drive, in care of the United Way of Pickens County, SC. The funds will be donated in Robin's name, on behalf of the artists who contributed, and of course on behalf of the lucky buyer of the puzzle! Hey, maybe that will be you!

~Anne

My new Gingher Scissors

2008-06-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

I have known for a long time now that I really needed to buy a new pair of scissors that were designated only for my fiber arts -- I have several pairs of scissors that are for paper cutting, my favorite are the short blade Kai scissors, these work fabulously for detailed cutting.

But, as any fabric/fiber artist can tell you, when you use a pair of scissors for cutting paper, it dulls the blade and you really need a separate pair of scissors for fabric/fiber use.

However, I've held out buying a new pair of scissors that would be designated for fiber/fabric, mostly because I know myself well enough to know that unless I bought a pair that was a 'true investment' (read: expensive enough) that I would end up using those scissors for paper eventually, thinking "oh, it will be alright to use them for paper this once." Then, I'd need a new pair of scissors... and I'd continue that cycle until I made that true investiment.

So, last week, I had a 50% coupon for Michaels, and decided it was finally time to make that true investment... mostly because I've been dabbling more in fiber arts, and I was tired of trying to use my Kai scissors for fabric cutting. So, I did it... I invested in a gorgeous pair of Ginger Knife Edge Dressmaker shears. This pair reminded me of Gramma, these are the same kind of shears she used in her sewing nook -- one of my first "safe places" I could remember... one of my most cherished memories would be to have Gramma at work at her sewing machine while I sat next to her and stitched some pictures by hand on some of her scraps. I felt so safe and warm right there next to Gramma.

So, warm, toasty memory aside... these scissors were SO WORTH the investment. They are so amazing. And enough of an investment that I'll keep them safely in their special tin when they're not in use -- on FABRIC only!

~Anne

PS: thank you to GAIL for telling me about Gingher a few years ago -- yeah... it took me this long to finally break down and buy a pair!

Domino Workshop 2

2008-06-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

OK... now let's play with some techniques using the sharpies ink and alcohol ink blending solution.

To Create an "impressionistic" brushstroke effect: This is a very simple way to add interest to your background but it *does* take some practice and a certain willingness to make mistakes.

Remember, if you *do* make a mistake and smudge off too much color, you can always start over again by simply using the alcohol ink blending solution to whisk off all the color off of your domino. The blending solution acts as an "eraser" of sorts by adding a squirt of the solution directly onto the domino and then using a rag to wipe off the ink and solution. Be careful though, as the solution can also dissolve the color on the "back" side of the domino (the side with the dots!) and if you want to keep the back side clean (for a more polished look to your finished domino) you don't want those inks to be lifted off and smudged.

Using a small, inexpensive paintbrush, squirt some of the blending solution onto the bristles. You want the bristles wet with the solution, but not dripping wet. If the brush is too wet, simply run the bristles across a dry rag once or twice. Next, swish the brush lightly over the top of the domino in a soft, circular motion, until you have acheived the desired effect.

To intensify your color, add a little bit more ink from your pen, and continue to swirl the paintbrush over the top of your domino.

Now, you can see some of the varigation of the color, but, it's become more blended and the colors appear to be painted on.

Using just a few simple tools: Sharpie Pens, Alcohol Ink Blending Solution, Q-tips and a paintbrush you can create some really unique and interesting backgrounds on your dominos.

~Anne

Domino Workshop 1

2008-05-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Well, I am quite late with this, and I'm not really sure how frequently I can update with more workshops since I'm going through (still!) computer hell! We have our OLD computer back up right now, because the new one needed to be taken in to the shop already! So, we're using the old, still malfunctioning computer at the moment until the new one gets back from the shop... then we'll take this one in to get it optimized for the kids to use. At least, that's the plan!!!

Anyways! It's time for Workshop 1. For our first workshop, I'm going to first introduce you to some products that I use to alter dominoes, and then show you how I use the products to alter the dominoes.

