Tuesday, April 30, 2013

windchime

today I had time to work on something that has been a bit of a monkey on my back
do have those? I know you do :)


the school is having an auction to raise $$
and my daughter's class brought from home all kinds of recyclable/reusables to make a
garden art/windchime/suncatcher sort of thing
but, as it turns out, 
there is very little the kids can do by of participation except to bring in the materials
(with the wire, pliers, awl, etc. it's just too many sharp objects and opportunities for owies)

but I'm liking the can lids and think I'll add more
the kids can sign their names on the lids
and call it a day
right?


Monday, April 29, 2013

one fine day #4

8:27 a.m.
(a few blocks into this morning's drive to Run Errands)
*it's turning into one fine day


*in case you're wondering:
the "one fine day" posts are about slowing down, breathing, and whispering, 
"this is one fine day" 
... even if it is, has been, or could be, a shitty one ...
(pardon my french)

Sunday, April 28, 2013

one fine day #3

2:47 p.m.
the taller than me child cooking in the kitchen
it's one fine day


Saturday, April 27, 2013

one fine day #2

11:26
waiting in the car for 4H dog practice to finish up
it's been one fine day


Friday, April 26, 2013

one fine day #1

7:01 a.m.
(just before dashing off to the bus stop)
this is one fine day


Thursday, April 25, 2013

this is ...

what's going on around here


and I'm the girl looking at the sky
does she see a great "sky shot?"
yup


it's a beautiful day in spite of everything derailing around me
(don't worry - it's just extended family junk - and junk is not a strong enough word)

***
thank you Annie at Knitsofacto for the idea to use a train off it's tracks
(she used a car off it's wheels to express a similar sentiment)
***
I am taking a few days off to catch up on sleep, laundry, and all around normal stuff
which includes visiting you folks
.... but not much in the way of other fun stuff like tutorials, teatime, or show and tells

Saturday, April 20, 2013

sight seeing

we ventured out into the rainy weather to see the tulips up north


this year is an especially beautiful one
the cold weather and added rain is just what the tulips love
- it's like sunshine from the ground up -


and of course, I have to stop and look at the barns
they are so weathered and lonesome out there - I feel compelled to honor their existence


this shop window captured my eyes and my heart too


and how many school days has this old school bell announced to not so eager children?


and after a day like this, I have to come home with treasures of my own

a favorite book series:

some nostalgia in painted metal and glass:

and a bit of the glory that drew us outdoors today:


what sights have your eyes seen this weekend?

Thursday, April 18, 2013

kitchen table

I made myself a cup of red zinger tea this morning 
with the sole purpose in mind of staining the right hand side of a stitched piece I worked on this week


while I was waiting for it to dry and sipping my tea I thought of you


 I had such kind words of encouragement yesterday about the blog and the mom thing and tea and tutorials and more .... I realized how connected we are in so many ways .... I guess I had lost sight of that .... I've just been overwhelmed lately with the thoughts of how fast the kids are growing up ... and how much of it do I miss while I try to create art every day, run my shop, and blog about it?


the fact is, art is where I speak my hard to express thoughts 
and this week is no exception
all the while I worked on this, I was thinking about the love of siblings
(the children in this piece are from some of my "sad, anonymous, lovingly adopted by me" photos)
and my come away thought is that as long as they love each other, I've done well


 thank you for listening
thank you for joining me at my kitchen table
let's do it again - ok?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

crazy for journals

I love the Moleskine journals 
they come in all sizes
and they're easy to personalize



I added a photo transfer to the cover of this one:
(I'll use it for our summer vacation on Kauai)

*

 and this one has it's own case:
(it was easy to sew - if you sew - the elastic is a "goody" brand hair elastic - cool eh?)

*

I attached a photo to this one - it will be good for garden notes:
(I sanded the edges of the photo and peeled off the bottom layer of photo paper for easier adhesion)

*

 and this one (my favorite) is a photo directly transferred onto the cover:
(I prepped the cover with gesso for the foundation)

***


 "the Moleskine notebook is the heir and successor to the legendary notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Bruce Chatwin. In 1997 a small Milanese publisher brought the legendary notebook back to life, and selected this name with a literary pedigree to revive and extraordinary tradition."

***

on a personal note - I really suck as a blogger lately
what's up with that?
I've lost my mojo for some reason
possible reasons:
busy life (mom)
other priorities (teenage kids)
oh wait - that must be it!
I'm a mom to teenage kids!
no one ever mentioned it was like having toddlers all over again
argh!

maybe I need to go back to tea posting 
- it really kept me on track -
 there's a lot to be said for that daily cuppa

... just some rambling thoughts ...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

stitching with pliers

 ... for real ...


sometimes it's just too much work to get that needle through several thicknesses of fabric
and paper can be especially uncooperative
(it has no weave to part a path for the needle-eye & thread)


... so I use pliers ...


is that what all the fuss was about?
... there's more ...
these sweet things needed pliers too:


it's a serious dose of fun color


just in case spring hasn't burst out in all her full operatic diva glory
(a little something to tide you over)
*
ingredients:
can lids
bottle caps
wire
bamboo skewer
... ta-da ...

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

a new day

and a new week
-whew-


what I'm working on:
art journal page,
painted stones,
stitching with pliers.
... did I get you with that one?

I'll tell you later - but for now I have some catching up to do in blogland

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

fun with google earth

everyone is home for spring break
(sleeping in and staying home)
so I had a relaxed morning with my cup of tea and my iPad
*
my Google Earth application wasn't crashing so I took some cool screen shots and enhanced them with my favorite photo editing app - PhotoForge 2

(more particulars on the how-to is below)

Paris


The Bahamas

Kansas

Mexico City


North Dakota

The Netherlands

Mississippi River
to take a screen shot:
 hold down the power button on the side and the toggle button on the front simultaneously
you will find your screen shot in your photo library under "saved photos"

using PhotoForge2:
it's super easy to access your photo library and edit your photos with this app
I love it for it's simplicity
I start with cropping the picture to take out the watermarks and the bookmark bar at the top
then I play with saturation, contrast, hue and sharpness

getting it to your blog or anywhere else:
at the upper right corner of PhotoForge is a little icon
click on that and you can upload directly to any number of places like FB, Flickr, etc.

(I just e-mailed the pictures to myself,
saved them to iPhoto on my Mac, 
and uploaded them to my blog the usual way)

if you have kids - they'll help you figure it all out
:)

.... just curious - which one is your favorite?
I love the Mexico City one (well, and Paris too)