Fibre charms!

Isn't this charm beautiful? I love it! I hung one singly on a silver ball chain today and I wore it! It is about 1 1/4 inches long (not including the loop at the end). As promised, I'm posting the "how to" below.

1) Make a fabric bead. I took a piece of felt about 3/4 " by 2" and wrapped it around a 3/4" piece of skinny straw -- I glued it with white glue.
2) Wrap fibre around the bead.
3) Sew glass seed beads on the fibre and through the felt to secure the fibre.
4) String a big glass bead on a really long head pin (1 5/8"). Put it through the felt bead and top it with another big glass bead.
5) Use round nose pliers to make a loop at the top, and add a jump ring (if you don't have round nose, regular ones will do, it's just a bit harder). If you remember, add the jump ring before you close your loop. (I didn't remember once).
See, EASY PEASY and I didn't even have to get all techie!

Losing Faith

It's been a rough month for my daughter, Lauren. A few weeks ago she was doing her homework in Starbucks and someone stole her laptop out of her knapsack. She was right there. It was sitting, propped against the wall behind her. She was devastated. Lost faith in strangers. She was so sad when she came to tell me.
She needed a computer for school, so we lent her Ray's laptop. She never took it to Starbucks, or left it out of her sight. Then she had a party on Friday night. Someone took the laptop, along with my cellphone (she has her own apartment, but she uses the cellphone. Then I don't worry so much). I have never seen her so distraught and disillusioned with life. She has lost faith in friends.
Today I'm going to make her some faith themed art. And maybe some good luck charms too! Any ideas for any good luck images? Other than horseshoes or rabbits feet? If anyone else wants to send her a card, I'd be happy to send you her address. She needs to know that some people give: not everyone takes.
No joy in mudville this weekend.......

Assemblage figures

My friend Kelley is teaching an altered art / assemblage figure workshop next weekend in downtown Toronto. I'll be there! These are some of the figures that I made last time:

MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOP

February 24th, 2007

11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

CALL KELLEY FOR NEW LOCATION (Bloor and Lansdowne area)

Cost is $75. All materials included.

We will make figures and/or small shadow boxes

Instructor: Kelley Aitken

(416) 533-6798

kelley.aitken@sympatico.ca

****This will be a really fun course -- Kelley brings all of the junk! You just dig through all of HER mess without creating a disaster area in your own house!

Soar

This is the spread that I did in Sondra's Round Robin book. Her theme is "Give Me Wings". Ray said that the bird isn't soaring. I said that it has to let go before it can soar. We all need to let go of something before we can soar. It doesn't look quite this pale and washed out in person. Once again, I'm having camera problems. The book is now off to Debby.

Red

Today is all about Red White and Pink. I got so many beautiful Valentines from my kiddies at school. We've had a fun week making hearts, mail bags and valentines for moms and dads. Lots of collaged paper, punched out hearts, stickers and of course LOTS OF GLITTER! I LOVE glitter. The caretakers don't but they are learning that I don't really care if they sweep up every single little bit.

I'm working on lots of art right now:
- coffee cuffs (all finished for the swap, but I need more for gifts. I love them! Thanks, Sammy for the inspiration, and giving me a reason to make them!)(The cuff to the right was a gift for Cori)
- fabric charms for 2 different swaps (these will be very cool)
- RR books - One with a "Wings" Theme; a turquoise and lime one; a zetti themed one, and a calendar journal!

The RR books have priority!

I will post the progress over the next few days.

ArtFest

It's official -- I'm going! I picked up my passport today. I've booked my flight. I have all of my supplies. The suitcase is on the bed, ready for any additions (such as Shreddies -- my breakfast cereal of choice). I can't believe that I registered more than 4 months ago. I also can't believe that I'm packed and not leaving for, what, 7 weeks?

This is the logo that Teesha has developed for this years gathering. I'm going to do something fun with it, but I'm not sure what yet.......

I'm not as unique as I thought.....

This was kind of cool -- I can't believe that there are almost 4, 000 people with my name in the USA.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 3,837 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Oh, I forgot that there is a book about me! LOL It's called My Name is Martha Brown. She's an 19th century murderer. True story.

Love

It's ATC night at Bizzie B's tonight . Again -- 10 ATCs to trade. This will be my last live trade until May -- I get too busy in March to make anything (report cards and house guests).

