Not a whole lot of nothing

For days I have gone to my studio and tried to make art. I have swaps that will be due soon and a personal swap that must be completed. So what did I do? Nothing. I painted a few backgrounds that weren't worth showing. I tried to come up with a tutorial. I even tried to work on my Inspiration Avenue Challenge and found no inspiration there.

It's one of those times. It happens to all of us at some point. Now most people would hide away and not post anything. In fact, I nearly forgot I had no post until a short while ago. What to do when the inspiration to create just isn't there?

About all I can do is show what my friend Sally and I did on Saturday. We headed to the Farmer's Market, but we got there too late and most of the tents were already gone. Only a few stragglers were still hanging on, going for that last sale of the day.

Even the crowds were thin and only the pumpkins were actual produce. Everything else was a craft of some kind.

So Sally and I headed for a local Mexican restaurant. Even that was a disappointment for me. The prices were ridiculous, the atmosphere was non-existent, the service was lousy, and the food was greasy.

I don't remember what Sally had. I think it was a flauta with rice. I know she picked at it. I had a quesadilla with half sour cream and half avocado. That was two tortillas, a slice of melted cheese, a half spoonful each of sour cream and avocado for $9.00.

This is one place I will never visit again and would never recommend. When I wanted to take the rest home because I knew Sally wanted to leave, the waitress kept making excuses and said I should finish it because my friend would wait. Sally didn't protest, I didn't stand my ground, and the gal never gave me a to-go box. Could that be what affected my art? Could my mood from that day have affected me so? Or am I just burned out? Only time will tell. I know one thing. I'm sure not making any art!

My blog pick today is about the most inspiring thing I have in this post. I am spotlighting Susan Allan at Little Imperfections. Don't let the name of her blog fool you. This is one talented lady who I met during the Wednesday blog hop a couple of weeks ago. She is talented, works in several media, and is even on a design team in the UK, where she lives. There is nothing run of the mill about Susan's blog. Whether she's making ATCs or art quilts, or dyeing fabric and paper, or drying flowers from her stunning garden, she's always recycling. Her art is unique, fresh, and appealing. And check out her "stained glass" installation. It is brilliant and has totally changed my attitude toward glass paint. I hope you like these Little Imperfections as much as I do.

What's on Your Work Desk Wednesday #69

Actually, NOTHING. It's because, as of late yesterday, while my UK, European, and Asian friends were sleeping, I've been doing some rearranging. And yes, before you ask, I visited EVERYONE for the 7th consecutive week on the WOYWW blog hop last week, although it took till Saturday, due to company, a misbehaving computer, and that dratted Error 503. Not sure what I'm talking about? Go to Julia's Stamping Ground and link up to show your desk, or anything in your studio, just like I'm going to today. We're the snoopiest group on the interweb and we're not going away any time soon!

Do you remember these drawers? I linked this photo from my Studio tour back in June. Even before that, I hated the way my photos looked each time these drawers showed in a photo from my desk. I like drawers that close properly, but since this dresser was given to me, and of course I put the drawers in without giving it much thought, I decided I would see what I could do to change the problem while you all slept. Click on any photo below for a better view.

OK, I didn't solve the problem, but I helped, except for the bottom drawer, which simply will NOT close any further, no matter what I do. I suspect, from a bit of investigating, the grooves that fit in the two pieces of wood nailed to the sides are not cut as long as they should be, or the wood guides are too long. Regardless, the other drawers fit a bit better.

As you can see, I didn't bother cleaning the drawers when I changed them around. This top one holds mostly my crepe paper and a bingo game. The envelopes contain items from previous swaps I still must deal with. Sort of a mixed bag of sloppiness, which I will clean out either today or tomorrow. I'm opting for tomorrow, since our HEAT WAVE is back after one day of lovely weather.

The second drawer (which used to be on the bottom, holds foam sheets, a few little quiltlets I decided aren't finished, carpet samples, and cotton balls. Not exactly items that go together, this is another drawer I'll be cleaning out and reorganizing.

The third drawer from the top used to be the top drawer and it's where I keep swap items. You can see it's empty at the moment, except for a doll I threw in, along with ATC holders I use when I send out ATCs.

The final drawer holds all my stickers in sheet protectors. You can see my Martha Stewart rocking horse stickers because they jumped out of the drawer in order to join the party. I couldn't get these little babies to hide or return to the drawer, no matter what I did! For those of you new to WOYWW, I show one or more of my over 450 rocking horses each week. This week just happened to be these stickers that I don't actually count as part of my collection.

