How did you spend Fat Tuesday?

I had big plans for Fat Tuesday. I knew what I wanted to make, art wise. However, the day of Carnival, or Mardi Gras was a pretty unproductive day for me. I began the day (and yes, I took my camera) by going to various stores including Home Depot, to buy an electric space heater to replace the one that has now fused to my electrical outlet in my office. Fearing a fire, I wanted to replace it, along with the outlet and outlet cover. Home Depot assured me they had a space heater, but when I got there, they only had one and it was an "as is" markdown, which had something wrong where the base and the wiring connection. I couldn't see paying $59.99 (marked down from $79.99) for something where the wiring was suspicious. I'd be back in my same boat in no time. So, no space heater for me. Looks like they have their air conditioners out where the heaters had been. Wrong time of year to try to stay warm!

A trip to Lowes and Sams proved no better, so all I really accomplished yesterday was mailing my OWOH giveaways to those people who had e-mailed me. No photos, because I figure everyone has seen all the Sams, Lowes, and Home Depot photos already.

By the time I got home, the sun was setting and I hadn't eaten all day. After eating, I started a Mardi Gras themed tip-in. I gathered all the supplies, then decided to play with the background.

I started by gluing a bunch of scrap papers together on sturdy board. Took forever to get the page covered, but I got rid of a few scrapsl Next I used green paint to cover everything. Since that didn't completely cover the background like I wanted, I added some gold glaze to about 1/2 the piece, which measures 8 1/2 X 11. My intent was to cut it in half after I finished in order to make the standard sized tip-in which is 5 1/2 X 8 1/2. Little did I know that the glaze would wet my background so much that it bubbled. You can see the difference in the two sides above. If you click on the photo, you can see the mess I've created, but it's probably evident in the smaller photo, too.

After letting the piece sit wrapped in waxed paper under a heavy book overnight, here is how I found it this morning. What a mess. The Mardi Gras tip-in will have to wait, because Dana will be here this morning and we are heading to the Thai/Asian market. And Terri, I promise to take photos this time. I'm all loaded up with both cameras ready to go. So you will get to see a real Asian market.

And since I've already mentioned Terri, it's time for all of you to head over to Pringle Hill Studio and give her a visit. Her collages are out of this world. She can pack more color and imagery into one collage than anyone I know, and it is never cluttered looking. Be sure to look at her older posts. This is one of my favorites, it is rather subdued compared to many. Terri is also a generous soul. She posts freebie images quite often. If you have never been to her blog, please go now. She'll appreciate it.