A birthday gift for a friend

My friend Celia has a birthday on March 1, and Di Hickman had a rubber stamp giveaway on her blog, which I won. These two disparate events came together to cause me to create this wall hanging for Celia's birthday. Since I don't have a whole lot of supplies on hand, I had to make do with what I have that's not in storage or in boxes.

I began with the "celebrate" stamp from Di and the lace scrap. The lace looked like it would go well with the ledger paper I have been hoarding. I took an old Entertainment card that was given to me and turned it into a stencil after I scruffed it up a bit and painted it with green paint, gold fluid acrylic, and rust dye ink (Really Rust reinker by Stampin'Up). I also colored a page from a book with the rust ink, which was the closest I had in color to the lace. I didn't notice I had the book page upside down under the "C" until I was preparing to scan the piece.

I'm not much of a stamper, so this was a real challenge. I used a makeup sponge to add the ink to the stamp, but I had problems with consistency. For some reason, I thought the makeup sponge would work like a stamp pad, but it didn't have the same effect (remember, I'm not much of a stamper). However, I did manage to make the entire page look really grungy with the sponge, by swiping the rust ink on everything.

I had an image from my vintage altered book, so cut it out and used it. I had to laugh at the vintage lady and the "atomic" feel of the rubber stamp. Talk about mixing styles!!! Then I had no ribbon for a hanger that was anywhere close to the color of the piece. So, I "dyed" some really orange ribbon with some Really Rust dye ink. I sure hope Celia likes it.

UHU glue background

One of the most generous artists I know is Belinda Spewak who had a background technique on her blog this week. I knew I wanted to create a UHU tutorial and Belinda kindly gave me permission to demonstrate her background technique on my blog, perfectly suited for UHU stic Original glue stick. I suggest you check out Belinda's results and mine which are below.

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Sheet 3

Sheet 4

Although rather time consuming, these are fun to make.

We begin with a substrate (I used card stock), pages from various books, and UHU Original Stic glue.

Tear a page to a convenient size, then place the UHU glue onto the page in about the same size and shape.

Adhere the first torn page, then add another, either below or above the first one.

TIP: Position straight edges of a book page to the straight edges of your substrate.

Leave a portion of the page glue free so you have the option to place the next torn edge either over or under the first one. Be sure to glue both pages where they overlap.

Completely cover the substrate

allowing pieces to overlap the edges.

Using your favorite cutter, trim the edges.

You are now ready for the second part of the technique.

Supplies from left:

Pre-made backgrounds

Inexpensive acrylic paints (alternately you can use fluid acrylics or tube acrylics)

UHU Stic Original glue stick

Brayer

Begin by swiping your finished backgrounds with UHU glue. The nice thing is you can see the purple go on, so you know where you've been.

You don't have to swipe all over, but be sure to cover most of the page. Allow the glue to dry. You'll know when it is dry because the purple glue turns clear.

I have to admit, I'm brayer challenged. In fact, I've never used a brayer before this project, although I picked this one up at a garage sale years ago. Not knowing exactly how a brayer works, I laid down diagonal lines of paint to try to avoid the paint mixing too much. However, I got too much paint the first time, so I used less paint after that.

The glue acts as a resist if you press really hard on the paper with a clean brayer. I had trouble pressing hard enough, but I was able to get some resist, although not as pronounced as Belinda's.

Although my backgrounds didn't turn out like Belinda's, I am still very pleased with them. They will make great backgrounds for ATCs, altered books, or even hand made embellishments.

Pristine or plastic?

I actually created this piece for another project, but wanted to make some kind of green statement. I thought of lots of things, like how China's beauty was being spoiled with plastic water bottles, coal plants, and other practices harmful to our global environment. But how can we as Americans fault China, when they are only parroting what they see in the US.

As I sat and looked at this piece, it finally came to me that we have a choice, which is reflected in the title of the piece.

Blueberry Muffins

I started this spread in my Altered Recipe book by cutting out the recipe from a Family Circle magazine. I then turned the photo, which was on the cover of the same magazine, into a tape transfer. Finally, I added the three words (from 7 Gypsies) after I distressed them using fine grit sandpaper.