First, let's discuss markers. I use Sharpies. I like them because they're permanent, and can mark on just about any surface; on dominoes, they dry quickly and create a (somewhat) permanent mark on the plastic domino surface. I say somewhat permanent, because you CAN remove the mark, if you want to. But I'll explain more about that in a bit.

I've tried other markers such as pitt pens (which I love for other applications, but not dominoes) but they simply do not work on the dominoes.

I prefer using Sharpies on dominoes rather than alcohol inks because you have more control over the colors and how they blend with the Sharpies than you do with alcohol inks, and I think that the colors are more vivid and bright with Sharpies than with alcohol inks.

However, one important supply/product that does come from the alcohol ink family is the blending solution. I love this stuff. Remember how I said that the Sharpie ink is somewhat permanent on the domino? Well, that's because the blending solution can also act as an eraser! Don't like the color combination you create on a domino? Just squirt a few drops of the blending solution onto the domino surface and wipe clean with a rag. Accidentally dribble ink onto the back of the domino? Just whisk away the color with a drop of blending solution and a Q-tip.

Because it's such a powerful "eraser" for your inks, you need to be careful with this stuff, or you'll erase the color you want too..... it requires a little practice to get the hang of it... after a few months of not working on dominoes, I find I have to 'reteach' myself on just how powerful the stuff is, and work with it a bit before I get the hang of it again.

Besides the domino, sharpies pens, and blending solution, I used the following tools to create the final background: Q-Tips, wax paper and an inexpensive paintbrush. (Don't use your expensive paintbrushes for this application)

So... let's get started!

First, lay out a sheet of wax paper -- this is to protect your work surface; the wax paper also serves as a palette onto which you can squirt the blending solution.

Next, choose 2 or 3 sharpie colors that blend together well. For this example I chose red, bright pink and purple. You don't want to select colors that contain all 3 of the primary colors (red, blue, green) because you're likely to end up with a muddy look on your domino when the colors blend. Here, since pink is a hue of red, and purple has red and blue, I need to avoid yellow ink.

Scribble your colors onto your domino randomly, like this...

You'll notice that the ink dries quickly on the surface. Now, squirt a small puddle of blending solution onto the wax paper, and grab a q-tip and absorb the blending solution onto the cotton tip. Working from the red corner of the domino, in a circular motion, begin blending the colors. End with the purple color (or dominate color of your chosen palette).

Here is what the domino looks like after I've blended the colors together.

The blending solution also dries almost instantly when applied with an applicator (the q-tip). You can now add some more color onto the domino, I used a similar pattern to what I started with, this will just enhance the colors already on the domino...

Now, using an inexpensive paintbrush (I have a small round tip brush that I use for this), I dip it into a puddle of blending solution. Working in a similar circular motion, I blended the color a bit more on the domino.

Now, to soften the colors on the surface of the domino, dribble two drops of blending solution directly onto the domino, one on the purple area, and the second on the red/pink area. Blow gently onto the small pool of blending solution to let the colors blend together. Keep blowing gently until the surface is dry (it dries pretty quickly). By blowing gently on the surface, it keeps the colors moving so that they don't pool around the edges of the domino and create dark edges. If you do get some dark edges that are not pleasing, you can soften them with your q-tip dipped in blending solution, and blending gently. (you need a very gentle hand with this, or you will remove all the color)

Here's the finished background. I scanned this, rather than photographed it, so the image looks a bit grainy... in person, it's a lot smoother.

So... I showed you mine... now... you try it and take a picture, post it to the group. Next workshop, we'll add an image to the domino, and add some finishing touches.

~Anne

Domino Workshop Update & More Altered Books!

2008-05-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Alrighty everyone, I'm nearly ready to get the domino workshop off and running (and only about 5 months LATE!)... we just got a new computer which I will be hooking up within the next couple of days (we have to do some back up disks of information on this computer first), and as soon as I have that up and running, I will dedicate myself to getting the domino workshop going! I'm very excited about this! Woot!

