Mia's Mandala Challenge

I wasn't sure I was going to finish the mandala I chose in time.  It took me over four days to complete it.  That's why you see this as my first image today, since I really didn't have time to place it on my right sidebar.

I thought I was picking the easiest of the mandalas, but it turns out, I think I got the hardest, since no one else has used mandala # 8.  

For this mandala, I pulled every blue and green pen I owned to use on this.  Much to my chagrin, one day I wasn't using my Ott full spectrum light and grabbed the wrong pen and colored one of the segments before I realized I had not used the proper pen.  After that, I left the pen I was using on the drawing so there would be no question as to which pen I needed to use.

It didn't help much, though, because I ran out of ink in the pen I originally used.  Thankfully, I was able to use the same pen I had accidentally used to finish out the circle.  Sadly, by that time several of my pens were dry and I felt I had to stop.

I decided to fussy cut the mandala, back it with turquoise and midnight blue, and use it as the cover of my monthly calendar.  It fits nicely inside the sleeve of the 3 ring binder I chose for my calendar, too.

Thanks for the challenge, Mia.  Now all I need is a hand massage (grin).  I know this is relaxing to most people, but to me it is very stressful, since I tend to grip any and every pen too tight, which in turn, cramps my hand.  Regardless, I wanted to honor Mia and congratulate her on her 3rd Blogaversary.  You are the best hostess, dear.

T Stands for Washi tape challenge and a trip to Riverside Cafe

I apologize that this is such a long post today.  I will try to be as brief as possible.  Last week Eileen and Halle challenged us to show our washi tape.  I really didn't realize how many rolls I had until I laid them out on my craft room table.

But first, to make a long post even longer, I know some of you who live in the U.S. have already seen this, but since a few of you only visit on T day,

it's time to get your free Museum Day ticket for two people.  This annual event is sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine.  I've gone the past four years and intend to take advantage of this year, too.  You only have a few days to decide what museum in your area you want to visit free of charge, so I suggest you follow the link to see what is available in your area.

I am color driven, as I've often said in the past.  I subscribe to the ROY G BIV system.  In case you've never heard of it, it's color coding and stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.  There are similar areas on the color wheel.

Of course there will always be a few I can't place in line, mainly because of their sizes or shapes.  In the far back are masking tapes I've made, along with tapes others have sent me, including the ones Eileen sent with my lovely teacup stencil.

Most of the tapes you see were gifts.  Many came from either Cindy or Chris.  I even won a few on different web sites.  Most of these I've already used at least a few times.   These are red, pink, orange, and green (or ROY G).

When I laid them out, I was surprised I had no violet or indigo, but lots of multicolored tapes that didn't really fit with the ROY G BIV scheme.

I had several browns and golds,

but black and white definitely dominated my tapes.  If you visit me regularly, you have surely seen most of these tapes.  I use them often.

The musical notes on the far right were sent to my by both Chris and Cindy.  I've already gone through one roll and am working on the second one.

Chris sent me these at Christmas last year and I'm sure you've seen the ones I've used. 

I house my tapes in one of the drawers in my roll around cart that lives behind my desk.  However, I got the bright idea to buy a small holder that would sit on my cutter/sewing table.

In addition to two drawers, there were two small units and a lift up area, too.  Unfortunately, when I checked out WalMart, where I got this one last year, they no longer sell them.   Just as well, I suspect.  I'm not sure all the tapes would fit inside this container.  I hope you share your washi tapes so I can ohh and ahh over yours.

Looking back to July, my foodie friend Sally and I went to lunch at Riverside Cafe.  I've shown you photos of the restaurant here, here, and a couple of photos of Kathy and me in the back room (where these photos were also taken) of Riverside Cafe here.  Water with lemon for me, was the drink of choice that day.

Sally had given me a birthday card for my birthday, but I stuck it unopened in her car and promptly forgot about it.  Months later, she suggested I open it, which I did in the restaurant.

I was still admiring it when Sally's salad arrived.  Of course, I completely forgot to take photos of my breakfast or Sally's meal.