My upstairs studio redo

I've finally decided what will stay in the small studio on the first floor, and what will return to the basement. My list for the upstairs is:
Fabric
Sewing machine and sewing zone
Ribbon and fibers
Paint, ink, dyes, markers
Paper
Packing and shipping materials and supplies

My decision is based on my lack of confidence in the basement studio staying dry forever. Therefore, I don't want anything there that can attract mold or rust that I don't care if it rusts. To that end, I began yesterday morning creating yet another mess in my house. Remember, it will ALWAYS look worse before it looks right.

I began by taking a few photos of my shelves I installed when I moved my studio to this room.

Here is a better view of the entire wall and what was on the shelves. Just as I was packing everything up,

Kathy called and wanted to come to Wichita to shop at Sam's. I practically begged her to stop by and pick me up, partly to get out of the house and away from my mess, partly to see her, and partly to show her my new basement studio. I warned her that every room in my house was a MESS, but she was undeterred, since she knows I'm a neat freak like she is (although she may be even more so than I). Check out that lovely necklace, earrings and matching bracelet (which I cut off in the photo). She made these and they were stunning on her and when the light hit.

While I was waiting for her to arrive, I packed up the middle shelf and arranged some of my altered books on the shelf. I even had time to bake the few pieces of polymer clay I had placed in the toaster oven. I didn't want them going to the basement unbaked.

I'm not completely sure I like this arrangement because it is rather chaotic. However, it will have to do for now. I haven't touched any of the other shelves in this photo, just the middle one.

I took the metal-and-plastic-drawer charm holder down on Sunday and arranged (or was it rearranged?) my charms, found objects, etc. that I had in it.

So, it was easy to finish this surface also before Kathy arrived. I think I'll move the Xyron off the Sizzex now that I have more room for it, and place the refills nearby.

I still have a horrible mess in that room, because I'm packing up a lot of stuff to go to the basement. But I feel better that I've managed to get this far in anticipation of returning to the basement.

Disintegration collaboration project

What better project to join, than a disintegration project? My life, art, and home have disintegrated right now, so I found this the perfect project for me.

I learned about this project from Ingrid's blog. Her project description took me to Seth Apter's blog. Even if you don't join the project, you must check out these two blogs. Both artists are amazing and both offer unique perspectives to art.

The instructions are simple. According to Seth, "Create a paper bundle, any way you like. Place said bundle in nature. Post a "before" picture on your blog. Watch and Wait. It is that simple. Each artist will then reveal the result in an "after" picture posted on their own blog on May 1."

Originally I started by picking a glued book that easily fell apart as I was removing the signatures. I secured 5 circles bundles and tried to sandwich them between two chucks of pages using a heavy waxed cord.

I hung it outside under the protective covering of my eaves to see if it would withstand the weather and high winds. The cord held up well, but my wrapping didn't. So, yesterday, I brought it in and wrapped it in some of my heavy rather rusty wire. I then hung it on my clothes line, but didn't like it there because the circle bundles began slipping out of the bundle.

Back to the drawing board and my craft room, I further secured the bundle with some clothes pins, then remembered an old flower pot holder designed to fit on a gate or railing. The paint was long gone from it, so it was perfect to help the bundle disintegrate. It also was more exposed to the elements than my clothes line.

Originally, I stuck it with the wire side out, then realized how dangerous that could be.

So I turned it around and this is what you will be greeted with if you use my gate to enter the back yard. I might even throw in a few of those rusty elements that Dana and I found on the railroad tracks now that I'm sure the circles are a bit more secure.

The added bonus of placing this on my gate? I get a perfect view of it from my kitchen window.

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

not Christmas, but STUDS. Yep, my basement was invaded on Friday by men who were real workers. There were actually four guys and another joined them after lunch, but I didn't get a picture of the one who was pretty much stuffed in the closet, or the one who brought the joint compound also known as "mud." Within less than 30 minutes, the insulation was in and the excess dry wall was being scraped away. The guys were cold, so they brought their own heater. Maybe the new insulation will help.

They scurried around measuring, removing nails, removing old sheet rock, and doing other things real workers do.

I couldn't have been more pleased. Then the batteries in my camera died and I had to put them in the charger. Gosh, I may never have that many men in one room of my house again, and I don't even have photos!!!

Today I came back to the room to check out the progress. My batteries are fully charged, so I snapped a bunch of photos, many of which I didn't share because I personally think they are boring. However, I promised a few of my friends updates, so here they are. The sheet rock is in. This is the view from the entry door. For some reason, I took dozens of photos, but no more of the west wall.

