Remains of the Day

I made a mini Remains of the Day journal. I've sent this one off to someone, but I have a similar one that I keep beside my computer that I write my favourite quotations in. I love making these journals -- and it does use up a lot of scraps!

imagination

This is Tif's (Dottie Angel) philosophy:

'if i go to sleep at night knowing i have visited my imagination, however fleeting it may have been, then i know i have used my day wisely'

I think that it is mine, too!Tif is my inspiration for so many things......

Print & Stamp Lab

My new favourite book! I wish that I had time right now, today, right this minute to make something from it. Maybe this afternoon I'll make time for a project.... in between academic research, that is.......
back to the books.......

Frogs and Toads

I have always had a fascination with frogs and toads. .... just indulge me for a minute....Here I am playing with a toad.... I used to dress them up in Barbie clothes..... Now that I am older, and know better (the declining frog and toad populations are worrisome) , I just look at them. Last year we raised tadpoles into toads in my classroom. (this year will be butterflies -- I don't do the same thing two years in a row because I generally carry the Junior Kindergarten students through Senior Kindergarten i.e. I have them with me for 2 years.

If you look closely -- or click on the picture to enlarge it -- you will see the string of eggs around this frog. I'm not sure if the eggs belong to this frog or not..... You don't often see toads in the water (they live on land after they mature from tadpole to toad). These toads have returned to the water to mate and lay eggs. See the puffed up neck? This male toad was making a trilling/peeping sound -- it's what they do to attract females. It's usually done at night, but they were out in full force during the day. (I took these photos a few weeks ago at a pond in London, Ontario)I can't wait to see the tadpoles!

Busy -- and loving it!

A new edition of lonny is out!
AND the new uppercase is out.
Between all of my blog reading and all of my online and paper magazine reading -- I'm burning the candle at both ends!
But I'm loving the Kindergarten AQ that I'm taking!
And the Jewelry course it going really well too!
pics to follow this weekend......

tired....

I'm going to be a bit overextended between now and the middle of June.

1. I am taking an AQ course -- that's an "Additional Qualification" in teacher lingo. It's a full University course (with a price tag to match!). It involves 65 hours of classtime and a 60 hour Inquiry paper. It's every Tuesday night -- and an additional 4 Saturdays. Plus that extra 60 hours for the paper (and you have to log every minute that you spend on it!) So why am I putting myself through this?? -- the subject is Kindergarten Curriculum -- my joy, my life. However, I might be kicking myself in a weeks time when my principal hands out our teaching assignments for next year! (I am qualified to teach up to the sixth grade)

2. I am taking an 8 week jewelry course at nanoPod Studio here in Toronto. I signed up for it before I signed up for the AQ. The class that I'm taking is Metal+Glass. It is Tosca Teran's studio -- she is a fantastic artist and teacher! I started it last night. We did some sawing of copper -- which I had done before, so it was a relaxing beginning to the course. If you're interested in a basic introduction to goldsmithing (with some glasswork thrown in) then take one of Tosca's classes -- I've only been there one night, but I know that you won't be disappointed. (She will be having some advanced classes later this summer)

3. We have an Arts Night coming up at school -- May 6th -- and I have to come up with something fabulous for the kids to make! (They always make fabulous things -- I just have to guide them with some kind of theme and medium....)

4. Report Cards. There will be 37 of them. Enough said.

5. In June I will be attending a certain Art Sisters Weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake! Our theme is birds.... I'd better get thinking about little giftie things, or all of a sudden it will be upon me, and I'll have made nothing.....

6. I'm throwing a bit of a Mad Hatter Tea Party at Bizzy Bs tomorrow night starting at 6:30 p.m. Come on by!
Off now to bake some tarts! bye bye!

Holy Rubberstamps Alice!

I've never used so many rubber stamps on a card!
I just got some new stamps from CRESCENDOh -- Jenny Doh's new "ArtSaves" company. I had to play!
The Alice image (and the Drink Me) are Danita's images from Crescendoh.
The background doily is a stamp by Hero Arts
The Tea Cup is from BLine Designs
and the scallop doodle is one of Jenny Doh's designs from Crescendoh (my own little doodles run down the sides).
The Alice image is when she is dropping down the rabbit hole, I think, but to me, she seemed to be falling into water... and from that I though -- well, why not tea! hmmm.. I guess the image could be from when she was swimming in her pool of tears......
And yes, the pages are from an old Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass book. I tore it up a few years ago when I made some other Alice art.
If you are in Toronto -- the Theme for Bizzy Bs April ATC exchange is Alice in Wonderland. We'll meet on April 9 at Bizzy Bs and the Trading begins at 7. Please contact me before April 1 if you would like to join in the fun!

self portrait by candlelight

Yes, that would be a marshmallow. We ate them while playing Rummy. Mr. B won the first 3 games, then I won the next 3. Then earth hour was over. We should do that more often. I spend far too much time on the computer...... (but all of my friends live in the computer!)

