One down...

I was working on my place mats this morning. The first one turned out...the second one was a failure. The contact paper on the front buckled and I ended up with a U shaped place mat.

I need to punch some more squares since several got ruined when I peeled back the buckled contact paper.

I'm not giving up...I will make at least 4 of these so we'll each have one for the holiday season.

What I've been doing...

I've been holding my little girl. She has had the sniffles for about 2 weeks but took a turn for the worse on Christmas Day. Yesterday I took her to the doctor after she spent most of the night "barking". She has croup and a sinus infection. Poor little thing. We're hoping she's well by Tuesday which is her 6th birthday!

Today I've started punching out squares from old Christmas cards. I saw this blog post on creating placemats from old cards and pictures of family and friends. I have a several shoe boxes of old cards that will fit the bill. I think I'll use clear contact paper instead of bringing them to Kinkos though, especially since I happen to have some laying around.

Merry Christmas...a day late

It was a busy day so I never got around to wishing my online friends a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I also opened the final gift in the 12 days of Christmas swap. This pretty little quiltlet was from the hostess Theresa. She also included some fun fibers and a pencil to play with. My daughter has already laid claim to the stocking hat bedecked pencil.

Flowers in December

I think I was feeling like I needed a little warmth and sunshine. The flowers are fabric yo-yo's.

The sentiment reads:
It's the little things that make life Big.

Krumkake

This is what I spent the morning making! The first 6 or so didn't turn out but the next 50+ turned out just fine. Tricky little buggers to make but oh so good to eat!

Days 10 and 11

So I'm a little behind...

On Day 10 I got this cute little book from Carol. Thanks so much! It will be fun to play in.


Today I got to open my gift from Elizabeth.

My kids have been guessing...they guessed a pack of gum. Not so but they were on the right track! It's an assemblage made from an Altoid tin. Very cool I love it! Thank you!

Recycled Sweater hats

I picked up this sweater at a garage sale over the summer for $1.

I didn't like the way it fit but did like the pattern. Last year I saw a tutorial on making hats from sweaters...wish I could credit them but I can't remember where I saw it.

I ended up with two hats. I like the square one with the little tassels the best. The braided tassels I made from some black yarn I had laying around.

I still have a bunch of sweater left...I'll have to do some experiments. Maybe ornaments for the tree? Who knows but I'll post anything that is successful.

COLD!!

Every morning I've been waking up to find this at my front door.

Today I made a draft stop to hopefully help...my only worry is that it will be froze to the door in the morning.

The curtains in my son's room and the ones on the patio door have both been froze to the 3M window kits we put on them. I can't even imagine how cold it would be if they weren't on!

I filled the fabric tube with old towel scraps and used baggies filled with rice and beans. Last time I made one of these we had a cat so I had kitty litter laying around.

On the 9th day of Christmas...

I got these super cute earrings! I've been wanting to open these since I pulled all the packages out of the box. They were packed in an organza bag so I could see it was jewelry. Marie put my name on the tag...she knows I like PINK. Thanks so much!

Sorta clean.

I buckled down and got at least half of my space clean and organized.

I scrubbed most of the paint and glue off my self healing mat and counter top as well.

I think now that it's clean, I'm going to work on some jewelry. Nothing worse than a messy space with beads and jumprings floating around!

Gifts aplenty!

On the 7th day of Christmas I got this recycled bits necklace from Jeanene.



Today I opened this sweet beaded angel ornament. I'm not sure who created it because there was no name attached. I made the same mistake last year!




Yesterday also brought me this fabulous quiltie from Theresa.

A gift for Mom

I put this scrapbook together for my mom.

She loves having something small to bring with her when they visit with friends.

Here's a little tiny peek at the inside as well.

Days 5 and 6

Yesterday I got a sweet little matchbox sachet from Patt and today brought a fun bookmark and tag from Judy.

On the 4th day..

I got these nifty items from JoAnn. First from the package was the square button brooch then came the Eiffel Tower slide. I've never seen slides with frosted glass before...very cool.