However, when the meal was over and we had boxed up our leftovers, the waitress walked over with a big stand-up sign of pies that were available.  When I told her no thanks, she told me I got a free piece of pie for my birthday.  Sally even encouraged me, so I insisted I buy her a piece, too.  That's what the money on the table is for, since the waitress still had not brought the bill and I had already given Sally my share of the bill because she only had a large bill she needed to use.

I got chocolate peanut butter meringue pie and Sally got lemon meringue  It was a great, albeit very late birthday gift, that's for sure.

Now it's time to show your washi tape and your drink related post you are sharing this week.  It can be photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink.  Regardless, please share below and Bleubeard and I, along with the rest of the T gang will be by to visit.  Please link only to your T post, not your entire blog. Old photos are acceptable because they may be taken at any time.

Summertime Photography Photo Hunt: Part 1, the easy ones!

Today I'm joining Rinda Ontiveros at Gallo Origanico during her annual summer scavenger hunt.   Last year was my first, because I'd never had a camera good enough to take photos before.  But I simply love this challenge, especially now that I have a camera where the images are actually visible and legible. 

For my first entry, I have the easy ones: the ones I could get without too much trouble.

1.  A bouquet of flowers:

I found these while grocery shopping.

3.  Person walking a dog (or other animal):

I watched this guy walk past my house, then had forethought to grab my camera and get a picture of him and his little dog.

5.  Architectural columns:

I took this photo from the side of the building because the street in front was very, very busy.  The columns are even more impressive from the front, but I wasn't about to risk life and limb for a photo.  After all, I thought this view was pretty spectacular.

6.  A metal bridge:

My friend and I drove by our new airport and I shot this thinking it looked like a bridge that went nowhere.

Then I found this metal bridge, which actually DID go somewhere.

 7.  A turtle:

Originally I turned these three photos into a mosaic, but the mosaic was so low-res, I decided to show all three photos of the turtle as s/he began to hide right in front of my camera.

11. A cell tower or a TV satellite dish:

At one of the local TV stations, I got both satellite dishes and towers.

12.  A public restroom, bath room, or toilet:

While at a restaurant, I took this photo.  Not the prettiest restroom in town, but convenient.

14. A traffic signal:

This was probably the easiest of all the photos.  Note I got not ONE set of traffic lights, but an entire bank of them down a busy street.

15. A flag pole with at least three flags on it:

I completely misread this prompt.  I thought it was to find at least three flag poles, which is what I found.  I even looked far and wide for this one, too.

16. A panoramic view while taken someplace high in the air.

First of all, I live in Kansas, where you can actually see the declination of the earth if standing on a mound.  So to say Kansas is flat is like saying a bear hibernates.  Second, I'm deathly afraid of heights, and don't like to be anywhere high.  This was as high as I was willing to get, which is on a bridge overlooking this koi pond.  And it looks rather panoramic to me, at least when I use my imagination and hold onto the rail.

17. At least two people wearing matching uniforms: 

While at a local restaurant, I noticed all the wait staff were dressed alike.  So I took a photo where two were dressed the same.

19. A ticket booth:
While at the zoo, I took two photos of the ticket booths.  However, when I put them together,

the photos were cut off and were quite low-res.

I decided to show them as I thought they should be shown.

20. A natural body of water:

One of the rivers near my house was high when I visited and took these two photos.

I headed toward the bank and shot photos of the wildlife around the river.   I was quite pleased and decided to use two photos for this prompt.

These were the easy photos.  Now for the ones I may or may not be able to find!  Thanks for joining me on this summertime photographic adventure.

Moo-Mania and More: Autumn colors

Over at Moo-Mania and More, the latest challenge is Autumn Colors.

And these were definitely autumn colors!

Of course, these stamps reminded me of, and obviously screamed Halloween.

After some random stamping,

I cut the stamped images to size.

It was fun sewing these images in place, trying to find the right size images to fit on the background.

I now give you Autumn colors (with a Halloween theme) at Moo-Mania and More.  These cards are for a few friends, while the ones I have yet to make will go for a Halloween party I'm planning.  Thanks for the visit and please check out the beautiful art provided by other Moo-Mania participants.  They will appreciate your looking as much as I.