Earth Hour

In just a few short minutes, Earth Hour will begin. What will you be doing? I'm pretty sure that I will be roasting marshmallows by candlelight....... (although whoever recommended using my heat gun was brilliant.... I haven't tried it yet though!)
I'll let you know in an hour what I did. Or didn't do...... off now to find the camera and the candles....
(earth hour runs between 8:30 and 9:30 pm -- you're not supposed to use any energy -- I'm off now to shut off the computers and appliances....)

What did you do for Earth Hour?

off on a little vacation

My self imposed art retreat is over. Now we're off on a mini vacation. No dog for 3 days. WooHoo! Don't we look like pale, sun starved Canadians in need of a break?I've shopped at Target for Liberty stuff (nice!), and managed to find a kind of dressy spring coat with a hood. We've been shopped at Trader Joes. And we took this self portrait outside in the beautiful Spring-like weather. Spring starts tomorrow. Of course, it's supposed to snow here (well, I am in a secret US location-- of course it won't be snowing in Toronto)
Tomorrow I'm off to JoAnn fabric (I can't find a quilting fabric store, so JoAnns will have to do. We'll hit the knitting stores to, for Ray (Can I just call him Mr. B? That's what all of the cool bloggers do. And Ray has grudgingly agreed..... ) So, anyway, Mr B hasn't purchased anything yet. Well, the flowery liberty boxers and tie that I bought for him don't really count.

WIP

(that means "work in progress" , just so I don't have to explain, lol)
The Remains of the Day journal is coming along! I spent most of the day cutting and sewing pages. This part takes FOREVER. If I was actually going to sell one of these suckers, it would sell for a few hundred dollars!
Next up: adding some more "bits" and then sewing the signatures and then binding them into the cover. I see many possibilities here.... AND everyone on my Christmas list is going to get a personalized one of these. If you're on my list, and you've already taken the class, too bad, so sad...... you get nothin'.... hahahaThese journals are perfect for me to make. I'm a "collector" Yes, I would go so far as to call myself a "hoarder". I keep everything from bus transfers to movie receipts. I have every single card eve given to me (and having 40 students each year, I get a lot of cards). Some of these scraps even came from Maija's garbage! (she was cleaning her studio last time I visited). So many of these scraps so have "meaning" for me.
They are also helping me to be more spontaneous in my collage work. Because I'm also a planner. A journal page can take me 5 hours to do. Really. Not these ones though! I'm just digging into the stash and sewing stuff together. So fun!

If you want to sign up for the Remains of the Day class -- you can do it here. You can see Mary Ann's travel journal that she made using this technique here. . She left lots of pockets and places to put travel ephemera and spots for journaling. This is my kind of travel journal! I can't wait to travel :)
If you want to see what another student did (she's finished her journal), go and see Jill's video!

Gone bug eyed!

The teacher at my art retreat makes me work too hard..... Well, not the teacher, but the assistant, you know, the one who presses play on the videos? My evil twin Martha? This morning I made the cover for my Remains of the Day Journal. For all of you nice friends who insisted that I MUST take this class, you were right -- it's definitely my "thing". I loved making my scrappy cover!Mary Ann Moss has great step-by-step videos and a fantastic "hand out"(pdf) to go along with them.
Now I'm going to go for a walk to enjoy this beautiful day!!! It's 60 degrees!
I'll finish sewing my pages tomorrow. The weather's not this fabulous every day :)

Play

This is a remake of a page for Magda. Her fabric book RR was lost in the mail -- when it was on its last leg of the journey -- the trip home. It was part of the Hidden Treasures Fabric book RR that I was in in 2008/2009. I'm mailing this straight off to Magda -- hopefully she gets many surprises in her mail box soon...
The theme was Play. Well, here is the Queen -- she's playing in her garden, and playing in the sea...... well, perhaps standing -- do queens play??? (not in the Tudor books that I've been reading...) .... there are also some little treasures hidden in the pockets...

Finally finished that dang paper clay doll :)

Last year on my Spring Break I started Gritty Jane's Cloth and Clay dolls online class.
I did this:
But I never finished her :( I was afraid to paint her.
Then at the end of last summer, I started to paint, but still I was too intimidated to paint the actual features:Today I finished her!I don't know what I was so afraid of. If you make a mistake, you just paint over it. sheesh. Click on any of the pictures for a close-up.
Next time I'm going to make one with a skinnier neck..... I'm going to call her Susan. I kind of think that she looks like Susan Boyle. You know? That singer from the UK?
If you want to take the class, it's on sale for only $25!! Here in Toronto you can find paperclay at Aboveground Art Supplies on McCaul street (beside OCAD). I loved making the doll -- but it does take a huge chunk of time. Not something that you can make in one evening. Or even one sitting.