New Pendant

Last month I won at BINGO on ABC and received a fabulous package from Marie.

In the bottom of the cigar box there was a lone earring. I immediately fell in love with it...I like sparkly things!

What's a girl to do...why, make a pendant, of course. I simply removed the french hook and put a jump ring in it's place.

The 3rd day of Christmas

My daughter was thrilled when she opened this one.

She had wanted this particular book when I was wrapping it up in November. We must have had one person drop from the swap since I got my own back.

Anyway, I made 12 little books each with a different kaleidoscope I created as the cover.

Present time!

The time has come to start opening the presents I received in my 12 Days of Christmas Swap.

My children are taking turns opening the packages for me.

Day 1 was this cute ornament with a funny sentiment from Kathy.

Day 2 is this super cute plaque made by Leigh.

Bridge construction zone

We've lost our table to eat by, at least until all the glue sets.

Our son's 3rd grade Academic Challenge group has been studying bridges.

This is there homework assignment.

It's made entirely from spaghetti, marshmallows and glue. Other optional materials were toothpicks, scotch tape and paperclips. It had to span 75cm and 15cm in width. It also had to support 3 matchbox cars...as you can see his supports more than that. They also had to keep track of the materials they used because each item had a $ value and the goal was to build a bridge to meet the requirements the least expensively. He's not done reinforcing it yet so we don't have a $ total yet.

Susan Tuttle book giveaway

Susan Tuttle has a new book Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations + Explorations which you can find on Amazon here.

She is also giving away a copy on her blog so swing by and join in the fun ...

Recycled recipe book

My old recipe book started falling apart. Not structurally but the paint finish started coming off. It was driving me crazy so I needed a new solution.

I scavenged the 3-ring binder mechanism from the old one and combined it with the cover off an unwanted cookbook.

Cooking and baking...not art.

We had a "Thanksgiving dinner" this week to celebrate my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. We knew he loves a good turkey dinner so it was the perfect fit.

With Christmas approaching, I've also been doing some baking. I hate baking, but the kids think decorating the cookies is "the best thing ever" so I give in and bake. I'll be bringing LOTS of cookies and fudge to share to our neighborhood party.

Fixed it!!

I got some good advice on perspective and fixed my painting. (sorry the lighting is a little poor)

I had originally put the table in sort of wonky because my previous painting that also had a table always bugged me a bit as well. It appeared to be too flat like it was trying to climb up the wall. Now I know what's wrong with that one as well. Not sure if that one would be as easy to fix.

Card party

Just playing around again.

I found this picture in an old family album. Mom said she wasn't sure who they were so... I get to play.

Check out the curtains!! And davenport...yes, that's what my parents always called it.

Anyone know what card game this hand would be good for??? Bet you can't guess!

Finished painting

I finished up my painting this morning.

I still need work on perspective. The table is bugging me because it seems like it is tipped up too far.

Anyone have any ideas for me for perspective...should the angle be bigger or smaller to make the table look flat?

Starting a painting

Just thought I'd give a sneak peek at what I'm working on.

I haven't done any painting for quite some time.

There are lots of layers on this canvas...I just keep painting over the old with gesso and starting over. Talk about getting my money's worth out of this canvas!

Found some art...

I was cleaning off my craft area this morning and found this page I had completed last week. I never took a picture because the glue was drying then I forgot all about it.

I used all my scraps and abandoned ideas from our family Christmas letter. The star on the left is one of my digital kaleidoscopes that I had printed then very carefully cut out.

This second page I whipped together and it kind of shows...

It was just scraps I had laying around. I wanted to make something just to prove to myself that I hadn't completely lost it. Not a fantastic piece but this is just my "playtime" altered book anyway.

Christmas is coming...and still no art

I've been in a major art slump. I decorated the house with seasonal decor but that's as close to artsy as I've gotten these days.

I've got a lot on my plate...medical issues with both my son and my father. This is just a really crappy time of year for this sort of thing to happen. Not that anytime of year is good but it's hard to be excited and happy when everything around you seems to be going down hill.