For these ATCs I was practicing layering with paper and using a rubber stamped image. I was pretty happy with the results. It's the first rubber stamped ATC that I've done that I've been happy with (the stamp is the large "Document Heart" by Stampington). I layered using pinks and reds and then at the end I used a pinky brown matte glaze to soften the whites and make the whole piece work together.

In addition to seeing all of my ATC friends at Barb's store, I get to have coffee first with Colette and Carmi. Of course I'll bring one of my new coffee sleeves for a test drive!!

And the Winner is.....

Cori! I drew her name out of ALL of the people who posted who they love. Cori, I love your son too, and not only because we share a birthday...... (well, I haven't met him yet, but he sounds very adorable, cute, and lovable) This is what you get, Cori, a lovely heart dangly! I'll bring it with me to Bizzie B's tomorrow!

This is my love letter:
I love my daughter, Lauren, more than anything in the world. She is my sun, my moon and my stars. I am so proud of the wonderful talented young woman she has become. I also love Ray, who puts up with everything I do! All of the mess! The crappy cooking! The fact that I am ALWAYS sick. And he never complains, and is always supportive. And he's pretty cute too! What more could I ask for? A stinky dog? Okay, I kinda like the little furry guy too.

FABRIC, FABRIC AND MORE FABRIC !!!

I made this coffee cuff. It has a thermal layer in it to keep your hand cool/ the coffee warm. Yes, it is for a swap. Everything I make is for a swap! Again, it made a teeny tiny dent in the fabric stash. I'm going to make one every night this week. I can make them in front of the tv while the little dog chews his toys on top of my feet. His second favourite pass-time. The first is tearing the plants out of my garden. Frozen plants. He has chewed off my whole lavender bush and all of my sage. Spring will not be a pretty sight in my yard.

February -- A celebration of family and friends

I received this wonderful heart ornament from Beth (top pic). I traded her for the ornament in the bottom photo (they are the same size -- about 4"x4"). It was a zetti themed trade. Beth is so talented and has this wonderful ability to layer and make all of her art so beautifully cohesive. You can see more of Beth's work at
www.picturetrail.com/artbeth67
www.cafepress.com/bethmoran


In the spirit of love, sharing art with friends, and Valentine's Day I would like to give away one of my heart danglies. If you're interested, just leave a little love note here. Tell me in a sentence or two what or who you love. I'll draw a name from all of the comments on February 6.

( I took this idea (and wording) from Tejae's blog http://www.tejaesart.blogspot.com)(go and look at her art right now -- spectacular polymer clay)

**if you signed up for a little piece of art in the Meme on my post on December 17, could you please leave me a message with your email -- all of the comments are anonymous and I don't know who you all are!

Fabric pages in progress....

It went from this: To this:
The top pic shows my fabric and trim and the bottom pic shows the fronts of the 4x4 pages. I still have to embellish them (beads, sequins and embroidery thread), then make the backs, then bind them and add fibers around the edges (maybe). The images (faces) are by Teesha Moore. http://teeshamoore.com

Who knew that you couldn't complete 16 fabric pages (fronts and backs) in 1 day..........? I gathered my fabric (purples, blues and greens) and away I went. I'm still going. They ar 4"x4".I've made the fronts of more than 20, (I had the bright idea that I'd make extra for trades). These are for an ArtFest Fabric Fatbook. I have to mail them this week. Then Sara will bind them and give them to us at ArtFest. I'll have a 15 page book. The extra page is to make a book for Teesha Moore, the host of ArtFest (with husband Tracy). I'm loving them so far. I want to keep them all. I'll post the final pages within the next day or so -- and of course, I'll post the final book -- but you'll have to check back in the first week of April. (ArtFest is in Port Townsend, WA, from March 28-April 1)
( so far I've used 3 spools of thread and made a teeny weeny dent in the pile of fabric)

Red

Lynnette April's book colour is red and black. I chose the song "Red" by Treble Charger



"Red"

Saw you looking for a light
Face painted cigarette white
You asked the cleanest boy you found
You couldn't see me turned around
His fingers stretched across your empty gaze
That I just can't escape

As the red fades from your wrinkled dress
A picture of the people you've impressed
Hangs on a wall around here
Vision starts to crawl when I'm near
And the evening waits
While you get caught up to your own mistakes
Made up different lines
I wouldn't wanna keep in my mind

I wondered why you'd come around
Remembering your little girl frown
Your answers kept the crowd at bay
With compliments unwilling to pay
I had some things I'd like to say to you
But they just can't be true

Bye Bye Little Women!

