My Masterpiece!

My baby turned 20 yesterday. How did that happen? I can't possibly be old enough to have a 20 year old! Where did the time go?

procrastination

I'm blaming Heather again for making me waste all of my time. I saw some really fun drawings on her blog (see Links)-- so I had to try them too! This is what I made:
Heather's are all colourful -- I don't know how she did that...... Catherine (see Links) has some on her blog too -- she's made a stamp from one. Very very very cool!!!! You can make them too! Just go here:

Wrist Quiltie

I love making these! It's 2" wide and does up with buttons. It looks so nice on my wrist. I think that I'll have to keep it for myself. Sorry to the person who I was going to send it to. I'll have to make you another one....

question: If I make wrist quilties to sell, how do I make it fit the person's wrist ?-- do I just do it a bit big, and then let the purchaser move the buttons? or do I ask their measurement when they buy it, and THEN sew the buttons on? (this is assuming that I'd be selling them online)

Beads... and ducky and friend

Oops, I'm a bit late......I meant to upload this image weeks ago, but I forgot.

Carmi's challenge for this month was to alter/decorate/ transform these big beads into something beautiful (they are wooden -- about 1 1/4 inches long. I used gesso and paint and more gesso and more paint and stamped tissue and more gesso and gold paint. They are less "dimensional" than I wanted, but they are pretty.
The egg with the ducky and froggie was a metal easter egg that I got in my basket every year when I was young. Filled with jelly beans. I don't like easter jelly beans. They don't come in black. I have to investigate where the other eggs went. One was a big, blue pasteboard egg. My mom probably sold it! (My mom had an antique store. If it wasn't locked up (or hidden in your bedroom), it was fair game) (see, mom -- it's all your fault that I'm a hoarder. I'm keeping it away from you.... LOL)

Happy but tired

Just imagine a picture of me, right up there, with a big smile. I'm going to be teaching Kindergarten again next year :) That means that I will actually be teaching the same grade two years in a row -- and I WON'T HAVE TO CHANGE CLASSROOMS! If you don't teach -- just imagine having to move everything you own every 10 months or so. NOT FUN. And when you change grades, it's like starting your life over from scratch every year. Now I don't have to start from scratch, but I can build upon what I have. Yay for me!

I'm also happy that it's finally sunny here! And warm (around 70 degrees). It's giving me energy. And I need it. I'm still not totally well. I was in bed before 9pm almost every night this week. 2 nights before 7pm! Of course, it's 5 am Saturday morning and I'm wide awake. But I have this list, right? Of things to do......

AND I'm blaming Heather on my shopping relapse at a scrapbooking store yesterday. Not my favourite store (my favourite store is Bizzy B's in Toronto) but a store close to where I work and close to the beach. I never made it to the beach. I'd better start selling some art to support my habit. (I plan to get that together this summer)
~more later !

This is too fun!

I went here

http://www.blyberg.net/card-generator

and made this:you can add whatever text you want, and add a scribbly comment. And yes I finished. And yes, I meant 2005.

ATCs

I was at Bizzy Bs last night for ATC night. It was so nice to see everyone again, because I missed the March meeting. I didn't have time to make ATCs to trade for this session(the theme was spring) -- I was too sick and had a lot of work to catch up on for school! March's theme was Black and White and I was sorry to miss it, so I made two and also made a black and white self portrait. I used some paper that Traci Bautista gave us to play with at ArtFest, and then I added some images and then I embellished using a white signo pen and a black glaze pen. I like doing self portraits. I'm going to try to do a new self portrait ATC every month.

Next month's theme at Bizzy Bs is Royalty. By the way, I'm on the road to recovery: I'm feeling lively. I cleaned out my garden this morning (how can such a little dog make such a huge mountain of poop?) This afternoon will be spent doing income tax. wooo hooo! tomorrow will be spent playing in altered books, calendars and journals. Once I unbury my art table.....

Oh: Bizzy B's will be at The CreativFestival at the International Centre (near the airport) in Toronto next weekend (April 20-22) http://www.csnf.com -- they will be introducing some new rubber stamp lines that they are carrying including Character Constructions !!!! http://www.characterconstructions.com
I won't be going to the show (I don't drive) (I go to the fall show which is downtown) so I hope that Barb has some leftovers for me! Although I did buy some new rubber stamps last night...... I'll play with them AFTER the income tax. That will be my reward.........

Zetti Fabric 4x4s

Today is a holiday (no school -- yay!). It's "Easter Monday" whatever that is. I'm just happy to have one more day to recuperate (I still can't hear). TodayI made some white inchies (which really don't photograph well) and these 4x4s for Teri's swap. I'm very happy with them. Of course, they wouldn't be the same without Teesha Moore's images.........
EDIT - oops, I forgot that they were to be celebrating spring -- I guess that I must embellish a bit with flowers.......

Happy Easter

I like eggs and I like bunnies. Here are the eggs. Bunnies to follow.


This was another zetti ornament swap with Beth. Zetti Easter. I made the egg shaped one (top) -- this is one to look at close up. It has all sorts of loose things under the acetate -- words, beads, fibres -- so it's always changing. I like that the nest is inside of the egg. This is one of my favourite pieces that I've ever made....Beth made the bottom one. Isn't it cool? She is a master of layering....

Nesting

I finished more 8x8 nest pieces! I love making them. These 2 are going to Ally (she has the first one). There are more on my picturetrail.

I'm Back!

Well, I've been back since Sunday but I'm sick. Really sick. So with school and all, I haven't had time to post. ArtFest was fantastic. It was wonderful meeting Ally after emailing for over a year! We had so much fun with Ruth, Nancy and Catherine. And I met some wonderful people: Heather, Maija, Tejae, Victoria, Tara and my shuttle buddy Brenda -- who lives in the US, but still very close -- in fact we spend parts of the summer in the same provincial park!! After many days of searching, I finally found Rita, but by the end of ArtFest was only able to give feeble conversation! Sorry, Rita!
I have posted pics on my Picturetrail in the ArtFest 2007 Folder . If you're wondering if I ever wear anything but black, well, yes I do, but not often!
Also check out Ruth's blog and her flikr to see many other incriminating pictures of me (and Ruth, Nancy, Ally and our house, and classes and other fun stuff)[that's me, Ruth and Ally in the picture above]
I took classes from Traci Bautista, Linda and Opie O'Brien and Michael deMeng. I finished a bracelet in Linda and Opie's class, and Ruth helped me turn it into a necklace. (well, actually Ruth did it while I watched. Actually, I didn't even watch, I turned away for a moment and it was finished. So I'll just tell the truth and say Ruth did it)

I'm wearing it here, in this picture of Tejae and me at vendors night. And here's a closeup: It's made of copper, sterling silver and tins (like cookie tins or olive oil tins). I made it all -- I cut the copper and the sterling, aged it, stamped the numbers on the sterling, cut out the copper tab charms, cut out the tin, and wired it all together (the bracelet chain was pre made).


I didn't finish anything else, but as I do, I'll post it! And I haven't even opened my trades yet, but when I do I'll post them too. (I'm waiting until I have time to have a tea and savour them one by one)