This week I'm spotlighting Voodoo Vixen at Scrap Happens Here. A recent move from Saudi Arabia to Calgary, Canada puts her on the same continent as me, albeit not much closer if I want to play in her awesome new scrap room. Be sure you stop by and say hi to Voodoo Vixen today (not sure she's using her given name on her blog) and see where scrap paper, altered art, and grunge board meet, then turn into some pretty spectacular art. Be sure to check out Scrap Happens Here today even if you aren't a WOYWWer.

Front porch tea

The weather has turned a bit cooler and is the coolest it has been since May 8. I decided to grab my Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng today to sip while enjoying the view from my front porch. I bought this tea I've never had before, for the lovely images on the can, which I plan to take the tin snips to as soon as the tea is gone. Something caught my eye as I was sitting the tea onto the little table on my front porch.

I knew there had been a lot of activity at my neighbor's yesterday, since I could hear the noise. It seems some of the dirt from their broken sewer problem has landed in my front yard.

I watched for awhile late last night as the owners called in a backhoe, a generator, and a front loader, and dug the hole that now resembles a crime scene. Using a powerful spotlight, they further dug by hand. It was well after midnight and the workers were still there, generator and diggers breaking the silence of the night, when I finally left my craft room and headed upstairs. Imagine my surprise when I decided this was the place to enjoy my tea today. That big mound to the left front of the photo is in my yard, as is the one on the far right, with all the tree roots in it.

I decided this was not a place of respite, so I took my cup and still unopened can of tea back inside, where I am now in the process of drinking my tea and uploading my photos for the world to see. I will be working in my craft room most of the day so hopefully all the heavy machines have completed their task and I will get my property back the way it was before this eyesore and ear splitting noise hit my yard.

To find some serene and far more beautiful tea spots today, please join Kimmie and the other participants, whose sites are listed on Kimmie's sidebar.

I found my blog pick of the day while visiting another tea blog that I hope to spotlight soon. Tea and Travel is a unique blog that combines photography, tea destinations, tea reviews, and interesting interviews with other like minded tea drinkers. I promise if you love tea, you will find something of interest at Tea and Travel.

Friday Fun

It seems I was gone all week, and when I wasn't gone, I had company. It sure took a lot of time away from making art and visiting my blog friends who inspire me more than they will ever know.

On Friday, my friend Kathy came to visit and shop. See that lovely jewelry? She made it all. She is holding a zine I was gifted by Patty Szymkowicz. It is a zine that incorporates green concepts and sewing. Patty asked that when I had finished reading it, I would please pass it on. So Friday, I did just that and passed it on to Kathy, who I also asked to pass it on once she had read and enjoyed it. I've actually been meaning to give it to Kathy for months, but kept forgetting it, although it was next to my sewing machine.

While at my house, Kathy also cut my hair. Bleubeard was not at all pleased with being left out. He kept making noises, letting us know he wanted attention. Finally, in a desperate attempt at attention (does this sound like a spoiled child?), he climbed onto the chair and peeked up over the edge of the table. Because I was under the knife (so to speak), he made himself at home, soon preening and cleaning himself, now content with the added attention he was receiving, while making himself comfy in the chair.

Next, Kathy and I headed to our local diner. She loves roosters,

and there were plenty of them. Kathy pointed this one out to me. Not sure how I missed it, because it was at least 3 feet tall.

Then we talked about all the roosters that lined the walls and shelves. She was definitely in rooster heaven.

Our final stop of the day was a fun clothing try-on at Dana's. Kathy, who has lost a good deal of weight, brought clothes for Dana and me to try on. She also thought my neighbor Sally might like some of them. We laid the clothes out on Dana's bed and acted like models, giggling and trying on clothes. Since I'm so much shorten than these gals, I only kept one outfit, which both Dana and Kathy thought was too baggy on me, let alone too long, but I kept it anyway. After all, I much prefer loose fitting clothes. I did take several blouses for Sally, though. Sorry the photo is so blurry. Did I mention we did a lot of giggling and acting like teenagers? Hard to get a good photo when there's so much fun going on.

Yesterday I was surprised by a mention from two of my blogging friends: Dianne at Art Beneath the Cottonwoods and Stephanie at Dragonfly Design Studio. Dianne posted two entries in the "Green Journal" I sent her a few weeks ago and Stephanie honored me with a post about how I had inspired her. Their names above are links to their blogs and their blog names are links to the specific posts. I felt like an honored guest at both places.

As an update, I had hoped to get in the studio Saturday or yesterday, but that didn't happen. Friends and computer time took care of both days, as well as Friday. So today, I am powering down the computer, closing my office door, avoiding the doorbell and phone, and heading for the studio. I'm hoping to carve out some serious art time, possibly create a tutorial or two, and I may even organize a few areas that have started to get a bit cluttered. So I promise to see you tonight or tomorrow for tea.