Messing with my blog

I'm playing around with different backgrounds for my blog as well as colors. So if you come by and it is completely whacked...I'm likely working on it. Try back later and it should be looking better.

I'm doing my best to create a custom background in Adobe Photoshop. With no training whatsoever it's a challenge.

Happy Thanksgiving...

I am thankful for:

• another Thanksgiving with both of my parents
• my loving husband
• my beautiful children
• our home and the food on our table

Rearrranging and organizing

I haven't been able to be creative since we did some rearranging of furniture through the house. We call it the grand rotation of the crap. We never seem to get rid of any, it just moves to another room of the house.

I had to clean off the desk that went to the family room for the kids to work at...hence, the big pile on my workstation and chair and floor....

The light colored piece in the lower right is an old TV stand that was in DH office for lack of a better place. It should provide me more storage in the long run as soon as I figure out how to utilize it.

Hopefully I can get everything sorted out over the long holiday weekend so I can get back to being creative.

Here's how it looked the last time I organized.

I've been tagged!

My friend Elizabeth tagged me yesterday.

I'm supposed to share 6 quirky things about myself, then tag five other friends.

So here goes:

1. I eat m&m's in the order of which ever color there are the most of until I get an even number of each color then proceed to eat an entire color at once.


2. I love soup and could eat it for every meal.


3. I have a high pain tolerance.


4. I think I look better with glasses than without.


5. I want a tattoo but am afraid of what it will look like in 20 years.


6. I love mini-vans...even if we won the lottery I still drive one...just a REALLY nice one.

Now I tag:
Theresa http://alteredaddict.blogspot.com/
Ingrid http://ingriddijkers.blogspot.com/
Dana http://dana-whatadoll.blogspot.com/
Linda http://theartsook.blogspot.com/
Marci http://marcisenders.typepad.com/

Wish me luck...

I sent off more art to Somerset Memories in hopes of getting published again. This time it's an altered book about my dad and his childhood.

Here's a tiny sneak peek:

Score!

I never would have guessed I'd be going to a garage sale towards the end of November. Luckily it was held INSIDE the house because it's super cold and windy with scattered flurries today.

Everything you see for $9.

I've been wanting a guillotine cutter for ages.

The creative memories cutting templates look interesting as well and I already have the blades that work with it.

So glad I had to go get my yearly "squeeze" this morning or else I'd have missed these great deals!

Starting on our Christmas page

Every year I make a scrapbook page... virtually the only traditional scrapbooking I do...then make color copies to send out as our Christmas greeting.

This year I am struggling with both a design and color scheme.

My first concept was this completely non-traditional color scheme. I love the colors and elements but can't seem to find a design I like.

The second has more traditional Christmas colors but just seems blah and ordinary to me.

I'm also struggling with what photos to use.

I think I just have too many things going right now and need to just focus on one at a time.

Why buy toys?

How much fun can be had with a simple cardboard box?!? Hours when it comes to our girl!

Collections

I grew up in a household that had many collections. Rocks, sea shells, fancy tea cup and saucers sets just to name a few.
Over the years I've gotten rid of most of my "dust catcher" collections and now only collect items that are useful, such as my Fiestaware.
These are our everyday dishes as well as our "fancy" dishes.

I also have a vast fabric stash and scrapbook papers but they fall into the useful collection in my book. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Do you collect anything? I'd love to hear about it or see a picture.

Just playin'

Just felt the need to play a bit today.

Second "beauty"

Here's my second spread for the Beauty theme altered book I'm working in for our current round robin.

UHU glue challenge

My good friend, Elizabeth, in conjunction with UHU glue came up with a fun challenge. Use a sample of UHU glue in an altered art project using a magazine. You can read the full details here.

Since I had a book for a RR I needed to work in I figured I could use it for the challenge. Theme of the book is Beauty. Basically anything you see as beauty in your own mind is game. I've never been on a tropical beach but in my minds eye it would be absolutely beautiful!