And I've still been working in altered books... This is a pic of an altered book spread I finished last week for Tanya's Angels book...

I really don't think the scan did this one justice, it's really much nicer in person... The gold and silver paints shimmer really nicely. I am very happy with this spread. I hope that Tanya likes it!

Oh... and in case you haven't checked out my tea journal lately... I have a new tea out now! It's Green Apple Tea... if you like flavored green teas, this one may be right up your alley, and for those who are somewhat timid when it comes to green teas (I used to be, so I totally understand it!) you should give this one a try... the flavors are so exquisite! Yum!

Hope your weekend is going well, mine is!
~Anne

altered book fun!

2008-04-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

OK, ok... so I'm a bit late to catch the altered book bug... but, hey, what else is new? I'm late for everything!

The thing is, it was very hard for me to actually alter an existing book. I've altered some blank books ~ but they just aren't the same as altering a preprinted, published book. I had a hard time getting myself to do it. It's not that I didn't have the books... I had purchased several at thrift stores and at the library rummage sale (where I got a bag full of books for 2 bucks!), but, I just couldn't get myself to actually alter the book...

Why? Well, I guess I can blame my inner voices... the voices from the past, the voices of school librarians, teachers, principals, and even my father... telling me that books are to be respected and mustn't be hurt or damaged in any way. You shouldn't even bend back a corner of a page to mark your place... you should use a bookmark and be gentle and careful with books. Never write in books. Take care to never even tear a page.

And now, here I am doing the exact opposite of everything to which I had been conditioned to conform... those voices of authority figures of my past were haunting me, and it was a difficult thing to overcome.

But I'm glad I overcame it!

Because there are few things more liberating than the alteration of a book! Woo hoo!

I am in an altered book round robin, and my own book, I sent off with a couple of pages altered, but, I was still feeling a bit timid. It wasn't until I received Teresa's book that I started to feel a sense of relief from the confines that I had struggled with for so long.

I did two (2 page) spreads in Teresa's Bird Altered Book... These are the first 2 pages. The top page, I was inspired by the existing book, which has some really nice black and white images of former president's homes. As you can see, I used one of the images in my drawing, and incorporated it as part of the trunk of the tree.

The second 2 page spread, I created a very long collage using layers upon layers of ephemera & patterened paper, gesso, paint, and ink. The collage is actually a bit shiny, because I used some metallic paints. I am really happy with the result

Now Available on Etsy!

2008-04-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Well, it appears that I've finally worked out the kinks in my camera program as I'm finally able to upload photos!

And now that I'm able to use my camera again, I have listed a piece on Etsy...

It's an original collage on a gallery wrapped 4x4 canvas. Wallpaper, Images, Vintage Ephemera, Paint, Ink, Gesso, Australian Crystals and a watercolor painted paper primrose were used to create the piece. I wrapped the sides of the canvas with a tea-stained (stained it myself!) polyester ribbon and a chocolate colored silk ribbon -- so you don't need to frame it! The piece is backed in soft wool felt.

Please Visit my Etsy Store!

~Anne

Pears, Pears Everywhere!

2008-04-17T12:41:00.001-07:00

I love drawing and painting pears. It's one of the few things that I feel confident enough to draw. Sure, it's just a basic shape, but, when it comes to drawing (anything) I don't really have a lot of confidence in my artistic skill. I guess I could delve in deep and recognize that this is because I have not applied enough time to practice and hone my skills. But let's not go there right now.

Anyway, I've been drawing some pears lately... mostly because one of my contacts on Flickr mentioned that she liked my pears that I made previously, and she creates beautiful Asian influenced ATCs... so we entered into a trade. Since I rarely look for 1 on 1 trades, I don't have a stash of my own ATCs so I needed to make some more pears!

Which created a new problem for me, because, well, some of the materials I used to create those previous pears were stashed away in boxes (I've been trying to clean up the garage for well over a year now!) so I needed to improvise. I like what I came up with though...