A new challenge

I saw a comment on my friend Lisa Graham's blog about a challenge that will take place in September.  The blog is Slices of Life by Leslie Saeta.  I signed up for the challenge, which is to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.

Leslie suggested

I hope the longer lead time gives everyone a chance to get prepared. Buy your canvases and get your painting area ready. But one of the most important things you need to do is pick a theme for your challenge.

I assure you there won't be any canvases harmed or even used during this exercise, but it will give me a chance to make some art I've been wanting to try for a LONG time.

This was taken from Leslie's blog, proving one can actually do this in thirty days.

I've decided my theme will be "In the abstract."  I'll be making 30 abstract paintings over the course of the event.  Since we have to link daily, I'll be posting a LOT during the month of September.

Now everyone knows I can't draw, so please don't ask me to.  By "draw," I mean any sketches that even closely resemble something one might recognize.  I am a collage and mixed media artist, so this will take me out of my comfort zone.  However, I hope to learn a few things on this journey about what works and what doesn't in the world of abstract art.  So I hope you will join me on this quest, as I learn a bit about painting.  And yes, I will mostly be using acrylics, some will be cheap craft paint, others will be fluid acrylics.  However, I might throw in a bit of other media, such as watercolors, paint sticks, chalk, pan pastels and oil pastels.  Of course, if I find a good recipe, I might even try some cold wax painting.  So I hope you'll follow along with me on my journey over 30 days in September.  And I promise that Bleubeard will NOT be stepping in or on any of these drawings.

A time to give back

Roni at Ink Stains had a contest at the end of September, announcing her 5th anniversary.  The idea was, if you won one of six altoid tins, you were to alter it in time for her anniversary blog hop on November 27.  Above is the tin I won, and the handmade paper I used to cover Roni's address and eventually, the tin.  I have managed to squeak in just under the wire.
 

Roni also promised the tin would be filled with alterable items.  We could use them, or not in our design.

I fell in love with everything she sent, including that incredible milk jug lid on the left under the triomino.

Roni showed several tins she had altered, and my thoughts raced to 2008, the first time I altered an altoid tin.  Although many suggest using a Bunz burner or whatever that flame throwing thing is called, I prefer to use my chiminea.  The excess soot easily comes off.  Yes, this is a lousy picture.

 

Also in 2008, I altered 13 of these tins for a Christmas swap.

I called them the "Game of Life."  Continuing the word "Life" from the game of the same name, the sentiment on the inside reads "It's not just a game.

Then in 2011, I rusted this tin, and added it to my White and Rust altered tip-in book I created. Click to enlarge.

However, it seemed time to change thought processes, since I really didn't want to make the same or similar tin this year.  Originally, I was going to turn it into a black and white zebra gift for my art (and shop-a-holic) friend Kathy that she could keep collectibles in, then decided to make something for my own home for the upcoming holiday.

I began by covering the tin with some of my handmade paper I showed in the first photo above.  Then I took a handful of paper from my shredder and spritzed it with Bottle (green) and Butterscotch Color Washes.  When dry, I scrunched them into the tin using a bit of white glue.    Next, I added some autumn leaves I got one year on clearance at JoAnn's (a big box fabric and craft store in the US).  I set the tin aside for a couple of days to made sure everything was completely dry.

 

When dry, I glued a few sticks from my back yard into the tin, then added the focal stick and bird I found years ago in California.  This is not what I originally had in mind when I entered the contest, but I actually like how it turned out.  It will fit in nicely in my main floor bath, which is decorated with cardinals of all types and sizes.  I hope Roni is as pleased as I am with this altered piece.

Today is day 26 of AEDM, and as I've mentioned ad nauseam, I can no longer see links (and possibly can't create them) whether they are mine or not.  I also can't comment on blogs with embedded comments.  To change that, or learn if yours are embedded, please scroll to the end of this post and see what I'm talking about, and how to change your comments.

Roni sent each participant a link to use for her blog hop that we are supposed to use.  She assured us it will go live on November 27.  Since links and I don't seem to be working properly right now, here is what Roni sent:

Remember, this link should go live and you should be able to see the link at midnight (not sure if Eastern or Central time zone) on November 27.  Until then, I hope this altered tin meets your expectations.