This is the north wall and the new soffit.

Here is a photo of the two doors.

This is a photo of the closet and north east corner of the room. Wait!! Where is that ugly beam that was there before?

Well, it's still there. After all, the beam it's holding is load bearing, so it has to be there. That doesn't mean it has to be distracting. Another bonus I get from this renovation is I asked that the beam be disguised from the entry door and shelving put on the back side. Although there is not quite 10 inches between the closet wall and the post, it's more usable space than I had before. When everything is finished, I will have shelves in this space.

Tomorrow the guys will be back to finish the walls, scrape and prepare the floor for painting, and do more "mudding." They will mud at least twice after this. Since the walls and room won't change much between now and the time they come back to paint, you won't see any more updates until the room is painted. And yes, my stuff is still in boxes and boxes and boxes, but the room is finally beginning to look a lot like my studio again.

Bubble bubble: a background technique

It's hard to create art when many of your art supplies are packed away and stored at another location. So today I'll share a simple background that many of you may have tried, but always fun, fun, fun to make.
Supplies from left:
shallow bowl of water
Dawn dish washing liquid (this brand seems to produce the best effects)
food coloring
straw
substrate of your choice

Add about twenty drops of color and a small amount of soap to the water

Without stirring your mix, begin blowing through the straw. Be careful not to inhale into, or suck on, the straw.

Continue blowing until you have a mound of bubbles well above the lip of your bowl.

Using very little pressure, quickly press the substrate into the mound of bubbles, being careful to avoid the lip of the bowl. Have your substrate nearby and work quickly, because the bubbles have a tendency to pop if you allow them to sit too long. Blow more bubbles, then repeat. Always blow bubbles each time. For a different effect, allow you substrate to dry and add more than one color to the page.

There are three colors in this completed piece.

Update on my basement

Here's a view from the entry showing what the framers who came on Wednesday and the electrician who came yesterday accomplished. Very soon you won't be able to see the big gaping hole behind the wall because today the sheet rockers will be here. That's when the BIG difference will be obvious. See the "square" in the framing? This is so someone can easily get to the pipes should there be another problem in the future. I see it as potential space for keeping "stuff."

Here is most of the west wall, showing my two new electrical outlets and the new light switch.

Lo and behold!! There is now a light in the soffit where before there was none. This will really help to lighten the room when I'm working there.

See all the extra light I get from just one canister light? I'm jumping for joy because I didn't have this before.

A view from further back showing the north west corner of the room. Isn't this amazing? It really will be a new room.

Kitchen angel

My lovely kitchen angel graces the page next to my Friendship spread. I started by cutting a dress from a recipe, then added the apron made from the image associated with the recipe. Since I don't draw well, this was a real challenge, and her shoulders look like a linebacker's. The "halo" is a chocolate "cup" and the wooden utensils are from my friend Carol in FL. I used my gold leafing pen to make her legs.

Basement update

My beautiful kitchen was invaded with boxes yesterday.

This is about 3/4 of the stuff in the basement. Not sure if you can tell, but there are two stacks of boxes, another column behind the ones you see.

As the boxes were stacked higher and higher in the kitchen, the guys helping me pack wanted to put the rest of the boxes in my dining room. That's when I freaked. I have boxes everywhere in my house and garage as is, I don't need a mess in the "sane" rooms of my house.

At this point, I called the contractor, who said to take all the boxes off site. The guys went for a BIG truck and all those boxes are now out of my kitchen. The bad thing is, they packed my broom and dust pan. So I can't clean, can I (justification here)?

Yes, everything is gone. This is the west corner and north wall.

This is the south wall that used to hold my work bench.

This is what I now see when I walk in the room. The south wall and west wall are now so bare.

Here is a photo of the closet door (left) and entry door (right). You can see that after the guys moved the furniture that was there, we discovered more water damage.

Here are both doors again. It was relatively easy to take a photo now that there is no mess in the way.

And here is a photo looking into the hall. Did you think they took ALL my stuff?

Well, think again. Here's a view of the hall,

another view from the studio,

another view showing all the shelving that came from my studio,

and a final view from my stairs.

Some of my friends wanted me to update as there was progress. I'm not sure this is progress, but I updated since I have no art to share today.