I call these three my "Infinite Pear" series.

~Anne

Laura's Deco

2008-04-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished Laura's deco this afternoon. Her deco theme was an open theme, however, her cover was a beautiful bird print fabric, so I decided to go with the wing/bird theme for my spread...

I hope Laura likes it!

~Anne

Pam's Deco

2008-04-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

yay! I've been deco-ing again! I love to work in decos!

Pam's theme for her deco was "Art" -- which could be interpreted so many ways. This is how I chose to interpret it -- and I'll tell you why after I've shown you the pictures...

I hope that this displays right!

Anyways, I've had this picture sort of creating itself in my mind for many months now... Every time I think about going in to my studio to create, this image sort of popping up in my mind... as if my brain was asking "what should I do?" and my muse was saying "let's do this!" Finally, I decided to give in and do a sailboat collage. I hope that Pam enjoys it as much as my muse did to finally have the inspiration materialize.

~Anne

It's been a while!

2008-03-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy since my last posting!

I spent a good part of January working on my garage/studio space... and there is quite a bit still left to do. Somewhere along the way, my entire household came down with whatever it is that's been going around -- and it hit us hard. It hit my youngest daughter hardest of all, and she missed a good 5 1/2 weeks from school due to the illness. She's normally quite healthy so that made it especially difficult because we just weren't prepared for her to be so sick!

The rest of us got a bit of what she had, but none of us had it quite as bad.

Anyways, I've only been feeling productive art-wise for about a week or so... Trying to get everyone healthy and then get everything else back to normal was a challenge!

Here's what I've been working on this weekend...

it is collaged and painted on a 4x4 canvas. I created it for a "Crow" themed lottery for one of my groups. I hope that whomever wins enjoys this piece!

~Anne

On the 11th & 12th Day of Christmas... oh... yeah, and Happy New Year too!

2008-01-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

On the 11th day of Christmas, we received a gift from Julie! Julie gave us a lovely fabric wrapped bundle of silk goodness, including a silk handkerchief, some silk top and rod from Treenway Silks. Thanks Julie!

On the 12th day... we received a gift from Gail! She made lovely cold pressed soaps that smell absolutely amazing! Here's a link to her blog so you can see what she sent!

I was really so thrilled with everyone's gift in this swap... it definitely ranks up there with one of my very favorite swaps... because it really seemed to inspire everyone in the swap in different ways! So much fun!

NOW for some art updates of my own! ha! Lately, I've been deco-ing (again!) yay! First, I finished my page for Gail's Happy Camper deco...

And then I finished Debbie's Nature deco...

My next project? Well, I MUST clean out my garage! And... coming soon, a domino workshop!

~Anne

On the 9th & 10th day of Christmas...

2007-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

We received lovely gifts from Liisa and Heidi!

Day 9 belonged to Liisa... and she gifted us with a lovely paper dancing lady! The colors of the doll are rich and vibrant, as though she's dressed for a holiday party! Isn't she gorgeous?

Day 10 was Heidi's day, and she also chose to go with the song day "theme" and gave us a beaded leaping lord to decorate our tree! Because of the dimensional properties of this little lord, I couldn't get a decent scan of him, so perhaps if I can get the camera working again, I'll take a photo and update this blog post. This beaded ornament is truly lovely - beautiful!!!

BIG thank yous to both Liisa and Heidi for participating in this swap... I just love these gifts!

~Anne

On the 7th & 8th Day of Christmas...

2007-12-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

For the 7th day of our 12 day swap, we received a gift from Sherri! She packed her gift in an adorable little take-out style box. Inside the box was an awesome little book and a cool magnet!

Here's the book... I love the colors!

and the magnet! It was immediately stationed on my fridge!

On the 8th day, we received a gift package from Laura! And what an amazing package it was! She painted recycled tyvek envelopes and then decorated them with a cool vintage image...