For the rest of the afternoon I'm going to play with photoshop, then tomorrow I'm going to try to make a scrappy book from the Remains of the Day online class. I feel like I'm at an art retreat!

Rug Hooking

On May 15 I'll be at The Purple Purl with Lauren taking a Rug Hooking Class. She's wanted to learn how for awhile. On the 16th I'll be staying for the advanced class -- I can't pass up this opportunity to make this nest! Registration is underway-- and I believe that they are also adding a beginner class on the Friday night. The classes are a great price -- only $39 plus the kit fee! I know that I'll use these skills in my other mixed media/fabric work(I learned to hook about 40 years ago -- I've forgotten a bit, lol). (you can go to Hooked By the Sea -- the teacher's website by clicking HERE).

Spring Forward!

Don't forget to spring forward tonight! I hate losing that hour's sleep. Especially since it is one hour less of spring break that I will have. YES!!! IT IS SPRING BREAK!!! I'm puttering and cleaning this whole weekend. Then I'll posting on my art filled progress throughout the week. I just wish that this dang rain would stop. It's a bit floody here and it cuts into the quality cleaning time :) (it's even too dark in the middle of the day to take a decent picture of this bunny tag that I made in between bucket filling)

lonny mag

(this is a cover from the premier edition of Lonny -- We're now at issue 3)

Have you read lonny mag? It's an online magazine full of home decor goodness. Best of all -- it's free! and 218 pages of fabulousness! (I'm sure that advertising somehow pays for it) Are online magazines our future? I LOVE paper magazines. I read them every night in bed while I'm falling asleep. I can't see me doing that with my laptop.... and I haven't bought a Kindle (lol -- because I'm waiting for an ipad!) The Eco-me wants to embrace online magazines -- but the tactile artist me will likely pay a premium for a paper magazine..... Anyway -- lonny is great -- but I have a super huge computer screen -- I need to check it out on the laptop... the BEST part about online magazines are their clickable links. I fill my paper magazines with sticky note bookmarks, intending to go back and check out the links, but I rarely do....
Anyway... Lonny Mag rocks...I love the online version. Would I buy it if it was paper? You betcha!
(would I pay extra for both -- no way. Some magazines that I subscribe to offer their online versions for free -- that is a bonus. Some you have to pay EXTRA to view the online version. That's so not cool)
Do you know of some other (free) must-read online magazines? Please share!
Here are some that I read:
We Love Crafts (in Spanish -- but pretty to look at :)

You know -- I'd like to be one of those people who blogs for a living.... Maybe I'll test it out over Spring Break next week.....

Indoor campfire

Well, not really. I just had this craving for toasted marshmallows. Last time I had one of these cravings, I toasted it over a candle, but it ended up tasting like patchouli (my favourite candle). So I had some left over marshmallows from the last batch of rice krispie squares, and of course I had to toast some. And the gas stove works just fine. Well, they burn super fast. Can you see the blue halo to the lower right of the marshmallow? Yep, that's fire. Don't worry, I blew it out easily, and I also had a bowl of water to dunk it in , just in case. I don't think that I would try this with children. That molten ball of sugar doesn't do too much damage on the beach, but it could probably burn down your kitchen. Next time I have such a craving I'm going to try my butane torch. .......

I jinxed it!

Remember my pole art? The one that I posted about a few days ago? Well, it's gone :( Without a trace. The last one lasted almost 11 months without any vandalism and this one lasted, what? 3 days? I checked the garbages in the park -- not there -- my only solace is that someone has taken it to put up on their wall at home. I'm already thinking ahead to what I will put there next. Surprised? Well, it is MY pole. I couldn't have someone else putting something up, could I?

Doily curtain

I've been meaning to make one of these ever since I moved in. I bought the linen last summer and made the curtain then, but it's been up and bare ever since. (and grrrr -- it shrunk in the wash last weekend -- even though I preshrunk the fabric before I sewed it). This weekend I finally added the doilies. You would not believe how long it takes to "randomly scatter" the doilies to make them look balanced. I layed them out on my kitchen table and stood on a chair. Up and down and up and down.

The curtain usually sits out a bit further so the window frame can't bee seen, but I'm still taking the curtain up and down -- because the doilies are only pinned on. Well, actually now 2 are sewn on. It takes me a tv show to sew on two doilies. So last night during House, the first 2 were attached. I don't watch tv on Tuesdays, so it will have to wait until Criminal Minds comes on on Wednesday, then CSI and Grey's Anatomy comes on on Thursday. So I might be finished by Thursday night. Well, maybe -- the question is "Should I sew a lace border on the bottom to make the curtain reach the sill?"