Today's blog is a favorite of Bleubeard's. He is really happy that I'm spotlighting Miss Kitty van Dyck. Owned by my friend Egmont (van Dyck), Miss Kitty has recently rolled out her spiffy looking blog, A Cat's Golden Years, and even has a Twitter account. Egmont, known as "Dad" on Miss Kitty's blog, takes amazing photos of Miss Kitty in all types of lounging poses. Just read a few of the posts and you can tell what a pampered and spoiled gal Miss Kitty is. I can tell she is definitely enjoying A Cat's Golden Years.

Silent Sunday: Botanical Gardens (the flowers in early fall)

Silent Sunday blog

I visited Jessica's Sunny Tuesday during One World One Heart. Jessica lives in Tennessee in the US. Her blog is eclectic, filled with fun photos of places and art projects. I really enjoyed her Happy Days tag books she makes, one of which she shared in a tutorial that used only two punches and paper scraps, but looked like a million dollars. She also sews and makes dresses out of men's shirts. In fact, she wrote a tutorial that even I could follow! So check out Sunny Tuesday even though it's Sunday.

Oh Baby, more signatures

These are the last of the FIRST set of signatures in the Oh Baby art journal. To refresh your memory, the first of these pages are here. Remember, the theme of this book is primarily about fashion, dress-up, clothing, and paper dolls. Click on any to enlarge.

Pages 24 and 25 are the center pages in this set of signatures.

Page 26 is two pockets for tags. Page 27 is a magazine image.

Page 28: postcard on alcohol ink (AI) background. Page 29: ledger page and AI background.

Same two pages showing postcard flipped up for additional journaling.

Page 30: Magazine image and ledger paper. Page 31: Da Vinci inspired image of Vitruvian Man and ledger paper. Strip of lacy paper made using my new MS punch.

Page 32: Music flash card and two post-it notes under a magazine image. Page 33: Vellum Log 10 chart.

Page 34: Back of Log 10 chart and double sided scrapbook paper. Page 35: Frame, stickers, decorative stitching.

Page 36: Oval scrapbook page, word from magazine. Page 37: Ledger paper, scrapbook paper on a painted background.

Page 38: Painted background, scrapbook paper. Page 39: Scrapbook papers and silk leaves.

Page 40: Scrapbook paper on a scientific study background. Page 41: Scrapbook papers and part of yarn label.

Page 42: Yarn label, book page. Page 43: AI background, ledger paper, book page, image from paint chip samples, scrapbook paper also continued on other side.

Page 44: Old book page tea stained. Saying. Page 45: Scrapbook paper, magazine images, postcard, book page.

Page 46: Word from paint chip book. Page 47: Stickers.

Page 48: Stickers.

This ends the first set of signatures for the Oh Baby visual art journal. I still haven't scanned the second set, but as soon as I do, I will post them. The second set also has 48 pages. Because I had company all day yesterday, I was sure glad I had these pages scanned and ready to go. I'll be showing some of the fun we had in Monday's post.

Do you love altered books? How about art made from books. Even better, how about functional art made from books? How about book titles as part of art? Do you love it when I feature men's art as my blog pick of the day? Then you are in luck. Jim Rosenau of Berkeley, CA in the US makes This Into That. You'll laugh, shake your head, or simply be amazed at the pieces you will see when you check out This Into That, my blog pick of the day.

Inspiration Avenue challenge: Decide

The challenge this week at Inspiration Avenue is Decide. Abstract concepts are far harder for me than concrete subjects, such as "found objects." So this one forced me to put on my thinking cap.

I started this exercise by printing out a few "decides." Next I decided to spray the words with sealer so the ink wouldn't smudge. I then decided to take a photo of these words while they were still wet.

For the next step, I decided to use my Staz-on and 91% alcohol to color over the words. Then I decided it was time to decide. Maybe you will want to decide, too.

Perhaps you will decide to read a book, play a game, or sew a few squiggles on a page.

Or perhaps now is the time to decide to go green. Maybe you'll even decide to push the envelope.

Could it be you'll decide the essentials are what are important?

You might even decide that family time is high on your priorities.

What about deciding to take a vacation or mentor a child?

You might decide where your patriotism lies.

Whatever you decide,

don't just sit there. Decide today!

Materials used include old book pages, scrapbook papers, envelope, printed words, stickers, tickets, magazine images, punched pieces, and wallpaper, all sewn on colored papers.

And while you are deciding, be sure to check out the other entries at Inspiration Avenue this week.

This week's IA challenge was designed by Robin at Well of Creations. I was totally impressed by her blog and the various media she plays with. Robin makes lovely hand sewn and crocheted items. She also paints and draws whimsical figures. Although I have only visited her blog a couple of times in the past, I was really drawn to, and impressed by, the inspiration I received when I visited. I hope you will draw from Robin's Well of Creations today.