I just love it when the packaging itself is a gift! Don't you?

Inside these cool envelopes was a bounty of FUN! Some cool postcards, fibers, sequin waste, and beads... plus... we got a fun cactus cowboy doll for a car antenna. I think I might have to host an altered cactus cowboy swap! haha! Also... we got a stash of colorful fabrics......

This has been such a fun swap. Today, we opened the last of our packages... so, I'll be back tomorrow to share more pictures of the goodies we received!

~Anne

On the 5th & 6th days of Christmas...

2007-12-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

Day five belonged to Candice! And Candice treated us all to these nifty little ATC booklets! I just love these! Let's face it, when you swap ATCs you can never have too many ways to display them, it gets downright addictive swapping them that before you know it, your collection outgrows your albums! Not only is this little book a great gift... but an inspirational one! I love it!

The scan doesn't begin to reveal just how COOL these little booklets are. The flap opens up to reveal an accordion style booklet that have been corner punched to accomodate 10 ATCs. I just love this!

Day six belonged to Nancy... and Nancy gave us gorgeous art doll ornaments! Hopefully my camera will get to working soon, so that I can post pictures of them... I just love this little doll's hair! What a great addition to my holiday tree -- as one who grew up surrounded by boring Christmas trees... I am now committed to having trees with all unique and unusual ornaments! And... this one definitely fits in! A lovely, unique little lady!

Thanks Candice and Nancy, for such wonderful gifts! I love these little treasures!

On the 3rd & 4th Day of Christmas...

2007-12-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

I'm really behind on these posts... and I'm sorry to the artists involved as well as those of you who follow my blog, but the last few days have been very hectic.

Day 3 of my 12 Days of Christmas swap belonged to Tanya! And she certainly delivered with her gift! Each of us received a lovely candle with the sparkle of glitter sprinkled on the top (I haven't burned the candle yet, but I bet it's really neat when the flicker of the flame reflects off the glitter!) and a box of matches! Tanya altered the matchboxes in a christmas theme... and kept the matches inside so that we can burn the candle! What a perfectly complete gift! I just love it.

I will post a picture of the candle and the matches just as soon as I get the camera working again! This one just doesn't work with the scanner!

Day 4 of the swap brought us a gift from Betsey! and all I can say is WOW! She gave us this amazing little metal ornament for our holiday tree!

It's simply adorable! Love it!

Thank you to both Tanya and Betsey for participating in this swap!

And just a tidbit... I have added a link to my now open CafePress store! Right now, I only have one image available on stuff in there... but, hey, it's a work in progress... if there are any pieces that I've created that you might like to purchase on a cafe press product, be sure to drop me a line and let me know... and I'll do what I can to get it up in cafe press!

Thanks for reading along. Tomorrow (I hope!) I will have days 5 & 6 posted!

~Anne

On The First (and the second) Day of Christmas...

2007-12-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

In one of my yahoo groups, I'm hosting a 12 days of Christmas Swap. We started opening our gifts on Monday, the 17th... so the gifts will actually continue through Christmas. But, it's been fun so far!

On the first day, we opened our gift from Teresa... a really cool Jacob's Ladder!

This shows only a portion of the six paneled ladder, but is a good representation of how lovely each panel is!

I really love this... it reminds me of some of the fun toys my grandfather used to make out in his woodshop... and it's already supplied me and my two daughters with hours of enjoyment! Thank you Teresa!

Our Second day's gift came from Debbie, who made something that was nice as well as practical! A tissue pouch!

Even though the fabric is seasonal, THIS is going to be in my purse year round! I love it! Thank you Debbie!

So... those are the first 2 days of Christmas Gifts. Today marks our half-way point of our gift opening... so I do have 4 more gifts that I could show you... but I think I'll save the fun... and share 2 more gifts with you tomorrow!

Thank you to alll the lovely artists who participated in this swap... I can't remember a time when I've had as much fun!

~Anne