Flea Market Style

Flea Market Style magazine has finally arrived in Canada! I found my copy at Presse International on College Street in Little Italy (near Grace). It's a bit spendy at $12. 95 (maybe it's less in the US?) -- but it doesn't have many ads -- so it's got lots of pages of pretty pretty! My biggest complaint is the crappity crap crap paper that it's printed on...... If I'm spending big bucks on a magazine it had better have nice paper - like the Stampington Mags -- or like Martha Stewart Living used to have..... and like my favourite Brit mag Living Etc DOES have (and sells for $9.95)

I think that I'd rather just have the book(love this book-- it's my decorating bible))
Other home decor books that I love (that actually don't cost all that much more than a fancy magazine):

The Well Dressed Home -- What style are you???
Cheap Chic is on my Amazon Wish List -- but I'm sure that I'll love it whenever I get it :)
I so miss domino magazine. This book is like a "best of" Domino -- but I don't remember seeing the pictures in domino. Well, I have a memory like a goldfish, so that's not so odd.....This is another book on my wish list. From the cover it looks like what I aspire to be...

I'm ready for Spring!

Out with the old, in with the new. I've put up a new piece of art on my favourite pole! It measures about 18"x24". So many people ask me why I would put something that I worked so hard on outside, perhaps to be vandalized, or destroyed by the elements. I say "Why not?". Art is meant to be enjoyed. If it makes one person smile, then I've done my job. Is someone cuts it down and takes it home, then, obviously, they need a little colour in their life. This isn't what I consider my usual "style" of art -- but it is my style of public art. My superhero style, lol. Perhaps it's a bit too bright for the drab Toronto pre-spring palette.....For those who have asked: I use rosin paper for the base (it's the red construction paper that Lynne Perrella uses) ; cheap acrylic paint (i.e. student grade); Sharpie markers and a Liquid Paper pen for the white bits. Then I coat it with Liquitex Gloss Medium for added protection from the elements. The last one was up for almost a year (the base was cheap bristol board) It survived a Canadian spring, summer, fall and winter with little damage (and almost no fading) Almost all of the damage that you see here was caused by me trying to take it off of the pole.... (you can see it in it's original incarnation here). The mildew happened in the first few weeks (it rained and rained) and it is between the paint and the packing tape that I use to attach it to the pole. I might make some tags out of the leftover bird art to attach to my guerilla knitting that is still up in the park. Someone has tied some mini liquor bottles to that -- perfect for some spring flowers!! (soon).

Today, the sun is shining, it's warm, the birds are singing. It's a beautiful day (no hat or gloves today!)I hope that it stays this way for awhile. It's my "Spring Break" coming up next week (March 15-19) and I'm going to be at home working on some online classes that I have never finished (a cloth and clay doll, some suzi blu faces, some photoshop and a Remains of the Day journal....) I'm always more productive when the weather is nice!!! Plus I want to take a mini trip to the US to buy some of the new Liberty line from Target.... so please save some for me! (the Liberty launch is on March 14)

The funnest wedding ever!

Look at this super fun wedding!. All of the details are brilliant! I just love weddings -- I think that my dream job would be working at a wedding magazine. And Martha Stewart Wedding is my favourite! Go here to see the slideshow. She even had square dancing, lol! This wedding has a larger than life Alice in Wonderland feeling. Speaking of Alice -- I'm hoping to see it tomorrow! I CAN'T WAIT!

Oh Canada!

(The guys are bobsledding.)

As the Olympics come to a close, I have to share some paintings that my students made (sorry, I just couldn't resist!) (to see lots more, go to my other blog -- Ms. Brown's Classroom). We have loved learning about the Olympics. So much that I am going to buy the special commemorative DVD about the Olympics the CTV is putting out. (it's $60!!) I really wanted to show them each sport, but I wasn't organized enough to tape them (truth be told, I don't even know how to tape things on tv -- it never works for me :). The DVDs won't come for 6 weeks -- but I figure that I'll use them again in 4 years. And it has a history of the olympics, etc etc.... am I crazy? My friend and her teenagers were laughing at the commercial for the dvds saying "Who on earth would want to buy them?" So if you want to borrow my dvds, I'd love to share them to make it worth my while :) Does anyone have these same dvds for the Summer Olympics? I'd love to show the swimming to my swim team..... (I coach grade 4-8 swim team)(and I also pretend to teach grade 4-8 FolkFest -- folkdancing -- not an Olympic sport... yet.....)

(She is playing hockey)

Steampunk ATCs

I forgot to post my February ATCs from the exchange at Bizzy Bs. The theme was Steampunk. I had a hard time photographing them because I used transparencies. No flash, but the glare from the light still was annoying. Next month's theme is "Mystery" which means you can do whatever you want. Choose your own theme. If you're in Toronto, feel free to join us on March 12 at 6:30 pm at Bizzy Bs! Please email me more than a week ahead of time so I can tell you how many to make!