I struggled with this book. It should have been easy. The theme is (loosely) paper dolls and the colours are browns and pinks. This is part of what I did in it. I'm sending it off to Debby today -- it will be gone for a year! I wasn't happy with the right side of the spread, so I'm not showing it. Here is the cover and one spread. The title of the chapter was called "Experiments". I really like using the Phrenology images. I have 5 different rubber stamps and I often use the image as a transparency too. Why do I like it? Because it's different. And I'm different.

Tag, I'm it!

I was tagged by Carmi to reveal 5 things little-known things about me.

1. I hate travelling. Anywhere. If I could stay in my house and yard forever, I would.....

2. I don't like to shower-- I don't like the feeling of water falling on me (no, I don't smell bad -- I take BATHS). I stood in a waterfall once and the pictures of me look like the little drummer boy with that painted-on smile.

3. My age. It's little known. I admit to being 27, because I was, once, but this year I think that I'll be 28. So, there you go, I'm 28.

4. I am a compulsive list maker. And I rewrite the lists every day. I might have 20 lists on the go. Grocery lists, to -do in the house lists, to-do at school lists, art due lists, people to phone, people to email, gifts to buy,.... I've tried to keep it all in a journal, or a notepad, but, nope, I like the bits of paper floating around. Just think of it as future ephemera, okay? It really sucks when I wash the black pants with the lists in the pockets though. And THAT happens more often than I care to admit.

5. I keep a suitcase packed all the time. I have a recurring nightmare that I've forgotten that I have to be at the airport in an hour, and I can't get my act together to get there. To make the dream go away, I keep a suitcase packed under my bed at all times. I haven't had the dream since I did it!

6. Rules are for sissies. You ask for 5, I give you seven.

7. Unfortunately, I'm not this amusing in person. I'm shy. Really. No, really!

I can't tag anyone else because Carmi tagged everyone who I know well enough to tag. Except my mom. Mom, when you read this, please email me, or call me and tell me 5 little known things about you, okay? I'd ask Lauren to do it too, but she never reads my blog. But Ray does. Ray, you've been tagged!!!

I've added a #8
8. I hate phoning people. I hate the phone. I wouldn't have one, but then people would be annoyed with me. And confused. "Waddya mean you don't have a phone? That's what they say about the fact that I don't have cable. Because I don't really like televison. I'd say that I'm a luddite, but I REALLY like the computer.

Danglies

Aren't these cute? They are the bottom dangly part for some things I'm making to swap. The fabric part at the top won't show -- it's just to hold the fibres securely. But I can't show the finished art! That would ruin the surprise. But I really like these, and boy-o-boy, was it ever hard to thread the fibre through a needle. Is there an easier way to put beads on a fibre?

Feeling Blue, well not really....

Okay, I said that I wasn't going to make ATCs any more.... but these were so fun to make! Although, perhaps a bit busy looking -- especially when they're all together like this. But they are so easy to mail !!!! -- I'll just pop them in the box to Debby when I mail my RR book to her! Like, tonight! It will be a monthly colour challenge. This month was blue and white. I especially like my new ATC back! (that's the middle image on the top line) It's a stamp by Catslife Press. You can get Catslife stamps here in Toronto at Bizzy B's -- or online http://www.catslifepress.com/ Catslife is one of my favourite stamp companies. I embossed them too! (hey, give me a break, although I've had my embossing powders for 20 years, this is the first time that I've used them) (sound familiar, anybody?) (click on the image and it blows up really huge -- ooh, scary)

Live by this

This is a 4x4 that I did for a mingle. The theme is celebrate. The quotation is from Sam Walton (1918-1992), owner of Walmart. This is the full quotation "Celebrate your success and find humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song." I love it!

Faith

A 4x4 for Vickie. Some artists are getting together to make a Fatbook for Vickie Mack. She is the owner of BMuse -- and she has been hospitalized since Jan 1 with a brain aneurysm. As far as I know -- her prognosis is good. The pages were supposed to be uplifting. I don't know how uplifting this is, but the sentiment means a lot to me. Thanks for organizing this, Sandee. (this looks really beautiful in person -- there is gold leaf under the angel transparency and it just shimmers in the light!)

Winter ATCs

Friday night is ATC night at Bizzy B's -- I love going there and seeing everyone and trying to make something (I don't work well with an audience -- LOL -- not good for a teacher) and learning new techniques. And trying not to buy anything hahahahahahahah. I DON'T like making 10 cards though. I think that my limit is 3...... Here is a sneak peek of what I'll be bringing on Friday!